industry books founded 1999 founder kelly hughes defunct 2012 headquarters winnipeg canada website http www.aquabooks.ca aqua books was a canadian independent bookstore opened in winnipeg manitoba by kelly hughes in 1999 . it was acknowledged for helping revitalize downtown winnipeg and creating an eclectic mix of programs and events for the winnipeg arts and culture community . 1 2 aqua books closed in early 2012 and after a failed attempt to reopen in a new location closed permanently later that year . 3 contents 1 overview 2 aqua books lansdowne prize for poetry 2.1 winners 3 writer in residence program 4 references 5 external links overview edit aqua books consisted of a bookstore a restaurant called eat bistro writers studios and an events theatre . aqua sponsored the aqua books lansdowne prize for poetry and hosts numerous literary and cultural events . writers who have launched books or read at aqua books include paul quarrington susie moloney shane koyczan sarah klassen george murray miriam toews david bergen joan thomas andrew davidson catherine hunter and margaret christakos . lecturers have included politician tim sale musician steve bell and activist david northcott . owner kelly hughes hosted a live in store talk show called kelly hughes live 4 which has seen visits by writer margaret sweatman comedian kevin mcdonald children s entertainer fred penner and actor politician tina keeper . the store was visited by journalist noah richler in 2009 who called it one of the craziest most amusing and well ordered second hand bookstores i have ever frequented . 5 aqua books lansdowne prize for poetry edit aqua books sponsors the aqua books lansdowne prize for poetry which is awarded annually to the best full length adult book of poetry in either french or english by a resident of manitoba canada . the aqua books lansdowne prize for poetry reading series hosted in conjunction with the writers collective is based around this award . winners edit 2007 laurie block time out of mind 2008 alison calder wolf tree 2009 rosanna deerchild this is a small northern town writer in residence program edit aqua books was one of only two bookstores in canada to feature a writer in residence program the other being the university of alberta bookstore . this program includes workshops readings and manuscript evaluation . writers in residence have included young adult writer anita daher the late crime writer michael van rooy playwright carolyn gray and arts writer amy karlinsky . the first film writer in residence was former alamo drafthouse programmer kier la janisse . references edit http uniter.ca view.php aid 40406 http www.winnipegfreepress.com subscriber columnists m walker story 4088196p 4686986c.html http metronews.ca news winnipeg 854404 aqua books owner says winnipegs cultural city hall is done http www.aquabooks.ca kellyhugheslive.php http www.thestar.com travel article 595857 external links edit manitoba writers guild aqua books lansdowne prize aqua books official website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title aqua books & oldid 647031867 categories companies based in winnipegindependent bookstores of canada navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page print export create a bookdownload as pdfprintable version languages add links this page was last modified on 14 february 2015 at 01 01 . text is available under the creative commons attribution sharealike license ; additional terms may apply . by using this site you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy . wikipedia is a registered trademark of the wikimedia foundation inc. a non profit organization . privacy policy about wikipedia disclaimers contact wikipedia developers cookie statement mobile view