Vancouver Writers Fest 2013 Festival Guide

OCT 22 - 27, 2013 ONE HUNDRED WRITERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. EVENTS FOR READERS OF ALL AGES ON GRANVILLE ISLAND.

Great stories live on stage. vancouvertix.com 604.629.8849 writersfest.bc.ca

From the Artistic Director

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Welcome to the Vancouver Writers Fest on Granville Island

Contents

One of the trickiest aspects of putting the Festival program together is ensuring that we have enough room in the six days of the Festival for fiction, poetry, non-fiction and all the other genres we hope to have represented in the lineup. We have always had writers of non-fiction at the Festival, but this year we are pleased to present a series of events featuring some of the most important non-fiction books of the year. Eric Schlosser (author of Fast Food Nation) will be here with his new book,Command and Control, an illuminating investigation of the risks associated with nuclear weapons and the near misses we have already experienced without even knowing it.

George Packer is an esteemed writer for the New Yorker. His book, The Unwinding, journeys through the lives of several ordinary Americans to create a lyrical requiem for a troubled nation. Amanda Lindhout was a freelance journalist when she was kidnapped and held captive for 15 months in Somalia. Her memoir, A House in the Sky, is an intimate and harrowing account of her captivity, and ultimately a story about the power of compassion and forgiveness. Alan Wiesman’s New York Times bestseller, The World Without Us, imagined what the world would be like if humans were no longer around with our large and crushing footprint. He will be here with his new book, Countdown, a comprehensive and urgent exploration of how the world can survive with us. Most of us think we know the story of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper, but Ross King’s Leonardo and the Last Supper dispels many of the myths that surround this monumental work and presents an original and riveting account of the creation of a masterpiece.

About Us 4 Festival Participants 5 Venues & Parking 6 How to Buy Tickets 7 Our Supporters 8, 12, 51 Join Us! Become a Member 9 Spreading the Word 10 La Joie de Lire 10 The Festival Experience 11 Festival Bookstore 11 Support the Festival 13 Messages 14–15 Festival at a Glance 28–29 Author Biographies 40–50 Writing Contest 52 Special Events 50, 53

An event I have dreamed about for years is finally coming to fruition at this Festival.

Ever since I had the honour of interviewing Cree playwright and novelist Tomson Highway some years ago, I have imagined how wonderful it would be to see him together with the Québécois legend Michel Tremblay. A conversation between these two writers—erudite, playful, witty and wise—is an occasion not to be missed.

How to use this guide

Every 10 years, Granta magazine has named the best British novelists under the age of 40. We are delighted to have two young notables from the most recent list at this year’s Festival: Xiaolu Guo and Joanna Kavenna.

This year we intend to go out on a high note, or at least a light note, with Colin Mochrie, whose improvisational skills defy description and who, as well as doing a little improv in our final event, will talk about his new book, Not Quite the Classics.

To be sure of getting tickets to the events you have your heart set on, please consider becoming a member and taking advantage of the advance ticket buying privileges. I look forward to seeing you on Granville Island in October, when distinguished writers from around the world make it a book-lover’s paradise.

Hal Wake, Artistic Director

Events schedule Tuesday, October 22 Wednesday, October 23 Thursday, October 24 Friday, October 25 Saturday, October 26 Sunday, October 27

16–18 20–23 24–27 20–32 34–36 38–39

School Events are indicated by

Each bio lists the events (by number) in which the author is appearing.

To locate a venue, check the map on page 6.

If you have any questions, give us a call at 604.681.6330, or check our website at writersfest.bc.ca for updated Festival information.

/VanWritersFest @VanWritersFest #VWF

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About Us

Founder and Lifetime Member Alma Lee

Board of Directors Sandra Jakab Leslie Hurtig Secretary: Shirley Lew Treasurer: Cheryl Berge Members: Sandi Case, Sally Harding, Miriam Kresivo, Harvey McKinnon, Kathryn Shoemaker, Paul Whitney Chair:

Interim Vice-Chair:

Patrons Circle Kelli Bodnar Terri-Lynn Brown Patricia Crowe Yulanda & Moh Faris Greg Ford Sandra Garossino Anne Giardini Colin & Helen Harris Alma Lee Jim & Joan Mayhew Don Prior Bonnie & Don Sheldon Yasmeen & Andrew Strang Kim Thorne Jan Whitford Cynthia Woodward

Literati Committee Honorary Chair :

Anne Giardini Members: Susan Goldie, Alison Hart, Elizabeth Robbins, Deborah Roitberg, Kathryn Shoemaker

A Dram Come True Committee Kim Thorne Michael Armstrong, Mark French, Sandra Jakab, Frank Leffellar, Dave Mason Chair:

Members:

Back row: Eduardo Ottoni, Clea Young, Hal Wake, Carolina Sartor, Camilla Tibbs.

Front row: Nicole Yeh, Brenda Berck, Tavia Audia, Sandra Millard, Heideh White, Ann McDonell. Photo: Chris Cameron

Staff

Program Guide

Hal Wake Executive Director: Camilla Tibbs Artistic Director:

Director of Marketing & Development:

Ann McDonell

Clea Young Administrator: Sandra Millard Artistic Associate:

Tavia Audia Eduardo Ottoni Bookkeeping Services: Office Alternatives Advertising Sales: Yasmeen Strang Education Co-ordinator: Ilona Beiks Programmer, La joie de lire: Brenda Berck Development & Marketing Assistant: Production Manager:

Carolina Sartor Food & Beverage Co-ordinator: Heideh White HOSPITALITY SUITE Manager: James Tyler Irvine Media Relations Manager: Judith Walker night manager: Brade Stanton Office Interns: Nicole Yeh and Pratyush Dhawan Photographer: Chris Cameron Production Co-ordinator: Katja Schlueter Production Assistant: Liam Kupser Volunteer Manager: Kathryn Fowler Volunteer Assistants: Lili Okuyama and Meghan Wagner Website Design: Chris MacDonald Catering Co-ordinator:

Ann McDonell & Tavia Audia Hangar 18 Creative Group Proofreading courtesy of members of the Editors’ Association of Canada, BC Branch: Lesley Cameron (editorial co-ordinator), Micheline Brodeur, Eva van Emden, Luci English, Michelle van der Merwe, Peg Monro, Lana Okerlund, Corinne Smith, Mike Starr, Carol Zhong Editors:

Festival Design:

Eco Audit This program guide is printed by Mitchell Press on recycled paper made with 30% post-consumer waste and bleached without the use of chlorine or chlorine compounds, resulting in measurable environmental benefits and the following savings: • 41 trees • 72,267 litres of water • 5568 kilowatt hours of electricity • Carbon credit: 3,520 pounds SOURCES: PAPER TASK FORCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL PAPER NETWORK

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the 300 dedicated volunteers who contribute so much to the Festival each year.

Festival Participants

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L. Marie Adeline

Tanya Evanson

Claire Mulligan

Amber Dawn

Cary Fagan

Saleema Nawaz

Théodora Armstrong

Brian Fawcett

Mary Novik

Nadeem Aslam

Julie Flett

George Packer

Margaret Atwood

John Freeman

Kathryn Para

Dan Bar-el

Douglas Glover

Chad Pelley

Annie Barrows

Wayne Grady

Marisha Pessl

Susanna Basso

Charlotte Grimshaw

Andrew Pyper

David Baudemont

Xiaolu Guo

Corin Raymond

Joseph Boyden

Mathew Henderson

Roberta Rich

Cathy Marie Buchanan

Tomson Highway

Elizabeth Ruth

Jowita Bydlowska

Helen Humphreys

Eric Schlosser

Don Calame

Jude Isabella

Will Self

Kevan Anthony Cameron André Jacob

Maria Semple

Anne Carson

Maureen Johnson

Ann Shin

Eleanor Catton

Wayne Johnston

Rebecca Sky

J. Edward Chamberlin

Andrew Kaufman

Ashley Spires

Janie Chang

Joanna Kavenna

Maggie Stiefvater

Stephen Collis

Ross King

Geronimo Stilton

Douglas Coupland

Rachel Kushner

Kathy Stinson

Brad Cran

Ross Laird

Mary Swan

Dede Crane

Shaena Lambert

Abdellah Taïa

Michael Crummey

Erin Latimer

Meg Tilly

Nancy Jo Cullen

Shar Levine

Teresa Toten

Sarah de Leeuw

Amanda Lindhout

Michel Tremblay

Anthony De Sa

Earl Lovelace

Ayelet Tsabari

Rodney DeCroo

David Macfarlane

Scott Turow

Rachelle Delaney

Elizabeth MacLeod

Priscila Uppal

Sahar Delijani

Valerie Mason-John

Eric Walters

Viola Di Grado

Dale Mayer

Alison Wearing

Glenn Dixon

Anne Michaels

Alan Weisman

Rhéa Dufresne

Colin Mochrie

D.W. Wilson

Sarah Dunant

Lisa Moore

Michael Winter

Frank B. Edwards

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Frieda Wishinsky

Deborah Ellis

Paul Muldoon

Flexible. Comprehensive. Challenging The MFA in Creative Writing at UBC

For 50 years, UBC has been home to one of North America’s most respected and innovative writing programs, with courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Write and learn on our campus in Vancouver, or participate by distance education in a vibrant online community from wherever you live.

Faculty include Joseph Boyden Deborah Campbell Steven Galloway Wayne Grady Sara Graefe Nancy Lee Annabel Lyon Keith Maillard

Maureen Medved Susan Musgrave Andreas Schroeder Linda Svendsen Timothy Taylor Peggy Thompson Rhea Tregebov Bryan Wade www.creativewriting.ubc.ca

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Venues and Parking

Map Legend

1 Granville Island Public Market 2 Granville Island Stage 1585 Johnston Street

3 Improv Centre

1502 Duranleau Street

4 Waterfront Theatre

1412 Cartwright Street

5 Vancouver Writers Fest Box Office Main Floor, Festival House 1398 Cartwright Street 6 Studio 1398 3rd Floor, Festival House 1398 Cartwright Street 7 Performance Works 1218 Cartwright Street 8 Festival Bookstore Rear of Performance Works 1218 Cartwright Street 9 Granville Island Hotel 1253 Johnston Street

Off Site Venues Frederic Wood Theatre 6354 Crescent Road University of British Columbia Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage 2750 Granville Street Studio 1, Centre de diffusion de Radio-Canada 700 Hamilton Street

Parking Information Free daytime parking in most spots on Granville Island is limited to three hours from 7:00 am until 7:00 pm. Read the signs carefully: some spots are for one hour and many have recently changed to 20 minutes. If you park your car in one spot for three hours and then move it to another spot on Granville Island, you risk being ticketed. Parking is free and unlimited in most spots (including the pay parking garages and lots) each evening from 7:00 pm until 7:00 am.

The parking lot just east of the entrance to Granville Island at the corner of Lamey’s Mill Road and The Castings offers all-day parking for $8. There is also plenty of parking on the north side of False Creek. Consider leaving your car there and coming across on the False Creek Ferry or Aquabus.

The most important thing to remember is to give yourself time—at least an extra 15 minutes to find a spot—if you plan to park on Granville Island.

Public Transit

Ferries

TransLink Schedule Information translink.bc.ca 604.953.3333 between 6:30 am to 11:30 pm daily

Ferries travel from various locations along the north and south shores of False Creek to Granville Island at frequent intervals. Call or check the web for schedule information.

False Creek Ferries 604.684.7781 granvilleislandferries.bc.ca

Aquabus 604.689.5858 theaquabus.com

How to Buy Tickets

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12015_Kidsbooks ad_concept.ai

Advance Ticket Sales

School Group Tickets

Tickets go on sale on Monday, September 9, 2013, and can be purchased online, by phone or in person. Advance ticket sales for Vancouver Writers Fest members begin on Tuesday, September 3, 2013. All prices include GST. MasterCard, Visa and cash (in person) are accepted.

Online: vancouvertix.com By phone: 604.629.8849 In person: The Festival box office is located on the main floor of Festival House, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island.

Box office hours are Monday to Friday, 10:00 am−4:00 pm, and Saturdays, noon−4:00 pm. Closed holidays.

School group tickets to Spreading the Word events for schools are $8.50 each. Ticket prices include GST and surcharges do not apply. Teachers and adults accompanying school groups must purchase tickets. School group tickets go on sale at 8:00 am on Monday, September 16, 2013.

You can order school group tickets in one of the following ways:

VancouverTix surcharges will apply to all tickets purchased online or by phone. The Festival box office collects a $1 surcharge per ticket and is open for in-person sales only.

Advance ticket sales end at 4:00 pm on the day before the event.

Door Sales (day of event only) The box office at the venue will open 45 minutes before the start of the event. Cash, MasterCard and Visa are accepted.

Please call 604.681.6330 for ticket availability information or check online at writersfest.bc.ca. Please note that many events sell out in advance.

General Information • Discount of $2 offered to seniors and students who present valid ID as well as people on fixed incomes and the unemployed.

• Discount of $2 offered to Festival members who purchase advance tickets at the Festival box office (on presentation of a membership card).

• Programming is subject to change without notice. Money will be refunded only when an event is cancelled.

• Latecomers may not be seated.

• No babies or small children at adult Festival events, please, out of courtesy to other patrons.

• No flash photography or audio or video recording, please.

Please check tickets carefully.

There will be no exchanges or refunds.

Online: writersfest.bc.ca/teachers/ schoolorders In person: at the Festival box office faX: a ticket request form to 604.681.8400 (download the ticket request form from writersfest. bc.ca/teachers/schoolorders or call 604.681.6330 ext 0, to request a form).

Subsidy Available for School Groups

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The Vancouver Writers Fest is delighted to be able to offer subsidies for tickets CY to schools in need thanks to The CynthiaCMY Woodward Development Program.

K The Bus Subsidy Program, supported

by Bonnie Mah, allows us to offer local transportation subsidies. A limited number of subsidies are available based on financial need. Application forms can be downloaded from writersfest.bc.ca/ teachers/schoolorders.

All Festival venues are wheelchair accessible. please reserve in advance by calling 604.681.6330 EXT 107.

Thanks to Our Supporters Festival Sponsors Bestseller

Title Support

limited edition

Spreading the Word Sponsors

classic

INCITE SERIES SPONSORS

Vancouver Public Library www.vpl.ca

IN-KIND SPONSORS

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage. Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada pas l’entremise du ministère du Patrimoine canadien.

limited edition

Government Support

media sponsors

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Join Us!

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Writers Fest Membership: What’s in it for you?

Get the Festival Program Guide Delivered.

Members are among the select few to whom we mail the program guide, so you are sure to know when Festival details are announced.

Buy Festival Tickets First.

the literati Gala Cabaret Join us for a magical evening of literature and music at the Literati Gala Cabaret.

Members can purchase tickets* before the general public. This is the best way to ensure you get tickets for those must-see, sell-out events.

Emcee

Save Money.

Mingle with Festival authors

Gloria Macarenco

Members get a $2 discount on each Festival ticket* they buy and enjoy a 10% discount on purchases at several affiliated local bookstores. We also offer discounted memberships for book clubs.

Cocktails and canapés followed

by Mediterranean-inspired grazing tables

Stay Connected.

An exclusive Literary Cabaret performance featuring Festival authors on stage with

Members receive our INK e-newsletter and are invited to our exclusive annual Preview Event.

Support the Festival.

sal ferreras and poetic license

Members play an important role in helping us present events for adults and outreach programs for elementary and secondary school students.

How do you sign up?

• Annual Membership: $35 per year • Two-year Membership: $60 for two years • Book Club Membership: $20 per person per year (minimum of five book club members; please phone for details) Sign up online at writersfest.bc.ca, or call 604.681.6330 ext 0.

What’s in it for us?

Membership provides vital support to the VWF and helps us continue to present great writers and valuable education programs. It is a revenue cornerstone and a demonstration to our public and corporate funders that we have community support.

The Italian Cultural Centre – 3075 Slocan Street Literati supports Spreading the Word, the education program of the Vancouver Writers Fest.

*Limit of two tickets per member per event.

I n n-D i s p e n s a b l

6:30 pm, Monday, october 21, 2013

e…

Tickets: $175 For tickets please call the Festival office at 604.681.6330 ext 109.

Presenting Sponsor

The Vancouver Writers Fest gratefully acknowledges Dockside Restaurant and the Granville Island Hotel for their generous contributions to this year’s Festival.

Reception Sponsor

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Spreading the Word It’s about reading and writing, books and writers. It’s eclectic, exciting, entertaining and thought provoking.

Spreading the Word, the Vancouver Writers Fest’s Schools Program, offers K–12 students and teachers the rare opportunity to engage with internationally renowned writers at the Festival and in the classroom.

At the Festival

Reading with Writers

Writer in Residence

This year the Festival hosts 36 great events for grades K–12, in French or English. Friday daytime events are designed for teachers and senior students, as well as for the general public. Find study guides for each event at writersfest.bc.ca/teachers.

Festival authors visit local schools in need during the Festival and throughout the year to inspire young readers and writers.

Festival authors are invited to spend a week in a small BC community, where they work with students on their writing skills, and give readings at local elementary schools and community centres. The Writer in Residence program directly targets communities where there is a need for educational resources.

Reading with Writers is sponsored by HSBC Bank Canada.

The Writer in Residence program is sponsored by Amazon.ca and supported by the Michael R. Shaw Fund.

Spreading the Word is generously funded by our corporate, foundation, government and individual supporters, including the Hamber Foundation, Kinder Morgan Foundation, RBC Foundation and the Chris Spencer Foundation.

About the Michael R. Shaw Fund: Michael R. Shaw was a young man who loved the outdoors, but whose life was cut short in 2003 when he and some of his classmates were swept away by an avalanche in British Columbia.

The Michael R. Shaw Fund was established through the generosity of the Woodward family, and the Festival is honoured to lend Michael’s name to this program.

La joie de lire La joie de lire est à la fois le titre et l’objectif des programmes en français du Vancouver Writers Fest. Il s’agit d’événements éclectiques, intéressants, divertissants et stimulants ainsi que d’échanges avec des auteurs canadiens et étrangers de renom.

Il y a de plus en plus d’élèves francophones et en immersion française en ColombieBritannique. Nous espérons leur communiquer la joie de lire grâce au programme de cette année. Trois auteurs spécialisés en littérature jeunesse viendront présenter de nouveaux livres dans le cadre du festival.

Nous sommes heureux d’annoncer que David Baudemont (Saskatchewan), Rhéa Dufresne (Montréal) et André Jacob (Montréal) liront leurs plus récents livres.

Et, pour la première fois de l’histoire du festival, Geronimo Stilton sera présent à La joie de lire. David Baudemont fera la lecture de Celui qui dormait entre les pattes du dragon (6e et 7e année), Citrouille et Kiwi (7e et 8e année) et Olga (8e année et plus). Rhéa Dufresne lira Aujourd’hui, le ciel (maternelle à 3e année) et Arachnéa (mythologie grecque) (4e à 6e année). Certaines des œuvres d’André Jacob sont tirées de sa propre expérience

de travail au Mali, en Afrique.

Ses livres comprennent La saga de Crin-Bleu (roman destiné aux 6-8 ans) sur l’intimidation et l’acceptation des différences, et Mamadou et le secret du fer (roman pour adolescents) d’après ses propres observations sur les formes d’esclavage contemporaines en Afrique.

Le journal de guerre d’Emilio (destiné aux 10-15 ans) a pour thème les enfants soldats.

Geronimo Stilton est une souris parlante qui vit à Sourisia, capitale de l’île des Souris.

