Arts and Humanities Colloquium Series: "The Truth and Nothing But the Truth?"

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Friday, September 25th, 2015
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

At the VIU Arts and Humanities first fall Colloquium, bestselling author and VIU Creative Writing Department member Susan Juby will give an illustrated talk entitled, The Truth and Nothing But theTruth? It will appeal to readers and writers, as well as those interested in the state of young adult (YA) fiction. She will be joined by recent VIU fine arts graduate, Trevor Cooper, who will speak about the process of creating the illustrations, as well as about working with publishers, editors, the art director and the author.

Juby's latest novel, The Truth Commission, raises the thorny issues of truth and the ownership of stories. The novel examines the myriad complications that follow from any truth telling:  Who owns true stories? What is the writer’s responsibility when telling others’ stories?  "In addition," says Juby, "it provides readers with an absolute worst case example of having a writer in the family."

Juby will discuss the genesis of the book and how it fits into the context of contemporary young adult fiction, which she says, is "perhaps the most dynamic field in publishing today."  As young adult fiction has matured, writers have pushed at the boundaries of acceptable topics and narrative forms. Her talk will delve into the balancing act writers need to perform when writing for an audience with diverse and sometimes competing demands and discuss the role played by passionate YA advocates, including young readers, adults and specialists in YA fiction, who welcome risk-taking in the category.

Juby was raised in Smithers, BC, before moving to Toronto at age 20. She went on to get a degree in English Literature from UBC, become an editor at a self-help/how-to book publishing company, and earn a Master of Publishing degree from Simon Fraser University.

Her novels have been published all over the world and nominated for many awards, including the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award, the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, and an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America. She is the author of the bestselling Alice MacLeod trilogy, which was adapted into a CTV/Comedy Network television series called Alice, I Think. Alice, I Think was also named one of the essential 40 Young Adult novels by Rolling Stone Magazine.

On September 25 you are encouraged to come early at 9:30 for coffee, juice, cookies, and conversation in the theatre foyer.

Courtesy parking for this presentation will be available. Enter through Gate 5D (access from Fifth Street) and park in the lot to the right. From 9:15 to 10:00 am, students in safety vests will be near entrances to guide you and provide you with a pass for your dashboard. The pass will be good until 1:00 pm. (If this lot is full, go to gate 5F and park in one of the first two sections. Please see the following webpage for a view of the campus map to see the locations of the lots: https://viu.vincipark.ca/lots.php

For those of you have difficulty with stairs, please contact [email protected] if you would like us to raise the gate at entrance 5D (access from Fifth Street) between 9:30 and 10:00 and from 11:30 to 1:00 pm. With the gate up, it is possible to drive to the Theatre door and let someone off there.

Remember to mark your calendars for the following fall  presentations in the Arts & Humanities Colloquium Series:

October 16   Gregory Bush, Music Department, A Journey in Jazz: From Inspiration to Performance

November 20    Allyson Anderson, First Nations Studies Department, "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves": The Contrapuntal Rantings of a Half-Breed Girl

The Chair of the Arts and Humanities Colloquium Committee is Dr. Dawn Thompson ([email protected]). The Dean of Arts and Humanities is Dr. Ross MacKay.