The 2015/2016 season for the Booked! Writers series is coming to an end, but it could be argued that organizer Angie Abdou has saved the best for last. The final event will feature CBC radio host, Shelagh Rogers.
Rogers is the host of The Next Chapter, which airs Monday and Saturday afternoons on CBC airwaves. The show features interviews with prominent authors and the works they have penned. Rogers has interviewed Abdou on the show about her three books, and Abdou is looking forward to being the interviewer this time around.
“Booked! has always been about celebrating Canadian authors. Since that celebration of our country's great literature has also been the focus of Shelagh Rogers' career, she seemed like a good fit for us, a perfect grand finale for the 2015/16 season,” she said. “It will be very fun to finally turn the tables. I have a few questions for her for a change.”
Abdou has a variety of topics she wants to cover while interviewing Rogers, including her career and her mental health advocacy.
“She and I will talk about her career in Canadian literature and the many authors she has interviewed. We will also talk about her advocacy for mental health. Finally, Shelagh collected and edited a book of essays called Speaking My Truth. It's about truth and reconciliation. So in the end, the event could be a three-part occasion: Canadian literature, mental health, and indigenous rights,” said Abdou. “From my experience with Shelagh, I can promise that whatever way this conversation goes, the evening will be a pure delight. Her energy and her laughter are catching. People do not get more lovely than Shelagh Rogers.”
Local musical group, Red Girl, will provide entertainment before and after the conversation.
Overall, Abdou says the season has been a success and she is already looking forward to the next season.
“This season has been phenomenal. Every year gets better than the last. Our audiences have been superb - we can count on people to show up, fill the place, and be engaged. Fernie knows how to treat writers. We always send our authors home feeling very well appreciated,” said Abdou, who added next season’s authors will be announced at the final event.
Shelagh Rogers will be speaking at the Fernie Library at 7 p.m. on Apr. 8. The event is free and will feature a cash bar and other refreshments.