Atwood, Albom headline impressive fall writer series

Pam Wright A star-studded lineup of famous and beloved authors is coming to Sarnia this fall as part of The Book Keeper writer series.

Pam Wright

A star-studded lineup of famous and beloved authors is coming to Sarnia this fall as part of The Book Keeper writer series.

They include Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood, bestselling writers Mitch Albom, Emma Donoghue, Linden McIntyre and Ken Dryden, as well as Robyn Doolittle and Katie Daubs, two young journalists from Sarnia-Lambton making their mark in the publishing world.

Store owner Susan Chamberlain said she’s proud to bring so many literary giants to Sarnia, especially Atwood, an accomplishment she calls the “crown jewel” of her book-selling career.

“It’s the biggest lineup we’ve ever had. We’re pushing the envelope and opening new horizons,” she said.

Sarnia is the only small Canadian city Atwood will visit in launching her new book. Testaments is a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale, her chilling dystopian novel written in 1985 about the future of a totalitarian state in which women are reduced to subservience and silence.

The Handmaid’s Tale was turned into the acclaimed Hulu TV series portraying life in Gilead — formerly the Northeastern United States — where the government has been overthrown.

No copies of Testaments will be pre-released, Chamberlain said, adding the book is being kept in a kind of “lockdown” similar to what was done with the Harry Potter novels.

“It’s all to be revealed,” Chamberlain said, noting Atwood has said she’s not putting anything in the books that “hasn’t already occurred in the world.”

The 700 tickets available for Atwood’s Nov. 27 appearance at the Holiday Inn sold out in 36 hours, but Chamberlain said names are being taken for a waiting list.

Renowned Canadian journalist Linden McIntyre will read from his new work The Wake: The Deadly Legacy of a Newfoundland Tsunami on Sept. 10 at the Sarnia Library Auditorium.

The non-fiction account details the events surrounding a tsunami that struck Newfoundland in 1929.

“It’s an amazing and little known story,” Chamberlain said.

Local author and poet Sharon Berg presents her collection of short stories Naming the Shadows on Sept. 29, at The Book Keeper at 2 p.m. Alvinston-based artist Liana Russwurm designed the book’s cover. The free event includes an appearance by Toronto poet and violinist Gannon Hamilton.

On Oct. 3, Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Doolittle, who grew up near Forest, will read from Had it Coming: What’s Fair in the Age of #MeToo, based on an award-winning series Doolittle wrote examining what sexual consent means in today’s world.

Tickets for the event at the Sarnia Library Auditorium are $10, with proceeds to the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Centre.

NHL all-star Ken Dryden will read from his new book “Scotty” at the Sarnia Library Auditorium on Nov. 6. The hockey Hall-of-Famer and former MP has written about coach Scotty Bowman — widely regarded to as the best in hockey history.

Dryden, who was coached by Bowman when the Montreal Canadians won five Stanley Cups, will give readers an intimate glimpse into what makes Bowman tick.

Tickets, $15, include a $10 coupon towards purchase of the book.

Detroit-based best-selling writer Mitch Albom returns to Sarnia on Nov. 13 to read from his latest book “Finding Chika.”

Albom, whose Tuesdays With Morrie is one of the best-selling memoirs of all time, will reveal deeply personal details of the young daughter he and his wife adopted from an orphanage they run in Haiti.

The couple brought the youngster back to their home in Michigan but she developed a brain tumour and died.

“It’s his most personal work since Tuesdays With Morrie,” Chamberlain said, adding the radio broadcaster and screenwriter is also one of the best speakers she has ever heard.

The event is a fundraiser for Rayjon at the Imperial Theatre. Tickets, $50, are available only at the box office.

Emma Donoghue is the author of Room, the award-winning novel made into a Hollywood blockbuster.

She’ll appear at the Library Theatre on Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.

Donoghue will read from her new book Akin, a story of love, loss and family, as part of an Organization for Literacy Lambton fundraiser. A $50 ticket includes a copy of the book, or $60 for two tickets and one book.

On Sept. 14, Toronto Star reporter Katie Daub will discuss her newly released crime story book, The Missing Millionaire: The True Story of Ambrose Small and the City Obsessed with Finding Him at the Kineto Theatre in Forest, at 2 p.m.

And the following day, Amy Jones and Nicole Lundrigan will do a “books and brunch” at the Quality Inn, at 11 a.m.

For more, visit www.sarniabookkeeper.com