April 28 - May 1, 2011 — Toronto, Ontario — A weekend of words and ideas
Speakers
If you would like to be contacted with Open House Festival updates, please send your email address to us at canadaweb@randomhouse.com
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• Izzeldin Abuelaish • Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie • Karen Armstrong • James Bartleman • Dave Bidini • Big Al's Kitchen Party • The Billie Hollies • Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall • Ian Brown |
• Stephen Brunt • Jim Bryson • The Burning Hell (Mathias Kom) • Justin Cronin • Michael Crummey • Roméo Dallaire • John Doyle • Eric Friesen • Camilla Gibb • James Gleick |
• John Gray • Farzana Hassan • Thomas Homer-Dixon • Mary Ito • Rabbi Harold Kushner • Jaron Lanier • Martin Levin • Helen Mann • Paul Martin • Roger Martin • Selina Martin • Alexander McCall Smith |
• Azar Nafisi • Seamus O'Regan • Carol Off • James Orbinski • Valerie Pringle • Bernhard Schlink • Lee Smolin • Drew Hayden Taylor • Miriam Toews • Jane Urquhart • Irvine Welsh • Tim Wu |
| Please note that speakers are subject to change. | |||
Izzeldin Abuelaish
Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH, is a Palestinian physician and infertility expert who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He received a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, Egypt, and then received a diploma from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of London. He completed a residency in the same discipline at Soroka University hospital in Israel, followed by a subspecialty in fetal medicine in Italy and Belgium. He then undertook a masters in public health (health policy and management) at Harvard University. Before his three daughters were killed in January 2009 during the Israeli incursion into Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish worked as a researcher at the Gertner Institute at the Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. He now lives with his family in Toronto, where he is an associate professor at the Dala Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. His memoir, I Shall Not Hate, was a national bestseller and a Globe and Mail Best Book of 2010.
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Izzeldin Abuelaish, MD, MPH, is a Palestinian physician and infertility expert who was born and raised in the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. He received a scholarship to study medicine in Cairo, Egypt, and then received a diploma from the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of London. He completed a residency in the same discipline at Soroka University hospital in Israel, followed by a subspecialty in fetal medicine in Italy and Belgium. He then undertook a masters in public health (health policy and management) at Harvard University. Before his three daughters were killed in January 2009 during the Israeli incursion into Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish worked as a researcher at the Gertner Institute at the Sheba Hospital in Tel Aviv. He now lives with his family in Toronto, where he is an associate professor at the Dala Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. His memoir, I Shall Not Hate, was a national bestseller and a Globe and Mail Best Book of 2010.
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Photo © Okey Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria, where she attended medical school for two years at the University of Nigeria before coming to the United States. A 2003 O. Henry Prize winner, Adichie was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards, and has appeared in various literary publications, including Zoetrope and the Iowa Review. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and longlisted for the Booker. She now divides her time between the U.S. and Nigeria. Her most recent releases are the acclaimed Half of a Yellow Sun, winner of the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction, and The Thing Around Your Neck, finalist for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book.
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Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in Nigeria, where she attended medical school for two years at the University of Nigeria before coming to the United States. A 2003 O. Henry Prize winner, Adichie was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards, and has appeared in various literary publications, including Zoetrope and the Iowa Review. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus, was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, and longlisted for the Booker. She now divides her time between the U.S. and Nigeria. Her most recent releases are the acclaimed Half of a Yellow Sun, winner of the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction, and The Thing Around Your Neck, finalist for the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for Best Book.
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Photo © J.D. Sloan
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong's first book, the bestselling Through the Narrow Gate, described her seven years as a nun in a Roman Catholic order. She has since published numerous bestselling books, including A History of God, Islam: A Short History, Buddha, The Spiral Staircase and most recently Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. She is a freelance writer and she lives in London.
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Karen Armstrong's first book, the bestselling Through the Narrow Gate, described her seven years as a nun in a Roman Catholic order. She has since published numerous bestselling books, including A History of God, Islam: A Short History, Buddha, The Spiral Staircase and most recently Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life. She is a freelance writer and she lives in London.
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Photo © Andrew Stawicki: PhotoSensitive
James Bartleman
James Bartleman rose from humble circumstances in Port Carling, Ontario, to become Foreign Policy Advisor to the right PM Chrétien in 1994. After a distinguished career of more than thirty-five years in the Canadian foreign service, in 2002 he became the first Native Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. He is the author of the prize-winning memoir Out of Muskoka. His latest novel, As Long as the Rivers Flow, is published by Knopf Canada.
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James Bartleman rose from humble circumstances in Port Carling, Ontario, to become Foreign Policy Advisor to the right PM Chrétien in 1994. After a distinguished career of more than thirty-five years in the Canadian foreign service, in 2002 he became the first Native Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. He is the author of the prize-winning memoir Out of Muskoka. His latest novel, As Long as the Rivers Flow, is published by Knopf Canada.
