School Events
Tuesday, October 20 |
|
|
|
 Please Don’t Ask About My Parents!
Gayle Friesen |
|
|
*The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: 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 |
|
|
|
 Les aventures de Passepoil et ses amis
Elaine Arsenault |
|
|
*The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: 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. |
|
|
|
|
Stories Near and Far
C.J. Taylor |
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
The Bite of the Mango
Mariatu Kamara in conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger |
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
The Timeless Forces of Good and Evil
Hiromi Goto |
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
Un garçon, sa grand-mère, un gitan et autres légendes
Elaine Arsenault |
|
|
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. |
|
Wednesday, October 21 |
|
|
|
|
Word! (1)
C.R. Avery |
|
|
Three BC writers—sometimes musicians, sometimes poets, sometimes welders, sometimes McJobbers, but always entertaining—get together this morning to take the art of writing to new places. Spoken word iconoclast and musician C.R. Avery joins Vancouver favourite Billeh Nickerson onstage with audio poet and arts activist Hilary Peach. This is spoken word, poetry and storytelling on the fly. Spread the word! (This event is repeated on Thursday afternoon.) This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 10 to 12, and adults *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Suis-je obligé? Mais je le veux
François Barcelo |
|
|
Une jeune étoile du hockey midget au futur prometteur est en amour. Une adolescente est supposée passer la journée avec son grand-père : elle trouve qu’il est nul, il la voit comme une chipie. Un garçon accepte de garder son demi-frère, bien qu’il n’ait jamais fait ça avant. Un ado fainéant, dans l’espoir de faire de l’argent, offre d’aider un voisin. Diverses histoires nous invitent à explorer les défis et la richesse des relations humaines. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Pour les élèves de la quatrième à la huitième année *Guide d'étude Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs. |
|
|
|
|
G-Man
Gordon Korman |
|
|
A superstar of children’s literature, Gordon Korman has published more than 60 books that have delighted young readers for the last three decades. Korman published his first book at the age of 14 and stories continue to pour out of him at an astounding rate. From adventure and comedy, mystery and suspense, to everyday life and relationships, Korman’s novels appeal to a wide range of reading tastes. This is a rare opportunity to meet up with the G-man face-to-face. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 4 to 7 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Fright Night
Hiromi Goto |
|
|
Two Canadian authors have deliberately set out to write tales that leave readers on the edge of their chairs, send shivers down their spines and take their imaginations to the edge of reason. These multi-award winning authors share goosebump moments with their readers; they will also discuss why being frightened is fascinating to us, the borders between fright and horror, the fear of the known and the unknown and how they make the unimaginable real enough to keep us turning pages. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 9 to 12, and adults *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
By Pen and Brush: Native Stories
C.J. Taylor |
|
|
Established visual artist and author of a dozen books, C.J. Taylor wants to help make the rich culture of Native history come alive for young people. Drawing from her own Mohawk heritage, as well as the Mi’kmaq, Iroquois and other First Nations, Taylor has collected, retold and illustrated with bright colours and sweeping lines haunting tales about some of the powerful spirits who touch the lives of human folk. Taylor shares her insights and experience about the marriage of words and illustration that bring to life stories from an oral culture. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 5 to 8 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Word Play
Rukhsana Khan |
|
|
Spend the afternoon with a silly chicken, llamas in the laundry, a cat named Zoom and three fabulous storytellers who show that at the root of all good stories is a delight in the words themselves. Little ones will be tapping their toes to the rhythm and the rhyme as these stories and poems take eager listeners from Pakistan to the North Pole. |
|
|
Suitable for grades K to 3 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Humour and Hormones
Don Calame |
|
|
No clichéd teen tales here. Screenwriter Don Calame perfectly channels the adolescent male’s obsession with the female. Robyn Harding draws from her own experiences as a teenager and the utter embarrassment at even having parents, let alone parents who have sex. Harding’s My Parents Are Sex Maniacs and Calame’s Swim the Fly face the topics of burgeoning adolescent sexuality and awareness with hilarity, tenderness and understanding. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 8 to 10 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Le bien l’emporte sur le mal
