By EVA VOINIGESCU
David Byrne and Cory Doctorow at a recent Harbourfront Centre literary event
(photo: Authors at Harbourfront Centre)
OCTOBER 18 TO 28 As readers, we turn to books to become inspired, to take a walk in someone else’s shoes, to experience new places and let our imaginations run wild. Each October, Harbourfront Centre gives us the opportunity to gain further insight into our favourite literary and non-fiction works—and meet their creators—as some of the world’s most celebrated contemporary writers gather for the International Festival of Authors.
This year, more than 180 participants are scheduled to appear in 70-plus events, including headline interviews with the likes of Michael Chabon and Junot Diaz (October 19), and Canadian essayist and novelist John Ralston Saul (October 21), as well as readings by the finalists for Canada’s most prestigious book awards: the Governor General’s Literary Award (October 22), the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize (October 24) and the Scotiabank Giller Prize (October 27). Of course there are dozens of other happenings—from themed roundtable discussions to intimate readings to public book signings in the festival’s bookstore—that make the IFOA a locus for lovers of literature. Below, check out our picks of the fest’s best under-the-radar readings and more.
This year’s 33rd annual gathering also marks the first time that Festival Flex Passes are available, giving attendees the ability to purchase tickets to 10 events for only $120. (Single tickets are $18 and up.) As always, students can access most readings and discussions for free, subject to availability. Visit the festival’s website for further details.
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- David Byrne and Cory Doctorow at a recent Harbourfront Centre literary event (photo: Authors at Harbourfront Centre)
- David Byrne and Cory Doctorow at Harbourfront Centre
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- David Byrne and Cory Doctorow at a recent Harbourfront Centre literary event (photo: Authors at Harbourfront Centre)
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- Author, writer and critic James Grainger hosts a quintet of readings by bestselling authors including Irvine Welsh and C.S. Richardson (pictured). Welsh is slated to offer <em>Skagboys</em>, his prequel to <em>Trainspotting</em> set in the early 1980s, while Richardson reads from <em>The Emperor of Paris</em>, a story of unlikely love in early 20th-century France. Other participants include Beatrice MacNeil with a selection from <em>The Box of the Dead</em>, Max Layton reading from <em>When the Rapture Comes</em>, and James Clarke presenting his WW2-era memoir <em>The Kid from Simcoe Street</em>.
- October 28, 5 p.m., Brigantine Room
- Clarke, Layton, MacNeil, Richardson & Welsh
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- October 28, 5 p.m., Brigantine Room
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- Chan Koonchung’s latest book, <em>The Fat Years</em> is the fictional tale of what might happen if a whole month was erased from the memory of a citizenry by it’s government. Officially banned in China, the book has nonetheless become an underground hit. Presented by Human Rights Watch, Koonchung reads from this controversial tome and joins in a discussion on censorship and its impacts.
- October 28, 3 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
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- October 28, 3 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
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- The Koffler Centre for the Arts joins the IFOA to host an interview with British writer and journalist Howard Jacobson. The 2010 Man Booker Prize winner will read from his latest novel, <em>Zoo Time</em>, which tells of its protagonist's humorous predicament: he's simultaneously in love with a woman <em>and</em> her mother.
- October 28, noon, Fleck Dance Theatre
- Howard Jacobson
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- October 28, noon, Fleck Dance Theatre
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- The best books take readers to places we never expected; do they do the same for the people who write them? In this round table discussion hosted by <em>Quill & Quire</em> reviews editor Steven W. Beattie, acclaimed authors Emma Donoghue, Andri Snær Magnason, Cordelia Strube and 2012 Giller Prize nominee Alix Ohlin (pictured) discuss the writing process—from a story's unplanned turns to the regrets one may have even after its publication.
- October 27, 5 p.m., Brigantine Room
- The Roads Taken
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- October 27, 5 p.m., Brigantine Room
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- A diverse group of heat-seeking writers assembles at the behest of author and critic Bert Archer: Claire Vaye Watkins reads from <em>Battleborn</em>, a collection of short stories that revisits myths of the American West; Toronto-based Pasha Malla (pictured) presents his imaginative vision of urban planning in the novel <em>People Park</em>; Ekiwah Adler-Beléndez shares his personal struggle with being confined to a wheelchair in <em>Love on Wheels</em>; the story of two friends’ dreams of Olympic greatness comes out in Chris Cleave’s <em>Gold</em>; and writer and media inventor Robin Sloan describes a great adventure in <em>Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore</em>. <br />
- October 24, 8 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
- Adler-Beléndez, Cleave, Malla, Sloan & Watkins
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- October 24, 8 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
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- This Roundtable discussion hosted by author David Layton looks at the role that societal observation and critique plays in shaping fictional storytelling. Authors Simonetta Agnello Hornby, Emily St. John Mandel, Emily Schultz (pictured) and Linda Spalding are scheduled to appear and share the ways by which life imitates are in their latest works.
- October 23, 8 p.m., Brigantine Room
- The Novel as a Window on Society
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- October 23, 8 p.m., Brigantine Room
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- A select group of graduates of the University of Guelph's respected MFA program participate in this roundtable discussion about (among other things) getting published for the first time, the role of social media for today’s authors, and their experiences within the changing world of publishing. The panel's featured writers include Matt Lennox, Stacey Madden, Aga Maksimowska, Grace O’Connell and Tanis Rideout (pictured). <br />
- October 21, 4 p.m., Lakeside Terrace
- Novelists for a New Age
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- October 21, 4 p.m., Lakeside Terrace
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- In a showcase of some of the best modern travel writers, renowned independent bookseller Ben McNally hosts a talk with authors Naomi Duguid, Rachel Joyce (pictured) and Arno Kopecky. Duguid’s <em>Burma</em> explores that country’s rich history alongside its culinary traditions, whereas Joyce’s <em>The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry</em> (longlisted for the Man Booker prize) follows a recent retiree on a trip of self discovery, and Kopechy’s <em>The Devil’s Cure</em> takes readers into the heart of Peru's Northern Amazon to meet its Awajun native peoples.
- October 21, noon, Studio Theatre<br />
- Duguid, Joyce & Kopecky
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- October 21, noon, Studio Theatre
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- Popular CBC Radio hosts Jian Gomeshi (pictured), Jonathan Goldstein and Nora Young share their books with Definitely Not The Opera host Sook-Yin Lee as part of IFOA’s CBC Day. Hear about Ghomeshi’s passion for music as he discusses <em>1982</em>, Goldstein’s humourous last year as a 20-something in <em>I’ll Seize the Day Tomorrow</em>, and Young’s insights into how digital self-tracking is shaping our identity in <em>In The Virtual Self</em>.
- October 20, 9 p.m., Lakeside Terrace
- Ghomeshi, Goldstein & Young
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- October 20, 9 p.m., Lakeside Terrace
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- CBC Radio host Elanor Wachtel (Writers & Company) interviews Mohammed Hanif about his latest tome, <em>Our Lady of Alice Bhatti</em>, which explores the politics of Pakistan’s lower caste through the tale of a Christian nurse trying to navigate the country's bureaucracy while reconciling conflicting duties. <br />
- October 20, 2 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
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- October 20, 2 p.m., Fleck Dance Theatre
Stay, Dine, Do