Have you marked your calendar for the County Reads yet? This annual book debate takes place on Thursday April 19 at 7 p.m. at Waring Hall. For all the details about the event, visit peclibrary.org/countyreads.
This year’s larger, new venue, the Waring Hall inspired us to add a local author and publisher spotlight. Anyone working in the written word was invited to participate. We are thrilled to announce that we received an enthusiastic response from the County’s literary community and attendees will get the opportunity to meet and chat with established county writers and new, up-and-coming talents.
County Reads moderator Ken Murray will have his book, Eulogy, available for sale and he will circulate at intermission to meet attendees. Anne Preston, originator of the County Reads, will have information about County Kids Read and her work in the community.
Publisher Cressy Lakeside Books will be at the County Reads with information about their work, including the upcoming launch of the short story collection, The County Wave at Books & Company on Sunday, April 22.
Invisible Publishing produces fine Canadian literature. As a not-for-proft publisher, their work includes building communities that sustain and encourage engaging, literary, and current writing. Their catalogue has come to include works of graphic fiction and nonfiction, pop culture biographies, experimental poetry, and prose. One of their titles, I Am a Truck, was a finalist for the 2017 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Roz Bound with “Open Floor” will bring information about a mainstay of the county’s poetry community. Open Floor Wellington, a group that has met since 2001 to read their original writing, poetry and prose. There are six Wellington writers displaying their books: Roz Bound, Karen Dukes, Eileen Holland, Louise O’Donnell, David Simmonds, and Roger Whittaker.
Brad Turner is a new voice in the county, having recently released his first fantasy novel called King Slayers. He lives in Wellington and is a longtime user of the library branch there.
Robin Timmerman writes mystery stories with a rural flavour. Fans of Timmerman’s Middle Island mystery series can look forward to a fifth adventure to be released in June.
Janet Kellough will bring copies of her brand new release, a speculative fiction/police procedural/political thriller called The Bathwater Conspiracy and will have information about the much-anticipated 2018 Women Killing It Crime Writers Festival in Prince Edward County.
Karen Palmer wrote a book about witchcraft entitled Spellbound: Inside West Africa’s Witch Camps. She is also a journalist, having worked at the Toronto Star, and has freelanced for the Washington Times, Sydney Morning Herald and South China Morning Post and is currently at work on a novel.
Kristin Basso will have copies of her title Through My Mother’s Eyes, a roving memoir laced with quirky vignettes of growing up in “The Big Smoke” and travels beyond, with a fearless, liberated mother leading the way. However, it is also a loving tribute to the precious seasonal county nature experiences that have shaped and inspired Kristin throughout her many years living here with her husband, Guido Basso, and their menagerie of horses and family pets.
Pick up your $5 ticket to The County Reads at any branch of the library or at the door the night of, and enjoy an evening celebrating Canadian literature.
-Liz Zylstra