We are so excited that this year’s County Reads Debate will take place in person on Thursday, April 20 at 7 p.m. at St. Mary Magdalene Church.

Four brave locals will each defend a Canadian book and at the end of the evening you’ll have the chance to vote your favourite.

MaryAnn Farrell will present “Greenwood” by Michael Christie, Andrew Janikowski will present “Operation Angus” by Terry Fallis, Dominique Jones will present “No More Nice Girls” by Lauren McKeon”, and Holly Kent will present “Why Birds Sing” by Nina Berkhout. Tickets are $5 at any branch of the library or at the door.

The County Reads Authors Festival will be held online as Zoom webinars. Register at peclibrary.org. If you need any assistance getting registered or want to watch from within the library please call (613) 476-5962.

The first author event will be on Thursday, April 20 at 2 p.m. Sheila Murray will discuss her book “Finding Edward”. Cyril Rowntree migrates to Toronto from Jamaica in 2012. Managing a precarious balance of work and university, he begins to navigate his way through the implications of being racialized in his challenging new land. Sheila will be interviewed by Judith Burfoot.

On Friday, April 21 Shelagh Mathers will interview Helen Humphreys about her book, “And a Dog Called Fig: Solitude, Connection, The Writing Life” at 2 p.m. What an artist needs is a companion with emotional intelligence, innate curiosity, passion, energy and an enthusiasm for the world beyond, but also the capacity to sleep contentedly for many hours. What an artist needs, Helen Humphreys would say, is a dog.

David A. Robertson discussing his book “The Theory of Crows” with Peter Blendell at 3 p.m. When a troubled father and his estranged teenage daughter head out onto the land in search of the family trapline, they find their way back to themselves, and to each other.

On Saturday, April 22, Iain Reid, author of “We Spread” will chat with Ken Murray at 2p.m. “We Spread” explores questions of conformity, art, productivity, relationships, and what, ultimately, it means to grow old.

Tom Harrison will interview Mark Bourrie about his book, “Big Men Fear Me” at 3 p.m. In “Big Men Fear Me”, Bourrie tells the remarkable story of George McCullagh’s inspirational rise and devastating fall, and with it sheds new light on the resurgence of populist politics, challenges to collective action, and attacks on the free press that characterize our own tumultuous era.

Each of these books are available at the library and at Books and Company in Picton. Join us for what promises to be a very interesting County Reads Authors Festival.

-Liz Zylstra