Alma Lee, pictured in 2011 as the recipient of the Writers’ Trust Distinguished Contribution Award (Photo by Tom Sandler, courtesy of the Writers’ Trust)

Alma Lee, the founder of the Vancouver Writers Fest, has died. She was 84.

Lee was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1940, and immigrated to Canada in 1967. She got her start in the Canadian book trade in 1971 at House of Anansi Press, where she became general manager.

A passionate reader and champion of Canadian literature, Lee went on to build literary organizations in Canada from the ground up. She was the first executive director of the Writers’ Union of Canada, which she played a role in founding in 1973, and the founding executive director of the Writers’ Trust of Canada. She moved to British Columbia in 1984, where she launched the Vancouver Writers Fest four years later with the help of literary friends and colleagues, including the late Timothy Findley.

Lee ran the festival for 17 years, and retired in December 2005. But even in retirement she remained an ambassador for the festival and provided “guidance and insight,” the organization said in announcing her death earlier this week. “She had a seat reserved at nearly every event, and she always listened with abounding thoughtfulness and enjoyment.”

The Writers’ Union of Canada noted that she “continued to provide valuable and deeply appreciated advice, feedback, and strategic thinking to all of the organizations with which she was connected.” 

Lee was named a member of the Order of Canada in 2004 for her work as “a passionate and effective champion of Canadian authors.”

Lee died on March 28, and a celebration of her life is expected to be held at a later date, with details to be announced.