Auteur de plusieurs succès de librairie, Geronimo Stilton est rédacteur et journaliste en chef du journal fictif L’Écho du rongeur. Également président et propriétaire de sa maison d’édition The Stilton Publishing, il présentera beaucoup d’idées et d’aventures aux élèves de tout âge.

La Joie de Lire événements sont indiqués par cette image.

The Festival Experience

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Explore a World of Books and Ideas on Granville Island

Festival Bookstore

The Vancouver Writers Fest on Granville Island offers a world of books and ideas to explore, for readers of all inclinations. Please join us for a wide range of readings, discussions, debates and performances—and meet an eclectic array of writers from Canada and around the world. Festival events will get you thinking, introduce you to new authors and, if your aspiration is to write, inspire your creativity.

The Festival Bookstore is conveniently located at the rear of Performance Works, 1218 Cartwright Street, near the Granville Island Hotel at the east end of Granville Island.

Books are also sold at the venues following each event, with the writers available for signing. The bookstore carries both current and backlist titles of each Festival writer. It’s the ideal place to browse between events.

Festival events are just part of what’s on offer. We are proud to be part of the vibrant Granville Island community, and our location adds so much to our audience’s enjoyment of the Festival. Granville Island is truly a cultural oasis in the heart of Vancouver. We hope that you will take the time to explore. Along with the wonderful public market, restaurants and cafés, there are many hidden shops, galleries and artists’ studios to discover, and the ferries are the ultimate way to get here. Experience the excitement that permeates Granville Island during the six days of the Festival—enjoy!

Granville Island is managed on behalf of the Government of Canada by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The bookstore is operated by the Festival’s official bookseller, Kidsbooks, a successful independent bookseller known throughout the province for its comprehensive selection of titles for young readers and for its knowledgeable and helpful staff.

The Festival Bookstore is open Tuesday 4:00 pm–10:00 pm; Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 am−10:00 pm and Sunday, 10:00 am−5:00 pm.

The Vancouver Writers Fest is a proud cultural partner of CMHC Granville Island.

Youth Writing Contest What’s your story? Grab a pen and get writing, if we like what we read you could win a cash prize and have your work published in a magazine that showcases aspiring young writers.

The Rewards Prizes will be awarded to the top two entries in poetry and fiction.

1st Prize in each category: $300 2nd Prize in each category: $200 Prize winners will be published in The Claremont Review and on the Festival website at writersfest.bc.ca.

The Rules 1. The contest is open to all young writers enrolled in Grades 8–12 in British Columbia.

2. Entries will be accepted for previously unpublished work in each category: i. Poetry (any style): 500 word limit ii. Creative Short Fiction: 1,500 word limit 3. Entries will be judged blind. Please do not put your name on your story or poem in the file you have uploaded or in the file name.

4. There is a $5 entry fee for each story or poem you submit, payable online through PayPal. 5. We will accept entries in MS Word Document or PDF formats. Please use standard margins, 12-point font and double spacing.

6. Winners will be selected by a panel of publishing and writing professionals.

7. Entries must be uploaded and payment confirmed by 5:00 pm Sunday, October 27, 2013.

Enter online at writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest Please note, we are only accepting electronic entries.

PA U L I N E

A NEW OPERA

BY MARGARET ATWOOD & TOBIN STOKES

MAY 2014

cityopera vancouver.com

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Thanks to Our Supporters Individual Support Classic Level ($5,000+)

The Faris Family Bonnie Mah Bestseller Edition ($2,500+)

Cheryl Berge Sandra Jakab Paul McKibben Ebie & Ian Pitfield Donald Shumka Kim Thorne Kip Woodward Special Edition ($1,000+)

Janice & Doug Dalzell Rob Emlyn Judy Gale Anne & Tony Giardini Sally Harding Colin & Helen Harris Jill Lyall Joan McEwen Bonnie & Don Sheldon Paul Whitney Thomas Woods Anonymous Limited Edition ($500+)

Kelli Bodnar Jennifer Conkie Patricia Crowe Patrick Dunn Diana Filer Sandra Garossino Marilyn Goebel Leslie Hurtig & Doran Chandler Richard Johnston Miriam Kresivo Shirley Lew Margaret Mason Moshe Mastai Carolyn McCool Gerald & Sheahan McGavin Scott & Corky McIntyre Harvey McKinnon Angela & George McWhirter Diane & John Norton Roberta Rich Debbie & Doug Side Ian & Jane Strang Deborah Torkko Hal Wake Rosalie Walls in honour of Joan Walls Cynthia Woodward First Edition ($250+)

Deb Armour & Jim MacAulay Maureen Attwell Margaret Atwood Barry Auger

Alma Lee Legacy Fund Ingrid Barnes Birgit Bateman Jo Baxendale Terri-Lynn Brown Susan Cajiga Claudia Casper David Chariandy Crissy George Gordon Harris Richard Hopkins Carol & Michael Jackson Trudy Jaskela Alma Lee Dave Mason Carol McClelland Judy McFarlane Margaret & William New Susin Nielsen Brenda & Michael O’Keefe Thomas O’Shaughnessy Joseph Planta Deborah Roitberg Ajaib Sidhoo Yasmeen & Andrew Strang Adrienne Tanner Camilla Tibbs Rhea Tregebov Susan Van Blarcom John Vigna & Nancy Lee Susan Wasserman Ian Weir Mark Wirtz Rachel Wyatt Paul Yee Anonymous New Edition ($100+)

Cathy Abrossimoff Joy Alexander Leslie Alexander Janet Allwork Troy Anderson Marilou Appleby Sarah Armstrong Michael Bain Mary Balden Russel Black Dennis Bolen Cathleen Boyle Terri Brandmueller Brian Brett Ruth Brodie Patricia Budgeon Sherry & Allan Buium Nigel Bullers Trevor Carolan Ann Carroll Sandi Case Judith Coffin Julie Collins David Conlin Susan Copland

Wayne & Carol Cunningham Patricia Curtis Barbara Dawson Sandra Djwa Corinne Durston Rob Emlyn Lynda Erickson John Farquhar Fiona Farrell Mark French Brian & Bonny Gerson William Gibson Frank Gillespie Maryke Gilmore Valerie Halpin-Jones Alison Hart William Hay Leslie Hoffman Karen Howe Jeffrey Hsu Georgia Hunter Joan Hunter Tamara Hunter Valerie Hunter Glen Huser Sharon Jeroski Erica Johnson Laurence Johnston Debbie Jung Phyllis Kenney Lisa Kershaw Lorraine Kiidumae Linda King Barbara Lambert Shaena Lambert Lorey Lasley Melanie Last Anita Leung Rowland Lorimer Irene Lugsdin Karin Lypkie Bill Macaulay Jane Macdonald Elizabeth MacKenzie Linda MacKinley-Hay Brian MacNeil Kirsty Maxwell Jim Mayhew Sarah McAlpine Marlene McDonald Scott McDonald Ann McDonell Betty McGowan Marie McKee Sharon McKibbon Peter Meredith Stephen Miller Bruce Milne Terri Newell Carol Newson Michael Nicholl Yahgulanaas

Debra Nordheimer Susan Ogul-Propas & Lonnie Propas Susan Olding Eduardo Ottoni Chrystal Palaty Maggie Pappas Jennifer Passas Kit Pearson Talea Pecora Karla Pederson Betti Port Beverley Price Nainjeet Rai-Dayal Elizabeth Rathbun Margaret Reynolds Nancy Richler Kim Roberts Audrey Rockingham Gill Shirley Rudolph Robert Safrata Anita Salchert Anita Salchert in honour of Wayne Arnold Minna Schendlinger Andrea Seale Kathryn Shoemaker Marsha Sibthorpe Kathy Simas Jane Slemon Helen Smith Lynda Spratley Tom Sun Carolyn Swayze Eve Szabo Terri Tatchell Deborah Thomas Shelagh Van Kempen M.G. Vassanji Olga Volkoff Una Walsh Beverley Watt Ray Weremczuk Calvin Wharton Marie Whelan Jan Whitford Patricia Wilensky Mark Winston Ronald Wright Anonymous (2) Aeroplan Donor

Colin Harris bequest

Beth Coleman

Lead Donors

Colin & Helen Harris Jab Sidhoo Dr. Yosef Wosk The Vancouver Sun Cynthia Woodward Development Fund Sandra Garossino Sheahan & Gerald McGavin Rudy & Patricia North Megan Abbott Douglas Coupland Yulanda & Moh Faris Anne & Tony Giardini Scott Griffin KMC Foundation Caroline Lawrence Bonnie Mah Joanne & David McDonald Tracey McVicar Brenda & Michael O’Keefe Ebie & Ian Pitfield Rod & Laurie Scheuerman Helen Shore Yasmeen & Andrew Strang Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. W.A.U. Nicoll Robertson Charitable Foundation Trust John Welson Jan Whitford & Michael Stevenson

Donations received between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013. Thank you for your generous support. We make every effort to be accurate.

Please call us if you have any questions about this list, 604.681.6330.

Support the Festival

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Make a difference Your donation helps us to nurture new literary talent by presenting emerging writers together with established writers from around the world—at the Festival, and at our free bi-weekly Incite reading series. Your gift will also support Spreading the Word, our education program and encourage literacy and a love of reading and writing. As a non-profit charitable organization, the Festival depends on your support to present engaging events for readers of all ages and to allow us to offer ticket discounts to students and seniors.

Benefits for donors may include invitations to special events and receptions, and recognition in the Festival program guide and newsletter. For full details, see our website, writersfest.bc.ca.

Leave a Legacy Your bequest to the Vancouver Writers Fest will help us continue to offer literary events with the world’s best writers and programs that encourage and inspire children to read and write. Bequests can be made through your will or by naming the Festival as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or RRSPs.

Donations of Stocks The Vancouver Writers Fest accepts donations of publicly traded securities and bequests. Capital gains taxes have been eliminated on direct donations of publicly traded securities to registered charities. This means donating appreciated securities will save you substantially more in taxes than giving the equivalent in cash.

The Alma Lee Legacy Fund The endowment fund of the Festival celebrates the accomplishments of Alma Lee, the Festival’s founder. Revenue from the fund provides stable funding for the Festival, helps us offer Spreading the Word programs for schools and allows us to plan for the future.

For more information on making a donation or leaving a gift in your will, please call 604.681.6330 ext 104.

BREAKWATER BOOKS WELCOMES CHAD PELLEY TO VWF “Stylistically fresh, taut with emotional torques and charges, Pelley’s Every Little Thing is can’t-put-it-down compelling.”

– LISA MOORE, author of Caught and February

www.breakwaterbooks.com

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Messages I am delighted to welcome you to the 2013 Vancouver Writers Fest, our 26th annual celebration of exceptional writers and passionate readers.

I would like to extend a warm thank you to our members, sponsors, donors, volunteers, Patrons Circle and Board members for the loyal support that enables us to bring incredible writers to the Festival. If you are not already a member of the Writers Fest, I invite you to become one.

Membership is a way to deepen your involvement with the Festival and enrich your experience of all the Festival has to offer. Members get advanced access to Festival tickets, ticket discounts and an invitation to an exclusive member preview event. Information is available at writersfest.bc.ca.

Opening up the program guide to devour the Writers Fest’s offerings is an annual ritual for me. I always look forward to discovering events, authors and themes that pique my curiosity and ignite my passion for books and ideas. This year, I am thrilled by the line-up of non-fiction writers and the opportunity to attend intimate events with renowned journalists, environmentalists and political writers at the Frederic Wood Theatre, as well as fantastic Festival events on Granville Island.

On behalf of Premier Christy Clark, I’m delighted to offer congratulations to the Vancouver Writers Fest for presenting one of North America’s premier annual celebrations of the literary arts.

For over 25 years, this outstanding event has drawn authors, readers and book lovers of all ages to Vancouver. Aspiring writers connect with established authors from across Canada and around the globe to share insights and inspiration.

Literacy is essential to economic success and meaningful participation in society. A love of reading helps individuals enjoy productive, fulfilling lives. The Vancouver Writers Fest also supports literacy by presenting year-round activities, including Spreading the Word—the largest children’s literary program in Canada.

I want to commend the Festival’s staff and supporters for sharing the joy of reading among British Columbians and fostering a life-long love of good books.

The BC government is a proud supporter of the Vancouver Writers Fest, providing $41,750 through the BC Arts Council, our principal agency for arts funding and development. This year our support for the Council has reached an all-time high. The BC Arts Council helps support British Columbia’s outstanding artists, cultural organizations and arts festivals.

I’m also eagerly anticipating this year’s annual gala fundraiser, which will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Literary Cabaret. Readers and music lovers will be treated to an exclusive Literary Cabaret performance featuring Festival authors on stage with Sal Ferreras’ band Poetic License.

Guests will also enjoy a fabulous cocktail reception and Mediterranean-inspired grazing tables. Tickets to the Literati Cabaret at the Italian Cultural Centre on Monday, October 21, are available through our website.

Best wishes for every success to the Vancouver Writers Fest in 2013 and in the future.

Mark your calendar for October 22–27th, grab your tickets and invite your friends. My board colleagues and I look forward to meeting many of you at the Festival. Until then, happy reading!

The Vancouver Writers Fest is a unique element of our city’s cultural calendar, drawing together shortstory writers, novelists, poets and non-fiction writers to share their creativity and insight with a growing audience. The gift of the written word is a treasure to be passed on from generation to generation. The Festival’s continuing success and the tremendous output of our regional publishers is a testament to the love of the written word in our province and our city.

Sandra Jakab chair, board of directors

Coralee Oakes Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development

On behalf of my colleagues on Vancouver City Council, I want to send my sincere congratulations to the 2013 Vancouver Writers Fest.

I want to thank the organizers, the volunteers, the participants and, above all, the writers for this wonderful event.

Gregor Robertson Mayor

GET INTIMATE WITH THE

REVUE STAGE

The Canada Council for the Arts invests in Canadian literature at all stages of development, from writing to publication.

See our most adventurous shows in our coolest setting

To say we’re wide-eyed to be the design agency for the Writers Festival is, well, an understatement. What we do for them – branding, advertising, web and engaging illustrations – we can do for you. Creatively, affordably and with a big smile.

By Colleen Murphy WORLD PREMIERE

A BRIMFUL OF ASHA A HEARTWARMING TALE OF LOVE AND MARRIAGE—WITH SAMOSAS

Asha and Ravi Jain. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

director and ceo, canada council for the arts Canada Council for the Arts

A BATTLE OF WILLS

October 17 – November 9

January 16 – February 8

By Asha and Ravi Jain A Why Not Theatre Production Presented with

THE BOMB-ITTY OF ERRORS

David Kaye and Niko Koupantsis. Photo by Candice Albach

Robert Sirman

$80!

ARMSTRONG’S WAR

Each fall, the Canada Council celebrates the best of the previous year’s work through the country’s foremost national literary prizes – the Governor General’s Literary Awards (GGs). Renowned authors are brought together to read and assess the wealth of books submitted. The winners and finalists are announced to much anticipation: Canada’s best English- and French-language books in seven categories — fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama, children’s literature (text and illustration) and translation. The result is an outstanding reading list of 70 books for all ages, for all tastes.

The Canada Council is proud to have Vancouver Writers Fest as a festival partner for the 2013 GGs. Reading is a way of life, an everyday experience, and the Council invites you to read the best of what Canada has to offer.

3 SHOWS FOR

AN AD-RAP-TATION OF SHAKESPEARE’S THE COMEDY OF ERRORS

April 10 – May 10

By Jordan Allen-Dutton, Jason Catalano, Gregory J. Qaiyum, Erik Weiner, and Jeffrey Qaiyum Originally produced by Twenty Something Theatre and Temporary Thing playing at

ARTSCLUB.COM 604.687.1644 Have a look at H18.com Ha

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16

Tuesday, October 22

Ivy, Bean and Binky Together at Last Annie Barrows, Ashley Spires

1

10–11:30 am

Annie Barrows, beloved author of the fabulously successful Ivy + Bean series, which has sold 2.5 million copies worldwide, takes the stage this morning with illustrator and author Ashley Spires, who brings the fifth and final book in her delightful Binky series. Binky the cat, quiet, red-headed Ivy and her best—and unlikely—friend Bean are well-known to young readers, who will love meeting the active and outgoing minds who’ve created these beloved characters. They make reading fun!

Suitable for grades 2–4

4

10–11:00 am

IMPROV CENTRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Take a trip to places you might have only dreamt about, thanks to new picture books from three successful authors. Young readers will travel onto a subway platform in Washington, DC, to imagine being swept away by music from one of the world’s finest violinists. They will float away on the dream boats that sail the seas of sleep from the Andes to St. Petersburg.

Or pick wild blueberries among foxes while chatting in Cree. No passports needed for this morning’s adventures.

Suitable for grades K–3

2

Rhéa Dufresne

3

studio 1398 17 $ / 8,50 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Viola Di Grado’s first novel 70% Acrylic 30% Wool, written when she was just 23, was a finalist for Italy’s top literary prize. Teresa Toten has been twice-nominated for a Governor General’s Literary Award for her thoughtful books for young adults. Characters from the minds of these two authors are often outsiders— kids with social anxiety disorders, young adults coping with silent parents. These authors don’t preach, but rather address the experiences with which young people everywhere must cope.

Magic and Mayhem – the cynthia woodward young readers legacy Maureen Johnson, Maggie Stiefvater moderator: nancy lee

Raconte-nous une histoire 10 h – 11 h

Suitable for grades 10–12 and adults

This events is sponsored by Kidsbooks.

Dan Bar-el, Julie Flett, Kathy Stinson

Viola Di Grado, Teresa Toten Moderator: Susin Nielsen

10–11:30 am

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Morning Train, Evening Boat

with a little help from my friends

5

En compagnie de l’écrivaine Rhéa Dufresne, les élèves auront l’occasion de découvrir toute une gamme d’histoires et différentes manières de les raconter. Mme Dufresne lira Ma journée, mes humeurs, Aujourd’hui, le ciel et Arachnéa, la légende grecque mettant en scène Arachnéa et Athéna. Pourquoi tissent-elles? Pourquoi se disputent-elles?

Pour les élèves de la maternelle à la troisième année.

Cet événement se déroulera exclusivement en français et donnera lieu à de nombreuses possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et l’écrivaine.

Voices of Native Youth Deborah Ellis in conversation with Joseph Boyden

6

1–2:30 pm

1–2:30 pm

waterfront theatre $17 / $8.50 for student groups

“Magic and storytelling can transcend boundaries,” says Maggie Stiefvater, whose books have been translated into 34 languages.

Her Shiver trilogy spent 40 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Adventure, individuality and independence are aplenty in her new series, starting with The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves. Maureen Johnson, also a New York Times bestselling writer with thousands of Twitter followers, will entrance readers with her Shades of London series. Based on the story of Jack the Ripper, her series is set amongst ghost hunters and the historic sewers of London and filled with secret passages and bodies. Lots of bodies.

For two years, renowned author Deborah Ellis travelled all over North America interviewing Aboriginal children aged 9 to 18. The result is a compelling collection of interviews from Iqaluit to Texas, Haida Gwaii to North Carolina.

Ellis briefly introduces each, then lets the kids speak directly to the reader, talking about their daily lives, the things that interest them and how being Native informs who they are and how they see the world. Ellis is a masterful and generous interviewer and storyteller who has brought the voices of children—Afghan, Iraqi, Israeli, Palestinian—to the world. The voices of Native youth take their place proudly alongside these other children, every one searching for a place and a meaning in this world.

