Jan 5, 2010
Author: Ilissa Maiatico
If you pick up a copy of Snowboard Canada magazine or Snowboard Canada Women's Annual, one name your likely to recognize on the masthead is Katie Bailey. This Toronto based writer is also known for penning travel stories and writing children’s books. Her other hobbies include shopping at Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, scouring the city for the best hamburgers and watching Matthew McConaughey movies. We recently caught up with Katie to find out what being a writer really entails.
On being a writer:
1. I was decent at it.
2. It seemed very glamorous. Travelling all over the world, interviewing famous and important people. I perhaps underestimated how desk-bound writers really are.
3. It's very satisfying when you finish a story and see it in print.
4. Free stuff (Just kidding. Or not.)
5. Access: Being a writer allows you to experience things you would never get to experience as a "regular" person. Besides the fun stuff like caving or rock climbing for free, you get VIP access to things like the Canadian premiere of New Moon! Totally worth years of toil.
Snowboarders you would like to interview:
Hmmm, I've gotten the opportunity to interview so many people with SBC and it's always awesome to find out what makes a rider tick. But it's almost always girls, so here are the dudes on the list:
1. Terje Hakonsen although I would be totally intimidated.
2. John Jackson: I've always liked his riding, and he just seems so mellow about it all.
3. Shaun White because that's the kind of interview that has clout. I've been around him a few times and I totally fan out each time. I'm a dork.
4. Jeremy Jones (big mountain): Have you seen the lines this guy drops? I don't know how he tips his board over the precipice and goes for it. I would ask him that.
5. Tara Dakides: I've never gotten the chance to speak to her, and she was a huge influence. I did however, pee in the stall beside her at the US Open one year.
Favourite books of all time:
1. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
2. The Lord of the Rings trilogy.... seriously. It's really good.
3. On Writing by Stephen King. I think about this book literally all the time.
4. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot. Yep, this is one of the dorkiest things I've said yet, but I never get tired of these books. Go see if your mom has one and borrow it.
5. Underground to Canada by Barbara Smucker. One of my favourite books from my childhood.
Tips for aspiring writers:
1. "Ass in chair" That's the best tip I ever received. You'll never get anything done unless you just sit down and do it... for longer than you'd probably like to.
2. Be interested. Listening and being curious are your best assets.
3. Take care. No one likes a sloppy writer, least of all editors.
4. Do the work. When you think all your research or writing is done, take another look.
5. Be kind and courteous with editors, PR people and interviewees. Being a crabby journalist is cliché.
Favourite Matthew McConaughey movies:
[Did you get this question from Matt Houghton, former editor of SBC? He thinks I'm obsessed with him, but I'm really more of a Daniel Craig sort of gal. But I'll oblige:]
1. Dazed and Confused. Obviously.
2. Sahara: I've been reading terrible Clive Cussler novels since I was a kid (my parents liked them), and McConaughey is totally hot enough to play the dreamy Dirk Pitt.
3. Failure to Launch: Funnier than you'd think. Except at the end.
4. Contact: Awesome.
5. Tropic Thunder: "I got the Tivo!"
For more information on Katie you can check out her website here.
Katie finally finds "The Stash" at Northstar
Katie explores the famous Catacombs of Paris
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