Current and Upcoming Literary Events in Montreal

There's lots happening in Montreal in the next couple of weeks! Here are some notable events for those of you living in and around our beautiful city:

The 13th Blue Metropolis Literary Festival will take place from April 27 to May 1, 2011 at the Holiday Inn Select Montreal Centre-Ville. This year’s event features close to 200 activities and more than 200 writers and artists, representing 12 countries and seven languages. To learn more about the festival, visit www.bluemetropolis.org.

TD Canadian Children's Book Week takes place from April 30-May 7th 2011. This event is the country's largest children's literature festival. Five authors will be giving presentations that will take place in schools, libraries, community centres and bookstores across Quebec. For a list of authors touring in your province and across Canada, visit Book Week 2011 Public Presentations List.

Montreal Screening -- Library of the Early Mind: A Grown-Up Look at the Art of Children’s Literature

Thursday, May 19th at 7 p.m.
Selwyn House School -- Coristine Hall
95 Cote St. Antoine Road, Westmount
Admission: $10
Tickets are on sale at the three following locations:
Babar en ville, 1235 Greene Avenue, Westmount
Livres Babar, 46 St. Anne Street, Pointe Claire (in the Pointe Claire Village)
John Abbott College, Information and Library Technologies Dept., Room HO-146 (Hochelaga Building)

Synopsis:
The film is an exploration of the art and impact of children’s literature on our kids, our culture, and ourselves. From the first stories we hear told to us to those childhood heroes that stay with us a lifetime, the impact on our culture runs deeper than what we might expect. “No one suspects the children’s writer,” says author and illustrator Mo Willems, a former ‘Sesame Street’ writer. The film features nearly 40 prominent authors and illustrators talking about their work, its genesis and its impact. The number of books in print by the authors in ‘Library of the Early Mind’ exceeds 240 million.

Trailer: 'Library of the Early Mind' from Backspace Productions on Vimeo.

The screening will be followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer period with one of the film's co-producers.

To learn more about the film, visit www.libraryoftheearlymind.com.

Contact Carol-Ann Hoyte, Assistant Librarian, Selwyn House School, at 514-931-9481 x2241 or hoytec@selwyn.ca for ticket and general information.

The Story Behind "Secret Daughter"
Lecture with Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Thursday, May 19 at 7:30 pm
Jewish Public Library
5151 Cote-Ste-Catherine
Admission: $10

Shilpi Somaya Gowda will discuss her path to becoming an author and the inspiration behind her debut novel, Secret Daughter, which was a bestselling novel of 2010. I'm currently reading her novel and I love it. Can't wait to meet this author!

If you know of any other exciting literary events happening around town, feel free to mention it in a comment below.