Book*hug Press and Flying Books invite you to join us for an evening of readings with three debut novelists: Anita Anand (author of A Convergence of Solitudes), Nic Brewer (author of Suture), and Lindsay Zier-Vogel (author of Letters to Amelia), on Friday, September 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Flying Books, 784 College St. (near Shaw), Toronto.
Award-winning author Anita Anand's debut novel A Convergence of Solitudes is a story of identity, connection, and forgiveness, that presents the lives of two families across the Partition of India, Vietnam’s Operation Babylift, and two Quebec referendums. In a review for That Shakespearean Rag, Steven W. Beattie describes the book as, "a polyphonic novel that flits in and out of the consciousnesses of a central cast of characters, all of whom are united in a common search for belonging and meaning.”
Nic Brewer's debut novel, Suture, was nominated for a Foreword INDIES Award and the ReLit Award for Fiction. Suture shares three interweaving stories of artists tearing themselves open to make art. Each artist baffles their family, or harms their loved ones, with their necessary sacrifices. The result is a hyper-real exploration of the cruelties we commit and forgive in ourselves and others. Celebrated writer Canisia Lubrin calls Suture "a nimble, fearless debut.”
In Lindsay Zier-Vogel's acclaimed debut novel, Letters to Amelia, Grace Porter is reeling from grief after her partner of seven years unexpectedly leaves. Amidst her heartache, the thirty-year-old library tech is tasked with reading newly discovered letters that Amelia Earhart wrote to her lover, Gene Vidal. She becomes captivated by the famous pilot who disappeared in 1937. Letter by letter, Grace understands more about Amelia while piecing her own life back together. In a review for Quill & Quire, Anne Thériault writes, "Zier-Vogel spins an engaging story full of thoughtfully drawn characters and lively dialogue…Letters to Amelia is a wonderfully readable book, and the only reason you’ll want to put it down is so that you can pick up your phone to do your own Amelia Earhart research.”
Books will be available for purchase, and, of course, the authors will be signing!
Admission is free. Masks are recommended but not required.
Author bios:
Anita Anand is an author, translator and language teacher from Montreal. She is the winner of the 2015 QWF Concordia University First Book Prize for Swing in the House and Other Stories, which was also shortlisted for the 2016 Relit Award for Fiction and the Montreal Literary Diversity Prize. Her translation of Nirliit, by Juliana Léveillé-Trudel was nominated for the 2018 John Glassco Prize. She has also translated Fanie Demeule’s novel Déterrer les os, known in English as Lightness.
Nic Brewer is a writer and editor from Toronto. She writes fiction, mostly, which has appeared in Canthius, the Hart House Review, and Hypertrophic Literary, among others. She is the co-founder of Frond, an online literary journal for prose by LGBTQI2SA writers, and formerly co-managed the micropress words(on)pages. She lives in Kitchener, ON, with her partner and her dog. Suture is her first book.
Lindsay Zier-Vogel is a Toronto-based writer, arts educator and the creator of the internationally acclaimed Love Lettering Project. After studying contemporary dance, she received her MA in Creative Writing from the University of Toronto. Her writing has been widely published in Canada and the U.K. Since 2001, she has been teaching creative writing workshops in schools and communities. Her hand-bound books are housed in the permanent collection at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library in Toronto. As the creator of the Love Lettering Project, Lindsay has asked people all over the world to write love letters to their communities and hide them for strangers to find, spreading place-based love. Lindsay also writes children’s books. Because of The Love Lettering Project, CBC Radio has deemed Lindsay a “national treasure.” Letters to Amelia is her first book.