With my role as resident blogger for Canada Reads winding down, I’ve started to look ahead to what’s coming up for me on the book front in the next several months. It’s going to be a very hectic, but fun, time. I’m on the road a bit (Moncton, Vancouver Island, Winnipeg, Moose Jaw, and Ottawa), which is always a bit of challenge given that I work fulltime. It means that I use a few vacation days to make it all work. It also helps that my colleagues here at Thornley Fallis are very supportive and understanding. Anyway, here’s what the sched through to the end of the summer looks like, though it changes day-to-day as new gigs come in. To see it all, click here, or on the Appearances tab up on the upper-left side of this blog. With my third novel, Up and Down, being released by McClelland & Stewart on September 16th, the autumn is filling up, too!

Coming up…

• Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 7:30 p.m.: A talk and reading at a book club in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

• Wednesday, February 1, 2012, 1:00 p.m.: Participating in an e-book signing with Wilfrid Laurier University Bookstore and Idolvine.

• Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 7:30 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Heliconian Literary Lecture Series, Toronto.

• Thursday, February 9, 2012, 12:00 noon: A luncheon talk to the Ontario Bar Association, Toronto.

• Thursday, February 9, 2012, 6:00 p.m.: Fulfilling authorial duties at The Book Lover’s Ball, Royal York Hotel, Toronto, Ontario.

• Monday, February 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and reading at a private book club in Toronto.

• Monday, March 5, 2012, 4:00 p.m.: A talk to a CanLit class at Lakehead University that is studying The Best Laid Plans, Orillia, Ontario.

• Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and reading at a private book club in Toronto.

• Thursday, March 15, 2012, 10:00 a.m.: A talk and reading at the Twin Lakes Probus Club in Orillia, Ontario.

• Tuesday, March 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the L. P. Fisher Public Library, in Woodstock, New Brunswick.

• Friday, March 23 – Saturday, March 24, 2012: Talks, readings, and signings at the Words on the Water Writers’ Festival, Campbell River, Vancouver Island, B.C.

• Thursday, March 29, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and reading at the Brantford Public Library, Brantford, Ontario.

• Saturday, April 7, 2012, Time: TBD: A talk and reading at the Listowel Public Library, Listowel, Ontario.

• Thursday, April 12, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Taylor Branch of the Toronto Public Library.

• Sunday, April 15, 2012, 1:00 p.m.: A reading and signing for the Writers & Friends, a fundraiser for Horizons of Friendship, Memorial Hall, Kingston City Hall, Kingston, Ontario.

• Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 11:00 a.m.: A talk and reading at the Gateway Probus Club in Collingwood, Ontario.

• Thursday, April 19, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and reading at the Tweed Public Library, Tweed, Ontario.

• Friday, April 20, 2012, 1:30 p.m.: A talk and reading at a private book club in Bobcaygeon, Ontario.

• Friday, April 20, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at Dunsford United Church in Bobcaygeon, Ontario.

• Tuesday, April 24, 2012, 7:30 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Township of Russell Public Library, Russell, Ontario.

• Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 6:00 p.m.: Fulfilling authorial duties at the annual Writers’ Trust Politics and the Pen Gala, Ottawa, Ontario.

• Thursday, April 26, 2012, 1:00 p.m.: Talks to students at College Avenue Secondary School, as part of Woodstock Reads in Woodstock, Ontario.

• Thursday, April 26, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading and signing for Woodstock Reads at the Woodstock Public Library, Woodstock, Ontario.

• Friday, April 27 – Sunday April 29, 2012, Time TBC: Talks, readings, and signings at schools and other venues as part of the Frye Festival, Moncton, New Brunswick.

• Thursday, May 3, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing in Dundas for the Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Federal Liberal Association.

• Wednesday, May 8, 2012, 10:00 a.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Probus Club of South Muskoka, Bracebridge, Ontario.

• Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and reading at a private book club in Toronto.

• Monday, June 4, 2012, 10:00 a.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the New Appleby Burlington Probus Club, Burlington, Ontario.

• Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Innisfil Public Library, Cookstown, Ontario.

• Thursday, June 7, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Literary Evening of the annual conference of the College Association of Language and Literacy hosted by Seneca College, Toronto.

