Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library.
Debut novelists Lily Wang and Scott Alexander Howard unveil moving works of literary fiction that will enchant readers with exquisite prose, and a touch of the otherworldly. Explore threads of memory, longing, loss, and the surreal at this Incite event.
Lily Wang’s Silver Repetition tenderly illuminates the fullness of identity despite fractures in language, culture, and relationships. Having left China for Canada with her parents as a child, Yuè Yuè yearns to discover who she is as she nears the end of her degree and starts a new relationship. In urgent poetic fragments, she seeks common ground with her Canadian-born younger sister and grieves the cousin she lost touch with back home.
For fans of Emily St. John Mandel, David Mitchell, and Kazuo Ishiguro, The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard is a literary speculative novel set in an unnamed valley, where bereaved residents can petition to cross a forbidden border to see their lost loved ones again. This masterful modern fable has been called “unforgettable” (Kevin Chong) and “astonishingly brilliant” (Liz Nugent).
Our guests will speak with Tara McGuire, author of the moving memoir Holden After & Before.
Books will be for sale at the event courtesy of Book Warehouse, a division of Black Bond Books. Can’t make the event time? Register for the livestream option and we’ll send you a link to watch the recording!
Join us for Incite all season, in-person or online! This readings series offers conversations with celebrated authors and emerging talents every two weeks from January to June. Incite is free and open to all.
Participants and Speakers
Lily Wang
LILY WANG was born in Shanghai, China, and immigrated to Canada at the age of six. They have an MA in English and creative writing from the University of Toronto. They live in Toronto.
Scott Alexander Howard
SCOTT ALEXANDER HOWARD lives in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard, where his work focused on the relationship between memory, emotion, and literature. The Other Valley is his first novel.
Tara McGuire
TARA MCGUIRE is a writer and broadcaster. Her first book, Holden After & Before — Love Letter for a Son Lost to Overdose, a hybrid work in memoir and fiction (Arsenal Pulp Press), was recognized by The Walrus as one of the favourite books of 2022 as chosen by Canadian authors (Ivan Coyote), and was a finalist for the 2023 City of Vancouver Book Award.