Books and Brunch with Robert Rotenberg, Richard Gwyn, Pius Adesanmi and Craig Oliver

Hosted by David Dollin

Sunday

Oct , 2011

11:00am

Eastern

National Arts Centre, Panorama Room

53 Elgin Street • Ottawa

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Books and Brunch with Robert Rotenberg, Richard Gwyn, Pius Adesanmi and Craig Oliver

Writing with his usual elegance and insight, Richard Gwyn has done full justice to the man whose own story is inextricably interwoven with that of Canada.

Margaret MacMillan, author of Paris 1919

Enjoy your weekend with good food, good company and short talks by four great authors:

Bestselling author and one of Toronto’s top criminal lawyers, Robert Rotenberg is back with The Guilty Plea, his second razor-sharp legal thriller. Rotenberg’s insider knowledge of the behind-the-scenes courtroom machinations and his mesmerizing trial scenes make this another scorching page-turner. Here’s your chance to find out why Ian Rankin “Loved it!”

An exciting story, passionately told and rich in detail, Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald is the second volume of Richard Gwyn’s biography of Canada’s first prime minister. The first volume, John A: The Man Who Made Us won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Non-Fiction. From Confederation Day in 1867, where this volume picks up, Macdonald finessed a reluctant union of four provinces in central and eastern Canada into a strong nation, despite indifference from Britain and annexationist sentiment in the United States.

In You’re Not a Country, Africa, a groundbreaking collection of essays, Pius Adesanmi, acclaimed literary and cultural critic and professor of literature and African studies at Carleton University, tries to unravel what it is that Africa means to him as an African, and by extension to all those who inhabit this continent of extremes. Crisscrossing the continent, he engages with the enigma that is Africa.

As chief parliamentary correspondent for CTV News, Craig Oliver is one of Canada’s most recognized and respected journalists, a newsman who has reported on the major political figures and news stories of our times with passion, insight and bracing candour. He brings those same qualities to Oliver's Twist: The Life & Times of an Unapologetic Newshound, his many-layered memoir of an extraordinary professional and personal life.

The Authors

Craig Oliver

Craig Oliver is currently Chief Parliamentary Correspondent for CTV and co-host of its weekly political affairs program Question Period. He has received the highest awards granted by his profession: the prestigious Charles Lynch Award; the Canadian Association of Broadcasters 2001 Gold Ribbon for Broadcast Excellence; the President’s Award for excellence in Canadian broadcast journalism from the Radio and Television News Directors Association; the Broadcast Hall of Fame award from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters; and two Gemini Awards. Since 1999, Oliver has been legally blind. Craig Oliver’s passion, insight and candour are evident in Oliver’s Twist, his many-layered memoir of an extraordinary professional and personal life. The only child of two alcoholics, he spent his childhood and adolescence in the homes of strangers. A chance summer job with the local CBC station launched his broadcasting career, taking Oliver from Prince Rupert, B.C. to Ottawa, Washington, and Central America. He witnessed up close the follies, foibles and occasional brilliance of the men and women who shaped our history over four decades. At the same time, Oliver pursued a personal passion for Canada’s wilderness rivers. For 30 years, he and a close company of companions—all political and media figures, from Tim Kotcheff and John Macfarlane to Eddie Goldenberg and Pierre Trudeau—paddled some of the remotest waters in western and northern Canada.

Pius Adesanmi

Nigerian born Pius Adesanmi is an acclaimed literary and cultural critic. He currently resides in Ottawa, Canada, where he teaches literature and African studies at Carleton University. He is one of Nigeria's major intellectuals and writes two weekly columns for the influential Sahara Reporters and NEXT newspaper. His first book, TheWayfarer and Other Poems, won the Association of Nigerian Authors'Poetry Prize in 2001. Penguin African Writers You're Not A Country Africa is his latest book.

Richard Gwyn

Richard Gwyn is an award-winning author and political columnist. He is widely known as a commentator for the Toronto Star on national and international affairs and as a frequent contributor to television and radio programs. His books include two highly praised biographies, The Unlikely Revolutionary on Newfoundland premier Joey Smallwood, and The Northern Magus on Pierre Elliot Trudeau. His most recent book, Nationalism Without Walls: The Unbearable Lightness of Being Canadian, was selected by The Literary Review of Canada as one of the 100 most important books published in Canada. Volume two of Gwyn’s biography of Macdonald was published in 2009. Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times is his latest book.

Robert Rotenberg

After graduating from law school in Toronto, Robert Rotenberg became the managing editor of Passion, the English-speaking magazine of Paris. He then returned to publish and edit his own magazine, T.O. The Magazine of Toronto. Eighteen years ago he opened his own law practice and is today one of Toronto's top criminal lawyers, defending, as he likes to say "everything from murder to shoplifting."Rotenberg lives in Toronto with his wife, television news producer Vaune Davis and their three children. Please visit his webiste at www.robertrotenberg.com. The Guilty Plea is his latest book.