The Toronto-based Luminato arts festival has announced its 2009 lineup, and fanboys the city over will be pleased to know that the theme for the literary programming is “fantasy, horror, and Gothic.” They’ll likely be even more pleased that fantasy icon Neil Gaiman is the headliner. He’ll be flying into town for a night billed as “An Evening With Neil Gaiman,” in which he’ll reveal some of the hidden corners of his “darkly fantastic imagination,” according to the Luminato press release.
Meanwhile, Globe and Mail scribe Russell Smith will host an event featuring three authors of psychological suspense: Patrick McGrath, who’ll kick off the Canadian launch of his latest novel, Trauma; Sarah Langan, winner of the 2007 Bram Stoker Award, who’ll read from her novel The Missing; and Quebec author Monique Proulx, who’ll read from her newest novel, Wildlives. Later in the fest will be “Gothic Toronto: Writing the City Macabre,” which will feature six writers “ including Ann-Marie MacDonald and Andrew Pyper “ concocting ghoulish tales set in Toronto.
There’ll be some non-fantasy-related programming, too: 2008 Man Booker Prize winner Aravind Adiga will headline “World Voices in Fiction,” an evening with new or rising international literary stars. And Canadian children’s authors and illustrators will be feted at readings across the city in partnership with the Toronto Public Library.
For the full details, click here.