QUILLBLOG

Maggie Helwig’s Girls Fall Down named Toronto Public Library’s One Book for 2012

If the Toronto Public Library has its way, this spring’s must-read book will be Maggie Helwig’s Girls Fall Down (Coach House Books).

The 2008 novel has been selected for this year’s One Book initiative, a city-wide book club that is part of the TPL’s Keep Toronto Reading Festival, which takes place every April.

Published by Coach House Books, the novel, set in 2002, looks at the effects of post-9/11 mass paranoia when a high school student collapses on a Toronto subway car after smelling something “like roses.” Girls Fall Down will be at the heart of community discussions and events hosted by the TPL throughout the month-long showcase of Toronto-based literature and literary culture.

*In an interview with the Toronto Star, Helwig says she will participate in a panel discussion with Anglican archbishop Colin Johnson “on occupying public spaces, and another on marginalized communities in Toronto.”

The festival will also include appearances by local authors such as Ray Robertson, Philippa Dowding, Mahtab Narsimhan, Eva Stachniak, and David Rotenberg.

Radio host Matt Galloway revealed the pick Tuesday on CBC’s Metro Morning. The festivities kick off with a launch party on April 2 at the Toronto Reference Library.

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*Correction, Feb. 22: Based on incorrect information that appeared in the Toronto Star, the archbishop Colin Johnson was misidentified in an earlier version of this story.