Book-Celebrities and Ottawa Swells with Options

Writers Fest’s new season is launching momentarily with the first 8 events announced. There’s even a cookbook launch. I’m not a celebrity-chaser and haven’t had a tv in about 8 years so Chef Michael Smith being a Food Network chef isn’t on my radar, but still it’s nice to see them branching out from affirming the great ideas that pollution is bad, torture is bad and wasn’t the Trudeau era grand. They usually do a variety of ideas and forms, from political life to graphic novels, memoirs, comedy writing, (especially during Transgress), philosophy, science talks and books for kids.
There’s a literary start this fall season with The Cat’s Table with Michael Ondaatje, hosted by Joseph Boyden, on on-stage conversation on Tuesday, September 13, 7:00pm – 8:30pm at Ashbury College. Ondaatje is one of those pedestal Canadians. Judging from the swoon-factor I saw at play the last time Boyden was in town, some smaller-scale Beatlemania, you might want to get tickets early.
In the same time slot, Margaret Christakos and Phil Hall are at Tree. Both consistently give above average presentations as exceptionally skilled thinkers and communicators. The new season’s readers are announced.
There are 4 other competing literary events that evening at Bywords calendar. Luckily Voices of Venus has moved to Wednesdays. The start of their new season will be the 14th at 7:00 pm at Venus Envy, 320 Lisgar St.
Literary Ottawa is hopping, as pointed out in an article cross-posted at OpenFile and Apt 613.
Out of town, Eden Mills is nearly underway. And westwards starting around the same time Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge Ontario starts their new workshops series with James Dewar who then forwards best of to Anansi’s poetry editor.
P.S. A whole other full set of September listing including proposals for literary forums at Quillfyre and there’s Writescape, an October writing retreat.