Last night, House of Anansi Press united readers and writers in discussions about books, writing, the Alice Hoffman Twitter freak out, and how incredibly long it takes to drive from downtown Toronto to Don Mills in rush-hour traffic. Anansi held an online contest to select eight readers to accompany the Anansi Girls (Emily Schultz, Lisa Moore, Karen Solie, and Shani Mootoo) on a “magic bus” (actually a white mini-coach bus) on a trip from the Anansi offices at 110 Spadina to the authors’ public reading at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Don Mills.

According to Julie Wilson, online content manager at Anansi, the press wanted to create an event around these four female authors to showcase their work, as well as to show support for indie bookseller McNally Robinson. In Wilson’s words: “Don Mills is not exactly local [...] so we thought the easiest thing to do is to just put people on a bus!”

After a long drive through the side streets of Toronto (as well as along the Bridle Path, where the authors muttered comments such as, “If your book sells really, really well, you too can live here!”), the readers and writers arrived in rainy Don Mills for the readings.

Kids Can Press recently announced the launch of CitizenKid, a collection of books for children ages eight to 12 that explains complex global issues and encourages young readers to become better global citizens. Launch parties were held in New York City on May 29 and in Toronto on June 11. (Photos courtesy of Mary Kapusta, Kids Can Press.)

Lisa Lyons, president of Kids Can, at the Toronto launch of CitizenKid.

Author Katie Smith Milway reads from her book One Hen.

If America Were a Village author David J. Smith and his wife Suzanne at the New York launch.

The International Festival of Authors has just announced the preliminary lineup for this year’s edition, which will mark the festival’s 30th anniversary. (In the press release, the festival is dubbed “IFOA XXX,” which suggests the usual schedule of readings, panels, and onstage interviews will be enlivened by literary mud wrestling and peep shows. Alas…)

Though it seems a wee bit early  for the announcement – the festival runs Oct. 21-31 – the list of confirmed authors is impressive.

Already confirmed are Alice Munro, Margaret Atwood, Barry Callaghan, Anne Michaels, Lisa Moore, Miriam Toews, Daniel Poliquin, Leon Rooke, Jane Urquhart, John Irving, Nicholson Baker, Debra Adelaide, Denise Mina, Tash Aw, Paul Theroux, Sarah Waters, Audrey Niffenegger, Kyle Buckley, Paul Durcan, Jacob McArthur Mooney, Linwood Barclay, John Brady, Hal Niedzviecki, Tim Cook, Sherman Alexie, John Bemrose, Diana Fitzgerald Bryden, Bonnie Burnard, Dani Couture, Michael Crummey, Anne DeGrace, Margaret Elphinstone, Robert Girardi, Jason Guriel, Jennica Harper, Jim Lynch, Linden MacIntyre, Jean McNeil, James W. Nichol, Kate Pullinger, Boualem Sansal, Ingo Schulze, Olive Senior, Adam Thorpe, Michael Turner, and Alexis Wright.

In other words, more writers than you can shake a stick at.

There will also be an appearance by Anne Murray – yes, that Anne Murray – and fans of the late Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series will get a look at a new, 6th installment, penned by U.K. kidlit favourite Eoin Colfer.

(We are also happy to note that Q&Q’s own Meaghan Strimas will be reading at the festival.)

The 2009 Griffin Poetry Prize gala was held at the Stone Distillery in Toronto last night, and the literary community was out in full force, ready to eat fancy food, drink good wine, dance the night away, and, of course, honour the world’s best poets. For a full report of the event in Q&Q Omni, click here. (Photos courtesy of Julie Wilson, House of Anansi Press.)

Toronto’s A. F. Moritz took home the Canadian prize for his 2008 collection The Sentinel (House of Anansi Press).

Arkansas native C. D. Wright won the international prize for her collection Rising, Falling, Hovering (Copper Canyon Press).

Scott Griffin, founder and trustee of the prize, lets loose on the dance floor after the awards.

This past weekend, author Nancy Hartry launched her YA novel Watching Jimmy (Tundra Books) at Swansea Town Hall in Toronto’s Bloor West Village. (Photos courtesy of Tundra Books.)

Hartry signs a copy of the book for a slightly out-of-the-target-age-range fan.

Cake!