Elaine Arsenault |
|
|
Des mondes imaginaires et intemporels donnant lieu à des prophéties, des quêtes et des luttes pour vaincre les forces du mal s’articulent autour des deux séries de livres. La série Darhan écrite par Sylvain Hotte met en vedette le jeune berger Darhan dans la Mongolie du 13e siècle. Darhan et ses compagnons font face à de nombreux défis dont des créatures obscures et des êtres fantastiques. La saga d’Arsenault, L’or des Gitans, raconte l’histoire de trois amis qui sont confrontés au danger et qui le surmontent—dans un cas, au fond de la mer. D’où viennent les idées pour la science-fiction et l’imaginaire? Explorez avec les auteurs les mondes qu’ils ont créés. |
|
|
Pour les élèves de la huitième à la douzième année *Guide d'étude Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs. |
|
|
|
|
Water in the Well
Rochelle Strauss |
|
|
Every raindrop, lake, underground river and glacier is part of a single global well that makes life on earth possible. Yet every day, the equivalent of more than 15,000 boxcars worth of garbage is dumped into the Earth’s water. With a master’s degree in Environmental Studies and a passion for writing, Rochelle Strauss ignites in young readers the desire to take action to conserve and protect our global well, and the knowledge that they have the power to make a change for the better. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 4 to 7 *Study Guide |
|
Thursday, October 22 |
|
|
|
|
Titans
Gordon Korman |
|
|
Two titans of young adult writing come together this morning to talk about their characters, their storylines and the fun they have putting words on paper. Tim Wynne-Jones’s Rex Zero series, with its cast of sarcastic characters, closely reflects his own Canadian boyhood. Gordon Korman’s huge output of more than 60 novels shows very clearly that this award-winning novelist loves what he does, and does it very well. A rare chance for young readers and aspiring writers to see two of the masters together on stage. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 4 to 8 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Karen Connelly in conversation with Merilyn Simonds
Karen Connelly |
|
|
Karen Connelly won a Governor General’s Literary Award for her journal Touch the Dragon, written when she was still a teenager traveling and living in Thailand. She has since lived in Spain, France, Greece, Canada and Asia. Now nine books of non-fiction, fiction and poetry, and numerous awards later, Connelly turns her gift of words and images to the struggle for political change in Burma. Based on her experiences living in that country, her memoir Burmese Lessons is a love story—for a wounded a beautiful country and for one gifted man who is devoted to making a stand against dictators and a fierce military regime.
Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 8 to 12 and adults *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Some Words on Film
Don Calame |
|
|
Cariboo-born novelist Robyn Harding has completed a television pilot, has five novels under her belt, and continues to work both as author and screenwriter. Don Calame has just completed his first novel, after a successful career as a screenwriter whose film projects include Employee of the Month and Hounded and who has worked with Marvel Studios, the Disney Channel, Lionsgate, Universal Studios and Paramount. How do novelists approach writing for the screen, or screenwriters work to create a story without pictures? This is your chance to ask two successful storytellers who work with both forms. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 9 to 12 and adults *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
La vraie vie ou l’imaginaire?
Elaine Arsenault |
|
|
Le monde décrit par Elaine Arsenault comporte une étrange prophétie, un sorcier affreux, de dangereux pirates, un cheval au grand coeur—et de solides amitiés. Le monde dont François Barcelo parle—familles, grands-parents, ados—peut ressembler plus concrètement à nos propres vies. Est-ce qu’une histoire fantastique est plus imaginaire qu’une « histoire vraie »? Puisque les personnages des livres des deux auteurs sont remplis de courage, de curiosité et d’imagination, peut-être que les deux genres sont simplement deux façons différentes d’explorer la vie. Une belle occasion d’échanger avec deux auteurs primés sur les livres qu’ils écrivent et sur les diverses façons dont ils le font. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
Pour les élèves de la huitième à la douzième 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. |
|
|
|
|
Home Town Hero
Paul Yee |
|
|
Multi-award winning author Paul Yee has written for all ages—picture books, young adult books, adult non-fiction—and most of his stories are set and grounded in the Vancouver he knows and loves so well. Commercial Drive, neighbourhood parks, the Chinese deli and Ethiopian coffee shops. Young readers will feel right at home in the multi-cultural worlds that he describes so faithfully, populated by delightful characters like Shu-Li, Diego and Tamara whose friendships far outweigh their cultural differences. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 2 to 4 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Word! (2)
