National recognition, ever-expanding festivals and a little publishing house that did are among the highlights of 2008 in Calgary literature. Calgary’s Freehand Books had a remarkable first year, and first run. This literary imprint from Broadview Press started in June 2007 and hasn’t looked back since. Marina Endicott was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, Canada’s most prestigious literary award, for her book Good to a Fault. It is a beautiful tale of altered lives, old wounds and new beginnings and was the only book amongst the five finalists published by a small literary press, Calgary’s own Freehand.

Steered by overworked editor Melanie Little, who will be getting a much-needed helping hand from incoming managing editor Sarah Ivany, Freehand is getting kudos for all of its inaugural imprints. Saleema Nawaz, based in Montreal, won the Writers’ Trust - McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize for her story My Three Girls, originally published in Prairie Fire and featured in Nawaz’s collection Mother Superior. Susan Olding has been recognized as well, long-listed for the richest prize in Canadian non-fiction, the B.C. Award for Non-Fiction, for her collection of essays, Pathologies.

Several Calgary authors also received a nod from up on high this year. Not God, but close. Canada’s own regal representative, the Governor General, cast her eyes west. Calgarian Chris Turner’s Geography of Hope was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in non-fiction, along with Southern Alberta’s own Sid Marty, for his book The Black Grizzly of Whiskey Creek. Shenaaz Nanjia was a finalist in the children’s literature category for Child of Dandelions, and Weyman Chan was a finalist in poetry for his collection Noise From the Laundry. In the end, however, there were no winners west of Ontario.

The National SLAM also came to Calgary for the first time this year, due largely to the tireless work of poetry and spoken-word enthusiast, performer and writer Sheri-D Wilson, along with her organization, the Calgary Spoken Word Society. The event, spread over four days, was a testament to the growth in poetry and spoken word in our little corner of Canada. SLAM teams from across the country competed for top honours. Halifax took the title this year. Wilson also runs the Calgary International Spoken Word Festival, and promises a rare treat for fans of African drumming in 2009 (my lips are sealed on specifics). Wilson also authored a new collection of her work in 2008, Autopsy of a Turvy World.

WordFest, always a highlight of the literary year, didn’t disappoint. The roster of authors included nine of the 15 finalists for the Giller Prize, three of whom made it to the final five (including winner Joseph Boyden). New this year, the festival included short films that revolved around the written word, or were created by authors. Paul Quarrington hosted a great event, which included the première of his new short film, Pavane, based on his latest novel, The Ravine. The only thing wrong with WordFest is that it’s impossible to attend all the events.