The Word On The Street is coming up, and we're partnering with Toronto WOTS to bring you author interviews, contests, and lots of snaps on the day!
When: Sunday, September 23, 2012—11:00 a.m.
Where: Queens Park Circle
, Toronto, ON
M5R 2E8
As part of 49th Shelf's #Fest2Fest, Julie Wilson is speaking with authors across the country (and abroad) who are appearing at literary festivals to promote their latest books.
For all our #Fest2Fest updates, bookmark www.49thshelf.com/Festivals.
Robert Hough will appear at Word on the Street Toronto 2012 in the Great Books Marquee at 12:00 p.m.
In March 2012, 49th Shelf talked with Robert Hough about his novel Dr. Brinkley's Tower (House of Anansi Press), now a 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlisted title.
When writing a novel, there's always that moment in which you understand why you've been toiling away. My first novel, for example, was a circus book called The Final Confession of Mabel Stark. Somewhere in the middle of the second draft, I finally realized I was writing a book about a woman who couldn’t tolerate happiness. Prior to that moment, the work was a stranger, and all I could do was wonder why in the world I was investing all that effort in a book about some whacked-out female tiger trainer. Then comes that moment in which you say, "Ahh, so that’s it." From then on in, it's a part of you, no matter.—Robert Hough
Read the rest of our interview with Robert Hough.
We went back to ask Robert, how does it feel to be longlisted for Canada's largest literary prize?
Robert responds: Though it's a lovely, entirely pleasant surprise, I'm refusing to let myself get that excited if only because I generally feel it's not a good idea to get too worked up about prizes and such. Too much adrenaline and noradrenaline is released in the bloodstream, and that's bad for your writing. As Miles Davis once said, "if you don't relax, your art won’t have any fizz." Now, it’s true that Davis was a vicious, cocaine-addled pimp, but I’m pretty sure he was right on that one.
About Dr. Brinkley's Tower: Equal parts Mark Twain and Gabriel García Márquez, Robert Hough's wildly imaginative new novel takes us to 1931 and Corazón de la Fuente, a tiny Mexican border town where the only industry is a run-down brothel. Enter Dr. Romulus Brinkley and his gargantuan radio tower, built to broadcast his revolutionary goat-gland fertility operation. Fortunes in Corazón change overnight, but not all for the good. Word of the new prosperity spreads, and the town is overrun by the impoverished, the desperate, and the flat-out criminal. The tower's frequencies are so powerful the whole area glows green, and the signal is soon broadcasting through every bit of metal it can find: fencing wire, toasters, even a young woman's new braces. Meanwhile, Dr. Brinkley has attracted the affections of Violeta Cruz, Corazón's most beautiful resident. But is he really all that he seems?
Peopled with unforgettable characters and capturing a young Mexico caught between its own ambitions and the imperialist designs of its neighbour to the north, Dr. Brinkley's Tower is a stunning achievement in storytelling.
Robert Hough is an award-winning novelist. Robert's debut novel, The Final Confession of Mabel Stark, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book. His second novel, The Stowaway, was a finalist for the IMPAC Dublin Award and chosen by the Boston Globe as one of the top ten fiction titles of 2004. His third novel, The Culprits, was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Prize, the Commonwealth Award for Best Book (Canada and the Caribbean), and the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. He lives in Toronto.
Visit Robert Hough's website: www.roberthough.ca.
Follow Robert Hough on Twitter: @robert_w_hough
More about Word On the Street: Toronto
As always, WOTS will celebrate readers and literacy by hosting authors and speakers in a variety of venues.
The Nothing But The Truth Tent features authors talking about literary non-fiction. The Great Books Marquee features the buzz spring and fall titles. The Penguin Pavilion showcases some of their upcoming and favourite releases, as does Random House at the Remarkable Reads Tent. And there's always a huge crowd for the Scotiabank Giller Prize Bestsellers Stage and the Toronto Book Awards Tent where you'll hear newly-nominated authors read from their works.
The Humber School Of Writers hosts a day of writing working shops at the Scribendi.com Workshop Marquee.
Young adults will enjoy This is Not The Shakespeare Stage, a new venue featuring sessions with Canadian young adult authors and artists, while KidStreet is back, as always, along with the Children’s Activity Tent featuring activities, crafts, entertainment, and appearances from some of your favourite children's authors and illustrators! Same goes for the Children’s Reading Tent and the TVOKids Stage! Family fun!
Finally, be sure to stop by The Toronto Start Tent and Open Book's Vibrant Voices of Ontario Tent, which celebrates Canadian fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
Visit The Word On The Street website for all venues, locations, and schedules.