ReLit!

Went to Ottawa on Wednesday for the 10th annual ReLit shindig. After three consecutive years of being shortlisted for the award, this year I won, for short fiction. Yay for Buying Cigarettes for the Dog! Michael Kenyon won in the novel category for The Beautiful Children and Gillian Jerome in poetry for Red Nest.

The celebration took place at a small pub called the Barley Mow. I got my decoder ring. And, best of everything, John Lavery played six of his original songs, including one called "Quickeye," which he dedicated to me; this version had a couple of Claude François references!



It's been a busy week! On Monday, I brought Paul Dutton, Jason Camlot and Lily Hoang to my Real Resident Reading Series in Kingston, and the room was packed and the readings were stellar. The next night I was in Toronto for Mansfield Press's 10th-anniversary launch party. Considering how much stuff was going on in Toronto that night, it was amazing how busy the room was. Denis De Klerck, Mansfield's publisher, said it was the biggest Mansfield event ever. Again, great readings and lots of book sales.

Over and out.