C.R. Avery |
|
|
Three BC writers—sometimes musicians, sometimes poets, sometimes welders, sometimes McJobbers, always entertaining—get together this afternoon to take the art of writing to new places. Spoken word iconoclast and musician C.R. Avery joins Vancouver favourite Billeh Nickerson onstage with audio poet and arts activist Hilary Peach. This is spoken word, poetry and storytelling on the fly. Spread the word! (This event is repeated on Wednesday morning.) This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 10 to 12 and adults *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Du 13e siècle à aujourd’hui —en 90 minutes
François Barcelo |
|
|
Il y a de nombreuses façons d’être courageux : faire quelque chose que vous n’avez jamais fait auparavant; assumer la responsabilité de quelqu’un d’autre; jouer le rôle de chef lorsque le premier chef n’est plus là; faire preuve d’audace; prendre le risque d’avoir l’air ridicule. Les personnages des livres de Barcelo et de Hotte, dont l’histoire se déroule au 13e siècle en Mongolie et au 21e siècle au Canada, sont courageux de diverses autres façons. C’est une occasion de se joindre aux auteurs pour explorer les expériences de leurs personnages, l’écriture de ces histoires et comment ces expériences peuvent se rapporter ou non à nos propres vies. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
Pour les élèves de la huitième à la douzième année *Guide d'étude Cet événement se tiendra exclusivement en français; il y aura beaucoup de possibilités d’interaction entre les élèves et les auteurs. |
|
|
|
|
Hide and Seek
Gordon Korman |
|
|
Adventures around the world and through time join together these two skilled authors. A phoenix-like bird in a nest guarded by crows, a daring hot-air balloon ride, a skillful heist of animals from a floating zoo, a speedboat chase through the canals of Venice, modern Europe and 18th century Antarctica and 16th century England—all find their way into the books of Gordon Korman and Matthew Skelton. Novels can take you to places you’ve never been and times that you’ll never see. Come and play hide and seek with two of the best children's authors writing today. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 4 to 7 *Study Guide |
|
|
|
|
Science Fact and Science Fiction
Jude Isabella |
|
|
A science journalist and a science educator come together this afternoon to present both the relevance of science to us all, and the jokes of science through the ages. Rochelle Strauss' One Well: The Story of Water on Earth demands that we treat water, which has the power to change everything, with the respect it deserves. Jude Isabella’s Hoaxed! tells 17 brilliantly bogus stories from the history of science: crop circles, “lost” tribes and other fakes and mistakes that scientists have taken seriously—at first. That science makes a difference in our lives is very clear. That science can play jokes will keep science interesting for young readers. This event is sold out. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 4 to 7 *Study Guide This event is supported by the Rix Family Foundation. |
|
|
|
|
Wanting Mor
Rukhsana Khan |
|
|
“When countries to go war, it is always civilians, especially children, who suffer the most,” says Rukhsana Khan, who has written a fictionalized account of a child in post-Taliban Afghanistan. Based on a true incident of a young girl, abandoned by her father after her mother’s death, and who grew up in one of the largest orphanages in Kabul, Wanting Mor is part of Khan’s continuing effort to create bridges of understanding between people of different cultures. Born in Pakistan, Khan lives in Toronto and writes stories of India, Persia and the Middle East. |
|
|
Suitable for grades 5 to 8 *Study Guide |
|
Friday, October 23 |
|
|
|
|
The Tightrope
Marie-Claire Blais |
|
|
*The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: Three authors take the stage to demonstrate convention-defying feats of fiction. While BC author Michael Turner gives his characters no names, identifying them only by their actions, Leon Rooke gives magic realism his own southern gothic twist. Quebec’s Marie-Claire Blais is known for her challenging stream-of-consciousness style. There’s a fine line between an invitation and a challenge to the reader—join us for a morning of exuberant, energetic envelope-pushing. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Coming of Age
Cynthia Flood |
|
|
*The programming details of this event have changed since the Festival Program was printed: “Coming of age” stories have been a staple of literature through the decades and continue to fascinate us as both readers and writers. No matter the terrain the voyage of self-discovery crosses—difficult and unusual family relations, socially conservative eras such as the 1950s, extraordinary political and historical circumstances or a brick-walled educational system—it’s a journey that has shaped us all. These four authors from a range of generations and backgrounds talk about their shared fascination with the formative years and how each avoided falling into the clichés of writing about them. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
