Program Guide in pdf - Vancouver International Writers Festival

Welcome to the Vancouver
International Writers & Readers
Festival on Granville Island
We’ve always known that British Columbia has been producing
great writers and great writing at an astonishing rate, but this year’s
Festival is evidence of a bumper crop. From the more well-known
voices of Jack Hodgins, Caroline Adderson, William Gibson,
Billie Livingston and Kathy Page, to emerging talents like Aaron
Bushkowsky, Miranda Pearson and Adam Louis Schroeder, the
very best of BC will be on display. Vancouver Island talent is also
plentiful this year—Ann Eriksson, Robert Wiersema, Rachel Wyatt
and Terence Young will all be coming to the Festival with new work.
Our American line-up is particularly strong this year. Paul Harding won the 2010 Pulitzer
Prize for fi ction for his novel Tinkers. Yiyun Li and Wells Tower were recently included on
The New Yorker’s Best 20 Under 40 list. Anthony Doerr’s short fi ction has won three
O. Henry Prizes and the British literary magazine Granta put him on their list of 21 Best
Young American novelists. And Marisa Silver, also from The New Yorker’s stable, has won
an O. Henry Prize for her work.
One thing you may notice is the absence of the Bill Duthie Memorial Lecture from our
program this year. Since 1988 the Duthie Lecture has been a part of the Vancouver
International Writers Festival and many distinguished authors—Mordecai Richler, Margaret
Atwood and Carol Shields to name but three—have delivered the Lecture. But the closing
of Duthie Books has meant the end of the Lecture as well. We would like to recognize
the signifi cant contribution that the Duthie family has made to our Festival and to our
community over the years. The fi nal event of the Festival this year will be a celebration of
Penguin Publishing’s 75th anniversary featuring Andrea Levy, Ali Smith, Michael Winter
and Miguel Syjuco—a party you won’t want to miss.
And one last thing to look forward to: in 2011 you will be able to enjoy Writers Festival
events almost year round, when we launch a new twice monthly series in partnership with
the VPL’s Central Library. It’s an exciting new venture for us and we hope you will discover
some fi ne new writers throughout the year.
Hal Wake, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Contents
About Us 4
List of Authors 5
Venues & Parking 6
How to Buy Tickets 7
Our Supporters 8, 12, 55
Become a Member 9
Spreading the Word 10
La Joie de Lire 11
The Festival Experience 13
Messages 14–15
Festival at a Glance 30–-31
In Memoriam 57
Writing Contest 58
Special Events 55, 56, 59
Events schedule ule
School Events are
indicated by
Tuesday, October 19 16–17
Wednesday, October 20 18–20
Thursday, October 21 22–25
Friday, October 22 26–28
Saturday, October 23 32–34
Sunday, October 24 36–37
Author Biographies 38–53
How to use this guide
Each bio lists the events (by number)
in which the author is appearing.
To locate a venue, check the map
on page 6.
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.
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