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Dave Bidini
A respected musician, Dave Bidini has made a terrific name for himself as a writer with the success of his books The Best Game You Can Name, Baseballissimo, On a Cold Road, and Tropic of Hockey. Bidini wrote and hosted the Gemini Award-winning small-screen adaptation of Tropic of Hockey, called Hockey Nomad, which was first broadcast in January, 2003. His most recent book is Home and Away: In Search of Dreams at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer.
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A respected musician, Dave Bidini has made a terrific name for himself as a writer with the success of his books The Best Game You Can Name, Baseballissimo, On a Cold Road, and Tropic of Hockey. Bidini wrote and hosted the Gemini Award-winning small-screen adaptation of Tropic of Hockey, called Hockey Nomad, which was first broadcast in January, 2003. His most recent book is Home and Away: In Search of Dreams at the Homeless World Cup of Soccer.
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Big Al's Kitchen Party
Big Al's Kitchen Party is one-third Newfoundlander, two-thirds Nova Scotian, dealing in old-country, bluegrass-influenced drinking tunes that the band members grew up learning to play at house parties in the back country. Marcel Aucoin (piano and accordion) doubles as a jazz sideman with various Toronto ensembles, Eric Lahey (vocals, guitar) also sings baritone with Forte, an award-winning men's chorus, and Dwayne Gale (vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo) currently plays with the band Lazybones.
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Big Al's Kitchen Party is one-third Newfoundlander, two-thirds Nova Scotian, dealing in old-country, bluegrass-influenced drinking tunes that the band members grew up learning to play at house parties in the back country. Marcel Aucoin (piano and accordion) doubles as a jazz sideman with various Toronto ensembles, Eric Lahey (vocals, guitar) also sings baritone with Forte, an award-winning men's chorus, and Dwayne Gale (vocals, guitar, mandolin, banjo) currently plays with the band Lazybones.
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The Billie Hollies
The Billie Hollies are Julia Hambleton, Donna Linklater, Coralie Martens and Janet Morassutti. Their music, combining enticing vocals and rich arrangements, has been called "an expression of classic femininity and a kind of eerie beauty." (Tom Powers, CBC Deep Roots)
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The Billie Hollies are Julia Hambleton, Donna Linklater, Coralie Martens and Janet Morassutti. Their music, combining enticing vocals and rich arrangements, has been called "an expression of classic femininity and a kind of eerie beauty." (Tom Powers, CBC Deep Roots)
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Photo © courtesy of the author
Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall
Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall's first book was an account of the year he spent in deep cover, living with the homeless in Toronto's infamous Tent City. Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown was nominated for the 2005 Pearson Writers' Trust of Canada Non-Fiction Prize, the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, the Trillium Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. The following year, he was awarded the Knowlton Nash Journalism Fellowship at Massey College and also played the role of Jason - a bad-mannered, well-dressed journalist - on CBC-TV's The Newsroom. He currently teaches writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. His first novel, Ghosted, was published in 2010 as part of the New Face of Fiction program.
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Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall's first book was an account of the year he spent in deep cover, living with the homeless in Toronto's infamous Tent City. Down to This: Squalor and Splendour in a Big-City Shantytown was nominated for the 2005 Pearson Writers' Trust of Canada Non-Fiction Prize, the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, the Trillium Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. The following year, he was awarded the Knowlton Nash Journalism Fellowship at Massey College and also played the role of Jason - a bad-mannered, well-dressed journalist - on CBC-TV's The Newsroom. He currently teaches writing at the University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies. His first novel, Ghosted, was published in 2010 as part of the New Face of Fiction program.
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Photo © John Barber
Ian Brown
Ian Brown is an author and a feature writer for The Globe and Mail whose work has won a total of nine Gold National Magazine and National Newspaper awards. He is the host of CBC Radio's Talking Books, as well as the anchor of TVO's two documentary series, Human Edge and The View from Here. He is also the author of the bestselling and award-winning The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son.
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Ian Brown is an author and a feature writer for The Globe and Mail whose work has won a total of nine Gold National Magazine and National Newspaper awards. He is the host of CBC Radio's Talking Books, as well as the anchor of TVO's two documentary series, Human Edge and The View from Here. He is also the author of the bestselling and award-winning The Boy in the Moon: A Father's Search for His Disabled Son.
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Photo © Peter Tym
Stephen Brunt
A columnist for the Globe and Mail, Stephen Brunt is Canada's premier sportswriter and commentator. In addition to the national number one bestseller Searching for Bobby Orr, he is also the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Gretzky's Tears and Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario and Winterhouse Brook, Nfld.
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A columnist for the Globe and Mail, Stephen Brunt is Canada's premier sportswriter and commentator. In addition to the national number one bestseller Searching for Bobby Orr, he is also the author of the acclaimed bestsellers Gretzky's Tears and Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario and Winterhouse Brook, Nfld.
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Jim Bryson
Jim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his latest album, The Occasionals in 2000.
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Jim Bryson is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Briefly a founding member of the band Punchbuggy, he moved to a musical life under his own name with the release of his latest album, The Occasionals in 2000.
