They Let Down Baskets refers to the density of the schools of fish as seen by such early explorers as John Cabot when they tried to explain to doubtful merchants back in Europe the ease with which the fishery could be prosecuted in the New Found Land. For most of the following 500 years a good living could be extracted from the sea, some years better, some years worse, but at no time in those years was the ocean swept bare.

Berni Stapleton is a Newfoundland- Labrador writer and performer of unique distinction. She is a past recipient of the WANL award for best work in non-fiction for her contribution to the book They Let Down Baskets. (Published by Creative Book Publishing and co-created with the esteemed Chris Brookes and Jamie Lewis.) Her short stories and essays have appeared in Riddle Fence and The Newfoundland Quarterly. She is a recent recipient of the Ambassador of Tourism award from Hospitality NL. Berni was the Artistic Director of the Grand Bank Regional Theatre Festival for 11 years on the south coast of Newfoundland and is credited with having built during her years there a flourishing theatre and tourist attraction. She has been a playwright-in- residence with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Playwrights' Workshop Montreal, Alberta Theatre Projects, CanStage, PARC and other national companies. Her plays are regularly produced across the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and she is currently working on several new works. "Brazil Square" is her homage to the iconic boarding house district of St. John's, NL and will be produced next year for Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company. For Rising Tide Theatre she is writing "The Margaret Duley Story" about the woman some might consider to be the Harper Lee of Newfoundland. "Our Fanny" is inspired by France Cluett, the World War 1 Nurse from Newfoundland who served overseas and is being produced in 2016 by Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador. She is celebrating 25 years as a playwright with the creation of a new one woman show called "The Remarkable Life of Clementine Parsons."

Berni Stapleton's profile page

Jamie Lewis was born in St. John’s. Newfoundland and continues to call it home. His work on the inshore fishery has taken him from the shores of the Mediterranean to the vast coast of Newfoundland and Labrador. He says the fishery is a huge insight into the story of Newfoundland and the history of the world. He believes photography, whether it is documentation or entertainment, holds a very important role in our lives and also strongly maintains that many of the photographs we take today will be of great value in years to come.

Jamie Lewis' profile page

Chris Brookes is one of Canada's better known audio documentary producers. His work has won many national and international awards, and has been broadcast on public radio in the United States, Ireland, Australia and England as well as the CBC. He was the founding Artistic Director of the Newfoundland Mummers Troupe Theatre, and a producer of CBC Television's &quotEast of Canada&quot series. Chris currently resides in St. John’s.

Chris Brooks' profile page