Festival of Words executive director Sarah Simison was one of six award recipients honoured by the Saskatchewan Literacy Network on Nov. 4.
Simison received the Award of Merit for Professional Leadership, presented by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan Russel Mirasty at Government House in Regina.
The category recognizes individuals who have exhibited a dedication to supporting literacy skills in their community and established themselves as literacy leaders in some way.
Simison’s nomination was submitted by a former board member at the Festival of Words, detailing the ongoing work she has done to keep the Writers in Schools program up and running.
“I was very flattered and it was a nomination put forward by people I respect, and written by someone I really respect, so I was really, really honoured,” said Simison.
The Writers in Schools program is a project that Simison works on with great passion, alongside operations coordinator Amanda Farnel, bringing writers into schools to talk about creative writing and performance skill.
“Sometimes it's fiction writers, sometimes it's nonfiction, there's been journalists. We've brought in spoken word poets and hip hop artists,” said Simison. “So, they're writers of all different genres.”
The Festival of Words works with both the Prairie South School Division and the Holy Trinity Catholic School Division to deliver these workshops over a couple of weeks, reaching about 2,500 students each year.
“The program is so popular that we can't keep up with demand,” said Simison. “It's really helping enhance literacy for students and helping teachers hopefully become better teachers and help their students get excited about creative writing.”
Since it’s inception in 2016, Writers in Schools has grown from operating in a handful of Moose Jaw schools to reaching across southern Saskatchewan in numerous rural communities. Simison even mentioned plans to expand into northern Saskatchewan.
“We have focused a little bit more on rural [schools] because how many rural communities are getting writers coming in to talk to them? Usually, it's kids in bigger centres that get that kind of access,” said Simison.
For Simison, receiving an award recognizing the hard work put into this program was an incredible boost.
“I'm passionate about my work and I love this community and I love what I do,” said Simison. “And so it just feels like it was just kind of one of those things that validates the work that I'm doing. It was like, 'yes, you're doing the right thing, you're on the right track.'”
As for the moment she learned she had been chosen as this year’s Award of Merit recipient, she was immediately grateful to the entirety of her Festival of Words companions.
“I totally did not expect it at all,” said Simison. “As much as I'm really flattered to be recognized in this way, I feel like I didn't get here alone. I have a really amazing board of directors and a huge team of volunteers and my coworker, our operations coordinator Amanda Farnel, she helps me so much in this work and she's just as passionate about it as I am.”
