I have been so very lucky to have appeared—and hung out a little bit—with some wonderful writers. Almost every writer I’ve met since my writing odyssey began in the mid-2000s has been interesting and generous and kind. Some have also been very funny, too, even though their books are often serious.
For many, I’ve only ever had one encounter with them, likely at a festival, but for others we’ve met often and become better acquainted, even friends. In this week’s newsletter, I briefly revisit some of the interactions I’ve had with other writers—or, as I like to call it, literary name-dropping with writers out of my league, with photos. The principal criterion for including some writers over others is simply the existence of a photograph to commemorate our time together. I’ll likely break this up into at least two posts, the second to come sometime later.
Cheryl Strayed and Will Ferguson
Cheryl Strayed shot to literary fame when her memoir Wild, was released in 2012 and quickly hit number one on the New York Times Bestsellers list. And you don’t need me to tell you that three-time Leacock Medal winner (not to mention Giller Prize winner!) Will Ferguson is hilarious, in addition to being an extraordinary writer to boot. The three of us were in Calgary in November 2013 appearing at a Read for the Cure fundraiser. Will insisted one of the photos of us be with our glasses in our mouths starting pensively into the distance. I could barely hold the pose without laughing. I see Will now and then, though he lives in Alberta, and it’s always a pleasure. He also kindly blurbed my fourth novel, No Relation.
This was the one and only time I’d ever met Cheryl Strayed. I remember at our dinner together beforehand, she was telling us about hanging out with Reese Witherspoon who was playing her in the movie based on her memoir.
Sean Michaels
I’ve met and chatted with 2014 Giller Prize winner, Sean Michaels at several festivals in various cities across the country. He has always been friendly and warm and I’m thrilled for his success. A wonderful Canadian writer. I can’t remember where we were when we took this photo but it’s always good to see him.
Miriam Toews
CanLit royalty to be sure. Miriam and I have seen one another at multiple festivals over the years in various cities including Thunder Bay and Québec City. (There are other cities, but I just can’t remember which ones right now.) Beyond being an amazing novelist, she is also lovely. I’m quite sure this shot was taken when we were signing books in Québec City.
Jasper Fforde
In the fall of 2015, Jasper Fforde and I were both on the faculty for the annual Surrey Writers Conference in—you guessed it—Surrey, BC. It was a week-long gathering with 400 aspiring writers. I ran two workshops and did one-on-one blue pencil sessions with some of the delegates. I ended up on short notice giving the closing keynote when the scheduled speaker had to depart early. It was great to meet Jasper Fforde and spend some time with him. Fascinating guy and a very creative writer.
Joseph Kertes
Leacock winner and all round lovely guy, Joe Kertes is a fantastic writer with many accolades to his credit. This shot is from the very eve of the pandemic when his, then, new novel, Last Impressions was launched. It was one of my favourites reads of the year. It was also a finalist for the Leacock Medal. Joe are I good friend and have had lots of fun together over the years including that road trip to Yale, BC I’ve already written about to visit fellow Leacock Medal winner, W.P. Kinsella.
Fredrik Backman
Fredrik Backman is an international literary rockstar after blockbuster novels like A Man Called Ove and Bear Town. In the early summer of 2019, I interviewed him on stage for the Book Drunkard Festival in Uxbridge, Ontario, organized by the irrepressible Shelley Macbeth, owner of Blue Heron Books. I was nervous, but Fredrik was wonderful and we had what I thought was a really engaging and interesting conversation. Fortunately, the audience seemed to think so, too.
There are several more “snapshots” but I don’t want to shoot my bolt in one post! Thanks for having a look.
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