I lied last month when I said our March 31 readings were going to bring some fresh spring air, so if at first you don’t succeed…

On April 28, we welcome FOUR diverse voices. (I have a feeling there will be talk of James Joyce!) to Famous Last Words at 392 Pacific Ave.

Doors open at 5:00pm, but we get started between 5:15pm and 5:30pm.

SK Dyment brings us Steel Animals from Inanna Publications. where “Hilarity and queer magic realism twist the throttle when Jackie, a loner with a secret bank-robbing persona, meets Vespa: sexy, sculpture-welding artist and collector of vintage motorbike s.”

“SK Dyment is a writer and visual artist with a love of political cartooning. SK likes take to the stage at open mic events to perform poetry, short prose and stand-up work and they have written several plays which were produced at Buddies In Bad Times Theatre. Their illustrations were most recently published in Ursula Pflug’s flash fiction novel, Motion Sickness, which was longlisted for the ReLit Award. Their humour and cartooning work has appeared in a number of magazines including, Peace Magazine, This Magazine, Open Road Magazine, Healthsharing, Herizons, Kinesis, The Activist Magazine, Kick It Over Magazine, and Fireweed. Steel Animalsis their debut novel.” From http://www.inanna.ca

Pratap Reddy with Ramya’s Treasure from Guernica Editions. “a story about Ramya, an immigrant from India, is nearing her 50th birthday. But there’s no cause to cheer. Recently separated, and laid off from work as well, she feels lonely, alienated, and despondent. Then one day she chances upon a sandalwood box containing her cherished childhood treasures…”

“Pratap Reddy moved to Canada in 2002. An underwriter by day and writer by night (or to be precise – wee hours of the morning), he writes about the agonies and the angst (on occasion their ecstasies) for new immigrants from India. He is an alumnus of ‘Humber School for Writers’. He is the recipient of ‘Best Emerging Literary Artist’ from the Mississauga Arts Council, and grants from the Ontario Arts Council. He had been selected for both ‘Short Form’ and ‘Long Form’ mentorship program of ‘Diaspora Dialogues’. Guernica Editions published his collection Weather Premitting & Other Stories’ in 2016, and his novel Rmaya’s Treasure in 2018. He lives in Missisauga with his wife and son.”

Alex Boyd with Army of the Brave and Accidental from Nightwood Editions. “a story about relationships, parenthood, and trying to have an impact on the world told from the shifting perspectives of ten characters.”

“Alex Boyd has written for publications such asThe Globe and Mail and Taddle Creek magazine. He helped establish Best Canadian Essays, co-editing the first two collections of work selected from Canadian magazines.  His poetry collections are Making Bones Walk (2007) winner of the Gerald Lampert Award, and more recently The Least Important Man (2012).In 2018 his first novel was published:Army of the Brave and Accidental, described by Canadian Notes & Queries as “timely, original and profound.””

Tim Conley with Collapsible from New Star Books. “Steeped in Beckett, Borges and Nabokov, Conley’s multiple universes allow for werewolves that excite ridicule not fear, and where birthdays are an occasion for forgetting not remembering.”

“Tim Conley is the author of several books of fiction, poetry, and criticism, including Dance Moves of the Near Future (New Star Books, 2015) and Unless Acted Upon (Mansfield Press, 2019). He teaches modernist and contemporary literature at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.”