Sunday September 26, 2010
Queen's Park
11am - 6pm
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11:30 -12:10 :: Elizabeth May
Elizabeth May offers an insider’s view of the ills that beset our federal politics and the changes wrought over the past three decades that created this present state. She explains that a presidential-style prime minister now exists without the checks and balances of either the US or the Canadian systems. With Losing Confidence, May implores average Canadians to make change happen. As she states in the book, “Politics is not a spectator sport.”
Learn more about Elizabeth May -
12:10 -12:50 ::“Know Your Genre” Panel Discussion
Genres have always had legions of fans, but when it comes to having the support of the literary taste-makers in our country, they come up a bit short. Three of Canada’s top authors writing in, respectively, the genres of fantasy, mystery and science fiction weigh in on their place in our country’s literary landscape.
Learn more about Kelly Armstrong, Linwood Barclay and Robert Charles Wilson -
12:50 -1:30 :: Kenneth Oppel
Max is the cook’s dog. And because he is also the king’s taster, Max gets to feast on wild boar! cheese pies! rose pudding! No wonder Max loves his job. Who wouldn’t want to dine on these delicious dishes? The new king, that’s who. Max and the cook must find a new recipe — and fast. Otherwise, if the new king has his way, they’ll be losing more than just their jobs!Kenneth will not only regale visitors with his delicious new tale, The King’s Taster, but he’ll also give a stirring reading from his out-of-this-world adventure, Starclimber!
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1:30 -2:10 :: Nino Ricci
Whenever Alex Fratarcangeli’s thoughts grow darkest, he is compelled to recall Desmond, the British professor whom he met years ago in the Galapagos. Treacherous and despicable, Desmond nonetheless caught Alex in his thrall and led him to some life-altering truths during their weeks exploring Darwin’s islands together. It is only years later that Alex can begin to comprehend these unlikely life lessons and see a glimmer of hope shining through what he had thought was meaninglessness.
Learn more about Nino Ricci -
2:10 -2:50 :: Bonnie Burnard
The long-awaited follow-up to the Giller Prize–winning, bestselling A Good House—a novel with the power to change the way women, and men, understand one another. A phone call in the night, an unexpected diagnosis—suddenly, life can change forever. Sweeping through and beyond the second half of the 20th century—from men in space to 9/11— the novel creates an astonishingly intimate portrait of three women balanced on the knife edge of middle age. -
3:00 -4:00 :: Margaret Atwood
Adam One, the kindly leader of God’s Gardeners — a religion devoted to the melding of science and religion — has long predicted a natural disaster that will alter Earth as we know it. Now it has occurred, obliterating most human life. Two women have been spared: Ren, a young trapeze-dancer, locked inside a high-end sex club; and one of God’s Gardeners, Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Have others survived?In celebration of the release of this stunning new novel and using Margaret Atwood’s revolutionary LongPen technology, The Word On The Street will make history and host Canada’s first live coast-to-coast book launch. LongPen technology will broadcast Atwood in person from The Word On The Street Toronto to The Word On The Street festivals in Vancouver and Halifax. This interactive video broadcast will allow festival participants to engage in a cross-country question and answer session with Atwood. Prior to her appearance in Toronto, she will also sign books for fans in Vancouver and Halifax using the LongPen, allowing her to talk with each fan via private video chat and to transmit a genuine, personalized autograph instantly to their copy of the book.
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4:00 -5:00 :: “The View from Out Here” Panel Discussion
In these authors’ four Trillium Book Award-winning works, they have given life to characters that are on the margins of their communities, whether they are newcomers to their lands and experiencing the pain of relocation or whether their actions and beliefs have branded them as outsiders.
But, in order to create great works of fiction, how necessary is it for authors themselves to live the life of an outsider? Is it possible to provide fresh eyes, to give a significant view, without stepping beyond the perimeter of society?
Experience fiction through a writer’s eyes as four of our country’s finest literary talents unite for what is sure to be a riveting discussion.
Learn more about Dionne Brand, Camilla Gibb, Nino Ricci and Jane Urquhart
Click on a segment below to learn more.
