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Deborah Willis is launching her funny, poignant, and page-turning novel, Girlfriend on Mars, on June 14th at 7pm.The event will include an author interview with host Samantha Warwick, a short reading from the novel, and songs from musical guest Kris Demeanor. Join us for a starry evening at Shelf Life Books, with wine, snacks, and a lot of Mars Bars.
Reserve your copy of the book here: https://bit.ly/44HO8bs
ABOUT GIRLFRIEND ON MARS
Amber Kivinen is moving to Mars. Or at least, she will be if she wins a chance to join MarsNow. She and twenty-three reality TV contestants from around the world―including a handsome Israeli soldier, an endearing fellow Canadian, and an assortment of science nerds and wannabe influencers―are competing for two seats on the first human-led mission to Mars, sponsored by billionaire Geoff Task. Meanwhile Kevin, Amber’s boyfriend of fourteen years, was content going nowhere until Amber left him―and their hydroponic W**d business―behind. As he tends to the plants growing in their absurdly overpriced Vancouver basement apartment, Kevin tunes in to find out why the love of his life is so determined to leave the planet with somebody else.
An audaciously original debut, Girlfriend on Mars is at once a satirical indictment of our pursuit of fame and wealth amidst environmental crisis, and an exploration of humanity’s deepest longing, greatest quest, and most enduring cliché: love.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Deborah Willis was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. Her first book, Vanishing and Other Stories, was named one of the best books of 2009 by The Globe and Mail and NPR, and was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. Her second collection of stories was published in 2017 by Penguin Random House in Canada and W.W. Norton in the U.S, and translated into Italian by Del Vecchio Editore. The Dark and Other Love Stories was long-listed for the 2017 Giller Prize, won the Georges Bugnet Award for best work of fiction published in Alberta, and was named one of the best books of the year by The Globe and Mail, the CBC, and Chatelaine. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in The Walrus, The Virginia Quarterly, The Iowa Review, Lucky Peach, and Zoetrope. Deborah’s first novel, Girlfriend on Mars, is forthcoming in June 2023 from W.W. Norton (U.S.), Penguin Random House (Canada), and Serpent’s Tail (U.K.), and will be translated into Italian, French, and Danish.
ABOUT THE HOST
Samantha (Sam) Warwick directed and hosted literary events for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta for over a decade. She has interviewed dozens of authors about their books and writing lives including Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap, Barracuda), Anna Porter (Kasztner’s Train) and Anthony Doerr (All The Light We Cannot See, Cloud Cuckoo Land). Her essays and poetry have been broadcast on CBC and CKUA radio and appeared in various publications including The Globe & Mail, Geist, Event, Dog Eyes Magazine and FASHION. Sam is also the author of the novel Sage Island, named one of Canada’s top ten most-commonly taught works of fiction to explore the human condition through sport in literature. She is currently completing her second novel.
ABOUT THE PERFORMER
For thirty years Calgarian songwriter/spoken word artist Kris Demeanor has explored and exposed hidden corners of the western Canadian cultural landscape through story and song, adhering to Brecht’s credo: “Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.” Kris has released seven recordings of original music, toured Australia, Europe, and Canada sharing bills with David Byrne, Cake and Elvis Costello, Ray Davies, Billy Bragg and Black Francis, as well as co-writing two songs for music legend Ian Tyson’s 2017 release Carnero Vaquero. He co-created and performed in One Yellow Rabbit’s Calgary, I Love You But You’re Killing Me and Moon, Moon, No Moon, and debuted his one man show Russell: Straight Up, at the High Performance Rodeo in 2020. Other theatre credits include Crime Does Not Pay (Downstage), Cheryl Foggo’s John Ware Reimagined, and Making Treaty 7, a multi-disciplinary performance promoting reconciliation through acknowledgement of Alberta’s true history. Kris Demeanor was Calgary’s first poet laureate from 2012-14, and will be releasing a book of poetry in fall 2021, Fool of the New West, including all of the commissioned work he created in his two years as the city’s poet.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Shelf Life Books, 1302 4 St SW #100,Calgary,AB,Canada