Today Reed Exhibitions posted some much-awaited details on BOOKED!, the author festival that’s running just before the BookExpo Canada convention and trade show next month. The most notable event is a gala tribute to horror giant Stephen King on Friday, June 8 (which is also happening under the Luminato banner); according to the website, King will, incredibly, make his first public appearance in Canada to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Booksellers Association.
Things kick off on Thursday, June 7, with a “men of letters” panel featuring Barry Callaghan, David Gilmour, Stephen Henighan, and Ray Robertson. Friday will see a full day of children’s programming, featuring such authors as Barbara Haworth-Attard, Carol Matas, Martha Brooks, Deborah Ellis, Susan Juby, and Kit Pearson. On the Saturday evening, Christopher Hitchens, Naomi Klein, Daniel Levitin, and Linda McQuaig will convene for a panel discussion.
And it appears that at least two BookExpo Canada events, Saturday’s author breakfast and lunch, will be open to the public. Admission to the former (featuring Gail Anderson-Dargatz and Lesley Choyce) is listed as $35 and the latter (featuring Elizabeth Hay, Frances Itani, and Richard B. Wright) as $50.
The full events listing can be seen here and the full author list here. Watch for more coverage on Q&Q Omni later this week.
UPDATE: The BOOKED people now say that the lineups were posted as a “test” and have since been taken down (as you’ll see if you click on the no-longer-active links above). Watch for the official announcement later this month.
