The Friends of the Guelph Public Library present Guelph Writes: two panel discussions celebrating Guelph’s literary movers, shakers and story-makers on Wednesday March 19 and Wednesday March 26, 7:00 PM, in the programming room of the Main Guelph Public Library at 100 Norfolk Street.
Guelph has a vibrant and growing writer’s community that often goes unnoticed. The Friends of the Guelph Public Library, the organization that brings you the annual giant book sale in support of our library, wants to change that. It’s time to acknowledge and explore our thriving literary scene. To that end they're presenting two panel discussions moderated by publisher Jeremy Luke Hill. Each panelist will read from their recent work, talk about their craft, and discuss the impact that living in Guelph has on their careers. A Q and A with the audience will follow.
Chapter One on March 19 features Barbara Kyle, Nicholas Ruddock , Kathy Stinson, and Sue Williams.
Chapter Two on March 26 features Lisa Browning, Adam Lindsay Honsinger, Deepa Rajagopalan, and Mary Swan.
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Jeremy Luke Hill is the Managing Director at Vocamus Writers Community and the Publisher at Gordon Hill Press / The Porcupine's Quill. He is also the author of several chapbooks of poetry, bringing unique writer/publisher perspective to his moderator role. https://vocamus.net/press/authors/jeremy-luke-hill
Barbara Kyle is the author of the bestselling Thornleigh Saga historical novels and acclaimed thrillers. Over half a million copies of her books have been sold worldwide. Barbara also mentors writers with her masterclasses and video courses.
Nicholas Ruddock is a physician and an acclaimed novelist and short story writer His work has won multiple prizes in Canada, the UK, Germany and Ireland. Most recently, he has been shortlisted for the CBC Short Story Award.”Planet Earth”, love stories set amidst planetary decline, will be published by House of Anansi in November 2025.
Kathy Stinson is the author of many children’s picture books that have been published internationally, including the classic Red Is Best, and the award-winning The Man with the Violin. She is visiting us all the way from Rockwood. She is also a novelist, short story writer and poet.
Sue Williams explores the notions of autonomy, self-determination and the right to take risks in her popular debut memoir Ready to Come About. She is nearing completion of her second book, a novel set in the largely invisible world of home care.
Adam Lindsay Honsinger is a writer, musician and visual artist. He is the author of three books of fiction, Gracelessland (Enfield and Wizenty, 2015), Somewhere North of Normal (Enfield and Wizenty, 2018) and Giving Up the Ghost (Porcupine's Quill, 2024).
Lisa Browning is the founder and publisher of One Thousand Trees. She is dedicated to empowering and uplifting people through storytelling. Her publishing company aims to create a space where people are seen, heard and valued, and where the stories of those who have endured hardship and emerged stronger can be shared. An author herself, we can expect a new work this year.
Mary Swan is a novelist and short story writer who worked for many years at the University of Guelph Library. Her novella, The Deep, won the Malahat Review novella contest in 2000 and received the 2001 O. Henry award for short fiction. Her novel, The Boys in the Trees, was inspired by a historical incident in Guelph, and was shortlisted for both the 2008 Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Amazon First Novel Award. Mary’s latest book, My Ghosts, was published by Knopf Canada in 2013.
Deepa Rajagopalan won the 2021 PEN Canada New Voices Award for her short story, “Peacocks of Instagram”, which is now part of her new Giller-nominated book. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in literary magazines such as The New Quarterly, Room Magazine, The Malahat Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, EVENT magazine, The Quarantine Review and the anthologies Bristol Short Story Prize 2023, The Unpublished City Vol. II.