Engaging BrainsBest New Magazine Writer Kris Demeanor’s ‘real’ job is to entertain you.
PHOTO: ADINA CURRIE TEXT: ANH CHU Kris Demeanor is at once relaxed and energized—the type of person who is intelligent, thought-provoking and passionate about his place in the world. An established Calgary-based musician, songwriter and performer, Demeanor (39) was surprised when his first foray into magazine writing, “Get a Real Job” featured in Unlimited, nabbed him a National Magazine Award for Best New Magazine Writer. The narrative piece has laugh-out-loud observations about Demeanor’s former perch as a menial job maestro. Witty and poignant, the feature chronicles Demeanor’s meanders through odd jobs outside of the traditional 9 to 5, culminating with a catalyst that exposed the merits of creating his own job description on a daily basis. Demeanor’s win marks the third time an Alberta writer has won the national award for Best New Magazine Writer (formerly the Alexander Ross Award for Best New Writer) in the past five years. Demeanor’s award follows wins by Sophie Lees (Alberta Views) in 2004 and Jeremy Klaszus (Alberta Views) in 2006. AMPA met with Kris Demeanor to discuss what makes good writing, why former Unlimited editor and AMPA’s Editor of the Year Dan Rubinstein is “the man” and why magazines and the arts make lovely bedfellows. |
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AMPA: You’ve been a landscaper, pharmaceutical packer, construction worker—did you ever think that these jobs would lead you to a National Magazine Award (NMA)? AMPA: This is your first major feature in a magazine. How does it feel to be nationally recognized for it? I’ve always considered that was my main strength was songwriting. I read The Walrus, Alberta Views and Maisonneuve quite regularly, and the articles in there are fantastic and the use of language is so great—I thought ‘my vocabulary isn’t nearly as good as that, or I can’t make things flow or be as insightful as this.’ I think it’s simply because it’s not a world that I have spent a lot of time trying to become a part of. So it was a surprise to me to actually get recognition for it. AMPA: So how much do you owe Dan Rubinstein? AMPA: Alberta’s magazine industry is quite robust, with over 60 magazines members of AMPA. Why is the Alberta magazine industry important to local content creators? The magazine is one of the last refuges of reading really good investigative journalism where an excellent story gets flushed out fully. I love reading stories that allow you to get to know something about here or another part of the world. In Alberta there seems to be a good diversity of magazines, so basically, there’s a forum for pretty much every interest and opinion that’s out there. What I like about what I see in a lot of magazines, is how much they’re putting work into tying in visual arts, paintings, photographs, poetry, and how they mix non-fiction, fiction, humour. AMPA: What else do you want to write about? Look back through history, places are evaluated and measured against each other by how good their flippin’ arts scenes were. Economies come and go and they boom and bust all the time, but it’s what people are saying, writing and singing that carries through time and gives people that sense of identity that we’re so obsessed about. AMPA: What kind of advice do you have for new writers who are starting out? But probably, the biggest one, and it’s probably a cliché but probably so for a reason, is the idea of just writing all the time. Make sure that you’re putting things down and being relentless with self-editing too. Before it even gets to an editor, go through and ask ‘how essential is this?’ I would never shy away from bringing out one’s personal feelings and attitudes, but show, don’t tell. Make the research and the writing stand by itself but at the same time, allow it to bring out how you feel and think about it. |
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Congratulations to AMPA member 
Not only do AMPA’s members shine in sunny Alberta, but their presence is known and well recognized throughout Western Canada. The 2009 Western Magazine Award Finalists were announced and many of our members join the list of recognized talent (see below for details)! Congratulations to all and good luck at the 27th Annual Western Magazine Awards to be held on Friday, June 19, 2009, at the Renaissance Vancouver Hotel Harbourside.