Vancouver International Writer's Festival 2009
What to Expect at This Year’s Reader's and Writer’s Fest
The Vancouver International Writer’s Festival attracts almost 15,000 readers annually with intimate settings in several venues around Granville Island. Filled with exceptional authors, entertaining readings and fun filled events, the Vancouver Writers Festival is a week of literary fun for book lovers of all ages.
Founded by Alma Lee, the festival has hosted a whole literary world of authors from Canadian greats such as Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro to international literary geniuses including JK Rowling and Frank McCourt.
Under the leadership of Hal Wake, the 2009 Vancouver International Writer’s Festival promises to deliver yet another successful year. So what can readers and writers expect from the 2009 Vancouver International Festival?
October 18th 2009
The festival kicks off with a bang with A Tribute to Alice Munro where authors such as Alistair McLeod, Elizabeth Strout and Joan London pay homage to the Canadian literary genius. Munro will be in attendance for this event.
October 20th 2009
On Tuesday there are plenty of great events for both adults and children including Please Don’t Ask About My Parents, an amusing account of family life from a young adult’s point of view. Authors Gayle Friesen and Robyn Harding tackle this subject with humor and sensitivity. Young readers will also enjoy Stories Near and Far by CJ Taylor and Paul Yee who will walk the audience through the mythical world of Aboriginal legends.
Adults will enjoy An Intimate Evening with Alistair MacLeod where the Canadian author will share readings from his short stories and novels. One event not to be missed is the Opening Night with Lisa Moore, Joan London, Amit Chauduri, Bonnie Burnard and plenty of other great authors who will keep the audience on the edge of their seats with long-awaited readings and humorous tales.
Additional events for October 20th include The Bite of the Mango, Les aventures de Passepoil et ses amis, The Timeless Forces of Good and Evil, Un garçon, sa grand-mère, un gitan et autres légendes and Audrey Niffenegger in Conversation with Jerry Wasserman.
October 21st 2009
Children and adults will enjoy Word!, an event that bring three BC writers (Billeh Nickerson, Hilary Peach and CR Avery) together for a poetry-slam, musical-jam like no other.
Younger children will love G-Man, where Gordon Korman will entertain young readers with readings and stories from his more than 60 published books. For those looking for a good scare, check out Fright Night with Hiromi Goto and Tim Wynne-Jones, or for those younger readers, delve into Word Play for an afternoon of music, rhyming and, of course, reading.
Evening events include Living with Death with Lisa Moore, Debra Adelaide and Bonnie Burnard and An Intimate Evening with Douglas Coupland where the audience will have a chance to get to know the man behind J-Pod and Generation A.
Other Wednesday events includeSuis-je obligé? Mais je le veux, By Pen and Brush: Native Stories, Humour and Hormones, Le bien l’emporte sur le mal, Water in the Well and But Who’s Counting.
October 22nd 2009
On Thursday, young adults can delve into fictitious tales as told by Gordon Korman and Tim Wynne-Jones with Titans or Mix Science Fact with Science Fiction for an afternoon of storytelling with Jude Isabella and Rochelle Strauss
As the sun sets on the day, adults can enjoy An Evening With John Irving as the writer explores his literary work Last Night in Twisted River. Robert Bringhurst, Audrey Niffenegger and Anik See team up to bring the audience The Look of the Book or adults can get personal with An Intimate Evening with Lorrie Moore.
Additional events include Karen Connelly in Conversation with Merilyn Simonds, Some Words on Film, La vraie vie ou l’imaginaire, Du 13e siècle à aujourd’hui —en 90 minutes,Hide and Seek, Wanting Mor, Vous m’en lirez tant and Singing Home the Bones.
October 23rd 2009
Toast the weekend with Coming of Age, which looks at the staple coming of age genre that promises humorous accounts of reality with loveable characters. Or, spend your morning in a Family Fugue with Michael Crummey, Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer and Ashok Mathur. Building Blocks, Starting Blocks gives young adults a chance to exercise their writing creativity with Joseph Boyden and The Literary Cabaret offers a taste of the best when authors such as Lorna Crozier and Tash Aw take the stage.
The Tightrope, Richardson’s Roundup, Playing with Real People, The Mini Poetry Bash, Lurk, Those Who Can Teach, Seth in Conversation with Douglas Coupland and An Intimate Evening with Marie-Claire Blais are also in the line-up for Friday.
October 24th 2009
Saturday promises to be a fun filled day of reading delights starting with Thriller, which looks at the genre in more depth. For those who love to mix movies and film, Adventures in Film offers an insider’s point of view on screen writing with Andrea De Carlo, Shandi Mitchell and Monique Proulx. True North also promises to deliver as three Northern writers share their views on Canada’s north.
Adults will love The Poetry Bash, a festival favourite where Carol Ann Duffy, Heather McHugh, Robert Bringhurst, XI Chuan, Elizabeth Bachinsky and Gregory Scofield join forces to deliver a little piece of poetry heaven.
Other great topics include Crime, Not Punishment, Still Waters, The Road Maps of Life, Polyphony, Dig Deep and Almost Fatal Attraction.
October 25th 2009
Sunday wraps up the Vancouver International Writer’s Festival with the Sunday Brunch where several authors will read from their works over champagne and croissants, as well as acclaimed The Afternoon Tea with host Paul Grant and a platter full of esteemed authors.
Other events for Sunday include Trauma Farm, Out There, Right Here, Unless the Eye Catch Fire, Emerge and The Bill Duthie Memorial Lecture: Peter Mansbridge.
For more information on the authors, events and ticketing, check out the 2009 Vancouver International Writer’s Festival Booklet.
Writers Fest 2009
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