While many think of October as the scary season, with Hallowe’en and a provincial election on offer, it’s also the month of the Vancouver Writers Festival, which this year hosts more than 90 events on Granville Island during the third week of October.
My Writers’ Fest experience is going to keep the spine-chilling spirit of the season alive because I will be going to see Ann Cleeves, British author of more than 30 murder mystery novels and the brains behind two mega-hit TV series: Vera and Shetland. I’ve watched every episode of both series and can’t wait for the final three episodes of Vera coming next year.
Cleeves, 69, writes atmospheric whodunnits that often expose real-life social issues like poverty, mental illness, or vulnerable children and teens.
I spoke to Cleeves via Zoom in advance of her upcoming appearance, and I asked about her most recent book, The Dark Wives, a Vera mystery about a teenage children’s care home run by a private company.
“I think it’s my angry book,” Cleeves said. She found out that a lot of private equity companies are profiting from running children’s care homes in England. “So that money that could be there to look after the children, to provide continuity and proper care, is actually making money for shareholders in the company, and I thought we just needed to shed a bit of light on that.”
Cleeves, who trained as a social worker, is hoping local authorities will take notice and take back control of care homes.
“Kids don't just suddenly become aggressive, challenging, law-breaking, but something's happened to make them that way,” she said, adding that support in the early years or to alleviate poverty would save money in the long run.
Cleeves has seven grandchildren between the ages of three and 20. She even took copy editing advice from a 14-year-old granddaughter for parts of The Dark Wives told from a teenager’s point of view.
Her first book came out in 1986, but she still needed to keep a series of day jobs – from running youth clubs to working at the public library – for the first 20 years of her writing career. She still lives in the same house and travels by public transit, saying it’s the best way to meet people and overhear conversations.
Even though the Vera series is ending because its star, Brenda Blethyn, stepped down after 14 seasons, Cleeves plans to continue writing the series, which is great news for a fan like me. Cleeves is appearing at two Vancouver Writers Festival events later this month.
If murder mysteries are not your thing, or Cleeves’ events are sold out, Leslie Hurtig, artistic director at the Vancouver Writers Festival, says there are plenty of other events to choose from.
“What we’re really focusing on are themes of finding joy amid turmoil and learning how to listen in this age of rage and how to find your next favourite, page-turning read,” Hurtig said. “There’s a little bit of everything.”
Two events focused on non-fiction outside of the main festival look intriguing – journalist Malcolm Gladwell is appearing Oct. 14 and neuroscientist Daniel Levitin is appearing Nov. 19 with Chor Leoni.
During the festival itself, Anne Michaels, whose new book Held is a stunning and beautiful work, will speak to fans lucky enough to get tickets to a sold-out event. But there are plenty of other opportunities, such as Anishinaabe author and journalist Tanya Talaga, who will speak about her new book The Knowing, an Indigenous history centred around her great-great-grandmother who was lost to memory. If you prefer to have some comfort food with your intellectual stimulation, the Food for Thought event is a Sunday morning Ted Talks event, with six non-fiction authors speaking on subjects ranging from climate to culture to Indigenous relations.
If you’re looking to continue October’s scary theme, check out Fright Night, a panel of three horror-thriller writers, moderated by B.C. author Robert Wiersema.
There’s also the Power of Political Prose, a panel of three authors talking about their political novels and the role of writing in social change, which ties right back to Ann Cleeves and the motivation for her novel.
Fall is the perfect time to get your literary fix.
“We're really looking forward to hosting people down here on Granville Island, and it's such a pleasure to be surrounded by these brave souls as they give us hope for meaningful conversation in the future,” Hurtig said.
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected].
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