Waheed Rabbani was born in India and was introduced to Victorian, Edwardian and other English novels, at a very young age in his father’s library. Most of the books had been purchased by his father at garage sales held by departing British civil service officers towards the end of their terms in India, during the Raj. Waheed was educated in Pakistan and England, and received his Master’s degree from Concordia University in Montreal. While an engineer by profession, Waheed’s other love is reading and writing English literature. He’ll present and talk about his trilogy of historical novels that begins with Doctor Margaret’s Sea Chest.

Curtis Parkinson grew up in Kingston, Ontario. He graduated from Queen’s University in chemical engineering and worked in South America and in Canada for many years. Then he moved to the Caribbean to live on a sailboat and to write, a lifelong dream. As Curtis says, “Many rejections later, the cat fell off the boat one night, and the cat’s story became my first book, Tom Foolery.” More picture books and short stories followed, then five young adult novels. Curtis’s first novel was Storm-Blast, the story of three lost teens adrift in the vast Caribbean Sea. Next came Sea Chase, a tale of a boy’s desperate search for his father, missing from their sailboat in the night. Both were nominated for Red Cedar Awards, and Sea Chase for the Arthur Ellis Award as well. Domenic’s War, Curtis’s third novel, is based on the true story of a 12-year-old Italian boy caught in the midst of one of the fiercest battles of World War II. It was nominated for a Silver Birch Award, and has been translated into Italian. Death in Kingsport, published in 2007, is a murder mystery featuring a 15-year-old sleuth, Neil, his sidekick, Graham, and new friend Crescent in a town where nothing is as it seems. Curtis will read from his latest novel,The Castle On Deadman’s Island which tells the story of a mysterious disappearance, a castle with a curse, and a most unusual will, a will that leads to murder and mayhem.

Rankin Inlet: A Novel (Gaby Press)

In this debut novel, a young British woman leaves home to take a position as a nurse-midwife in a remote community in the Canadian Arctic. Through her diary entries and correspondence, we see through her eyes a remarkable place and the people who inhabit it.

This is a novel that Farley Mowat describes as “...one hell of a good book - one of the few books about the high arctic...that strikes at the core of reality and truth together.” Mara Feeney is a former Winnipegger who lived and worked for several years as an Eskimo Housing Officer in small communities around the Hudson Bay.

To watch the book trailer, click here

The Fast Way to Heal Your Life: The Healing Power is Within (Reed Publishing)

In this accessible and well-researched work, former Winnipegger Dr. Matthew argues for the restoration of health and prevention of disease through the natural law of nutrition, fasting, exercise, sleep, and taking other positive measures. She alerts the reader of the dangers of toxic infusion that have come about through the use of chemical fertilizers and warns of the threat of food preservatives which result in mal-metabolism. Matthew is a Doctor of Health Science, specializing in restoring health, reversing disease, premature aging, the prevention, and nutrition and a member of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.

Start a Trend, Start Reading Canadian Again

Come in for a coffee and to discuss the fourth book in our new book club, Fishing for Bacon by Michael Davie. Fishing for Bacon tells the story of Bacon Sobelowski, a teenage boy searching for his someone and having a hard time figuring out who that could.

Michael Davie’s years spent in the Rocky Mountain resort communities of Canmore, Banff, Jasper and Waterton influenced his comic strip, The Last Resort and Fishing for Bacon, his first novel. He lives in Calgary.

For more information please call Nicole Berard 955-3599 or email events@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca.

It’s Harry Versus Bella in a winner take all fight to the literary finish

Which Series has the best action? The best relationships? The best werewolves? Which books leave you wanting more?

Starting June 1 enter to win a chance to defend your favorite series in a head to head literary battle for the ages. All you need to do is tell us, in 100 words or less, why your favorite series is the best. Entries can be sent via email to events@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca or dropped off at the Kids Desk, clearly marked Harry Potter Versus Twilight Debate. Enter as an Individual or as a Team of 4. Contest closes June 30 and the winning debaters will be announced July 2.

Then on July 7 come in to watch the pages fly as our winning debaters go head to head in defense of their series.

For more information please call Nicole Berard at 955-3599 or email events@saskatoon.mcnallyrobinson.ca.

Information and Q & A about The Show Must Go On: London Theatre Tour.

Join Ron Robinson - former host of CBC Radio’s weekend morning show - in London, England for an unforgettable week of theatre. Get all the details from Ron, Trafalgar Tours and International Travel.

You’ve never seen Theatre until you’ve seen it in London!

This Way Out

Carmine Starnino’s latest collection of poems is full of lyrical escapes, exits and embarkations that set out to measure degrees of belonging and proximity to being at home. With his close attention to sound and ease of comparison, Starnino tries on voices and costumes for size, revisiting his childhood stomping grounds and current neighbourhood bars, reliving teenage haircuts and marvelling at the skill of the local butcher. Counterbalancing his own search for place, Starnino delights in locating in other people and favourite objects their aptitude for simply being themselves.

Carmine Starnino is a poet, essayist, critic and editor of Signal Editions (an imprint of Véhicule Press). He lives in Montreal.

McNally Robinson and the award-winning Walrus magazine present managing editor Jared Bland in conversation with writer Stephen Marche. This event is in celebration of The Walrus Summer Reading issue. Stephen Marche is the author of Shining at the Bottom of the Sea (2007) and Raymond and Hannah (2005). He currently writes "A Thousand Words About Our Culture," a monthly column for Esquire magazine, and "Close Reading," a weekly column for The National Post, in addition to opinion pieces for The New Republic, Salon.com, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star. He received a doctorate in Early Modern Drama in 2005 from the University of Toronto. Launched in September of 2003, The Walrus is an award-winning general interest magazine that publishes long-form journalism by some of the best writers in Canada and abroad, as well as fiction and poetry.

Across the Void

Cancer is a word often spoken in hushed tones; like no other it can spark feelings of intense anxiety and fear. A diagnosis of this disease is seldom seen in a positive light, but for Laurie Bonello, breast cancer was the first step on a life-changing emotional and spiritual journey. Across the Void offers a unique insight into a journey that too many people must take. Laurie's honest and articulate story of her own odyssey through cancer makes compelling reading—a must-read for all whose lives are touched by illness or loss.

When she was diagnosed with cancer, Laurie Bonello left the corporate world and became a human resources consultant. She is now a Certified Hypnotherapist, Emotional Freedom Technique practitioner, Reiki Master, writer, and speaker. She lives in Saskatoon.