Suitable for grades 9–12

Suitable for grades 8–10

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

17 Écrire tout haut David Baudemont Animatrice: jessica heafey

7

“Compulsively readable, marvelously wrought.”

– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

13 h – 14 h 30

studio 1398 17 $ / 8,50 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants

David Baudemont crée souvent ses histoires en collaboration avec des élèves.

C’est de cette manière qu’il a rédigé Olga, qui lui a valu le Prix du livre français décerné dans le cadre des Saskatchewan Book Awards. Le récit Celui qui dormait entre les pattes du dragon découle d’une collaboration entre l’auteur et les élèves de cinquième, sixième et septième année de l’école Père Mercure de North Battleford.

Olga Silberschmitt a 15 ans lorsqu’elle tombe amoureuse de Kristian, un jeune Allemand, fils d’un membre du parti nazi. Elle ne se doute pas que cette amourette va la pousser à fuir sur les routes de France et de Belgique.

Que va devenir Olga?

Now In paperback!

Pour les élèves de la huitième à la douzième année.

Cet événement se déroulera exclusivement en français et donnera lieu à de nombreuses possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et l’auteur.

Mystery, Adventure and Lies Rachelle Delaney, Cary Fagan, Meg Tilly moderator: france perras

8

1–2:30 pm

improv centre $17 / $8.50 for student groups

The metro dogs of Moscow are known for riding the subway and sniffing out food. But when a Jack Russell named JR discovers that strays are going missing, he’s on the scent immediately, thanks to Rachelle Delaney’s imagination. Cary Fagan is no stranger to creating riveting adventure stories either, and his latest begins with Danny falling into a deep construction hole, where he discovers a poetry-spouting mole. Meg Tilly’s tale surrounds two new—and fast—friends, one of whom holds a secret that could ruin everything, including trust and honesty.

Join us for an afternoon of great stories, the kind that make childhood a delight.

Suitable for grades 4–7

Book 2 on sale 09.17.2013!

Meet the author at Events 5,14 and 22!

Bring thE FEstivAls homE! Enter to win a package of autographed books, complete with Anansi swag, by our entire roster of authors out on the road this fall For contest details visit houseofanansi.com/events or find us on Facebook

anansi publishes very good books

www.houseofanansi.com

18

Tuesday, October 22

What’s your story?

Writing and designing distinctive company history and personal biography books since 1999.

www.echomemoirs.com

Brazen fiction like

Tamara Faith Berger’s

Little Cat,

innovative poetry like Mathew Henderson’s

The Lease

and our incendiary new nonfiction line,

Exploded Views.

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Find us at chbooks.com.

Grand Openings – The Alma Lee Opening Night Event Joseph Boyden, Eleanor Catton, Sahar Delijani, Viola Di Grado, Rachel Kushner, Earl Lovelace, Andrew Pyper Host: Hal Wake

9

An Intimate Evening with Scott Turow

10

8:00 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $26

8:00 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $26

Fasten your seatbelts for this whirlwind trip around the world.

Scotiabank Giller Prize–winning author Joseph Boyden opens the Writers Fest in grand style with his new novel The Orenda, which begins with the kidnapping of an Iroquois child during the 1630s.

New Zealander Eleanor Catton moves us along in history to 1866 with a vintage crime novel involving astrology and the gold rush.

Sahar Delijani takes us to post-revolutionary Iran with her chilling fictionalized account of her family’s struggles and the brutalities they endured. Italy’s Viola Di Grado’s unusual love story is as unpredictable as the human heart itself. American Rachel Kushner goes underground into the New York art scene in the 1970s in her much-lauded novel The Flamethrowers. Trinidadian Earl Lovelace brings calypso, with its history of social commentary, protest and praise, to the rhythm of his new novel. And Canada’s Andrew Pyper brings us home again with his literary thriller The Demonologist, which one reviewer said will “frighten you out of your shoes.”

Scott Turow was dubbed “Bard of the Litigious Age” by Time magazine shortly after the publication of his 1987 runaway bestseller Presumed Innocent. Turow has since produced nine legal thrillers, bestsellers that have sold over 25 million copies, been translated into more than 25 languages and adapted for screen. Harvard Law School– educated, former Assistant US Attorney in Chicago, Turow is now a partner in the international law firm Dentons, working pro bono for most of his cases and all the while managing to produce a new page-turner every couple of years. Be among the first to get the backstory behind his latest, Identical.

It should be illegal to be this thrilled.

This event is sponsored by Simon & Schuster Canada.

The Secret Lives of Parents Brian Fawcett, Priscila Uppal, Alison Wearing moderator: kathryn gretsinger

11

8:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $19

How well do we know our parents? How often do we see them as individuals with very personal hopes, heartaches and desires?

To write Human Happiness, Brian Fawcett asked his mother, then approaching 90, 40 questions that she answered expansively and with candour: “What is your biggest regret in life?” “How important is sex to achieving happiness?” Alison Wearing learned at age 12 that her father was gay. In Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter, Wearing moves from concealing her father’s sexual orientation from her friends to seeing him as interesting, entertaining and inspiring.

Abandoned by her mother when she was seven, Priscila Uppal encountered her again as an adult when the two spent 10 intensely emotional days together. These are memoirs about mothers and fathers that may move you to look at your own.

Leonardo: The Man Behind the Genius

12

Ross King in conversation with kirk lapointe

8:00 pm

IMPROV CENTRE $19

A two-time winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction, Ross King’s latest book, Leonardo and the Last Supper, focuses on five years in Leonardo’s life as he went from a “discouraged and almost washed-up 42-year-old artist to the toast of Europe.” To get behind that story, King combed through tens of thousands of words from Leonardo’s journals and memos trying to get a handle on the man behind the painting. He found a short-sighted fellow who always forgot his glasses, a painter who made word lists to boost his vocabulary, a character who, luckily for King, never threw anything away. King excels at finding and telling the inside stories, and tonight you’ll get an insider’s look at the man we thought was the most well-known Renaissance genius.

Write  here.

Write  now.

One  university,   two  great  degrees.

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20

Wednesday, October 23

Word! (1) (This event is repeated on Thursday afternoon)

13

Tanya Evanson, Corin Raymond, Alison Wearing

10–11:30 am

14

Maggie Stiefvater in conversation with shannon ozirny

Odysseys Worth Repeating Glenn Dixon, Deborah Ellis

15

10–11:30 am

10–11:30 am

Tanya Evanson is an award-winning spoken word artist who combines language, rhythm and sound to lift poetry off the page. She appears this morning with Alison Wearing, who performs excerpts from her one-woman show Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter, a multimedia monologue balancing intimacy with truth and humour. Canadian folksinger Corin Raymond also performs excerpts from his one-man show Bookworm, an engaging meditation on reading, childhood, his father’s love of books and The Twilight Zone. An ode to books and everyone who loves them, Bookworm was a smash hit at fringe festivals across Canada last year.

Word! is always a popular event at the Festival, so spread the word, but make sure you get your tickets first, as this event sells out fast!

Master storyteller Maggie Stiefvater saw herself as an outsider. She was home-schooled and graduated at 16; “I wasn’t interested in high school at all.” But one thing she has always been passionate about is writing; it’s her way of processing the world. Before starting college, Stiefvater had written 30 unfinished novels. Fastforward 10 years and behold a YA author whose books have sold 2 million copies worldwide, with hits including the Shiver series, The Scorpio Races and now The Raven Boys cycle, the second book of which, The Dream Thieves, will appear in September. Stiefvater takes the stage this morning to talk about her books, rebellion, early fame, the creative process and anything else that fans might want to ask.

Glenn Dixon travelled the globe for a year to explore how and why people make music. From a tour of Bob Marley’s house, to sitar lessons in India, to the talking drums of West Africa, he sought out music in its various forms to try to understand how playing and creating music is a form of communication. Deborah Ellis spent two years travelling across the United States and Canada, interviewing Native children and giving them an opportunity to share their lives and their hopes. Come and hear fascinating stories from around the world from two authors who’ve been there and done that.

Suitable for grades 8–12 and adults

Suitable for grades 8–12

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Warning: Content in this event may not be suitable for all classes.

16

A History of Just About Everything

D’ici et d’ailleurs

Elizabeth MacLeod, Frieda Wishinsky

David Baudemont, André Jacob Animatrice: anne-marie mcginn

10–11:30 am

STUDIO 1398 $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Welcome to a one-stop event chronicling the history of the world, beginning six million years ago and ending in 2013. Veteran children’s authors Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky team up to bring you some of the 180 key events and people they’ve identified that have changed our world. What effect did the invention of the wheel have on us? How is the 2011 earthquake in Japan connected to other events and people? And why did Michelangelo paint that ceiling? Their book reads like an annotated timeline for young readers, making history and its impact come alive.

Suitable for grades 3–6

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17 / $8.50 for student groups

17

10 h – 11 h 30

Improv Centre 17 $ / 8,50 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants

André Jacob a travaillé au Mali, où il a découvert la réalité des enfants soldats. Emilio Ospina Rodriguez, un garçon de 15 ans, raconte sa vie d’enfant soldat dans Le journal de guerre d’Emilio. Une guerre entre les dragons et les humains se prépare dans le récit Celui qui dormait entre les pattes du dragon, que David Baudemont a écrit en collaboration avec des élèves de cinquième, sixième et septième années de l’école Père Mercure de North Battleford.

Pour les élèves de la huitième à la douzième année.

Cet événement se déroulera exclusivement en français et donnera lieu à de nombreuses possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

Suitable for grades 7–10

A Taste of the Real Thing Maureen Johnson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

18

1–2:30 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Nowadays, vampires are often cast as romantic characters, but their true origins are much more menacing, as Silvia Moreno-Garcia knows from her Mexican heritage and her research.

They’re emblems of the plague, creatures that shed their skin and roam the night, and they come alive in Moreno-Garcia’s short story collection This Strange Way of Dying. Tapping into England’s history of chilling creatures, Maureen Johnson spent countless months researching the life that tromps through London’s sewer system, the chilling case files of Jack the Ripper and ghost lore. Part contemporary novel, part paranormal thriller, Johnson’s The Madness Underneath will have you on the edge of your seat. Watch out, Edward Cullen, this is the real thing!

Suitable for grades 9–12

21 Stories in Good Company Dan Bar-el, Ashley Spires, Eric Walters

19

Tripping the World Fantastic Glenn Dixon

20

A Trip of the Tongue Julie Flett, Jude Isabella

21

1–2:00 pm

1–2:30 pm

1–2:30 pm

Veteran children’s author Eric Walters has written more than 80 books that have won more than 100 awards, so you’re in for an afternoon of great storytelling and creative genius. Walters’ newest story follows a young Kenyan boy whose disability turns out to be a blessing. He teams up with two other Canadian children’s authors who will entertain with stories about Binky the cat, who plots an escape from the vet, and Crispin, the scaly dragon who can’t even light his own birthday candles. Come and enjoy an hour in the company of good stories for the young.

The average teen hears more music in a week than his or her grandparents heard in a lifetime. Travel writer and guitarist Glenn Dixon has toured the globe exploring how and why people make music and has returned with some fascinating finds. The performance of music takes up more brain real estate than almost any other single human pursuit. Remove your earbuds this morning and listen up as Dixon takes you on a musical odyssey, from sitar lessons on the banks of the Ganges, to the sounds of African drumming in Ghana, to the wild electric rhythms of Cuban dance music.

Suitable for grades K–3

Suitable for grades 7 and up

How many different languages are spoken in your classroom? Eight? Ten? This afternoon, artist and writer Julie Flett introduces you to the language of her grandmother—Cree— complete with a pronunciation guide to help with some of the tongue-twisty vocabulary in her book Wild Berries. Well-known science writer Jude Isabella turns her attention to how languages—spoken, written and sign—originate and change over time. Her new book, Chitchat, looks at everything from monkey talk to lost languages and the newest human languages.

Language is so much more than just words, isn’t it? It shapes us, defines us and carries our culture and history.

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

STUDIO 1398 $17 / $8.50 for student groups

IMPROV CENTRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 3–6

Numbers sometimes tell the greatest stories, but then again, annual reports and ledgers have always been our favourite bedtime reading.

HSBC Bank Canada is proud to be a Classic Edition sponsor of the Reading with Writers program. www.hsbc.ca Issued by HSBC Bank Canada

22

Wednesday, October 23

Nightwood Editions presents Fantasy@Six Maureen Johnson, Maggie Stiefvater

22

6–7:30 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $19 / $17 for students

Brad Cran author of Ink on Paper Reading on Fri., Oct. 25 at 10am & at the Poetry Bash on Sat., Oct. 26 at 8pm

Rodney DeCroo author of Allegheny, BC In performance on Wed., Oct. 23 at 9pm www.nightwoodeditions.com

Amanda Lindhout in conversation with Denise Ryan

24

8:00 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $19

In 2008, Amanda Lindhout was reporting on the fighting in Somalia when she was abducted by soldiers.

She survived rape, torture and an unfathomable 460 days in captivity, an ordeal recounted in her memoir A House in the Sky. Perhaps even more unfathomable, however, is Lindhout’s attitude toward her captors, 14- to 18-year-old orphan soldiers. At her weakest moment in captivity, Lindhout says, she was given “a flash of a hidden truth.” No matter what happened to her she could still choose her response; it was the only thing over which she had any control. Following her ransomed release, Lindhout established the Global Enrichment Foundation, a charity to help improve the lives of Somali women. “This work is my life,” Lindhout says. “The country where I lost my freedom is also the place where I have found my life’s purpose.”

This event is sponsored by The Vancouver Sun.

Nadeem Aslam, Joseph Boyden, Sahar Delijani, Earl Lovelace moderator: paul grant

23

6–7:30 pm

If you conjure up an image of the writer as a solitary scribbler, you haven’t met Maureen Johnson (81,000 Twitter followers) and Maggie Stiefvater (31,000 followers), two of the best writers of fantasy— think vampires (not the romantic kind), ghosts and werewolves—who have an impressive output of novels to their credit. Johnson’s Shades of London series continues to feed her popularity, and tonight she’ll introduce you to the much-anticipated second volume in the series. Maggie Stiefvater has sold more than two million books and is author of the Shiver trilogy, The Scorpio Races, the Books of Faerie and her newest series, the The Raven Boys cycle. Come spend some face time with the women behind these books, blogs, tweets and more.

Freedom Lost, Purpose Found

All Politics is Personal

IMPROV CENTRE $19

To really feel the force of history, it’s best to look in the faces of ordinary people. It’s there that you’ll find the heartbeat—and often heartache—that makes global events relevant and understandable. Joseph Boyden’s character Bird, a Huron elder engaged in a lifelong battle with the Iroquois, puts a human face on the coming European invasion. Nadeem Aslam’s Pakistani brothers in their post 9/11 world secretly enter Afghanistan to help care for wounded civilians. Earl Lovelace’s narrator Kangkala, a singer and poet, uses calypso to express his anger in postcolonial Trinidad.

Through ordinary mothers, fathers, children and lovers, Sahar Delijani gives voice to thousands of victims in the violent aftermath of the Iranian revolution. Four masterful storytellers show how, in the face of huge and seemingly unstoppable forces, the human spirit can survive and even triumph.

Beyond Queer Amber Dawn, Nancy Jo Cullen, Abdellah Taïa moderator: anne fleming

25

8:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $19

When celebrated Moroccan author and expatriate Abdellah Taïa publicly declared his homosexuality in 2006, the editor of Morocco’s biggest-selling newspaper denounced him and bloggers called for him to be stoned. The problem, Taïa says, “is the way these people read my work. Their problem is that my sexuality is all they see.” These three writers strive to transcend the limits of sexuality and allow readers to find the universal in their work. Nancy Jo Cullen’s short story collection Canary features an urban underground filled with quirky and queer characters, their families, communities and friends. Amber Dawn’s memoir explores sex work, queer identity and survivor pride and celebrates the transformative power of literature, which acted as a lifeline during her most pivotal moments. And Taïa’s novel Salvation Army tackles the universal experience of coming of age, with the undercurrent of poverty and forbidden homosexuality.

23 Un moment privilégié en compagnie de Michel Tremblay

26

20 h

Studio 1, Centre de diffusion de Radio-Canada $19

Michel Tremblay est tout simplement une icône de la littérature canadienne. Ses pièces, notamment Les belles-sœurs ou Bonjour, là, bonjour, ont marqué l’histoire culturelle du Canada tandis que ses romans, y compris les Chroniques du Plateau Mont-Royal, qui débutent avec La grosse femme d’à côté est enceinte, lui ont assuré une renommée sur la scène internationale. Depuis qu’il s’est imposé comme figure dominante de la dramaturgie québécoise à la fin des années 1960, son œuvre littéraire qui comprend des romans, des adaptations et des scénarios a été traduite en 35 langues et ses pièces de théâtre ont été présentées aux quatre coins du monde, du Chili au Japon, en passant par la République démocratique du Congo et la Finlande. Profitez de cette rare occasion d’entendre l’un des plus grands penseurs du pays parler, entre autres, de son enfance dans un quartier ouvrier de l’Est de Montréal et des quarante ans de sa célèbre pièce Les belles-sœurs.

Présentation en collaboration avec Radio-Canada.

Up All Night

27

In Performance

Lisa Moore, Marisha Pessl, Scott Turow moderator: ian weir

Rodney DeCroo, Corin Raymond

9:00 pm

IMPROV centre $26

PERFORMANCE WORKS $19

Plot-twists, reversals, setbacks and upheavals, a good thriller must have all of these and more. And a truly excellent one should keep you reading into the wee hours of the night. Lisa Moore may be better known as the author of the Man Booker–nominated February, but she deftly turns her hand to creating a page-turning thriller in Caught. Scott Turow has sold more than 25 million copies of his legal thrillers and has been highly praised for his ability to engage readers with his writing, as well as dazzle with his twists and turns.

Marisha Pessl, whose first novel was translated into 30 languages, brings us Night Film, billed as “a literary mystery that’s also a page-turner.”

28

9:00 pm

Two singer-songwriters, two hours, two sets—one unforgettable evening.

Vancouver’s Rodney DeCroo, transplanted from his native Pennsylvania and the gritty coal town of his childhood, writes and sings of his early years marred by violence, sudden uprootings and abuse.

DeCroo turns to music and language to transcend the painful realities of his past and come to a place of beauty and acceptance. Contrast DeCroo’s hostile early life with Corin Raymond’s Bookworm, a one-man meditation on childhood, his father, the comfort of books and the joys of reading. Raymond, a successful Toronto singer-songwriter, has performed Bookworm at fringe festivals to rave reviews, almost every one of which ends, “Don’t miss this show!”

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24

Thursday, October 24

Tough and Topical Kathy Stinson, Teresa Toten, Eric Walters moderator: shannon ozirny

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10–11:30 am

The World of Ivy + Bean Annie Barrows

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The authors at today’s event tackle tough issues head-on to start conversations that lead to understanding. In Eric Walters’ 81st book, Power Play, the tough topic is sexual abuse among young hockey players. Kathy Stinson tackles both sides of the question of mercy killing inWhat Happened to Ivy through the eyes of David, whose sister is severely disabled by cerebral palsy. Teresa Toten takes on obsessivecompulsive disorder in The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B. Says Walters, “Books have the power to change lives, what we think and what we do.”

There will be plenty to think about after this morning.

