VIWF Program Guide 2006 by Vancouver Writers Fest

Welcome to the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival on Granville Island This is the 19th edition of the Vancouver International Writers Festival and for the first time this message is not coming from the pen of the redoubtable, irrepressible and thoroughly remarkable Alma Lee. I had the great good fortune to work alongside Alma in the last four months of her tenure as Artistic Director and to see first hand the excellent relationships she has built with the literary community here, across Canada and internationally. All of us connected with the Festival are the beneficiaries of Alma’s long and distinguished service. One of the notable aspects of this year’s Festival is the breadth of the international participation. We have authors who write about Iraq, Nigeria, Tanzania, Lebanon, Jamaica, Mongolia, Malaysia and many other places around the globe. The best literature gives us stories that are at once both local and universal, and it is now perhaps more important than ever that we hear from other cultures and other perspectives. We are pleased this year to be introducing a new series of solo events that will provide you with a chance to share an intimate evening with some of our distinguished authors. For those more interested in groups of authors addressing a current issue or topic, we have plenty of great discussions to choose from. You might notice a few more poets around this year (poets are always noticeable) as we join with the Association of BC Book Publishers in celebrating the tenth year of Poetry in Transit, the program that puts poetry on our transit system to make the daily commute a little more meaningful. The cavalcade of poets takes place on Friday night. Of course, all of this would not be possible without the hard work of the board, staff and volunteers of the Festival and without the active and engaged participation of you, our audience. I hope to see you at the Festival. Hal Wake Artistic Director

CONTENTS Artistic Director’s Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Festival Map & Venues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The Festival Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 List of Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Ticket Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Invest in a Bestseller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Greetings & Salutations . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 11 Our Supporters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12, 13 Spreading the Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Special Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 The Festival at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

EVENTS SCHEDULE SCHOOL EVENTS APPEAR BY CRAB

Tuesday, October 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Wednesday, October 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 17-19 Thursday, October 19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-23 Friday, October 20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-27 Saturday, October 21 . . . . . . . . . . 28, 32, 33 Sunday, October 22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34, 35 Author Biographies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Poetry & Short Story Contest . . . . . . . . . 60

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE For an alphabetical list of participants and information about specific authors, turn to page 37. Each bio lists the events (by number) in which the author is appearing. To locate a venue, check the map on page 4. If you have any questions, give us a call at 604 681 6330, or check our website at www.writersfest.bc.ca for updated Festival information.

ticket information on page 7 202-1398 CARTWRIGHT STREET, VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA V6H 3R8 PHONE: 604 681 6330 • FAX: 604 681 8400 • EMAIL: viwf@writersfest.bc.ca • INTERNET: www.writersfest.bc.ca

VENUES AND PARKING

MAP LEGEND

Aquabus

1 Granville Island Public Market 2 Revue Theatre 1585 Johnston Street 3 Granville Island Stage 1585 Johnston Street

2 3

False Creek Ferries

1 Johnston Street

ge Stre

nle

an e

M ar itim e

as tT ow er

at lif Bo

Street / Gr anville Str

6 Writers Festival Box Office Main Floor, Festival House 1398 Cartwright Street

Railspu

r Alley

et Anderson

5 The Taproom Granville Island Brewery 1441 Cartwright Street

8, 9

Old Brid

4 Waterfront Theatre 1412 Cartwright Street

ht Street

Cartwrig

6, 7

eet above

7 PTC Studio 3rd Floor, Festival House 1398 Cartwright Street #50 Bus Stop at entrance to island

8 Performance Works 1218 Cartwright Street

Lamey's Mill Roa

2nd Avenue

9 Festival Bookstore Rear, 1218 Cartwright Street 10 Granville Island Hotel 1253 Johnston Street

OFF-SITE VENUES Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC 6265 Crescent Road

PA R K I N G I N F O R M AT I O N Free parking in most spots is limited to three hours from 7 am to 7 pm. Read the signs carefully: some spots are for one hour or less. Free parking is limited to three hours per day throughout the Island. Don’t park your car in one spot for three hours and then move it to another spot. You risk being ticketed. Parking is free and unlimited in most spots (including the pay parking garages and lots) from 7 pm to 7 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 $5. There is also plenty of parking on the north side of False Creek. Consider leaving your car there and coming across on one of the ferries. For a list of off-Island parking alternatives, please send an email to viwf@writersfest.bc.ca. 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

Call or check the web for schedule information.

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

TransLink Schedule Information 604 953 3333 www.translink.bc.ca

False Creek Ferries 604 684 7781 www.granvilleislandferries.bc.ca Aquabus 604 689 5858 www.theaquabus.com

T H E F E S T I VA L E X P E R I E N C E EXPLORE A WORLD OF IDEAS ON GRANVILLE ISLAND… Come down to the 19th annual Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival on Granville Island and explore a world of ideas with nearly 100 writers. Books—fiction, non-fiction and poetry— help us make sense of the world. And when you bring writers and readers together in our Granville Island venues to share thoughts, ideas and opinions, you can expect stimulating, engaging and entertaining events.

A Room with a View This is your opportunity to attend author readings, discussions, debates, poetry bashes and to interact with an eclectic array of writers from Canada and around the world. You can rely on several things—that Festival events will get you thinking, inspire you to read and, if your aspirations are to write, you are sure to be motivated. And this is just part of what you will find in the Festival experience. Festival events (with a few exceptions) take place on Granville Island, in the heart of Vancouver. Granville Island and the Granville Island community have been major supporters of the Festival since its inception in 1988. The Island continues to transform itself and is an ideal, easily navigable location for the Vancouver International Writers Festival. There is a noticeable buzz about the Island during the six days of the Festival. Come along and be part of it. Granville Island is managed on behalf of the Government of Canada, by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Vancouver International Writers Festival is a proud cultural partner of CMHC Granville Island and is honoured to be a resident of this vibrant community. On the Island you will find shops, galleries, artist studios, cafés, restaurants, the wonderful public market and much more. Make all of Granville Island part of your Festival experience. Enjoy! We are also delighted to invite you to a series of special events before and after the Festival. On October 10th novelists Mary Lawson and Kevin Patterson will read from their new novels at the Norman Rothstein Theatre. We are the proud presenters of humorist and essayist David Sedaris’s first Canadian engagement at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC November 1st. Special advance tickets available at Ticketmaster until September 22nd by using the code “writers”. And on November 13th author and historian Margaret MacMillan will be at the Chan Centre talking about her new book, Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World.

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

A special thanks To East India Carpets, Northwest Bungalow and David Hunter Garden Centers for making our Festival stages beautiful.

F E S T I VA L PA R T I C I PA N T S

Caroline Adderson Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Anar Ali Tash Aw Ken Babstock Elizabeth Bachinsky Anita Rau Badami Yves Beauchemin Christa Bell Mark Billingham Clark Blaise Giles Blunt Dennis Bock Camille Bouchard Pan Bouyoucas Marilyn Bowering Dionne Brand Chester Brown Suzanne Buffam Adrienne Clarkson Stephan Cloutier

Lynn Coady Dede Crane Maggie de Vries Patrick Deville Robert Drewe Sarah Ellis Fiona Farrell Sal Ferreras Dennis Foon Nell Freudenberger Damon Galgut Bill Gaston Lorna Goodison Kate Grenville Rawi Hage Linda Holeman Fanny Howe Anosh Irani Stephanie Johnson Wayne Johnston Ryan Knighton Shane Koyczan

Michael Kusugak JosĂŠ Latour Mary Lawson Billie Livingston J.B. MacKinnon Margaret MacMillan Gautam Malkani Alberto Manguel Patrick McCabe Colum McCann Jon McGregor Don McKay Jean McNeil Maile Meloy Lisa Moore Bharati Mukherjee Alayna Munce Barbara Nichol Billeh Nickerson Kevin Patterson Barbara Reid Noah Richler

Anne Robillard Eden Robinson Val Ross Mandy Sayer Ellen Schwartz David Sedaris Nathan Sellyn Javier Sierra Danielle Simard Lemn Sissay Michael V. Smith GaĂŠtan Soucy Linda Spalding Rosemary Sullivan Timothy Taylor Madeleine Thien Galsan Tschinag Richard Wagamese Louise Welsh Cathleen With Rachel Wyatt Patricia Young Saadi Yousef

TICKET INFORMATION HOW TO BUY TICKETS

GENERAL INFORMATION

A D VA N C E T I C K E T S A L E S

• We offer a $2 discount for seniors and students who present valid ID, those on a fixed income and the unemployed. • Out of courtesy to other patrons, no babies or small children at adult Festival events please. • Please check your tickets carefully. There will be no exchanges or refunds. • Latecomers may not be seated. • The Festival program is subject to change without notice. There are no refunds unless the event is cancelled. • No cameras, video recorders or tape recorders. • Please turn off phones and beepers.

Tickets go on sale Monday, September 18, 2006. Tickets are available at the Writers Festival Box Office (in person sales only; see details below), at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone 604 280 3311 or on-line at www.ticketmaster.ca. For information about purchasing tickets, please call the Festival office at 604 681 6330. All prices include GST. A few words about surcharges: surcharges apply to all tickets purchased in advance. Please refer to individual event listings in this program guide for facility surcharges. Ticketmaster surcharges will apply to all tickets purchased through Ticketmaster in person, by phone or on-line. The Writers Festival Box Office charges a $1 surcharge per ticket and offers in-person sales only. The Writers Festival Box Office is located on the first floor of Festival House, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island. Hours are 10:00 am–6:00 pm, Monday to Friday, and 12:00 pm–4:00 pm, Saturdays. Cash, Mastercard, Visa accepted. Advance ticket sales end at 6:00 pm on the day before the event. D O O R S A L E S [ D AY O F E V E N T O N LY ]

The box office at the event will open 45 minutes before the start of the event. Please call 604 681 6330 for ticket availability information or check on-line at www.writersfest.bc.ca. Cash, Mastercard, Visa accepted.

SCHOOL GROUP TICKETS School group tickets to Spreading the Word school events are $6 each. Ticket prices include GST. There are no surcharges on school group tickets. Teachers and adults accompanying school groups must purchase tickets. School group tickets go on sale on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at 10:00 am. There are three ways to order school group tickets: • On-line at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/schools/ticket_orders.php (or go to www.writersfest.bc.ca and follow the links to Schools/School Events/Order School Group Tickets) • In person at the Writers Festival Box Office • By fax to 604 681 8400 (please call 604 681 6330, local 107, in advance to request a ticket order form to fax)

All Festival venues are wheelchair accessible. Please call 604 681 6330, local 107, in advance to reserve seating. ASL interpretation can be provided upon request. Please contact the General Manager by phone 604 681 6330, local 103, or by email manager@writersfest.bc.ca by Monday, October 2, 2006, to request ASL interpretation.

INVEST IN A BESTSELLER BECOME A FRIEND OF THE FESTIVAL

THE ALMA LEE LEGACY FUND

Your support helps bring the world of words to readers of all ages and makes it possible for us to offer ticket discounts to students and seniors.

The Vancouver International Writers Festival is pleased to announce the creation of an endowment fund celebrating the accomplishments of its founder, Alma Lee. This fund will increase our ability to present international writers of significant stature to Festival audiences, develop Spreading the Word programs for schools and enhance our organizational stability. The establishment of the endowment acknowledges that we are approaching our 20th year of presenting outstanding Canadian and international writers to British Columbia audiences. Your gift to the endowment will be matched by government funds making the return on your investment even more significant. For more information on the Alma Lee Legacy Fund, please call 604 681 6330 local 104.

As a non-profit charitable organization, the Vancouver International Writers Festival depends on your support. Your contribution allows you to: > Purchase earlybird Festival tickets > Receive a 10% discount at Blackberry Books, Duthie Books Fourth Avenue, Peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Co-op Bookstore and 32 Books > Receive Ink, the Festival newsletter Depending on your level of support, other benefits may include recognition in the Festival program guide and newsletter, as well as at Festival venues. Contributions of $35 or more receive a tax receipt. All supporters are also eligible to vote at our Annual General Meeting. For full details, see our website, www.writersfest.bc.ca, or call 604 681 6330.

10 On behalf of the Board of Directors, welcome to the 2006 Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival! We are delighted to present a world of words—writers from around the globe, gathering in Vancouver for a week of literary events that will captivate readers of all ages. This October, the Writers Festival celebrates its 19th year. Its great success is thanks to the efforts of many people. The fabulous staff, led by Jane Davidson, our General Manager, has worked tirelessly to bring together this week of events (and the many special events throughout the year). Hal Wake, our new and inspired Artistic Director, has done a magnificent job of programming a wide range of authors and events. As you will see in this guide, Hal has brought together writers who touch upon the world’s objects and ideas to enlighten, debate, entertain and imagine. What better way is there to educate and inspire ourselves and our children regarding the world, our differences and our innate sameness? I invite you to savour the pages of this program and the events that Hal has planned for us. Finally, I would like to acknowledge, with great thanks, the efforts of our outstanding volunteers, sponsors, donors and members. We truly couldn’t do it without you.

GREETINGS On behalf of my colleagues on City Council, and all the citizens of Vancouver, I want to extend best wishes to the Vancouver International Writers Festival for another successful event. As an avid reader, I am particularly proud of Vancouver’s reputation as a centre of learning and creativity, and the Writers Festival is an important part of this tradition. Over many years, the Festival has provided opportunities for readers of all ages to enjoy the work of the world’s best writers, and to recognize our home grown talents. By celebrating the written word, we can advance literacy and promote life-long learning for all Vancouver citizens. Thank you to all of the staff and many volunteers who make the Vancouver International Writers Festival possible. I’m looking forward to another fantastic Festival!

Looking forward to seeing you at the Festival.

SAM SULLIVAN Mayor of Vancouver

LESLIE HURTIG

Welcome to the 19th Vancouver International Writers Festival. Reading has the power to transform us. Through the magic of words, we discover new worlds and new ideas. For almost two decades, the Vancouver International Writers Festival has been expanding the horizons of Vancouver audiences. Again this year, well known writers will take the stage with new and undiscovered authors, sharing a love of language and words with their fans. As Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, I commend the Festival’s organizers and volunteers for their commitment to literacy and the promotion of the written word. Enjoy the Festival!

BEVERLEY J. ODA Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women It is my great pleasure to welcome all of you to the 19th Vancouver International Writers Festival, which has become such a mainstay of the city’s cultural calendar. Prepare to be engaged, interested, entertained and challenged over the coming days, as you meet the many writers from here and around the world who have come to present their work to you. I’d like to thank the many hard-working and dedicated volunteers, staff and members of the board, without whom this festival could not have been possible. Thanks, too, to the authors whose creativity and contributions are celebrated here at the Festival. As Minister responsible for arts and culture in BC, please accept my best wishes for another exciting Festival.

Chair, Board of Directors, VIWF

OLGA ILICH Minister of Tourism, Sport and the Arts, Province of BC

GREETINGS The Canada Council for the Arts is proud to be a partner of the 19th Vancouver International Writers Festival. Over the years, the presence and the voices of our best literary talents, together with an exciting youth program, have contributed to the growing passion for literature in this country. The Festival attracts an ever-increasing audience that is eager to sample its varied, high-quality programming which transports them to worlds of ideas, emotions and evocative words.

Le Conseil des Arts du Canada est fier d’être partenaire de la 19ième édition du Vancouver International Writers Festival. Au fil des ans, la présence des meilleurs talents littéraires venant nous offrir leurs voix ainsi qu’un volet jeunesse particulièrement séduisant ont su remarquablement alimenter une passion sans cesse croissante pour la littérature. Le Festival s’attire un public de plus en plus nombreux qui peut véritablement bénéficier de l’éclat d’une programmation solide qui le fera voyager à travers des mondes d’idées, d’émotions et de mots évocateurs.

With their creativity, writers of fiction and non-fiction, playwrights and poets bring to life works that stimulate the imagination of all Canadians. The Canada Council recognizes the important role the Festival plays in the promotion of contemporary literature and cultural diversity that is at the heart of this event. The Canada Council invites you to take advantage of it—literally!

