14 FOR YOUTH EVENTS #31–#39, SEE PAGE 35. 14
WHAT’S O N
WEDNESDAY 23 OCTOBER
THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER
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Writing the Edge of the World MIC H AE L C R U M ME Y, J OA N T H O M A S
The Fictionals: Improv x Literature TA N YA BOT E J U, D I NA D E L B U C C H I A , A N D RE W K AU F M A N, A L I C I A TOB I N
Moderator: Caroline Adderson Info: 8:30 pm, THE NEST Price: $20 Fiction allows us to travel widely, and these two Canadian literary titans have set their new novels in locations that test the limits of humanity. In Michael Crummey’s riveting The Innocents, two siblings are orphaned in a northern Newfoundland cove, cut off from the world, where they endure a heartbreaking and exhilarating fight for survival. Based on true events, Joan Thomas’ incisive and wrenching Five Wives explores what happens after the wives of five evangelical Christian missionaries are suddenly widowed in the rainforests of Ecuador, but choose to continue their husbands’ work. In a critical and luminous discussion, Crummey and Thomas unpack what drew them to write about such extreme circumstances and what they teach us about tenuous bonds we all share.
Host: Daniel Chai Info: 8:30 pm, REVUE STAGE Price: $20 Watch new stories unfold in front of your eyes during this creative, side-splitting mashup of books and comedy. Known for their hilarity, Tanya Boteju (Kings, Queens and InBetweens), Dina Del Bucchia (It’s a Big Deal!) and Andrew Kaufman (The Ticking Heart) will read from their latest works before improv comedy group The Fictionals create a skit inspired by each story. Then, enjoy a reading from Retail Nightmares host Alicia Tobin’s So You’re A Little Sad, So What? before an unscripted, long-form comedy jam sure to keep you roaring. Presented in partnership with the Master of Publishing (MPub) program at SFU.
THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER
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Prose Under Pressure
Night Class: Brief Craft Lessons from UBC Creative Writing
M I C H A E L C R U M M E Y, S TE V E N P R I C E, L A I S H A RO S N AU Moderator: Anne Fleming Info: 6:00 pm–7:15 pm, WATERFRONT THEATRE Price: $20 Donne may have warned us that no man is an island, but books about isolation and the strange inner lives of those who seek it, or endure it, are some of the richest in the canon. These immersive new works from CanLit royalty offer further confirmation. Giller Prize finalist Steven Price’s Lampedusa follows a Sicilian prince struggling to complete his novel—and legacy. Laisha Rosnau’s protagonists flee fascism in Italy and choose exile and isolation in Vernon, BC, in Little Fortress. Although Michael Crummey’s orphaned siblings in The Innocents don’t choose their isolation, their story unfolds in a remote cove on Newfoundland’s northern coastline where they must rely on each other to survive. Discover what remarkable things happen in writing when you constrain your characters.
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WH AT’S O N
K EVI N C H O N G , S A R A G R A EFE, TA R I Q H U S S A I N , S A R A H LEAVI TT, EM I LY P O H L-W EA R Y, S H ER YDA WA R R EN ER A N D M O R E Info: 6:00 pm–7:15 pm, THE NEST Price: $15 A rapid-fire evening of craft and creativity as stellar UBC professors teach key writing concepts in 5 minutes or less. Try out concepts, ask questions and listen to UBC students in this interactive, unpredictable crash course. Covering everything from fiction to nonfiction, comics to poetry, playwriting to YA and even song lyrics, you’ll take away key learnings from genre experts and experience what being in a UBC Creative classroom feels like. (There might be homework!) Once school’s out, celebrate your new skills with an open social event immediately afterwards. Presented in collaboration with UBC Creative Writing.
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Thrills & Chills
A Tribute to Stephen King
S TEP H EN C H BO S K Y, RO B YN H A R D I N G , N ATH A N R I P LEY Moderator: Robert Wiersema Info: 6:00 pm–7:15 pm, REVUE STAGE Price: $20 Is there a word for that terrifying suspense that leaves you unable to do anything but turn the page? “Unputdownable” is what #1 NYT Bestseller R.J. Palacio said of Stephen Chbosky’s Imaginary Friend. Already this fearsome, ambitious novel from the author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower is poised to become another cult classic. Nathan Ripley became a favourite thriller name with his debut, Find You in the Dark. A story of gun violence and radicalization, Your Life Is Mine is his second chilling work. And Robyn Harding shares yet another bestselling spine-tingler: The Arrangement, one that quickly goes wrong when the protagonist’s older lover is brutally murdered. Enjoy hearing about craft and cruelty from these “unputdownables.”
RO S ETTA AL L AN, TANYA BOT EJ U, STEPHEN CHBOSKY, ARMANDO LUCAS CORREA, I VA N C OYOT E, CHERIE DIMAL INE, C H A R LOT T E GRAY, DAVID MOSCROP, S A R A P ET ERS, NAT HAN RIPL EY, LO R I M ER SHENHER, TANYA TAL AGA, RO B ER T WIERSEMA, J ENNY HEIJ UN WIL L S A N D M ORE Host: Lisa Christiansen Info: 8:00 pm, PERFORMANCE WORKS Price: $20 The Stand, The Shining, The Dark Tower Series, The Green Mile, The Shawshank Redemption and hundreds of other works: Stephen King is as influential as he is prolific. What better way to celebrate him than with storytelling from other celebrated authors from across the globe? We may not be hosting King himself, but this evening offers readers and aspiring writers a perfect opportunity to revel and reflect on his singular storytelling. This is our third event from Guest Curator Tanya Talaga. Presented in partnership with Simon & Schuster.
ALL THE FEELINGS IVAN COYOTE REBENT SINNER
The latest by awardwinning storyteller Ivan Coyote, whose plainspoken narratives astound with their breathtaking humanity.
ALICIA TOBIN
SO YOU’RE A LITTLE SAD, SO WHAT? New from our Robin’s Egg humour imprint: a frank, tender, and hilarious collection of essays by one of the bright lights of Canadian live comedy.
Join an intensive, diverse & collaborative environment for crafting literary excellence. TERESA WONG A poignant graphic memoir about postpartum depression and the complexities of new motherhood.
S E E I VA N , A L I C I A A N D T E R E S A I N P E R S O N AT T H E V W F ! ARSENAL PULP PRESS a r s e n a l p u l p . c o m
UBC’s creative writing program is Canada’s oldest and most respected. We offer an unprecedented 12 genres of study as well as multiple funding and enrichment opportunities.
DEAR SCARLET
Study at the BA Minor, BFA or MFA level.
Fiction • Poetry • Nonfiction • Screenwriting TV Writing • Children & Young Adult Playwriting • Graphic Novel • Podcasting Translation • Song Lyrics • New Media
creativewriting.ubc.ca
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Work with award-winning faculty. Entrance and continuing scholarships. Flexible, part-time low residency MFA. TA in undergraduate writing courses.* Teach in local high schools.* Edit and manage one of Canada’s oldest literary magazines, PRISM international.* Participate in the Brave New Play Rites theatre festival.
*Note: some opportunities are MFA-only