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Animatrice : France Perras

Ivy + Bean fans, come one, come all! This morning Annie Barrows brings you the 10th and latest adventure in the series, Ivy + Bean Take the Case. When asked what she wants children to take away from her books, Barrows says, “I just want to give them a laugh.” The series has sold 2.5 million books, has been translated into six languages and has provided laughs, giggles and smiles since its launch in 2006. If you’re discovering this pair of unlikely friends for the first time, you’re in for a treat.

Ever wonder if Christopher Columbus would rather have stayed home? Or what Buddha’s childhood was like? Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky, authors of A History of Just About Everything, know that it’s people that make history and they’ve looked at the lives of some of the most incredible explorers, musicians, scientists, writers and world leaders throughout time. If you’ve ever thought about the “how” and “who” of history rather than the “what,” you’ll love spending a morning with these two creative, entertaining, award-winning authors who are curious about who’s made the world the way it is. Come with your questions!

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 1–4

Suitable for grades 4–7

Worlds Arising, Worlds in Peril J. Edward Chamberlin, Alan Weisman moderator: kathryn gretsinger

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10 h – 11 h 30

10–11:30 am

Qui est Geronimo Stilton? C’est moi! Je dirige un journal, mais ma véritable passion est l’écriture d’histoires d’aventures. Mes récits sont très drôles et savoureux. Promis!

The story of islands, as J. Edward Chamberlin tells it, is also the story of our planet, from the cycles of climate change to seismic upheavals.

Chamberlin looks through different lenses—culture, mythology, geography, navigation—to see how islands fit into the human understanding of our existence on earth. Alan Weisman follows his bestselling book The World Without Us with Countdown, a look at the future of humankind in the face of overpopulation. He visited a wide range of cultures, religions, tribes and political systems to learn if there’s a chance to return the earth’s population to levels the planet can sustain. There’ll be plenty of opportunity for questions as you meet two writers who have given serious thought to questions of whether, and how, we can survive here on earth.

studio 1398 17 $ / 8,50 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants

Pour les élèves de la troisième à la septième année.

Cet événement aura lieu de nouveau jeudi après-midi.

Cet événement se déroulera exclusivement en français et donnera lieu à de nombreuses possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et l’animateur.

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10–11:30 am

Suitable for grades 9–12

Geronimo Stilton se raconte (1)

Elizabeth MacLeod, Frieda Wishinsky

10–11:00 am

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17 / $8.50 for student groups

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

People Who Changed the World

IMPROV CENTRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 10–12 and adults

Word!(2) (This event is repeated on Wednesday morning)

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Tanya Evanson, Corin Raymond, Alison Wearing

1–2:30 pm

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Tanya Evanson is an award-winning spoken word artist who combines language, rhythm and sound to lift poetry off the page. She appears this afternoon with Alison Wearing, who performs excerpts from her one-woman show Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter, a multimedia monologue balancing intimacy with truth and humour. Canadian folksinger Corin Raymond also performs excerpts from his one-man show Bookworm, an engaging meditation on reading, childhood, his father’s love of books and The Twilight Zone. An ode to books and everyone who loves them, Bookworm was a smash hit at fringe festivals across Canada last year.

Word! is always a popular event at the Festival, so spread the word, but make sure you get your tickets first, as this event sells out fast!

Suitable for grades 8–12 and adults Warning: Content in this event may not be suitable for all classes.

25 Sworn to Secrecy Meg Tilly, Eric Walters

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High Octane Don Calame, Andrew Kaufman

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Dirty Science Shar Levine

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1–2:30 pm

1–2:30 pm

1–2:30 pm

In Tagged, veteran author Eric Walters creates a fast-paced mystery about who might be spray painting graffiti murals around town. Is it art or vandalism? And could the guerrilla artist be a close friend? In Meg Tilly’s novel A Taste of Heaven, secrets threaten to ruin a friendship.

Why won’t Alyssa talk about her family? Why has she never invited her best friend over? And how big is the price of celebrity? Tilly, herself an award-winning actress who famously turned her back on Hollywood, is well-acquainted with the cost of fame and secrecy. But it’s no secret that Walters and Tilly are masters at weaving great stories loaded with believable characters—and keeping audiences well entertained.

Screenwriters as well as successful novelists, Don Calame and Andrew Kaufman take the stage in an event that’s sure to be highenergy and very funny. Calame’s uproarious trio of high-school buddies Coop, Sean and Matt return with a scheme to make a low-budget horror movie that’s guaranteed to make them rich—and magnets for girls. Call the Shots crackles with fast-paced raunchy fun, and a gross-out warning for good measure. The10th anniversary illustrated edition of the worldwide cult favourite All My Friends are Superheroes brings Kaufman to the Writers Fest for the first time, and with him the Ear, the Spooner, the Impossible Man and Tom’s wife, the Perfectionist. If you haven’t been introduced to these everyday superheroes before, don’t miss this chance.

There’s more to the dirt beneath your feet than, well, dirt. (In fact, don’t call it dirt—it’s soil!)

Vancouver’s very own “Science Lady,” Shar Levine, author of more than 50 children’s books, is here to reveal what’s going on behind, or beneath, the scenes—like discovering the hundreds of invisible bugs in a handful of dirt. Levine’s passion is infectious. “I want to make people love science,” she says. There’s a budding scientist in every kid, and Levine is happiest when she’s working hands-on with a group of future Einsteins. Kids and teachers, come prepared to be more than onlookers this afternoon. This is a chance to get your hands dirty and leave hooked on science.

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 6–8

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 10–12

STUDIO 1398 $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Suitable for grades 3–5

26

Thursday, October 24 Take Carol Shields With You Wherever You Go

Geronimo Stilton se raconte (2) Animatrice: France Perras

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13 h – 14 h 30 Improv Centre

Download your favourite e-edition novels and short story collections by Canada’s best loved writer.

Slip the Carol Shields e-book collection into your favourite device:  Happenstance  Swann  The Republic of Love  Small Ceremonies

Qui est Geronimo Stilton? C’est moi! Je dirige un journal, mais ma véritable passion est l’écriture d’histoires d’aventures. Mes récits sont très drôles et savoureux. Promis!

Pour les élèves de la troisième à la septième année.

Cet événement aura lieu de nouveau jeudi matin.

Cet événement se déroulera exclusivement en français et donnera lieu à de nombreuses possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et l’animateur.

 Dropped Threads I  Various Miracles  The Box Garden  The Orange Fish

Titles also available in French

For a full listing of e-books visit:

www.carol-shields.com/ebooks.html

Don’t miss our authors at

An Hour with Douglas Coupland 6–7:00 pm

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WATERFRONT THEATRE $19

Worst. Person. Ever. Douglas Coupland’s new novel, his first full-length work of fiction in four years, features Raymond Gunt, a dreadful human being with absolutely no redeeming social value, but whom you may find oddly likeable.

Gunt is the most anti of heroes who, in the words of the author, “is a living, walking, talking, hot steaming pile of pure id.” Coupland’s also created an irredeemable, exceptionally foul-mouthed cast to accompany Gunt. This new creation is everything you would expect from the Vancouver author, artist, sculptor, fashion designer and cultural oracle that is Coupland.

thE VanCouVEr WritErs FEst! Titans of Canadian Theatre Tomson Highway, Michel Tremblay Moderator: bill richardson

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8:00 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $19

A rare opportunity to hear two of Canada’s pre-eminent playwrights and novelists, Tomson Highway and Michel Tremblay. These brilliant storytellers are dominant forces who have shaped this country’s literature; simply put, they are legendary. Tremblay’s 27 plays are some of the most important in Canadian theatre history, and his 24 novels have brought him international fame. Since the 1960s, more than 1,750 productions of his work have been mounted around the world. Highway changed the face of Canadian theatre in the1980s when he put Métis and Aboriginal characters on stage in The Rez Sisters, which was heavily influenced by Tremblay’s Les Belles-soeurs. This is sure to be a wide-ranging, thought provoking and laughter-filled conversation, never to be repeated.

This event is organized in collaboration with the Canada Council for the Arts to mark the 2013 edition of the Governor General’s Literary Awards.

harpercollins.ca

27 Rocking Again: From The Rock II Wayne Johnston, Lisa Moore, Michael Winter moderator: charles demers

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8:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $19

Last year at the Writers Fest, the Newfoundland kitchen party featuring some of The Rock’s fabulous raconteurs was completely sold out.

So we’re doin’ it again—an evening of fun, fiction and fondness with three more of The Rock’s natural-born storytellers. Is it the sea air?

The water? The Rock itself? Newfoundland writers seem to be peculiarly adept at nuance and action alike, whipping up award-winning fiction year after year. Wayne Johnston, Lisa Moore and Michael Winter are favourites with readers and audiences from coast to coast.

Tonight they’ll be chatting about home, St. John’s and some of the places “around the bay” where they find their inspiration.

The Unwinding

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George Packer in conversation with Wayne grady

8:00 pm

FREDERIC WOOD THEATRE, UBC $19

George Packer’s The Unwinding has been hailed as “brilliant propaganda on behalf of the distressed” by the National Post and “close to a non-fiction masterpiece” by the New York Times. Packer, staff writer for the New Yorker as well as a novelist and playwright, knows America. And he knows its current sociopolitical state is best conveyed through the eyes of its citizens, those living through foreclosures, bankruptcies, the deaths of industries and the bursting of bubbles. Packer juxtaposes the lives of these ordinary Americans dealing with the unwinding of America with portraits of the famous—Newt Gingrich, Sam Walton, Oprah Winfrey, Jay Z—who’ve thrived in “elite bubbles” while the rest of the country collapsed. Packer is here for one night only. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain insight into our southern neighbour who’s not so distant in many ways.

This event is sponsored by Fasken Martineau.

Sizzle L. Marie Adeline, Sarah de Leeuw moderator: angie abdou

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8:30 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $19

Sarah de Leeuw won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize earlier this year for her erotic collection Geographies of a Lover. Initially worried that the book might be read “just for the sex,” de Leeuw found the Prize heartening, evidence that she’d succeeded in her goal of “opening new textual spaces for women’s sexuality in Canadian poetry.” L. Marie Adeline is the pseudonym under which novelist Lisa Gabriele set out to write a commercially successful erotic novel. The result, S.E.C.R.E.T., has allowed Gabriele to quit her job as a CBC producer and write full time. What’s behind the rise of wildly popular erotic fiction? How does a literary writer decide to write erotica? And what challenges does she face when she tries her hand at sex?

28

Festival at a Glance

Tuesday EVENT #1

10-11:30 am Granville Island Stage

22 EVENT #8

1-2:30 pm Improv Centre

Ivy, Bean and Binky Mystery, Adventure Together at Last and Lies

Annie Barrows, Ashley Spires

Rachelle Delany, Cary Fagan, Meg Tilly

EVENT #2

EVENT #9

With a Little Help From My Friends

Grand Openings

10-11:30 am Waterfront Theatre Viola Di Grado, Teresa Toten EVENT #3

10-11:00 am Studio 1398

Raconte-nous une histoire

Rhéa Dufresne EVENT #4

10-11:00 am Improv Centre

Morning Train, Evening Boat

Dan Bar-el, Julie Flett, Kathy Stinson EVENT #5

1-2:30 pm Granville Island Stage

Magic and Mayhem

Maureen Johnson, Maggie Siefvater EVENT #6

1-2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

Voices of Native Youth

8:00 pm Performance Works Joseph Boyden, Eleanor Catton, Sahar Delijani, Viola Di Grado, Rachel Kushner, Earl Lovelace, Andrew Pyper EVENT #10

8:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

An Intimate Evening with Scott Turow EVENT #11

8:00 pm Studio 1398

The Secret Lives of Parents

Brian Fawcett, Priscila Uppal, Alison Wearing EVENT #12

8:00 pm Improv Centre

Leonardo: The Man Behind the Genius

Ross King

Deborah Ellis EVENT #7

1-2:30 pm Studio 1398

Écrire tout haut

David Baudemont

Wednesday

Thursday

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EVENT #13

EVENT #21

EVENT #29

EVENT #36

Word! (1)

A Trip of the Tongue

Tough and Topical

High Octane

10-11:30 am Granville Island Stage

1-2:30 pm Improv Centre

Tanya Evanson, Corin Raymond, Alison Wearing EVENT #14

10-11:30 am Performance Works

Maggie Stiefvater in Conversation with Shannon Ozirny EVENT #15

Julie Flett, Jude Isabella EVENT #22

10-11:30 am Granville Island Stage

Kathy Stinson, Teresa Toten, Eric Walters

EVENT #37

Maureen Johnson, Maggie Stiefvater

The World of Ivy + Bean

Dirty Science

Fantasy@Six

10-11:00 am Performance Works

EVENT #23

Annie Barrows

All Politics is Personal

10-11:30 am Waterfront Theatre

Glenn Dixon, Deborah Ellis

Nadeem Aslam, Joseph Boyden, Sahar Delijani, Earl Lovelace

People Who Changed the World

EVENT #16

EVENT #24

Odysseys Worth Repeating

10-11:30 am Studio 1398

8:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

A History of Just About Everything

Freedom Lost, Purpose Found

Elizabeth MacLeod, Frieda Wishinsky

Elizabeth MacLeod, Frieda Wishinsky EVENT #32

10-11:30 am Studio 1398

EVENT #25

Géronimo Stilton se raconte (1)

Beyond Queer

10-11:30 am Improv Centre

Amanda Lindhout 8:00 pm Studio 1398

EVENT #33

David Baudemont, André Jacob

Amber Dawn, Nancy Jo Cullen, Abdellah Taïa

Worlds Arising, Worlds in Peril

EVENT #18

EVENT #26

EVENT #17

10-11:30 am Improv Centre

D’ici et d’ailleurs

1-2:30 pm Performance Works

A Taste of the Real Thing

Maureen Johnson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

8:00 pm Studio 1, Centre de diffusion de Radio-Canada Un moment privilégié en compagnie de Michel Tremblay

EVENT #19

Don Calame, Andrew Kaufman

EVENT #30

EVENT #31

10-11:30 am Waterfront Theatre

1-2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

6-7:30 pm Performance Works

6-7:30 pm Improv Centre

1-2:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #27

Dan Bar-el, Ashley Spires, Eric Walters

Up All Night

Stories in Good Company

9:00 pm Performance Works

EVENT #20

Lisa Moore, Marisha Pessl, Scott Turow

1-2:30 pm Studio 1398

EVENT #28

Glenn Dixon

In Performance

Tripping the World Fantastic

J.B. MacKinnon

23

J. Edward Chamberlin, Alan Weisman EVENT #34

1-2:30 pm Granville Island Stage Word! (2)

Tanya Evanson, Corin Raymond, Alison Wearing EVENT #35

1-2:30 pm Performance Works

Sworn to Secrecy

Meg Tilly, Eric Walters

Shar Levine

EVENT #38

1-2:30 pm Improv Centre

Géronimo Stilton se raconte (2) EVENT #39

6-7:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

An Hour with Douglas Coupland EVENT #40

8:00 pm Performance Works

Titans of Canadian Theatre

Tomson Highway, Michel Tremblay EVENT #41

8:00 pm Studio 1398

Rocking Again: From The Rock II

Wayne Johnston, Lisa Moore, Michael Winter EVENT #42

8:00 pm Frederic Wood Theatre The Unwinding

George Packer EVENT #43

8:30 pm Waterfront Theatre Sizzle

9:00 pm Improv Centre

L. Marie Adeline, Sarah de Leeuw

Rodney DeCroo, Corin Raymond

October 3 at 7:30 pm Frederic Wood Theatre 6354 Crescent Road University of British Columbia

1-2:30 pm Studio 1398

Tickets $21 general / $19 students and seniors vancouvertix.com 604.629.8849

Tickets: 604.629.8849 or vancouvertix.com Friday

25

29

Saturday

26

Sunday

EVENT #44

EVENT #51

EVENT #58

EVENT #66

EVENT #74

Formwork

Found in Translation

Susanna Basso, Wayne Grady, Paul Muldoon

Margaret Atwood in Conversation with Merilyn Simonds

Character Roles

Megaphone

EVENT #52

EVENT #59

Bodies Politic

As the Past Comes to Life

10-11:30 am Granville Island Stage L. Marie Adeline, J. Edward Chamberlin, Brad Cran, Anne Michaels EVENT #45

10-11:30 am Performance Works The Interviews

Anthony De Sa, Wayne Grady, Maria Semple EVENT #46

10-11:30 am Waterfront Theatre

1-2:30 pm Studio 1398

1-2:30 pm Improv Centre

10:30 am Performance Works

Stephen Collis, Charlotte Grimshaw, Joanna Kavenna, Elizabeth Ruth

Janie Chang, Sarah Dunant, Claire Mulligan, Mary Novik, Roberta Rich

EVENT #53

EVENT #60

50 Years of Stories

Looking for Love

6-7:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

Amber Dawn, Théodora Armstrong, Kevan Anthony Cameron, Stephen Collis, Michael Crummey, George McWhirter, Keith Maillard, Kathryn Para Sarah de Leeuw, Mathew Henderson, Ann Shin EVENT #54 EVENT #47 8:00 pm Performance Works 10-11:30 am The Literary Cabaret Studio 1398 Drunk Mom Margaret Atwood, Cathy Marie Buchanan, Jowita Bydlowska Wayne Grady, Rachel Kushner, EVENT #48 Paul Muldoon, Elizabeth Ruth 10-11:30 am Improv Centre EVENT #55 All in the Family 8:00 pm Dede Crane, Andrew Kaufman, Studio 1398 Saleema Nawaz, Mary Swan An Intimate Evening Pure Poetry

EVENT #49

with Michel Tremblay

In the Beginning

8:00 pm Frederic Wood Theatre

1-2:30 pm Granville Island Stage

EVENT #56

Amber Dawn, Jowita Bydlowska, Helen Humphreys, Priscila Uppal

Our Last Best Hope

EVENT #50

1-2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

Faces in the Conflict

Nadeem Aslam, Ayelet Tsabari, D.W. Wilson, Michael Winter

10:30 am Granville Island Stage

Alan Wiesman EVENT #57

9:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

The (Post) Mistress

Tomson Highway

10:30 am Waterfront Theatre

Nancy Jo Cullen, Douglas Glover, Wayne Johnston, Elizabeth Ruth EVENT #61

10:30 am Studio 1398

Art Begets Art

Cathy Marie Buchanan, Rachel Kushner, Marisha Pessl EVENT #62

10:30 am Improv Centre

The iWorld is Upon Us

Frank Edwards, Ross Laird, Erin Latimer, Dale Mayer, Rebecca Sky EVENT #63

2:00 pm Performance Works Corner Stories

Anthony De Sa, Wayne Johnston, Saleema Nawaz, Maria Semple EVENT #64

2:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

Paul Muldoon in Conversation with John Freeman EVENT #65

2:00 pm Studio 1398

This Place We Call Home

2:00 pm Improv Centre

Charlotte Grimshaw, David Macfarlane, Chad Pelley, Mary Swan EVENT #67

5:00 pm Performance Works

An Hour with Anne Carson EVENT #68

5:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

10:30 am Waterfront Theatre EVENT #75

10:30 am Studio 1398 Catharsis

Ann Shin

EVENT #76

11:00 am Performance Works

The Sunday Brunch

Xiaolu Guo, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ayelet Tsabari

Dede Crane, Nancy Jo Cullen, Cary Fagan, Shaena Lambert, Roberta Rich, Will Self

EVENT #69

EVENT #77

The Great Black North

Celebrating 25 Years of Journey

Out of Place

5:00 pm Studio 1398

Kevan Anthony Cameron, Tanya Evanson, Valerie Mason-John

1:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

Théodora Armstrong, Douglas Glover, Shaena Lambert, Saleema Nawaz

EVENT #70

EVENT #78

The Poetry Bash

Helen Humphreys in Conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger

8:00 pm Performance Works

Anne Carson, Brad Cran, Michael Crummey, Mathew Henderson, Anne Michaels, Paul Muldoon EVENT #71

8:00 pm Waterfront Theatre Granta Stars

John Freeman, Xiaolu Guo, Joanna Kavenna

1:30 pm Studio 1398

EVENT #79

1:30 pm Improv Centre

John Freeman in Conversation with Hal Wake EVENT #80

EVENT #72

3:30 pm Performance Works

8:00 pm Studio 1398

The Afternoon Tea

An Intimate Evening with Will Self

Eleanor Catton, David Macfarlane, Claire Mulligan, Mary Novik, Chad Pelley, Maria Semple

EVENT #73

EVENT #81

Command and Control

Colin Mochrie: Fractured Fairy Tales

8:00 pm Frederic Wood Theatre Eric Schlosser

8:00 pm Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage

Théodora Armstrong, Brian Fawcett, D.W. Wilson

David Sedaris

27

November 12 at 7:30 pm The Chan Centre 6265 Crescent Road University of British Columbia

Tickets $60 & $45 ticketmaster.ca 1.855.985.5000 See p. 50 for special offer

30

Friday, October 25

Formwork L. Marie Adeline, J. Edward Chamberlin, Brad Cran, Anne Michaels moderator: merilyn simonds

44

45

All stories, true or imagined, begin with an idea but must take on a shape to grow. Is this a short story?

