Five Readers on October 7th

Sky Gilbert introduces and performs scenes from Brother Dumb, his latest prose work from Insomniac Press.

Stephen Brunt reads excerpts from Searching for Bobby Orr, published by Seal/Random House.

Shane Rhodes reads from his latest collection of poems, The Bindery, published by NeWest in 2007.

Monica Kidd presents her her third book (and first poetry collection) Actualities, published by Gaspereau Press.

D.S. Martin reads from So the Moon Would Not Be Swallowed, which was published by Rubicon Press in March 2007.

Sky Gilbert

Sky Gilbert is a writer, director and drag queen extraordinaire. Gilbert was the artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto for 18 years. Since leaving Buddies in 1997, he has published four novels, two books of poetry, four plays, and a memoir. Recently, he received The Margo Bindhardt Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation and the ReLit Award for his fourth novel, An English Gentleman. Gilbert holds the University Research Chair in Creative Writing and Theatre Studies at the University of Guelph. Brother Dumb is the memoir of a reclusive American literary icon and a how-to manual for meaningful critical engagement with the real world. It is also celebration of innocence, youth, and altruism, and it is the true story of a self-imposed exile. (It is also a work of fiction.)

Stephen Brunt

Stephen Brunt, a columnist at the Globe and Mail, is Canada’s premier sportswriter and commentator. He is the author of The Way It Looks from Here: Contemporary Canadian Writing on Sports; Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In; Mean Business: The Rise and Fall of Shawn O’Sullivan; Second to None: The Roberto Alomar Story and Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball. His latest book is Searching for Bobby Orr, published by Random House. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario.

Shane Rhodes

Shane Rhodes’s first book, The Wireless Room, won the Alberta Book Award for poetry. His second book, Holding Pattern, won the Archibald Lampman Award and he has been featured in the anthologies New Canadian Poetry and Breathing Fire II. His latest book, The Bindery, was published by NeWest Press in spring of 2007. He has published in magazines and newspapers across Canada and has worked as an editor with Filling Station, The Fiddlehead, and
Qwerty. Rhodes lives in Ottawa.

Monica Kidd

Monica Kidd was raised in rural Alberta and now lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has worked as a reporter for CBC Radio and as a seabird biologist. Kidd is the author of two novels, Beatrice and The Momentum of Red, and she is currently a medical student at Memorial University. Actualities is her first collection of poems and was published by Gaspereau Press.

D.S. Martin

D.S. Martin's poetry has appeared in many journals in Canada and the US, such as Canadian Literature, The Christian Century, The Cresset and Queen's Quarterly. His chapbook So The Moon Would Not Be Swallowed was published by Rubicon Press (Edmonton) in March 2007. This collection is about the poet's grandparents who were missionaries to China from 1923 to 1951. He writes about poetry for Faith Today, Books & Culture, Image, and Rock & Sling, and is the Music Critic for Christian Week.