This Week in Book Events: September 21-27th

Word on the Street Toronto and Word Vancouver are this week, but if you don’t live in those two cities, no problem. There’s something literary going on almost everywhere!Are you hosting an event featuring an author whose titles are available on All Lit Up? Send the event details, including author, book, date, time, and address to hello@alllitup.ca to be included in our listings.

Monday, September 21st

Toronto

Toronto Launch of Strangers & Others: Newfoundland EssaysWhere: Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen St W, Toronto, ONWhen: 7pmMore information: Pages Unbound is pleased to announce the Toronto launch event for a new and exquisite volume of critical essays by Stan Dragland, one of Canada’s best essayists, on Monday 21 September at The Gladstone Hotel (doors open at 7PM). Strangers & Others: Newfoundland Essays (Pedlar Press) is a collection of Dragland’s writings on Newfoundland subjects, literary and otherwise. He has approached the material from the perspective of an inside/outsider in Newfoundland: a resident of Newfoundland originally from elsewhere who nevertheless finds the figure of the stranger inscribed in much Newfoundland art.Stan will be interviewed on stage by local writer Dennis Lee.VancouverPulp Fiction Books ReadingWhere: Pulp Fiction, 2422 Main St., Vancouver, BCMore information: Kevin Spenst, author of Jabbering with Bing Bong, reads with Elizabeth Ross, author of Kingdom, and Elena Johnson.WinnipegThin Air Winnipeg International Writers Festival presents “An Afternoon Book Chat”Where: McNally Robinson Booksellers – Grant Park, 1120 Grant Ave, Winnipeg, MBWhen: 2:30 PMMore information: Featuring Mike Steeves, author of Giving Up. With Elizabeth Hay. Free.Link: http://thinairwinnipeg.ca/festivals/thin-air-2015/writers/mike-steeves/Thin Air Winnipeg International Writers Festival presents “The Mainstage: Everyday Treacheries”Where: Shaw Performing Arts Centre (MTYP), 2 Forks Market Rd., Winnipeg, MBWhen: 7:30pmMore information: Thin Air Winnipeg International Writers Festival presents “The Mainstage: Everyday Treacheries”, featuring Mike Steeves, author of Giving Up. Also with Catherine Hunter, Elizabeth Hay, Greg Hollingshead and Guy Vanderhaeghe. Admission: $12, $10 students/seniors.Link: http://thinairwinnipeg.ca/festivals/thin-air-2015/writers/mike-steeves/

Tuesday, September 22nd

Kelowna, BCBrian Dedora ReadingWhere: Room E403, Kelowna Campus (KLO), Okanagan College, 1000 K. L. O. Rd, Kelowna, BCWhen: 11: 30 AM – 1:00 PMMore information: Okanagan College presents a reading and talk by Brian Dedora, author of Lorcation. Presented by Jake Kennedy. Open to the public. Books will be for sale.

Wednesday, September 23rd

Innisfail, AB

Neil McKinnon Workshop and ReadingWhere: Innisfail Public LibraryWhen: 2pm and 6:30pmMore information: Join Neil McKinnon, author of The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday, for a reading and workshop at Innisfil Public Library.WinnipegJon Chan Simpson ReadingWhere: Thin Air Festival, Room P107, Red River College, 160 Princess StWhen: 10amMore information: Author Jon Chan Simpson reads from his debut novel, Chinkstar, at the Thin Air Festival in Winnipeg.Link: http://thinairwinnipeg.ca/events/2015/09/23/reading-jon-chan-simpson/

Thursday, September 24th

Montreal

The Atwater Poetry Project presents R. Kolewe, author of AfterlettersWhere: Atwater Library and Computer Centre, 1200 Atwater AvenueWhen: 7pmMore information: The Atwater Poetry Project presents R. Kolewe, author of Afterletters, reading with Robin Richardson and Stevie Howell.Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/891943857550220Uxbridge, ONAndre Alexis at Celebration of the ArtsWhere: Uxbridge Music Hall, 16 Main St S, Uxbridge, ONWhen: 7:30pmMore information: Andre Alexis discusses his award-nominated book, Fifteen Dogs, alongside authors Paula McLain and Elizabeth Hay.Link: http://celebrationofthearts.ca/cota/events/books-and-authors-2014/Saskatoon

Readings at McNally RobinsonWhere: McNally Robinson, 8 Street East, Saskatoon, SKWhen: 7pmMore information: Authors Rita Bouvier and Lloyd Ratzlaff are reading (nakamowin’sa for the Seasons and Bindy’s Moon, respectively) at McNally Robinson in Saskatoon.CalgaryNeil McKinnon ReadingWhere: Calgary Public Library, Signal Hill Branch, Signal Hill Centre Southwest, Southwest Calgary, Calgary, ABWhen: 7pmMore information: Author Neil McKinnon reads from his novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday, at the Signal Hill Branch of the Calgary Public Library.VancouverVancouver Launch of Lorcation by Brian DedoraWhere: Bombast, 27 East Pender Street, Vancouver, BCWhen: 7pmMore information: Vancouver Launch of Lorcation by Brian Dedora. With a special introduction by Peter Quartermain. Book sales provided by The Paper Hound Bookshop.Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/673929066041619/

