Arts & Entertainment Guide › Literary

International Festival of Authors 2008

Harbourfront Centre
235 Queens Quay W. • View on map »
416-973-4000

Continuing its relatively recent commitment to the literarily eclectic, the 29th annual fest features everyone from an economist explaining the weirdness of the contemporary art market (Don Thompson and The $12 Million Stuffed Shark) to a slew of high-end mystery novelists, including local hero Peter Robinson with his latest Inspector Banks outing, All the Colours of Darkness. The award winners are here in hordes: Booker Prize champ Anne Enright (The Gathering) with a new collection of stories; Giller Prize winner David Bergen (The Time in Between) with a new novel, The Retreat; and Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz, with the much-lauded The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Authors shortlisted for the GG awards read Oct. 27, and those scrambling to snag the Giller appear Nov. 1. Canadian writer, director and actor Don McKellar interviews Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle (Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha) at the opening gala, a $125 benefit for PEN Canada.—Brent Ledger