Enjoy Vaughan Bookfest Sept. 28

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 18, 2014
By Simone Joseph

Meet local authors, take part in writing workshops, enjoy children’s activities and view a display of edible books.

If you are a bibliophile or even a tad interested in authors and books, you are in luck.

Vaughan Public Libraries hosts its first-ever Bookfest Sunday, Sept. 28, 1 to 4 p.m. at Dufferin Clark Library in Thornhill.

Bookfest is part of the 2014 Vaughan Culture Days event, a two-day celebration of arts and culture across Vaughan.

At Bookfest, you can meet and greet more than 30 local authors.

Enjoy a special presentation by award-winning author Don Gillmor and bestselling children’s author Helaine Becker.

Trade in your used books at the Book Swap.

Enjoy activities for kids all afternoon, including Family Storytime at 2 and 3 p.m. or participate in a story mob centred around the Robert Munsch book The Paper Bag Princess at 3:30 p.m.

Story mobs are a combination of great children’s books crossed with flash mobs. You can participate in a story mob in different ways, including wearing or creating costumes and props, helping with choreography and playing musical instruments and vocal parts.

Go to storymobs.ca/ for more on story mobs.

The afternoon will also feature writer workshops.

Don Gillmor, author of Mount Pleasant, a novel set in contemporary Toronto, speaks at 1:30 p.m. His first novel Kanata dealt with the whole of Canadian history and was critically acclaimed. He is also the author of a two-volume history of Canada called Canada: A People’s History, and three other books of non-fiction, The Desire of Every Living Thing, Stratford Behind the Scenes, and I Swear by Apollo.

He has written nine books for children, two of which were nominated for a Governor General’s Award. He has worked as a journalist and was a senior editor at Walrus magazine, and a contributing editor at both Saturday Night and Toronto Life magazine. He has won 10 National Magazine Awards among other honours.

Helaine Becker speaks at 2:30 p.m. Becker is an award-winning writer of children’s books. She has written more than 50 books, including the best-selling picture book, A Porcupine in a Pine Tree and the Looney Bay All-Stars series. She has also written popular non-fiction, including Magic Up Your Sleeve, Secret Agent Y.O.U. and The Quiz Book for Girls as well as young adult novels, including Trouble in the Hills and How to Survive Absolutely Anything. She also writes for children’s magazines and TV.

For more information on Vaughan Public Library’s programs and services, visit vaughanpl.info or go to vaughan.ca/services/cultural/CultureDays/ for more on Vaughan Culture Days.