Writers at Night: The Writers' Trust Gala Series with Farzana Doctor

Tonight is the night and today is the final instalment in our Writers at Night series, celebrating the Writers' Trust Gala, an annual black tie fundraiser for the Writers' Trust. Tonight is the 27th annual gala and today we are speaking with Farzana Doctor, the author of Six Metres of Pavement (Dundurn Press).

This week we asked a handful of guest authors, like Farzana, to spill about their plans for the glitzy evening, including the most important question — what everyone will be wearing on the big night.

The Writers' Trust supports authors across Canada through a variety of programs, prizes and scholarships. You can read interviews with several guest authors by checking out our Writers at Night.

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?

Farzana Doctor:

This will be my second time. My favourite memory from last year was giving online dating advice to the Book Madam. I told her to be open to surprises. I might add that I am indirectly responsible for her happy love life which includes moving to San Diego to be with her new girlfriend, boogie boarding and eating a lot of Mexican food.

OB:

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

FD:

Six Metres of Pavement is the story of Ismail Boxwala, who made the worst mistake of his life twenty years ago. It’s a story about survival and redemption. He finds his way through unlikely relationships with three amazing women. By the way, I love the way our books look like fancy placemats at the tables!

OB:

What will you be wearing to the gala?

FD:

I found a gold sequined cocktail dress at a local vintage store. I’ll need to ask a few femme friends for advice on matching shoes. Do you think we could use this interview to crowd-source that question?

OB:

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

FD:

I’d love to sit beside Shauna Singh Baldwin. I feel much gratitude for her generosity. Without knowing me, she agreed to write an endorsement for Six Metres of Pavement. And without being asked, she also offered me three pages of editing suggestions, most of which I incorporated. I’d ask her to sign my copy of her new novel, The Selector of Souls.

Farzana Doctor’s first novel, Stealing Nasreen, received critical acclaim and was nominated for Masala!Mehndi!Masti! People’s Choice Award. She has also written on social work and diversity-related topics, and in her spare time she provides private practice consulting and psychotherapy services. She lives in Toronto.

For more information about Six Metres of Pavement please visit the Dundurn website.

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