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| Guy Allen addresses the audience. |
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| The audience. |
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| Marie Hoy reads "A Taste of Banana" |
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| Fuad Ahmed reads "Melissa" |
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| Robert Prices introduces Sabeen Abbas |
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| Sabeen Abbas reads "The Art of Concentration" |
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| Nadeem Basaria introduces Marianne Kalich |
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| Marianne Kalich reads "Pet Cemetery" |
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| Laurie Kallis introduces Laurel Eden Waterman |
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| Laurel Eden Waterman reads "Fire" |
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| Virginia Ashberrys calls on the Radio Programmers to take a bow |
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| Victoria Martinez reads "Tony" |
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| Salma Tarikh leaves the stage. |
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| Michal Majernik introdues Rahul Sethi |
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| Rahul Sethi closes the show with "Door" |
The Sixteenth Annual
Totally Unknown Writers Festival was held
on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at The Rivoli in Toronto.
This year’s readers ranged in age from their 20s to their 50s. Their families come from The Philippines, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Scotland, and, of course, Canada. Their stories tell of tensions between lovers, between families, between cultures, between nations. Their stories are included in the Totally Unknown Writers Festival 2009: Stories collection.
This years stories included:
A Taste of Banana
Maria Hoy writes about her father’s first taste of banana as a young man growing up in Scotland during the Second World War.
Pet Cemetery
Marianne Kalich writes about two delightful neighbourhood girls, whose crayon drawings are inexplicably connected to the death of family pets.
Melissa
Fuad Ahmed writes about an academically gifted student’s first hand experience of abortion.
Door
Rahul Sethi writes about his enterprising Mother’s installation of a cereal, garbage bag and grocery box collage that replaces the blown down entry door to their basement apartment on a blustery winter day.
Tony
Victoria Martinez writes about a young law student’s balancing act as she is tempted by the riches offered by older men.
The Art of Concentration
Sabeen Abbas writes about a Japanese chef’s passion for creating jewel-like platters of sushi.
Fire
Laurel Eden writes about smoking burgers, blaring fire alarms and all else that rises when a mother prepares dinner for a family of four young children before heading out for an evening.
Are You Still Conflicted
Salma Tarikh writes about a young woman coming to terms with the sting of another frayed relationship, and the difficulties of writing.
