DAVID ADAMS RICHARDS is one of Canada’s pre-eminent writers. His recent novels include Mary Cyr and Principles to Live By, as well as Crimes Against My Brother and Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul, both of which were longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Among his other novels, The Lost Highway was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize; The Friends of Meagre Fortune won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book; Mercy Among the Children won the Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Trillium Award. Richards is also the author of the celebrated Miramichi Triology and has written four bestselling books of nonfiction, Lines on the Water, God Is, Facing the Hunter and Hockey Dreams, and most recently the collection of essays Murder. In 2017, David Adams Richards was appointed to the Senate of Canada on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Photo Credit: Bruce Peters
ALIX OHLIN is the author of five books, including the novels Inside and Dual Citizens, which were both finalists for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Tin House, Best American Short Stories, and many other publications. Born and raised in Montreal, she lives in Vancouver, where she chairs the creative writing program at the University of British Columbia.
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CAMILLA GIBB was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto. She is the author of four internationally acclaimed novels—Mouthing the Words, The Petty Details of So-and-so’s Life, Sweetness in the Belly and The Beauty of Humanity Movement—as well as the bestselling memoir This is Happy. Camilla has been the recipient of the Trillium Book Award, the City of Toronto Book Award and the CBC Canadian Literary Award and has been shortlisted for the RBC Taylor Prize and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. She has a Ph.D. from Oxford University and is an adjunct faculty member of the graduate creative writing programs at the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph
www.camillagibb.com
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EMMA DONOGHUE is an Irish emigrant twice over: she spent eight years in Cambridge, England, before moving to Canada’s London, Ontario. She is best known for her novels, which range from the historical (The Wonder, Slammerkin, Life Mask, The Sealed Letter) to the contemporary (Akin, Stir-Fry, Hood, Landing). Her international bestseller Room was a New York Times Best Book of 2010 and was a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth and Orange Prizes; her screen adaptation, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, was nominated for four Academy Awards. Her 2020 novel, Pull of the Stars, set in the maternity ward of a Dublin hospital during the great flu epidemic if 1918 was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and appeared on many Best Books of 2020 lists.
www.emmadonoghue.com
LINDY MECHEFSKE is a former academic journal editor turned writer. She is the author of Ontario Picnics: A Century of Dining Outdoors; a two-time Taste Canada Gold Award winner for Out of Old Ontario Kitchens and Sir John’s Table. She is the food columnist for the Kingston Whig-Standard (Canada’s oldest newspaper). Her work has appeared in a wide variety of anthologies, magazines, and literary journals.
Lindy spent her early years in England but now makes her home in beautiful, historic Kingston, Ontario – where you can find her most days walking her big shaggy dog along the shore of the St. Lawrence River. Lindy’s love affair with food and history began when she was three years old, rolling out the pastry for jam tarts in her grandfather’s ancient Yorkshire kitchen.
https://lindymechefske.com
MARY LAWSON was born and brought up in a small farming community in Ontario. She is the author of Crow Lake, and The Other Side of the Bridge, both international bestsellers. Crow Lake was a New York Times bestseller and was chosen as a Book of the Year by The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. The Other Side of the Bridge was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Her last novel, Road Ends, was a national bestseller and finalist for the Folio Prize. Her new novel, A Town Called Solace is a national bestseller. Lawson lives in England but returns to Canada frequently. “Mary Lawson finds literary gold in the hard landscape of the Canadian Shield.” ─ Ottawa Citizen
www.marylawson.ca
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M.G. VASSANJI is the author of six previous novels: The Gunny Sack, which won a regional Commonwealth Writers’ Prize; No New Land; The Book of Secrets, which won the very first Giller Prize; Amriika; The In-Between World of Vikram Lall, which also received the Giller Prize; The Assassin’s Song; and most recently, Nostalgia, which was longlisted for Canada Reads 2017. He is also the author of two short-story collections, a travel memoir about India, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He lives in Toronto.
www.mgvassanji.com
Photo by Derek Shapton
HEATHER SMITH is originally from Newfoundland and now lives in Waterloo, Ontario. Her middle-grade novel, Ebb & Flow, was short-listed for the 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award and was the winner of the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award. Her picture book, The Phone Booth in Mr. Hirota’s Garden, was recently named the winner of the 2019 Freeman Book Award for Children’s Literature. Heather has written several other books for young people including the award-winning, The Agony of Bun O’Keefe. Heather’s Newfoundland roots inspire much of her writing.
www.heathertsmith.com