More than eighty illuminating and downright inspiring events will take place in venues across Granville Island and beyond during Vancouver Writers Fest (Oct 18 – 23rd). These six events feature multiple generations of award-winning and talented female authors—from Maria Semple to Sharon Olds to Lisa Moore (and more).
Who wouldn’t want to be laughing along with female literary heavyweights Lisa Moore, Maria Semple, Marni Jackson, and Amy Jones? In Wit Craft, these four whip-smart and funny women will highlight how some of life’s most challenging moments are better with a wicked and crafty sense of humour, as demonstrated in their latest books. It’s an event you won’t want to miss. Wednesday, October 19, 6pm at Performance Works.
Odes: Sharon Olds in Conversation with Eleanor Wachtel
Sharon Olds arrives in Vancouver next week from her native United States, where she just so happens to be one of the country’s most prominent poets. Her 2012 collection, Stag’s Leap, won the Pulitzer Prize and the T.S. Eliot Prize for Poetry (and if you took First Year English, you likely studied poems she wrote well before this). On Sunday, hear her discuss her new book Odes – which explores the female body and female pleasure in poems like “Ode to the Hymen” – with the CBC’s brilliant books interviewer, Eleanor Wachtel. Sunday, October 23, 10:30am at Waterfront Theatre.
An award-winning journalist from right here in BC, Deborah Campbell will speak about reporting on the refugee crisis in Damascus, Syria, where her fixer, a female refugee named Ahlam, was kidnapped while under Deborah’s employ. Deborah searched for Ahlam for months, risking her own safety for the unshakeable friendship, an experience that informs her latest book A Disappearance in Damascus. Saturday, October 22, 8:00pm at Revue Stage.
The First Signs
Meet Genevieve von Petzinger, an acclaimed archaeologist who studies cave art from the Ice Age. Remarkably, she’s built the world’s first database that holds more than 5,000 ancient signs from nearly 400 archeological sites across Europe (surpassing Indiana Jones by far). In this event named after Genevieve’s new book, you’ll experience how cave people communicated 25,000 years ago through illustrations, handprints, dots, and more. Thursday, October 20, 8:30pm at Revue Stage.
Griffin Laureate 2016: Liz Howard in Conversation with Aislinn Hunter
Liz Howard is the youngest poet, and the first with a debut collection, to win the $65,000 Griffin Poetry Prize. At this event celebrating her achievement, she’ll read from Infinite Citizen of the Shaking Tent, described by Griffin judges as: “filled with magic and energy.” Liz spends her days as a research officer in cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, a position that contributes to her unique perspective on poetry and life itself. Friday, October 21, 6:00pm to 7:15pm at Studio 1398.
Teva Harrison is a Toronto-based writer and graphic artist, who was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at the age of 37. In-Between Days is her new critically acclaimed, stunning graphic memoir of what it means to live with cancer. Hear Teva share the incredibly moving story that’s been making waves across the country, with headlines in national papers and numerous radio and TV interviews: why sharing the hard and vulnerable parts of her life through her art makes everything a little bit easier.
Friday, October 21, 1pm at Studio 1398.
