Five Readers on September 2nd

Jean Rae Baxter will be reading from her young adult novel, The Way Lies North, published by Ronsdale Press.

F.B. André will be reading from What Belongs, his latest collection of short fiction, published by Ronsdale Press.

Stephen Gill is Poet Laureate of Ansted University. His latest book of poetry is called Songs Before Shrine.

Jeff Cottrill is a satirist, fiction writer and spoken-word performer from Toronto. He will be reading from Guilt Pasta, from Burning Effigy Press.

Judith Robinson is an author, journalist, playwright and teacher from Burlington. Her first book, Working Miracles: The Drama and Passion of Aimee Semple McPherson, was published by Altitude Publishing in 2006.

Jean Rae Baxter

Jean Rae Baxter was born in Toronto but grew up in Hamilton. She lived for many years in the Kingston area and following her career in education, she returned Hamilton in 1996 and began to write in earnest. Always interested in Canadian history, she began to write about it, starting with her short story, "Farewell the Mohawk Valley", which Ronsdale Press included in its anthology, Beginnings: Stories of Canada’s Past. Almost simultaneously, Jean discovered that she had a knack for writing noir fiction as well. Once she got started, it seemed that one dark tale followed another. Several were published in Canadian literary journals and anthologies and won awards. Her first collection, A Twist of Malice, came out in 2005. Most recently, Jean has been working on a literary murder mystery, Looking for Cardenio, which Seraphim Editions will launch next spring. However, Jean has never lost her interest in Canadian history. After several years of research and writing, her young adult novel, The Way Lies North, was published by Ronsdale Press.

F.B. André

F.B. André was born in San Fernando, Trinidad, in 1955. He emigrated to Hamilton, Ontario in 1971. He is a graduate of McMaster. He has worked at diverse jobs -- bartender, gold miner, factory worker, café owner and program administrator. These many experiences have enriched his writing. The stories in his latest book What Belongs explore what it means to belong. When does a place become home? When can you stake your claim? When does it become automatic that we are from here? His stories have been published in several magazines and anthologies. His first collection, The Man Who Beat The Man, was published by NeWest Press. He lives in Vancouver.

Stephen Gill

Stephen Gill is Poet Laureate of Ansted University and an expressive voice of Canada, India and Pakistan. He believes strongly in a democratically elected world government and peace through peaceful means. He has authored more than twenty books, including novels, literary criticism, and collections of poems. His poetry and prose have appeared in more than five hundred publications, mostly in Canada, the United States of America and India. His latest poetry book is called Songs Before Shrine.

Jeff Cottrill

Jeff Cottrill is a satirist, fiction writer and spoken-word performer from Toronto. His stage act often uses elements of performance poetry, comedy, theatre and storytelling. With a darkly comic flavour, he likes to make audiences laugh, cringe or (preferably) both. Jeff has been featured in dozens of Toronto literary series and has toured twice with the Perpetual Motion Roadshow, a monthly indie-artist tour for which he was a coordinator. The Roadshow brought him to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Cleveland, Montreal and Vancouver. He has also headlined for shows throughout England, the midwestern United States, and southern Ontario. His book is called Guilt Pasta.

Judith Robinson

Judith Robinson is an author, journalist, playwright and teacher from Burlington. Her first book, Working Miracles: The Drama and Passion of Aimee Semple McPherson, was published by Altitude Publishing in 2006 as part of their series of short biographies of famous Canadians. Judith was a regional reporter for the Globe and Mail in northern Ontario, specializing in corporate environmental trials, and a freelance writer/broadcaster for CBC Radio. Judith has been a book reviewer for Quill and Quire; for the 2006-2007 school year she was the Arts and Culture Editor of Ryerson’s newspaper for Continuing Education students. A graduate of the University of Iowa Playwrights’ Workshop, she won the Richard Maibaum Award in 1995. Her plays have been produced in the United States and Canada. An Ontario high school teacher, she has taught non-fiction writing courses for both The University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies and The University of Western Ontario.