Grâce à leur génie créatif, les romanciers, nouvellistes, essayistes, dramaturges et poètes donnent vie à des œuvres qui stimulent l’imaginaire des Canadiens. Le Conseil des Arts reconnaît le rôle important que joue Festival au niveau de la promotion de la littérature contemporaine et de la diversité culturelle qui sont au cœur de cet événement. Le Conseil des Arts vous invite à vous laisser littéralement tenter.

Have a wonderful Festival.

Bon Festival!

ROBERT SIRMAN Director | Le directeur Canada Council for the Arts

11 Félicitations à M.Hal Wake et à tous les organisateurs et sponsors du 19ième International Writers & Readers Festival.

Sous l’impulsion de son nouveau directeur, M. Hal Wake, le Writers Festival 2006 poursuit son importante contribution, iniciée il y a près de vingt ans, au développement et à la promotion du livre et de la littérature internationale à Vancouver. Le Consulat général de France, se réjouit, comme chaque année, d’être associé à cet événement par l’invitation d’auteurs français qui participeront à la traditionnelle soirée francophone ainsi qu’aux rencontres réservées au jeune public. Nous sommes heureux de renouveler cet engagement et souhaitons continuer, avec l’Alliance Française et nos partenaires francophones canadiens, à contribuer à cette présence francophone au sein du Writers Festival, non seulement pour faire connaître la littérature de langue française aux nombreuses communautés de Vancouver mais aussi pour favoriser des rencontres souvent inédites entre les auteurs francophones et leurs homologues venus du monde entier. Le livre est le vecteur privilégié d’une communication profonde entre les hommes et nous remercions les organisateurs pour ces opportunités de rencontre et pour leur engagement en faveur de la diversité.

Congratulations to Mr. Hal Wake and all the organizers and sponsors of the 19th International Writers & Readers Festival. Under the guidance of the new director, Hal Wake, this year’s festival will continues its tradition of contributing to the development and the promotion of the written word and its international writers in Vancouver, a valuable tradition initiated almost 20 years ago. The Consulate General of France is delighted each year to be associated with this major event by inviting French authors who will take part in the traditional francophone evening event and to the various daytime events for young readers. We are happy to renew our commitment and we wish to continue, together with the Alliance Française and our Canadian francophone partners, to contribute to a francophone presence at the Writers Festival. This is not only to promote French literature to the diverse communities in Vancouver but also to encourage spontaneous meetings between francophone authors and their counterparts from all over the world. Books are precious and privileged vessels helping people to broaden and intensify communication, and we thank the organizers for giving us these opportunities to meet and for their dedication to diversity.

LUC SEROT ALMÉRAS Consul General of France in Vancouver

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

TITLE SUPPORT

CORPORATE SPONSORS CLASSIC SPONSOR

BESTSELLER SPONSORS

Volunteer Program Sponsor

CORPORATE SUPPORT IN-KIND SPONSORS BEST SELLER

PROGRAM PAPER DONOR

Cannacord Capital Canreal Management Corporation Duthie Books Raincoast Books SPECIAL EDITION Bolder Investment Partners, Ltd. D.S. Management East India Carpets Scotia Private Client Group

MEDIA SPONSORS

LIMITED EDITION British Consulate General Crossline Films Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. Kate Walker & Company Thomas Allen & Son Ltd. Anonymous (1)

SPREADING THE WORD SPONSORS CLASSIC SPONSOR

BESTSELLER SPONSOR

FIRST EDITION Bellis Garden Design Ltd. Davis & Company John Steeves Law Corporation Paper Sky Press RBC Dominion Securities Trend Diesel Ltd. Urban Impact Recycling Ltd. NEW EDITION Harbour Publishing Co. Ltd. Schloss Enterprises Ltd. Todd Merchandising Management Inc. Women in Print

TRAVEL ASSISTANCE Australia Council for the Arts Biblioasis Consulat général de France Cormorant Books Inc. Creative New Zealand Éditions de Mortagne

German Consulate General HarperCollinsCanada Ltd. Hedgerow Press House of Anansi McArthur & Company McClelland & Stewart

New Zealand Book Council Nightwood Editions Oolichan Books Penguin Group (Canada) Porcupine’s Quill Raincoast Books

Random House Canada Scholastic Canada Inc. Simon and Schuster Canada The Betty & Ralph Gustafson Chair of Poetry at Malaspina University-College Tundra Inc.

THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS

SPECIAL THANKS Alma Lee Andrea Seale/Blueprint Fundraising BC Teachers Federation Steve Chow Marc Fournier, Sophia Books Granville Island Cultural Society Granville Island Maintenance Crew Sandy Garossino Anne Green, WordFest Brian Gold, Gold Distribution Leah Gordon Colin Harris Richard Hopkins Aislinn Hunter Patricia MacLean, Heaven and Earth Flowers Robert McVittie Members of the Editors’ Association of Canada, Melanie Rupp Kathryn Shoemaker Bill Sample Carole Scipion Geoffrey Taylor, International Festival of Authors Grant Tufts / FI Help Bob Turner UBC Alma Mater Society Vancouver TheatreSports League

BOOK CLUBS Booktalk Hard Cover Girls The Last Wednesday’s Reading Group Rockridge Readers

FOUNDATIONS

Alan & Margaret Eyre Foundation CanWest Global Foundation Chris Spencer Foundation F.K. Morrow Foundation The Hamber Foundation The Rix Family Foundation Vancouver Foundation

Anonymous (1)

I N D I V I D UA L S U P P O RT CLASSIC

NEW EDITION

Sandy Garossino Colin & Helen Harris

Joy Alexander Elizabeth Austin Shauna Barker Robin Baxter Janice Bearg Lorne Beiles Richard Bradshaw Ralph Brown Shauna Butterwick Marilyn Cassady Joy Coghill Hilde Colenbrander Glenn & Julie Collins David Conlin Lynn Copeland Cynthia Cosulich Cheryl Cowan Cynthia Crampton – in memory of Esther Birney Ann Cowan Buitenhuis Patricia Curtis Cherry Davies Barbara Dawson Diana Debenham Allan Diamond Sandra Djwa Anne Dobbie Lynn Eyton Greg Fitch Jim Fletcher Michael & Daphne Francis Judy Gale Brian & Bonny Gerson Anne & Tony Giardini Carol Gibson Edward & Marianne Gibson Laurie Grant & Tony Ryan Valerie Halpin-Jones Sally Harding Scott Hean Sholto & Shirley Hebenton Gary & Mary Hiscox Richard Hopkins Karen Howe Shouli Hsia Valerie Hunter Mel Hurtig Patricia & Kevin Huscroft Elsie Jang

BEST SELLER Alan & Alix Brown William & Carol Slater Kip Woodward LIMITED EDITION Megan Abbott Yulanda Faris Leslie Hurtig & Doran Chandler Lorraine Marshall Bonnie & Don Sheldon Jan Whitford & Michael Stevenson Anonymous (1) SPECIAL EDITION Megan Abbott Deborah Phippen Anonymous (2) FIRST EDITION Elizabeth & Strachan Birnie Frank & Marilynn Borowicz Ann Carroll Patricia Crowe Cynthia Davis Tina Cicchetti & Kevin Eldridge Finola Finlay Violet Hughes Alma Lee Moshe Mastai J.V. McClelland Corky & Scott McIntyre Elizabeth McKercher Ann-Marie Metten Maryam Nasser Brenda & Michael O'Keefe Ebie & Ian Pitfield Mary Robertson Ralph Sayle Rod Scheuerman Kathryn E. Shoemaker Ravi Sidhoo Yasmeen & Andrew Strang Carolyn Swayze Maurice White Blake Wilson

G OV E R N M E N T S U P P O RT Geri Jarvis Martin Kinch Matthew Kirchner & Lisa Osoba Greg Kowall Melanie Last Clive Lonsdale Aileen Lord Gloria Loree Linda Lupini Jim & Joan Mayhew Pat McIntosh Eilish McKendy Deborah McVittie Justine Mercer Bruce Milne Warren & Diana Mitchell Paula Nelson Arne Olsen Timothy Pezarro Celine Pitre Don Prior Lonnie & Susan Propas Carole Randle Michele Reitz Jack & Jenny Rootman Phil Salt Colleen MacMillan & Rob Sanders Pete Sarsfield Suzanne Scott Pippa Shepherd Helen Shore Chanda Siddoo Barbara I. Stafford Pam & Don Steele Paul Stein Mary Lee Stephenson Karen Stewart Ian & Janie Strang Jennifer Sweeney Jim H.S. Vallance David & Susan Van Blarcom Sandra & Lee Vishloff Ray Weremczuk Lorne T. Wickerson Joan Williams William & Carol Woodson Fei Wong Lorna Young Anonymous (3)

We gratefully acknowledge the financial assistance received from the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage (Arts Presentation Canada, Book Publishing Industry Development Program and the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program).

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $20.0 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada. Nous remercions de son soutien le Conseil des Arts du Canada, qui a investi 20,0 millions de dollars l'an dernier dans les lettres et l'édition à travers le Canada.

The Province of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council and the Gaming and Policy Enforcement Branch

Arts Now is a proud contributing partner.

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 International Writers Festival’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 there are 31 great events for grades K-12,

in French and English. Find study guides for each event at www.writersfest.bc.ca/schools.

WRITER-IN-RESIDENCE connects a Festival author with a school and BC community. This year a Festival writer will be in residence in Port Hardy.

Generously supported by The Alan and Margaret Eyre Foundation and Starbucks.

The Writer-in–Residence program is generously supported by the Michael R. Shaw Outreach Program and BC Transmission Corporation.

WRITE TO THE POINT is a writing contest for Grades 5, 6, 7 Mount

SPREADING THE WORD 3 – two Festival events will be filmed before

Pleasant/East Vancouver students. Prizes include tickets for the class to attend a Festival school event and a collection of books courtesy of Raincoast Books.

a live school audience. The Spreading the Word 3 DVD will be distributed free of charge to schools and libraries throughout BC. Sponsored by TELUS and produced by CBC Television.

Sponsored by QLT and the Chris Spencer Foundation. FRIDAY DAYTIME EVENTS are designed for teachers and senior

SUBSIDY FOR SCHOOL GROUPS

students as well as for the general public.

The Vancouver International Writers Festival acknowledges the Cynthia Woodward Development Fund, the result of many years of dedicated fundraising by Cynthia Woodward. Her vision and generosity enable us to subsidize tickets for school groups. A limited number of subsidies based on financial need are available. To inquire about a subsidy, please contact the General Manager at 604 681 6330 local 103, or at manager@writersfest.bc.ca.

Sponsored by Kidsbooks. READING WITH WRITERS – Festival authors will visit local inner city classrooms during the Festival to inspire young readers and writers.

Sponsored by HSBC Bank Canada and Raise-a-Reader.

SPREADING THE WORD is generously supported by our corporate,

HSBC is proud to support the Vancouver International Writers Festival. HSBC Bank Canada is not only a member of one of the world’s largest financial services organizations, but we’re also proud to be a part of your local community. That’s why it gives us great pleasure to support the Vancouver International Writers Festival.

hsbc.ca Issued by HSBC Bank Canada

government and individual supporters

LA JOIE DE LIRE Pour la première fois en dix ans d’événements en français pour les élèves des programmes de français langue maternelle et d’immersion, le programme comprendra des acteurs qui liront des scènes de pièces de théâtre. L’une des pièces de théâtre est une comédie s’adressant aux enfants de 6 à 10 ans et la deuxième est écrite pour les élèves de l’école secondaire. Cette année, l’événement présente Camille Bouchard, gagnant du Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général pour la littérature jeunesse en français en 2005, et des écrivains de fiction fantaisiste, de bandes dessinées et d’autres livres pour les jeunes lecteurs. Notre soirée pour les lecteurs adultes combinera une fois de plus des auteurs de la France et du Québec, qui écrivent en français. Ensemble, ils forment d’excellentes occasions de faire l’expérience de la joie de lire.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House of Canada present

Mary Lawson

and

Crow Lake

Vancouver International Writers Festival presents

Kevin Patterson Country of Cold

An Evening with David Sedaris

7 pm, Tuesday, October 10 Norman Rothstein Theatre, Jewish Community Centre 950 West 41st Ave (at Oak) $15 / $13 + $1 facility surcharge

Vancouver International Writers Festival, The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and Penguin Group Canada present

Margaret MacMillan

“David Sedaris just may be the funniest man alive.” Time Out New York

Reading from her new book Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World.

8 pm, Wednesday, November 1 The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC $38 + $2 facility surcharge

7:30 pm, Monday, November 13 The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC $19 adults / $17 seniors / $15 students plus $2 facility surcharge

Tickets on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone at 604 280 3311 or online at www.ticketmaster.ca. Info: www.writersfest.bc.ca or 604 681 6330.

Tickets available through Ticketmaster with password “writers” (password is lifted on Sept 23), www.ticketmaster.ca or 604 280 3311 or in person at Ticketmaster outlets. Info: www.writersfest.bc.ca or 604 681 6330.

T U E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 7

BIG FISH MAGGIE DE VRIES

10–11:00 AM

L’HEURE DU CONTE

DANIELLE SIMARD ANIMATRICE : TRILBY JEEVES WATERFRONT THEATRE

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

10 H À 11 H

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

PTC STUDIO

After living for 177 years in the Fraser River, Big Fish, a sturgeon, has some mighty tales to tell. Big Fish is enormous, old enough to have seen the Gold Rush and strong enough to have survived predators, disease and starvation. Vancouver author Maggie de Vries, winner of the George Ryga Award for Social Innovation, tells the story of this quiet heroine, interweaving fact, science and imagination.

$12 / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

Quel enfant n’a pas rêvé, au moins furtivement, de se débarrasser d’un frère ou d’une sœur, ou de fuguer parce que sa mère insiste pour qu’il prenne un bain, range ses jouets ou nettoie sa chambre? Venez rencontrer l’auteure Danielle Simard qui raconte des histoires, des anciennes et des nouvelles, et faire connaissance avec sa nouvelle bande dessinée, Drôle de tour. Pour les élèves de la maternelle à 3e année

Suitable for grades 1 to 4 Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français. Il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

This event is generously supported by the Rix Family Foundation This event will be taped by CBC Television

FROM PAGE TO STAGE

DERRIÈRE LE MUR

STEPHAN CLOUTIER, DENNIS FOON

CAMILLE BOUCHARD

MODERATOR: GLYNIS LEYSHON

ANIMATEUR : SCOTT STEEDMAN

1–2:30 PM

13 H À 14 H 30

WATERFRONT THEATRE

PTC STUDIO

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR

$12 / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

STUDENT GROUPS

Expect magic as two award-winning playwrights (one of whom is also an accomplished actor) and a seasoned theatre director get together to show (and act out) how the written word is brought to life. Revel in the experience of stagecraft as these three veterans wear several hats to create a performance right before your eyes. Suitable for grades 8 to 12 and adults interested in live theatre This event will be taped by CBC Television

Depuis des lustres, les villageois ne cessent d’évoquer la possibilité que d’autres personnes à l’allure très étrange habitent derrière « le mur », mais personne ne les a jamais vues. Cela, jusqu’au jour où Thomas décide d’escalader le mur pour récupérer son ballon. Venez rencontrer Camille Bouchard pour découvrir ce qui se cache derrière ce mur et comment ses divers voyages et aventures transpirent dans ses romans. Pour les élèves de la 4e à 7e année Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français. Il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8

THE CYNTHIA WOODWARD

YOUNG READERS LEGACY

LES CHEVALIERS D’ÉMERAUDE

ANNE ROBILLARD

ORDINARY TEENS, EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES

ANIMATRICE : FRANCE PERRAS

DENNIS FOON, MICHAEL KUSUGAK

REVUE THEATRE

10–11:30 AM

$12 + 1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

De nombreux lecteurs de Vancouver connaissent déjà les aventures fabuleuses vécues par Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude et ils auront la chance de découvrir les derniers livres de la série, en plus de rencontrer l’auteure. Quant aux non-initiés, ils sont sans doute impatients de connaître enfin les Chevaliers, l’Empereur Noir et son dragon ainsi que d’autres créatures fantastiques. Les anciens et les nouveaux lecteurs doivent se préparer à découvrir un tout nouveau roman fantaisiste, Qui est Terra Wilder? qui se déroule en Colombie-Britannique!

