Vancouver Writers Fest

Vancouver's Granville Island seduced us all with surprise October sun for the Writers Fest last week. I had the honour of sharing a panel discussion, Scars of History, with Esi Edugyan and Rawi Hage--both their new novels are outstanding. I was also among the readers at the Afternoon Tea event, where even the writers got scones and fancy sandwiches (that's Emma Hooper looking thrilled). Having heard them read, I recommend all the new stuff from Emma, Melanie Raabe (there she is onstage), Rabindranath Maharaj (next to Emma at the table), and Sofka Zinovieff.  There was some sherry, hence the blurry selfie of Emma and me. I then fangirled all over Vivek Shraya and Buffy Sainte-Marie, so my work is done.