• Wednesday, June 13, 2012, 2:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at a Women’s Probus Club in Collingwood, Ontario.

• Thursday, June 14, 2012, 10:00 a.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Probus Club of Wasaga Beach, Wasaga Beach, Ontario.

• Monday, June 18, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at McNally Robinson Grant Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

• Tuesday, June 19, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: A talk and signing at the Canadian Engineering Education Association annual conference, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

• Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 12:00 noon: A talk and reading at a book club at St. Christopher’s Church, Burlington, Ontario.

• Thursday, July 5, 2012, 10:00 a.m.: A talk, reading, and signing at the Midland-Huronia Probus Club, Midland, Ontario.

• Thursday, July 19 – Sunday July 22, 2012: Talks, readings, and signings at the Saskatchewan Festival of Words, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.

• Thursday, July 26, 2012, 12:00 noon: A talk and reading at a private book club in Scarborough, Ontario.

• Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 7:00 p.m.: Keynote at the annual conference of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Ottawa Convention Centre, Ottawa, Ontario.

Phew… I’m tired… but no time to rest, the new novel and a busy autumn beckon…

• I did 95 talks and readings over the course of the year, a pace of nearly two each week. I travelled to Vancouver, Whistler, the Sunshine Coast, Calgary, Banff, Halifax, Ottawa, and all through Ontario.

• In early February, The Best Laid Plans, due largely to Ali Velshi’s stellar advocacy, snared the 2011 Canada Reads crown. This put TBLP on the bestsellers list for much of the year and even dragged The High Road on to the list in its wake.

• In April, The High Road was shortlisted for the 2011 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.

• In May, I officially signed with McClelland & Stewart for my third novel.

• In June, I started teaching at the University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies Creative Writing program. I developed, and have now twice taught, a five week course on how to build an audience for your writing.

• In July, TBLP was the only novel included in the twelve books shortlisted for the Best Canadian Political Book of the Last 25 Years honour compiled by the Samara Foundation and The Writers’ Trust.

• In late October, I finished the manuscript for my third novel, tentatively entitled Up and Down, and in November, passed it along to my wonderful editor and publisher at M&S, Douglas Gibson.

• In November, I started my stint as CBC’s resident blogger for Canada Reads 2012.

• Also in November, CBC announced that it is developing The Best Laid Plans as a six-part television miniseries.

• In December, the City of Woodstock announced that The High Road had been chosen as the official Woodstock Reads 2012 selection.

• Finally, to close out the year, Margaret Atwood “tweeted” very positively to her nearly 289,000 followers after reading The Best Laid Plans.

As you can see, it was a very happy fifth year in my life as a writer. I am one, very grateful novelist.

Looking ahead, there’s more excitement coming in 2012. First and foremost, my third novel will hit bookstore shelves in September. Beyond that, who knows?

Our encounter came back to me this morning when I opened Twitter on my iPad to get caught up on all the news. Of course I’m one of Margaret Atwood’s nearly 289,000 followers. I had to sit back down again when this Tweet passed through in my Twitter stream:

I guess she kept that piece of paper from Picton. What a thrilling way to close out a wonderful year in my still fledgling life as a writer. Well, twelve hours later, I’m still sitting down. Tomorrow I may try to stand up, but I don’t want to rush it…

I’ve been sitting on this news for a few months now, but it’s finally official. The Best Laid Plans is in development as a six-part mini-series to be aired on CBC television. Jian Ghomeshi made the announcement as part of the big reveal this week of the five finalists for this year’s Canada Reads crown. A hugh crowd was gathered in the atrium of the CBC Broadcast Centre. It was a great event, but I confess my heart was pounding as Jian told the assembled throng that The Best Laid Plans was headed for television. What a thrill.

The director/producer of the mini-series, Peter Moss, is a very experienced television and theatre veteran having adapted the works of others writers including Mordecai Richler and Timothy Findley. The writing team is in place and they are true professionals. I’m honoured to have the story in their hands. You’ll hear more about them and the cast when all of the pieces are in place.

Jian Ghomeshi announces the TV mini-series.