10 H À 11 H 30

$12 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Two teenagers in worlds that are poles apart—the traditional world of the Inuit before European contact, and a post-apocalyptic, futuristic wasteland—find themselves battling powerful forces just to survive. Along the way, they discover inner strength, cope with loss and challenge power. In the hands of these two gifted authors, rebels, shamans, curses, mysterious dwellers of the City, and more come alive.

Convient aux élèves de la 4e à 9e année et aux adultes intéressés à ce genre littéraire

Suitable for grades 6 to 9

Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français. Il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs

FITTING IN

SARAH ELLIS, ELLEN SCHWARTZ

10–11:30 AM

INSPIRED BY THE CLASSICS MODERATOR: ALLISON SULLINGS

PERFORMANCE WORKS

10–11:30 AM

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

WATERFRONT THEATRE

When Joey’s mother dies, he’s sent to Brooklyn to live with his grandfather, aunt and cousin, who are not only white, but also Jewish. Meanwhile, Kip spends the summer with his grandmother and five eccentric girl cousins, and finds himself odd man out until he discovers the binder his father kept as a teenager. Two award-winning authors explore the challenges of fitting in, being a loner, negotiating your place in the family and being on the team. Suitable for grades 5 to 7

DEDE CRANE, BARBARA NICHOL

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE/ $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

The classics—whether Pride and Prejudice or Don Quixote—continue to influence authors. Dede Crane has transformed Jane Austen’s enduring heroine into a West Coast teenager with a long list of complaints about her life. Barbara Nichol, on the other hand, has faithfully shaped Cervantes’s classic into a more approachable retelling of the grand adventures of Don Quixote. Reinvented or retold, great stories find enduring life in the hands of good authors. Suitable for grades 10 to 12

W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8

PICTURE THIS BARBARA REID

MADMEN OR MYSTICS?

CHESTER BROWN, BARBARA NICHOL MODERATOR: BRENDA BERCK

10–11:30 AM

1–2:30 PM

PTC STUDIO $12 / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

REVUE THEATRE

Starting with familiar Plasticine , Governor General’s award–winning author and illustrator Barbara Reid builds layers of modelling clay and then adds bits of sticks, pins, wires, candy wrappers, cloth and more to shape threedimensional pictures that have to be stored in pizza boxes. The result is illustrations that leap off the page and enchant young readers. Reid’s illustrations have won every major children’s book award. Come and see how she does it. ™

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Chester Brown’s biography of Louis Riel in graphic novel form explores this historical figure, taking on themes of anti-authoritarianism and possible madness. Barbara Nichol’s retelling of Don Quixote’s idealistic and impractical adventures marries the fantastical with the realistic. When people see the world differently than we do, it’s easy to dismiss them as madmen. But are they? Suitable for grades 8 to 10

Suitable for grades 4 to 6

VIE VIRTUELLE OU RÉELLE

$12 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

STEPHAN CLOUTIER ANIMATRICE : SYLVIA L’ÉCUYER

13 H À 14 H 30 WATERFRONT THEATRE

YOU CAN’T READ THIS

VAL ROSS IN CONVERSATION WITH SARAH ELLIS

1–2:30 PM PTC STUDIO $12 / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

Il n’est pas rare de constater que les jeunes préfèrent passer du temps sur Internet plutôt qu’avec leurs parents et amis. L’auteur de Safari de Banlieue, accompagné d’autres acteurs, fera la lecture de scènes d’une pièce de théâtre qui raconte une période de la vie d’Alcide, qui aime mieux la vie virtuelle qu’il a créée. Cette pièce de théâtre raconte, entre autres, le pouvoir de l’amitié. Pour les élèves de la 8e à 12e année Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français. Il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

From Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon the Great of Mesopotamia, the world’s oldest signed author, to J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter, barriers to reading have ranged from the physical to the economic, social and political. Renowned journalist Val Ross tells the story of forbidden books, lost writing, secret codes, trashed libraries, writers in hiding, censors, vandals, spies and laws that have prevented people from learning to read. The privilege of reading will be more deeply appreciated when Ross brings to life the struggles people have faced to enjoy the written word. Suitable for grades 6 to 9

W E D N E S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 8

THE VIEW FROM QUEBEC

YVES BEAUCHEMIN, PAN BOUYOUCAS,

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH MARK BILLINGHAM

GAÉTAN SOUCY MODERATOR: NOAH RICHLER

8:00 PM PTC STUDIO

7:00 PM WATERFRONT THEATRE $15 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

The province of Quebec has its own rich and distinct literary history. But what’s going on in Quebec writing now? Is political engagement still an important part of Quebecois literature? Some critics have accused the younger generation of Quebec novelists of turning their backs on their fathers and grandfathers. Join the discussion begun by Noah Richler in Literary Atlas of Canada, along with three of Quebec’s prominent writers.

$15

This is the launch of a new series of up close and personal encounters that gives fans a chance to spend an intimate evening with a favourite writer. Mark Billingham, author of the mystery series featuring Tom Thorne, has been called by the Daily Express “one of the best and most innovative writers on the British crime scene.” He also has a considerable reputation as a stand-up comic, so this is bound to be a memorable occasion.

This event is sponsored by Weyerhaeuser and generously supported by the Hamber Foundation.

THE ALMA LEE OPENING NIGHT EVENT

GRAND OPENINGS

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, TASH AW, LYNN COADY, DAMON GALGUT, KATE GRENVILLE, WAYNE JOHNSTON, JON MCGREGOR HOST: HAL WAKE

8:30 PM PERFORMANCE WORKS $20 + $1 FACILITY SURCHARGE

It’s opening night at the Writers Festival and the Festival’s new Artistic Director Hal Wake introduces seven fine novelists. Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reads from Half of a Yellow Sun, her dramatic portrait of modern Africa. Tash Aw reads from his first novel, The Harmony Silk Factory, set in Malaysia in the 1940s. Albertan Lynn Coady takes the mickey out of academe with her satiric Mean Boy. Damon Galgut's novel The Good Doctor was shortlisted for both the Man Booker Prize and the IMPAC Dublin Award. Australian author Kate Grenville’s The Secret River, the story of a clash between Australian colonials and Aborigines, won the 2006 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. A Festival favourite, Newfoundlander Wayne Johnston reads from The Custodian of Paradise. Britain’s Jon McGregor introduces his long-awaited second novel So Many Ways to Begin, a story about the possibilities of love. These authors will open the Festival in grand style.

This event is sponsored by HarperCollins Canada Ltd.

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 9

THE POWER OF READING

FEET, FOX AND WINGS

FIONA FARRELL, ALBERTO MANGUEL, VAL ROSS

SARAH ELLIS, BARBARA REID, ELLEN SCHWARTZ

MODERATOR: JOHN BURNS

MODERATOR: KATHY SHOEMAKER

10–11:30 AM

10–11:00 AM

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

REVUE THEATRE

$12 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$12 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Three authors who know first hand about the influence and power of writing discuss how books shape our lives. New Zealander Fiona Farrell has created a character with a passion for reading whose life is moulded by her imagination. Alberto Manguel writes with passion about how libraries embody the memories of individuals and whole cultures. Val Ross’s You Can’t Read This tells stories of people who have battled for the freedom to read books.

Settle in for a morning of storytelling with three writers who know how to tell a tale for young readers. From feet that have a mind of their own, to a wandering fox who finds a companion, to an unfolding friendship between a young girl and an elderly neighbour, these three stories will delight and entertain. Suitable for grades K to 3

Suitable for grades 8 to 12 and adults

GROUNDWORK

KATE GRENVILLE, LINDA HOLEMAN, JAVIER SIERRA MODERATOR: JAN WHITFORD

STRING STORIES

MICHAEL KUSUGAK

10–11:00 AM

10–11:30 AM

WATERFRONT THEATRE

PERFORMANCE WORKS

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

To write about 19th-century Australia, to recreate 19th-century Afghan culture or to decipher the mysteries that Leonardo hid in The Last Supper— and to write these stories well—takes years of research and historical fact-finding. To bring history to life requires experiencing the taste of sea salt spray or imagining the pressure of the Inquisitors. Three authors who have set their stories in historical times talk about the challenges and the rewards of doing the groundwork. Suitable for grades 10 to 12 and historical fiction fans

Acclaimed Inuit storyteller Michael Kusugak mesmerizes young audiences with narratives from his Arctic home and tales told with string. In a tradition passed down by his grandmother, Michael weaves one story from the thread of another, using a piece of string, a bone on a stick and his voice. Winding string around his fingers, he creates a whale, then a dog, then a seagull. He transforms the ordinary into the magical and shares the customs of his culture. Suitable for grades K to 3

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 9

FUEGO

WORDS ON THE FLY

STEPHAN CLOUTIER

SHANE KOYCZAN, LEMN SISSAY

ANIMATRICE : ANNE-MARIE MCGINN

WITH SPECIAL GUEST CHRISTA BELL

10 H À 11 H 30

1–2:30 PM

PTC STUDIO

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

$12 / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

$12 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Il n’est guère surprenant de constater que, lorsqu’ils se rencontrent pour la première fois, une elfe, un dragon et un jeune garçon qui aspire à devenir chevalier ne s’entendent pas très bien tout de suite. Pourtant, lorsqu’ils affrontent un méchant sorcier, ils savent bien qu’ils doivent s’entraider. La pièce de théâtre et le dragon se prénomment tous deux Fuego, un indice du rôle important joué par le dragon. Les acteurs feront la lecture de scènes de la pièce de théâtre, une comédie écrite à l’intention des enfants. Le garçon, Nathan, l’elfe, Axia, et Fuego viendront-ils à bout du méchant sorcier? Voilà l’occasion de le découvrir et de rencontrer l’auteur et les acteurs.

Some of the best dynamic, hip, hard-hitting spoken-word artists in the world today will be on stage to show what happens when words fly. This is poetry being performed— as creativity rides high from the personal to the polemical. Shane Koyczan was judged best poet at last year’s Edinburgh Book Festival. A performer, published poet and playwright, Lemn Sissay will be performing from Poland to Zimbabwe this year. Special guest performer Christa Bell will add to the excitement.

Pour les élèves de la 4e à 7e année

Suitable for grades 10 to 12 and adults

Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

LE RICANEMENT DES HYÈNES

CAMILLE BOUCHARD

THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF IT

ANIMATRICE : DANIELLE ARCAND

ANAR ALI, CLARK BLAISE, FIONA FARRELL,

13 H À 14 H 30

BILL GASTON, RACHEL WYATT MODERATOR: JOHN BURNS

REVUE THEATRE $12 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 POUR LES GROUPES D’ÉTUDIANTS

1–2:30 PM

Les voyages effectués par Camille Bouchard dans des déserts, des forêts tropicales, des sommets montagneux et les expériences vécues avec les gens qu’il a rencontrés se reflètent dans ses romans, notamment dans Le Ricanement des hyènes, pour lequel il a reçu le Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général du Canada 2005 pour la Littérature jeunesse. Ce roman a pour cadre l’Afrique de l’Ouest, et Manuel, venu du Québec avec ses parents médecins qui exploitent un dispensaire, en est le personnage principal. Le livre est passionnant et nous fait découvrir une culture différente, en plus de nous tenir en haleine en raison d’un meurtre à résoudre. Venez rencontrer Camille Bouchard pour mieux approfondir l’expérience de Manuel en Afrique et savoir comment l’auteur s’y prend pour écrire des histoires décrivant d’autres cultures.

PERFORMANCE WORKS

Pour les élèves de la 8e à 12e année Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français. Il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs.

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

If the novel is a riotous symphony, the short story is a concerto: contained, precise and elegant. Young writers use it to hone their narrative skills; seasoned writers continue to use it because they love its distilled power. Its only constriction is it has to be short. Five virtuosos of the form talk about how it can compact whole worlds and why they relish its challenges and delight in its results. Suitable for grades 8 to 10 and adults

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 9

IN FINE FORM

GROWING UP GONZO —MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL

BUNS ’N’ ROSES

ELIZABETH BACHINSKY, MARILYN BOWERING, LORNA GOODISON, DON MCKAY

MANDY SAYER

RYAN KNIGHTON, SHANE KOYZCAN,

MODERATORS: KATE BRAID, SANDY SHREVE

ANAR ALI, ELIZABETH BACHINSKY, ALAYNA MUNCE, NATHAN SELLYN,

1–2:30 PM 1–2:30 PM

MICHAEL V. SMITH, CATHLEEN WITH

PTC STUDIO

HOST: BILLEH NICKERSON

WATERFRONT THEATRE

$12 / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

FEATURING: THE WRITERS FESTIVAL GO-GO DANCERS

Why do poets choose particular forms for their poetry? What are the rewards in using a particular form—a sonnet versus a sestina? How does form shape content? Or does a particular content lend itself best to a particular form? Four experienced poets talk with the creators of an anthology of poetic forms in Canada—In Fine Form —about how poems take shape.

Australian Mandy Sayer spent her childhood and adolescence in a world of smoky jazz and steamy beer gardens, living in poverty with her alcoholic parents. Her memoir of this time is poignant, rough and often funny—and she’s taken to the stage to retell it, with tap dancing, drumming—a visual and aural experience that is not for the faint of heart. What triumphs is a story of love and survival.

Suitable for grades 10 to 12 and lovers of poetry

Suitable for grades 11 to 12 and adults

This event is sponsored by Raincoast Books.

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

8:00 PM PERFORMANCE WORKS $15 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Join Billeh Nickerson, eight talented writers and the festival's infamous go-go dancers as they shake things up—literally and literarily—for an evening of fun and irreverence. Warning: may contain poetic lap dances.

T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 1 9

FROM THE CAULDRON OF CONFLICT

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE, ANOSH IRANI MODERATOR: KATHRYN GRETSINGER

8:00 PM

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH WAYNE JOHNSTON 8:00 PM

ANITA RAU BADAMI, RAWI HAGE,

WATERFRONT THEATRE

$15 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

From the civil war in Beirut to the Biafran war of independence, from Bombay’s riots to India’s partition, these four writers have chosen dramatic backdrops for their most recent fiction. These historical events can be used to explore the depths of personal experience and seek redemption out of horror. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself in history from the inside out, and gain a better understanding of places where conflict and beauty coexist.

PTC STUDIO

$15

One of Canada’s most celebrated authors, Wayne Johnston is known for his masterful rendering of Newfoundland, its characters, its beauty and its quirks, leavened always with humour. The Colony of Unrequited Dreams introduced us to Sheilagh Fielding, and now, in his new novel The Custodian of Paradise, Johnston deepens our understanding of this memorable character. This is an opportunity to spend an hour with Wayne Johnston in an intimate setting.

This event is sponsored by Weyerhaeuser and generously supported by the Hamber Foundation.

POURQUOI ÉCRIRE? PAN BOUYOUCAS, PATRICK DEVILLE, DANIELLE SIMARD, GAÉTAN SOUCY MODERATOR: SYLVIA L’ÉCUYER

8:00 PM

THE TAPROOM

$15

Il y a des moments dans la vie de tous les écrivains où ils se demandent : pourquoi est-ce que je fais ça? Est-ce que cela fait une différence dans le monde si j’écris ces mots ou si je raconte cette histoire? Les éléments qui motivent les écrivains à la tâche ardue de pratiquer leur art comprennent l’aspect personnel (la mémoire de leur propre réponse à un livre particulier), le devoir moral impératif ou le sentiment de pure joie que l’écriture peut procurer. Venez rejoindre quatre auteurs chevronnés dans une discussion ayant pour thème l’importance de l’écriture. Pour les gens 19 ans et plus

STAPLES@STAPLESONLINE.COM

Please join (or mention you are on) our e-list and receive a $5 credit towards your purchase.

1447 CLYDE AVENUE, WEST VANCOUVER 604.921.7763 OR TOLL FREE 1.800.397.7228

F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 2 0

FAMILY MATTERS

PAN BOUYOUCAS, JON MCGREGOR,

BHARATI MUKHERJEE, TIMOTHY TAYLOR

ALAYNA MUNCE, RICHARD WAGAMESE

MODERATOR: ANNE GIARDINI

REVUE THEATRE

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

$12 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$12 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Within family, there is a rich palette of human emotion and experience—love, jealousy, betrayal, deceit, secrets and honour. Families do matter to these five writers, and the family matters they explore are wide-ranging and very human. From brawling brothers to father-and-son conflict, unshared family histories and entire family sagas, these are family stories that you will want to know.

