Richard Powers’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Overstory, is both a dazzling work of literature and an ecological hymn; arguably one of the most powerful calls for conservation of our forests that now sits, in plain sight, on shelves across the globe. This may be Powers’ most famous work, but the prolific writer’s 13 other titles are similarly notable, praiseworthy, and lauded. Bewilderment, his latest novel—longlisted for this year’s Booker Prize— is no different: exploring father-son relationships… and the cosmos. Theo Byrne is a widowed astrobiologist and father to Robin, a young boy on the verge of being expelled. So what better solution than to take the boy to other planets? Powers speaks about his imaginative, heartful tale with CBC Writers and Company host, and inimitable interviewer, Eleanor Wachtel.
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Presented in partnership with the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA).
The official bookseller for this event is Indigo.
Participants and Speakers
Richard Powers
RICHARD POWERS is the author of twelve novels. His most recent, The Overstory, won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction and was a finalist for the Booker Prize. The Overstory has been on the New York Times bestseller list for 63 weeks to date, with more than 1 million copies in print across all formats. Powers is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Book Award, among other accolades. (UNITED STATES)
Eleanor Wachtel
ELEANOR WACHTEL has earned a reputation as one of the world’s best literary interviewers during her 30 years as host of Writers and Company on CBC Radio. She has been awarded nine honorary degrees, and Officer of the Order of Canada.