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The Burning Hell (Mathias Kom)
A singer-songwrter and ukulele-singer who just turned thirty-three but only looks thirty-two, Mathias Kom spends most of his time on the road, playing music across Canada, Europe and Israel. Whether with his folk orchestra The Burning Hell, with Kim Barlow as Spring Breakup, or all by his lonesome, Kom continues to win hearts and ears with his tragicomic baritone tales of woe and whimsy.
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A singer-songwrter and ukulele-singer who just turned thirty-three but only looks thirty-two, Mathias Kom spends most of his time on the road, playing music across Canada, Europe and Israel. Whether with his folk orchestra The Burning Hell, with Kim Barlow as Spring Breakup, or all by his lonesome, Kom continues to win hearts and ears with his tragicomic baritone tales of woe and whimsy.
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Photo © Gasper Tringale
Justin Cronin
Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is the author of The Summer Guest - a Booksense national bestseller - and Mary and O'Neil, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize, both for best debut fiction of the year. Other honours for his writing include a Whiting Writer's Award, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pew Foundation, the National Novella Award, and an Individual Artist's Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His short fiction, book reviews and essays have appeared in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. He is a Professor of English at Rice University and lives with his family in Houston, Texas. His latest novel is the international bestselling sensation, The Passage.
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Born and raised in New England, Justin Cronin is the author of The Summer Guest - a Booksense national bestseller - and Mary and O'Neil, which won the PEN/Hemingway Award and the Stephen Crane Prize, both for best debut fiction of the year. Other honours for his writing include a Whiting Writer's Award, fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Pew Foundation, the National Novella Award, and an Individual Artist's Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His short fiction, book reviews and essays have appeared in the Washington Post and the Boston Globe. He is a Professor of English at Rice University and lives with his family in Houston, Texas. His latest novel is the international bestselling sensation, The Passage.
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Photo © Mo Pho
Michael Crummey
Michael Crummey was born in Buchans, a mining town in the interior of Newfoundland. He is the author of three books of poetry, a book of short stories, and three novels, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted River Thieves and the bestselling The Wreckage. His most recent novel is the Governor General's Award-nominated Galore.
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Michael Crummey was born in Buchans, a mining town in the interior of Newfoundland. He is the author of three books of poetry, a book of short stories, and three novels, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize-shortlisted River Thieves and the bestselling The Wreckage. His most recent novel is the Governor General's Award-nominated Galore.
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Photo © Jean-Marc Carisse
Roméo Dallaire
Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire joined the Canadian army in 1964. Upon his return from serving as Force Commander of the UN mission to Rwanda, he served as Commander of the 1st Canadian Division and Deputy-Commander of the Canadian Army. Promoted to Three-Star General, he was appointed to various senior positions including Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources-Military) in the Ministry of Defence. He continues to assist the Canadian Forces and Veterans' Affairs in matters related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. General Dallaire was medically released from the Armed Forces in April 2000 due to PTSD, and is now Special Adviser to the Canadian Government on War Affected Children and the Prohibition of Small Arms Distribution. He is the author of Shake Hands with the Devil and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. He is married and the father of three children.
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Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire joined the Canadian army in 1964. Upon his return from serving as Force Commander of the UN mission to Rwanda, he served as Commander of the 1st Canadian Division and Deputy-Commander of the Canadian Army. Promoted to Three-Star General, he was appointed to various senior positions including Assistant Deputy Minister (Human Resources-Military) in the Ministry of Defence. He continues to assist the Canadian Forces and Veterans' Affairs in matters related to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. General Dallaire was medically released from the Armed Forces in April 2000 due to PTSD, and is now Special Adviser to the Canadian Government on War Affected Children and the Prohibition of Small Arms Distribution. He is the author of Shake Hands with the Devil and They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children. He is married and the father of three children.
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John Doyle
John Doyle has been a critic for the Globe and Mail since 1997 and has written the Globe's daily television column since 2000. His first book, the memoir A Great Feast of Light, was published to great acclaim in the US, UK, and Canada. His most recent book is the national bestseller The World is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer. John Doyle lives in Toronto.
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John Doyle has been a critic for the Globe and Mail since 1997 and has written the Globe's daily television column since 2000. His first book, the memoir A Great Feast of Light, was published to great acclaim in the US, UK, and Canada. His most recent book is the national bestseller The World is a Ball: The Joy, Madness and Meaning of Soccer. John Doyle lives in Toronto.
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Eric Friesen
Eric Friesen is a veteran broadcaster, writer and speaker on music and culture. On CBC Radio, he hosted such programs as Studio Sparks, In Performance, and Onstage at Glenn Gould Studio. He has recently completed 9 podcast documentaries called Eric Friesen Presents for www.artsalive.ca, marking the 40th anniversary of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He is an Honorary Governor of Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall, and chairs the Board of the Kingston WritersFest and the Advisory Committee to the Dept of English, University of Waterloo.
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Eric Friesen is a veteran broadcaster, writer and speaker on music and culture. On CBC Radio, he hosted such programs as Studio Sparks, In Performance, and Onstage at Glenn Gould Studio. He has recently completed 9 podcast documentaries called Eric Friesen Presents for www.artsalive.ca, marking the 40th anniversary of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He is an Honorary Governor of Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall, and chairs the Board of the Kingston WritersFest and the Advisory Committee to the Dept of English, University of Waterloo.
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Photo © George Whiteside
Camilla Gibb
Camilla Gibb was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Oxford University. Sweetness in the Belly was a national bestseller, a Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist, and winner of the Trillium Award. Her novels have been translated into fourteen languages and published to rave reviews around the world. Her latest novel is The Beauty of Humanity Movement. Camilla Gibb lives in Toronto.
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Camilla Gibb was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto. She has a Ph.D. in social anthropology from Oxford University. Sweetness in the Belly was a national bestseller, a Scotiabank Giller Prize finalist, and winner of the Trillium Award. Her novels have been translated into fourteen languages and published to rave reviews around the world. Her latest novel is The Beauty of Humanity Movement. Camilla Gibb lives in Toronto.
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Photo © Beverly Hall
James Gleick
James Gleick is our leading chronicler of science and modern technology. His first book, Chaos, a National Book Award finalist, has been translated into twenty-five languages. His bestselling biographies, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman and Isaac Newton, were short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize. His new book, The Information (available March 2011) was seven years in the making. Gleick divides his time between New York and Florida.
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James Gleick is our leading chronicler of science and modern technology. His first book, Chaos, a National Book Award finalist, has been translated into twenty-five languages. His bestselling biographies, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman and Isaac Newton, were short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize. His new book, The Information (available March 2011) was seven years in the making. Gleick divides his time between New York and Florida.
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Photo © 2005 Eamon McCabe
John Gray, Ph.D.
John Gray is Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics. From 1998 to 2007 he was Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics. He is the acclaimed author of Black Mass: How Religion Led the World into Crisis, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals, False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism, Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings and the forthcoming The Immortalization Commission (April 2011).
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John Gray is Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics. From 1998 to 2007 he was Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics. He is the acclaimed author of Black Mass: How Religion Led the World into Crisis, Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals, False Dawn: The Delusions of Global Capitalism, Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings and the forthcoming The Immortalization Commission (April 2011).
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Farzana Hassan
Farzana Hassan is a well-known writer and commentator on Islam and Muslim issues. She has a master's in political science from the University of the Punjab, Lahore , an MBA from the University of Massachusetts , and a doctorate in education from the University of Phoenix . She is a contributor to Thara magazine, the largest English publication on women's issues in Syria, and has previously authored two books on religion. Her most recent publication, entitled Prophecy and the Fundamentalist Quest, is a comparative study of Christian and Muslim apocalyptic religion.
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Farzana Hassan is a well-known writer and commentator on Islam and Muslim issues. She has a master's in political science from the University of the Punjab, Lahore , an MBA from the University of Massachusetts , and a doctorate in education from the University of Phoenix . She is a contributor to Thara magazine, the largest English publication on women's issues in Syria, and has previously authored two books on religion. Her most recent publication, entitled Prophecy and the Fundamentalist Quest, is a comparative study of Christian and Muslim apocalyptic religion.
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Photo © Holly Pagnacco
Thomas Homer-Dixon
Thomas Homer-Dixon holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, and is a Professor in the Centre for Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo. He has a PhD in international relations and defense and arms control policy from MIT. His books include the national bestseller Carbon Shift (co-editor), the #1 national bestseller and National Business Book Award-winning The Upside of Down, and the #1 national bestseller and Governor General's Literary Award-winning The Ingenuity Gap.
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Thomas Homer-Dixon holds the Centre for International Governance Innovation Chair of Global Systems at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, and is a Professor in the Centre for Environment and Business in the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo. He has a PhD in international relations and defense and arms control policy from MIT. His books include the national bestseller Carbon Shift (co-editor), the #1 national bestseller and National Business Book Award-winning The Upside of Down, and the #1 national bestseller and Governor General's Literary Award-winning The Ingenuity Gap.
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Photo © John Lewis
Mary Ito
Mary is the host of CBC Radio's Fresh Air and has had a long history of broadcasting. She previously hosted CBC's Living in Toronto, TVO's More to Life and Second Opinion, Global TV's Health Matters, and reported for CFTO-TV and CFRB radio. Mary is active in the community with a particular interest in health. She has volunteered her services for many organizations including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the MS Society of Ontario, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Toronto Public Library and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. She lives with her husband and three children in Toronto.
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Mary is the host of CBC Radio's Fresh Air and has had a long history of broadcasting. She previously hosted CBC's Living in Toronto, TVO's More to Life and Second Opinion, Global TV's Health Matters, and reported for CFTO-TV and CFRB radio. Mary is active in the community with a particular interest in health. She has volunteered her services for many organizations including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, the MS Society of Ontario, the Hospital for Sick Children, the Toronto Public Library and the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. She lives with her husband and three children in Toronto.
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Photo © Ariel Kushner Haber
Rabbi Harold Kushner
Harold S. Kushner is rabbi laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts, where he lives. His classic work, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, was an international best seller. He was honored by the Christophers, a Roman Catholic organization, as one of the fifty people who have made the world a better place in the last half century, and by the national organization Religion in American Life as clergyman of the year in 1999.
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Harold S. Kushner is rabbi laureate of Temple Israel in Natick, Massachusetts, where he lives. His classic work, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, was an international best seller. He was honored by the Christophers, a Roman Catholic organization, as one of the fifty people who have made the world a better place in the last half century, and by the national organization Religion in American Life as clergyman of the year in 1999.
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Photo © Jonathan Sprague
Jaron Lanier
Jaron Lanier is known as the father of virtual reality technology and has worked on the interface between computer science and medicine, physics, and neuroscience. He is the author of You Are Not a Gadget and he lives in Berkeley, California. Visit the author's website at www.jaronlanier.com.
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Jaron Lanier is known as the father of virtual reality technology and has worked on the interface between computer science and medicine, physics, and neuroscience. He is the author of You Are Not a Gadget and he lives in Berkeley, California. Visit the author's website at www.jaronlanier.com.
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Martin Levin
Martin Levin is Books editor of The Globe and Mail in Toronto, where he formerly wrote a column on ideas. He has written about music for the Times Literary Supplement, Toronto Life and others. He is a contributor to five books, most recently essays for two collections on commitmentphobia for What I Meant to Say - and on the birth of his first son for Great Expectations and has begun working on a book on suicide.
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Martin Levin is Books editor of The Globe and Mail in Toronto, where he formerly wrote a column on ideas. He has written about music for the Times Literary Supplement, Toronto Life and others. He is a contributor to five books, most recently essays for two collections on commitmentphobia for What I Meant to Say - and on the birth of his first son for Great Expectations and has begun working on a book on suicide.
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Helen Mann
Helen Mann is a seasoned journalist who has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for more than 20 years. Helen is a senior writer for CBC News Network, and is a frequent guest host on CBC Radio for programs such as The Sunday Edition and As It Happens. Her past experience includes anchoring for CBC Newsworld, Newsworld International and CBC Canada Now: Edmonton. Helen was educated at the University of Toronto and York University.
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Helen Mann is a seasoned journalist who has worked for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for more than 20 years. Helen is a senior writer for CBC News Network, and is a frequent guest host on CBC Radio for programs such as The Sunday Edition and As It Happens. Her past experience includes anchoring for CBC Newsworld, Newsworld International and CBC Canada Now: Edmonton. Helen was educated at the University of Toronto and York University.
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Photo © Dave Chan
Paul Martin
Paul Martin was born in Windsor in 1938 and educated at the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto. In 1965, he earned his LL.B and married Sheila, with whom he had three sons. After a successful business career as Chairman and CEO of Canada Steamship Lines he entered politics as a Liberal M.P. in 1988. After running for the leadership of the party he became minister of finance from 1993 till 2001, becoming prime minister in 2003. He resigned as party leader after the 2006 election, but continues to work in the public sphere. His memoir, Hell or High Water, was a national bestseller.
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Paul Martin was born in Windsor in 1938 and educated at the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto. In 1965, he earned his LL.B and married Sheila, with whom he had three sons. After a successful business career as Chairman and CEO of Canada Steamship Lines he entered politics as a Liberal M.P. in 1988. After running for the leadership of the party he became minister of finance from 1993 till 2001, becoming prime minister in 2003. He resigned as party leader after the 2006 election, but continues to work in the public sphere. His memoir, Hell or High Water, was a national bestseller.
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Photo © George Whiteside
Roger Martin
Prof. Roger Martin is Dean of the Rotman School of Management, U of Toronto. His research work is in Integrative Thinking, Business Design, Corporate Social Responsibility and Country Competitiveness. He has published three books: The Design of Business (Harvard Business School Press, 2009), The Opposable Mind (Harvard Business School Press, 2007) and The Responsibility Virus (Basic Books, 2002). He also co-wrote (with Mihnea Moldoveanu) The Future of the MBA (Oxford University Press, 2008) and Diaminds (Rotman/University of Toronto Press, 2009). His fourth book Fixing the Game: How Runaway Expectations Broke the Economy and How to Get Back to Reality will be published in May 2011 by Harvard Business Review Press.
In 2010, he was named one of the 27 most influential designers in the world by Business Week. In 2009, he was named by The Times (of London) and Forbes.com as one of the 50 top management thinkers in the world (#32). In 2007 he was named a Business Week 'B-School All-Star' for being one of the 10 most influential business professors in the world. Business Week also named him one of seven 'Innovation Gurus' in 2005, and in 2004, he won the Marshall McLuhan Visionary Leadership Award.
He serves on the Boards of Thomson Reuters Corporation, Research in Motion, The Skoll Foundation, and the Canadian Credit Management Foundation. He serves as Chair of Tennis Canada and the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress.
A Canadian from Wallenstein, Ontario, Roger received his AB from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, in 1979 and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981.
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Prof. Roger Martin is Dean of the Rotman School of Management, U of Toronto. His research work is in Integrative Thinking, Business Design, Corporate Social Responsibility and Country Competitiveness. He has published three books: The Design of Business (Harvard Business School Press, 2009), The Opposable Mind (Harvard Business School Press, 2007) and The Responsibility Virus (Basic Books, 2002). He also co-wrote (with Mihnea Moldoveanu) The Future of the MBA (Oxford University Press, 2008) and Diaminds (Rotman/University of Toronto Press, 2009). His fourth book Fixing the Game: How Runaway Expectations Broke the Economy and How to Get Back to Reality will be published in May 2011 by Harvard Business Review Press.
In 2010, he was named one of the 27 most influential designers in the world by Business Week. In 2009, he was named by The Times (of London) and Forbes.com as one of the 50 top management thinkers in the world (#32). In 2007 he was named a Business Week 'B-School All-Star' for being one of the 10 most influential business professors in the world. Business Week also named him one of seven 'Innovation Gurus' in 2005, and in 2004, he won the Marshall McLuhan Visionary Leadership Award.
He serves on the Boards of Thomson Reuters Corporation, Research in Motion, The Skoll Foundation, and the Canadian Credit Management Foundation. He serves as Chair of Tennis Canada and the Ontario Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress.
A Canadian from Wallenstein, Ontario, Roger received his AB from Harvard College, with a concentration in Economics, in 1979 and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1981.
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Photo © Ivan Otis
Selina Martin
Selina Martin is a Toronto-based art pop siren with a striking ear for melody, a gigantic stage presence, and an unforgettable voice. On top of it all, she's an incredibly high calibre songwriter with a deft and dexterous hand who has mastered the art of combining the deeply personal with the brightly accessible. She has independently released 3 critically acclaimed CD's: Space Woman, Life Drawing Without Instruction, and Disaster Fantasies, as well as a collaborative recording with Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, Ford Pier and Barry Mirochnick based on stories from Bidini's book, Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica. Her most recent release, Disaster Fantasies, is a fierce collection of genre-defying tunes variously described by music writers as "smart", "vivid", "brave", "masterful", "reckless", "must-hear", and "without question the most underrated Canadian album of the year".
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Selina Martin is a Toronto-based art pop siren with a striking ear for melody, a gigantic stage presence, and an unforgettable voice. On top of it all, she's an incredibly high calibre songwriter with a deft and dexterous hand who has mastered the art of combining the deeply personal with the brightly accessible. She has independently released 3 critically acclaimed CD's: Space Woman, Life Drawing Without Instruction, and Disaster Fantasies, as well as a collaborative recording with Dave Bidini, Martin Tielli, Ford Pier and Barry Mirochnick based on stories from Bidini's book, Five Hole: Tales of Hockey Erotica. Her most recent release, Disaster Fantasies, is a fierce collection of genre-defying tunes variously described by music writers as "smart", "vivid", "brave", "masterful", "reckless", "must-hear", and "without question the most underrated Canadian album of the year".
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Photo © Michael Lionstar
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit his website at www.alexandermccallsmith.com.
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Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the international phenomenon The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, the Isabel Dalhousie Series, the Portuguese Irregular Verbs series, and the 44 Scotland Street series. He is professor emeritus of medical law at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and has served on many national and international bodies concerned with bioethics. He was born in what is now known as Zimbabwe and he was a law professor at the University of Botswana. He lives in Scotland. Visit his website at www.alexandermccallsmith.com.
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Photo © Lili Iravani
Azar Nafisi
Azar Nafisi is a visiting professor and the director of the Dialogue Project at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She has taught Western literature at the University of Tehran, the Free Islamic University, and the University of Allameh Tabatabai in Iran. In 1981 she was expelled from the University of Tehran after refusing to wear the veil. In 1994 she won a teaching fellowship from Oxford University, and in 1997 she and her family left Iran for America. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. She is also the bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I've Been Silent About. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children.
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Azar Nafisi is a visiting professor and the director of the Dialogue Project at the Foreign Policy Institute of Johns Hopkins University. She has taught Western literature at the University of Tehran, the Free Islamic University, and the University of Allameh Tabatabai in Iran. In 1981 she was expelled from the University of Tehran after refusing to wear the veil. In 1994 she won a teaching fellowship from Oxford University, and in 1997 she and her family left Iran for America. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The New Republic and has appeared on countless radio and television programs. She is also the bestselling author of Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I've Been Silent About. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children.
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Seamus O'Regan
Seamus O'Regan is the co-host of CTV's Canada AM, and host of Arts & Minds and The O'Regan Files on Bravo! He has interviewed newsmakers, celebrities and four former Prime Ministers. Three times, he has hosted the Giller Prize, Canadian fiction's most coveted literary award, and in 2010 he was a member of CTV's Olympic Morning's team, based in Whistler, for the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. In 2007, O'Regan became the first journalist to be named to Canada's Top 40 Under 40. In 1999, he was named to Maclean's magazine's 100 "Young Canadians to Watch". He has been twice nominated for a Gemini Award - in 2004 for the Viewers' Choice Award and in 2005 for Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series.
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Seamus O'Regan is the co-host of CTV's Canada AM, and host of Arts & Minds and The O'Regan Files on Bravo! He has interviewed newsmakers, celebrities and four former Prime Ministers. Three times, he has hosted the Giller Prize, Canadian fiction's most coveted literary award, and in 2010 he was a member of CTV's Olympic Morning's team, based in Whistler, for the Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. In 2007, O'Regan became the first journalist to be named to Canada's Top 40 Under 40. In 1999, he was named to Maclean's magazine's 100 "Young Canadians to Watch". He has been twice nominated for a Gemini Award - in 2004 for the Viewers' Choice Award and in 2005 for Best Host or Interviewer in a News Information Program or Series.
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Photo © Kevin Kelly Photography
Carol Off
Carol Off is the host of As It Happens, one of CBC Radio's flagship programs. Her most recent book, Bitter Chocolate, was a finalist for both the Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing and the National Business Book Award. Her other books include The Lion, The Fox and the Eagle, and The Ghosts of Medak Pocket. She is the vice-president of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
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Carol Off is the host of As It Happens, one of CBC Radio's flagship programs. Her most recent book, Bitter Chocolate, was a finalist for both the Shaughnessy Cohen Award for Political Writing and the National Business Book Award. Her other books include The Lion, The Fox and the Eagle, and The Ghosts of Medak Pocket. She is the vice-president of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression.
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Photo © Michael Cullen
James Orbinski
James Orbinski was the International President of Médecins sans Frontières in 1999 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a Research Scientist and Associate Professor at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. He is the founder of the Drugs for Negelected Diseases Initiative, a not-for-profit pharmaceutical research and development entity focused on the diseases of the South. He recently founded Dignitas, an organization focused on community-based treatment, care and prevention of HIV in the developing world. Dr. Orbinski lectures internationally on humanitarianism and global health. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed national bestseller An Imperfect Offering.
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James Orbinski was the International President of Médecins sans Frontières in 1999 when it was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a Research Scientist and Associate Professor at St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto. He is the founder of the Drugs for Negelected Diseases Initiative, a not-for-profit pharmaceutical research and development entity focused on the diseases of the South. He recently founded Dignitas, an organization focused on community-based treatment, care and prevention of HIV in the developing world. Dr. Orbinski lectures internationally on humanitarianism and global health. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed national bestseller An Imperfect Offering.
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Valerie Pringle
Valerie Pringle is one of Canada's best known and most respected broadcasters. She hosted CBC's news and current affairs program MIDDAY and then moved to CTV to co-host Canada AM and W-5. Valerie has co-produced and hosted several documentaries and series for Discovery Channel, Vision, CTV and CBC including Valerie Pringle Has Left the Building, Test of Faith and The Canadian Antique Roadshow. She is very active in many not-for-profit Boards and Foundations including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Trans Canada Trail. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2006 for her contributions to the communications field and her volunteer work.
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Valerie Pringle is one of Canada's best known and most respected broadcasters. She hosted CBC's news and current affairs program MIDDAY and then moved to CTV to co-host Canada AM and W-5. Valerie has co-produced and hosted several documentaries and series for Discovery Channel, Vision, CTV and CBC including Valerie Pringle Has Left the Building, Test of Faith and The Canadian Antique Roadshow. She is very active in many not-for-profit Boards and Foundations including the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Trans Canada Trail. She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2006 for her contributions to the communications field and her volunteer work.
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Photo © Elena Seibert
Bernhard Schlink
Bernhard Schlink was born in Germany. He is the author of The Weekend, as well as the internationally bestselling novels The Reader and Homecoming, as well as the collection of short stories Flights of Love and four prizewinning crime novels - The Gordian Knot, Self's Deception, Self's Punishment, and Self's Murder. He lives in Berlin and New York.
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Bernhard Schlink was born in Germany. He is the author of The Weekend, as well as the internationally bestselling novels The Reader and Homecoming, as well as the collection of short stories Flights of Love and four prizewinning crime novels - The Gordian Knot, Self's Deception, Self's Punishment, and Self's Murder. He lives in Berlin and New York.
