Winner of the Dave
Greber Freelance Writers Award Receives Prize at The Word
on the Street Book and Magazine Fair
Gordon
Laird, a Calgary freelance writer is the 2006 winner of the Dave
Greber Freelance Writers Award. Mr. Laird’s successful submission, Empire of
Bargains, How cheap stuff conquers nations, changes your life, owns your
future, is a chapter from his new book, Passage to Wal- Mart: How
Bargains Rule the World, to be published in 2006 by McClelland and Stewart
Ltd. Shirley Dunn, founder of and fund developer for the Dave Greber Freelance
Writers Award awarded the $2000.00 prize to Mr. Laird, on September 24, 2006
at The Word on The Street, Book and Magazine Fair.
Dave Greber, a much published, respected freelance writer,
storyteller, and musician died unexpectedly in 2000 at the age of 50. To honor
Dave’s memory and perpetuate his professional values, his life partner, Shirley
Dunn, has established an annual award to give public recognition to the skills
necessary to craft a story based on excellence of writing and research. The
award will help support a freelance writer, non -fiction, prior to publication
in order to meet expenses related to living, writing and research.
Gordon Laird has been a self employed, writer/journalist
since 1994. His writing and commentary have been featured in many magazines and
newspapers as well as radio and TV stations. He has twice won gold at Canada’s
National Magazine Awards, including top honors for investigative reporting. He
continues to serve as Contributing Editor at This Magazine, continuing
more than a decade of commitment to small press and independent writing.
Gordon Laird has written two books: Slumming it at the
Rodeo: The Cultural Roots of Canada’s Right Wing Revolution (Douglas
and McIntrye, 1988) and POWER: Journeys Across an Energy Nation (Penguin Books,
January 2000).
Laird has also been active in social advocacy and public
policy research, as the 2003-2004 Media Fellow at the Sheldon Chumir Foundation
for Ethics in Leadership, research associate with the Parkland Institute at the
University of Alberta and a contract researcher for Public Interest Alberta. In
addition he has collaborated with and presented for the Canadian Environmental
Network, the David Suzuki Foundation, The Coalition for a Green Economy, the
Canadian Solar Power Association, the Millennium Scholarship Foundation as well
as other non-governmental and non-profit organizations.
The Executive Directors of The Word on the Street Book and
Magazine Fair support the development of the Dave Greber Freelance Writers
Award because it is a way of “celebrating reading, and advocating literacy”. They arranged for
the award ceremony to be held at 12:50 PM in the Vero Energy Inc. Family
Reading Tent, at the Calgary Farmers Market, (Crowchild and Flanders Road)
Sunday, September 24, 2006. Gordon Laird joined Shirley Dunn, for the award
ceremonies. Check The Word on the Street Book and Magazine Fair website
(www.thewordonthestreet.ca) to read about the exciting activities planned and
to learn more about the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award view
www.greberwritingaward.com
