Hal Wake, a former Vancouver Writers Fest artistic director, CBC Radio journalist, and honorary member of the Writers' Union of Canada, died January 7, Quill & Quire reported. He was 73. In a brief statement, his family said: "He loved words. He loved books. He loved writers. He enjoyed a good ball game. And above all, he loved his family."
Wake worked as a journalist at CBC Radio for 17 years. He was the book producer for Morningside with Peter Gzowski in the mid-1980s and hosted CBC's Vancouver morning show for three years in the mid-1990s. He served as Vancouver Writers Fest artistic director from 2006 to 2017.
"During that time, he infused our programming with discoveries from around the world, and a keen eye for writers who'd go on to be the next big name in literature," the festival said. "He savored intimate events that focused on one-on-one conversations with authors, and was adept at convincing them to share more than what you'd find on the dust jacket of their books."
When Wake retired from the festival in 2017, more than 100 authors wrote to share their memories of working with him, Q&Q noted.
He also served on the board of directors of the Writers' Trust of Canada, and was a member of the jury for the Writers' Trust's Matt Cohen Award for the last three years.