A poem? Non-fiction? Or ... ? Though J. Edward Chamberlin, professor emeritus of English and comparative literature, is well aware of the many forms available to tell his story, he’s chosen nonfiction for Island. Brad Cran finds poetic essays the best form for his startling observations in Ink on Paper. Under the pseudonym L. Marie Adeline, Lisa Gabriele, author of two literary novels, was determined to write her new novel in the genre form of erotica. Anne Michaels, best known as a novelist for Fugitive Pieces, now presents her readers with a long poem in Correspondences, which appears alongside portraits by Bernice Eisenstein.

This will be an interesting conversation among four thoughtful writers.

47

10–11:30 am

STUDIO 1398 $17 / $8.50 for student groups

“Drunk Mom is an imperfect account of the events that occurred from 2009 to 2010 when I relapsed after three and a half years of sobriety,” says Jowita Bydlowska. While many might attempt to hide the binge drinking and blackouts, the chaos and confusion of alcoholism, Bydlowska bares it all in her controversial memoir. “This has been a painful story to tell. I wrote it ... because I hope it will help those who are struggling with similar issues, and give others a glimpse into what that struggle is like.” Meet a brutally honest author and mother who has met the glares of those who don’t understand and the criticism of those who say she’s bared too much.

The Globe and Mail’s Marsha Lederman is a pro at drawing great stories out of an interview. This morning she talks to three authors writing out of vastly different experiences. Primarily a non-fiction writer and translator, Wayne Grady looks at race relations and family secrets in Emancipation Day, inspired by a secret in Grady’s own family.

Anthony De Sa grew up in Toronto’s Portuguese enclave. He sets his novel in the same roughand-tumble neighbourhood in 1977, the year a 12-year-old shoeshine boy was murdered and Toronto the Good was forever changed. Former TV comedy writer Maria Semple wrote her masterfully satirical tale Where’d You Go, Bernadette shortly after moving to Seattle, when she was struck by the peculiarities of the place. This is sure to be a morning of entertaining anecdotes and thoughtful insights.

All in the Family

Pure Poetry

46

Kevan Anthony Cameron, Stephen Collis, Michael Crummey, Sarah de Leeuw, Mathew Henderson, Ann Shin host: brad cran

10–11:30 am

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17 / $8.50 for student groups

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Jowita Bydlowska in converation with andreas schroeder

Anthony De Sa, Wayne Grady, Maria Semple Host: Marsha Lederman

10–11:30 am

10–11:30 am

Drunk Mom

The Interviews

48

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Join six of Canada’s poets this afternoon and be amazed as they render lyrical everything from the trajectory of a sexually charged affair to the gritty world of hard labour on the Alberta oil fields. Kevan Anthony Cameron, aka Scruffmouth, veteran of the North American poetry slam scene, joins Sarah de Leeuw and Stephen Collis, both recipients of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Michael Crummey’s Under the Keel is his first poetry collection in a decade. Mathew Henderson’s hard-hitting debut The Lease has garnered ecstatic reviews, and filmmaker Ann Shin pushes poetry into new territory with The Family China. This is a celebration of poetry that is fresh and startling— and doesn’t waste a word.

Warning: Content in this event may not be suitable for all classes.

In the Beginning

49

Dede Crane, Andrew Kaufman, Saleema Nawaz, Mary Swan moderator: angie abdou

amber dawn, Jowita Bydlowska, Helen Humphreys, Priscila Uppal moderator: andreas schroeder

10–11:30 am

1–2:30 pm

When it comes to family dynamics, the dramatic possibilities are endless. This morning meet four authors who write the ins and outs and ups and downs of family relationships in completely distinct yet utterly familiar ways. Andrew Kaufman’s Born Weird brings us the five Weird siblings, reunited as their evil grandmother dies. Saleema Nawaz brings us orphaned sisters Beena and Sadhana, growing up above a bagel shop in Montreal, in Bone & Bread. Mary Swan’s latest, My Ghosts, breathes life into a household of Scottish orphans trying to make their way in Toronto in 1879. And Dede Crane gives us a modern-day family in Victoria, BC, whose reality is quite different from outside appearances. You thought your family was crazy? Meet some new families in all their humorous and heartbreaking glory.

What might begin as a private journal, a way to understand personal events and emotions, sometimes has such power that it demands to be published. Helen Humphreys began Nocturne as a private letter to her deceased brother when grief prevented her from writing fiction. Amber Dawn wrote some of her memoir about her experiences as a sex worker almost a decade ago, then shelved them. “I was terrified,” she admits, but “I knew I had a book.” Priscila Uppal, poet, novelist, anthologist, essayist, felt compelled to write her memoir after an intensely emotional reunion with the mother who had abandoned her. Jowita Bydlowska began Drunk Mom as fiction until she realized she had to own, and own up to, the story.

Four writers talk about the starting places for their memoirs and where they’ve arrived as a result.

Improv Centre $17 / $8.50 for student groups

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

31 Faces in the Conflict Nadeem Aslam, Ayelet Tsabari, D.W. Wilson, Michael Winter

50

1–2:30 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Every evening on the television news we are bombarded by video clips showing buildings reduced to rubble, crowds in conflict and little that makes any of this anguish make sense. Four writers put the personal story into global conflicts in a way that brings new understandings and connections. Nadeem Aslam, setting his novel in Pakistan and Afghanistan in the months following 9/11, brings us the story of foster brothers Jeo and Mikal. Michael Winter’s Henry Hayward is the character that gives us insight into the personal effect of roadside conflict in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ayelet Tsabari, formerly a soldier in the Israeli army, gives us short stories peopled with those living “life on the verge of an emergency” to show an Israel people may not have seen in the news. And D.W. Wilson’s US army deserter, Archer, suffers from both psychological and physical scars caused by his participation in the Vietnam War.

Found in Translation Susanna Basso, Wayne Grady, Paul Muldoon moderator: genni Gunn

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1–2:30 pm

STUDIO 1398 $17 / $8.50 for student groups

Italian translator Susanna Basso has devoted much of the past 10 years translating Alice Munro’s collections of stories into Italian but has never visited Canada until now. Irish poet Paul Muldoon, who’s won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and is the poetry editor for the New Yorker¸ translates poetry from Gaelic to English. Canadian author Wayne Grady has translated 15 novels from French and won a Governor General’s Literary Award for his translations. What are the challenges in translating works for readers in another country with a different culture? Or for readers within the same country divided by culture or politics? Perhaps a successful translation presents, as Cervantes described, “the other side of a tapestry.”

Think AUTHOR There’s a story inside you.

Join our community of writers and let it out.

Choose from four part-time creative writing options in Vancouver and Surrey: • The Writer’s Studio, our one-year certificate • The Southbank Writer’s Program, our summer program • Specialized creative writing courses • Manuscript consultations

www.sfu.ca/creative-writing

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Friday, October 25

Bodies Politic Stephen Collis, Charlotte Grimshaw, Joanna Kavenna, Elizabeth Ruth moderator: dennis bolen

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50 Years of Stories

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The Literary Cabaret

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amber dawn, Théodora Armstrong, Keith Maillard, George McWhirter, Kathryn Para moderator: nancy lee

Margaret Atwood, Cathy Marie Buchanan, Wayne Grady, Rachel Kushner, Paul Muldoon, Elizabeth Ruth

1–2:30 PM

6–7:30 pm

8:00 pm

Elizabeth Ruth challenges the dominant assumptions of 1930s Spain in her novel Matadora, with a female bullfighter who dreams of entering the ring despite political and cultural opposition.

The world of political parties and backroom power politics is the subject of New Zealand criminal lawyer Charlotte Grimshaw’s novel Soon, a bold and biting satire on wealth and pretentiousness. Stephen Collis’ first novel, The Red Album, questions historical authenticity by confronting alternate versions of the narratives of social struggle and revolution in Spain’s history. Joanna Kavenna’s dark comedy Come to the Edge looks at the British countryside as a place of notable contrasts; the rural poor can barely afford to stay in their homes while the rich buy up second homes and barely use them. Everything is political, and these four authors will tell you why.

Tonight, on the 50th anniversary of the birth of UBC’s creative writing program, we lift the veil on what happens to aspiring writers who enter the doors of one of Canada’s pre-eminent creative writing schools. Three recent graduates chat with two seasoned faculty members, Keith Maillard, professor and program chair, and George McWhirter, professor emeritus, about honing and shaping the writer—drafts, revisions, mapping plot structure, developing character—all to the point of getting their work ready to go out into the world. You can be sure there’ll be plenty of anecdotes and insight from these professional storytellers.

What should you expect when Sal Ferreras, his chameleonic band Poetic License and the guest authors take the stage tonight? Nothing short of magic. Each of these authors takes the spotlight to “perform” with Sal and the band, with music that fits each reading like a warm kid glove over a guiding hand. This wildly popular event blends music and literature in ways that can only be described as breathtaking.

Audiences are guaranteed a sensory spectacle they won’t soon forget. Don’t miss out on the fun—get your tickets early because they are sure to go quickly.

IMPROV CENTRE $17 / $8.50 for student groups

An Intimate Evening with Michel Tremblay

WATERFRONT THEATRE $19

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interviewer: bill richardson

8:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $26

Michel Tremblay is, quite simply, a Canadian literary icon. His plays, Les Belles-soeurs or Bonjour, Là, Bonjour, are legendary in Canadian cultural history. His novels, including his Plateau MontRoyal series, which includes The Fat Woman Next Door Is Pregnant, have brought him worldwide fame. Since emerging as a dominant figure of Québec’s theatre world in the late 1960s, his work—novels, translations, adaptations and screenplays—have been translated into 35 languages and his plays have been staged from Chile to Japan, Zaire to Finland. This is a rare chance to hear one of our country’s greatest thinkers in conversation, talking about everything from his upbringing in a working-class neighbourhood in East Montreal, to seeing his famous play, Les Belle-soeurs, celebrate its 40th anniversary.

PERFORMANCE WORKS $33

This event is sponsored by Scotia Private Client Group.

This event is sponsored by the UBC Creative Writing Program.

Our Last Best Hope

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Alan Weisman in conversation with charlie smith

8:00 pm

FREDERIC WOOD THEATRE, UBC $19

In The World Without Us, Alan Weisman engaged in a fascinating thought experiment: What would happen to earth if humans vanished? What traces of us would linger and what would disappear? For his long-awaited follow-up, Countdown, Weisman travelled to 20 countries asking what experts agreed were probably the most important questions on earth—and also the hardest: How many humans can the planet hold without capsizing? How robust must the earth’s ecosystem be to assure our continued existence? Can we know which other species are essential to our survival?

And how might we actually arrive at a stable, optimum population? Weisman is one of the most provocative journalists at work today, and tonight he shares a radical but persuasive solution for returning the earth to its optimal balance, one that doesn’t depend on our demise.

The (Post) Mistress

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A new musical performance by Tomson Highway, featuring Patricia Cano on vocals and Campbell Ryga on saxophone

9:00 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $26

Widely recognized for his significant contributions to Canadian theatre, Tomson Highway presents his new work, a cabaret-style evening called The (Post) Mistress. From the author of The Rez Sisters and Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing comes this charming, funny and tender-hearted masterpiece—interwoven stories with a soundtrack like no other. Highway performs on piano accompanied by singer Patricia Cano and award-winning saxophonist Campbell Ryga.

Altogether, 12 unique musical pieces ranging from Berlin cabaret to French café chanson to smooth bossa nova accompany a multilingual French, Cree and English libretto. Set in a not-so-distant past, when sending letters through the mail was still vital to communication, The (Post) Mistress is a one-of-akind evening you won’t forget.

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Saturday, October 26

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Margaret Atwood in Conversation with Merilyn Simonds 10:30 am

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE $17

Margaret Atwood returns to the Writers Fest this year with the newest product of her amazingly creative mind—MaddAddam. This is the conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy that began with Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood. As speculative fiction grows less and less far-fetched, Atwood chats about her lifelong relationship with the fantastical, the notion of “cli-fi,” apocalyptic events and surely much, much more. Come and meet face to face one of Canada’s most original and complex minds, in conversation with Merilyn Simonds, author and Artistic Director of the Kingston WritersFest.

As the Past Comes to Life Janie Chang, sarah dunant, Claire Mulligan, Mary Novik, Roberta Rich Moderator: ian weir

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Cathy Marie Buchanan, Rachel Kushner, Marisha Pessl moderator: bill richardson

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10:30 am STUDIO 1398 $17

Most good stories come from a germ of an idea that takes root and grows until it needs to blossom onto the page. Meet three authors who found inspiration in the world of art. Introduced to ballet as a young girl, Cathy Marie Buchanan knew she had found the idea for her novel The Painted Girls as she studied photos of Degas’ famed sculpture Little Dancer Aged Fourteen. Rachel Kushner’s took shape after she spent several years watching the contemporary Manhattan literary and art scene as a literary and art magazine editor. Kushner brings to life the art world of 1970s New York, a world filled with extravagance and histrionics. Marisha Pessl found the idea for her novel Night Film in the dark underbelly of New York’s film world, using a structure that is classic noir.

This event is sponsored by HarperCollins Canada Ltd.

Nancy Jo Cullen, Douglas Glover, Wayne Johnston, Elizabeth Ruth moderator: denise ryan

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10:30 am

10:30 am

There are plenty of arguments about what constitutes historical fiction. The characters may or may not be real; the events may or may not be real.

What is beyond question is that historical fiction puts flesh to the dry bones of the past. Five writers who are masters at bringing the past to life take the stage this morning to transport you to 14th-century Avignon and the celebrated court of Renaissance Europe; the brutal and corrupt world of 15th century Italy; Constantinople in 1579 and a sultan’s harem; the Song family estate in 1920s China, seemingly untouched by the civil war raging outside its gates; and 1890s New York and the rise of the Spiritualist movement perpetrated by the real-life Fox sisters, the world’s first celebrity mediums. This morning, be prepared to see the past come to life as these writers channel the spirits of history.

This event explores author Elizabeth Ruth’s perspective that “romantic love is dangerous.”

In her new book Matadora, Ruth’s protagonist is forced to choose between bullfighting, her true passion, and the person she loves. Nancy Jo Cullen’s characters in Canary navigate their way out of stifling relationships or into sexual transiency. The short stories in Douglas Glover’s collection Savage Love skewer every conventional notion we’ve ever held dear about the institution of love. And Wayne Johnston places young Percy Joyce in the way of his mother, Penelope, whom every man— including Percy—and several women in St. John’s lusts after. Four writers talk this morning about love in all its glorious possibilities—bidden and forbidden.

performance works $17

waterfront theatre $17

This event is sponsored by Random House of Canada.

Art Begets Art

Looking for Love

The i World is Upon Us Frank B. Edwards, Ross Laird, Erin Latimer, Dale Mayer, Rebecca Sky

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10:30 am

IMPROV CENTRE $17

The world of publishing is changing—and changing fast. The Canadian company Wattpad has a monthly audience of 10 million readers.

Authors can now build a fan base and get instant feedback from readers online and can publish books that could never be contained between hard covers. In this two-part discussion, three authors who are fully—and very successfully— embracing the new technology of Wattpad talk about finding readers, working with freelance editors and traditional versus self-publishing. As the conversation continues, two writers who are not only successful and innovative authors but creative thinkers share their experience with this new iworld. Their insights into where the world of publishing is heading will startle you.

corner stories Anthony De Sa, Wayne Johnston, Saleema Nawaz, Maria Semple moderator: aislinn hunter

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2:00 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $17

Sometimes authors find that there is only one specific neighbourhood where their characters can come to life. Anthony De Sa set Kicking the Sky in Toronto’s Portuguese community where he grew up. However, the streets his protagonists inhabit are also home to a darker side of the big city. Montreal’s Saleema Nawaz was in her apartment with the aroma of freshly baked bagels wafting through the window when the idea for Bone & Bread came to her: two sisters living atop a bagel shop in Montreal’s Mile End. Comedy writer Maria Semple wrote Where’d You Go, Bernadette shortly after moving to Seattle, a city she, like her protagonist, initially loathed. Wayne Johnston locates his new novel in the Catholic landscape of the Mount in St. John’s. The sights, sounds and smells of neighbourhoods have provided a rich loam for these creative minds to till.

35 Paul Muldoon in Conversation with John Freeman

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2:00 pm

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PERFORMANCE WORKS $17

Anne Carson’s book jackets have no author photo. The back flap reads, “Anne Carson was born in Canada and teaches ancient Greek for a living.” Hard to categorize, she has been called many things: a rule-breaker, a genius. She’s here with the long-awaited sequel to Autobiography of Red, her internationally acclaimed poetry bestseller. Red Doc> took close to 11 years to write and was, in Carson’s words, an “uphill grapple in the dark.” Carson says, “I’m really trying to make people’s minds move … to get somehow into the mind and make it move somewhere it has never moved before.” Be prepared to spend a moving hour with one of the most acclaimed poets writing today.

Think you know British Columbia? Take another look. Théodora Armstrong’s short stories are inspired by beaches, waterfalls and woods, from Kelowna to Quadra Island, Penticton to North Vancouver. “I can’t start a voice without knowing where we are,” she says. Brian Fawcett, who has lived in Toronto for many years, sets his new novel in Prince George, the town of his birth that has featured prominently in his writing throughout his long career. D.W. Wilson, born and raised in the Kootenay Valley, centres his debut novel and the award-winning short story collection that preceded it in Invermere, peopling the town with gruff working-class guys.

The dramatic BC landscape and the small towns scattered throughout are powerful forces that reach out to a worldwide readership.

