The Book Lover’s Ball was launched in February 2006 to increase awareness and raise funds to enhance the work of Toronto’s Library, the busiest urban public library system in the world. Every year, more than 18 million people visit its 99 branches and borrow more than 32 million items.
The first BLB I attended was in 2008. I had always wanted to go; being a word nerd, obviously Toronto Public Library Foundation’s fundraiser would be my gala de choix. It was amazing to see Margaret Atwood, and also my former creative writing profs, Christopher Dewdney (from York) and Camilla Gibb (from U of T), just hanging out, eating canapés. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed, and the event includes a reception featuring hors d’oeuvres prepared by a celebrity author-chef, a silent auction and raffle, a literary-inspired fashion show, a gourmet dinner, and a live auction. This is the 6th anniversary of The Book Lover’s Ball, taking place tonight at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.
This year’s reception will star Marc Thuet, whose epicurean talents have spawned a cult following, as well as a television series, a chain of pastiseries, a catering company, numerous books, and an impressive resume.
During the seated dinner, a Celebrity Author joins every table, so you actually get a chance to converse with Toronto’s literatti, and they can’t make excuses to ditch you because their vodka needs refreshing. AND you get a copy of their latest book.
This year’s Celebrity Authors include:
Alissa York
Alyson Schafer
Andrew Heintzman
Andrew Pyper
Anna Porter
Annabel Lyon
Barry Callaghan
Betsy Powell
Brian Goldman
Camilla Gibb
Carla Collins
Catherine Gildiner
Cathy Marie Buchanan
Charles Foran
Charles Pachter
Claudia Dey
David Dyment
Emily St. John Mandel
Giles Blunt
Gillian Deacon
Graeme Gibson
Gregory Levey
John Brady
Joy Fielding
Kary Osmond
Kate Taylor
Ken McGoogan
Lawrence Hill
Les Stroud
Lesley Livingston
Lewis DeSoto
Linda McQuaig
Linwood Barclay
Lyndsay Green
Mahtab Narsimhan
Marc Levy
Micah Toub
Nicolas Dickner
Rebecca Eckler
Richard Greene
Robert Herjavec
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert Paul Weston
Robert Rotenberg
Rose Reisman
Sarah Elton
Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Shinan Govani
Steven Heighton
Stuart McLean
Sylvia Tyson
Ted Barris
Terry Fallis
The Honourable James Karl Bartleman
Tish Cohen
Zoe Whittall
Yes, I have a degree in English Literature, but those links above are the only names I am familiar with on this list. Me fail English? That’s unpossible!
Did you know that Joy Fielding wrote her first novel at her parents’ kitchen table when she was 27 years old? Gives us hope. I started mine in the corner of my childhood bedroom at my parents’ house when I was 31, on a rickety antique chair, with my PC on a magazine stand and its keyboard on my lap. Another phase of vagabond-living for me, after coming back from the U.K. and having no home of my own. Also before I bought my first laptop.
I read an interesting article the other day on Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist where PT was asked who her childhood hero was by a potential investor, and she replied “Judy Blume” then regretted it because she wanted to appear like a CEO not a writer/blogger. But at the end of the article she says:
“And then I think that the investor is a genius for asking me my childhood hero because it does, in fact, reveal who I am. I just have to keep reminding myself that Judy Blume is not only a writer. She is an empire.”
The Book Lover’s Ball reminds budding writers that literature is a viable way to make a living. And to be surrounded by a room full of people who share your calling and your passion… well, that’s unique for an artist. The Arts just don’t get the support that the Science or Business realms receives. Which is why supporting TPLF is so important. Keeping Toronto’s libraries funded and accessible is necessary to maintaining a thriving city. It’s nice to touch actual books, printed on paper, and not just stare at a computer all day. It connects you to the past, and it will change the way you see the world in the future. It’s a tangible, fixed piece of intelligence in our intangible, ever-changing digital lives.
Books are like trees. Befriend them.
Funds raised at The 2011 Book Lover’s Ball will support priority needs of Toronto’s Library: enhancing and expanding programs, services, collections, and community spaces.
For more information click here.
Toods,
x