ABOUT OUR E.D.

Preetam Sengupta is a son, brother, uncle, friend, storytelling singer-songwriter, arts administrator, and community builder.

He comes to EMWF with 15+ years experience in the arts sector in Guelph.

When it comes to reading, Preetam tends to gravitate to books with long titles, often containing a character’s name. He also loves listening to audiobooks read by the author, eliminating the need to imagine their voice in his head.

To contact Preetam, please email: [email protected]

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A note from Preetam Sengupta—Executive Director

It’s been an exciting few weeks since I was hired to be the new Executive Director at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival (EMWF), and I wanted to say hello to all of you as I continue to get settled in my new role at this great organization.

I want to start by taking a moment to thank former Festival Manager Melissa McGrath for her years of service to EMWF, as well as her time and generosity in showing me the ropes and in helping to get several funding applications out the door in my first month here. I love learning the stories of the festival and the organization from the very individuals whose experiences formed them – like Melissa.

I hope to see many of you at the festival this year. Please mark September 8 as Festival Sunday on your calendars. Nicola Dufficy, our Artistic Director, has been working steadily at programming the event for this year, and we look forward to sharing the lineup with you in July. Nicola has also been incredibly welcoming, and a wonderful resource for me. She has many years of experience in her role at EMWF and other literary festivals and I’m thrilled to be working alongside her to bring a wonderful annual event to the Village of Eden Mills.

To the residents of this beautiful village, I have met some of you already, and look forward to getting to know this community more. I live in Guelph, and will occasionally be working out of Rivermead, so I hope you’ll come by and say hello. It’ll be busy, but I always enjoy putting a kettle on and sharing a cup of tea with a neighbour when I can.

This festival wouldn’t exist without this community. Whether you’ve served on the board, welcomed us onto your property, volunteered, made a donation to help us deliver our annual event, or simply acted neighbourly when festival crowds descend upon the village, we appreciate you. I’ll always do my best to help make it feel like it’s “our” festival, one that our board, staff, volunteers, and the community all share.

I’d like to thank the EMWF Board of Directors for their trust in me to help steer our ship into its next chapter. This organization and festival are products of decades of hard work and community involvement. As I join you on this journey, I’ll continue to cultivate an environment where people feel welcome, respected, and celebrated, whether it’s their first time with us or their 36th. I’ll be a good neighbour, respecting the atmosphere you’ve created in the community, and I will continue to work closely with our amazing team to bring Eden Mills Writers’ Festival forward.

Most of all, I look forward to the stories that we’ll share – ”written, spoken, or signed”. I believe that those who tell stories as well as those who receive them share a responsibility in their care. As a singer-songwriter, my audience holds and cares for the stories I share through my music. It can be equally powerful and vulnerable from both sides of the microphone. Words make that possible. It feels almost magical.

I look forward to seeing what magic we can make together.