CONCRETE CHARACTERS

cooks of all abilities will find inspiration…” – Barbara-jo McIntosh

1740 West 2nd Avenue (east of Burrard) Vancouver, British Columbia V6J 1H6 telephone 604.688.6755 fax 604.688.6759 toll free 1.866.688.6744 Net Loft Granville Island telephone 604.684.6788 email bookcook@intergate.ca www.bookstocooks.com

10–11:30AM

10–11:30 AM

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

“an epicurean’s delight,where food lovers and

THE POSSIBILITY OF LOVE

TASH AW, BILLIE LIVINGSTON, MAILE MELOY,

The struggles and efforts to make love happen and to keep it together is fine fodder for writers. These four novelists have cut to the heart of our search for intimacy and family, for what makes life meaningful and love real. From the difficulties of keeping marriage alive, to love between children and parents, grandchildren and grandparents, the possibility of love is a compelling subject for writer and reader alike.

TRIPLE TREAT

DIONNE BRAND, RAWI HAGE, ANOSH IRANI,

GAUTAM MALKANI, JAVIER SIERRA,

JOSÉ LATOUR

MADELEINE THIEN

MODERATOR: JOHN BURNS

MODERATOR: BILL RICHARDSON

10–11:30 AM

PERFORMANCE WORKS

WATERFRONT THEATRE

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Some novels could simply not take place in any location other than the ones in which they are set. Brand’s Toronto, Hage’s Beirut, Irani’s Bombay and Latour’s Havana have as much character and are drawn with as much care and detail as the characters who inhabit them. When a city becomes a character in itself, what impact does that have on those who live and act there?

Come along with the insatiably curious Bill Richardson as he explores the magnificent world of words created by three masterful storytellers. From Malkani’s Pakistani rude boys in London, to Thien’s two memorable love stories, and Sierra’s gripping mystery behind Leonardo’s painting of The Last Supper, these tales tell of compelling characters and extraordinary experiences that span the globe.

F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 2 0

VILLA AIR-BEL

ROSEMARY SULLIVAN IN CONVERSATION

MARILYN BOWERING, DAMON GALGUT,

TIME FOR LISTENING

WITH JERRY WASSERMAN

PATRICK MCCABE, EDEN ROBINSON, GAÉTAN SOUCY

PATRICK DEVILLE, ROBERT DREWE,

MODERATOR: JAN WHITFORD

STEPHANIE JOHNSON,

10–11:30 AM

FROM THE DARK SIDE

PTC STUDIO

1–2:30 PM

$12 / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

GRANVILLE ISLAND STAGE

In 1940s France, a young American named Varian Fry was given the mission of saving some of the intellectual and artistic elite of Europe—Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, André Breton, Heinrich Mann and many more. In the hands of seasoned writer and biographer Rosemary Sullivan, this narrative non-fiction brings to life one of the most intriguing and untold stories of courage in the face of the German occupation of France.

GAUTAM MALKANI, JEAN MCNEIL HOST: HAL WAKE

$12 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE /

1–2:30 PM

$6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

REVUE THEATRE

Timothy Findley believed that one of the obligations of the novelist was to descend into the darkest corners of the human psyche and report back what he or she saw. All of these authors explore some of the more disturbing and difficult aspects of human character. Are there consequences for the writer in living so long alongside disturbing elements of their characters? What are the benefits for the reader in experiencing the dark side this way?

$12 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Five authors from Australia, New Zealand, England and France read from their latest books. Come and be read to by polished authors from other places, in the true spirit of what the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival is all about.

Odd Man Out A new novel from the award-winning author of The Several Lives of Orphan Jack and Pick-Up Sticks

Sarah Ellis

Catch at the Vancouver International Writers Festival on October 18 and 19!

on Broadway: 3083 West Broadway 604-738-5335 in the village: 3040 Edgemont Blvd 604-986-6190 everywhere: www.kidsbooks.ca www.groundwoodbooks.com

F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 2 0

OH, CANADA

YVES BEAUCHEMIN, NOAH RICHLER, LINDA SPALDING, ROSEMARY SULLIVAN

THE LITERARY CABARET

MODERATOR: ANDREAS SCHROEDER

DENNIS BOCK, BILLIE LIVINGSTON,

COLUM MCCANN, LISA MOORE, LEMN SISSAY,

1–2:30 PM

MADELEINE THIEN

WATERFRONT THEATRE

HOST: SALVADOR FERRERAS

$12 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Over the past two decades, Canadian literature has emerged from bare acknowledgement to international recognition as one of the most accomplished, thriving national literatures in the world. How did that happen? What is the current state of Canadian literature and what might the future hold? The writers on this panel have been at the centre of this remarkable transformation and have many insights to share.

WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

CHESTER BROWN, BARBARA REID

8:00 PM

PERFORMANCE WORKS

$20 + $1 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Words meet music in this popular event of alchemy that mixes literature with music to create pure gold. Sure to transport audiences to new levels of enjoyment, the evening also features Festival house band Poetic License (Bill Sample, Alan Matheson, Buff Allen, Harris van Berkel, Tom Keenlyside and Laurence Mollerup) under the musical direction of multi-talented host Sal Ferreras. Astounding, extraordinary and always fun. Buy your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Cash bar.

1–2:30 PM PTC STUDIO $12 / $6 FOR STUDENT GROUPS

Two illustrators who work in very different forms—one a graphic novelist and the other an artist working mostly with Plasticine™—talk about how they marry their illustrations with words to tell a story. Brown’s most recent work is a biography in graphic novel form of Louis Riel. Many of Reid’s three-dimensional art pieces have been sold after the book is published.

20 years young this year!

everyday 10-7 NetLoft Granville Island www.paper-ya.com F E AT U R I N G D E S I G N S BY

Calvin Klein | Tibet Rug Company Andy Warhol | Frank Lloyd Wright

East India Carpets

P E R S I A N & CO N T E M P O R A RY C L A S S I C S S I N C E 1 9 4 8

1606 West 2nd Ave, Vancouver | 604.736.5681 Mon to Sat 10-6 | Sunday 12-5 W W W. E A S T I N D I A C A R P E T S . C O M

F R I D AY, O C T O B E R 2 0

TRADE SECRETS

MARK BILLINGHAM, GILES BLUNT, JOSÉ LATOUR, LOUISE WELSH MODERATOR: MARK BILLINGHAM

8:00 PM WATERFRONT THEATRE

$15 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Who dunnit? Does the crime writer always know before he or she begins to write? Where do you bury the body so that it won’t be painfully obvious to your reader? How do you come up with plausible, fresh ways to keep the crime reader hanging? Four fine practitioners of the crime genre spill their secrets.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH K ATE GRENVILLE

8:00 PM PTC STUDIO

$15

Australian writer Kate Grenville won the Orange Prize in 2001 for her novel The Idea of Perfection. This year she won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for The Secret River, a novel about a convict ancestor who seized Aborigine land. The novel began as an investigation into her family’s history and has been praised for its accurate depiction of how a limited man of good intentions becomes involved in enormity and atrocity. It also examines the mythic collective guilt for the fate of the Aborigines—a good opportunity to spend an hour with Kate Grenville in an intimate setting.

This event is sponsored by Weyerhaeuser and generously supported by the Hamber Foundation.

POETRY IN TRANSIT

FEATURING: WINONA BAKER, MARILYN BOWERING, KATE BRAID, W.H. NEW, SANDY SHREVE, SHARON THESEN, DERK WYNAND AND MORE HOST: SUSAN MUSGRAVE

8:00 PM THE TAPROOM

We all remember a favourite line of poetry that remains isolated from its verse. On this night, connect a line to a poem and put a face to a poet, when the Association of Book Publishers of BC and TransLink celebrate 10 incredible years of Poetry in Transit. Join us for an evening of readings, signings and celebration as we assemble more than 30 of the poets who over the past decade have relieved the monotony of your daily commute. For ages 19 and over.

S AT U R D AY, O C T O B E R 2 1

THE ANNUAL SPELL OFF

THE LIBRARY AT NIGHT

MULTIPLICITY

CBC TEAM, THE VANCOUVER SUN TEAM

ALBERTO MANGUEL IN CONVERSATION WITH

RACHEL WYATT, PATRICIA YOUNG

YOU, THE AUDIENCE

SHELAGH ROGERS

MODERATOR: DENISE RYAN

SPELL MISTRESS: CAROL MUNRO

CAROLINE ADDERSON, BILL GASTON,

10:30 AM–12 NOON

PERFORMANCE WORKS

WATERFRONT THEATRE

REVUE THEATRE

$13 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist and editor, Alberto Manguel is absorbed by the written word. Inspired by the process of designing and organizing a library at his home in France, Manguel talks with CBC broadcaster Shelagh Rogers about how libraries embody the memories of individuals and whole cultures. His book, The Library at Night, explores libraries from Egypt to the Arab world, from Rome to Google.

The short story collection permits authors to create strange and wonderful characters in wildly divergent worlds that alter from story to story within that collection. These are characters who stay with us for a short while as we read their lives, and then often stay with us for much longer in our imaginations. Four authors with new short story collections talk about the freedom to inhabit diverse minds.

FREE

The annual etymological face-off among journalists from The Vancouver Sun, broadcasters from the CBC and the audience. The Vancouver Sun team won last year’s fastpaced, action-packed match. Who will be the winner this year in this ongoing battle of the wits? Bring your notepad and pen and join Spell Mistress Carol Munro for an amusing and challenging morning of orthographizing.

This event is sponsored by The Vancouver Sun.

WRITING LIFE: A PEN ANTHOLOGY EVENT

BUILDING A MYSTERY

ROBERT DREWE, ALBERTO MANGUEL,

POLITICS AND THE PEN

LYNN COADY, DAMON GALGUT, LISA MOORE,

JAVIER SIERRA, LOUISE WELSH

J.B. MACKINNON, COLUM MCCANN, ROSEMARY

EDEN ROBINSON, MADELEINE THIEN

MODERATOR: STEPHEN MILLER

SULLIVAN, SAADI YOUSEF

MODERATOR: MERILYN SIMONDS

2–3:30 PM

MODERATOR: KIRK LAPOINTE

10:30 AM–12 NOON

REVUE THEATRE

2–3:30 PM

PTC STUDIO

$13 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

PERFORMANCE WORKS

$13

What kind of life does a writer have and what are the connections between time spent in the act of writing—the private part of the writing life—and all the rest of one’s time? Writing Life is an anthology conceived as a fundraiser for PEN Canada. Five distinguished contributors to the anthology will talk about the greatest challenges, miseries and joys of being a writer.

$13 + $1.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

At the centre of every mystery is a secret withheld. How well a mystery writer slowly reveals that secret makes the difference between a ho-hum read and a page-turner. Four lovers of mystery talk about keeping their audiences guessing until the last moment, perched on the edge of suspense with their spines a-tingle.

This event is sponsored by Simon & Schuster Canada.

Do writers have a responsibility to confront contemporary politics? How does a writer with a political argument avoid polemic? Some writers place imaginary characters in real times, causing us to reflect on the issues that shape our present. Other writers create worlds that are allegorical. Yet others tackle politics head on, putting thoughts into words to try to change our world. Four writers reflect on the artist’s role as political commentator.

F E S T I VA L AT A G L A N C E

30 T U E S D AY

W E D N E S D AY

EVENT #1 10 – 11:00 am Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #5 10 – 11:30 am Granville Island Stage

Big Fish

Ordinary Teens, Extraordinary Adventures

Maggie de Vries $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #2 10 – 11:00 am PTC Studio La Joie de Lire L’heure du conte

Danielle Simard $12 / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants EVENT #3 1 – 2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre From Page to Stage

Stephan Cloutier, Dennis Foon $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #4 1 – 2:30 pm PTC Studio La Joie de Lire Derrière le mur

Camille Bouchard $12 / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants

Dennis Foon, Michael Kusugak $12 + $2 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #6 10 – 11:30 am Revue Theatre La Joie de Lire Les Chevaliers d’Émeraude

Anne Robillard $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants EVENT #7 10 – 11:30 am Performance Works Fitting In

Sarah Ellis, Ellen Schwartz $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #8 10 – 11:30 am Waterfront Theatre Inspired By the Classics

Dede Crane, Barbara Nichol $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #9 10 – 11:30 am PTC Studio Picture This

Barbara Reid $12 / $6 for student groups EVENT #10 1 – 2:30 pm Revue Theatre Madmen or Mystics?

Chester Brown, Barbara Nichol $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

T H U R S D AY

EVENT #11 1 – 2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre La Joie de Lire

EVENT #16 10 – 11:30 am Granville Island Stage

EVENT #23 1 – 2:30 pm Performance Works

The Power of Reading

The Long and the Short of It

Vie Virtuelle ou Réelle

Fiona Farrell, Alberto Manguel, Val Ross $12 + $2 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Anar Ali, Clark Blaise, Fiona Farrell, Bill Gaston, Rachel Wyatt $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

EVENT #17 10 – 11:00 am Revue Theatre

EVENT #24 1 – 2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

Feet, Fox and Wings

In Fine Form

Sarah Ellis, Barbara Reid, Ellen Schwartz $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Elizabeth Bachinsky, Marilyn Bowering, Lorna Goodison, Don McKay $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Stephan Cloutier $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants EVENT #12 1 – 2:30 pm PTC Studio You Can’t Read This

Val Ross in conversation with Sarah Ellis $12 / $6 for student groups EVENT #13 7 pm Waterfront Theatre The View from Quebec

Yves Beauchemin, Pan Bouyoucas, Gaétan Soucy $15 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #14 8 pm PTC Studio An Intimate Evening with Mark Billingham

$15

EVENT #18 10 – 11:30 am Performance Works Groundwork

EVENT #25 1 – 2:30 pm PTC Studio

Kate Grenville, Linda Holeman, Javier Sierra $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Growing Up Gonzo— Making Sense of It All

EVENT #19 10 – 11:00 am Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #26 8 pm Performance Works

String Stories

Buns ‘n’ Roses

Michael Kusugak $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Anar Ali, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Ryan Knighton, Shane Koyczan, Alayna Munce, Nathan Sellyn, Michael V. Smith, Cathleen With Host: Billeh Nickerson $15 + $.50 facility surcharge

EVENT #15 8:30 pm Performance Works

EVENT #20 10 – 11:30 am PTC Studio La Joie de Lire

Grand Openings

Fuego

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Tash Aw, Lynn Coady, Damon Galgut, Kate Grenville, Wayne Johnston, Jon McGregor $20 + $1 facility surcharge

Stephan Cloutier $12 / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants EVENT #21 1 – 2:30 pm Granville Island Stage Words on the Fly

Shane Koyczan, Lemn Sissay, with special guest Christa Bell $12 + $2 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #22 1 – 2:30 pm Revue Theatre La Joie de Lire

Mandy Sayer $12 / $6 for student groups

EVENT #27 8 pm Waterfront Theatre From the Cauldron of Conflict

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Anita Rau Badami, Rawi Hage, Anosh Irani $15 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #28 8 pm PTC Studio An Intimate Evening with Wayne Johnston

$15 EVENT #29 8 pm The Taproom

Le Ricanement des hyènes

Pourquoi Écrire?