Saturday, September 26th

Summerside, PEI

Debra Komar at the Summerside Rotary LibraryWhere: Summerside Rotary Library, 192 Water Street, Summerside, PEWhen: 3pmMore information: Join forensic anthropologist and author Debra Komar for a talk about her latest book, The Bastard of Fort Stikine.Kingston, ONPoetry Master Class for Teens with Brenda LeifsoWhere: Kingston Writers Fest, 209 Wellington St #202A, Kingston, ONMore information: Join Brenda Leifso, author of poetry collection Barren the Fury, in this Poetry Master Class for Teens hosted through Kingston Writers’ Fest.Kingston Writers’ Fest Saturday Night SpeakeasyWhere: Bellevue Room – Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, 2 Princess Street, Kingston, ONWhen: 9-11pmMore information: Join us for a spirited night of poetry and prose accented by the original musical sounds of our house band, jazz ensemble Trio Without Words. Local saxophone virtuoso Jonathan Stewart, bassist Mike Perlin, and drummer Mike Cassells set a unique tone for each of the literary performances by Lorna Crozier, Marina Endicott, Ulrikka Gernes, Greg Hollingshead, Paula McLain, Nino Ricci, Leo Brent Robillard, Armand Garnet Ruffo, and Anakana Schofield. Hosted with panache by author, CBC radio host, and mister congeniality, Bill Richardson. Cash bar.Link: https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/events/43-saturday-night-speakeasy/

Sunday, September 27th

TorontoWord on the Street TorontoWhere: Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W, Toronto, ONWhen: 11-6pmMore information: Tons of authors will be heading out to this year’s event, at its new Harbourfront location! (And so will All Lit Up, as a matter of fact – come see us!)VancouverWORD VancouverWhere: VPL Central Branch, Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BCWhen: 11-6pmMore information: The main festival Day of WORD is huge: click here for a full schedule. (All Lit Up will be part of the huge-ness – come say hi!) Kingston

Jocelyne Saucier: en français – Le nord, un pays neuf / The North, a New CountryWhere: Kingston Writers’ Fest: Bellevue Room – Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, 2 Princess Street, Kingston, ONWhen: 12:30-1:30pmMore information: Award-winning author Jocelyne Saucier reads from And the Birds Rained Down, a Canada Reads selection about a photographer who searches for a survivor who lost his family in catastrophic fires, and from Twenty-One Cardinals, about a Québécois prospector and his family who lose everything when the bottom falls out of the zinc market. Translated into English by Rhonda Mullins, they are stories of loss and disappearance set in northern communities. “The north inspires me,” Jocelyne says, “If you feel this sense of freedom, it is because it is still a new country, where everything is possible.” Jocelyne reads from her books and talks about the freedom, the dangers, and the possibilities of the North. Presented in partnership with Centre culturel Frontenac. A French-language presentation.Link: https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/events/jocelyne-saucier-en-francais-the-north-a-new-country/Kingston Writers Fest presents “Big Idea: Think Tank on the Environment”Where: Kingston Writers’ Fest: Islandview Room – Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, 2 Princess Street, Kingston, ONWhen: 7-8:30pmMore information: Kingston Writers Fest presents “Big Idea: Think Tank on the Environment”, featuring Lesley Battler, author of Endangered Hydrocarbons. Also with Diane Ackerman, Ed Struzick, Andrew Nikiforuk. Moderated by Carol Off. Sponsored by The Walrus.Link: https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/events/42-big-idea-think-tank-on-the-environment/Personal to Universal: PoetryWhere: Kingston Writers’ Fest: Islandview Room – Holiday Inn Kingston Waterfront, 2 Princess Street, Kingston, ONWhen: 12:30-1:30pmMore information: Kingston’s poet laureate Helen Humphreys hosts local poets Wanda Praamsma (a thin line between) and Carolyn Smart (Careen), as well as Calgary poet Lesley Battler (Endangered Hydrocarbons), BC poet Lorna Crozier (The Wrong Cat) and Danish poet Ulrikka Gernes (Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind Instruments). In this wide-ranging reading event you’ll hear stories that transcend time boundaries and are the stuff of legend; the language of hydrocarbon extraction, with its blend of sexual imagery, archetype, science, and pseudoscience; poems that zoom in and out of places and states of mind; and poems that provide affirmation in the midst of the fluid, often challenging nature of experience. Support for Ulrikka Gernes’ travel to the Festival comes from the Danish Arts Foundation. This event is dedicated to the memory of Joanne Page.Link: https://www.kingstonwritersfest.ca/events/48-personal-to-universal-poetry/Regina

Cultural Grooves featuring Tara GereauxWhere: Regina Public Library, Regina, SKWhen: 2-4pmMore information: Tara Gereaux reads from Size of a Fist at Cultural Grooves: Celebrating Diversity in Stories and Dance in Regina Public Library.