STARFest 2023 is an expansive literary festival that attracts authors, readers and writers to celebrate the written word. It’s an opportunity to meet well-established authors or discover new talent.
Hosted by St. Albert Public Library throughout the entire month of October, it introduces some of Canada’s most prominent novelists. The month’s first three authors are Michael Crummey (The Adversary), Amy Jones (Pebble & Dove), and Jessica Johns (Bad Cree).
Whether you’re an author, reader, aspiring writer or simply a curiosity seeker, STARFest 2023 is an exciting festival that brings together some of Canada’s most inspiring storytellers. Each author will be hosted in a talk-show format at the main public library by an acclaimed area writer.
“Even though they’re very different books, the events and stories would be appealing to anyone,” said Michelle Steinhusen, STARFest director.
Based out of St. John’s Newfoundland, the award-winning Michael Crummey returns to St. Albert with his latest novel, The Adversary. Released on September 26, the 336-page novel takes place on an isolated outport in northern Newfoundland.
Along this rugged coastline, a ruthless act of sabotage starts a vendetta between Abe Strapp and the Widow Caine. The rivals own the largest mercantile firms in the area and both are fighting for scarce resources of the north Atlantic fishery. As their poisonous hatred spirals into violence, individuals within the community are forced to take sides.
“The characters are basically trying to ruin each other’s lives and the battle has a devastating effect on the entire community,” Steinhusen said. “The main theme is how vengeance and corruption affects everyone it touches.”
Counterbalancing this battered tale of revenge is Crummey’s quick wit and contagious humour.
“He’s much like Donna Morrisey. He talks about Newfoundland as a character. He sets the scene with a bleak atmosphere, complicated characters and dark humour.”
The East Coast author is slated to do a book reading on Tuesday, Oct. 10. Jacqueline Baker, a short story fiction writer and creative writing instructor at MacEwan University will host the event.
Amy Jones, who released Pebble & Dove in May 2023, is STARFest’s special guest on Thursday, Oct. 12. Originally from Nova Scotia, she now lives in Hamilton but continues to sprinkle her writing with East Coast humour.
In Pebble & Dove, Lauren is a woman eager to escape a mountain of debt and her husband has just asked for a divorce. She takes her teenage daughter, Dove, and drives down to her late mother’s rundown trailer in Florida.
Lauren had been estranged from her mother, a globe-trotting, world-famous photographer before her death.
“In the book, Lauren didn’t know what her mother was doing at the end of her life. And now she’s trying to find out why a world-famous photographer was living in a rundown trailer and the mystery is part of the family secrets.”
Meanwhile, Dove finds a mysterious photo of her deceased grandmother in the trailer’s bathroom which leads to an abandoned aquarium. There she discovers Pebble, the world’s largest manatee in captivity.
“The book is also partly a coming-of-age story for Dove. She has her own story and it’s about learning to accept people for who they are and working through any family dysfunction.”
But it’s the manatee that plays a crucial role in Dove’s life.
“Dove starts to interact with Pebble and build a friendship. It gives her a place away from her mother and a place to sort out problems and feel safe.”
Matthew Stepanic, a freelance writer and co-founder of Glass Bookshop, will interview Jones.
In Bad Cree, Jessica Johns, a nehiyaw aunty of English-Irish ancestry and a member of Sucker Cree First Nation, takes the reader through the nightmare world of Mackenzie, a Cree millennial. After the accidental death of her older sister, Mackenzie leaves her home and moves to another city.
But one night she starts having eerie dreams. Gradually her life spirals into a living nightmare where flocks of crows follow her around and she’s getting text messages from her dead sister. The dreams begin to have real-life consequences and she returns home to her maternal family living in small-town Alberta.
“On the surface Bad Cree comes across as a horror. But it’s really a book about the love of family and the strength of women. It is promoted as a horror because of the supernatural elements. Mackenzie starts to have nightmares after the death of her sister and wakes up holding things from dreams. When she goes home, she encounters something terrifying. She tried to run away from grief, but grief still found her.”
Jason Purcell, a writer living on Treaty 6 Edmonton and co-owner of Glass Bookshop, will interview Johns.
Steinhusen added, “I’m so excited about the whole lineup. I’ve read 90 per cent of the books and enjoyed every single one. Even if you haven’t read the books, you might discover something new by coming to these events.”
STARFest talks start at 7 p.m. in St. Albert Public Library, 5 St. Anne Street. Tickets are $7 per person online at starfest.ca.
