Advertisement

Art & Books

Writer’s bloc

JOE DUNTHORNE, author of Wild Abandon, reading with Colson Whitehead and interviewed by Brent Bambury, Saturday (October 22) and reading with Gary Barwin, Kyle Buckley, Souvankham Thammavongsa and Alexi Zentner, Sunday (October 23)

Brian Francis (left) and Drew Hayden Taylor

BRIAN FRANCIS, author of Natural Order, reading with Dany Laferrière and Emma Ruby-Sachs, Saturday (October 22)

DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR, author of Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, reading with Joseph Boyden, David A. Groulx and Lee Maracle, Wednesday (October 26)

Colson Whitehead (left) and Patricia Marx

COLSON WHITEHEAD, author of Zone One, reading with Gary Barwin, Jennifer Haigh and Sarah Winman, Friday (October 21) and interviewed alongside Joe Dunthorne Saturday (October 22)

PATRICIA MARX, author of Starting From Happy, interviewed with Kate Beaton October 29 and reading with Tessa McWatt, Zacharia Wells and D.W. Wilson October 30

Joshua Knelman (left) and Will Ferguson

JOSHUA KNELMAN, author of Hot Art, reading with Rodge Glass, Kate Beaton and Ken Babstock, October 30

WILL FERGUSON, author of Canadian Pie, interviewed by Shelagh Rogers on Saturday (October 22) and reading with Niels Frank, Gary Geddes and Conor Grennan, October 29

Describe your book in 15 words or less.

A strange white man, who may or may not be a legendary trickster, returns to a native community riding a vintage 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle, causing mischief and magic. DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR

The end of a commune, the end of a marriage, the end of the world. JOE DUNTHORNE

Canadian Pie is about a very, very, very, very, very, very, very curious man who… WILL FERGUSON

An elderly woman tries to find redemption for the lies she told about her dead son. BRIAN FRANCIS

Theft, love, money, beauty, greed, courage, detectives, cunning, thieves, epic game of hide and seek. JOSHUA KNELMAN

It’s 1900. Hunt is a shaman, chieftain, anthropologist, scientist – now he’s accused as a cannibal. COLSON WHITEHEAD

A man from La Mancha sets out as a knight-errant… Wait! That’s someone else’s book. PATRICIA MARX

Do you have any idiosyncratic green room requests?

I absolutely loathe hydrangeas. BRIAN FRANCIS

I get to spend time in the green room? Who’s in there? Are they nice? JOSHUA KNELMAN

Scotch and Uzis. Colson Whitehead

I’d like this green room in blue, please. PATRICIA MARX

Which couple’s bio would you rather write: Will and Kate’s or Brad and Angelina’s?

Well, mine and Kate’s, obviously. WILL FERGUSON

Could I pick Will and Angelina? PATRICIA MARX

E-books – are you a convert yet?

Not yet. Like the Inuit used to say when snowmobiles were introduced in the Arctic, “You can’t eat a snowmobile if you get stranded in a snowstorm.” You can’t use an e-book if you’re stuck in an outhouse at the cottage. DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR

I’m agnostic. JOSHUA KNELMAN

Yes. When reading 1,100 pages of the print edition of Infinite Jest last year, I cut my copy into three chunks (re-binding each bit with masking tape) to make it easier to carry. Then, each night, I had to come home and catch up on the footnotes. Very annoying. Now my girlfriend’s reading it on a Kindle, and it’s ideal. JOE DUNTHORNE

E what? WILL FERGUSON

They’re making a biopic of your life. What movie star should play you? Why?

Owen Wilson. We share blond hair and an unconventional nose. JOE DUNTHORNE

Chunk from The Goonies for my early years, Michael Bublé for my adult years, Phyllis Diller for my senior years. I think you know why. BRIAN FRANCIS

Jake Gyllenhaal. He seems like the kind of person who could get suckered into following this kind of story. I’d kind of like to be played by Maggie Gyllenhaal as well. JOSHUA KNELMAN

Cate Blanchett. She’s the coolest cube in the icebox, as a man or a woman. COLSON WHITEHEAD

My friend Phoebe Cates does an adroit impersonation of me. Hmm… that could be a bad thing. PATRICIA MARX

Create a premise for a literary reality TV show what would you call it?

An audience attempts to stay focused during a 30-minute author reading. Title: So You Think You Can Listen. BRIAN FRANCIS

I once quoted George Bernard Shaw’s line “It’s a pity youth is wasted on the young,” to which somebody responded, “What the hell does that mean?” So I suggest asking people on the street to explain literary quotes and phrases. Title: What The Hell Does That Mean? DREW HAYDEN TAYLOR

An author and his/her harshest critic are forced to share a bedroom. The author writes stories that cruelly fictionalize the critic’s personal hygiene, night smells, etc. The critic writes scathing, highly personal reviews of the new stories. This pattern continues until they either go mad, fall in love or both. Title: Sleeping With The Enemy. JOE DUNTHORNE

A group of celebrities are placed in the Murder Mansion, where they must compete in writing ever more gruesome, witty and inventive murders. Each week, the most popular murder is enacted on the least popular celebrity by our specialist team. Title: Murder Mansion – Only The Interesting Survive. COLSON WHITEHEAD

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted