Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

Freedom to Write and to Read: Standing with Salman Rushdie

Matt Galloway, Margaret Atwood, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Ian McEwan, Deepa Mehta, Rohinton Mistry, Maria Ressa, John Ralston Saul and Shyam Selvadurai

Freedom to Write and to Read: Standing with Salman Rushdie

Matt Galloway, Margaret Atwood, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Ian McEwan, Deepa Mehta, Rohinton Mistry, Maria Ressa, John Ralston Saul and Shyam Selvadurai

4:30pm

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

In this very special event we stand in solidarity with Salman Rushdie to celebrate his remarkable literary achievements and courage; we mark the fundamental importance of freedom of expression for writers everywhere in the world. Presented by PEN Canada, Penguin Random House Canada, Toronto International Festival of Authors and Writers Trust of Canada, join a stellar line up of writers as they read from Rushdie’s work. Hosted by Matt Galloway from CBC Radio’s The Current.

Featured participants include: Margaret Atwood, The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, John Irving, Ian McEwan, Rohinton Mistry, Deepa Mehta, Maria Ressa, John Ralston Saul and Shyam Selvadurai.

The event will also be featured in an upcoming special national broadcast on CBC’s The Current.

Salman Rushdie's headshotSalman Rushdie is the author of fourteen previous novels, including Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, The Moor’s Last Sigh and Quichotte, all of which have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize; a collection of stories, East, West; a memoir, Joseph Anton; a work of reportage, The Jaguar Smile; and three collections of essays, most recently Languages of Truth. His many awards include the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel, which he won twice; the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award; the National Arts Award; the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger; the European Union’s Aristeion Prize for Literature; the Budapest Grand Prize for Literature; and the Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He is a former president of PEN America. His books have been translated into over forty languages. Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 27 at 4:30pm ET
Where: Harbourfront Centre Theatre
Duration: 60 minutes
This event is free to attend with registration.

Doors will open at 3:45pm and guests will be subject to a bag check upon entry.

PEN Canada Logo         Penguin Random House Canada     TIFA Logo   Writer's Trust of Canada logo

In this very special event we stand in solidarity with Salman Rushdie to celebrate his remarkable literary achievements and courage; we mark the fundamental importance of freedom of expression for writers everywhere in the world. Presented by PEN Canada, Penguin Random House Canada, Toronto International Festival of Authors and Writers Trust of Canada, join a stellar line up of writers as they read from Rushdie’s work. Hosted by Matt Galloway from CBC Radio’s The Current.

Featured participants include: Margaret Atwood, The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, John Irving, Ian McEwan, Rohinton Mistry, Deepa Mehta, Maria Ressa, John Ralston Saul and Shyam Selvadurai.

The event will also be featured in an upcoming special national broadcast on CBC’s The Current.

Salman Rushdie's headshotSalman Rushdie is the author of fourteen previous novels, including Midnight’s Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), Shame, The Satanic Verses, The Moor’s Last Sigh and Quichotte, all of which have been shortlisted for the Booker Prize; a collection of stories, East, West; a memoir, Joseph Anton; a work of reportage, The Jaguar Smile; and three collections of essays, most recently Languages of Truth. His many awards include the Whitbread Prize for Best Novel, which he won twice; the PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award; the National Arts Award; the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger; the European Union’s Aristeion Prize for Literature; the Budapest Grand Prize for Literature; and the Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he is a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University. He is a former president of PEN America. His books have been translated into over forty languages. Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

Ticket Info:
Date & Time: September 27 at 4:30pm ET
Where: Harbourfront Centre Theatre
Duration: 60 minutes
This event is free to attend with registration.

Doors will open at 3:45pm and guests will be subject to a bag check upon entry.

PEN Canada Logo         Penguin Random House Canada     TIFA Logo   Writer's Trust of Canada logo

Featured Authors

Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. Matt Galloway has been with CBC Radio for more than 15 years. In addition to hosting Metro Morning for more than a decade, he has also anchored CBC Radio's coverage of the Olympic Games on several occasions, including Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014, as well as the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In 2012, he received the Excellence In Community Service Award from the Intercultural Dialogue Institute for addressing issues confronting diverse communities, and in 2013, received the award for Diversity and Social Inclusion by the Tagore Anniversary Celebrations Committee of Toronto. In 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019, Toronto Life magazine named him one of Toronto's 50 most influential people. In 2015, Galloway received the African Canadian Achievement Award for Excellence in Media. In 2017, he received an honorary degree from York University, and a Harry Jerome Award for Media in 2018. Galloway runs and rides his bike daily, and is an avid home cook.

Read more about Matt Galloway

Margaret Atwood, whose work has been published in more than forty-five countries, is the author of more than fifty books of fiction, poetry, critical essays, and graphic novels. In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, now an award-winning TV series, her novels include Cat’s Eye, short-listed for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; Oryx and Crake, short-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize; The Year of the Flood, MaddAddam; and Hag-Seed. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, the Franz Kafka Prize, the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Los Angeles Times Innovator’s Award. In 2019, she was made a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for services to literature.

Read more about Margaret Atwood

The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson arrived in Canada from Hong Kong with her family in 1942 and made the astonishing journey from penniless child refugee to accomplished broadcaster, journalist and distinguished public servant in a multi-faceted lifetime. Madame Clarkson was Canada’s 26th Governor General from 1999-2005. When she left Rideau Hall, she co-founded the Institute for Canadian Citizenship which helps new citizens to feel involved and included in Canadian life. The ICC offers a one-of-a-kind program, Canoo Cultural Access Pass, an app that gives newcomers free VIP access to +1,400 of Canada’s best cultural and outdoor experiences along with exclusive deals from exclusive brands. As well, the ICC has hosted 6 Degrees events — a global forum on citizenship, immigration, inclusion, and diversity in the 21st century – across many cities including Toronto, Mexico City, Berlin, Montreal and Calgary. Among her many merits and awards, Madame Clarkson is a Companion of the Order of Canada and has received 26 Honorary Degrees from universities in Canada and abroad. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, the Royal Conservatory of Music, and Trinity College. Recently, Madame Clarkson received the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. Madame Clarkson is the bestselling author of the 2014 CBC Massey Lectures Belonging: The Paradox of Citizenship; Room for All of Us: Surprising Stories of Loss and Transformation; Heart Matters: A Memoir; and Extraordinary Canadians: Norman Bethune a biography of Dr. Norman Bethune.

Read more about The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson

Ian McEwan is the critically acclaimed author of seventeen novels and two short story collections. His first published work, a collection of short stories, First Love, Last Rites, won the Somerset Maugham Award. His novels include The Child in Time, which won the 1987 Whitbread Novel of the Year Award; The Cement Garden; Enduring Love; Amsterdam, which won the 1998 Booker Prize; Atonement; Saturday; On Chesil Beach; Solar; Sweet Tooth; The Children Act; Nutshell; and Machines Like Me, which was a number-one bestseller. Atonement, Enduring Love, The Children Act and On Chesil Beach have all been adapted for the big screen.

Read more about Ian McEwan

Deepa Mehta is an Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Her films include the Elemental Trilogy: Earth, Fire, Water (which received an Oscar nomination for best foreign language film), Bollywood/Hollywood, Heaven on Earth, Midnight’s Children based on Salman Rushdie’s three-time Booker Prize winning novel and Anatomy of Violence.  Deepa directed the pilot and second episode for the Netflix Original series, Leila, and the pilot episode, The Manager, for Apple TV's Little America. Her latest feature film Funny Boy, based on the award winning novel by Shyam Selvadurai, received awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Director at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards and for Best Motion Picture and Best Supporting Performance Female at the 2021 Leo Awards.

Read more about Deepa Mehta

Rohinton Mistry is the author of a collection of short stories, Tales from Firozsha Baag (1987), and three novels that were all shortlisted for the Booker Prize: Such a Long Journey (1991), A Fine Balance (1995), and Family Matters (2002). His books have won, among other awards, the Giller Prize, the Governor General's Literary Award, the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Born in Bombay, Rohinton Mistry has lived in Canada since 1975. His body of work was shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker International Prize, and he was awarded the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 2012. His work has been published in more than thirty-five languages.

Read more about Rohinton Mistry

Maria Ressa is the co-founder, CEO of Rappler.com, an online news organization in the Philippines. Maria, one of TIME’s Person of the Year for 2018 and TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in 2019, has been honored around the world for her courageous and bold work in fighting disinformation, “fake news”, and attempts to silence the free press. A journalist for over 35 years, Maria has been arrested on 10 charges related to exposing the Duterte government’s corrupt practices and was convicted of cyber-libel in June. She is out on bail pending her appeal but true to form, Ressa, vows to keep fighting. Maria was featured in the 2020 documentary A Thousand Cuts, which profiles her fearless reporting on the abuses of Duterte’s presidency, while also illustrating social media’s capacity to deceive and entrench political power. Maria now travels the world speaking to organizations of all kinds on freedom of the press, democracy, and corporate governance.

Read more about Maria Ressa

John Ralston Saul is an award-winning essayist and novelist. His 16 works have been translated into 29 languages in 38 countries and have won many literary awards including Chile’s Pablo Neruda Medal, South Korea’s Manhae Grand Prize for Literature, Italy’s Premio Lettarario Internazionale and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction. Saul is President Emeritus of PEN International, Co-Chair of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and sits on the International Advisory Board for the Common Action Forum. He is a Companion in the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario as well as an Officer in Germany’s Order of Merit and a Chevalier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France.

Read more about John Ralston Saul

Shyam Selvadurai 's Funny Boy, won the W.H. Smith/ Books in Canada First Novel Award and the Lambda Literary Award in the US. He is the author of Cinnamon Gardens, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea and The Hungry Ghosts. His work has been translated into 9 languages and published worldwide. Funny Boy was made into a film, for which Shyam co-wrote the screenplay, and for which he won the Canadian Screen Award and the New York Cinema Independent Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Shyam’s new novel Mansion of the Moon, a historical novel about the Buddha’s wife, was released by Knopf in May 2022. His website is www.shyamselvadurai.com

Read more about Shyam Selvadurai

Photo credit: Rachel Eliza Griffiths.

4:30pm

Tuesday, September 27

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