Author Reading & Book Launch
Author Festival: A Book Launch and Market
September 24 12:30 - 2pm
Snell Auditorium, Red Deer Public Library, 4818 49th Street, Red Deer
Let’s celebrate writers with Red Deer Public Library and Red Deer Arts Council, presenting three Alberta authors with readings, a conversation, and a book market with local authors offering their new reads, too! We are excited to feature authors Ruth DyckFehderau, Astrid Blodgett, and Lori Hahnel, whose novels and stories are fresh from the publishers!
Contact: Suzanne Hermary, Executive Director, 403-348-2787;
An Introduction to our presenters
Ruth DyckFehderau has written three books. I (Athena) was released by NeWest Press in April, 2023. E nâtamukw miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree, Volume One, nonfiction, written with James Bay Cree storytellers, was released in March, 2023. The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017), nonfiction, also written with James Bay Cree storytellers, is now in Second Edition (2020). Ruth's work has been translated into Northern East Cree, Southern East Cree, Ojibwe, French, and Simplified Chinese. Sometimes Ruth teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at the University of Alberta where she is an Adjunct Professor. She does quite a bit of public speaking, has published many short works in literary journals and anthologies, and has received awards for writing, for teaching, and for activism. She lives in Edmonton with her partner. She is hearing-impaired.
https://www.ruthdyckfehderau.com/
I (Athena) book description
In the 60s, four-year-old Athena lost her hearing to a childhood fever, was misdiagnosed as "profoundly retarded," and institutionalized for thirty years. Now she's out of the institution, awkward and bookish, learning to integrate with mainstream society, and researching her past, trying to understand why she was institutionalized in the first place and why the people looking after her made such a huge mistake.
I (Athena) book price: $24.00
Astrid Blodgett is the author of the short story collections This is How You Start to Disappear (UAlberta Press) and You Haven’t Changed a Bit (UAlberta Press). Her stories have appeared in The Journey Prize Anthology, Meltwater: Fiction and Poetry from the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Danish textbook Connect, in many Canadian literary magazines, and in translation in Inostrannaya Literatura. One of her stories was short-listed for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta Howard O’Hagan Award for Short Story; her first book was long-listed for a ReLit Award, a runner-up for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and a finalist for the High Plains Book Award for Short Stories. She is also a co-author of Recipes for Roaming: Adventure Food for the Canadian Rockies. For many years she co-hosted a literary salon in her home. Astrid also loves multi-day river trips and very long walks. She lives in Edmonton / amiskwaciwâskahikan.
This is How You Start to Disappear is a collection of contemporary realist short stories of characters finding connections and meaning in an uncertain world.
Book Price: $25.00
Lori Hahnel’s last book, Vermin: Stories, won an Alberta Literary Award, and was a finalist for a High Plains Book Award, the CAA Fred Kerner Award and the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts Glengarry Book Award. She is also the author of two previous novels, Love Minus Zero and After You’ve Gone, and a previous story collection, Nothing Sacred. Her work has been broadcast on CBC Radio, and has appeared in The Fiddlehead, Joyland, The Saturday Evening Post and many other journals and anthologies in Canada, the US, Australia and the UK. Lori was Calgary Public Library’s Author-in-Residence in 2020 and has taught creative writing at AWCS and Mount Royal University. She has also acted as a mentor through the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, The Writers’ Guild of Alberta and AWCS.
Flicker is a playful, fast-paced romp through the golden age of invention, mythology, and the supernatural. This is a novel for everyone who believes in the power of scientific curiosity and the strength of the human heart.
Book Price: $35.00
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
About Canada Council for the Arts
The Canada Council for the Arts contributes to the vibrancy of a creative and diverse arts and literary scene and supports its presence across Canada and around the world. The Council is Canada’s public arts funder, with a mandate to “foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the production of works in, the arts.” The Council’s grants, services, initiatives, prizes, and payments support Canadian artists, authors, and arts groups and organizations. This support allows them to pursue artistic expression, create works of art, and promote and disseminate the arts and literature. Through its arts funding, communications, research, and promotion activities, the Council fosters ever-growing engagement of Canadians and international audiences in the arts. The Council’s Public Lending Right (PLR) program makes annual payments to creators whose works are held in Canadian public libraries. The Council’s Art Bank operates art rental programs and helps further public engagement with contemporary arts through exhibition and outreach activities. The Council is responsible for the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, which promotes the values and programs of UNESCO to contribute to a future of peace, reconciliation, equity, and sustainable development.
