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Chris Chambers wins IFOA’s Battle of the Bards

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Chris Chambers was chosen from among a group of 20 emerging and established poets as winner of the 8th annual Battle of the Bards, an event sponsored by the International Festival of Authors and alternate weekly newspaper Now. The event was held on March 30 at the Brigantine Room at Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre.

Clad in his trademark Adidas track jacket, Chambers read two poems from his recent collection, Thrillows & Despairos (Wolsak & Wynn), and was lauded for his “captivating performance” by a jury comprised of IFOA director Geoffrey E. Taylor, artistic associate Jen Tindall, and 2015 IFOA Poetry Games champion Andy McGuire.

Chambers’s other books include Lake Where No One Swims and Wild Mouse (with Derek McCormack), which was nominated for the Toronto Book Award.

As winner, Chambers will receive an invitation to read at this year’s International Festival of Authors in October, and an advertisement for his book in Now.

Battle of the Bards participants Maureen Hynes, Sarah Pinder, and Daniel Scott Tysdal will also be invited to perform at IFOA.