Writers' Fest

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The 19th Annual Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival will be held from October 17 to 22, 2006. More info can be found on the official website: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/

There will be 60 events ranging from poetry/prose readings to lectures and interviews and seminars. The guest authors and journalists are amazingly diverse, representing more than 15 countries worldwide. If you're a bookworm and/or writer in BC, you will definitely want to check this out!

As for me, there are 3 events I'm particularly interested in:
(I'll attend as many as I can afford, but these 3 I won't miss)


FROM THE DARK SIDE
Timothy Findlay believed that one of the obligations of the novelist was to descend into the darkest corners of the human psyche and report back what he or she saw. All of these authors explore some of the more disturbing and difficult aspects of human character. Are there consequences for the writer in living so alongside disturbing elements of their characters? What are the benefits for the reader in experiencing the dark side this way?


POLITICS AND THE PEN
Do writers have a responsibility to confront contemporary politics? How does a writer with a political argument avoid polemic? Some writers place imaginary characters in real times, causing us to reflect on the issues that shape our present. Other writers create worlds that are allegorical. Yet others tackle politics head on, putting thoughts into words to try to change our world. Four writers reflect on the artist's role as political commentator.


GROUNDWORK
To write about 19th-century Australia, to recreate 19th-century Afghan culture or to decipher the mysteries that Leonardo hid in THE LAST SUPPER -- and to write these stories well -- takes years of research and historical fact-finding. To bring history to life requires experiencing the taste of sea salt spray or imagining the pressure of the Inquisitors. Three authors who have set their stories in historical times talk about the challenges and the rewards of doing the groundwork.