For 30 years, The Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Margaret Laurence Lecture Series has invited Canada's most prominent authors to discuss the theme of “A Writer's Life." Margaret Atwood, Alistair MacLeod, Dionne Brand, Guy Vanderhaeghe, and Mavis Gallant, among others, have all shared candid stories of how they became writers.

Intimate in tone, frank, and revealing, these lectures give us unprecedented access to the heroes and heroines of Canadian literature, insights into their work, the profession of writing, and chart the development of our country’s literary community.

Jean Little, a pioneer in the writing of Canadian children’s literature, will deliver this year’s lecture.

A reception for this event will take place 9:00pm – 10:00pm. 

Jean Little is a successful contemporary writer of children's fiction. She has won acclaim in Canada and abroad, having written more than 50 books. She was educated at the University of Toronto and was a special-education teacher before turning to writing full time, following the publication of her first book, Mine for Keeps, in 1962. Almost blind since birth, she uses much of her real-life experience as the basis for her writing. Her novels, picture books, and poetry treat with insight such universal themes as loneliness, alienation, intolerance, family stress, and the difficulties in interpersonal and intercultural relationships. Little’s characters often deal with physical disabilities or confront psychological difficulties. Her best-known book is From Anna (1972), which has sold more than 130,000 copies. She is a past recipient of the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People and the Matt Cohen Award: In Celebration of a Writing Life. Little lives in Guelph, Ontario.

Venue: Harbourfront Centre Theatre