Out of Place

Character Roles David Macfarlane, Charlotte Grimshaw, Chad Pelley, Mary Swan Moderator: shaena lambert

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2:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $17

Paul Muldoon has been described by the Times Literary Supplement as “the most significant English-language poet born since the Second World War.” Born and educated in Northern Ireland, Muldoon is now a professor at Princeton and poetry editor of the New Yorker. He’s also worked as a professor at Oxford, won the Pulitzer Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize, been given an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Literature and received international acclaim. His poetry has been described as “an intellectual fairground ride, with daring swoops and hairpin turns of thought.” Buckle up for a rare spin with a brilliant mind as John Freeman, writer and literary critic, former editor of Granta and author of How to Read a Novelist, leads the conversation.

5–6:00 pm

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Théodora Armstrong, Brian Fawcett, D.W. Wilson moderator: anne giardini

2:00 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17

An Hour with Anne Carson

This Place We Call Home

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IMPROV CENTRE $17

We read fiction in part to meet interesting characters, people we might not normally encounter—or even want to encounter. Chad Pelley introduces us to Cohen Davies as he sits in prison, wondering what went wrong.

Is it circumstance or a defect in his character that seems to attract disaster? Charlotte Grimshaw puts us in the path of Simon, a self-deceptive gynecologist who seems to be a complete study in bad faith. Mary Swan draws us into the lives of a household of Scottish orphans in late 1800s Toronto, strivers and schemers whose character shapes their lives. David Macfarlane’s character Oliver regrets the decision he made to leave his love, a choice that has defined his path in life. You’ll meet some interesting characters this afternoon, including the authors themselves.

The Great Black North

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Xiaolu Guo, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ayelet Tsabari moderator: rhea tregebov

Kevan Anthony Cameron, Tanya Evanson, Valerie Mason-John

5–6:30 pm

5–6:30 pm

Writers’ relationships with where they’ve come from often find a way into their writing— sometimes as longing, sometimes as perspective.

Xiaolu Guo grew up in a communist village in the wake of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Now named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, she continues to return to China in her fiction. Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Mexican by birth but Canadian by inclination, sets her stories in Mexico City, a place imbued with the mythological and magical. Ayelet Tsabari is an Israeli of Yemeni descent who lives in Toronto. Setting her stories in Israel, she writes to show people “an Israel they may have not seen in the news.” This is a chance to get to know Israel, Mexico and China with three thoughtful tour guides.

The Great Black North is the first anthology to focus solely on poetry by contemporary African Canadians. It offers a remix of the story of Black Canada and a fleshing out of the African Canadian experience, from poetic renderings of the story of Africville, a Halifax community dismantled in the 1960s, to the plight of African Americans who migrated to Alberta to work in the oil sands.

The poets featured this afternoon, two of them also the editors of this anthology, are among 90 showcased in the book. Join them for a discussion on the many styles Black Canadians use to express themselves, from traditional narrative verse to dub, from spoken word to slam.

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17

STUDIO 1398 $17

36

Saturday, October 26 The Poetry Bash

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Mind-altering, metamorphic, twicemonthly. Free readings, interviews and discussions with authors who will change how you see the world.

Alice MacKay Room, VPL Central Library – 7:30 pm

8:00 pm

8:00 pm

Always a Festival favourite, this year’s Poetry Bash is a star-studded event featuring six of the best. Master of contemporary mythology Anne Carson joins former Poet Laureate of Vancouver Brad Cran, Pulitzer Prize–winner Paul Muldoon and Governor General’s Literary Award–winner Anne Michaels.

Newfoundland’s Michael Crummey appears with his first poetry collection in a decade.

Mathew Henderson’s debut poetry collection was labelled “spare and eloquent” by the New York Times. A lineup like this is sure to please the ears and minds of language lovers who want to see and hear some of the finest poets writing today.

Once every decade since 1983, the British literary magazine Granta publishes “the list”: Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. So far it has predicted the brilliant literary careers of Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Salman Rushdie, David Mitchell, Jeanette Winterson and 55 more. In April 2013, Granta named the next 20 to watch, writers under 40 who hold a British passport and have at least one novel under contract. Two of those join us tonight, together with John Freeman, editor of the magazine from 2009 to 2013. Xiaolu Guo, who has been nominated for the Orange Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, chats with Freeman and fellow writer Joanna Kavenna, who has also been nominated for the Orange Prize, about being on “the list” and holding the future of British literature in their hands and pens.

WATERFRONT THEATRE $19

The Festival doesn’t end in October.

Join us for readings, discussions and interviews with your favourite authors, January through May, at the VPL.

writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite

“As much ‘ Incite’ from the discussion as pleasure from the reading—a delight!”

— M.P. 2013 Incite audience member

Sponsored by Supported by the Vancouver Public Library and the Nelson Family Foundation

Vancouver Public Library www.vpl.ca

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Xiaolu Guo, Joanna Kavenna Moderator: John Freeman

PERFORMANCE WORKS $26

An Exploration of Books & Ideas

Granta Stars

Anne Carson, Brad Cran, Michael Crummey, Mathew Henderson, Anne Michaels, Paul Muldoon

An Intimate Evening with Will Self

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8:00 pm

STUDIO 1398 $26

Will Self is a notorious and exciting contemporary writer. The author of nine novels, he has been translated into 22 languages.

He’s also one of Britain’s most visible public intellectuals. Search on YouTube for Will Self and you’ll see him charm and challenge audiences with his views on religion, commuter train fare hikes in Britain or the Internet itself. Astoundingly prolific, Self has written across many different genres and often delves into mental illness, illegal drugs and psychiatry. He is an entertaining literary satirist whose linguistic pyrotechnics appear in magazines as varied as Playboy and the London Review of Books. His new novel Umbrella is shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Command and Control Eric Schlosser in conversation with stephen quinn

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8:00 pm

FREDERIC WOOD THEATRE, UBC $19

Eric Schlosser is an investigative journalist and author of the bestsellers Fast Food Nation and Reefer Madness. Now, with Command and Control, Schlosser turns his attention to America’s nuclear arsenal. Most of us don’t know about the accidents and near misses, the urgent effort by American scientists, policy makers and military officers to ensure that nuclear weapons can’t be stolen, sabotaged, used without permission or detonated inadvertently. But we would be wise to tune in. The threat of a nuclear weapons disaster is immediate and constant. Schlosser takes us inside the war room and scientists’ headquarters to reveal that over such weapons of mass destruction, even the most brilliant minds can provide us with only an illusion of control.

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Sunday, October 27

Megaphone host: sean condon

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10:30 am

Catharsis Ann Shin

75

10:30 am

WATERFRONT THEATRE Admission by donation, $5 suggested

Dede Crane, Nancy Jo Cullen, Cary Fagan, Shaena Lambert, Roberta Rich, Will Self

76

11:00 am

STUDIO 1398 $17

Megaphone is a magazine that gives a voice to an oft-neglected community. Sold on the streets of Vancouver by homeless and lowincome vendors, Megaphone also runs a series of writing workshops in treatment centres and community centres in Vancouver’s inner-city neighbourhoods. The powerful poetry and prose that come out of these workshops focus on issues related to poverty, addiction and mental illness and are featured in the magazine. The writing is both beautiful and raw and helps give a voice to the community, while giving others an opportunity to connect to these issues. This morning, see and hear a number of writers who speak from their hearts to reach the rest of the city and start a process of change.

The Sunday Brunch

Toronto poet and filmmaker Ann Shin believes that sometimes you need to do spring cleaning, no matter what time of year. Household objects, china, and tchotchke accrue history and become weighted with meaning, and the destruction of these pieces can be liberating. With her collection The Family China and accompanying short film Smashing Family China, Shin takes poetry new places. In the words of George Elliott Clarke: “Ann Shin x-rays the ecstasy and the elegiac of the everyday … [her] poems are ravenous and nourishing.” We invite you to bring something that’s near and dear to you—or something you hate—and be prepared to talk about it, or just smash it.

PERFORMANCE WORKS $33

The Sunday Brunch is a hallmark of the Festival, one of the first events to sell out, and for very good reason: champagne and orange juice, croissants and coffee, not to mention readings by six fine authors whose work you may or may not have encountered, but who will leave you wanting more. Come with a friend or make a new one and raise a glass of bubbly to the exceptional line-up of literati set to take the stage this morning.

Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate specific dietary restrictions.

All proceeds from this event will go to Megaphone.

Celebrating 25 Years of Journey

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Théodora Armstrong, Douglas Glover, Shaena Lambert, Saleema Nawaz moderator: timothy taylor

1:30 pm

WATERFRONT THEATRE $17

It’s no exaggeration to say that inclusion in The Journey Prize Stories, much less winning the actual $10,000 prize, can launch an author’s career.

Douglas Glover appeared in the second issue of the anthology and has gone on to publish nine books of fiction, including the bestselling historical novel Elle, winner of the 2003 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction. Vancouver’s own Shaena Lambert and Théodora Armstrong appeared in issues 7 and 20 and have both published stellar short story collections this year.

And 2008 winner Saleema Nawaz, who started out as a short story writer, is here with her debut novel Bone & Bread. How did The Journey Prize Stories help them achieve liftoff? What attracts them to the form? And what’s next for these four? One lucky attendee will win a rare complete set of The Journey Prize Stories anthologies.

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79

Helen Humphreys in Conversation with kathryn gretsinger

John Freeman in Conversation with Hal Wake

1:30 pm

1:30 pm

After the death of her brother Martin in 2009, the prolific and much-lauded Canadian author Helen Humphreys tried to write, but couldn’t.

“I had nothing to say, no story to tell.” Finally, Martin came to her in a dream and asked her what had happened since he’d died. Out of this question came Nocturne, her most recent book, which she wrote as a long letter. Unlike with her novels, most of which are deeply researched, there was no planning for Nocturne. “It was all done by instinct,” says Humphreys. Initially she didn’t plan on publishing it, but gradually she came to realize that her story might help others.

Join Humphreys this morning for a wide-ranging discussion on the writing process, writing out of grief and what the celebrated author is working on now.

For the past 15 years, whenever a novel was published, John Freeman was there to review it. As a critic for more than 200 newspapers worldwide and a former editor of Granta magazine, he has reviewed thousands of books and interviewed scores of writers. His new book, How to Read a Novelist, pulls together his very best profiles. From Doris Lessing to Dave Eggers and Don DeLillo to David Foster Wallace, the range and diversity of his subjects is vast and his observations insightful. What emerges is an instructive and illuminating, definitive yet idiosyncratic guide to literary culture and a portrait of the novelist as a unique and profound figure in our fragmenting global culture. This is a conversation that will excite every aspiring writer and engaged reader.

STUDIO 1398 $17

IMPROV CENTRE $17

39 The Afternoon Tea Eleanor Catton, David Macfarlane, Claire Mulligan, Mary Novik, Chad Pelley, Maria Semple Host: Paul Grant

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3:30 pm

PERFORMANCE WORKS $33

For those of you who enjoy a little indulgence on the weekend, here’s an event for you. Sleep in, go for an autumnal stroll and make your way down to Granville Island for treats and authors galore. Be transported to Italy and New Zealand, Newfoundland and Seattle, as these six raconteurs sweep you away with their tales of love and mystery, fate and fortune. It might be brisk outside, but inside the tea will be hot, the Devonshire cream decadent and the stories scintillating.

Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate specific dietary restrictions.

Colin Mochrie: Fractured Fairy Tales host: vicki gabereau

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8:00 pm

STANLEY INDUSTRIAL ALLIANCE STAGE $26

Laugh your way out of this year’s Writers Fest with an appearance by improvisational comedian Colin Mochrie. Mochrie, who got his start back in 1980 as a member of the riotous Vancouver TheatreSports League, is perhaps best known for his roles in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and as host of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? And while he has long been a writer of scripts and sketches he hasn’t, until now, authored a book. Comical, quirky and clever, Mochrie’s first book, Not Quite the Classics, takes the first and last lines from familiar classics and reimagines everything in between. Imagine A Tale of Two Cities in which Wile E. Coyote gets his revenge on the Road Runner, Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat with zombies. This is a new side of Mochrie, but never fear, the old side will be present, too: reading, talking and performing some good old-fashioned improv.

Amber Dawn HOW POETRY SAVED MY LIFE: A Hustler’s Memoir “Powerful and necessary.” —The National Post See Amber Dawn read at the VWF! ARSENAL PULP PRESS arsenalpulp.com

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Author Biographies l. marie adeline

DAN BAR-EL

JOSEPH BOYDEN

ONTARIO, EVENTS 43, 44

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 4, 19

ONTARIO/UNITED STATES, EVENTS 9, 23

L. Marie Adeline is a pseudonym for bestselling Canadian author Lisa Gabriele. Adeline’s previous novel, S.E.C.R.E.T., is a #1 international bestseller. @lisagabrieletv @secretnovels

Dan Bar-el is a children’s author, educator and storyteller. He leads storytelling programs, visits schools and libraries, and lives and thrives in Vancouver. His new books are Dream Boats and Not Your Typical Dragon. @danbar-el.com

AMBER DAWN BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 25, 49, 53

Amber Dawn is a writer, filmmaker and performance artist. She is the author of the Lambda Award–winning novel Sub Rosa and the memoir How Poetry Saved My Life. Amber Dawn was the 2012 winner of the Writers’ Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for an Emerging LGBT Writer.

ANNIE BARROWS UNITED STATES, EVENTS 1, 30

Annie Barrows is the author of many children’s books, including the Ivy + Bean series and The Magic Half, as well as several books for adults, including the bestselling novel The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. She lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters.

THÉODORA ARMSTRONG BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 53, 65, 77

Théodora Armstrong is a fiction writer and poet. Her work has appeared in numerous literary magazines, including EVENT, Prairie Fire, The Fiddlehead, Descant, The New Quarterly and Contemporary Verse 2. Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility is her debut collection of stories. She lives in Vancouver. @TheoArmstrong NADEEM ASLAM UNITED KINGDOM, EVENTS 23, 50

Nadeem Aslam is the author of four highly acclaimed novels, including Maps for Lost Lovers, which was a New York Times Notable Book, won the Kiriyama Prize, was shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and was longlisted for The Man Booker Prize. He is also the recipient of a Lannan Literary Fellowship. Born in Pakistan, he currently lives in England. His new novel is The Blind Man’s Garden.

MARGARET ATWOOD ONTARIO, EVENTS 54, 58

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than 40 books—novels, short stories, poetry, literary criticism, social history and books for children. Her novels have either won or been nominated for every major literary award. Her most recent book, MaddAddam, is the moving and dramatic conclusion to her internationally celebrated dystopian trilogy. @MargaretAtwood

SUSANNA BASSO ITALY, EVENT 51

Susanna Basso has been a literary translator since 1988, mainly for the Italian publisher Giulio Einaudi Editore.

Among the writers she has translated are Ian McEwan, Martin Amis, Julian Barnes, Kazuo Ishiguro and Angela Carter. She has devoted a large part of the past 10 years to translating Alice Munro—from The Beggar Maid to her most recent, Dear Life. Basso is the author of a “translation journal” (Sul Tradurre. Esperienze e divagazioni militanti).

Susanna Basso’s appearance has been made possible by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Vancouver.

DAVID BAUDEMONT

Joseph Boyden’s acclaimed novel Three Day Road received the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award, and has been published in 10 languages. His second novel, Through Black Spruce, was awarded the Scotiabank Giller Prize. He divides his time between Northern Ontario and Louisiana, where he teaches writing at the University of New Orleans. His new novel is The Orenda.

CATHY MARIE BUCHANAN ONTARIO, EVENTS 54, 61

Cathy Marie Buchanan is the author of two novels, The Day the Falls Stood Still and The Painted Girls, which has garnered rave reviews since being published in January 2013. The Painted Girls was named an Indie Next pick. It debuted on the New York Times bestsellers list and is a number-one national bestseller in Canada. @CathyMBuchanan JOWITA BYDLOWSKA ONTARIO, EVENTS 47, 49

Jowita Bydlowska was born in Warsaw, Poland, and moved to Woodstock, Ontario, as a teenager.

Her work has appeared in an assortment of magazines, newspapers and online publications, including Salon, The Huffington Post and Hazlitt. Drunk Mom, Bydlowska’s memoir, is an account of her relapse into addiction after the birth of her son. @JowitaBydlowska

SASKATCHEWAN, EVENTS 7, 17

David Baudemont was born in France and lives in Saskatoon, where he writes plays and youth fiction.

He sometimes illustrates his own books. His novels have received several awards and nominations in Canada and France.

Baudemont has worked extensively with francophone and immersion schools, developing literary workshops for youth.

David Baudemont est né en France et vit à Saskatoon, où il écrit des pièces de théâtre et des romans de fiction pour les jeunes. Il illustre parfois ses propres livres. Ses romans ont reçu plusieurs prix et nominations au Canada et en France. David Baudemont a beaucoup travaillé dans des écoles francophones et d’immersion, et il a créé des ateliers littéraires destinés aux jeunes.

DON CALAME BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 36

Don Calame is a screenwriter whose film projects include Employee of the Month and Hounded. His latest book for teens is Call the Shots.

KEVAN ANTHONY CAMERON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 46, 69

Kevan Anthony Cameron, also known as Scruffmouth, is a writer, spoken word poet, performer and proud co-editor of The Great Black North. He is a veteran of the poetry slam scene in North America and aims to “edutain” with his work. Cameron was born in Edmonton, Alberta, to Jamaican parents; he now lives in Burnaby.

41 ANNE CARSON

STEPHEN COLLIS

canada/UNITED STATES, EVENTS 67, 70

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 46, 52

Anne Carson was born in Canada and has been a professor of classics for more than 30 years. Her awards and honours include the Lannan Award, the Pushcart Prize, the Griffin Poetry Prize, and fellowships from the Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundations. Her new book, Red Doc>, is a follow-up to the internationally acclaimed poetry bestseller Autobiography of Red.

Stephen Collis is an award-winning poet, activist and professor of contemporary literature at Simon Fraser University. His books include Anarchive, The Commons, On the Material (awarded the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize), To the Barricades and the forthcoming novel The Red Album. A Jack and Doris Shadbolt Fellow at Simon Fraser University in 2011/12, Collis has read and lectured across Canada, the United States and Europe.

ELEANOR CATTON NEW ZEALAND, EVENTS 9, 80

Eleanor Catton was born in London, Ontario, and raised in Canterbury, New Zealand. The Rehearsal is her multi-award-winning debut novel. Her new novel is The Luminaries.

Catton won a Glenn Schaeffer Fellowship to study at the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop. She currently lives in Aukland. @EleanorCatton J. EDWARD CHAMBERLIN BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 33, 44

J. Edward Chamberlin is a professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at the University of Toronto. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, was a visiting professor at the University of Michigan, has lectured around the world and has received an honorary doctorate from the University of the West Indies. He is the author of Come Back to Me My Language; Horse: How the Horse Has Shaped Civilizations; If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?; and, most recently, Island: How Islands Transform the World.

JANIE CHANG BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 59

Janie Chang was born in Taiwan and spent parts of her childhood in the Philippines, Iran and Thailand before settling in Canada. Recently, she attended SFU’s Writer’s Studio. Three Souls is her first novel. @JanieChang33

DOUGLAS COUPLAND BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 39

Douglas Coupland is the author of nine novels, including the international bestsellers Generation A and JPod, and four non-fiction works, including a recent short biography of Marshall McLuhan. His work has been translated into 35 languages and published in most countries. He is also a visual artist, furniture and fashion designer, and screenwriter. His new book is Worst. Person.

Ever. @DougCoupland

We speak Shakespeare, Dickinson, and Wah Poetry In Voice is a recitation contest for Canadian high schools. Students memorize poems and compete for $75,000 in travel, awards, and school stipends.

