6 Zsuzsi Gartner and Sarah Selecky
in conversation with Merilyn Simonds
Zsuzsi Gartner was first a journalist and feature writer
whose work appeared in a variety of newspapers and major magazines across the country. That seminal period of her writing career brought
three Western Magazine Awards and was a springboard for her move into fiction. The nine stories in her first collection,
All the Anxious Girls on Earth, were praised by reviewers for their freshness, dark comedy, energy and wit. She
recently selected and edited the 23 pieces of speculative fiction submitted by an all-star team of Canadian authors for Darwin’s Bastards: Astounding Tales
From Tomorrow. Just off the press is another wide-ranging collection of satirical, take-no-prisoners short stories enticingly entitled
Better Living Through Plastic Explosives.
In addition to this event, Zsuzsi Gartner will conduct a writing workshop for a limited number of participants. Please call the Festival office for more
information.
Photo: Zolten Varadi
Sarah Selecky
Short story collections have appeared sporadically on Giller Prize shortlists over the years, but in 2010, two volumes of
short fiction made the final five. One of those was Sarah Selecky’s debut, This Cake Is for the Party, which has been
described as a collection of dark, unpredictable tales filled with unhappy relationships, dead-end careers, betrayal and
lost love. Fortunately, all of this is counterbalanced with a good dose of humour administered by an author who leads a happily married, totally
fulfilled life. In common with her friend and mentor, Zsuzsi Gartner, Selecky holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC and conducts writing workshops.
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