Copy of 'Moon of the Turning Leaves' by Waubgeshig Rice
Later this year, bestselling author Waubgeshig Rice will come to town for the Milton Public Library (MPL) ‘One Book One Milton’ event.
It’s a community-wide program that engages the community through the shared experience of reading and discussing the same book: its contents, themes and relevance, as it relates to the Milton community. Past authors have included Sarah Polley, Mark Critch, Kelley Armstrong, Jagmeet Singh, Samra Habib, Margaret Atwood, Chris Hadfield, Yann Martel, Neil Pasricha and Don Gillmor.
Ahead of the event, we had the chance to speak with Rice about his bestselling book, ‘Moon of the Crusted Snow’, and the follow-up sequel, ‘Moon of the Turning Leaves’.
Q: So, I actually managed to read both of your books in the span of like a week. They were fantastic. I was reading the acknowledgements in the second book that mentioned a meeting that helped turn an idea into a full fledged story. Where did the idea of the story come from; like, what inspired you to write this series?
Q: Reading the first book, it’s so snappy and quick. I compare it with the second book where you really took your time to ease into the story. It felt like you were more confident in your talents as a writer the second time around. Did you feel that way as you were writing ‘Moon of the Turning Leaves’?
Q: Obviously people knew you prior to ‘Moon of the Crusted Snow’, what with your work with CBC and your previous books. But when you throw a bestseller into the mix, that can add a lot of fuel to the flame. How has life been for Waubgeshig Rice the last six years compared to maybe, the previous six years?
Q: So, you were a young parent with young kids at the beginning of the pandemic… Did you see any ironic parallels between you and Evan (the main character)?
Q: I read your two books, last year I read through Johnny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead. I was at the book store over the weekend and saw they had an entire section in the main area for Indigenous storytellers. Do you feel like we’re in a bit of a boom period?
Q: Obviously you’re writing all the time. Whether you’re writing for this specific series or you’re writing for other projects, are you planning on releasing a third book in the series?
Q: So, we touched on the growth between book one and book two, and all the years since. What would ‘2024 Waubgeshig Rice’ say to, let’s say, ‘2008 Waubgeshig Rice’?
Q: You’re coming to Milton this fall for the ‘One Book One Milton’ event. It’s a pretty huge thing here in town, we’ve had people like Chris Hadfield, Margaret Atwood, and Sarah Polley. Are you excited to be here in town for this event?
‘In Conversation with Waubgeshig Rice’ as part of the ‘One Book One Milton’ annual series will take place on Wednesday, November 20th, at 7:00 p.m. at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Milton, inside the Mattamy Theatre, located at 1010 Main Street East in Milton.
Tickets can be purchased at the FirstOntario Arts Centre Box Office or online. Pricing for the event is set at $20 for library members (event only) and $35 with a book, while the general public can attend for $25 (event only) or $40 with a book.
For more information, click here.
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This article has been republished to promote the event. It was originally posted on Tuesday, August 13th at 1:08 p.m.
