Peggy Parish (1927–1988)

Five writers discuss their real-life inspirations and the directions these inspirations led them in. George Fetherling will participate in this round table, as well as host and moderate.

Julie Angus is a molecular biologist, adventurer, writer and photographer. She is the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean from mainland to mainland, and for her explorations she received National Geographic’s Adventurer of the Year award. Angus has written for publications including The Globe and Mail, National Post and enRoute. She has authored three books and her photography has appeared in numerous magazines. Angus presents Olive Odyssey: Searching for the Secrets of the Fruit That Seduced the World, in which she travels the Mediterranean to unlock the secrets of this important fruit, resulting in a fascinating history and biography of the olive.

George Fetherling is a prolific poet, novelist, cultural commentator and memoirist. He has published 50 books of poetry, fiction, criticism, history and biography, including the novel Walt Whitman’s Secret and the poetry collection The Sylvia Hotel Poems. Fetherling presents the expanded 20th anniversary edition of his memoir Travels by Night, which discusses literary life in the 1960s.

Catherine Gildiner's childhood memoir Too Close to the Falls was a New York Times and Globe and Mail bestseller. The sequel, After the Falls, was also a bestseller, and her novel, Seduction, was published to international acclaim. She presents the third and final volume of her memoir series, Coming Ashore. Picking up her story in the late ’60s at age 21, Gildiner determinedly blazes her own trail through all the passion and uncertainty that comes with the cusp of adulthood.

Alison Pick is the author of Far to Go, which was longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize, won the Canadian Jewish Book Award for Fiction and was named a Top 10 of 2010 Book by NOW Magazine and the Toronto Star. She is also a noted poet. Pick presents her moving and unforgettable memoir, Between Gods, which explores family secrets and the rediscovered past.

Rudy Wiebe is a novelist, short story writer and essayist. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction for both The Temptations of Big Bear and for A Discovery of Strangers, as well as the RBC Taylor Prize for his memoir, Of This Earth. Weibe is also an Officer of the Order of Canada. He presents his first novel in 11 years, the lyrical masterwork Come Back. Inspired by his life, it is a rare and beautiful novel about the humanity of living and dying.

Sunday, November 2, 2014 - 12:00 PM
Studio Theatre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto M5J 2G8

Cost: $18/$15 supporters/FREE students & youth 25 and under (Jenni_Canuck)… (more)

Four celebrated Canadian authors reflect on life, death and the human struggle, and the challenges of capturing these accurately and compassionately in their fiction. Farzana Doctor hosts and moderates.

Caroline Adderson is the acclaimed author of three novels, two collections of short stories and a number of books for young readers. She is the winner of two Ethel Wilson Fiction Prizes and three CBC Literary Awards. She was also the recipient of the 2006 Marian Engel Award for mid-career achievement. Adderson presents her fourth novel, Ellen in Pieces, a genre-bending story of a woman who, in the last year of her life, begins to explore love and the possibility of recovery from regret.

Martha Baillie is the author of four novels. Her most recent, The Incident Report, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was included in The Globe and Mail’s list of Best Books for 2009. She has written about contemporary visual art for the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Koffler Gallery and Brick magazine. Her poetry has appeared in several Canadian journals. Baillie presents The Search for Heinrich Schlögel. Her hypnotic new novel follows the titular character from Germany to Canada, where he sets out on a two-week hike into the isolated interior of Baffin Island.

Farzana Doctor’s first novel, Stealing Nasreen, received critical acclaim and was nominated for Masala!Mehndi!Masti! People’s Choice Award. She has also written on social work and diversity-related topics, and in her spare time she provides private practice consulting and psychotherapy services. Doctor's most recent novel, Six Metres of Pavement, is about a man who struggles to continue living after his daughter’s tragic death. Things begin to change, however, when he befriends two very different women: a young queer activist and his grieving Portuguese-Canadian neighbour.

