Program Guide in pdf - Vancouver International Writers Festival

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LOVE LOST AND FOUND
SANDRA BIRDSELL, KATE PULLINGER,
JANE URQUHART, RACHEL WYATT
10:30 AM
REVUE STAGE
$17
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Kate Pullinger’s The Mistress of Nothing,
winner of the Governor General’s Award in 2009,
explores the subject of love complicated by
duty and caste. Rachel Wyatt’s novel features
a woman who writes admiring letters to fi lm
star Omar Sharif, whom she has never met and
likely never will. Sandra Birdsell describes a
marriage that once seemed secure, but now is
falling apart. Multiple award-winning novelist
Jane Urquhart is no stranger to the subject of
love in its many guises. There’s no guarantee of
“happily ever after,” but it will be well worth it to
hear these four master storytellers talk about the
emotion that drives us all.
JAPANNING
KATHERINE GOVIER, DAVID MITCHELL
10:30 AM
PTC STUDIO
$17
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Great books often have their genesis in accidental
moments. David Mitchell got off at the wrong
tram stop in Nagasaki and stumbled upon a
cluster of warehouses from an earlier century.
That site proved to be central to his new novel,
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. When
her moment struck, Katherine Govier was
at the Freer Museum in Washington, DC, at a
discussion of 19th-century Japanese woodcut
master Hokusai. The results are spectacular
and riveting historical novels that showcase
the talents of these two hugely successful and
beloved authors. This is a rare chance to see
Mitchell and Govier up close and personal.
This event is sponsored by The Vancouver Sun.
BUILDING A BRIDGE
ELEANOR CATTON, PAUL HARDING,
PASCALE QUIVIGER, MIGUEL SYJUCO
HOST: AISLINN HUNTER
10:30 AM
PERFORMANCE WORKS
$17
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Often the formally innovative novel is not
reader friendly. Walking the tightrope between
new forms of fi ction and keeping your reader
intrigued is an acrobatic skill. Four novelists
who have successfully walked that wire are
together this morning. Paul Harding’s debut
novel, Tinkers, which won the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction in 2010, has been described as “a story
told as a series of ruminative images.” Eleanor
Catton and Pascale Quiviger write in a style
that is both multi-layered and surprising. Miguel
Syjuco won the Man Asian Literary Prize in
2008 for his debut novel, Ilustrado. No clowns
this morning, but a gathering of literary acrobats
that will rival the Cirque du Soleil.
CRIME, NOT PUNISHMENT
LINWOOD BARCLAY, GAIL BOWEN,
QUINTIN JARDINE, CHEVY STEVENS
2 PM
REVUE STAGE
$17
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Because it can take readers through twists
and turns of plot and secrets, crime fi ction is
a welcome and intriguing escape for many.
Linwood Barclay, Gail Bowen and Quintin
Jardine are old hands at this genre, and sure
to be familiar with audiences. Chevy Stevens
has just published her fi rst crime novel, but
her publisher has already bought the next
two—books she has yet to write. Whether you’re
captivated by the main detective character, the
loops and bends of plot, the distinct setting or
the emotional ride, it’s certainly no punishment
to spend an afternoon with these fi ne authors of
crime fi ction.
LET THE RECORD SHOW
DENISE CHONG, MYRNA KOSTASH,
KATHY PAGE, MICHAEL WINTER
10:30 AM
WATERFRONT THEATRE
$17
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Whether an author is writing fi ction or non-fi ction,
research will play a part in their preparation. The
choice is then whether to remain faithful to the
details or to use those facts as a springboard for
the imagination. Two non-fi ction and two fi ction
writers talk about their research methods and the
possibilities of being restricted by the “truth”.
In the course of research, Kathy Page explored
protocols for genetic testing, and Michael Winter
combed court transcripts of the murder trial on
which he based his novel. Denise Chong verifi ed
weather records to ensure accuracy in her book,
while Myrna Kostash closely studied Byzantium
and Greek Orthodoxy. Research can take a writer
to myriad sources—but when does a writer put
accuracy aside and put imagination to work?
AMERICAN SPLENDOUR
ANTHONY DOERR, PAUL HARDING,
YIYUN LI, MARISA SILVER, WELLS TOWER
2 PM
PERFORMANCE WORKS
$17
Step aside, Fitzgerald and Hemingway! Here they
come. This afternoon we introduce you to the
next generation of American writers taking the
literary world by storm. Paul Harding has just
won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, Yiyun
Li and Wells Tower were named as two of The
New Yorker’s 20 Best American Authors Under
40. Anthony Doerr was named by Granta as
one of the 21 Best Young American Authors
and Marisa Silver has been included in The
Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry
Prize Stories. We are delighted to present these
American voices from whom you will hear a lot
more in the coming years.
This event is sponsored by
Simon & Schuster Canada.
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