Writers’ Workshop June 2- 6

 

Refine your writing skills and learn from an award-winning Canadian author. Dennis Bock, author of The Ash Garden, Olympia and The Communist’s Daughter, will be in Bayfield from June 2nd to 6th conducting a writers’ workshop. Sessions will run from 9 – 11:30 AM at The Village Bookshop. Participants should submit up to 20 pages of a story or novel by May 29th. There is room for one more registrant. Contact The Village Bookshop 519-565-5600 for more details. 

 

Festival of Song Reception

 

Come to The Village Bookshop on Saturday, June 7th at 2:30 PM to meet & mingle with The Aldeburgh Connection Artistic Directors, Stephen Ralls and Bruce Ubukata. Joining them will be Joanne (Ivey) Mazzoleni, the author of Libretto: Memories From a Shoebox. You will have a chance to chat with all three of these gifted performers who will enchant you with their talent, stories and experiences! Books and CDs will be available for sale. Get your copies autographed! Refreshments will be served.

 

7th Annual Bayfield Writers’ Festival

 

The 7th Annual Bayfield Writers’ Festival takes place at St. Andrew’s United Church on June 28th at 1:00 PM. Tickets are $10.00. Penguin Canada and The Village Bookshop guarantee to bring outstanding & entertaining authors to this popular and much-anticipated event. See The Village Bookshop for details.

 

Locavore Luncheon June 29th

 

It was a humble carrot, still covered in dirt. And yet, the taste was electric, so unlike the dry woody offerings in grocery stores. That wondrous bite on an Annapolis Valley farm prompted Margaret Webb to do two things: The first was to finish eating the carrot. The second was to set off on a passionate, cross-Canada odyssey to discover a new wave of farmers who are putting taste and nutrition back into the foods we eat.

 

Celebrate eating locally at a Locavore Luncheon at The Little Inn on Sunday, June 29th at 12:30 PM with Margaret Webb, author of Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover’s Tour of Canadian Farms. Tickets for $30.00 are available from The Village Bookshop.

 

Midsummer Night Reading Series

 

Wouldn’t it be dreamy to sit outside on a midsummer night being entertained by local musicians and listening to an author read from an enchanting novel? You will have this opportunity at The Village Bookshop this summer! All you need to bring is your lawn chair or blanket. Admission is free. Thanks go to accommodation sponsors Deb & Tom Grasby and sound equipment sponsors The Bayfield and Area Chamber of Commerce. See below for dates and details.

 

Midsummer Reading – July 6

 

Michelle Wan, author of the mystery novels Deadly Slipper & The Orchid Shroud, was born in Kumming, China. She was raised in the United States and has lived in India, England, France and Brazil. She and her husband, a tropical horticulturist, visit the Dordogne Region of France annually to photograph and chart wild orchids. Michelle’s mystery series known as “Novels of Death in the Dordogne” involve two unlikely protagonists: Mara Dunn, an interior decorator, and orchidologist, Julian Wood, whose lives merge in lush southwestern France amidst sumptuous cuisine, intoxicating wine and the arcane world of orchids … and, of course, mysterious deaths! Michelle will be reading from her latest novel, A Twist of Orchids, on the lawn at The Village Bookshop on Sunday, July 6th at 7:30 PM. Admission is free.

 

Midsummer Reading – Aug 3

 

Emma Donoghue is an award-winning Irish writer who has published five novels, including the bestselling historical drama Slammerkin, three books of short stories, two works of literary history, two anthologies and two plays. She has a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. After years of commuting between England, Ireland and Canada, in 1998 she settled in London, Ontario, where she lives with her lover and their two children.

 

Closely based on the details of a scandalous divorce case that gripped England in 1864, The Sealed Letter is a riveting historical drama, strangely relevant to contemporary controversies over women and marriage. Brought to life by Emma Donoghue’s vivid characterization and matchless eye for detail, this novel is a provocative, mesmerizing story about men, women, and the birth of modern times. Emma will be reading from The Sealed Letter on the lawn at The Village Bookshop on Sunday, August 3rd at 7:30 PM. Admission is free.

 

Midsummer Reading – Aug 31

 

Tish Cohen tickled our funny bones at last year’s Writers’ Festival with her quirky personality and her debut novel, Town House. She also gave us a sneak peek at her children’s series The Invisible Rules of the Zoe Lama. Now she’s bursting to return to Bayfield to read from her new novel The Inside Out Girl, which is publishing in early August. The Inside Out Girl is about a single mom whose kids happen to attend the same school as an odd little girl who is often made fun of and called names. The story gets complicated when this single mom starts dating a very nice man who happens to be the dad of “the inside out girl.” Expect to be stirred by alternating moments of hilarity and sensitivity. Tish will be reading from her latest novel, The Inside Out Girl, on the lawn at The Village Bookshop on Sunday, August 31st at 7:30 PM. Admission is free.

 

What’s on the Horizon?

 

Watch for details on events coming this fall:

 

September 27th – First Nations Event with Joseph Boyden and Drew Hayden Taylor

 

October – author Joan Barfoot reading from her new novel, Exit Lines

 

November – Bookclub “Speed Dating” Event