FAQ

Where’s your list of awards? Don’t good writers always have a long list of awards?

I don’t think I’ve ever met a writer who isn’t “award winning” in one way or another, no matter how weird and obscure the award. Good for them, I say. Let them be proud.

As for me, yes, I have won a few awards – some weird and obscure, some not. But I don’t believe these should always be taken as the measure of a writer, or of me. We tend to forget that there’s an editor behind every great story, and he or she has intervened in ways that aren’t obvious to readers and competition judges.

I don’t mean to suggest that a winning writer isn’t deserving – writing a great story and working through it with an editor can be a big job. I do suggest, however, that almost every story we read is the result of a collaborative effort. Even – and sometimes especially – the very best ones.

So, no, I’m not going to list my small collection of awards.

Are you the same guy who wrote that blog One Year of Alberta Beer?

I sure am, and what a year it was! The province’s craft brewing community more than doubled in size in 2016.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, I bought only beer made by Alberta craft brewers. I recorded my experiences on a Tumblr page each week, shared the project with Metro Edmonton (who kindly and unexpectedly put me on their front page) and twice reported on the adventure live on CBC Radio’s Edmonton AM.

Why did I do this? No. 1: I love craft beer. I also wanted to learn more about blogging and improve my social media game. Drinking great beer (in moderation – people frequently asked me if I was drinking everyday, which I wasn’t) was a great way to go about that.