Event Info
On Metafiction
Presented by Kingston WritersFest
3:30pm - 6:00pm
$47.68
Event Description
On Metafiction
Kevin Chong
Writers Retreat Master Class
Crawford Room
3:30 – 6:00 pm
Limited enrolment.
Get ready to subvert convention! While most stories hope to suspend the reader’s disbelief, metafiction actively reminds the reader that they are reading a work of fiction. In this workshop, you will explore examples and discuss techniques such as talking to the reader, alluding to the process of writing the story, writing characters who are aware that they are fictional and more.
Kevin Chong is the award-winning author of several books of fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in The Guardian, The Rumpus, and more. In his latest novel, The Double Life of Benson Yu, Kevin offers up a fresh, unique work of metafiction that follows a graphic novelist who loses control of his own narrative when he attempts to write the story of his fraught upbringing in 1980s Chinatown. Written during lock-down, “I desperately needed to write this book,” says Kevin. “I needed to create my own private space in my crowded, locked-down home. The routine of drafting a novel was my daytime equivalent of playing Agricola. I set about writing 500 words a day. Then 1000.” Iain Reid enthuses that "The Double Life of Benson Yu is a thought-provoking, gutsy novel from an accomplished risk taker. A daring and enriching book that lingers in the mind long after reading." Author Mateo Askaripour adds to the praise, calling it “a phenomenal example of a writer taking real risks in order to reveal and reckon with deep-rooted, tormenting truths as a means of moving forward. Kevin Chong has crafted a novel that will get your heart pumping, mind jumping, and, best of all, fingers turning. Get ready to laugh and have your expectations defied. I can only imagine how many people this book will help." He currently lives in Vancouver, where he is a professor at UBC.
Fri. September 29th 2023 + Add to Calendar
Holiday Inn Kingston-Waterfront, an IHG Hotel