Camille Bouchard $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 pour les groupes d’étudiants

Pan Bouyoucas, Patrick Deville, Danielle Simard, Gaétan Soucy $15

F E S T I VA L AT A G L A N C E F R I D AY

S AT U R D AY

31 21

S U N D AY

EVENT #30 10 – 11:30 am Granville Island Stage

EVENT #36 1 – 2:30 pm Revue Theatre

EVENT #43 10:30 am – 12 noon Revue Theatre

EVENT #49 2 – 3:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #54 10:30 am – 12 noon PTC Studio

Family Matters

Time for Listening

The Annual Spell Off

Tash Aw, Billie Livingston, Maile Meloy, Bharati Mukherjee, Timothy Taylor $12 + $2 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Patrick Deville, Robert Drewe, Stephanie Johnson, Gautam Malkani, Jean McNeil $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

CBC, The Vancouver Sun and You Spell Mistress: Carol Munro Free

The Literary Atlas of Canada

Linda Spalding in conversation with Jerry Wasserman $13

EVENT #31 10 – 11:30 am Revue Theatre

EVENT #37 1 – 2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #44 10:30 am – 12 noon Performance Works

The Possibility of Love

Oh, Canada

The Library at Night

Pan Bouyoucas, Jon McGregor, Alayna Munce, Richard Wagamese $12 + $1.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Yves Beauchemin, Noah Richler, Linda Spalding, Rosemary Sullivan $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Alberto Manguel in conversation with Shelagh Rogers $13 + $.50 facility surcharge

EVENT #32 10 – 11:30 am Performance Works

EVENT #38 1 – 2:30 pm PTC Studio

EVENT #45 10:30 am – 12 noon Waterfront Theatre

Concrete Characters

Worth a Thousand Words

Multiplicity

Dionne Brand, Rawi Hage, Anosh Irani, José Latour $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

Chester Brown, Barbara Reid $12 / $6 for student groups

Caroline Adderson, Bill Gaston, Rachel Wyatt, Patricia Young $13 + $.50 facility surcharge

EVENT #33 10 – 11:30 am Waterfront Theatre Triple Treat

Gautam Malkani, Javier Sierra, Madeleine Thien $12 + $.50 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups EVENT #34 10 – 11:30 am PTC Studio Villa Air-Bel

Rosemary Sullivan in conversation with Jerry Wasserman $12 / $6 for student groups EVENT #35 1 – 2:30 pm Granville Island Stage From the Dark Side

Marilyn Bowering, Damon Galgut, Patrick McCabe, Eden Robinson, Gaétan Soucy $12 + $2 facility surcharge / $6 for student groups

EVENT #39 8 pm Performance Works The Literary Cabaret

Dennis Bock, Billie Livingston, Colum McCann, Lisa Moore, Lemn Sissay, Madeleine Thien Host: Salvador Ferreras $20 + $1 facility surcharge EVENT #40 8 pm Waterfront Theatre Trade Secrets

Mark Billingham, Giles Blunt, José Latour, Louise Welsh $15 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #41 8 pm PTC Studio An Intimate Evening with Kate Grenville

$15 EVENT #42 8 pm The Taproom Poetry in Transit

Winona Baker, Marilyn Bowering, Kate Braid, W.H. New, Sandy Shreve, Sharon Thesen, Derk Wynand and more $5

EVENT #46 10:30 am – 12 noon PTC Studio Writing Life: A PEN Anthology Event

Lynn Coady, Damon Galgut, Lisa Moore, Eden Robinson, Madeleine Thien $13 EVENT #47 2 – 3:30 pm Revue Theatre Building a Mystery

Robert Drewe, Alberto Manguel, Javier Sierra, Louise Welsh $13 + $1.50 facility surcharge EVENT #48 2 – 3:30 pm Performance Works Politics and the Pen

J.B. MacKinnon, Colum McCann, Rosemary Sullivan, Saadi Yousef $13 + $1.50 facility surcharge

Noah Richler in conversation with Shelagh Rogers $13 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #50 2 – 3:30 pm PTC Studio Bite Me

Who Named the Knife

EVENT #55 11 am – 12:30 pm Performance Works The Sunday Brunch

Giles Blunt, Dennis Bock, Nell Freudenberger, Bill Gaston, Lisa Moore, Patricia Young $22 + $1 facility surcharge

Lynn Coady, Stephanie Johnson $13

EVENT #56 1:30 – 3:00 pm Waterfront Theatre

EVENT #51 8 pm Performance Works

Robert Drewe, Ryan Knighton, Mandy Sayer, Linda Spalding $13 + $.50 facility surcharge

The Poetry Bash

Ken Babstock, Dionne Brand, Suzanne Buffam, Lorna Goodison, Fanny Howe, Don McKay, Galsan Tschinag, Saadi Yousef Host: Brad Cran $20 + $1 facility surcharge EVENT #52 8 pm Waterfront Theatre Out Loud at Night

Caroline Adderson, Nell Freudenberger, Linda Holeman, Jean McNeil, Timothy Taylor, Richard Wagamese $15 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #53 8 pm PTC Studio An Intimate Evening with Anita Rau Badami

$15

Memory Lane

EVENT #57 1:30 – 3:00 pm PTC Studio The Blue Sky

Galsan Tschinag in conversation with Mark Schneider $13 EVENT #58 3:30 – 5:00 pm Performance Works The Afternoon Tea

Clark Blaise, Anosh Irani, Billie Livingston, Patrick McCabe, Maile Meloy, Bharati Mukherjee $22 + $1 facility surcharge EVENT #59 4 – 5:30 pm Waterfront Theatre Emerge

Gurjinder Basran, Eilis Carpentier, Vaughan Chapman, Joan Dixon, Jessica-Ann Dozois, Susan Fisher, Angela Ford, Elee Gardiner, Ghirs Geisel, John Goossen, Tamara Gorin, Sarah Hambley, Orrin Hargrave, Joanna Hindle, Shelley Ikegami, John Mavin, Joan McEwen, Shana Myara, Melissa Sawatsky, Paula Stromberg, Sarah Turner, Ethel Whitty $5 + $.50 facility surcharge EVENT #60 8 pm The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC The Bill Duthie Memorial Lecture

Adrienne Clarkson $20 + $2 facility surcharge

S AT U R D AY, O C T O B E R 2 1

THE LITERARY ATLAS OF CANADA

NOAH RICHLER IN CONVERSATION WITH SHELAGH ROGERS

BITE ME

KEN BABSTOCK, DIONNE BRAND,

MODERATOR: ZSUZSI GARTNER

SUZANNE BUFFAM, LORNA GOODISON,

2–3:30 PM

PTC STUDIO

WATERFRONT THEATRE

$13

$13 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Biting and hilarious satire is a daring feat to pull off successfully. New Zealand’s Stephanie Johnson has triumphed with the wry observations as diplomatic protection squads and private collectors argue over a tattooed head. Canada’s Lynn Coady, who has been shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Award, bravely skewers the pretensions of universities that view creativity as a learnable skill. Be prepared for an afternoon of wit and wickedness.

Over two years, Noah Richler has crisscrossed the country of Canada and interviewed close to 100 authors about places and ideas that are most meaningful to their work. From Michael Crummey and Wayne Johnston to Douglas Coupland and Miriam Toews, Richler’s interviews create a vivid portrayal of our society. What do our contemporary writers tell us about who we are as Canadians? CBC Radio interviewer Shelagh Rogers joins Richler on stage as two of Canada’s great interviewers check out the soul of the country.

THE POETRY BASH

LYNN COADY, STEPHANIE JOHNSON

FANNY HOWE, DON MCKAY, GALSAN TSCHINAG, SAADI YOUSEF HOST: BRAD CRAN

8:00 PM PERFORMANCE WORKS $20 + $1 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Brad Cran has gathered a panoply of poets that will satisfy poetry lovers of all persuasions. International voices, new voices, seasoned voices—an evening of readings that will delight your ears and demonstrate once again why poetry matters. Get your tickets early for one of the Festival’s most popular events.

S AT U R D AY, O C T O B E R 2 1

OUT LOUD AT NIGHT

CAROLINE ADDERSON, NELL FREUDENBERGER, LINDA HOLEMAN, JEAN MCNEIL, TIMOTHY TAYLOR, RICHARD WAGAMESE MODERATOR: MARK FORSYTHE

8:00 PM WATERFRONT THEATRE $15 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

It’s Saturday night, and what better way to ensure a great weekend than to hear six fine writers read aloud parts of their new works. Be it from an Adderson short story, Taylor’s urban novel, Holeman’s historical saga, McNeil’s lyrical evocation of the Maritimes, Wagamese’s novel about family or Freudenberger’s Beverly Hills dynamics, there’s more than enough to introduce you to some riveting and entertaining fiction you’ll want to explore further.

AN INTIMATE EVENING WITH ANITA RAU BADAMI

8:00 PM PTC STUDIO

$15

In 2000 Anita Rau Badami became the youngest recipient of the Marian Engel Award, recognizing a female Canadian novelist in mid-career. Her new novel, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?, is the story of three women, linked in love and tragedy, over a span of 50 years—from the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 to the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985. Anita Rau Badami brings warmth and humanity to her writing and to her conversation, as she explores the personal and the political in both India and Canada.

This event is sponsored by Weyerhaeuser and generously supported by the Hamber Foundation.

S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 2 2

WHO NAMED THE KNIFE

MEMORY LANE

LINDA SPALDING IN CONVERSATION WITH JERRY

ROBERT DREWE, RYAN KNIGHTON, MANDY SAYER, LINDA SPALDING

WASSERMAN

MODERATOR: BRENDA BERCK

10:30 AM–12 NOON

1:30–3:00 PM

PTC STUDIO

WATERFRONT THEATRE

$13

$13 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

In 1982 writer Linda Spalding was called to jury duty, sitting for a trial of a young woman, Maryann Acker, charged with murder. Twenty years later, Spalding stumbles across the journal she kept through the trial and tracks down Maryann, who is still in jail. So begins a journey into memory, into the twists of fate that spin two lives down such different trajectories. Linda Spalding’s exploration of how subject and writer overlap makes for a fascinating conversation about autobiography, memoir and narrative.

Memoirs have run the gamut from outright invention to slavish devotion to fact. Four authors discuss the challenges they face as they put their memories on paper and turn them into compelling non-fiction. How accurately can anyone describe the events that shaped their lives? What is the balance between taking liberties in recreating an event and personal responsibility to record? What are the challenges of writing a memoir? And what does the memoirist learn about his or her self by recreating the past?

THE BLUE SKY GALSAN TSCHINAG IN CONVERSATION WITH MARK SCHNEIDER

1:30–3:00 PM PTC STUDIO $13

THE SUNDAY BRUNCH

GILES BLUNT, DENNIS BOCK, NELL FREUDENBERGER, BILL GASTON, LISA MOORE, PATRICIA YOUNG HOST: SHERYL MACKAY

Author of more than 30 books that have been published in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Israel and Japan, Galsan Tschinag is a Mongolian poet and shaman who now lives in Germany. The Blue Sky, his first book to be translated into English, is an autobiographical novel that tells of the author-narrator’s childhood in a family of nomadic herders, youth and early adulthood in the High Altai Mountains in western Mongolia. This is a rare opportunity to meet a man with one leg in modern society and the other in an ancient nomadic past.

11 AM–12:30 PM PERFORMANCE WORKS $22 + $1 FACILITY SURCHARGE

Those who wake up to the voice of Sheryl McKay on CBC Radio One’s North By Northwest don’t have to get up quite as early this morning. Sheryl, in person, will serve up a literary repast that is sure to satisfy your appetites in more ways than one. With lots of good readings and large helpings of merriment, your morning cup of coffee won’t be the only hot thing on the go. Come with a friend or make a new one over croissants and champagne. Be forewarned: This event is very popular and tables fill early.

THE AFTERNOON TEA CLARK BLAISE, ANOSH IRANI,

3:30–5:00 PM

BILLIE LIVINGSTON, PATRICK MCCABE,

PERFORMANCE WORKS

MAILE MELOY, BHARATI MUKHERJEE

$22 + $1 FACILITY SURCHARGE

HOST: BILL RICHARDSON

TEA AND SCONES INCLUDED

What could be more pleasant and relaxing than joining host Bill Richardson for a thought-provoking afternoon of tea and tales from a diverse selection of Festival authors? This event is freshly baked to warm your senses and stimulate your soul.

Tea provided by Starbucks. This event is sponsored by Random House of Canada Ltd.

S U N D AY, O C T O B E R 2 2

EMERGE

GURJINDER BASRAN, EILIS CARPENTIER, VAUGHAN CHAPMAN, JOAN DIXON, JESSICA-ANN DOZOIS, SUSAN FISHER, ANGELA FORD, ELEE GARDINER, GHIRS GEISEL, JOHN GOOSSEN, TAMARA GORIN, SARAH HAMBLEY, ORRIN HARGRAVE, JOANNA HINDLE, SHELLEY IKEGAMI, JOHN MAVIN, JOAN MCEWEN, SHANA MYARA, MELISSA SAWATSKY, PAULA STROMBERG, SARAH TURNER, ETHEL WHITTY

4–5:30 PM WATERFRONT THEATRE $5 + $.50 FACILITY SURCHARGE

The launch of emerge, the annual anthology from Simon Fraser University Writers’ Studio, will provide a tantalizing taste from the work of 22 new writers, who span four generations and write in the genres of non-fiction, poetry, fiction and lyric prose.

THE BILL DUTHIE MEMORIAL LECTURE

ADRIENNE CLARKSON

8:00 PM THE CHAN CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS AT UBC $20 + $2 FACILITY SURCHARGE

On the final night of the Writers Festival, meet Adrienne Clarkson, author of Heart Matters, the first book she has published since leaving the office of Governor General. This book of frank memoirs covers her childhood in Ottawa through her formative years as a student at the University of Toronto to her television career to her five years in Paris as Agent-General for Ontario, and eventually to her time as Governor General. There are many revelations and many stories to tell, and as an accomplished journalist she tells them well.

This event is sponsored by Scotia Private Client Group. The speaker honorarium is generously provided by Duthie Books Fourth Avenue. Presented by the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival in cooperation with the UBC Alma Mater Society and The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts at UBC.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

may have been a Communist leader, an informer for the Japanese, a black market trader or a loyal working-class man. It won the Whitbread First Novel Award in 2005 and has been published internationally.

CAROLINE ADDERSON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 45, 52

Caroline Adderson is the author of two internationally published novels, A History of Forgetting and Sitting Practice, and a collection of stories, Bad Imaginings. Her work has won two Ethel Wilson Fiction Prizes and three CBC Literary Awards, as well as numerous nominations, including the Governor General’s Award, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. Adderson has also written for film and CBC Radio. Her new collection of short stories is entitled Pleased to Meet You. She lives in Vancouver.

KEN BABSTOCK O N TA R I O , E V E N T 5 1

Ken Babstock is the author of Mean, which won the Atlantic Poetry Prize and the Milton Acorn People’s Poetry Award, and Days into Flatspin, winner of a K.M. Hunter Award. His poems have won Gold at the National Magazine Awards, been anthologized in Canada and the United States and translated into Dutch, Serbo-Croatian and Latvian. His latest collection of poems is the much-anticipated Airstream Land Yacht.

CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE NIGERIA, EVENTS 15, 27

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria. Her debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book and was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. It was hailed as one of the best novels to come out of Africa in years. Her new novel, Half of a Yellow Sun, brilliantly recreates the passion and violence of Biafra’s struggle to create an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s. ANAR ALI

ELIZABETH BACHINSKY PHOTO: DAVE AHARONIAN

PHOTO: BRUCE SWEENEY

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 24, 26

Elizabeth Bachinsky was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, and grew up in northern BC, the Yukon and BC’s Fraser Valley. Her published collections of poetry include Curio: Grotesques and Satires from the Electronic Age and Home of Sudden Service. Her work has also been widely anthologized and she received an honourable mention for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Poetry in 2004. She is the poetry editor for Event magazine and has taught creative writing at Vancouver Film School.

O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 2 3 , 2 6

Anar Ali is a graduate of the University of British Columbia MFA program in creative writing. She was born in Tanzania, grew up in Alberta and lives in Toronto. Her first book, Baby Khaki’s Wings, is a stunning collection of richly imagined stories about the Ismaili community. Set in Canada and East Africa, these are magical tales of men and women displaced, caught between home and exile, between what is real and imagined. TASH AW M A L AY S I A / U K , E V E N T S 1 5 , 3 0

Tash Aw was born in Taipei, raised in Malaysia and now lives in London. He worked as a lawyer before studying creative writing at the University of East Anglia. His debut novel, The Harmony Silk Factory, weaves together multiple perspectives on Johnny Lim, a controversial figure in 1940s Malaysia, who

ANITA RAU BADAMI QUEBEC, EVENTS 27, 53

Anita Rau Badami received many honours for her first two novels, Tamarind Mem and The Hero’s Walk, which were both bestsellers and have been published internationally. Her new novel, Can You Hear the Nightbird Call?, spans 38 years, from the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 to the explosion of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland in 1985. The youngest recipient of the Marian Engel Award for a woman writer in midcareer, Badami currently resides in Montreal.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

the producer of a live Spoken Word EP. This year, Christa will headline her first international SpokenWord Poetry tour, WordMedicine, and is recording a full length live LP of the tour, entitled YoniVerse: Live.

