Events

Up Next

7:30pm

Thursday, October 12, 2017
Flywheel Reading Series
Pages on Kensington, 1135 Kensington Rd. NW
Calgary, Alberta
Big sky country, here we come. Calgaryans, take note! Anita Dolman, my partner, and I will also be reading in Calgary at the Flywheel Reading Series reading series on Thursday, October 12, at 7:30pm at Pages On Kensington. Fellow author Anita will be reading short fiction from her debut collection, Lost Enough. I’ll be reading an excerpt from my debut literary horror novel, Town & Train.

7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Variant Edition, 10132 - 151 Street
Edmonton, Alberta
A reading in a comic book store, Edmonton's Variant Edition. How cool is that? I'll be reading from my debut horror novel Town & Train Fellow author (and my partner) Anita Dolman will be reading short fiction from her debut collection, Lost Enough. I hope to see some new faces and some familiar ones. But not in the same face, because that would be somehting horrifying, like something out of my horror novel.

Friday, November 11 thru Saturday, Nov 13
Naked Heart Festival: 
An LGBTQ Festival of Words
Toronto, Various Venues
Wanna' hear some fine speculative fiction? I tell ya, we've got horror, fantasy, sci-fi and romance. I'll be reading from my new novel Monster Mansion (working title) at the Speculative Brunch on Sat, Nov12 at this year's Naked Heart Festival. But don't come just to hear me. I'm the company of Steven Bereznai, 'Nathan Burgoine, J. m. Frey, Michael Lyons, Stephen Graham King (the other Stephen King, as I call him). All this hosted by the gracious David Demchuk.  
The full schedule is here.

As the little girl almost said in the film Poltergeist, "We're back!"
From left to right: J. m. Frey, Yours Truly, Michael "Mikey" Lyons snapping
the group selfie,'Nathan Burgoine and Stephen Graham King.
Photo from the 2015 Naked Heart courtesy of Mikey.

Tuesday, October 25, 6:45pm

Tree Seeds Workshop

Speculative Fiction and Place

Gallery 101, 51 Young St., Ottawa

Free Event

Many readers ask why I ficitionalize Cornwall, Ontario in my horror novel Town & Train. This workshop is my answer. Using a specific geographical setting, fictionalized or not, enriches your speculative prose. From Stephen King's Jerusalem's Lot and Americana to Ray Bradbury's Green Town, Illinois to Michael Rowe's Blackmore Island in Wild Fell to Poppy Z. Brite's and Anne Rice's New Orleans, setting is king, just as the story is king. But why does this verisimilitude add so much? 

The listing is here.

Thursday, October 27, 6:30pm-9:00pm

Building Tension: Robin Riopelle and James K. Moran

The Good Companions Seniors’ Centre, Ottawa
Free for Ottawa Independent Writers members

$10 for non-members

If you’ve ever wanted to know how to keep your readers on the edge of their seats, biting their nails in anticipation, join us for a great panel discussion with two amazing authors: James K. Moran and Robin Riopelle, who will be talking about building tension. James is the author of Town & Train, Robin of Deadroads, and both are masters at what they do. The meeting will be October 27th, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at the Good Companions Senior’s Center at 670 Albert St. Come in early to mingle with the members, have a complimentary coffee and some nibbles. Panel begins at 7:00 p.m. sharp and will end at 9:00 p.m. The event is free to OIW members, and a nominal fee of 10$ will be charged to non-members, which can go toward a membership when you decide to join. There is plenty of free parking at the back of the building. Looking forward to seeing you all for what is sure to be a fascinating talk.

Robin Riopelle​

Photo: Lizz Sisson

Born in Ottawa and raised on Canada’s west coast, Robin Riopelle’s life has been marked by adoption, separation, and reunion. Like many of her characters, she has a muddy past and a foot in (at least) two different worlds. She’s always had interesting work in museums and social service agencies. Some things she has done while collecting a paycheque:

• told unsuspecting people the whereabouts of a long-lost family member,
• go-go danced in front of 700 people,
• traipsed across a wind-whipped hospital rooftop with a nun,
• and lost a frozen beaver head under a parked car.

Robin Riopelle is the author’s birthname. She currently lives on the border between French and English Canada with her criminologist husband, two seemingly delightful children, and an obstreperous spaniel. She is a great supporter of the Oxford comma.

In addition to writing fiction for adults, Riopelle also illustrates children’s books (as Elizabeth Todd Doyle). Deadroads is her first novel.