What to Read: The Best of the GGs – $20

[gdlr_button href="https://www.artscommons.ca/WhatsOn/ShowDetails.aspx?show_id=50DB7814-8FB3-47CF-BBDE-618C90F786AE" target="_self" size="medium" background="#358CCB" color="#ffffff" border_color="#999999"]Buy Tickets[/gdlr_button] [gdlr_space height="20px"] In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Governor General's Literary Awards, a selection of past winners and finalists take to the stage as they plug their favourite titles (and confess their GG Author Crushes) from the full list of recipients of the prestigious award since its inauguration in 1936. Copies of the recommended titles (if still available) will be sold as special gift sets after the show. With support from the Canada Council for the Arts. [gdlr_divider type="solid" size="100%" ]

About the Presenters

Lynn Coady

Lynn Coady is an award-winning author and journalist. Her first novel, Strange Heaven, was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award, and in 2011, her novel The Antagonist was shortlisted for the prestigious Scotiabank Giller Prize, an award she won in 2013 for her short story collection Hellgoing. She has published six books of fiction and her work has appeared in the UK, Germany, Holland and France. Coady has worked as a story editor on the TV series Orphan Black and a writer on Season Two of the HBO Canada series Sensitive Skin. She lives in Toronto.

Robert Hough

A natural storyteller noted for his meticulous research into events that inspire his fiction, Robert Hough’s novels have garnered critical praise and have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Governor General's Literary Award, Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, the Trillium Book Award, and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. His most recent novel, Dr. Brinkley’s Tower, was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. He lives in Toronto.

Anosh Irani

Playwright and author Anosh Irani was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and moved to Vancouver in 1998. He penned three critically acclaimed and award-winning novels: The Cripple and His Talismans, Dahanu Road and The Song of Kahunsha, which was a finalist for CBC Radio's Canada Reads. His fiction writing has been published in thirteen countries, and his non-fiction has appeared in The Globe and Mail and The New York Times. Irani was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his anthology, The Bombay Plays: The Matka King & Bombay Black. He lives in Vancouver, BC.

Yann Martel

Yann Martel’s #1 international bestseller, Life of Pi, won the 2002 Man Booker (among many other prizes). He is also the award-winning author of The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios (winner of the Journey Prize), Self, Beatrice & Virgil and 101 Letters to a Prime Minister. Born in Spain in 1963, Martel studied philosophy at Trent University, worked at odd jobs — tree planter, dishwasher, security guard — and traveled widely before turning to writing. He lives in Saskatoon, with the writer Alice Kuipers and their four children.

Noah Richler

Noah Richler made documentaries and features for BBC Radio for 14 years before returning to Canada in 1998. He was the books editor and then the literary columnist for the National Post, and has contributed to numerous publications in Canada and Britain, including The Walrus, The Globe and Mail, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. Previous books include This Is My Country, What's Yours?, which won British Columbia's National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, and What We Talk About When We Talk About War, which was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award. He lives in Toronto.

Frank Viva

Frank Viva is an award-winning illustrator and designer who has published several children’s books. His first picture book Along a Long Road was a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Illustration and was named one of The New York Times' 10 Best Illustrated Children's Books of 2011. His other books for children include Outstanding in the Rain and A Long Way Away amongst many. His art has appeared in many places such as The New York Times and the cover of the New Yorker. Frank runs a branding and design agency in Toronto and is past president of the Advertising & Design Club of Canada. [gdlr_divider type="solid" size="100%" ] [gdlr_divider type="solid" size="100%" ] [gdlr_button href="https://www.artscommons.ca/WhatsOn/ShowDetails.aspx?show_id=50DB7814-8FB3-47CF-BBDE-618C90F786AE" target="_self" size="medium" background="#358CCB" color="#ffffff" border_color="#999999"]Buy Tickets[/gdlr_button]