The stars are lining up for the St. Albert Readers’ Festival and among them are nominees, finalists and winners of such esteemed writing titles as the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, the Giller Prize, Governor General's Literary Award, and CBC Canada Reads.
Among the big names coming to town are M.G. Vassanji, Terry O’Reilly, Angie Abdou, and Mary Walsh, as well as STARFest alumni Claire Cameron and Trevor Cole.
It’s a stellar lineup of 14 authors, each appearing with their own local literary host starting in mid-September. Library director Peter Bailey said that the Readers’ Festival, now in its seventh year, demonstrates not only the value of literacy but also the excitement that promoting reading can bring to the city too.
“STARFest exemplifies what we do throughout the year: promoting books and reading, engaging the community in conversation, improving the quality of people’s lives, and welcoming people to great social events,” he said.
“STARFest and the library cultivate community. And in this special year when we have welcomed so many new patrons who have taken advantage of our fee-free membership in celebration of Canada 150, we look forward to welcoming audiences old and new to STARFest 2017.”
The authors start rolling into town on Sept. 15 when M.G. Vassanji, author of The In-Between World of Vikram Lall and The Assassin's Song takes the stage at the Arden Theatre. It’s a bit of an early call, however, as October is really when things get hopping, starting with Claire Cameron on Oct. 10. CBC’s host of Under the Influence Terry O’Reilly makes a gala appearance at the Arden two days later. He will be bringing his book This I Know: Marketing Lessons From Under the Influence.
They will be followed by Steven Price, Angie Abdou, Elizabeth Hay, Trevor Cole and Emily Schultz (in a joint appearance), Eden Robinson, Roberta Rich, Bill Richardson, Kelley Armstrong, Sea Sunrise Pearson, and Mary Walsh. All of their appearances take place in Forsyth Hall at the library except for Vassanji, O’Reilly and Eden Robinson at the Arden while Mary Walsh’s event will take place at the Kinsmen Banquet Centre in Riel Park on Nov. 6.
Festival director Heather Dolman simply can’t wait.
“We have a number of authors with new books which our audiences always love, and we have authors who have a huge following. We have topics from poetry to the Prohibition, from anthropology to advertising, and from humour to heartbreak … something to suit all tastes.”
She noted that there is also an outstanding list of hosts including Laurie Greenwood, Paula Simons, Diana Davidson, Jacqueline Baker, and Peter Brown. Writer in residence Richard Van Camp is also signed up to host Robinson.
Tickets went on sale July 10 at the library’s customer services desk or by calling 780-459-1530. Tickets for Terry O’Reilly are available from Ticketmaster or at the Arden Theatre, however. More details can be found at www.starfest.ca.
