PEN Canada, HarperCollinsCanada and Toronto Public Library join forces for Freedom to Read Week
Singer/songwriter Sarah Harmer and author Trevor Herriot among those speaking out for the environment and freedom of expression
TORONTO (Thursday, February 19, 2009) PEN Canada, the Canadian arm of the international organization that helps writers around the world who have been persecuted for the peaceful expression of their ideas, has teamed up with publisher HarperCollinsCanada and the Toronto Reference Library to host a public event they are calling Closer to the Land.
Three award-winning Canadian authors known for their positions on particular environmental issues, Taras Grescoe, Trevor Herriot and Ken McGoogan, will be joined by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer, also an outspoken advocate for better environmental custodianship. CBC Radio One’s Matt Galloway will host what is bound to be a lively and memorable discussion.
“We have been able to gather some of Canada’s most outspoken champions for our natural environment under one roof,” said Bruce Walsh, speaking for PEN Canada. “The freedom to speak one’s mind and commit our ideas to paper is a fundamental human right. Tragically, many writers and artists have been censored, severely punished or killed for their thoughts on environmental issues.”
The panelists will bring their unique perspectives to the mainstage at the Toronto Reference Library in Toronto on February 27th at 7:00pm. Tickets sell for $10.00 and are available at BookCity locations and at the door on the night of the event. All proceeds go to PEN Canada.
“Freedom of expression is a powerful human right,” said Trevor Herriot. “But we take it for granted in North America so much so that we sometimes miss the subtle forms of erosion diminishing its power in the public arena today.”
Closer to the Land will give Torontonians an opportunity to hear from four distinct Canadian voices, each one informed by a personal set of experiences with the ongoing contest between human activity and the natural environment that sustains us. The evening will be introduced by a PEN Canada representative, and PEN Canada Writer in Exile, Amatisoritsero Ede will read poems by the late Nigerian environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa.
“Toronto Public Library has partnered with PEN Canada for 12 years on this very significant and special annual event,” said Toronto Public Library Chief Librarian Jane Pyper. “We are pleased to continue to provide the Toronto Reference Library as the venue to hear these very important voices.”
Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 16 million people visit its 99 branches and borrow more than 29 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit www.torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131.
PEN Canada works on behalf of writers, at home and abroad, who have been forced into silence for writing the truth as they see it. PEN Canada opens the space for debate. It lobbies governments in Canada and internationally, organizes petitions, sends letters, faxes and postcards for the release of persecuted writers, and conducts public awareness campaigns about freedom of expression. PEN works for the release of imprisoned writers internationally, and to ensure that those responsible for the increasing number of murdered writers and journalists are brought to justice. At home, the organization works for freedom of expression within a national context, and to develop opportunities for writers living in exile. We work so that stifled voices can be heard once again.
HarperCollinsCanada publishes fiction, non-fiction, and books for children, as well as religious and reference books. HarperCollins imprints in Canada include HarperCollins, HarperPerennial, HarperTrophyCanada, Collins, and Phyllis Bruce Books. These imprints publish many of Canada’s finest writers, including Barbara Gowdy, Lawrence Hill, J.L. Granatstein, Charlotte Gray and Kenneth Oppel as well as great writers and leading authorities from around the world, such as Tim Flannery, Barbara Kingsolver and Alan Weisman.
HarperCollinsCanada also distributes America’s Test Kitchen, TokyoPop, Zondervan,
and HarperCollins, Collins, Perennial and Harper Paperbacks from the US and the UK.
HarperCollins is also the first publisher to digitize its content and create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business opportunities. Visit the HarperCollinsCanada website at www.harpercollins.ca.
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For further information contact:
Edward Karek, Communications Officer, Toronto Public Library
416-397-5925 or 647-406-9671
Email: media@torontopubliclibrary.ca
Rob Firing, Director, Publicity and
Communications at HarperCollinsCanada Ltd., 416-975-9334, ext 141.
Email rob.firing@harpercollins.com.