YVES BEAUCHEMIN Yves Beauchemin is a towering figure in modern Quebec literature. He worked as a journalist for many years before turning to fiction. His second novel, The Alley Cat, was published in 1981 and became the alltime bestselling novel in Quebec literature. It won several awards, has been translated into 15 languages and was adapted for film. His latest book, Charles the Bold, has been called “one of the great works of Canadian literature” by writer Madeleine Thien.

PHOTO: CHARLIE HOPKINSON

QUEBEC, EVENTS 13, 37

CHRISTA BELL US, EVENT 21

Christa Bell is currently the third ranked Performance Poet in the United States. Christa is Seattle’s 2005 Grand Slam Poetry Champion and the Northwest’s 2005 representative at the Individual World Poetry Slam Competition. She has a BA in creative writing and is the author of three collections of poetry and

MARK BILLINGHAM UK, EVENTS 14, 40

Mark Billingham worked as an actor, television writer and standup comedian before publishing his first crime novel, Sleepyhead, which was an instant bestseller in the UK. That book’s hero, London-based detective Tom Thorne, is at the centre of Billingham’s internationally successful series of crime novels, including Scaredy Cat, Lazybones, The Burning Girl, Lifeless and Buried. Billingham lives in North London and is at work on his next novel, provisionally titled Death Message. CLARK BLAISE CANADA/US, EVENTS 23, 58

Clark Blaise is among the most widely travelled of authors, having taught or lectured in Japan, India, Singapore, Australia, Finland, Estonia, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Germany, Haiti and Mexico, as well as throughout Canada. He is the author of nine story collections, three novels and four works of non-fiction and is currently the president of the Society for the Study of the Short Story. He has been honoured by the American Academy of Arts and Letters and currently divides his time between San Francisco and Southampton, Long Island.

PHOTO: JANNA EGGEBEEN

GILES BLUNT O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 4 0 , 5 5

Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario. After spending more than 20 years in New York City, he now lives in Toronto. He has written scripts for Law & Order, Street Legal and Night Heat, as well as several novels. His awards include the British Crime Writers’ Macallan Silver Dagger for Forty Words for Sorrow and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel for The Delicate Storm. His book, Blackfly Season, was cited as one of The Globe and Mail’s Best Mysteries of the Year.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES DENNIS BOCK O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 3 9 , 5 5

Dennis Bock’s first book, Olympia, a collection of linked short stories, won the 1998 Canadian Authors’ Association Jubilee Award, the first annual Danuta Gleed Award and Britain’s Betty Trask Award. His first novel, The Ash Garden, won the Japan-Canada Literary Award and was nominated for several others, including the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. His new novel, The Communist’s Daughter, is an intimate portrait of legendary Canadian doctor Norman Bethune. CAMILLE BOUCHARD QUEBEC, EVENTS 4, 22

Camille Bouchard est journaliste, directeur graphique, enseignant et directeur de production, et ses talents sont reconnus dans le domaine de la bande dessinée, du cinéma, de la télévision, du théâtre et de la littérature. Il est l’auteur de romans primés destinés aux jeunes et aux adultes, notamment Des étoiles sur notre maison, Les enfants de chienne et Le ricanement des hyènes, pour lequel il a gagné le Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général pour la littérature jeunesse en 2005. Il a beaucoup voyagé dans les pays en développement, et ses œuvres témoignent des situations injustes vécues partout dans le monde. Il vit à Québec. Camille Bouchard is a journalist, graphic art director, teacher and production director who has honed his skills in comics, film, television, theatre and literature. His award-winning novels for young people and adults include Des étoiles sur notre maison, Les enfants de chienne and Le ricanement des hyènes, for which he won the Governor General’s Award in 2005. He has travelled widely in developing countries, and his work bears witness to global injustice. He lives in Quebec City.

PHOTO: MARIE-REINE MATTERA

Les Éditions Courte d’échelle et Dominique et cie assumeront les coûts de déplacement de Camille Bouchard. PAN BOUYOUCAS QUEBEC, EVENTS 13, 29, 31

Pan Bouyoucas is the author of several novels, including Anna Pourquoi and L’Autre, which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award. Both have been published to great acclaim in Quebec and France. His most recent novel, The Man Who

Wanted to Drink Up the Sea, was voted one of the season’s best novels by the booksellers’ association of France in the autumn of 2005. Pan Bouyoucas est l’auteur des romans L’Autre (2001), mis en nomination pour le Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général et sélectionné pour le Prix Marcel-Couture du Salon du Livre, et Anna Pourquoi (2003). Ces deux romans ont été publiés et accueillis avec enthousiasme au Québec et en France. Son plus récent roman, The Man Who Wanted to Drink Up the Sea, est déjà traduit en français L'homme qui voulait boire la mer et à l’automne 2005, l’Association des libraires de France l’a classé parmi les meilleurs succès en librairie. Auparavant, il avait publié les romans Le dernier souffle (1975), Une bataille d’Amérique (1976), L’humoriste et l’assassin (1996) et La vengeance d’un père (1997), lequel a été traduit en anglais (A Father’s Revenge) et publié par les éditions Guernica en 2001.

Cormorant Books assume les coûts de déplacement de Pan Bouyoucas.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

MARILYN BOWERING BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 24, 35

Marilyn Bowering is an award-winning novelist, poet and playwright whose first novel, To All Appearances A Lady, was a New York Times Notable Book of 1990. Her second novel, Visible Worlds (1997), was shortlisted for the prestigious Orange Prize, nominated for the IMPAC Dublin Prize, and awarded the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Bowering’s third novel, Cat’s Pilgrimage, is a psychological map in the form of an album of human and animal stories. What it Takes to Be Human, her new novel, is also a map—of survival in a world where human qualities are increasingly under threat.

PHOTO: JANNA EGGEBEEN

DIONNE BRAND O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 3 2 , 5 1

Dionne Brand has written eight collections of poetry, four works of fiction and two books of non-fiction. Her first novel, In Another Place, Not Here, was a 1998 New York Times Notable Book, and her second, At the Full and Change of the Moon, received the same

honour from the Los Angeles Times in 1999. Her poetry has garnered several prizes, including the Governor General’s Award and the Pat Lowther Award. Her latest novel, What We All Long For, was published to great acclaim in Canada and Italy.

Dionne Brand’s appearance is made possible by the Betty & Ralph Gustafson Chair of Poetry at Malaspina University-College. CHESTER BROWN O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 1 0 , 3 8

Chester Brown was born in Montreal and published his first comic strip in a local newspaper when he was 12. While in his twenties, he held down a day job while self-publishing his work in photocopied mini-comics under the title Yummy Fur. He turned to writing full-time after his work was picked up by a Toronto comic book publisher. His graphic novels include Ed the Happy Clown, The Playboy, I Never Liked You and Louis Riel: A ComicStrip Biography. SUZANNE BUFFAM BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 51

Suzanne Buffam won the 1998 CBC Literary Award for poetry and the 2006 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Her poems have appeared in Saturday Night, Books in Canada, The Denver Quarterly, Prairie Schooner and The Colorado Review. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and the master’s program in English at Concordia University and currently teaches at the University of Chicago. Her eagerly anticipated debut poetry collection is Past Imperfect. ADRIENNE CLARKSON O N TA R I O , E V E N T 6 0

Adrienne Clarkson is well known to Canadians as Governor General of Canada from 1999 until 2005 and for her long career in television broadcasting. Less well known is the fact that Madame Clarkson authored two novels, a work of non-fiction, and contributed to many newspapers and magazines. Her new memoir, Heart Matters, will tell the story of her life from her childhood in Ottawa to her exciting and turbulent tenure as Governor General.

STEPHAN CLOUTIER

PATRICK DEVILLE

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 3, 11, 20

FRANCE, EVENTS 29, 36

Stephan Cloutier a complété des études au Conservatoire d’art dramatique et a joué dans plus de vingt productions théâtrales à Montréal avant de gagner la côte ouest en 1998. Il écrit alors deux textes jeune public, Fuego et Safari de banlieue, qui ont été produits à Vancouver, et présentés partout au Canada. Son premier texte grand public, Apocalypse à Kamloops, fera l’objet d’une coproduction du Théâtre la Seizième, du Théâtre français de Toronto et du Théâtre la Catapulte l’hiver prochain. Stephan Cloutier completed his studies at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique and performed in more than 20 theatre productions in Montreal before relocating to the West Coast in 1998. His plays for young audiences, Fuego and Safari de banlieue, have been produced in Vancouver and toured throughout Canada. His first play for adults, Apocalypse à Kamloops, will be produced next winter by Théâtre la Seizième, Théâtre français de Toronto and Théâtre la Catapulte. LYNN COADY

PHOTO: KAREN ENGLE

A L B E RTA , E V E N T S 1 5 , 4 6 , 5 0

Lynn Coady grew up in Cape Breton and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award for her first novel, Strange Heaven. Her story collection, Play the Monster Blind, was a finalist for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and her second novel, Saints of Big Harbour, was published internationally. Her new novel, Mean Boy, set at a Maritime university, is a hilarious account of youthful idolatry and badly behaved poets. DEDE CRANE BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 8

Dede Crane’s fiction has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Award and published in numerous literary journals. She is a former professional ballet dancer who studied Buddhist psychology at Naropa Institute in Colorado and psychokinetics at the BodyMind Institute in Amherst, Massachusetts. Her books include a young adult novel, The 25 Pains of Kennedy Baines, and an adult novel, Sympathy. She lives in Victoria.

PHOTO: MATSAS OPALE

PHOTO: JESSICA HEAFY

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Patrick Deville has published seven novels and his writings have been translated into 12 languages. His most recent books are La Tentation des armes à feu (The Temptation of Firearms), Pura Vida: Vie & Mort de William Walker (Pura Vida: The Life & Death of William Walker) and Ces deux-là (These Two). He runs La Maison des Écrivains Étrangers et des Traducteurs and edits the magazine of the same name. Patrick Deville est un grand voyageur. Il dirige la Maison des Écrivains Étrangers et des Traducteurs (MEET) de Saint-Nazaire, et publie le magazine du même nom. Il a notamment écrit Cordon-bleu, Longue vue, Le Feu d’artifice, La Femme parfaite, et Ces deux-là.

Le Consultat général de France à Vancouver assume les coûts de déplacement de Patrick Deville.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES MAGGIE DE VRIES BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 1

Maggie de Vries is a writer, editor and teacher and the award-winning author of several children’s books, including How Sleep Found Tabitha and Chance and the Butterfly. Her latest, Tale of a Great White Fish, follows a 177-year-old sturgeon through an extraordinary set of adventures. Her adult non-fiction book, Missing Sarah, was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two cats. ROBERT DREWE AUSTRALIA, EVENTS 36, 47, 56

Robert Drewe was born in Melbourne and grew up on the coast of Western Australia. His novels, short stories and prize-winning memoir, The Shark Net, have been widely translated, won many national and international awards and have been adapted for film, television, radio and theatre around the world. His latest novel, Grace, is an intricately plotted thriller about a film reviewer who goes into hiding to escape a stalker.

Robert Drewe’s appearance is made possible by the Australia Council for the Arts. SARAH ELLIS BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 7, 17

Sarah Ellis is one of Canada’s best-loved writers of children’s fiction. Her 14 books include Pick-Up Sticks, which won the Governor General’s Award, Out of the Blue and Back of Beyond. She has also won the Vicky Metcalf Award for a body of work. A part-time librarian, she is a highly sought-after children’s book reviewer and speaker who lectures internationally on Canadian children’s books. She lives in Vancouver. FIONA FARRELL

PHOTO: INEZ GRIM

NEW ZEALAND, EVENTS 16, 23

Fiona Farrell has published two books of poetry, two collections of short stories and three novels, including The Skinny Louie Book, which won the New Zealand Book Award for Fiction in 1993. A prolific author, she has also written several plays for stage and radio. Her many honours include the Bruce Mason Award for Playwrights and the Katherine Mansfield Fellowship in Menton, as well as every major short story award in New Zealand.

Fiona Farrell’s appearance is made possible by Creative New Zealand.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He wrote his first novel, A Sinless Season, when he was 17. His other books include Small Circle of Beings, The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs, and The Quarry. Galgut was born in Pretoria in 1963. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

SAL FERRERAS BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 39

Sal Ferreras is a multi-talented percussionist, teacher and event organizer whose work in many facets of the Canadian music scene including classical, world, jazz, pop and Latin styles has earned him a star on Granville Street from the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame (2002) and a Healey Willan Award for Outstanding Contributions to Choral Music in British Columbia (2005). He has a PhD in Ethnomusicology and was recently appointed Director of the Vancouver Community College School of Music. Sal has directed the Literary Cabaret since 1989. Sal and his all-star band, Poetic License, consider the Literary Cabaret one of the highlights of their musical year.

BILL GASTON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 23, 45, 55

Bill Gaston is the author of several highly praised story collections and novels, including Sex Is Red, The Good Body, Mount Appetite, which was nominated for the Giller Prize, and Sointula. He was the inaugural recipient of the Timothy Findley Award, presented by the Writers’ Trust of Canada to a distinguished male writer for an outstanding body of work. His new book, Midnight Hockey, is a memoir about beer, boys and the great Canadian game. He also has a new collection of short stories called Gargoyles. He lives in Victoria.

DENNIS FOON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 3, 5

US, EVENTS 52, 55

Nell Freudenberger made a big splash in the literary world at the age of 26, when her story “Lucky Girls” was published in the New Yorker’s 2001 Summer Fiction issue. That piece became the title story of her acclaimed debut collection, which was a New York Times Notable Book and won the PEN/Malmud Award for short fiction. In 2005, she was the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award. Her first novel, The Dissident, has just been published. Freudenberger has taught English in Bangkok and New Delhi and currently lives in New York City. DAMON GALGUT

PHOTO: DEBORAH QUENET

J A M A I C A / O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 2 4 , 5 1

SOUTH AFRICA, EVENTS 15, 35, 46

Damon Galgut is an award-winning novelist and short story writer. His most recent novel, The Good Doctor, was an international sensation. It won a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book and was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and the

Lorna Goodison is an internationally acclaimed poet, fiction writer and painter. Her many awards include the Commonwealth Poetry Prize and the Musgrave Gold Medal from Jamaica, and her work has been widely anthologized. Her books include the poetry collections, Travelling Mercies and Controlling the Silver, and a collection of short stories, Baby Mother and the King of Swords. Her memoir, From Harvey River, will be published in 2007. KATE GRENVILLE AUSTRALIA, EVENTS 15, 18, 41

PHOTO: L. GRAHAM

PHOTO: MARION ETTLINGER

NELL FREUDENBERGER

LORNA GOODISON

PHOTO: BVHNER

Dennis Foon kicked off his writing career with an advice column, “Dear Dennis,” for his high school newspaper. He later switched to play writing, and his nearly two dozen plays continue to be produced internationally. Dennis has also written extensively for television and film. His young adult novels include Double or Nothing, Scud, The Dirt Eaters and Freewalkers.

Kate Grenville won the Orange Prize in 2001 for The Idea of Perfection. This, and her other works of fiction—Lilian’s Story, Dreamhouse, Joan Makes History and Dark Places—have earned her a reputation as one of Australia’s finest writers. Her most recent novel, The Secret River, won the 2006 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and is shortlisted for the 2006 Miles Franklin Award. It will be published in seven countries this year. Grenville lives in Sydney.

Kate Grenville’s appearance is made possible by the Australia Council for the Arts.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

RAWI HAGE

STEPHANIE JOHNSON

LEBANON/QUEBEC, EVENTS 27, 32

NEW ZEALAND, EVENTS 36, 50

Rawi Hage is a writer, visual artist and curator. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he lived through nine years of the Lebanese civil war before immigrating to Canada in 1992. His writing has appeared in numerous journals and his visual art has been shown in galleries and museums around the world. His first novel, De Niro’s Game, is a gut-wrenching work that illuminates civil war era Lebanon with brilliant clarity. He now lives in Montreal.