This all began back in the summer when Peter approached my agent, Beverley Slopen, and me to secure the film and TV rights to the novel. It’s incredibly exciting to contemplate the story coming to life on the small screen. I’ll get to stay involved in the project throughout as a “story consultant,” not so that I can jealously protect my work, but really just to indulge my curiosity about the whole process of adapting a novel to television. I think it’s going to be a fascinating experience. I couldn’t be happier about how it’s all come together. I”ll keep you posted as we cross certain thresholds in the production. But it’s going to take a while. We’re probably at least 18 months away from seeing Angus on television. Be patient, art takes time! Thanks for all your kind words since the news broke, and stay tuned…

Jian Ghomeshi had me stand up at the Canada Reads launch after announcing the mini-series.

In the two days since Steve Jobs passed away, there has been no end of worthy trubutes to an extraordinary visionary. Most of the eulogies have rightly focused on how he changed our way of life and how we interact with technology. He changed our world with the wonders he dreamed up in Cupertino, California, including the Mac personal computer, iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone, and most recently, the iPad. My debt to Steve Jobs extends a little further. Those who know me will agree that unlike my twin brother, Tim, I’m no crazed Apple fanboy. Tim is all Apple, all the time. But, in 2006, my life took a turn when I bought my first 1gig iPod, and discovered the world of podcasting.

Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve loved listening to CBC Radio. I learned so much from shows like The House, Sunday Morning, Morningside, As It Happens, Writers & Company, and of course the hourly newscasts. I was so interested in current affairs and politics back then that music would seldom be heard on the car radio. It was always the substance and depth of CBC. So when I first browsed through the podcast section of iTunes, I was hooked. Not only could I get my favourite CBC Radio shows whenever I wanted, but also podcasts from NPR , The Guardian, the BBC, the New York Times, Scientific American, and many others. For someone interested in books and the world around him, exploring the iTunes podcast directory was like visiting Disneyland. I immediatley subscribed to dozens of podcasts and considered having my ear buds surgically attached.

In the spring of 2006, I was so enamoured of podcasting that a colleague and I created Inside PR, Canada’s first podcast about public relations. My cohost, David Jones, and I recorded a half-hour show about our profession every week. And I mean every week. After more than 200 weekly consecutive episodes (if you do the math, that’s more than four years without missing a show), Dave and I finally surrendered our microphones to a new team of hosts including my friends Joe Thornley and Martin Waxman. So Inside PR lives on.

I know what you’re thinking. What does this have to do with making me a writer? Well, when I wrote my first novel, The Best Laid Plans, I spent a year in a futile search for an agent and/or publisher. Greeted with a deafening silence, I decided to build an audience for the novel on my own, and self-publish it. So in January of 2007, I began podcasting The Best Laid Plans, chapter by chapter, and made it avaialble for free on my website or through iTunes. In the absence of the very gratifying feedback I got about the podcast, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to go through with self-publishing my first novel. But the podcast version of The Best Laid Plans was very warmly received and still attracts new listeners every day, nearly five years after I began posting chapters.

After miraculously winning the 2008 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, I landed a wonderful literary agent and a publishing deal with McClelland & Stewart. Then the novel won the 2011 Canada Reads title and is now in its eleventh printing. M&S published the sequel, The High Road, in September 2010. It was a finalist for the 2011 Leacock Medal and is already in its fourth printing. I podcast The High Road too, just as I had my first novel. Finally, I’m two chapters from finishing the manuscript for my third novel, which M&S will publish in September 2012. I plan to podcast it as well.

Let me remind you of a sentence two paragraphs back. “In the absence of the very gratifying feedback I got about the podcast, I’m not sure I would have had the courage to go through with self-publishing my first novel.” That’s the Steve Jobs connection right there. Without the iPod, iTunes, and podcasting, it’s quite possible that The Best Laid Plans would still be a manuscript safely secreted in the electronic bowels of my laptop.

It’s been a surreal ride so far that may well have started when I bought my first iPod– that tiny perfect device born in the brain of Steve Jobs.

Everyday, I carry my iPod and my iPad with me where ever I go. I browse the podcast section of iTunes at least every other week in search of still more podcasts to feed my mind as I walk to the office every day. And late at night I’ll often be at my computer, working on a novel, as my iPod charges next to me…

Steve Jobs 1955-2011