Frye Festival Unveils its 2013 Program

frye From April 22 to 28, the Frye Festival will feed imaginations and celebrate words and ideas with people of all ages. Thirty renowned authors from Canada and beyond, as well as rising stars of the local literary scene, will be in town to share ideas and inspire readers. On the menu: book clubs, literary evenings, conversations, music and readings, writing workshops, talks, school visits and so much more.

The complete schedule of events can be found at www.frye.ca. Many events are Pay What You Can (PWYC) or free.

The Frye Festival’s official opening will take place on Monday, April 22 at 11 am at Moncton City Hall. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.

Brains on Tap
Test your literary trivia knowledge at Brains on Tap, the Festival’s annual bilingual trivia night organised in partnership with the Association of Professional Librarians of NB. Join us on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 pm at Tide and Boar (700 Main Street, Moncton). Individuals or teams of four to six people can register in advance at www.frye.ca.

Les Hay Babies
Les Hay Babies

Soirée Frye is the perfect event to discover everything that the Frye Festival has to offer: great literature, music and the winners of our high school writing contest. A reception to meet the authors will follow. Two of New Brunswick’s best musical groups, Les Hay Babies and The Olympic Symphonium, will share the stage for the first time ever. Four authors will also be reading excerpts from their work: Perrine Leblanc (L’homme blanc), Jocelyne Saucier (Il pleuvait des oiseaux), Peter Behrens (Travelling Light) and Anne Compton (Alongside). The event will also feature a tribute to 40 years of book publishing in Acadie with poet Raymond-Guy LeBlanc and a musical rendition of the poem “Gymnopédies” by France Daigle, performed by Moncton’s own Riversong. This not-to-be-missed event will take place on Thursday, April 25 at 7 pm at the Capitol Theatre. Tickets are $12 plus fees.

Immediately following Soirée Frye, Night Howl offers a mix of words and music with authors Sonia Cotten and Ian Hamilton, Les Hay Babies and The Olympic Symphonium who will once again take the stage, though in a more casual setting. Empress doors open at 9:30 pm, event starts at 10 pm and is PWYC.


An evening with great Canadian authors
Four of Canada’s most prominent authors will be on stage together at the Empress Theatre for A Window to the World on Friday, April 26 at 8 pm. Peter Behrens (The Law of Dreams), Marq de Villiers (Water), Perrine Leblanc (L’homme blanc) and Kim Thúy (Ru) are all Governor General’s Literary Award winners and will come together in this event to discuss the world from a Canadian perspective. A Window to the World is presented in partnership with the Canada Council for the Arts. Simultaneous translation will be available. Admission is $12.

An After Party will follow, starting at 10 pm at the Empress. It provides a great opportunity to meet and chat with authors while listening to some great music with Science Friction, a loop-based dance group focused on being visually and audibly stimulating. Free admission.

Alistair MacLeod
Alistair MacLeod

Maillet-Frye Lecture with Alistair MacLeod
The Antonine Maillet-Northrop Frye lecture will be presented by Canadian literary heavyweight Alistair MacLeod, who grew up and still spends summers in Cape Breton. Michael Enright, host of CBC Radio One’s The Sunday Edition, will host a Q&A with the author following the event. Join us on Saturday, April 27 at 8 pm at théâtre l’Escaouette (170 Botsford St., Moncton). Tickets ($16.50 plus fees) are on sale at the Escaouette box office.

Book Clubs
For those who want to know everything about their favourite author, book clubs offer a great insight into their creative process. Admission to all book clubs is PWYC.

Author of the award-winning Ava Lee series, published in more than 20 countries and currently being adapted for film, Ian Hamilton will meet mystery-lovers on Thursday, April 25 at 2 pm at the Moncton Public Library.

Canadian novelist and short story writer Alix Ohlin will be discussing her book Inside, a Giller Prize finalist, on Friday, April 26 at 2 pm, at the Moncton Public Library.

CS Richardson’s second novel, The Emperor of Paris, was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Richardson is also an award-winning book designer and will meet the fiction-lovers on Saturday, April 27 at 11:30 am at the Delta Beauséjour Café.

On Wednesday, April 24 at 6:30 pm, Quebec author and former Radio-Canada journalist Daniel Lessard will chat about his novel La revenante at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre (second floor). Jocelyne Saucier, winner of the Radio-Canada 2012 prix des lecteurs for her novel Il pleuvait des oiseaux will also be at the Aberdeen Cultural Centre on Friday, April 26 at 6:30 pm for a conversation hosted by French author Olivier Barrot. Finally, author of acclaimed novel La fiancée américaine, Éric Dupont will be meeting his fans during a book club on Saturday, April 27 at 10 am at the Delta Beauséjour Café.

Community Read
The Frye Festival’s Community Read invites French and English-speaking readers to enjoy one book in the language of their choice and come meet its author for a bilingual chat. The Festival invites everyone to read Ru in its original French or in its English translation and to meet acclaimed Canadian novelist Kim Thúy on Saturday, April 27 at 2 pm. The event takes place at Moncton city Hall and is PWYC.


Music and Words
The Frye Jam is always a great evening filled with excellent music and readings and this year’s edition will not disappoint. On Saturday, April 27 at 10 pm at the Empress Theatre, authors Joséphine Bacon, Allan Cooper, Miranda Hill and Dominic Langlois will read excerpts from their work accompanied by the jazz/rock group Les Païens. The quintet will also accompany local singing sensation Caroline Savoie and Moncton’s own John Jerome. Then, everyone will have the chance to discover the music of Leif Vollebekk from Montreal and VJ Kvn Mac who will offer video projections, a first for the Frye Jam. Admission is $14.

Statue of Northrop Frye
Statue of Northrop Frye

So much more!
On Wednesday, April 24, the Frye Festival will feature some of our most talented up and coming Francophone and Anglophone writers during Prelude: Emerging NB Writers. Julie Aubé, Katrine Noël, Wanda O’Connor, Kerry-Lee Powell, and Emily Skov-Nielsen will read at the Tide and Boar at 7:30 pm. This evening is presented in collaboration with the Writers’ Federation of NB. Admission is PWYC.

Our Authors in Conversation events take place at Moncton City Hall on Thursday, April 25 and Friday, April 26, each featuring four authors discussing a specific topic (admission is $10 each). First, Anne Compton, Daniel Lessard, Alix Ohlin and Jocelyne Saucier will talk about the effects of criticism, positive and negative, on their career at Don’t Judge a Book by Its Back Cover. Then, The Back Story will feature Joséphine Bacon, Deni Y. Béchard, Éric Dupont and CS Richardson talking about how life experiences and personal backgrounds shape their stories.

Come hear Éric Dupont, Dominic Langlois, Alix Ohlin and CS Richardson read at Beer and Books on Friday, April 26 at 5 pm at the Tide and Boar. Entrance is PWYC.

School-Youth Program
The Frye Festival School-Youth program is a vital component of the Festival that helps more than 10,000 students discover the magic of the written word through their interactions with authors from Canada and around the world. Authors will visit classrooms and auditoriums throughout New Brunswick all week, at no charge to the schools.

Café Underground is an annual meeting of young people brimming with creativity and talent. These budding writers are already wielding their pen (or keyboard) with passion and ardour. The evening features performances by high school students who have written prose, poetry and songs. Fans, friends, and parents are invited to attend at the Empress Theatre on Wednesday, April 24 at 7 pm. Free admission.

Budding Writers puts the spotlight on local students from grades 5 to 8 who will read from their work on Saturday, April 27 at 2 pm at the Capitol Theatre. The 2013 ambassadors, authors Charlotte Gingras and Sara O’Leary, will be there to meet the young writers. Free admission. Imagination at Work features the works of students in Kindergarten to grade four, and all works will be available online through our Beyond the Fridge initiative.

KidsFest begins at 9:30 am at Moncton’s Public Library and Blue Cross Centre on Saturday, April 27. Children and parents are in for a wonderful morning of crafts, contests, word games, a photo booth, book swaps and readings by Sylvie Desrosiers (in French) at 10 am and Philip Roy (in English) at 10:30 am. At 11 am, we will celebrate the Moncton Public Library’s 100th anniversary with Mascot Palooza and a giant cake. Free admission.


The Frye Festival will end the 2013 celebrations on Sunday, April 28 with Poet Flyé says bye bye at 11 am at the Greater Moncton International Airport. Poet flyé Gabriel Robichaud will perform his poèm flyé and the winner of the 2012-2013 Frye Academy debate will be announced. Musical guests Sébastien Michaud and Denis Surette will also be there. Admission is free and snacks will be provided.

TICKETS
Tickets for Soirée Frye are on sale at the Capitol Theatre (811, Main), at (506) 856-4379 or online at www.capitol.nb.ca. Tickets for the Maillet-Frye Lecture are on sale at the théâtre l’Escaouette (170 Botsford St.) or (506) 855-0001. Tickets for all other events will be on sale at the door.

About the Frye Festival
The Frye Festival is Atlantic Canada’s largest literary happening. It presents events year-round, culminating in a week of festivities at the end of April. The 14th annual Frye Festival will take place April 22 to 28, 2013 in the Greater Moncton area and will feature 30 local, Canadian and international authors taking part in various events. Information about the Festival and its mission is available at www.frye.ca.