Journalist Bernadette Calonego reads at the Alpenclub Vancouver
Interview by Nina Bader, spring 2017
Our member Bernadette Calonego is a journalist and author. On May 10 she will have a reading at the Alpenclub in Vancouver where she will present pictures from her trip to the Polar Sea. We talked with Bernadette Calonego about her fascination Canada, how it is to work as a foreign correspondent and where she gets her inspiration from.
You have been in Canada for 16 years, what brought you here? Where does your fascination for Canada come from?
Apart
from being a writer, I am a foreign correspondent for European media. I came
here in 1996 for the first time to do a story on immigrants in Vancouver. Three
years later I traveled for three months in Western Canada and liked it so much
that I decided to settle here as a freelance journalist.
From the start, I have been fascinated by the beautiful and pristine
landscapes, the pioneer atmosphere and the friendly people. I live on the
Sunshine Coast near Vancouver but I spend a lot of time in Newfoundland, too,
because my partner is from there.
What were the biggest challenges when you started to work here?
For most newspapers in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, Canada took a distant second place behind the United States. When I suggested writing something about First Nations in Canada for instance, I was told that First Nations in the U.S. would come first. I had to find connections to Germany or Switzerland, to sell a story to the editors. If the drug policy was a hot topic in Switzerland, then the editor was more interested in Canada`s drug policy.
How is it nowadays to work as a correspondent and author?
The challenges remain, but with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the interest in Canadian politics has increased. And there are the “perennials”: Good stories about grizzly or polar bears, about Inuit, immigrants, or important and interesting Canadian companies, or about differences between Americans and Canadians are regularly in demand. Because Canada is such a huge country, traveling is very expensive. Many newspapers don`t pay for travel expenses anymore. I still travel but on my own dime. Writing novels is a luxury: Only when I have finished my daily journalistic work, I can continue working on my novels.
Three of your books play in Canada, from where do you get your inspiration?
I get my ideas from my travels across Canada, places that I see, people that I meet, or what I hear and read. People who buy my books, can travel in the footsteps of my heroines and find the locations that I have described. “Stormy Cove” is set in Newfoundland, “Under Dark Waters” in B.C. and in the Northwest Territories. I wrote “Die Fremde auf dem Eis” after a trip to the Arctic. It is important to me that the places in my books are authentic, and the people too, of course.
What is the next big thing for you, do you have any upcoming plans?
A new book will be published in Germany, it is again a mystery novel that is partly set in British Columbia and partly in Europe. I also hope that “Die Fremde auf dem Eis” will be translated into English this year. In the meantime I have started my next book. I also plan to travel again to the North which I love with a passion.
On May 10 you will have a reading at the Alpenclub, what are you going to present?
I thought that instead of just reading from my books, I could show some pictures of the Ice Road between Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk and talk about my trip to the Polar Sea. The winter road in Inuvik that has been built across the delta of the Mackenzie River, is open this winter for the last time. It has been replaced by an overland road. For some people it might be interesting to see a legendary ice road that will soon disappear forever.
What is always in your suitcase when you come back from a trip to Switzerland?
Ohropax, Frigor chocolate, Basler Läckerli, pudding powder mix, Euceta healing cream and Camillosan ointment. I would also take cervelats, Bündner dried meat, Migros yoghurt and Mohrenköpfe with me if I could.
Event Details:
Location: Alpenclub Vancouver
Date: Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Time:
Admission:
| Media Contact Bernadette Calonego: www.bernadettecalonego.com Swiss Canadian Chamber of Commerce: www.swisscanadianchamber.com |
The SCCC would like to thank our member Bernadette Calonego for her time and effort spent for this interview.