Writers at Night: The Writers' Trust Gala Series with Camilla Gibb

This Thursday, November 24, marks the 26th annual Writers' Trust Gala, a black tie fundraising event for the venerable literary charity that plays host to dozens of the finest writers in Canada.

Today Open Book speaks with Camilla Gibb, author of The Beauty of Humanity Movement (Random House Canada), as part of our Writers at Night series celebrating the gala's talented guest authors.

Open Book:

Is this your first time attending the Writers' Trust Gala? If so, to what aspect of the event are you most looking forward? If you've attended before, what is one of your favourite gala memories?

Camilla Gibb:

This is actually my 12th WT Gala. I always enjoy landing at a table of people I’ve never met before and discovering uncommon connections and a shared love of literature.

OB:

Each guest at your table receives a copy of your latest book as a gift. Tell us a bit about your recent book.

CG:

The Beauty of Humanity Movement is a novel set in contemporary Vietnam. It explores the intersections of three peoples' lives and how collectively, they might unravel some of the mysteries of the past. It is a book that has nothing to do with the war and everything to do with a country very much alive.

OB:

What will you be wearing to the gala?

CG:

It’s a busy book season. Between the Gillers, the Writers’ Trust Awards and the IFOA, some recycling is bound to occur. I am partial to grey these days.

OB:

What Canadian writer, living or dead, would you most like to sit next to at dinner? What might you ask him or her?

CG:

I’d probably ask him out on a date and hope to talk about anything other than writing, so I think I’ll refrain from naming names.

Camilla Gibb was born in London, England, and grew up in Toronto. Her first novel, Mouthing the Words, sold internationally and won the City of Toronto Book Award in 2000. Her second novel, The Petty Details of So-and-So’s Life, was also published to great acclaim around the world and was selected by the Globe and Mail as one of the Best Books of the Year. Gibb’s third best-selling novel, Sweetness in the Belly, was shortlisted for the 2005 Scotiabank Giller Prize and won the Trillium Award. Camilla Gibb lives in Toronto and works with the creative writing programs at the Universities of Toronto and Guelph-Humber. She is currently working on a new novel and a memoir.

For more information about The Beauty of Humanity Movement please visit the Random House Canada website.

Buy this book at your local independent bookstore or online at Chapters/Indigo or Amazon.