| Toronto-based playwright and actor Darren O’Donnell will be visiting Calgary in support of his first novel, Your Secrets Sleep With Me, a comic work that looks at politics, society and human relationships – and features the CN Tower meeting an untimely end as well! O’Donnell, who has previously performed in Calgary at the High Performance Rodeo, will be reading at Pages on Kensington on Tuesday, June 1 at 7:30 p.m. He’ll be joined by local poet and fellow Coach House Books author Derek Beaulieu.
Speaking of Toronto, Coach House Books is having some problems with its headquarters right now. The company is currently running a fundraising campaign to repair its office space, even as it battles with its landlord, the University of Toronto, which wants to take over the building and convert it to student housing. The Coach House website, www.chbooks.com, has more details about the fundraising campaign and the May 12 edition of the Globe and Mail has details about the battle with the U of T.
Poet Vivian Hansen launches Angel Alley, a storybook of poetry, pictures and monologues from the victims of Jack the Ripper, on Thursday, June 3 at Annie’s Book Company at 7 p.m. The book challenges some basic assumptions about the victims. Were Polly Nichols and Elizabeth Stride dangerous social activists? Was Mary Kelly murdered because she was a spy for Irish patriots? Was Catharine Eddowes mistaken for Mary Kelly? Were any of these women really prostitutes? The reading will even feature a special appearance by one of the Ripper’s victims.
Also on June 3, there will be a Wine & Words fundraiser for the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award at Owl’s Nest Books from 7 until 9 p.m. Admission is $15 and the event will feature a cash bar, silent auction and live music, as well as food and refreshments. As it happens, June 3 is also the deadline for applications to this award. If you are a freelance writer and would like more details (or if you can’t make the fundraiser but would still like to make a donation), you can call Shirley Dunn at 259-5689.
The deadline for this fall’s Writing with Style program at The Banff Centre has been extended to June 18, 2004. What makes this writing program unique is that it is open to writers at all levels, making it perfect for writers who are just starting out as well as those with more experience. The program runs from September 20 to 25 and space is still available in the young adult fiction section with Joan Clark, poetry section with Tim Lilburn and short fiction section with Sandra Birdsell – all three of them highly talented instructors and well-regarded writers. For more info, please visit www.banffcentre.ca/programs/program.aspx?id=71.
Don’t forget filling Station magazine’s Blow-Out in celebration of its 30th issue at the Carpenters Union Hall (310 - 10th St.N.W.). Featured readers include Claire Harris, Yasmin Ladha, Suzette Mayr and Fred Stenson. There will also be a silent auction, art sale, jam session and more. For added details about this full-day event, visit www.fillingstation.ca. |
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