2010 Writers Out Loud series
ERIC SIBLIN
- Thursday October 7, 2010 — 6:30 p.m.
- Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library: 5851 Cavendish Blvd., Côte Saint-Luc
Eric Siblin is a Montreal-based writer who spent a dozen years working as a reporter for The Canadian Press and the Montreal Gazette. He made the transition to television in 2002 with the documentary film Word Slingers, which explores the curious subculture of competitive Scrabble tournaments. He also co-directed the documentary In Search of Sleep, and has written for a wide variety of magazines. His first book, The Cello Suites: J.S. Bach, Pablo Casals, and the Search for a Baroque Masterpiece (House of Anansi, 2009) won the QWF's 2009 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-fiction and the 2009 McAuslan First Book Prize, and was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Non-Fiction, the Writer's Trust of Canada Non-Fiction Prize, and the British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. www.ericsiblin.com
NAIRNE HOLTZ
- Wednesday October 6th, 2010 — 7:00 p.m.
- Morrin Centre: 44 Chausseé Des É cossais, Québec QC
Nairne Holtz Nairne Holtz was described by the Globe and Mail as a “writer to watch.” She is the author of This One’s Going to Last Forever (Insomniac, 2009), a finalist for the 2010 Lambda Literary Awards, and The Skin Beneath (Insomniac, 2007), which won the Alice B. Award for Debut Lesbian Fiction and was shortlisted for the QWF's 2007 McAuslan First Book Prize. She lives in Toronto with her lover and miniature dogs. www.nairneholtz.com
STEVEN MANNERS
- Saturday November 6th, 2010 — 7:00 p.m.
- Hosted by Phil Jenkins (www.philjenkins.ca)
- Solstice Bookstore: 721 Riverside, Wakefield QC
Steven Manners has worked as a writer and journalist for the past 25 years. Called “a substantial, compelling storyist” (Globe and Mail) who “uses dialogue like Hemingway or Mavis Gallant” (Quill & Quire), he is the author of the short fiction collections, Wound Ballistics (Gutter Press), shortlisted for the QWF's 2002 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction; and Mytho/Genies (Underwhich). He has also written two novels, Ondine’s Curse (Beach Holme), hailed as a “tour de force” that “tunnels deep into the human psyche” (Toronto Star); and the recently published Valley of Fire (Dundurn). His cultural history of prescription drugs, Super Pills (Raincoast), was “powerful reading” (Edmonton Sun) and “captivating” (Canadian Medical Association Journal). A frequent contributor to Canadian literary journals, he has earned awards from The Canadian Writer’s Journal, Grist Mill, and subTerrain. He is also the recipient of screenplay awards from the Santa Barbara Film Festival, WorldFest Film Festival, the Hollywood Screenwriting Institute, and the Massachusetts Film Festival. He lives in Montreal.
Phil Jenkins has written for a number of magazines, including National Geographic Traveller, Equinox, and Heritage Canada, and was a feature writer for Ottawa Magazine for five years. His first book, Fields of Vision: A Journey to Canada’s Family Farms, a national bestseller, was published in 1991. His second, An Acre of Time, published in 1996, won the Canadian Author’s Association Lela Common Award for History, jointly won the Ottawa Citizen Non-Fiction Award, and was made into a play nominated for a Governor General’s award. His third book, River Song: Sailing the History of the St. Lawrence River was published in 2001. From 1991 to 1996, Jenkins was the book columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, and he currently writes on interesting city rooms for the newspaper. He has also released a CD, CarTunes, with the band Riverbend. He lives in Chelsea, Quebec.
Writers Out Loud events come and gone in 2010...
JON PAUL FIORENTINO
- Tuesday March 16, 2010 — 3:30pm
- Hosted by John Goldbach
- Bishop's University Bookstore, Marjorie Donald Bldg.: 2600 College Street, Sherbrooke QC
Jon Paul Fiorentino is a writer and editor. His first novel is Stripmalling (ECW, 2009). His most recent book of poetry is The Theory of the Loser Class (Coach House Books, 2006). He is the author of the poetry book Hello Serotonin (Coach House Books, 2004) and the humour book Asthmatica (Insomniac Press, 2005). His most recent editorial projects are the anthologies Career Suicide! Contemporary Literary Humour (DC Books, 2003) and Post-Prairie - a collaborative effort with Robert Kroetsch, (Talonbooks, 2005). He lives in Montreal where he teaches writing at Concordia University and is the Editor of Matrix magazine.
John Goldbach's fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Descant, Matrix Magazine,
ALICE ZORN
- Wednesday April 7, 2010 — time TBA
- Hosted by Julie Keith
- Westmount Library: 4574 Sherbrooke West, Montreal QC
Alice Zorn has published short fiction and won prizes in magazines in Canada and the UK. Her collection of short fiction, Ruins & Relics, was a finalist for the QWF's 2009 McAuslan First Book Prize. The Globe and Mail praised her "shimmering visuals" and "nuanced probing." "Zorn's take is ruthless, but far from cold." She has finished a novel which is currently under consideration with a publisher, and is at work on her second. Originally from Ontario, she now lives in Montreal.
Julie Keith has published two collections of stories and novellas: The Jaguar Temple, short-listed for the Governor-General’s Fiction Award, and The Devil Out There, winner of the QWF's 2000 Hugh MacLennan Fiction Prize and finalist for le Grand prix du livre de Montréal. A story of hers appeared recently in The Hudson Review‘s 25th anniversary anthology, Writes of Passage. Another will appear in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México’s anthology of short stories by Canadian writers. Keith is a past president of the Quebec Writers’ Federation and a 'consultant à la programmation' for the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival.
ANGUS BELL
- Photo by Andy Barr
- Tuesday May 11, 2010 — 7:00 p.m.
- Brome Lake Books: 264 Knowlton Road, Lac-Brome QC
Angus Bell is a whisky-swilling Scotsman who's written for The Times, The South African Sunday Times, Australia’s Inside Sport and The Wisden Cricketer. His first book, Batting on the Bosphorus: A Liquor-Fueled Cricket Tour Through Eastern Europe (Greystone Books, 2009), has been published in five continents. It was read on BBC Radio 4's “Book of the Week”. His radio and TV appearances include BBC WORLD, NPR, Voice of America, CBC, CTV, and various Finnish and Balkan programs.
LOUISE PENNY
- Sunday June 27, 2010 — 2:00 p.m.
- Greenwood Centre for Living History: 254 Main Road, Hudson QC
Louise Penny is the international award winning author of the Armand Gamache novels, set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines: Still Life (Headline, 2006), Dead Cold (McArthur & Co. 2007), The Cruellest Month (McArthur & Co., 2008), and The Murder Stone (McArthur & Co., 2008). The fifth in the series, The Brutal Telling (Minotaur Books), will appear in September 2009. Her mysteries have won the UK Dagger, the Canadian Arthur Ellis, and the American Agatha, Anthony and Barry awards, among others. Her latest novel made the New York Times bestseller list.
QWF gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts.