Miriam Toews is the author of five previous novels: Summer of My Amazing Luck, A Boy of Good Breeding, A Complicated Kindness (winner of the 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction), The Flying Troutmans (winner of the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize) and Irma Voth, and one work of non-fiction, Swing Low: A Life. She presents All My Puny Sorrows, the riveting story of two sisters, Elf and Yoli. This at once tender and unquiet novel offers a profound reflection on the limits of love, and the sometimes unimaginable challenges we experience when childhood becomes a new country of adult commitments and responsibilities.

Rudy Wiebe is a novelist, short story writer and essayist. He has been the recipient of many awards, including the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction for both The Temptations of Big Bear and for A Discovery of Strangers, as well as the RBC Taylor Prize for his memoir, Of This Earth. Weibe is also an Officer of the Order of Canada. He presents his first novel in 11 years, the lyrical masterwork Come Back. Inspired by his life, it is a rare and beautiful novel about the humanity of living and dying.

Saturday, November 1, 2014 - 3:00 PM
Studio Theatre, 235 Queens Quay West, Toronto M5J 2G8

Cost: $18/$15 supporters/FREE students & youth 25 and under (Jenni_Canuck)… (more)

Join us this morning for an especially jolly puppet show featuring BookPeople's famous puppeteers. They'll be performing a rousing rendition of a story featuring, literally, one of our favorite children book characters of all time, Amelia Bedelia! Come for the wacky show and stay for the candy canes at the end! This morning at 11:30am, little elves.

Location: Street: 603 N Lamar Blvd City: Austin, Province: Texas Postal Code: 78703-5413 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Can you believe the crazy, mixed up Amelia Bedelia is turning 50! And, we can't think of anyone better to celebrate with than Peggy Parish's nephew and current author of the Amelia Bedelia stories, Herman Parish!

Join us for cupcakes and lots of laughs as we listen to Herman Parish tell us about his aunt Peggy Parish and the crazy Amelia Bedelia adventures. Herman will sign books and you can get your picture taken with Amelia Bedelia herself! We can't think of any better way to spend the afternoon.

Peggy Parish began publishing Amelia Bedelia stories in 1963. Peggy Parish knew what children like to read. Always involved with education in some way, Peggy Parish did television pieces on pre-school education and children's books, wrote children's-book reviews columns, and led numerous in-service training workshops for teachers. After living many years in New York City, she died in November, 1988 in her native South Carolina. Peggy Parish's nephew, Herman Parish, has been continuing the Amelia Bedelia stories since 1995.

Tickets are free with the purchase of either of the new chapter books, Amelia Bedelia MEANS BUSINESS or Amelia Bedelia UNLEASHED. We suggest books be reserved in advance. Other Amelia Bedelia books will be available for sale the day of the event.

If you cannot attend this event but would like a personalized, signed copy, please contact the store at 215-256-9311 to make arrangements.

Location: Street: 680 Main Street Additional: Salford Square City: Harleysville, Province: Pennsylvania Postal Code: 19438-1665 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)

Amelia Bedelia Fiftieth Anniversary Edition by Peggy Parish, Fritz Siebel
Amelia Bedelia 50th Anniversary Library by Peggy Parish, Various (Illustrator)

Storytime Celebrate the 50th anniversary of favorite character Amelia Bedelia! We'll read some books featuring this beloved character and have some activities that Amelia herself might plan. (added from Barnes & Noble)… (more)

The Bookstore is hosting an Amelia Bedelia Party for children ages 4-8 on Sunday, January 13th, 2013 from 2-3 pm. Games and a snack are included. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary of these terrific books! Please call (630) 469-2891 or email justbook475@yahoo.com to register. The purchase of a $5 gift certificate is required. Hope your child(ren) can join us!

Location: Street: 475 N Main St Additional: City: Glen Ellyn, Province: Illinois Postal Code: 60137 Country: United States (added from IndieBound)… (more)