Program Guide in pdf - Vancouver International Writers Festival

AARON BUSHKOWSKY
BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 34, 57
Aaron Bushkowsky is a poet, playwright, and screenwriter.
His fi rst collection of poetry, ed and mabel go to the moon,
was nominated for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. His
second collection, Mars Is for Poems, was published in
2002. He has published two books of drama, Strangers
Among Us and The Waterhead and Other Plays. Bushkowsky lives in
Vancouver, where he teaches playwriting and screenwriting. His new book,
Curtains for Roy, is his fi rst novel.
ELEANOR CATTON
NEW ZEALAND, EVENTS 51, 59
Eleanor Catton was born in London, Ontario and grew
up in Canterbury, New Zealand. She completed an MA in
Creative Writing at Wellington’s Victoria University in 2007
and dazzled critics with her award-winning fi rst novel, The
Rehearsal. She has been hailed in the British press as the
“golden girl of fi ction” and “a starburst of talent.” She is currently at work on
a second novel.
Eleanor Catton’s appearance is made possible by Creative New Zealand.
DENISE CHONG
ONTARIO, EVENTS 42, 52
Denise Chong is the author of the bestselling family memoir
The Concubine’s Children, which won numerous awards and
which Chong later adapted for the stage. Her second book,
The Girl in the Picture, tells the story of Kim Phuc, the girl
whose image as she fl ed from a napalm attack in her village
became emblematic of the Vietnam War. Chong’s latest book, Egg on Mao,
focuses on Lu Decheng, who gained international notoriety for defacing Mao’s
portrait during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Chong lives in Ottawa.
Denise Chong’s appearance is made possible by the Department of World Literature and the
Humanities Institute at Simon Fraser University.
IVAN E. COYOTE
BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 6, 64
Ivan E. Coyote is a writer and performer whose books
include the story collections Close to Spider Man (shortlisted
for the Danuta Gleed Short Fiction Prize), One Man’s Trash,
Loose End (shortlisted for the Ferro-Grumley Women’s
Fiction Award) and The Slow Fix. Her novel, Bow Grip, won
the 2007 ReLit Award. Ivan was also a founding member of the performance
collective Taste This. She is a long-time columnist for Xtra! in Toronto and
Xtra! West in Vancouver. Her newest book is the short story collection,
Missed Her, and her latest CD, her third, is titled Only Two Reasons. Originally
from the Yukon, Ivan lives in Vancouver.
© LAURA SAWHCUK
JUSTIN CRONIN
UNITED STATES, EVENTS 30, 46
Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is a
graduate of Harvard University and the Iowa Writers’
Workshop. Awards for his fi ction include the Stephen Crane
Prize, a Whiting Writers’ Award, and a Pew Fellowship in
the Arts. He is a professor of English at Rice University and
lives with his wife and children in Houston, Texas. His new novel, a thriller,
is The Passage.
© GASPAR TRINGALE
ANTHONY DOERR
UNITED STATES, EVENTS 46, 55
Anthony Doerr wrote the novel, About Grace. He is also the
author of a collection of short stories, The Shell Collector,
and a memoir, Four Seasons in Rome. Among his many
awards are three O. Henry Prizes, the Barnes & Noble
Discover Prize, the Rome Prize, and the New York Public
Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award. His book reviews have appeared in The
New York Times and Der Spiegel and his novella, Afterworld was included
in the spring edition of McSweeney’s Quarterly. Doerr also writes the “On
Science” column for The Boston Globe. His newest book is a collection of
short stories, Memory Wall.
© JERRY BAUER
EMMA DONOGHUE
ONTARIO / IRELAND, EVENTS 9, 20
Emma Donoghue is an award-winning Irish writer who has
written four novels, including the internationally acclaimed
and bestselling historical drama Slammerkin. She’s also
published three books of short stories, two works of
literary history, two anthologies and two plays. After years
of commuting between England, Ireland and Canada, in 1998 she settled in
London, Ontario, where she lives with her partner and their two children. Her
new novel, Room, is told through the voice of a young boy.
ANN ERIKSSON
BRITISH COLUMBIA, EVENTS 34, 45
Ann Eriksson is a novelist and biologist who combines her
background in ecology with her life experiences to create
works of fi ction grounded in nature and populated with
rich characters. Her novels are In the Hands of Anubis,
Decomposing Maggie and, most recently, Falling from
Grace. Eriksson was born in Saskatchewan and grew up in the Canadian
Prairie provinces; she now lives with her husband, poet Gary Geddes, on
Thetis Island and in Victoria.
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