With our free anthologies, lesson plans, and videos, you can bring poetry to life with your students.

Sign up your school for the 2014 competition! poetryinvoice.com lesvoixdelapoesie.com

DeDe Akolo of LittLe fLower AcAdemy (VAncouVer) reciting “the LAke isLe of innisfree”

by WilliAm Butler YeAts

BRAD CRAN BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 44, 70

Brad Cran is a poet, essayist and photographer.

Cran was the second Poet Laureate for the City of Vancouver (2009–11). He published his first poetry collection, The Good Life, in 2001, and his book Hope in Shadows (with Gillian Jerome) won the City of Vancouver Book Award and has raised more than $50,000 for marginalized people in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. His second book of poetry is Ink on Paper. @bradcran

The World liTeraTure Program aT SFu “I spent most of my post-secondary career waiting for World literature to be created. Once you start studying literature in this way, there’s really no going back. Learning about authors’ cross-cultural influences and how texts travel is fundamental to the study of literature. The program is remarkably diverse. If one is interested in history, psychology, law, sociology, political science and international relations, SFU World Literature will enrich these areas of study.”

– Daniel Poirier, BA in World Lit.

WORLD LITERATURE THERE’S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SEE THE WORLD.

Visit www.sfu.ca/wl for more information.

42

Author Biographies DEDE CRANE

RODNEY DECROO

RHÉA DUFRESNE

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 48, 76

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 28

QUéBEC, EVENT 3

Dede Crane is a former professional ballet dancer and choreographer who began writing after moving to Vancouver Island 14 years ago. She has been a finalist for the CBC Literary Awards, the Victoria Butler Book Prize, the Canadian Library Association Award and the Bolen Book Prize. Crane reviews for the Globe and Mail, teaches in the writing department at the University of Victoria and is a founding member of the Ladies Fiction Club of Victoria. Every Happy Family is her fifth book of fiction.

MICHAEL CRUMMEY NEWFOUNDLAND, EVENTS 46, 70

Michael Crummey is the author of four books of poems, a book of stories and three novels, most recently, Galore, shortlisted for the 2011 IMPAC Award. His latest book, Under the Keel, is his first collection of poetry in a decade. He lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

NANCY JO CULLEN ONTARIO, EVENTS 25, 60, 76

Nancy Jo Cullen is the fourth recipient of the Writers’ Trust Dayne Ogilvie Prize for an Emerging LGBT Writer. Her fiction has appeared in The Puritan, Grain, filling Station, Plenitude, Prairie Fire and The Journey Prize Stories, 2012. Canary is her first collection of short fiction. @NancyJoCullen SARAH DE LEEUW BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 43, 46

Sarah de Leeuw is an assistant professor with the Northern Medical Program at UNBC. Her first book was Unmarked, and her second, Geographies of a Lover, won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. For two consecutive years, she was honoured in the creative nonfiction category of the CBC Literary Awards.

ANTHONY DE SA ONTARIO, EVENTS 45, 63

Anthony De Sa grew up in Toronto’s Portuguese community. He attended the Humber School for Writers and now heads the English department and directs the creative writing program at Michael Power/St. Joseph High School. His first book, Barnacle Love, was a finalist for the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the 2009 Toronto Book Award. His new novel is Kicking the Sky. @antiole

Rodney DeCroo is a singer/ songwriter and poet. Born and raised in a small coal-mining town just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has called Vancouver home for years. He has released five CDs that have received critical acclaim in Canada, the United States and Europe. His first poetry collection, Allegheny, BC, followed the release of his sixth album Allegheny. @DeCrooRodney RACHELLE DELANEY BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 8

Rachelle Delaney was named the top author under 30 in Canada (2010) by the Canadian Authors Association.

When not writing novels, she works as a writer and editor for the David Suzuki Foundation. Her new book is The Metro Dogs of Moscow. @rkdelaney SAHAR DELIJANI ITALY/iran, EVENTS 9, 23

The daughter of political activists, Sahar Delijani was born in Tehran’s Evin Prison in 1983 and grew up in California. She was nominated for the 2010 and 2011 Pushcart Prize and was a regular contributor to Iran-Emrooz (Iran of Today), a political and cultural journal. Children of the Jacaranda Tree is her first novel.

VIOLA DI GRADO ITALY/UNITED KINGDOM, EVENTS 2, 9

Viola Di Grado was born in Catania, Italy. She now lives and studies in London. Her first book, 70% Acrylic 30% Wool, was the winner of the 2011 Campiello First Novel Award and a finalist for Italy’s most prestigious literary prize, the Strega.

Viola Di Grado’s appearance has been made possible by the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Vancouver.

GLENN DIXON ALBERTA, EVENTS 15, 20

Glenn Dixon has published travel articles in major publications such as National Geographic, the New York Post, the Walrus and the Globe and Mail.

An expert on sociolinguistics, he is a language consultant with the Calgary Board of Education.

His new book is Tripping the World Fantastic. @Glenn_Dixon

Rhéa Dufresne chose to unleash her passion for children’s literature after studying child psychology. She wears several professional hats, such as author, reader, critic, editorial assistant, bookseller, educator and volunteer librarian. She lives in Québec.

Rhéa Dufresne présentera une variété de livres, notamment Arachnéa, une légende grecque, Ma journée, mes humeurs, Aujourd’hui, le ciel et Grand vent, petit vent.

SARAH DUNANT UNITED KINGDOM, EVENT 59

Sarah Dunant is the author of the international bestsellers The Birth of Venus and In the Company of the Courtesan, which have received major acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Her earlier novels include three Hannah Wolfe crime thrillers, as well as Snowstorms in a Hot Climate, Transgressions and Mapping the Edge. Her new book is Blood & Beauty.

FRANK B. EDWARDS ALBERTA, EVENT 62

Writer/editor Frank B. Edwards moved from the magazine to the book business in 1985 when he became publisher and editorial director of Camden House, the book arm of Harrowsmith and Equinox magazines. In 1989 he moved into illustrated children’s books at Bungalo Books with his creative partner, cartoonist John Bianchi; by 2002 the pair had produced 38 books together, selling two million copies. Now Edwards has switched exclusively to e-books, focusing on illustrated projects for the iPad for both children and adults.

DEBORAH ELLIS ONTARIO, EVENTS 6, 15

Deborah Ellis is the award-winning author of the international bestselling Breadwinner trilogy. Her latest book is Looks Like Daylight: Voices of Indigenous Kids. She lives in Simcoe, Ontario. @DebEllisAuthor

43

Poet and performer Tanya Evanson has self-published six books of poetry, recorded three spoken word albums and has performed around the world for more than a decade.

Her work is featured internationally in audio, video and print, most recently in The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry. She is the director of Mother Tongue Media arts productions and the Banff Centre Spoken Word Program.

CARY FAGAN ONTARIO, EVENTS 8, 76

Cary Fagan is the awardwinning author of several books for children and adults, including Jacob Two-Two on the High Seas.

He comes to the Festival this year with two new books for children, Oy, Feh, So? and Danny, Who Fell in a Hole, and a novel for adults, A Bird’s Eye. BRIAN FAWCETT ONTARIO, EVENTS 11, 65

Brian Fawcett is the author of more than 20 books, including a memoir, Human Happiness, and, most recently, a novel, The Last of the Lumbermen. He has written articles and reviews for most of Canada’s major newspapers and magazines, and is a past editor of Books in Canada and a former columnist for the Globe and Mail.

Sal Ferreras british columbia, EVENT 54

Sal Ferreras is a percussionist, producer and event organizer who works in many facets of the Canadian music scene.

He is a member of the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame and has had his very own star on Granville Street entertainment district since 2002. He was awarded the City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award in Music in 2010. He has a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from UBC and is Provost and Vice President

Academic of Kwantlen Polytechnic University. Sal has directed the Literary Cabaret since 1989, and he and his all-star band, Poetic License, consider it one of the highlights of their musical year.

JULIE FLETT BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 4, 21

Julie Flett is the recipient of the Christie Harris Illustrated Children’s Literature Prize and a nominee for the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature for her book Owls See Clearly at Night (Lii Yiiboo Nayaapiwak lii Swer): A Michif Alphabet (L’alfabet di Michif).

Her new book is Wild Berries. Flett is CreeMétis and lives in Vancouver. @julie_flett JOHN FREEMAN UNITED STATES, EVENTS 71, 79

John Freeman is an award-winning writer and book critic who has written for numerous publications, including the New Yorker.

Freeman won the 2007 James Patterson PageTurner Award for his work as the president of the National Book Critics Circle. He recently stepped down as editorin-chief of Granta to write and teach. His new book, How to Read a Novelist, collects his profiles of the best novelists of our time.

Meet bestselling author

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TANYA EVANSON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 13, 34, 69

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DOUGLAS GLOVER canada/UNITED STATES, EVENTS 60, 77

Douglas Glover’s bestselling historical novel Elle won the 2003 Governor General’s Award for Fiction and was a finalist for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Glover is the author of two works of literary criticism, including The Enamoured Knight, a recent book about Don Quixote, and nine books of fiction, most recently a collection of stories titled Savage Love.

Work with award-winning writers through brief residencies and one-on-one correspondence.

Ben Percy Author of The Wilding

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44

Author Biographies WAYNE GRADY ONTARIO, EVENTS 45, 51, 54

Wayne Grady is the author of 14 highly acclaimed books, the translator of 15 novels from French and the editor of 11 anthologies of literary fiction and non-fiction. He won the Governor General’s Award for Translation in 1989 for Antonine Maillet’s On the Eighth Day and was nominated for the same award in 1995 and 2005. His new novel is Emancipation Day. CHARLOTTE GRIMSHAW NEW ZEALAND, EVENTS 52, 66

Charlotte Grimshaw is the author of three critically acclaimed novels. In 2000, she was awarded the Buddle Findlay Sargeson Fellowship for Literature. She has been a double finalist and prizewinner in the Sunday Star-Times short story competition, and in 2006 she won the Bank of New Zealand Katherine Mansfield Award. In 2007, she won a place in the Book Council’s Six Pack Prize. Her story collection Opportunity won New Zealand’s premier award for fiction, the Montana Medal. Her most recent novel is Soon.

Charlotte Grimshaw’s appearance is supported by Creative New Zealand and the New Zealand Book Council.

Xiaolu Guo China/United Kingdom, Events 68, 71

Xiaolu Guo was born in a fishing village in south China. She studied film at the Beijing Film Academy and published six books in China before she moved to London in 2002. The English translation of Village of Stone was shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize and nominated for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Her first novel written in English, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, was shortlisted for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, and 20 Fragments of a Ravenous Youth, was longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize. In 2013 she was named as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists.

Xiaolu Guo’s appearance is made possible by the British Council and Granta.

MATHEW HENDERSON ONTARIO, EVENTS 46, 70

Mathew Henderson is a recent graduate of the University of Guelph’s MFA program. Originally from Prince Edward Island, he now lives in Toronto, writes about the prairies and teaches

at Humber College. His debut collection of poetry, based on his experiences working in the Alberta and Saskatchewan oilfields, is called The Lease. @Hendersoname TOMSON HIGHWAY ONTARIO, EVENTS 40, 57

Tomson Highway is Canada’s bestknown Aboriginal playwright and is widely recognized for his tremendous contribution to the development of Aboriginal theatre around the world. In 1994, he was the first Aboriginal writer to be inducted into the Order of Canada. His latest theatrical achievement, The (Post) Mistress, is a one-woman musical tour de force, in which he creates not only a rural comedy but also a sublime parody of small-town life.

HELEN HUMPHREYS ONTARIO, EVENTS 49, 78

Helen Humphreys is an awardwinning author of five acclaimed novels.

Her last novel, Coventry, was a finalist for the Trillium Book Award, a New York Times Editors’ Choice and a Globe and Mail Best Book of the Year. In 2009, Humphreys was awarded the Harbourfront Festival Prize for Literary Excellence. Her new book, Nocturne, is a candid and intimate memoir about the death of her brother.

JUDE ISABELLA BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 21

Jude Isabella has spent more than a decade as the managing editor of YES Mag: The Science Magazine for Adventurous Minds and writes science books for kids. Her book Fantastic Feats and Failures won the American Institute of Physics award for writing in the children’s category. Her new book is Chitchat: Celebrating the World’s Languages. @judeisabella ANDRÉ JACOB QUéBEC, EVENT 17

André Jacob has lived and taught in a wide variety of countries, including Chile, France, Tunisia, Argentina, Nicaragua, Mali and Canada. These experiences inform his books.

André Jacob a travaillé dans plusieurs pays (Chili, Argentine, Salvador, Espagne, Tunisie, Mali). Fort de son expérience sur le terrain, il a pu observer et analyser la situation des jeunes en difficulté ainsi que produire des ouvrages remarquables sur des sujets comme le travail des enfants esclaves (Mamadou et le secret du fer) et les enfants soldats (Le journal de guerre d’Emilio et La saga de Crin-Bleu).

MAUREEN JOHNSON UNITED STATES, EVENTS 5, 18, 22

Maureen Johnson is the New York Times–bestselling author of more than 10 young adult novels, including 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish and The Bermudez Triangle. Her most recent book is The Madness Underneath, the second in the Shades of London series. She divides her time between New York City and Guildford, England. @maureenjohnson WAYNE JOHNSTON ONTARIO/newfoundland, EVENTS 41, 60, 63

Wayne Johnston was born and raised in Goulds, Newfoundland. His nationally bestselling novels include The Divine Ryans, A World Elsewhere and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams. Johnston is also the author of an award-winning and bestselling memoir, Baltimore’s Mansion. His new novel is The Son of a Certain Woman.

ANDREW KAUFMAN ONTARIO, EVENTS 36, 48

Andrew Kaufman is the author of All My Friends Are Superheroes, The Tiny Wife, The Waterproof Bible and, most recently, Born Weird. His work has been published in 11 countries and translated into nine languages, and he is also an accomplished screenwriter. He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. @severalmoments Joanna Kavenna United Kingdom, Events 52, 71

Joanna Kavenna is the author of The Ice Museum, Inglorious (which won the Orange Prize for New Writing), and The Birth of Love. Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the Guardian, the Observer, the Telegraph, the Spectator, the London Review of Books and the New York Times, among other publications. In 2013 she was listed as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. Her new novel is Come to the Edge.

Joanna Kavenna’s appearance is made possible by the British Council and Granta.

45 ROSS KING

SHAENA LAMBERT

canada/UNITED KINGDOM, EVENT 12

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 76, 77

Ross King is the bestselling author of six books about Italian, French and Canadian art and history. He has also published two historical novels and edited a collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s fables, jokes and riddles.

He has won the Governor General’s Award for Non-fiction twice and the Book Sense Non-Fiction Book of the Year. His latest book is Leonardo and The Last Supper.

Shaena Lambert is the author of a novel, Radiance, and two collections of stories, The Falling Woman and, most recently, Oh, My Darling. Her fiction has been nominated for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her stories have been published in the Walrus, Ploughshares, Zoetrope: All-Story and Best Canadian Stories. @ShaenaLambert

RACHEL KUSHNER

ERIN LATIMER

UNITED STATES, EVENTS 9, 54, 61

ALBERTA, EVENT 62

Rachel Kushner’s new novel, The Flamethrowers, was released in April 2013 to rave reviews. Her debut novel, Telex from Cuba, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, winner of the California Book Award, and a New York Times bestseller and Notable Book. Kushner’s fiction and essays have appeared in the New York Times and the Paris Review.

ROSS LAIRD BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 62

Ross Laird is a professor of new media and creative writing and is the founder of the Interdisciplinary Expressive Arts program at Kwantlen Polytechnic University. He is also a bestselling author and internationally acclaimed consultant to organizations in creativity and technology. His interests lie in the intersection between creativity, technology and culture.

Erin Latimer was born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. She now resides on the snowy plains of Grande Prairie, Alberta, where she spends most of her time hibernating. She is currently working on a YA steampunk series and is represented by Jason Yarn of Paradigm Talent Agency.

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SHAR LEVINE BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 37

Shar Levine is an internationally awardwinning and bestselling author of children’s science books. Levine and her writing partner, Leslie Johnstone, shared the 2006 Eve Savory Award for Science Communication, and two of their books were shortlisted for the Subaru Prize. Their new book is Dirty Science.

HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR IMAGINATION? Easy. You just close your eyes.

Victor, aged 4.

AMANDA LINDHOUT ALBERTA, EVENT 24

Amanda Lindhout is the founder of the Global Enrichment Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports development, aid and education initiatives in Somalia and Kenya. Her dramatic memoir A House in the Sky tells of her journey from rural Canada to imperiled and dangerous countries on every continent and of 15 months of harrowing captivity in Somalia. @AmandaLindhout

Christianne’s Lyceum of Literature and Art brings together readers, writers, illustrators, artists and families to share diverse ways of making meaning and the richness of story in its many forms. Programs include: bookclubs, writers’ workshops, literature and art classes, open mics and holiday camps.

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46

Author Biographies EARL LOVELACE

VALERIE MASON-JOHN

SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, EVENTS 9, 23

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 69

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 18, 68

Earl Lovelace was born in Toco, Trinidad, and has spent most of his life on the islands of Trinidad and Tobago.

His books include While Gods Are Falling, winner of the BP Independence Award; the Caribbean classic The Dragon Can’t Dance; and Salt, which won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.

His most recent novel, Is Just a Movie, was awarded the 2012 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.

Earl Lovelace’s appearance is made possible by SFU World Literature Program.

DAVID MACFARLANE ONTARIO, EVENTS 66, 80

David Macfarlane’s memoir of Newfoundland, The Danger Tree, won the Canadian Authors Association Award for Non-Fiction, and his novel Summer Gone was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award. He writes a weekly column in the Toronto Star. His new novel is The Figures of Beauty.

Valerie Mason-John is the author of six books and co-editor of The Great Black North: Contemporary African Canadian Poetry. Her first novel, Borrowed Body, won several awards, and she has just completed her second, unpublished, novel The War Done Done. She lives on the Sunshine Coast, British Columbia.

DALE MAYER BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 62

Dale Mayer is a prolific multipublished writer best known for her Psychic Visions series. Besides her mystery suspense/thrillers, Mayer also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in various genres. When she’s not creating new stories, she can be found enjoying life in the Okanagan, British Columbia, with her family. @DaleMayer Dale Mayer’s appearance is made possible by Wattpad.

ANNE MICHAELS

J.B. MacKinnon British Columbia, Special Event

J.B. Mackinnon has won numerous national and international awards for journalism. His book, The 100-Mile Diet, co-authored with Alisa Smith, was a national bestseller and inspired a TV series in which the small town of Mission, BC, learned to eat locally. His first book, Dead Man in Paradise, in which he investigated the assassination of his uncle, a radical priest in the Dominican Republic, won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction. His new book is The Once and Future World: Nature As It Was, As It Is, As It Could Be. ELIZABETH MACLEOD ONTARIO, EVENTS 16, 31

Elizabeth MacLeod was managing editor of OWL magazine from 1986 until 1989. She now writes children’s information books, including Why Do Horses Have Manes?, What Did Dinosaurs Eat? and Monster Fliers. Her new book, with Frieda Wishinsky, is A History of Just About Everything.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is Mexican by birth, Canadian by inclination.

