Book Reading: Merilyn Simonds

Merilyn Simonds (representing the San Miguel Writer’s Conference) reads at the Salt Spring Public Library. 8 p.m.

Simonds is the author of 17 books, including the creative nonfiction classic, The Convict Lover, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award and inspiration for Judith Thompson’s recent play, Hot House; an internationally acclaimed collection of autobiographical stories, The Lion in the Room Next Door; a bestselling novel, The Holding; a travel memoir, Breakfast at the Exit Café co-written with her husband Wayne Grady; and a collection of personal essays, A New Leaf. Her work is published and anthologized internationally. In 2012, she released a flash-fiction collection, The Paradise Project, in both a hand-printed letterpress edition and as a digital book. The experience of helping to produce both versions inspired Gutenberg’s Fingerprint: Paper, Pixels & the Lasting Impression of Books, an exploration of the past, present and future of the objects we call “book,” trolling the history, the myths and inventions, and her own 40 years as a writer to discover the truth about the digital shift and how we read today.