Stephanie Johnson has written poetry, short fiction, novels and plays for both radio and stage. Her novels include The Whistler, Belief and The Shag Incident, which won the Deutz Medal for Fiction in the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. Recent titles include Moody Bitch, a selection of Johnson’s poems from the past 20 years; a short fiction collection, Drowned Sprat and Other Stories; and her new satiric novel, John Tomb’s Head.

Stephanie Johnson’s appearance is made possible by the New Zealand Book Council.

LINDA HOLEMAN MANITOBA, EVENTS 18, 52

WAYNE JOHNSTON O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 1 5 , 2 8 PHOTO: NEIL GRAHAM

Linda Holeman transfers her love of travel into the richly researched settings for her fiction. Her historical novels for adults include The Linnet Bird, which has been published in 10 countries, and her latest, The Moonlit Cage, set in 19th-century Afghanistan. Her books for young adults include Toxic Love, Mercy’s Birds and Raspberry House Blues. Linda has been an editor, teacher and writer-in-residence, and speaks regularly on the craft of writing. She lives in Winnipeg. FANNY HOWE

Wayne Johnston was born and raised in Newfoundland and now lives in Toronto. His many award-winning novels include The Story of Bobby O’Malley, The Time of Their Lives, The Divine Ryans, which was adapted into a successful film, Human Amusements, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams and The Navigator of New York. He has also published a memoir, Baltimore’s Mansion, which won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. His new novel is The Custodian of Paradise.

PHOTO: BEN E. WATKINS

US, EVENT 51

RYAN KNIGHTON

Fanny Howe is the author of more than 20 books of poetry and prose, including Gone: Poems, Selected Poems, One Crossed Out and a collection of essays, The Wedding Dress. She was honoured in 2002 with the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize. The poems in her most recent collection, On the Ground, are spiritually resonant and politically urgent. The book was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. She lives in New England.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 26, 56

Ryan Knighton teaches contemporary literature and creative writing at Capilano College and served for two years as editor of The Capilano Review. Knighton has also published a book of poetry and co-authored a short fiction collection with George Bowering. He has produced, written and performed radio monologues and documentaries about blindness for the CBC. His latest book, Cockeyed: A Memoir, tells the story of his 15-year descent into blindness while commenting on the world of the sighted.

ANOSH IRANI Anosh Irani was born and brought up in Bombay and moved to Vancouver in 1998. His debut novel, The Cripple and His Talismans, appeared to great acclaim in 2004. His plays include The Matka King and Bombay Black, which was produced in Toronto earlier this year by Cahoots Theatre and has been nominated for six Dora Awards. His new novel, The Song of Kahunsha, follows a gentle-spirited orphan thrust into the chaos of Bombay.

SHANE KOYCZAN PHOTO: ROGER HUMBERT

PHOTO: TUSHNA SHROFF

INDIA/BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 27, 32, 58

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 21, 26

Can you open for rock stars in Massey Hall and still be a serious poet? An internationally recognized slam poet, Yellowknife’s own Shane Koyczan broke into the literary world at the Vancouver International Writers Festival in 2004. His performance there led

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

to the publication of his first book, Visiting Hours, which won acclaim in both Canada and the UK. He has since appeared at the UK’s most prestigious literary festivals, has been featured on the BBC and was selected as a highlight of the 2005 Edinburgh International Book Festival, along with Salman Rushdie, Ian Rankin and Sebastien Barry. And he still rocks. MICHAEL KUSUGAK N U N AV U T, E V E N T S 5 , 1 9

Michael Kusugak grew up in Repulse Bay, NWT (now Nunavut). During his childhood, his family travelled by dogsled, living a traditional Inuit lifestyle. He is the author of seven picture books, including Northern Lights: The Soccer Trails, winner of the Ruth Schwartz Award; Hide and Sneak; My Arctic 1, 2, 3; Baseball Bats for Christmas; and A Promise Is a Promise (co-written with Robert Munsch). His new book is The Curse of the Shaman. JOSÉ LATOUR C U B A / O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 3 2 , 4 0

José Latour was born in Cuba, where as an ardent revolutionary he worked in government and banking while writing crime fiction in his spare time. His first novel was published in 1982, and within a decade, Latour gave up his bureaucratic career to write full time. In the late 1990s, fearing state censorship, he began writing in English. The resulting novel, Outcast, was an international success. Latour’s latest book is Havana Best Friends. He left Cuba in 2002 and now lives in Toronto.

PHOTO: NATHANIEL MOBBS

MARY LAWSON UK, SPECIAL EVENT

Mary Lawson was born and brought up in a farming community in central Ontario and later attended McGill University. She moved to England in 1968, is married with two sons and lives in Kingston-uponThames. Her first and highly acclaimed novel, Crow Lake, was a #1 national bestseller and shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award. The Other Side of the Bridge is her exceptional new novel of jealousy, rivalry and the dangerous power of obsessions.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES BILLIE LIVINGSTON

GAUTAM MALKANI

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 30, 39, 58

UK, EVENTS 33, 36

Billie Livingston worked as a file clerk, receptionist, cocktail waitress, model, actor, chocolate sampler and booth host at a plumbers’ convention before turning to writing. Her first novel, Going Down Swinging, received great critical acclaim, and her debut poetry collection, The Chick at the Back of the Church, was shortlisted for the Pat Lowther Award. Her new novel, Cease to Blush, drives the bumpy road from the burlesque stages of Rat Pack era Las Vegas to the bedroom Internet porn scenes of today.

PHOTO: MARK PRINGLE

PHOTO: ROB DALY

Gautam Malkani is a journalist for The Financial Times in London and head of the Creative Business section. He studied social and political sciences at Cambridge University. His debut novel, Londonstani, is a funny, crude and electrifying story of a gang of four young Asians struggling to assert their own brand of Britishness in a city of divergent cultures. Its author is being hailed as an exciting new voice in English fiction. ALBERTO MANGUEL

J.B. MACKINNON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 48

J.B. MacKinnon is a celebrated independent journalist and a contributing editor to the magazines Adbusters, Explore and Vancouver. His widely acclaimed first book, Dead Man in Paradise, won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction and was hailed as one of the best books of 2005 by The Globe and Mail. A three-time winner of the National Magazine Foundation Gold Award for travel writing, MacKinnon splits his time between Vancouver and a cabin in northern British Columbia.

FRANCE, EVENTS 16, 44, 47

Alberto Manguel is internationally acclaimed as an anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist and editor. His award-winning books include A Dictionary of Imaginary Places and A History of Reading. He was born in Buenos Aires, moved to Canada in 1982 and now lives in France, where he was named an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. His new book, The Library at Night, is the captivating, wide-ranging story of the critical role that libraries have played in our civilization. PATRICK MCCABE

MARGARET MACMILLAN O N TA R I O , S P E C I A L E V E N T

Margaret MacMillan received her PhD from Oxford University and is the Provost of Trinity College and a professor of history at the University of Toronto. In 2007 she will become Warden of St. Antony’s College, Oxford. Her previous books include Women of the Raj and Canada and NATO. Her bestselling book Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World won the Duff Cooper Prize, the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction, the HessellTiltman Prize for History, the Silver Medal for the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award and the Governor General’s prize for non-fiction in 2003. Her forthcoming book about President Nixon’s 1972 trip to China is called Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World.

IRELAND, EVENTS 35, 58

Patrick McCabe is the author of Carn, The Dead School and Call Me the Breeze. Two of his novels, The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto, were shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and made into acclaimed films by director Neil Jordan. He has also written a children’s book, a collection of short stories and a play. His new novel, Winterwood, is a chilling story of love, death, sanctuary and escape. McCabe lives in Sligo, Ireland. COLUM MCCANN IRELAND/US, EVENTS 39, 48

Colum McCann was born in Dublin. His fiction includes the short story collections Fishing the Sloe Black River and Everything in This Country Must, and the novels Songdogs, This Side of Brightness and Dancer. His awards include a Hennessey Award in 1990 and the Rooney Prize. His new novel Zoli, is the story of a Roma woman exiled for betraying her people. McCann lives in New York.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES JON MCGREGOR UK, EVENTS 15, 31

Jon McGregor was born in Bermuda, grew up in Norfolk and now lives in Nottingham. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things found him a place as the youngest contender and the only first novelist on the 2002 Booker Prize longlist. It has since won a 2003 Somerset Maugham Award and been shortlisted in the Best First Book category in the Eurasia Region of the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Best Newcomer category in the 2004 British Book Awards. His latest book is So Many Ways to Begin. DON MCKAY BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 24, 51

Don McKay has published 11 books of poetry. His work has twice been honoured with the Governor General’s Award for Poetry, in 1991 for Night Field and in 2000 for Another Gravity. He has also been shortlisted twice for the Griffin Poetry Prize, most recently for Camber: Selected Poems, which was a Globe and Mail Notable Book of the Year in 2004. His new collection is Strike/Slip. JEAN MCNEIL U K / N O VA S C O T I A , E V E N T S 3 6 , 5 2

Jean McNeil, originally from Cape Breton, has lived for the past 15 years in London, England, where she works as a publisher. Her three previous works of fiction include the novel Private View, which was shortlisted for the 2003 Governor General’s Award. Her new novel is The Interpreter of Silences. Last year, she received an international writers’ fellowship to Antarctica and she intends to write a novel and a collection of poetry based on her experiences there. MAILE MELOY US, EVENTS 30, 58

Maile Meloy’s first story collection, Half in Love, received the Rosenthal Foundation Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the John C. Zacharis Award from Ploughshares and the PEN/Malamud Award. Her first novel, Liars and Saints, was shortlisted for England’s 2005 Orange Prize. Both books were New York Times Notable Books. A Family Daughter is her third book. She lives in California.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES LISA MOORE

BILLEH NICKERSON

NEWFOUNDLAND, EVENTS 39, 46, 55

BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 26

Lisa Moore’s Open was a finalist for the 2002 Giller Prize and a national bestseller. Her work has appeared in Canada’s most prestigious literary magazines. Her most recent novel, Alligator, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize (Canada and the Caribbean) and was also shortlisted for the 2005 Giller Prize. She lives in St. John’s with her husband and two children.

Billeh Nickerson was born on Valentine’s Day in Halifax. Known for his irreverent readings and for producing oddball events, he is a founding member of the performance troupe Haiku Night in Canada. Author of The Asthmatic Glassblower and Let Me Kiss It Better: Elixirs for the Not So Straight and Narrow, he is the editor of Event magazine and teaches creative writing at Kwantlen University College.

BHARATI MUKHERJEE US, EVENTS 30, 58

Bharati Mukherjee is the author of seven novels, including The Tree Bride, Jasmine and Desirable Daughters; two non-fiction books and two collections of short stories, including The Middleman and Other Stories, for which she won the National Book Critics Circle Award. She is a professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley, and lives in San Francisco. ALAYNA MUNCE O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 2 6 , 3 1

Alayna Munce is the author of When I Was Young and In My Prime, a poetic novel that was nominated for the 2006 Trillium Award. Her work has appeared in various Canadian literary journals and has three times won prizes in Grain magazine’s annual Short Grain Contest. She was a second-place winner in the 2004 CBC Literary Awards and was featured in the anthology Breathing Fire 2: Canada’s New Poets. She lives in Toronto. BARBARA NICHOL O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 8 , 1 0

Barbara Nichol blurs the line between truth and fiction in her television scripts, children’s books and radio documentaries. She has fooled readers and listeners into believing in fictional diseases (in The Lying Down, a radio documentary) and fictional flying creatures (in Dipper). Her other works include the book and Juno awardwinning recording Beethoven Lives Upstairs; Biscuits in the Cupboard, an award-winning book of poetry; Safe and Sound and Tales of Don Quixote.

KEVIN PATTERSON BRITISH COLUMBIA, SPECIAL EVENT

Kevin Patterson grew up in Manitoba and put himself through medical school by joining the Canadian army. A specialist in internal medicine, he practises in the Arctic and on the coast of British Columbia. His first book, a memoir called The Water in Between, was a Globe and Mail Best Book and an international bestseller. Country of Cold, his debut short fiction collection, won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize in 2003, as well as the inaugural City of Victoria Butler Book Prize. Set in Rankin Inlet, Consumption is his epic first novel that vividly evokes the modern contradictions of the north. Patterson lives on Salt Spring Island. BARBARA REID O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 9 , 1 7 , 3 8

Barbara Reid is one of Canada’s leading illustrator/authors and the creator of such bestsellers as Read Me a Book, The Subway Mouse, The Golden Goose, The Party, The New Baby Calf, Effie and Two by Two. Her three-dimensional Plasticine™ illustrations are instantly recognizable and her books have won every major children’s book award, including a Governor General’s Award for Illustration. Her latest, Fox Walked Alone, is a “fox’s eye view” account of the Noah’s Ark story.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES NOAH RICHLER

VAL ROSS

O N TA R I O , E V E N T S 3 7 , 4 9

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Val Ross is an arts reporter for The Globe and Mail. She has won a National Newspaper Award and is highly respected in the publishing industry for her coverage of books and the people who create them. Her first book, The Road to There: Mapmakers and Their Stories, has been nominated for many awards and won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s non-fiction. Her new book for ages 10 and up, You Can’t Read This, explores the development of alphabets, the decoding of ancient languages and censorship in ancient Rome and modern America. Ross lives in Toronto.

Noah Richler was raised in Montreal and London, England, before settling in Canada. He has made documentaries and features for BBC Radio, served as books editor and literary columnist for the National Post and has contributed to numerous publications in Britain and Canada. His first book, This Is My Country, What’s Yours? A Literary Atlas of Canada is an impassioned literary travelogue and a vivid portrayal of our society, the work of Canadian authors and the idea of writing itself. ANNE ROBILLARD QUEBEC, EVENT 6

Anne Robillard a grandi dans une famille d’artistes, mais a choisi la stabilité d’une carrière de secrétaire juridique avant de passer à l’écriture à temps plein. Elle produit maintenant des textes français et anglais pour le cinéma et la télévision, et elle est également une écrivaine d’ouvrages de fiction des plus prolifiques. Elle a écrit de nombreux romans, dont Qui est Terra Wilder? et huit volumes (d’une série prévue de douze) de la série Les chevaliers d’Émeraude, une saga mettant en œuvre des héros attachants et très humains. Anne Robillard grew up in a family of performing artists but chose the stability of a career as a legal secretary before switching to writing full time. She now writes in both French and English for film and television, and is a prolific writer of fantasy fiction. Her novels include Who Is Terra Wilder? and eight (of a projected 12) volumes to date in the series The Knights of Emerald, a saga of very human heroes.

Les Éditions de Mortagne assumeront les coûts de déplacement d’Anne Robillard. EDEN ROBINSON BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 35, 46

Eden Robinson was named one of 100 Young Canadians to Watch by Maclean’s magazine in 1997, when she won lucrative contracts from publishers all over the world for rights to her first two works of fiction. Traplines was named a 1996 New York Times Notable Book of the Year, and Monkey Beach won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Her harrowing new novel is Blood Sports. She lives on the Haisla Nation reserve known as Kitamaat Village.

