Media advisory: Prize-winning authors pick up Mordecai Richler’s torch

Kathleen Winter and Louis Hamelin in conversation as the first Mordecai Richler Writers-in-Residence, with guest speaker Noah Richler and a retrospective of Aislin’s Richler cartoons

On Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, multiple award-winning Canadian authors Kathleen Winter and Louis Hamelin will be on stage and in conversation, in celebration of the newly launched McGill Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence Program.

Novelist and journalist Louis Hamelin carved a unique and important voice in Quebec and Canadian literature in 1989 with his Governor General’s award-winning first novel, La Rage. He has since written eight books, including La Constellation du Lynx, the 2011 winner of the Prix des libraires du Québec. Mr. Hamelin is also a regular writer for Le Devoir and collaborator on numerous literary journals and reviews. Mr. Hamelin earned his undergraduate degree from McGill University in science and agriculture and a Masters degree in Literature from UQAM. Mr. Hamelin will begin his residency at McGill this month.

Kathleen Winter's story collection, boYs, won the Metcalf-Rooke award and the 2008 Winterset Award. Her 2010 Canadian best-selling novel Annabel was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award for Fiction, the Rogers Writers' Trust Award, and the Orange Prize. The book has been translated into several languages. Ms. Winter will begin her residency at McGill for the 2012 winter term.

A retrospective of Aislin cartoons depicting Mordecai Richler will be on display.

WHO: Authors Kathleen Winter and Louis Hamelin in conversation with Professor Gillian Lane-Mercier of the McGill Département de langue et littérature françaises

Guest speaker: author Noah Richler

WHAT: Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence inaugural event, with retrospective of Aislin cartoons depicting Mordecai Richler

WHEN: Thursday, Sept. 8, 2011, 5:30 pm

WHERE: Moyse Hall, Faculty of Arts Building, McGill University, 853 Sherbrooke St. W., Montreal

General seating space is limited, reservations required by email to Norma.Procyshyn [at] mcgill.ca or tel. 514-398-1894. Conversations will be held in French and English.

About the McGill University Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence Program

Launched in 2010 by the McGill Faculty of Arts, and named in honour of one of Canada’s most compelling writers, the new Mordecai Richler Writer-in-Residence Program builds on the University’s academic leadership in the areas of literature, film, and the public life of the arts. The goal is to enrich the practice and study of writing by establishing a community of English and French language writers who represent a variety of creative genres: from screenwriters to novelists, journalists, poets, and playwrights. Situated in both the Department of English and the Département de langue et littérature françaises within the Faculty of Arts, the Program offers students an opportunity to study practical and theoretical approaches to writing.

For more information https://www.mcgill.ca/arts/alumni/campaign/richler