The author of four international bestselling novels and former Trent writer-in-residence, Andrew Pyper, returned to the University on September 24 to deliver the inaugural lecture of the 2009/10 Writers Reading Series.

During his talk, Mr. Pyper shared stories about writing the first draft of his first novel, Lost Girls, while living in a two bedroom apartment on Charlotte Street in Peterborough with his girlfriend, a Trent student at the time. The following year, he came to Trent himself as a writer-in-residence at Champlain College.

“It is not an understatement to say this is a very special place for me,” Mr. Pyper said about Trent before reading from his most recent novel, the international bestseller, The Killing Circle, before a packed room at Traill College.

In discussing the writing process and the idea for his novel, which follows a writing circle turned deadly, Mr. Pyper said: “The creative urge is always described as benign and almost Oprah-like when, in fact, it can have a dark side. The desire to write can be one of the most powerfully held desires.”

Mr. Pyper’s first novel, Lost Girls was selected a Notable Book of the Year in the New York Times and The Globe and Mail, and won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. His second novel, The Trade Mission, was one of the Ten Best Books of the Year in The Toronto Star, and The Wildfire Season was a Best Book in The Globe and Mail. Most recently, The Killing Circle was chosen as one of the Best Crime Novels of the Year in the New York Times. Lost Girls, The Wildfire Season and The Killing Circle are all currently being developed for feature film.

Upcoming Writers Reading Series events include:

Terry Griggs
October 14, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., Scott House, Traill College
Terry Griggs is the author of several books, including the short story collection, Quickening (Porcupine’s Quill, 1991), nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the novels, The Lusty Man and Rogues' Wedding (Random House, 2003), the latter shortlisted for a Rogers' Writers' Trust Fiction Award. Her new novel is Thought You Were Dead (Biblioasis, 2009). She has also written a series of books for younger readers, Cat's Eye Corner (Raincoast, 2000), which was a Children's Centre Book selection and shortlisted for several awards. She won the Marion Engel Award in 2003.

Adam Sol
October 19, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., Scott House, Traill College
Adam Sol is the author of three collections of poetry, Jonah's Promise, (2000) which won Mid-List Press's First Series Award for Poetry, Crowd of Sounds (Anansi, 2003), which won the Trillium Award for Poetry and the recently published Jeremiah, Ohio (Anansi, 2008).

David O'Meara
November 9, 2009 at 7:00 p.m., Scott House, Traill College
David O'Meara was born and raised in Pembroke, Ontario, and now lives in Ottawa. His poetry collection, Storm Still (Carleton UP, 1999) was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Award. The Vicinity (Brick Books, 2003) was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry. Noble Gas, Penny Black was published in 2008 by Brick Books.

All Readings Free and Open to the Public
All events are free and open to the public. Every reading features a book table, with copies of the authors’ latest publications available for sale. Venues vary, so watch for our posters around town, at the Peterborough Public Library, and around Trent University.

Writers Reading is supported by the Canada Council, The Writers’ Union of Canada, the Nind Fund, the Colleges at Trent, and participating academic departments of the University.