In times of urgent crisis, fiction is a respite that can help us process and make sense of it all. Award winning authors Vincent Lam and Alicia Elliott know this all too well. Vincent Lam processes his experience as a physician in his latest novel On The Ravine, an exploration of opioid addiction. Alicia Elliott’s And Then She Fell is an urgent and unflinching exploration of inherited trauma, womanhood, denial, and false allyship, which speeds to an unpredictable and surreal climax.
Join us as we kick off this year’s festival with two Canadian literary talents as they read from their latest works and discuss how fiction can help us make sense of our most urgent crises when other mediums may fail us. The Opening Showcase will also feature short readings from The New Quarterly magazine’s annual writing contest winners. Moderated by Vinh Nguyen.
