FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2003

AUTHOR ROCH CARRIER TO SPEAK AT THIS YEAR’S FRIENDS OF THE BATA LIBRARY GALA EVENT

The Friends of the Bata Library, a group that raises funds for the purchase of special books and resources at Trent University, will hold its annual fundraising dinner on Thurday, May 8 at 7:15 p.m.

This dinner is an annual event for the Friends. Guest speakers have included the late Peter Gzowski, author and biographer Charlotte Gray and poet George Elliot Clark (runner-up of last year’s CBC Canada Reads competition for his book Whylah Falls). This year’s featured speaker is Roch Carrier.

Mr. Carrier has had a long and successful career as a writer, a university professor and a public administrator. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer of the Order of Canada, he holds honorary degrees from five Canadian and American universities. In recent years he has served as director of the Canada Council for the Arts, as consultant to the Canadian Film Development Corporation, as a director and advisor for a variety of Quebec-based theatre and cultural endeavours, and as advisor to the Quebec Minister of Cultural Affairs. He has been Canada’s National Librarian since 1999.

Over the last five decades, Mr. Carrier has become one of Canada’s outstanding writers. With Michel Tremblay, he is perhaps the best known and most widely-read Quebec author in English Canada. Many of his books have been translated by Sheila Fischman, and he is perhaps most famous for his children’s story Le Chandail de Hockey (The Hockey Sweater). Mr. Carrier began his career as a poet and short story writer, and began to write novels in the late 1960s.

The Friends of the Bata Library dinner will take place at Scott House, Catharine Parr Traill College, Trent University (310 London Street). There will be a reception and cash bar beginning at 6:30 p.m. Books will be available for sale and Mr. Carrier would be pleased to autograph copies.

Tickets are only $50 per person, which includes a wonderful dinner and a tax receipt for $25 from Trent University. Money from this event will be used to purchase books, maps and other valuable study resources for the Bata Library. For tickets call Janice Millard (748-1011, ext. 1326) or Michael Peterman (748-1011, ext. 1737).

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For further information, please contact:
Prof. Michael Peterman, Trent University, (705) 748-1011, ext. 1737