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Photo © Ric Young
Lee Smolin
Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist specializing in quantum gravity who, with Abhay Ashtekar and Carlo Rovelli, founded the approach known as loop quantum gravity. A graduate of Harvard, he has taught at Princeton and Yale, before moving to Canada in 2001 as one of the founding members of the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo. His books include: Life of the Cosmos, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity and The Trouble with Physics. He lives in Toronto
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Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist specializing in quantum gravity who, with Abhay Ashtekar and Carlo Rovelli, founded the approach known as loop quantum gravity. A graduate of Harvard, he has taught at Princeton and Yale, before moving to Canada in 2001 as one of the founding members of the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo. His books include: Life of the Cosmos, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity and The Trouble with Physics. He lives in Toronto
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Photo © Thomas King
Drew Hayden Taylor
An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations, Drew Hayden Taylor has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to lecturing at the British Museum on the films of Sherman Alexie. Over the last two decades, he has been an award-winning playwright (with over seventy productions of his work), a journalist/columnist (with a column in several newspapers across the country), short-story writer, novelist and scriptwriter (The Beachcombers, North of Sixty, etc.), and has worked on seventeen documentaries exploring the Native experience. In 2007, Annick Press published his first children's novel, The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel, a teen story about an Ojibway vampire. Last year, his non-fiction book exploring the world of Native sexuality, called Me Sexy, was published by Douglas & McIntyre. It is a follow-up to his highly successful book on Native humour, Me Funny. His first novel, Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, was published in March 2010.
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An Ojibway from the Curve Lake First Nations, Drew Hayden Taylor has worn many hats in his literary career, from performing stand-up comedy at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to lecturing at the British Museum on the films of Sherman Alexie. Over the last two decades, he has been an award-winning playwright (with over seventy productions of his work), a journalist/columnist (with a column in several newspapers across the country), short-story writer, novelist and scriptwriter (The Beachcombers, North of Sixty, etc.), and has worked on seventeen documentaries exploring the Native experience. In 2007, Annick Press published his first children's novel, The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel, a teen story about an Ojibway vampire. Last year, his non-fiction book exploring the world of Native sexuality, called Me Sexy, was published by Douglas & McIntyre. It is a follow-up to his highly successful book on Native humour, Me Funny. His first novel, Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, was published in March 2010.
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Photo © Carol Loewen
Miriam Toews
Miriam Toews is the author of four novels: Summer of My Amazing Luck; A Boy of Good Breeding; A Complicated Kindness (winner of the 2004 Governor's General Award for fiction) and The Flying Troutmans and work of non-fiction: Swing Low: A Life. She lives in Winnipeg. Her latest novel is Irma Voth, published in April 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Miriam Toews is the author of four novels: Summer of My Amazing Luck; A Boy of Good Breeding; A Complicated Kindness (winner of the 2004 Governor's General Award for fiction) and The Flying Troutmans and work of non-fiction: Swing Low: A Life. She lives in Winnipeg. Her latest novel is Irma Voth, published in April 2011 by Knopf Canada.
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Photo © Elsa Trillat
Jane Urquhart
Jane Urquhart is the author of six internationally acclaimed novels: The Whirlpool, Changing Heaven, Away, The Underpainter, The Stone Carvers, and A Map of Glass. She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, three books of poetry, and recently a short biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery for the Extraordinary Canadians series. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award and the Harbourfront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her latest novel is Sanctuary Line, released in August 2010.
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Jane Urquhart is the author of six internationally acclaimed novels: The Whirlpool, Changing Heaven, Away, The Underpainter, The Stone Carvers, and A Map of Glass. She is also the author of a collection of short fiction, Storm Glass, three books of poetry, and recently a short biography of Lucy Maud Montgomery for the Extraordinary Canadians series. Urquhart has received the Marian Engel Award and the Harbourfront Festival Prize, and is a Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in France and an Officer of the Order of Canada. Her latest novel is Sanctuary Line, released in August 2010.
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Photo © Stephen Double
Irvine Welsh
Irvine Welsh is the author of 10 previous works of fiction, including the worldwide bestsellers Trainspotting, Glue, Ecstasy and most recently Crime. He currently lives in Dublin.
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Irvine Welsh is the author of 10 previous works of fiction, including the worldwide bestsellers Trainspotting, Glue, Ecstasy and most recently Crime. He currently lives in Dublin.
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Photo © Mikiko Hayashi
Tim Wu
Tim Wu is an author, a policy advocate, and a professor at Columbia University. In 2006, he was recognized as one of fifty leaders in science and technology by Scientific American magazine, and in the following year, 01238 magazine listed him as one of Harvard's one hundred most influential graduates. He writes for Slate, where he won the Lowell Thomas gold medal for travel journalism, and he has contributed to The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Forbes. He is a fellow of the New America Foundation, the chairman of the media reform organization Free Press and the author of The Master Switch. He lives in New York.
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Tim Wu is an author, a policy advocate, and a professor at Columbia University. In 2006, he was recognized as one of fifty leaders in science and technology by Scientific American magazine, and in the following year, 01238 magazine listed him as one of Harvard's one hundred most influential graduates. He writes for Slate, where he won the Lowell Thomas gold medal for travel journalism, and he has contributed to The New Yorker, Time, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Forbes. He is a fellow of the New America Foundation, the chairman of the media reform organization Free Press and the author of The Master Switch. He lives in New York.
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