Member Price: Free (with donation options)
Non-Member Price: $10
**Digital doors open at 6:55 pm; event starts at 7:00 pm Pacific Time
**Portions of this event will be recorded and made available to registrants to view for 30 days. Breakout room discussions will not be recorded.
The Federation of BC Writers invites you to participate in our newest programming initiative: Book Club for Writers! This online book club for writers offers an opportunity to read and discuss books related to the craft of writing. Book Club events are 75 minutes long and feature a combination of small group discussion using breakout rooms, large group discussion in the main room, as well as an opportunity to hear the author, contributor, editor, or special guest’s insights and ask questions.
Our July 2025 pick is In | Appropriate: Interviews with Canadian authors on the writing of difference. We are thrilled that Kim Davids Mandar (editor) and Chelene Knight (interviewed in the collection) will join us to share their insights. Register here (bcwriters.ca/events-for-writers) to receive the event link, discussion questions, and reminders. Purchase the book, review the discussion questions, and when it's time for the event, click on the link to join the live Zoom event. We look forward to seeing you there!
BOOK BLURB:
In | Appropriate is a collection of interviews with Canadian authors, exploring how they work through questions of difference, identity, and appropriation in their writing.
Edited by Kim Davids Mandar, and introduced by Daniel Heath Justice, the collection features interviews with Ian Williams, Ayelet Tsabari, Sanchari Sur, Eden Robinson, Jael Richardson, Waubgeshig Rice, Amanda Leduc, Chelene Knight, Mahak Jain, Wayne Grady, Alicia Elliott, Farzana Doctor, Michael Crummey, Arif Anwar, and Angie Abdou.
The interviews address questions of appropriation that go beyond race and culture, extending also to gender, sexuality, ability, age, and other categories of difference. They ask how writers work to represent an increasingly diverse and complex culture in ways that avoid falling into appropriation.
PRESENTER BIOS:
Kim Davids Mandar: In | Appropriate was published by Gordon Hill Press in 2020 (pandemic release) concurrent with completion of an MSc in Capacity Development (topic: Intercultural Competence) at the University of Guelph. Kim works full-time at Wilfrid Laurier University in Accessible Learning while completing her PhD at the University of Toronto (Leadership in Higher Education). Kim primary learning continues in transformative community development through the Association for Baha'i Studies and with the Guelph Neighbourhood Support Coalition in her home town of Guelph, Ontario alongside furry four-leggeds, friends, family and neighbours. Published creative writing includes: a flash CNF piece in Sustenance, Anvil Press; A CNF essay entitled My First Non-White Christmas, Prairie Fire.
Chelene Knight is the author of five books including Safekeeping: A Writer’s Guided Journal For Launching a Book With Love (Anansi 2025), and Let It Go: Free Yourself From Old Beliefs and Find a New Path To Joy (HarperCollins Canada 2024). She is founder of her own creative studio, Breathing Space Creative through which she’s launched the BSC Writing Mentorships which are thoughtfully designed to help writers elevate their craft, shape and develop their manuscripts, and deepen their connection to who they are as creatives. www.breathingspacecreative.com
STEPS:
1. Register here to receive the discussion questions and event link
2. Purchase your print or electronic version of the book
3. Read the book and consider the discussion questions (emailed two weeks before meeting)
4. Join the Book Club meeting using the Zoom link to discuss your responses and hear from the authors!
Please email Meaghan@bcwriters.ca if you have any questions, or would like to suggest a book.
