Archive for November, 2011
Quill and Quire on CBC-TV TBLP miniseries
Friday, November 25th, 2011CBC TV mini-series based on TBLP
Friday, November 25th, 2011
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.
My piece in the engineering magazine, The Voice
Friday, November 11th, 2011Not every one of my friends and acquaintances knows that I actually have an engineering degree, and at one point in my life, planned to make engineering my career. Much has happened since my university days, but I still wear my iron ring with pride. A month or so ago, I spoke to a group of engineers about how I felt my engineering education prepared me for life as a political advisor, public affairs/public relations professional, and a novelist. Those of you who have read my first two novels will understand that even though I’ve never worked as an engineer, engineering is still a part of me. So when the editor of The Voice, the magazine of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, invited me to write a piece about my engineering education, I was very pleased to accept. You can read the article by clicking here, or on the graphic below, and scrolling down to page 14:
I’m the Canada Reads 2012 resident blogger
Sunday, November 6th, 2011This is going to be fun. In fact, it’s already been fun. Winning Canada Reads last February quite literally changed my life as a writer. I am so grateful for the experience. So I’m thrilled that I get to hang on to Canada Reads a little longer as the resident blogger for the 2012 annual battle of the books. If you’ve noticed that I’ve been posting less and less frequently on my blog of late, part of the reason is that I’m deep into reading the Canada Reads Top 10 that were unveiled on November 1st. As well, I’ve already written my first official Canada Reads blog post and it went live last Wednesday. I’ll be blogging every week throughout Canada Reads 2012. I’ll also be moderating the online chats with each author, attending the offiical launch later in November, and I’m sure happily doing a few other things along the way.
So there may be slim pickings here on my own blog in the coming weeks, but I hope you’ll follow my Canada Reads 2012 posts each week. In the meantime, why don’t you head out to your favourite book store and pick up some of the Canada Reads Top 10 books? It’s non-fiction this year for a change. Trust me. You’ll be amazed and captivated by the storytelling.