Multidisciplinary artist Joel Thomas Hynes to speak at Nov. 20 Canadian Writers in Person lecture

A row of books on a shelf
A row of books on a shelf

Award-winning writer, actor and director Joel Thomas Hynes will read from his latest novel, the highly acclaimed We’ll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night (HarperCollins), on Nov. 20 as the featured guest at York University’s Canadian Writers in Person Lecture Series.Joel Hynes book cover

Hynes, a multidisciplinary creative from Newfoundland, has worked in the Canadian film and television industry for more than 15 years. He wrote and directed two award-winning short films, Clipper Gold and Little Man, and is the author of numerous acclaimed books and stage plays, including the novels Down to the Dirt and Right Away Monday. His screen adaptation of his book Say Nothing Saw Wood was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, and he has performed numerous lead and principle roles for TV and film, including Down to the DirtBook of Negroes, “ReGenesis,” “Rookie Blue,” “Republic of Doyle” and “Orphan Black.”

A finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction and longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, We’ll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night is the story of one man’s kicking-and-screaming attempt to recuperate from a life of petty crime and shattered relationships, and somehow accept and maybe even like the new man emerging from within, the one he so desperately needs to become.

Canadian Writers in Person is a for-credit course for students, presented by the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies (LA&PS). It is also a free-admission event for members of the public. All readings take place at 7 p.m. on select Tuesday evenings in 206 Accolade West Building, Keele Campus.

Other presentations scheduled in this series include:

Dec. 4: Stevie Howell, I left nothing inside on purpose, M&S

2019

Jan. 15: Michael Redhill, Bellevue Square, Random House

Jan. 29: Kerri Sakamoto, Floating City, Random House

Feb. 12: Kim Fu, The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore, HarperCollins

March 6: Katerena Vermette, The Break, House of Anansi Press

March 19: David Chariandy, Brother, Penguin Random House

Canadian Writers in Person is a course offered by the Culture and Expression program in the Humanities Department in York’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. For more information, contact Professor Gail Vanstone at gailv@yorku.ca.