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42 On the Road to Write

Dave Bidini Ontario	Denise Chong Ontario	Wayne Grady and Merilyn Simonds Ontario
Myrna Kostash Alberta	Derek Lundy British Columbia

Dave Bidini, Ontario

Dave Bidini, formerly of the Rheostatics, is the author of nine books, including Tropic of Hockey, which was made into the Genie Award–winning feature film, Hockey Nomad. Another of his books, Baseballissimo, was recently optioned for both film and television. Bidini’s journalism has earned him numerous National Magazine Awards. His new book is Home and Away: In Search of Dreams at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer Read more

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Denise Chong, Ontario

Denise Chong is the author of the bestselling family memoir The Concubine’s Children, which won numerous awards and which Chong later adapted for the stage. Her second book, The Girl in the Picture, tells the story of Kim Phuc, the girl whose image as she fled from a napalm attack in her village became emblematic of the Vietnam War. Chong’s latest book, Egg on Mao, focuses on Lu Decheng, who gained international notoriety for defacing Mao’s portrait during the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Read more

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Wayne Grady and Merilyn Simonds, Ontario

Wayne Grady and Merilyn Simonds are award-winning, bestselling Canadian authors and avid travellers. Grady has published 14 acclaimed books of non-fiction, edited more than a dozen anthologies, and won 13 National Magazine Awards for his journalism. Simonds’ 14 books include the Governor General award–nominated The Convict Lover, and a much-praised novel, The Holding. The pair live and write together in their 200-year-old stone house on a country property in eastern Ontario. Read more

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Myrna Kostash, Alberta

Myrna Kostash’s creative non-fiction continues to define and push the limits of the genre. Since the publication of All of Baba's Children in 1977, she has been a strong voice in depicting the Ukrainian-Canadian experience in the West and its roots in European history. Her award-winning memoirs, essays and other writings, along with her avid participation in the literary community, have garnered Kostash popular and critical acclaim at home and abroad. Her new book is Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium. Read more

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Derek Lundy, British Columbia

Derek Lundy is the bestselling author of Godforsaken Sea: Racing The World's Most Dangerous Waters, The Way of a Ship: A Square-Rigger Voyage in the Last Days of Sail and The Bloody Red Hand: A Journey Through Truth, Myth and Terror in Northern Ireland. Lundy’s latest book is Borderlands, a non-fiction account of his motorcycle trek along the US borders to explore the American obsession with security. He lives and rides on Salt Spring Island, BC. Read more

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Host: Andreas Schroeder
Friday, October 22, 2010 - 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Granville Island Stage
$17 / $8.50 for student groups

A good road trip is excellent fodder for stories for years to come. But while most of us tuck away our memories when we put away our suitcases, these authors have turned their wayfaring into writing. Wayne Grady and Merilyn Simonds’ road trip into the heart of America at the end of the Bush era contrasts well with Derek Lundy’s motorcycle adventures along both international borders of the US in a post-9/11 atmosphere of heightened security. Denise Chong takes the armchair traveller to post-Tiananmen Square China, Myrna Kostash travels around the Balkans and to Istanbul in search of roots and religion, and Dave Bidini plays soccer with the homeless in Australia.

Suitable for Grades 10 to 12 and adults