Hard Ol' Spot Launch

Word on the Street Reading

The Word On The Street is a national celebration of literacy and the written word. On one extraordinary Sunday each September, in communities coast to coast, the public is invited to participate in hundreds of author events, presentations and workshops and to browse a marketplace that boasts the best selection of Canadian books and magazines you'll find anywhere. There is always plenty to see and do at Canada's largest book and magazine festival, and best of all, The Word On The Street and all of its events are FREE!

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/

As part of the festival's disasters panel, I will be reading from Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster at 1:30PM. Robert Chaulk, author of Atlantic: The White Star Line's First Disaster, will be joining me.

Reading at 24 Hour Art Marathon

This year it is 24 performances + 1 for our 25 years! Buskers, dance, music, spoken word, poetry, performance art, circus arts and more… and over 100 artists creating works open to the public for 24 hours!

I will be reading between 430-5PM.

Atlantic Author's Day Signing

Saturday, July 11 is Atlantic Author Day. Visit your local bookstore for signings and events. Authors will be signing books all over Atlantic Canada. Check your local bookstore for details.

For more details please see the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association: http://www.atlanticpublishers.ca/

As part of Atlantic Authors Day, I will be signing copies of Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster at Chapters from 2-4PM.

CBC Radio: The Next Chapter

Shelagh speaks with Lisa Moore about February, a novel set in the aftermath of the Ocean Ranger oil-rig tragedy off the coast of Newfoundland.

Also, Mike Heffernan speaks about his nonfiction book Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster.

In the second part of the show, Next Chapter producer Tom Howell reports back to Shelagh on the experience of reading Canadian poetry all season long, and the three Canadian nominees for this year's Griffin Prize talk about their work and ideas: that's A.F. Moritz, Jeramy Dodds, and Kevin Connolly.

http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/

Halifax Reading

Mike Heffernan offers a unique look at the sinking of the Ocean Ranger. This is a moving collection of first-hand accounts from former rig workers, victims’ families and rescue crew.

Thursday, June 11/7:00 pm

Alderney Gate Public Library
60 Alderney Drive
Dartmouth B2Y 4P8

Rig Launch: Speech

Here's an excerpt from the speech I gave at the Rig launch which was followed up by a reading of the prologue, the story of the family mentioned below.

Just as the process was winding down, I received a call from a lady whose husband, a roughneck, had died in the disaster. She knew I was collecting stories but wanted to be able to commit to an interview before she contacted me. Her name was Cynthia. Immediately, what struck me was her love and concern for the wellbeing of her two children. “There were a lot of them who grew up without a father,” she said. “That’s the greatest tragedy of all.” For me, her story personified the shock and deep sense of loss which fractured the narratives of dozens of families. But unlike so many others, the brothers, the sisters, the wives and the parents, the young children of those eighty-four men weren’t robbed of what they had but of a future they could now never have.