My Night at VIWF (Feat. Maggie Stiefvater and Maureen Johnson)

This week the Vancouver International Writers Festival (VIWF - how do you pronounce that?! Probably a code reserved for authors and booksellers, in addition to their secret handshakes and advanced reading copies) is being held on Granville Island.

At first I was like: Oh, that's interesting! I should probably try to check that out.

And then I found out that Maureen Johnson and Maggie Stiefvater were going to be there. And I was like: HOLY EFF I'M SKIPPING ALL MY CLASSES WHERE IS THE NEAREST BUS STOP.

In the end, I managed to go to school and see these two brilliant authors speak on Wednesday evening at their talk, Fantasy@Six.

In case you didn't know, Granville Island:

• is beautiful (see above). The venue was right next to the water and surrounded by autumn-loving trees.
• has lots of artsy shops and vegetable markets to explore, including a beaver tail stand which I didn't know existed in BC and a shop exclusively selling brooms.
• set up a bookstore specifically for the Writers' Festival where signed copies of everything from six-hundred-page historical fiction to brightly colored children's books were being sold right next to the venue (yes, I now have no money. The life of a starving artist, right?).
• is only a bus ride away from downtown Vancouver. I know, I know, my geography skills are nothing if not hideously embarrassing, but really, a bus ride away? I am determined to spend every waking moment basking in the book-loving, artsy, made-from-scratch atmosphere that makes the island shine.

These lovely ladies were so eloquent and funny - every question they were asked led to a funny story, which led to another anecdote, and then they mentioned their other author friends, and then we were sidetracked by cars, and then there was a reading and then they asked the moderator about her life and... The evening was all over the place in the most fascinating, cheerful sort of way.

I totally admire both Maureen and Maggie's (yes, we are on a first name basis for the purposes of the blog post - and our burgeoning friendship/secret society blood sister pact. Do you have a problem with that?) ability to put words together on the spot in both a coherent and clever way. Their humor completely translates from their books. Every word out of Maureen's mouth made me laugh or smile or nod in a I-am-so-glad-that-you-just-get-me kind of way. She acts like a character out of one of her books.

Maggie, on the other hand, was a bizarre combination of influences and interests from all over the place. One minute she was talking about car racing and the next the chemical make up of tears. I am in love with her Shiver trilogy and maybe a little bit with the incredibly interesting person she turned out to be.

Meeting authors in person is a bit tricky for me. What if I love your book, but I don't love you? That's why I tend to skip over Acknowledgements and author photos. I build an idea in my head of the person who wrote my beloved stories, and I don't want to know if that idea isn't true. And I know that's unfair to the person who dedicates their life to crafting beautiful words and thrilling stories - and it's a habit that events like VIWF make me want to change.

Maureen and Maggie offered a totally different vision of writing life. They're both very open and outspoken about who they are. They might work on their own, but they also interact with other writers and belong to a community of people trying to get their stories out into the world. And they shared a couple tips about the writing process.

Maureen said that every writer she knows - even the wildly successful, award winning ones - has a moment (or several) when they thing, "I am the worst. I am the worst I should be killed. This thing that I'm writing is probably a war crime. Also it probably causes cancer."

Self doubt is, apparently, universal. That's the other thing about meeting authors in real life. It takes a moment for you to realize that they're a real person, not just marks on a page. They work and struggle and doubt themselves but in the end they manage to get through it all and make something that I will hold in my hands, read on the bus, curl up under the covers with long past midnight. Waiting in line to meet Maggie and Maureen was like meeting the best friends I never knew existed - everyone was clutching copies of their favorite books, comparing reactions and characters and stories that these women created only to bind us together.

And then I got some autographs:

Friday Find: Companion Book

I feel like one of those people on a game show who has to describe their idea of the perfect date. Except what my perfect Thursday afternoon lacks in long walks on the beach and meaningful-turned-uncomfortable (because where does one draw the line, exactly?) eye contact, it more than makes up for in sunshine, used books and overweight cats. Sound like your kind of day? It's mean to be.

I spent my afternoon exploring Companion Book, a cozy little used bookstore tucked away on Hastings in Burnaby. It's been so long since I've been in a bookstore, I embarrassed everyone by taking a good long whiff of every book I picked up. Oh yeah, that smells like literature. That's the stuff.

I don't know whether it's just because my brain is torturing me or because my university classes are just so gosh darn inspiring (or a delightfully painful combination of the two - yeah, that sounds about right) but my sudden lack of free time has made me want to read more than ever. I picked up three new books and I can't wait till winter break to finally be able to read them.

1. Dry by Augusten Burroughs
2. The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2) by Lemony Snicket
3. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

I've been wanting to read Burroughs for a long time, my first year English class made me fall in love with Dickens's quiet humor and astounding eloquence, and what the heck, it's nearly Halloween, might as well throw in something a little sinister. Companion Book reminds me about why I love bookstores. Everywhere I looked there were books that I couldn't wait to read - familiar titles, brand new authors, books so well-loved that the spines were lined and the pages bent from generations of dog-earring a passage that made you remember that you are not alone. The staff are friendly, the prices are reasonable, the shelves are packed and THERE WAS A CAT.

He's rather large and aloof and goes by Buddha. 

Companion Book was a lovely place to spend my Thursday afternoon--it's friendly and peaceful and I could easily spend many happy hours reading (though the one downside of being so packed with books is not having any comfy seats). If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit.