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52 Let the Record Show

Denise Chong Ontario	Myrna Kostash Alberta	Kathy Page British Columbia
Michael Winter Ontario

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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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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Kathy Page, British Columbia

Kathy Page was born in the UK and now lives on Salt Spring Island with her husband and two children. Her fifth novel, The Story of My Face, was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2002 and her sixth, Alphabet, was nominated for a Governor General’s Award in 2005. Her new novel is The Find. Read more

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Michael Winter, Ontario

Michael Winter is the author of The Architects Are Here, which was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, and The Big Why, which was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His first novel, This All Happened, won the Winterset Award. He is also the recipient of The Writers’ Trust Notable Author Award. Winter’s new novel is The Death of Donna Whalen. He divides his time between Toronto and St. John’s. Read more

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Host: Andreas Schroeder
Saturday, October 23, 2010 - 10:30am
Waterfront Theatre
$17.00

Whether an author is writing fiction or non-fiction, research will play a part in their preparation. The choice is then whether to remain faithful to the details or to use those facts as a springboard for the imagination. Two non-fiction and two fiction writers talk about their research methods and the possibilities of being restricted by the “truth.” In the course of research, Kathy Page explored protocols for genetic testing, and Michael Winter combed court transcripts of the murder trial on which he based his novel. Denise Chong verified weather records to ensure accuracy in her book, while Myrna Kostash closely studied Byzantium and Greek Orthodoxy. Research can take a writer to myriad sources—but when does a writer put accuracy to one side and put imagination to work?