Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Books and Brunch


It is never a unpleasant Sunday spent in a room as beautiful as the one pictured above.  This is the Sovereign Ballroom in the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  This hotel is part of Toronto's history and is well worth a visit or an overnight stay, if you can afford it!  The hotel is famous for a very luxurious Sunday brunch which will give you a chance to sit in the ballroom and enjoy the atmosphere.

I attended an event on Sunday, March 1st at the hotel called "Books and Brunch" which is hosted by Ben McNally and his bookstore.  Details about brunch events are posted on his website and occur ever few weeks.  The cost is $50 which includes a full brunch and attendance at the event and the tickets can be purchased at the store or online.

The event I attended included the five finalists for the RBC Charles Taylor Prize which is awarded for excellence in non-fiction writing.  This event was held about 48 hours before the winner was announced so it is really a premiere event for the public to interact with the nominees and hear about their amazing books.  Plum Johnson, David O'Keefe, M. J. Vassanji, Barbara Taylor and Kathleen Winter presented excerpts from their works and spoke about the writing process.  These books were all fascinating and great examples of narrative non-fiction which would be popular with readers.

Attendees can purchase the books and have them signed by the author at the event.  It is a fabulous opportunity to get up close and personal with great Canadian authors in an impressive setting from Sunday brunch.  I am glad I could finally arrange to go and I would do so again.


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