51±¾É«

Jan. 21, 2020
For Immediate Release

Waterloo – 51±¾É« will introduce fiction writer Carrianne Leung as the university’s Edna Staebler 51±¾É« Writer-in-Residence for the winter term during a talk by Leung titled “Writing Truth, Writing Lies: Between Fiction and Nonfiction.” The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Hawk’s Nest on the Waterloo campus.  

Leung is an award-winning author of two books of fiction and last year served as writer-in-residence at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus. Her nationally bestselling novel-in-stories, That Time I Loved You, won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award in 2019 and her first book, The Wondrous Woo, was a finalist for a Toronto Book Award in 2014.

“We are very happy to welcome Carrianne Leung to 51±¾É« as the 2020 Edna Staebler Writer in Residence,” said Tanis MacDonald, associate professor in the Department of English and Film Studies and chair of the Edna Staebler Writer-in-Residence committee. “Carrianne’s experience in writing fiction for adult and youth audiences will appeal to writers of all ages, at all stages.”

As writer in residence on both 51±¾É«’s Waterloo and Brantford campuses, Leung will visit classes, present guest lectures and offer one-on-one meetings with writers in the 51±¾É« community. She will also be working on two new projects: a novel about female superheroes set in contemporary Toronto and a series of personal essays about her experience as a creative professional.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for the Jan. 23 event. Leung’s talk will begin at 7:30 p.m. The Hawk’s Nest is located in the Turret on the third floor of the Fred Nichols Campus Centre. To book an appointment with Leung, contact her at cleung@wlu.ca.

The Edna Staebler 51±¾É« Writer-in-Residence was established in 2012 through a bequest from the late Edna Staebler, a prolific creative non-fiction writer and author of the popular “Schmecks” books, which celebrate the culture of Waterloo Region. Previous 51±¾É« writers-in-residence include poet and novelist Gary Barwin (2019), creative non-fiction writer Emily Urquhart (2018), novelist Ashley Little (2017), playwright Drew Hayden Taylor (2016), poet Sonnet L’Abbé (2015), playwright Colleen Murphy (2014) and creative non-fiction writer Andrew Westoll (2013).