Author Emily Schultz launched her latest novel, Heaven is Small (House of Anansi Press), at an event last night at Supermarket in Toronto. Schultz entertained the crowd with a reading from her novel, a humourous interview with Brian Francis (author of the CBC Canada Reads-sanctioned Fruit), and a reading from a saucy Harlequin novel. (Photos courtesy of Julie Wilson, House of Anansi Press.)

Emily Schultz kicked off the evening with a reading from Heaven is Small.

Brian Francis listens while Schultz reads a passage from a Harlequin novel. Gordon Small, the recently deceased main character in Schultz’s novel, works at Heaven Book Company, the world’s largest romance publisher. Schultz once worked at Harlequin and used some of her own experiences as fodder for the novel’s fictional company.

Francis’s interview with Schultz revealed that the one tangible item she’d want to have in heaven would be cheese sandwiches. Just plain cheddar is fine, but no Kraft Singles.

The City of Toronto’s Lit City initiative comes to a close this weekend, culminating with the 10th annual Doors Open Toronto city-wide open house, featuring close to 175 sites of architectural, historical, cultural, or social significance.

This year local authors will be reading from their works at the locations around the city that inspired them. Anthony De Sa, author of the 2008 Giller Prize shortlist nominee Barnacle Love, will read from his collection of short at the Factory Theatre and then lead a walking tour of Little Portugal (May 24, 1 to 2:15 p.m.), where his book is set. Robert Rotenberg will read from his best-selling mystery Old City Hall (May 23 and 24, 1, 2, and 3 p.m.) at the venerable building itself. Vincent Lam, author of the 2006 Giller Prize winner Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures, will read at the S. Walter Stewart branch of the Toronto Public Library (May 24, 2 to 2:30 p.m.), which is near the Toronto East General Hospital, where he works as an emergency room physician. And that’s just a few of the bookish events – roughly a quarter of the venues have a literary connection.

Publishing houses Coach House Books and McArthur & Company will both be participating in the event. Coach House promises to show visitors how its books are printed on two Heidelberg presses, while McArthur will have a host of authors in and out of its office all weekend. Ten branches of the Toronto Public Library, including the newly opened Jane/Sheppard Branch, are also hot lit spots this weekend with many scheduled readings and tours.

Doors Open is presented by The Toronto Star, and an official pull-out guide to the event is part of today’s paper. The guide is also available online.

Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin launched his new book, My Winnipeg (Coach House Books), as part of Pages’ This Is Not A Reading Series this past Tuesday at an event called Attack of the Winnipeg Hockey Moms. The book is a companion to his movie of the same name. (Photos courtesy of Chris Reed.)

Maddin kicks off the night by introducing some of his favourite film moms.

Maddin takes on Leafs announcer Andy Frost in an intense table hockey match. Chuck Molgat officiates.

Coach House senior editor Alana Wilcox and Maddin.

The Globe and Mail had a feature on Canadian comic star Seth in its Saturday review section to coincide with the weekend’s Toronto Comic Arts Festival. Here are a few photos from the event held at the Toronto Reference Library.

Canadian comic artists created posters celebrating the event. The poster on the right was designed by the Scott Pilgrim series’ creator Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Comic fans of all ages came to check out exhibitors, get their favourite books signed, and attend panels on webcomics, manga, and graphic novels for the teenage crowd.

Eric Wight, the writer and illustrator of the children’s comic series Frankie Pickle, created an exhibit featuring the setting of his first book, Frankie Pickle and the Closet of Doom.

Last week, Robert J. Sawyer – a.k.a. the Canadian author most likely to have his brain kept alive in a jar for centuries to come (Christian Bök being a close second) – launched his newest novel, Wake (Viking Canada), at Dominion on Toronto’s Queen Street East. The event was hosted by BakkaPhoenix Books. (Photos courtesy of Carolyn Clink)

Bakka’s Chris Szego and Aurora Simmons bag the books.

Space television’s Mark Askwith (fresh from having interviewed Sawyer onstage), Lesley Livingston, author of Wondrous Strange (HarperCollins Canada), and Sawyer.

Sawyer fan Troy Perault displays the tattoo he had made of Sawyer’s signature from a previous event. See, now here’s the difference between sci-fi writers and rock stars – sci-fi writers sign their fans’ legs.