Rock n’ Roll guitar guru, Milton Bradley toy designer, successful businessman, and self-proclaimed free-range Aspergian – John Elder Robison — returns to Toronto for a talk about his amazing life and uncommon road to success at the ROM on Mon April 11, 2011 (Tonight! Click here for details). Along with his friend Temple Grandin, John is one of the most visible advocates for people living on the autistic spectrum.

I had the pleasure of meeting John last fall when he was in Toronto to address an Autism Speaks Canada conference — an amazing funding and advocacy organization for individuals and families who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. John brought a wealth of knowledge and insight to a room full of experts based on his own experience growing up with Aspergers – generally defined as the high-functioning end of the spectrum – before the diagnoses even existed.

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One of the many things I love about my job is working with people who are passionate about books and authors. Jonathan Coe is a huge favourite for many of us (his novels include The House of Sleep, The Rotters Club, The Closed Circle, and now The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Simm) but sales reps Maylin Scott and Mike Rose raised the bar of devotion this week.

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One of the great things about my job is that every once in a while I get a chance to be a fan and meet people whose work I really admire. I’ve had that experience over the last couple of days working with Rodney Crowell in promoting his absolutely beautiful memoir Chinaberry Sidewalks.

I’ve been a huge Rodney Crowell fan for years. He’s one of the best singer/songwriters working today. Over the course of his career, Crowell has worked with such great performers as Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris and Lucinda Williams, and has penned huge hits for everyone from Bob Seger to Keith Urban to Tim McGraw.. MORE…

One of my greatest pleasures as a writer, besides the work of writing itself, is sharing the result in public. Maybe it’s the vestigial acting gene I got from my father’s side of the family, or the other gene I think I can trace there, having to do with a taste for applause. Whatever the underlying factors, it’s simply true that I love giving readings. Writing is all about connecting with a reader, and sharing what you’ve written with an audience makes that idea real.

There’s a lot a writer can do to make the most of a public reading. Embracing the experience means really caring about giving people a good show, choosing passages from the book that give listeners an arc to follow and a feeling of reward for having listened, and actually practicing the reading for a good hour or more prior to the event. The writers who give more to a reading event usually get a great deal in return.

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British Columbia’s National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction - Canada’s largest non-fiction prize - was awarded in Vancouver yesterday to John Vaillant for his book, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. The jury cited The Tiger as as “a page-turner that in the end brings us to understand the tiger, probably the most intelligent super-predator in the world. Superbly written and highly enlightening, this is a gripping story about man in conflict with nature.”

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Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God, was in Toronto recently to promote her newest book, Twelve Steps To a Compassionate Life. In the green room at Toronto Public Library’s Appel Salon, with 450 people waiting to hear her speak, we noticed that both she and CBC’s Mary Hines, who would do the onstage interview, were wearing purple. Then Karen’s literary agent, Anne McDermid, entered the room, also wearing purple. I looked down at myself, realizing that I too, was dressed in the “colour of royalty”. By the time Toronto Public Library Program Director Tina Srebotnjak entered the room, also in purple, we were in fits. Coincidence?

I still remember sitting in my first meeting with a network of book club members who called themselves Read for the Cure. It was spring 2007, and in the Random House boardroom this group of women astonished me with their passion, creativity and vision. Amongst them were cancer survivors who, during their rough journeys, found comfort and support through their book club.

Their vision was this: transforming their love of books into a fundraising effort for cancer research. It was brilliant — rather than raise money by running or walking for the cure, they were going to read for the cure!

That was nearly four years ago, and we’ve been making each event bigger than the last. It’s been my pleasure to have developed an author series with Read for the Cure that has raised well over $300,000 for The Cancer Research Society. Included in the ticket: three books, food, wine, and an unforgettable outing that allows readers to engage with the community, discover new authors, and help conquer cancer.

In 2010, the wider community took notice. Canadian Living magazine featured the back story of Read for the Cure in their October 2010 issue. And The Globe and Mail featured photos of our unforgettable evening at the Liberty Grand in Toronto, with Margaret Atwood, Karen Connelly and Joy Fielding. (Click here to see them)

You must watch this fantastic video created by Loading Doc Productions that captures the spirit of a Read for the Cure event.

Visit www.readforthecure.ca to learn more about this remarkable cause that I am so proud to be a part of.

Five years ago, I attended Acadia University, located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Wolfville is known for its small town charm, it contains only one Tim Hortons and one Subway, everything else is pretty much independently owned, including the little bookstore known as Box of Delights. During my University years, I worked every weekend at this adorable bookshop; the same bookshop that the aspiring author Ami McKay would regularly visit with her husband and two boys. As quoted in a recent CBC interview , Ami notes where her favorite bookish place is in Canada, “The Box of Delights bookstore in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. When I was writing The Birth House, I would go there every week and stare at the place on the shelf where I hoped to someday find my novel.”

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Last week in Toronto, we invited 25 VIP members and their guests to join us at Ben McNally Books for a very special Fall Preview. Ben McNally, also known as The Book Addict around these parts, is no stranger to sharing his opinion about books; he’s been doing it for 30 years! And he has such a beautiful bookstore! We knew our VIPs would love it.

I had always heard of Ben’s store, but hadn’t found a chance to visit. Now I am a fan along with my friend who attended with me. He really liked the selection of war books and we will be visiting again so we can take our time and really wander the store.- Donna O.

What a great venue for this type of event. Ben’s book store is just fantastic. Julia S.

The evening started out with a guest appearance by author Terry Fallis. With grace and humor, Terry shared his story about self-publishing his first novel before being discovered by McClelland & Stewart. The Best Laid Plans went on to win the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour in 2008, and Terry’s second novel, a sequel titled The High Road, is just as funny!

I had a thrilling time last night.  I really enjoyed Terry Fallis story about gettin his first book to be noticed and am looking forward to reading this one. - Doreen D.

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