MANDY SAYER AUSTRALIA, EVENTS 25, 56 PHOTO: ROSLYN SHARP

PHOTO: BARBARA STONEHAM

Mandy Sayer was named one of Australia’s Best Young Novelists in 1977. Her novels include Mood Indigo, Blind Luck, The Cross and The Night Has a Thousand Eyes. She has also published a collection of linked stories, Fifteen Kinds of Desire, and two acclaimed, award-winning memoirs. Dreamtime Alice recalls her time as a street tap dancer in New York and New Orleans with her jazz-drummer father, and Velocity is an uncensored account of her difficult childhood. She lives in Sydney. ELLEN SCHWARTZ BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 7, 17

Ellen Schwartz was a primary school teacher and environmental educator before she began writing books and stories for children. Her books include I Love Yoga, I’m A Vegetarian and her picture book Mr. Belinsky’s Bagels. She is publishing three books this year, including Stealing Home, a young adult novel about baseball and belonging, and a new picture book, Abby’s Birds. In addition to her work as an author, Schwartz runs a communications company with her husband. She lives in Burnaby. DAVID SEDARIS US, SPECIAL EVENT

David Sedaris made his comic debut recounting the strange-but-true experiences of his job as a Macy’s Christmas elf, reading his “SantaLand Diaries” on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition. Sedaris is the author of the bestsellers Barrel Fever and

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Holidays on Ice, as well as collections of personal essays, Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day. In 2001 he received the Thurber Prize for American Humor and was named Humorist of the Year by Time magazine. Sedaris was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2005 for Best Spoken Word Album and Best Comedy Album. His sardonic wit and incisive social critique have since made him one of America’s pre-eminent humour writers. NATHAN SELLYN BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 26

Nathan Sellyn has lived in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, New York and Chiang Mai, Thailand. He is a graduate of the creative writing program at Princeton University, where he studied under Joyce Carol Oates, Toni Morrison, Edmund White and Chang-rae Lee. In 2004 he received the program’s Francis LeMoyne Page Prize for Distinctive Achievement. His debut collection of short fiction, Indigenous Beasts, has been greeted with enthusiastic praise. JAVIER SIERRA S PA I N , E V E N T S 1 8 , 3 3 , 4 7

Javier Sierra is one of Spain’s outstanding authors. He hosted his first radio program at the age of 12, and at 18 he became one of the founders of the magazine Año Cero (Year Zero). His fascination with communications led him to study journalism before turning to fiction. Many of his novels, including The Lady in Blue, The Templar Doors and The Secret Supper, deal with historical enigmas. His work has been translated into 25 languages. DANIELLE SIMARD QUEBEC, EVENTS 2, 29

Danielle Simard est une écrivaine et illustratrice reconnue de livres pour les jeunes—du lecteur débutant à l’adolescent. Son œuvre est variée, passant des thèmes de tous les jours à la fiction et à la fantaisie. Elle a notamment écrit La plus méchante maman, Maîtresse en détresse et J’ai vendu ma sœur, qui a gagné le Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général en 2003. Son tout dernier ouvrage, la série À l’école des petits magiciens, vient de voir son premier volet publié.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

Danielle Simard is an acclaimed writer and illustrator of books for young people—from beginning readers to teenagers. Her work ranges from everyday themes to science fiction and fantasy. Her books include La plus méchante maman, Maîtresse en détresse and J’ai vendu ma soeur, which won the Governor General’s Award in 2003. Her latest work is Drôle de tour, the first book in the series À l’école des petits magiciens.

MICHAEL V. SMITH BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 26

Michael V. Smith’s novel, Cumberland, was nominated for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award. A comedian, filmmaker, performance artist and occasional clown, Smith has won a Western Magazine Award for Fiction, four awards for his short films, a Community Hero Award for his work in the arts scene in Vancouver and a nomination for the Journey Prize. His latest book is What You Can’t Have, a collection of poetry.

LEMN SISSAY UK, EVENTS 21, 39

Lemn Sissay is the author of four poetry collections: Tender Fingers in a Clenched Fist, Rebel Without Applause, Morning Breaks in the Elevator and The Emperor’s Watchmaker. His work has become public art, particularly in Manchester, UK, where his poems appear on buildings and in the streets. He has also written three stage plays, produced television and radio documentaries, created audio recordings of his own work and edited The Fire People: A Collection of Contemporary Black British Poets.

GAÉTAN SOUCY QUEBEC, EVENTS 13, 29, 35

Gaétan Soucy has written four novels, all to rave reviews in Quebec and abroad. He has studied physics at the University of Montreal, completed a master’s degree in philosophy, and studied Japanese language and literature at McGill University. His 1994 debut novel, The Immaculate Conception, centres on a restaurant fire in 1920s East End Montreal, and has just been published for the first time in English. Soucy lives and works in Montreal.

Lemn will also perform his one-man show at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre on October 19 and 20. Visit www.vecc.bc.ca for info and tickets.

Gaétan Soucy a écrit quatre romans qui ont tous été salués par la critique au Québec et à l’étranger. Il a étudié la physique à l’Université de Montréal et a obtenu une maîtrise en philosophie. Il s’est ensuite consacré à l’étude de la langue et de l’écriture japonaises à l’Université McGill. Son premier roman, L’Immaculée Conception, publié en 1994, porte sur l’incendie d’un restaurant de l’est de Montréal dans les années 20, et vient d’être publié pour la première fois en traduction anglaise. Gaétan Soucy vit et travaille à Montréal.

House of Anansi assume les coûts de déplacement de Gaétan Soucy. LINDA SPALDING PHOTO: HELEN TANSEY

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Linda Spalding was born in Kansas and lived in Mexico and Hawaii before immigrating to Toronto in 1982. She is the author of three critically acclaimed novels, Daughters of Captain Cook, The Paper Wife and (with her daughter Esta) Mere, and a non-fiction work, The Follow. Her new book, Who Named the Knife, is based on her experience as a juror in a murder trial in Hawaii more than two decades ago.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

traditional lands. Tschinag now divides his time between Ulaanbataar, the High Altai Mountains and Germany. His first book published in English is The Blue Sky.

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TIMOTHY TAYLOR BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 30, 52

Timothy Taylor’s first novel, Stanley Park, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the City of Vancouver Book Award, the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. He has also published a collection of short fiction, Silent Cruise, and writes travel, humour, arts and business pieces for various periodicals, as well as writing for film. In his new novel, Story House, Taylor takes on the world of architectural design—with some boxing, fishing and reality TV thrown in. MADELEINE THIEN QUEBEC, EVENTS 33, 39, 46

Madeleine Thien’s first book of fiction, Simple Recipes, won four awards in Canada, was a finalist for a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book and was named a notable book by the Kiriyama Pacific Rim Book Prize. Her first novel, Certainty, was published this spring to great acclaim. Originally from Vancouver, Thien now resides in Quebec City. GALSAN TSCHINAG PHOTO: AMELIE SCHENK

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Galsan Tschinag was born into a family of nomadic Tuvan herders in western Mongolia. As a boy, he was trained as a shaman by his aunt and received a scholarship to study in East Germany, where he developed a passion for German literature and began writing his own fiction and poetry. He is the author of more than 30 books. In 1995, he negotiated a land claim treaty with the Mongolian government and led the dispersed Tuvans back to their

Galsan Tschinag’s appearance is made possible by the German Consulate General and Oolichan Books.

RICHARD WAGAMESE BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 31, 52 PHOTO: JANE DIXON

Rosemary Sullivan is an acclaimed biographer, poet and editor. She is the author of the bestseller The Red Shoes: Margaret Atwood Starting Out. Her biography of Gwendolyn MacEwen, Shadow Maker, won the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction, the Canadian Authors’ Association Literary Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. By Heart: Elizabeth Smart/A Life was nominated for the Governor General’s Award. Sullivan is a professor of English at the University of Toronto. Her latest book is Villa Air-Bel.

Richard Wagamese is an Ojibway from the Wabasseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario. After winning a Canadian Newspaper Association National Newspaper Award for column writing, he published two novels in the 1990s: Keeper ’n Me and A Quality of Light. His autobiographical book, For Joshua, was published in 2002. Wagamese has also lectured and worked extensively in both radio and television news and documentary. He lives outside Kamloops.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHIES

LOUISE WELSH UK, EVENTS 40, 47

Louise Welsh was chosen as one of Britain’s Best First Novelists of 2002 by The Guardian and won The Crime Writers’ Association Creasey Dagger for best first crime novel for her debut, The Cutting Room, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages. Her second novel, Tamburlaine Must Die, is a critically acclaimed imagining of the last hours of Christopher Marlowe. Her new novel, The Bullet Trick, is a dark drama of the heart guaranteed to keep you guessing until its explosive conclusion. She lives in Glasgow. CATHLEEN WITH BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENT 26

Cathleen With has travelled extensively in Southeast Asia where she has worked as a teacher for Korean children, Khmer non-governmental organization workers and Thai street children. Her debut story collection, Skids, features stories based on the voices

of her friends, some now gone, and her own experiences battling addiction and depression in her youth. She has published her fiction in several literary journals and is a graduate of the University of British Columbia MFA program in creative writing. RACHEL WYATT BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 23, 45

Rachel Wyatt is the author of five novels and two collections of short fiction. Her stage and radio plays have been produced internationally, and she is the former director of the writing programs at the Banff Centre, a Member of the Order of Canada and a recipient of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. Her highly acclaimed books include The Day Marlene Dietrich Died, Time’s Reach and The Magician’s Beautiful Assistant, her most recent collection of short fiction. PATRICIA YOUNG BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 45, 55

Patricia Young is the author of eight books of poetry. She is a two-time Governor General’s Award nominee, in 1993 for More Watery Still and in 2000 for Ruin & Beauty. She has won the Pat Lowther Award, the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, the CBC Literary Competition, and the League of Canadian Poets’ National Poetry Competition. She has recently published her first collection of short fiction, Airstream, which has already won the MeltcalfRooke Award. SAADI YOUSEF IRAQ/UK, EVENTS 48, 51

Saadi Yousef is one of the leading poets of the Arab world. Born in 1934 in Basra, Iraq, he has published 30 volumes of poetry and seven books of prose. He left Iraq in 1979, and after many detours, recently settled in London. Living his life in exile, Yousef also writes outside the long-standing forms of traditional Arabic poetry. A selection of his poems in English translation, Without an Alphabet, Without a Face, has recently been published.

Saadi Yousef’s appearance is made possible with support from the F.K. Morrow Foundation and an anonymous donor.

F E S T I VA L S TA F F

FOUNDER AND LIFETIME MEMBER Alma Lee

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chair: Leslie Hurtig Vice-Chair: Brenda O’Keefe Secretary: Lorne Beiles Treasurer: Kevin Eldridge Members: Colin Harris, Jim Mayhew, Ebie Pitfield, Rod Scheuerman, Kathryn Shoemaker, Yasmeen Strang, Jan Whitford

GALA COMMITTEE Ann Carroll, Helen Harris, Brenda O’Keefe, Ebie Pitfield (Chair)

STAFF

Artistic Director: Hal Wake General Manager: Jane Davidson Development & Marketing Manager: Ann McDonell Administrative Assistant / Distribution Co-ordinator: Sandra Millard Bookkeeping Services: Office Alternatives Advertising Sales: Matt Davy Audience Services Manager: Reena Taank Audience Services Assistant: Eve Gilmour Education Co-ordinator: Ilona Beiks Food & Beverage Services: Myrna Casino, Elizabeth Glancy Marketing & Distribution Assistant: Ellen Johnston Media Relations Manager: Judith Walker Production Manager: Eduardo Ottoni Production Co-ordinator: Pascale Thibodeau Programmer, La Joie de Lire: Brenda Berck Volunteer Co-ordinator: Kathryn Fowler Writer Services Co-ordinator: Shirarose Wilensky Website Design: Digiloom Design Deployment PROGRAM GUIDE

Editor: Ann McDonell Festival Design: Hangar 18 Creative Group Proofreading courtesy of members of the Editors’ Association of Canada, BC Branch: Lesley Cameron, Jean Lawrence, Ann-Marie Metten

A heartfelt thank you to the 200 dedicated volunteers who have contributed so much to the Festival this year and over the past 19 years. The volunteer program is sponsored by Penguin Group (Canada).

Celebrating writersâ&#x20AC;Ś and readers. Whether you want to discover a new author or re-acquaint yourself with an old favourite, we have the books youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for.

Eight convenient locations to serve you: Marine Drive, Robson & Howe, Broadway & Granville, Metrotown, Richmond, Surrey, Langley and Coquitlam.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM GUIDE

This program guide was printed by Mitchell Press on Rolland Enviro Edition 100 paper (100% post-consumer recycled, Processed Chlorine Free and EcoLogo certified), thanks to a generous donation from Cascades. We thank Markets Initiative for initiating this donation. ABOUT CASCADES

Founded in 1964, Cascades produces, transforms and markets packaging products, tissue paper and fine papers, composed mainly of recycled fibres. Cascades employs nearly 15,600 men and women who work in some 140 modern and flexible production units located in North America, in Europe and in Asia. Cascades' management philosophy, its more than 40 years of experience in recycling, its continued efforts in research and development are strengths which enable the company to create new products for its clients and thus offer superior performance to its shareholders. Each year, Cascades gives new life to 2.5 million tons of printed paper and cardboard. This volume of recycled fibre equals approximately 30 million trees. ABOUT MARKETS INITIATIVE

Markets Initiative is a coalition project of Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Greenpeace Canada and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, which works directly with Canadian book publishers, printers and mills to develop practical and economical ways to shift their wood and paper use away from ancient and endangered forest products to ecologically sound alternatives. Their work with Canadian publishers has been groundbreaking, garnered significant ecological savings and inspired similar projects with publishers globally.

POETRY IN TRANSIT

The Association of Book Publishers of British Columbia’s Poetry in Transit is the extremely popular project that brings poetry to the transit systems in British Columbia. In partnership with TransLink, the ABPBC produces sixteen new poetry cards each year to be displayed on our province’s buses and SkyTrains. This year is the tenth anniversary of Poetry in Transit—in that time more than 100 poems have been posted on transit vehicles around BC. Please visit the Poetry in Transit exhibition featuring a selection of the poems in Performance Works during the Festival.

IN-KIND DONORS Adobe Systems Inc. Armando’s Finest Meats B.C. Book Prizes Society Canadian Linen and Uniform Services Canadian Springs Chef Claire’s Home is in the Kitchen Cioffi’s Consul General of South Africa Curry 2 U Daniel Le Chocolat Belge East India Carpets False Creek Ferries The Flag Shop Fraser Valley Juice and Salad Bar Granville Island Florist Hollyfields Kaisereck Deli Kichi Sushi La Baguette et l’Echalote Laurelle’s Fine Foods

Lee’s Donuts Lonsdale Event Rentals Memphis Blues Barbeque House The Milkman Monte Cristo Bakery Muffin Granny Olde World Fudge Co. Ltd Organic Connection Origins Coffee Co. Ltd. Oxford University Press Planet Veg Plum Clothing The Printing House Que Pasa Mexican Foods Railspur Alley Café and Bistro The Salmon Shop Sleeman Brewing Sunrise Produce Terra Breads The SFU Pipe Band TW Productions Vancouver Cigar Company

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T H E E I G H T H A N N U A L VA N C O U V E R I N T E R N AT I O N A L W R I T E R S F E S T I VA L P O E T RY A N D S H O R T S T O RY C O N T E S T T H E I N V I TAT I O N

THE RULES

Submit your finest prose and poetry to the Vancouver International Writers Festival Poetry & Short Story Contest.

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. Entries will be judged blind. Please do not put your name on your story or poem. On a separate sheet, include your name, address and phone number and the word count of your piece. For each story or poem, please include a $10 entry fee. Make cheques payable to the Vancouver International Writers Festival in Canadian funds only. 4. Drop off or mail your submissions to the Vancouver International Writers Festival, 202–1398 Cartwright St., Vancouver, BC V6H 3R8 5. Your entry should be typed, double-spaced, on 81/2 x 11-inch paper. 6. Please do not send originals; entries will not be returned. 7. Winners will be selected by a panel of professionals in the publishing and book industry. 8. Entries must be postmarked or delivered on or before 5 pm on October 22, 2006. 9. Winners will be announced by January 14, 2007.

T H E R E WA R D S Prizes will be awarded to the top two entries in poetry and in creative fiction. First prize winners will be published in the Spring 2007 issue of subTERRAIN and on the Festival website: www.writersfest.bc.ca.

1ST PRIZE IN EACH CATEGORY: $350 2ND PRIZE IN EACH CATEGORY: $250 SPONSORED BY

CONTACT INFORMATION

NUMBER OF ENTRIES

POEMS X $10

STORIES X $10

NAME

ADDRESS TOTAL ENCLOSED = CITY

METHOD OF PAYMENT

CARD NUMBER

SIGNATURE

POSTAL CODE

■ CHEQUE ■

VISA

■

MASTERCARD

EXPIRY DATE

TELEPHONE

Submissions and cheques payable to: Vancouver International Writers Festival 202 - 1398 Cartwright Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6H 3R8

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