Word Vancouver and the Magazine Association of BC presented a panel on Pitching the Pitch at this year’s Word Vancouver, WV/24, on Saturday, September 28 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. They had a full house, needing people to bring chairs into the room to sit down.
Moderator: Jessica Key, managing editor, subTerrain
Panelists: Jesse Donaldson, author, historian, journalist | Dayna Mahannah, editor-in-chief, Geist | Sara Harowitz. editor-in-chief, The Georgia Straight
About The Moderator
Jessica Key is the managing editor of subTerrain Magazine and a graduate from Simon Fraser University’s Masters of Publishing Program. She has been with subTerrain for seven years, and before that worked with a variety of BC-based literary magazines and small presses. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Magazine Association of BC for a number of years, most recently as the chair.
About The Panelists
Jesse Donaldson is an author, historian, and journalist, whose work has been featured in such publications as VICE, The Tyee, MONTECRISTO, the Calgary Herald, and Megaphone. He is the writer of four books, all published by Anvil Press: This Day in Vancouver, Land of Destiny, Fool’s Gold, and The Acid Room, co-written with Erika Dyck. By day, he works in television – most recently, as a story producer, story editor, and director for the History Channel series Deadman’s Curse. He lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife and dog.
Dayna Mahannah grew up in Westbank, BC, the territory of the Syilx and Okanagan people. She now lives in Vancouver with her partner and their uncategorizable mutt. Dayna’s work appears in Geist, Electric Literature, NUVO, TRUE Africa, and HELD Mag. She is a graduate of SFU’s The Writer’s Studio, was a contributing editor at Beatroute Magazine, and a campaign manager at Adbusters. Dayna received her MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and is now writing a memoir about the misfortune of finding yourself wherever you go. She is the editor-in-chief of Geist.
Sara Harowitz is the editor-in-chief of The Georgia Straight, and is also a literary agent with Westwood Creative Artists. She is the former editor-in-chief of MONTECRISTO Magazine and SAD Mag, and has written for publications including Macleans, Hazlitt, The Globe and Mail, and Maisonneuve.
MagsBC had a table set up at the festival at the outdoor rink under Robson Street.
This year was the 30th anniversary of Word Vancouver.
Info on the main day events can be found at 2024 Word Vancouver and online and off-site events.