This event is sponsored by HarperCollins Canada Ltd. |
|
|
|
|
Family Fugue
Michael Crummey |
|
|
No miniatures here. These three ambitious and accomplished novelists paint on the large canvas of family relationships over generations. Ashok Mathur’s novel, narrated by a child yet to be born, begins in 1899 and follows three generations from central India to contemporary life in the United Kingdom and North America. Michael Crummey’s Galore is set in remote and isolated Newfoundland, home and anchor to two families’ secrets, disputes and alliances through two centuries. Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer has written a family tragedy of Greek proportions spanning three generations in northern Ontario. Rich, sprawling, grand-scale family sagas have always been popular, and with good reason. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Richardson’s Roundup
Brian Brett |
|
|
Festival favourite Bill Richardson returns to chat up three entertaining authors who have recently published personal non-fi ction. There’s nothing like a Richardson interview to get to the hidden corners of a subject and to extract the best stories from writers. Brian Brett, Karen Connelly and Lorna Crozier engage in a far-ranging conversation with the insatiably curious Richardson. |
|
|
This event is sponsored by Douglas & McIntyre Publishing Group |
|
|
|
|
Playing with Real People
Kate Braid |
|
|
Aristotle himself is the narrator of The Golden Mean, Annabel Lyon’s tale of war, political intrigue, ambition and the philosopher’s pupil, Alexander the Great. Renowned pianist Glenn Gould pours out his inner heart to a fan going deaf in the fictional narrative A Well-Mannered Storm: The Glenn Gould Poems by Kate Braid. And Christopher Columbus—or at least a fellow in a Spanish insane asylum who believes he is Columbus and can tell the “truth” of how he obtained ships from Spanish royalty—takes centre stage in Thomas Trofimuk’s Waiting for Columbus. Thorough research by these three writers into their historical figures is plainly evident but is only a starting point for great leaps of imagination and style. Take the leap with them! Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Building Blocks, Starting Blocks
Joseph Boyden |
|
|
How do you assemble the elements of fiction into a creative work? The basic building blocks are character, plot, setting and dialogue. But some writers start with plot, some start with a voice (or two) in their head, some start with a theme and fit characters to it. Whatever the dominant element, the other parts also have to work in concert. Four writers talk about where they begin, how to continue, what their biggest struggles are, the effects of living for so long with imaginary people and the “ah ha!” moments that make it all worth while. Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
This event is sponsored by the UBC Writing Centre |
|
|
|
|
Lurk
Anne DeGrace |
|
|
Psychics, crumbling mansions, threatening clues, hidden chambers, forbidden love and perhaps even aliens—these are the makings of a great afternoon with a book. Come hear three novelists whose latest works will more than satisfy your need for chills. But not only do Sarah Waters, Anne DeGrace and Tim Wynne-Jones write great suspense, they also dig beneath the surface of daily life and family connections to show that intrigue and mystery lurk in the corners of the ordinary—a post-war English house, a rural Nova Scotia fishing village, a northern Ontario cottage—as well as the extraordinary.
Advance ticket sales have now ended for this event. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door one hour before the event starts. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Mini Poetry Bash
Kate Braid |
|
|
The Mini Poetry Bash is an annual favourite with students, teachers and poetry fans alike. This year the Festival has gathered a bevy of poets to show off the power of the well-chosen word. Six Canadians (and one bass) who can conjure lasting images with the flick of a phrase will wow you with readings and reaffirm why poetry matters, in case there was ever any doubt. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Those Who Can, Teach
Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer |
|
|
George Bernard Shaw famously said, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” Three skilled writers, who are also skilled teachers, challenge that idea. Writing becomes a more disciplined act when she is forced to explain it to students, says Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer, who in her early years as a writer swore she would never teach. How does teaching help the creative process? Does teaching add to the excitement about words, or is it a time-stealer and energy thief? And what about that age-old question, can the creative process be taught? Join this wide-ranging discussion about how teaching makes writers and writing makes teachers. |
|
|
|
|
Digg
Facebook
