Miriam Toews at Gallery on the Bay

Miriam Toews has a new book out. It’s called All My Puny Sorrows and, so far, it’s amazing. There are few authors I feel loyalty to, but every time Miriam Toews has a new book, I rush to read it. Her brand of nostalgia laced with humour always gets to me.

Years ago, I heard her read on a CBC podcast. It was an excerpt from A Boy of Good Breeding or Summer of My Amazing Luck, but I can’t remember which one. Since then, I’ve wanted to hear her read, but didn’t have the chance until Thursday night when she read alongside Claire Cameron (The Bear) and Steven Galloway (The Confabulist) at Gallery on the Bay. It was a fantastic night of good books, insightful authors, and wine. The best part is that the event sold out, proving once again that Hamilton really does have a kick ass literary community.

If you haven’t been to Gallery on the Bay, especially for an author reading, it’s worth a trip to the city’s North end. On May 22, Bryan Prince Bookseller and the Hamilton Public Library are co-hosting a reading featuring David Adams Richards (Crimes Against My Brother), Cecil Foster (Independence: A Novel), and K.D. Miller (All Saints). Tickets are $10 and proceeds will go to Hamilton’s Short Works Prize.