The Afternoon Book Chats are the perfect excuse for a coffee break! The Atrium at McNally Robinson Booksellers takes on a café ambiance for this series of relaxed conversations about writing moderated by THIN AIR’s own Charlene Diehl. Local poet Jan Horner and Jewish novelist Michael Wex present unforgettable eccentrics in the performances of their lives.

Jan Horner’s first collection of poetry, Recent Mistakes, won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award, and her second, Elizabeth Went West, was a finalist for the same prize. Her most recent title, Mama Dada, transports readers to the eccentric, burlesque world of Baroness Else von Freytag-Loringhoven. It was awarded the 2010 Aqua Lansdowne Prize for Poetry. Horner has been highly involved in the literary community, serving on the editorial collective for CV2, on the boards of the Manitoba Writers’ Guild and the League of Canadian Poets, and as an awards juror. She is a librarian at the University of Manitoba.

Michael Wex is one of the leading lights in the current revival of Yiddish, lecturing widely on Yiddish and Jewish culture. He is the author of three books of non-fiction: Born to Kvetch, a New York Times bestseller; Just Say Nu, a book which offers more Yiddish vocabulary and support; and How to be a Mentsh (and Not a Shmuck), a happiness manual of sorts. Wex also has three books of fiction: Shlepping the Exile; The Adventures of Micah Mushmelon, Boy Talmudist; and his corrosively funny new novel The Frumkiss Family Business. Wex was born in Lethbridge, Alberta, and lives now in Toronto.