...with Kingston WritersFest (Ep. 97)

What makes a book interesting? Beautiful? Provocative? Necessary? Is reading still the best way to get a message across and tell a good story, and how is it changing in our world today?

The Kingston WritersFest is one of Canada's premiere literary events, drawing headline international authors as well as big crowds from the bookish Ontario city. Ben chats with the festival's artistic director and alumnus of the podcast, Barbara Bell, about writing, reading, and what goes on in between.

About the Guest

Barbara Bell is the Artistic Director of Kingston WritersFest. She has extensive experience in programming, management, and event planning and production, including several years as Events Coordinator with Chapters Bookstore. She has produced numerous stage plays, several independent short films, including the award-winning Digging Up Plato, and a feature film. Barbara is also an award-winning actor and playwright and a freelance editor, and for two seasons programmed, produced, and hosted a monthly television book club – Page Turners – for TVCogeco in Kingston. Barbara sits on the Community Arts Advisory Committee for the City of Kingston, as well as on the Arts Advocacy Committee of Kingston Arts Council.

Learn more about Barbara.

Mentioned in this Episode

• A quote from William Clifford, 19th century English mathematician and philosopher: "it is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone, to believe anything upon insufficient evidence. ... Inquiry into the evidence of a doctrine is not to be made once for all, and then taken as finally settled."
• The Protestant Reformation and the Thirty Years War (1618-48)
• A quote usually attributed to Thomas Edison: "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
• Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club, a novel by Megan Gail Coles
• The Difference, a novel by Marina Endicott
• The Tragedy of the Commons, a concept that describes how shared resources are depleted due to deep-seated self-interest
• Greta Thunberg, Swedish climate activist
• The Lymond Chronicles, a book series by Dorothy Dunnett
• A Song of Ice and Fire, a book series by George RR Martin on which the HBO series Game of Thrones is based
• My Year of Living Spiritually: One Woman's Secular Search for a More Soulful Life, a book by Anne Bokma
• Ender's Game, a novel by Orson Scott Card
• Europe: A History, a book by Norman Davies
• Barbara's top books from childhood:
  • The Borrowers series by Mary Norton
  • The Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis
  • The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
  • Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion
  • The books of Enid Blyton

The Quote of the Week

"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one."
George R.R. Martin