Tuesday, October 20


1 Please Don’t Ask About My Parents! Gayle Friesen Robyn Harding Host: Kathryn Gretsinger 10 – 11:30 am PTC Studio $16 / $8 for student groups
The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: Please note that the venue of this event has been changed to PTC Studio*, not as originally scheduled. How do you cope with parents whose behaviour forces you to recognize that they’re sexual beings as well as mothers and fathers? From “oh, gross!” to acceptance that life as they knew it changed when their parents split up, had affairs, got pregnant, or introduced a new dad and stepchildren into the mix, two young teens in two novels for young adults fi nd they’ve grown up in ways they never expected. Handled with sensitivity and a generous dollop of humour, two experienced novelists tackle family life as many teens experience it today.
Suitable for grades 9 to 12 *Study Guide


2 Les aventures de Passepoil et ses amis Elaine Arsenault Animateur : Stephan Cloutier 10 h 30 à 11 h 30 Waterfront Theatre 16 $ / 8 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants This event is sold out.
The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: Please note that the venue of this event has been changed to Waterfront Theatre*, not as originally scheduled. La série de quatre albums débute avec l’histoire d’un petit chien, Passepoil, qui rêve d’être adopté par mademoiselle Madeleine, la couturière. Les albums qui suivent racontent les autres aventures de Passepoil avec une marionnette, son ami, la souris, et sa première visite chez le vétérinaire. Les contes et illustrations raviront les enfants de tous âges.
Pour les élèves de la maternelle à la troisième année. *Guide d'étude Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les écrivains.


3 Stories Near and Far C.J. Taylor Paul Yee 1 – 2:00 pm Revue Theatre $16 / $8 for student groups
Stories may have their roots in your own neighbourhood—Vancouver’s Commercial Drive—or the heavens and underworlds of traditional legends. Governor General’s Literary Award winner Paul Yee and Mohawk storyteller and illustrator C.J. Taylor spin an afternoon’s worth of adventure for young readers. Yee’s stories are fi rmly set in the here and now of our city, while Taylor’s span the mythical worlds of Aboriginal legends across North America. However, as children know, great storytelling has no boundaries.
Suitable for grades 1 to 3 *Study Guide


4 The Bite of the Mango Mariatu Kamara in conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger 1 – 2:30 pm Performance Works $16 / $8 for student groups This event is sold out.
When Mariatu Kamara was 12 years old in Sierra Leone, she was brutally attacked by armed rebel soldiers who cut off both her hands. The sweet taste of a mango, her first food after the attack, both reaffirmed her desire to live and harshly presented the challenges that lay before her. Eventually arriving in Toronto after begging in the streets of Freetown, Mariatu began to pull together the pieces of her broken life with courage and astounding resilience. Now in her early 20s, Kamara has been named a UNICEF Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict. Her story is told in The Bite of the Mango.
Suitable for grades 8 to 12, and adult *Study Guide


5 The Timeless Forces of Good and Evil Hiromi Goto Matthew Skelton Host: John Burns 1 – 2:30 pm Waterfront Theatre $16 / $8 for student groups This event is sold out.
Those with a taste for dark fantasy and the worlds of magic, adventure and time-travel will revel in new works by authors Hiromi Goto and Matthew Skelton. In Skelton’s novel, merciless rogues are conniving to steal the world’s most divine power, which they believe young Cirrus Flux has inherited. Goto’s heroine Melanie is lured to the purgatory-like Half World to save her mother, only to realize the whole state of the universe is at risk. A violent struggle to restore cosmic balance ensues. With contemporary flair, two accomplished authors bring new relevance to the universal themes of good and evil.
Suitable for grades 8 to 10 *Study Guide


6 Un garçon, sa grand-mère, un gitan et autres légendes Elaine Arsenault Dany Laferrière Animatrice : Anne-Laure Paulmont 13 h à 14 h 30 PTC Studio 16 $ / 8 $ pour les groupes d’étudiants This event is sold out.
Dany Laferrière raconte des histoires de son enfance passée à Haïti alors qu’il avait 10 ans et qu’il vivait une étroite relation avec sa grand-mère, Da. Entre autre choses, Da enseigne les coutumes et croyances haïtiennes sur la vie et la mort, la bonne aventure et les zombies, l’amour et la guérison. Pour sa part, Elaine Arsenault crée ses propres histoires portant sur des sujets similaires : les prophéties, un sorcier, un gitan et la guérison. Les histoires prennent vie dans les mains de ces deux auteurs doués et elles sont enrichies par les illustrations que l’on retrouve dans les livres de Laferrière.
Pour les élèves de la quatrième à la septième année *Guide d'étude Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les écrivains.


7 Audrey Niffenegger in conversation with Jerry Wasserman Audrey Niffenegger 8:00 pm Waterfront Theatre $18
Her debut novel The Time Traveler’s Wife has sold more than two million copies in 33 languages, delighting readers around the world. Now, six years later, Audrey Niffenegger comes to the Festival with Her Fearful Symmetry, a novel about love, identity, sisterhood and the tenacity of life even after death. This long-awaited second novel prompted a fierce bidding war among publishers that brought Niffenegger a $5 million advance. She’s also an accomplished visual artist who teaches the art of bookmaking at Chicago’s Center for Book and Paper Arts. Join Jerry Wasserman for a wide-ranging and illuminating conversation with one of America’s favourite writers.



8 An Intimate Evening with Alistair MacLeod Alistair MacLeod 8:00 pm PTC Studio $23 This event is sold out.
For Vancouver area audiences, Alistair MacLeod needs no introduction. When he appeared at the Writers Festival in 2007, accompanied by the Chor Leoni men’s choir, he delivered one of the most memorable and moving afternoons in the history of the Festival. The much-loved novelist and short story writer returns to Granville Island to share some readings from Island and No Great Mischief, some storytelling and a good measure of charm with those quick enough to get a ticket. Spend an evening with an original, a true gentleman, and one of Canada’s most esteemed men of letters. This event is sold out.



9 The Alma Lee Opening Night Event: GRAND OPENINGS Bonnie Burnard Amit Chaudhuri Dany Laferrière Joan London Lisa Moore Kathy Reichs Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt *Alexis Wright Host: Hal Wake 8:00 pm Performance Works $27
The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: We regret that Alexis Wright will not be appearing at this event. It’s opening night at the Writers Festival, and the Festival’s Artistic Director, Hal Wake, introduces seven fine writers. Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Bonnie Burnard* reads from her long-awaited new novel Suddenly. She’s joined by acclaimed musician and novelist Amit Chaudhuri, and Governor General’s Literary Award winner Dany Laferrière. Australia’s Joan London brings us her family drama The Good Parents, and Newfoundland’s Lisa Moore her heartrending February. Kathy Reichs reads from her latest work featuring detective Temperance Brennan, and Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, one of Europe’s most loved authors, also takes the stage with The Most Beautiful Book in the World. Open the Festival in grand style in the company of these authors.

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Tuesday, October 20