The Ontario Writers’ Conference is proud to present the Friday evening Festival of Authors to get you all revved up for a full day of writing-related activities.

To Talk About Her Canada Reads Experience…

MARINA NEMAT Author of Prisoner of Tehran & After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed.

“It took me about 20 years to be able to look back at my past and write about it. It took me 20 years to discover that the Marina I was before Evin had died and that the new Marina I had become was a witness. No more. No less. I live to testify. Without it, my life loses all meaning.” Special to The Globe and Mail

EVA STACHNIAK Author of Necessary Lies, The Winter Palace.

“Don’t say too much. Watch out for those who ask too many questions. Follow the sweaty palms, the nervous looks. Remember that there are no safe places and no room can be entirely sealed. Do not believe the displays of kindness: All gifts and smiles are bribes.”

That is the warning in The Winter Palace given by Russian Chancellor Alexei Bestuzhev to the young servant, the latest addition to the network of informants and spies he utilized to influence the court of Empress Elizabeth. That advice is also the heart of Eva Stachniak’s masterful novelization of Empress Catherine the Great.” From the Winnipeg Review

BRAD SMITH Author of All Hat, One-Eyed Jacks, Busted Flush, Big Man Coming Down Road & Red Means Run.

“Red Means Run is a genuinely thrilling pleasure from a Canadian writer who has been overlooked for too long. Smith has keen instincts as a storyteller and I have yet to be even passingly disappointed by any of his books. If you haven’t read him before, start with Red Means Run, then treat yourself to his previous novels: each one is a unique, singular treat.” From the Vancouver Sun

JONATHAN BENNETT Author of Civil and Civic, Entitlement, Verandah People & After Battersea Park..

“Bennett’s artistry lies in his ability to create poems that shatter complacency with bricks of loaded language.”
From Quill & Quire

Networking opportunities and superb food will be rounded out by this public event including:

• entertaining and inspiring author readings
• opportunities to mingle with Canadian and fellow writers, Indie Presses, Literary magazine reps and traditional publishers
• exciting prizes and more…

All this in a café-style atmosphere with tantalizing refreshments.