Her short stories have appeared in Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing, The Book of Cthulhu, ELQ/Exile: The Literary Quarterly and Shine: An Anthology of Optimistic Science Fiction, among others. She operates the micropress Innsmouth Free Press. Her debut collection of stories is This Strange Way of Dying. @silviamg

ONTARIO, EVENTS 44, 70

Anne Michaels is the author of several books of poetry, the awardwinning novel Fugitive Pieces and The Winter Vault, her celebrated second novel. Her new book, Correspondences, is a stunningly crafted long poem accompanied by profound and luminous portraits by illustrator Bernice Eisenstein.

COLIN MOCHRIE ONTARIO, EVENT 81

Colin Mochrie is best known for his roles in Whose Line Is It Anyway? and This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and as host of Are You Smarter Than a Canadian 5th Grader? He performs more than 50 tour dates a year at sold-out venues across North America. Not Quite the Classics is his first book. @colinmochrie

PAUL MULDOON ireland/UNITED STATES, EVENTS 51, 54, 64, 70

Paul Muldoon is the author of 11 books of poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize–winning Moy Sand and Gravel and, most recently, The Word on the Street. He is the Howard G.B. Clark University Professor at Princeton.

Paul Muldoon’s appearance is made possible by a generous donation to the Alma Lee Legacy Fund by Dr. Yosef Wosk.

CLAIRE MULLIGAN british columbia/UNITED STATES, EVENTS 59, 80

Claire Mulligan was born and raised in British Columbia and graduated from UBC in 1995. Her first work of historical fiction, The Reckoning of Boston Jim, was nominated for the 2007 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her new novel is The Dark.

SALEEMA NAWAZ QUéBEC, EVENTS 48, 63, 77

Saleema Nawaz is the author of the novel Bone & Bread, the short story collection Mother Superior, and the winner of the prestigious Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, she currently lives in Montreal, Québec. @pinkmeringue Saleema Nawaz’s appearance is made possible by a generous donation to the Alma Lee Legacy Fund by Jab Sidhoo.

LISA MOORE NEWFOUNDLAND, EVENTS 27, 41

Lisa Moore is the bestselling author of February, longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and winner of CBC’s Canada Reads in 2013, and Alligator, a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Her third novel, Caught, was published by House of Anansi Press in June 2013. She lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

MARY NOVIK BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 59, 80

Mary Novik’s debut novel, Conceit, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Novik’s new novel, Muse, is about the mysterious woman who inspired Petrarch’s poetry in 14th-century Avignon. She is part of the Vancouver writing group SPiN. @marynovik2

47 GEORGE PACKER

ANDREW PYPER

UNITED STATES, EVENT 42

ONTARIO, EVENT 9

George Packer is a staff writer for the New Yorker and the author of The Assassins’ Gate: America in Iraq, which received numerous prizes and was named one of the 10 best books of 2005 by the New York Times Book Review. He is also the author of two novels, The Half Man and Central Square. His most recent book is The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America.

KATHryn PARA BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 53

Kathryn Para is an award-winning multigenre writer. Her fiction, non-fiction and poetry have been published in Grain, Room, Geist, Sunstream and the Vancouver Review. She is the 2013 winner of Mother Tongue Publishing’s Search for the Great BC Novel Contest. Lucky is her first novel.

CHAD PELLEY NEWFOUNDLAND, EVENTS 66, 80

Chad Pelley is an awardwinning author, songwriter and photographer from St. John’s, Newfoundland.

His debut novel, Away from Everywhere, won the NLAC CBC Emerging Artist of the Year Award. Chad is the founder of the literary blog Salty Ink and the president of the Writers Alliance of Newfoundland & Labrador. His new novel is Every Little Thing. @chadpelley MARISHA PESSL UNITED STATES, EVENTS 27, 61

Marisha Pessl grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and now lives in New York City. Special Topics in Calamity Physics, her debut novel, won the 2006 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize (now the Center for Fiction’s Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize) and was selected as one of the 10 best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review.

Her new book is Night Film. @marishapessl

Andrew Pyper is the award-winning author of five internationally bestselling novels. Lost Girls won the Arthur Ellis Award and The Killing Circle was a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. Three of Pyper’s novels, including his new book, The Demonologist, are in active development for feature films. @andrewpyper

Rockwood Centre | Sechelt

August 14 -17 2014

CORIN RAYMOND ONTARIO, EVENTS 13, 28, 34

Corin Raymond is a singer-songwriter and performer of his oneman show, Bookworm.

Raymond’s most recent release, Paper Nickels, is a live double album featuring his all-star band, the Sundowners (Treasa Levasseur, David Baxter and Brian Kobayakawa), that comes housed in a 144page hardcover book. Raymond lives with his books in Toronto. @CorinRaymond

tel: 604.885.9631 toll free: 1.800.565.9631

www.writersfestival.ca

ROBERTA RICH BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 59, 76

Roberta Rich divides her time between Vancouver and Colima, Mexico. Her first novel, the bestselling The Midwife of Venice, has been published to acclaim in 13 territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain and Brazil. Her new novel is The Harem Midwife. @robertaannrich ELIZABETH RUTH ONTARIO, EVENTS 52, 54, 60

Elizabeth Ruth’s first novel, Ten Good Seconds of Silence, was a finalist for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto and mentors in the Humber School for Writers correspondence program. In 2011, Ruth was appointed writer in residence for the Toronto Public Library. Her new novel is Matadora. @ElizabethRuth1

BOOKS ON THE

RADIO A RADIO SHOW ABOUT BOOKS HOSTED BY SEAN CRANBURY BOOKSONTHERADIO.ORG

48

Author Biographies ERIC SCHLOSSER

REBECCA SKY

MARY SWAN

UNITED STATES, EVENT 73

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 62

ONTARIO, EVENTS 48, 66

Eric Schlosser is a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly. He has received a number of journalistic honours, including a National Magazine Award and a Sidney Hillman Foundation Award for his investigative reporting. His first book, Fast Food Nation, was a bestseller in the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States. His new book, Command and Control, is an eye-opening look at the dangers of America’s nuclear age.

David Sedaris United States/United Kingdom, Special Event

David Sedaris is the author of the books Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Holidays on Ice, Naked, Barrel Fever and, most recently, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls. He is a regular contributor to the New Yorker and Public Radio International’s This American Life. He lives in England.

WILL SELF UNITED KINGDOM, EVENTS 72, 76

Will Self is the author of six short story collections, a book of novellas, eight novels and six collections of journalism.

His work has won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction and the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction. His latest novel, Umbrella, was shortlisted for The Man Booker Prize. @wself

Law student by day and fantasy/ steampunk writer by night, Rebecca Sky spends her spare time haunting the aisles of her local bookstore or obsessing over her clock collection. She is represented by the Book Harvest Literary Agency and has had her work published in anthologies and magazines. She currently spends her precious spare moments writing for a UKbased production company.

ASHLEY SPIRES BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 1, 19

Ashley Spires is the creator of the Binky Adventure graphic novel series, the first of which won the Hackmatack Book Award and the Silver Birch Express. Her picture books, Small Saul and Larf, have been nominated for several awards, including the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award. @ashleyspires

MEG TILLY

Maggie Stiefvater is a bestselling American author of young adult/urban fantasy novels, including the Shiver trilogy, The Scorpio Races, the Books of Faerie and her most recent series, the Raven Cycle. Her new book is The Dream Thieves. She lives in Virginia. @mstiefvater

UNITED STATES, EVENTS 45, 63, 80

Who is Geronimo Stilton? That’s me! I run a newspaper, but my true passion is writing adventure stories. My stories are fa-mouse-ly funny. They are whiskerlicking-good tales, and that’s a promise!

Qui est Geronimo Stilton? C’est moi! Je dirige un journal mais ma véritable passion est l’écriture d’histoires d’aventures. Mes récits sont très drôles et savoureux. Promis!

KATHY STINSON

Ann Shin is an award-winning filmmaker, new media producer and former radio producer. Her first book of poetry, The Last Thing Standing, was published by Mansfield Press in 2002, and her new collection is The Family China. She is currently at work on a novel. @annshin

Abdellah Taïa’s appearance is made possible by the Consulat General de France.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 8, 35

GERONIMO STILTON

ONTARIO, EVENTS 46, 75

Abdellah Taïa’s calmly transgressive work has outed him as “the only gay man” in a country whose theocratic law still treats homosexuality as a crime. The persistence of prejudices on all sides of the Mediterranean/Atlantic makes translations of Taïa’s work both literary and political events. Salvation Army is his third novel, but the first to be translated into English.

MAGGIE STIEFVATER

QUéBEC, EVENTS 32, 38

ANN SHIN

ABDELLAH TAÏA FRANCE/MOROCCO, EVENT 25

UNITED STATES, EVENTS 5, 14, 22

MARIA SEMPLE

Maria Semple’s first novel, This One Is Mine, was set in Los Angeles, where she also wrote for television shows, including Arrested Development, Mad About You and Ellen. She escaped from Los Angeles and now lives with her family in Seattle, where her second novel, Where’d You Go, Bernadette, takes place.

Mary Swan’s first novel, The Boys in the Trees, was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

She is the winner of the 2001 O. Henry Award for short fiction and the author of the novella The Deep, a finalist for the Canada/Caribbean Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. Her new novel is My Ghosts.

ONTARIO, EVENTS 4, 29

Kathy Stinson has published more than 30 titles—picture books, young adult novels, historical fiction, short stories, biography and other nonfiction. Her first book, Red is Best, won the Toronto Chapter IODE Award in 1982. Becoming Ruby and 101 Ways to Dance were CLA YA Book of the Year nominees. Her new book is The Man with the Violin.

Meg Tilly is the author of three novels for young adults: Porcupine, First Time and, most recently, A Taste of Heaven, as well as two novels for adults: Gemma and Singing Songs. Tilly is also an award-winning actor. She appeared in The Big Chill, among other films, and recently starred on Global TV’s Bomb Girls. @meggamonstah TERESA TOTEN ONTARIO, EVENTS 2, 29

Teresa Toten is an award-winning writer who was born in Zagreb, Croatia, but left for Canada that same day. She developed her broad taste in reading because of her non-English-speaking mother’s habit of filling shopping bags full of books from wildly different sections of the library. Toten has twice been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award, for The Game and Me and The Blondes. Her new novel for young adults is The Unlikely Hero of Room 13B.

49 MICHEL TREMBLAY

PRISCILA UPPAL

QUéBEC, EVENTS 26, 40, 55

ONTARIO, EVENTS 11, 49

Michel Tremblay’s dramatic, literary and autobiographical works have long enjoyed remarkable international popularity, and his plays have been adapted and translated into dozens of languages. In April 2006, Tremblay was the recipient of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix, awarded annually to a writer of international stature and accomplishment in recognition of a lifetime of literary achievement.

L’ œuvre dramatique, littéraire et autobiographique de Michel Tremblay jouit depuis longtemps d’une popularité internationale remarquable; ses pièces ont été adaptées et traduites dans des dizaines de langues. En avril 2006, Michel Tremblay a été lauréat du Grand Prix littéraire international Metropolis bleu qui récompense l’ensemble de l’œuvre d’un écrivain de calibre international.

AYELET TSABARI ONTARIO, EVENTS 50, 68

Ayelet Tsabari is a twotime winner of the EVENT Non-Fiction Contest and has been published in literary magazines such as PRISM, Grain and Room. Her unpublished non-fiction manuscript was shortlisted for the First Book Competition sponsored by Anvil Press and SFU’s Writer’s Studio. Her story collection, The Best Place on Earth, is her first book. @AyeletTsabari SCOTT TUROW UNITED STATES, EVENTS 10, 27

Scott Turow is the author of eight bestselling works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent and The Burden of Proof, and two non-fiction books.

His books have been translated into more than 25 languages, have sold more than 25 million copies worldwide and have been adapted for film and television. His new novel is Identical. @ScottTurow

Priscila Uppal is a poet, novelist and York University professor. Her publications include eight poetry collections, most recently Ontological Necessities, which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize; two critically acclaimed novels; and the study We Are What We Mourn. Her latest book, Projection: Encounters with My Runaway Mother, is a memoir.

ERIC WALTERS ONTARIO, EVENTS 19, 29, 35

Eric Walters’ young adult novels have won numerous awards, including the Silver Birch, Blue Heron, Red Maple, Snow Willow and Ruth Schwartz Awards, and have received honours from UNESCO’s international award for literature in the service of tolerance. His most recent books are Power Play, My Name is Blessing and Tagged. @EricRWalters ALISON WEARING ONTARIO, EVENTS 11, 13, 34

Alison Wearing’s first book was the bestselling, internationally acclaimed travel memoir Honeymoon in Purdah: An Iranian Journey. Since then, she has dedicated herself to music, dance and theatre. Her original one-woman shows, including a stage adaptation of her memoir Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter, have won awards across Canada. @alisonwearing ALAN WEISMAN UNITED STATES, EVENT 56

Alan Weisman is the author of several books, including The World Without Us, an international bestseller that was translated into 34 languages. A former contributing editor to the Los Angeles Times Magazine, he is a senior producer for Homelands Productions. His new book, Countdown, is a powerful investigation into humanity’s future.

50

Author Biographies D.W. WILSON british columbia/UNITED KINGDOM, EVENTS 50, 65

D.W. Wilson is the author of the short story collection Once You Break a Knuckle and a novel, Ballistics. He is the recipient of the University of East Anglia’s inaugural Man Booker Prize Scholarship, and in 2011, he won the BBC National Short Story Award and was shortlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize and the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize.

MICHAEL WINTER ONTARIO/NEWFOUNDLAND, EVENTS 41, 50

Michael Winter is the author of several novels, including The Big Why, which was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

His previous novel, The Death of Donna Whalen, was nominated for the Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. He is also the recipient of the Writers’ Trust Notable Author Award. His new novel is Minister Without Portfolio.

FRIEDA WISHINSKY ONTARIO, EVENTS 16, 31

Frieda Wishinsky is a multi-talented children’s author who writes for all grade levels—picture books, chapter books, novels and non-fiction. Her first picture book, Oonga Boonga, was voted a Pick of the List by the American Booksellers Association. Her new book, with Elizabeth MacLeod, is A History of Just About Everything. Wishinsky lives in Toronto with her husband.

An Evening with

David Sedaris The renowned NPR humorist comes to Vancouver’s Chan Centre for an evening of cutting wit, social satire, riveting conversation and post-event book signing.

Meet Children’s author

KATHY STINSON author of Red is Best

In celebration of his recent New York Times’ Bestseller release Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls, experience live the hilarious brilliance that created the national bestsellers: Naked, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, When You Are Engulfed in Flames and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk.

Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30pm Chan Centre for the Performing Arts 6265 Crescent Road University of British Columbia

Tickets: $60 & $45 PLUS SERVICE CHARGES

SPECIAL WRITERS FEST OFFER! Use code VWF when purchasing to save $5 per ticket.

Ticketmaster.ca or 1.855.985.5000

OR IN PERSON AT THE CHAN CENTRE BOX OFFICE

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Thanks to Our Sponsors Corporate Support

Foundations

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Literati Gala

Presenting Sponsor Scotia Private Client Group Reception Sponsor Vancouver Film School In-Kind Donors

Canadian Linen & Uniform Service Cats Social House Curry 2 U Daniel Le Chocolat Belge Duso’s Italian Foods Fraser Valley Juice & Salad Granville Island Florist Granville Island Tea Company Kaisereck Delicatessen Kin’s Farm Market La Baguette et l’Echalote Bakery Laurelle’s Fine Foods Lee’s Donuts Mix the Bakery Muffin Granny Olde World Fudge Company Oyama Sausage Company Pane e Formaggio Planet Veg Restaurant Sunrise Produce Taco Shack Terra Breads The Milkman The Salmon Shop Top Ten Market Zara’s Italian Deli & Fresh Pasta

51 A Dram Come True Donors

Anne Giardini Authentic Wines & Spirits Black Rock Oceanfront Resort Brougham Interiors Ltd. Carousel Cleaners Charton-Hobbs Cheryl Berge & Brian Fearncombe Corby Dave Mason East India Carpets Edgemont Fine Wines, Spirits & Ales Emelle’s Catering Fets Whisky Kitchen Granville Island Brewing Helijet Kathleen Audia Kim Thorne Legacy Liquor Store Lesley Stowe Fine Foods Lesperance Mendes Lifford Wine & Spirits Meluki Books MINK Chocolates Paul Whitney Pemberton Distilleries PMA Purple Valley Imports Richard and Virginia Angus River Rock Casino Sally Harding Sandra Jakab and Robert Lesperance Scotch Malt Whisky Society The Edrington Group The Wickaninnish Inn Tinhorn Creek Top Table Group UBC Continuing Studies VonAlbrecht & Associates West Coast Whisky Society

Tickets vancouveropera.ca (604) 683-0222

Community Partners

Vancouver Public Library www.vpl.ca

James W. Wright, General Director Jonathan Darlington, Music Director

52

Writing Contest

The Fifteenth Annual Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry & Short Story Contest

Meet Scott Turow and Maria Semple

The Invitation Submit your finest prose and poetry to the Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry & Short Story Contest.

The Rewards Prizes will be awarded to the top two entries in poetry and fiction.

Photo: Jeremy Lawson Photography

1ST PRIZE IN EACH CATEGORY:

“Turow is always a pleasure to read.”

Photo: Leta Warner

—Washington Post Book World

“As intelligent and enlightening as it is charming.” —Elle Scott Turow: Tues, Oct 22, 8 p.m., An Intimate Evening with Scott Turow Wed, Oct 23, 8 p.m., Panel

Maria Semple: Fri, Oct 25, 10 a.m., Interview Sat, Oct 26, 2 p.m., Panel Sun, Oct 27, 3:30 p.m., Reading

hachettebookgroup.com

2ND PRIZE IN EACH CATEGORY:

$500 $350

First prize winners will published in subTERRAIN and on the Festival website: writersfest.bc.ca.

The Rules 1. The contest is open to all writers.

2. Entries will be accepted for previously unpublished work in each category: a. Poetry (any style): 500-word limit b. Creative Short Fiction: 1,500-word limit.

3. E ntries will be judged blind. Please do not put your name on your story or poem in the file you have uploaded or in the file name.

4. T here is a $15 entry fee for each short story or poem you enter in the contest, payable online through PayPal. 5. W e will accept entries in MS Word Document or PDF formats.

Please use standard margins, 12-point font and double spacing.

6. W inners will be selected by a panel of professionals from the publishing and book industry.

7. E ntries must be uploaded and payment confirmed by 5:00 pm on Sunday, October 27, 2013.

8. Winners will be announced by Wednesday, January 15, 2014.

sponsored by

New! Enter online at writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest.

Please note, we are only accepting electronic entries this year.

vancouver writers fest & RANDOM HOUSE CANADA present

J.B. MacKinnon author of The 100-Mile Diet The independent journalist and author talks about his new book, The Once and Future World, a look at the natural world of the past and what it tells us about nature today. Calling on us to remember nature as it was, to reconnect with it as it is, and to remake it for the future, this is MacKinnon’s deepest exploration yet of the idea of ‘rewilding.’

Thursday, October 3 at 7:30pm Frederic Wood Theatre 6354 Crescent Road University of British Columbia

Tickets: $21 general • $19 students & seniors PLUS SERVICE CHARGES

604.629.8849 or vancouvertix.com

JOSEPH BOYDEN | EARL LOVELACE | ERIC SCHLOSSER MICHAEL WINTER | MEG TILLY | COLIN MOCHRIE RACHELLE DELANEY | MAUREEN JOHNSON | D.W. WILSON

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