International Festival of World Renowned Authors comes to Markham!
Markham is thrilled to be chosen as the only location in York Region and one of two GTA locations to host the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) touring event on Friday October 21, 2011. Markham, in partnership with the Markham Arts Council (MAC), will host an intimate evening where four award-winning and world-renowned authors: Shilpi Somaya Gowda, Dany Laferrière, Bharati Mukherjee and Francisco Goldman will hold personal readings of their works in an interactive setting. This unique and very special evening will be held in the Transportation Building at Markham Museum. It will be hosted by TVO’s producer and host of Saturday Night at the Movies, Thom Ernst.
IFOA Ontario Touring Events take place Sunday, October 16, 7:00pm, 2011 through to Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at various locations across Ontario. IFOA Ontario, the International Festival of Author’s (IFOA) touring component,brings authors from IFOA’s roster of the best contemporary writers from around the globe to a number of Ontario locations. This unique and very special evening will be held in the Transportation Building at Markham Museum on October 21 from 6pm. Four world renowned authors, Bharati Mukherjee, Dany Laferrière,Francisco Goldman and Shilpi Somaya Gowda will interact and read from their work for audiences.
This fantastic programme allows for two distinct opportunities:
1. The Mayor’s Hour – Beginning at 6:15pm join Markham Mayor Frank Scarpitti for a catered personal meet and greet with the authors. Only 100 tickets are available for this exclusive hour which is followed by authors’ readings. Tickets are $50.
2. An Evening of Readings – Join us at 7:15pm where each author will provide readings of their works and hold interactive session afterward.
About the Authors:
Shilpi Somaya Gowda: New York Times Bestselling author, Gowda, was born and raised in Toronto to parents who migrated from Mumbai.She holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lived in New York, North Carolina and Texas, and currently makes her home in California. Gowda presents Secret Daughter, the #1 Bestselling book in Canada in 2010, which explores the emotional terrain of motherhood,loss, identity, and love, as witnessed through the lives of two families – one Indian, one American – and the child who connects them.
Dany Laferrière: Scotiabank 2011 Giller Prize Long List nominee for The Return, Laferriere is a television and radio host and screenwriter, who worked as a journalist in his native Haiti during the notorious Duvalier regime. The author of 12 novels, he has won the Prix Carbet des lycéens, Prix RFO du Livre and Governor General's Literary Award. Laferrière's prize winning novel The Return is about a young man who flees Haiti for Montreal only to return to Haiti 33 years later after his father's death.
Bharati Mukherjee: Mukherjee is the author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, and numerous essays on immigration and American culture. She is the first naturalized U.S. citizen to win the National Book Critics' Circle Award for Best Fiction and is a Professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. Mukherjee’s novel Miss New India is about a young woman who, originally set for an arranged marriage, leaves for the big city where she is able to confront her past and reinvent herself.
Francisco Goldman; Goldman’s second novel, The Ordinary Seaman, was a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He is currently Allan K. Smith Professor of English Language and Literature at Trinity College in Connecticut. Drawn from the untimely death of his wife, Goldman's latest novel, Say Her Name, chronicles his great love and unspeakable loss while also painting a living portrait.
Thom Ernst: TVO’s Ernst is a playwright, a freelance writer, a film columnist and an on-air critic. He has covered 15 years of the Toronto International Film Festival and has appeared as a regular film critic and commentator on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin and for CBC’s Play with Jian Ghomeshi.
There are only 140 general admission tickets available at a cost of just $10. Tickets can be purchased through the Markham Arts Council by calling 905-947-9054 or by emailing helen@markhamartscouncil.com.
Click HERE for further information and to purchase tickets.
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