Glad Day Bookshop

Join the Rowers team for a splendid June evening of poetry and prose featuring Cassandra Blanchard, Derek Mascarenhas, Anubha Mehta, and Judy Rebick (see bios below).

Glad Day Bookshop's entrance is wheelchair accessible. The washroom is partially accessible. The nearest TTC subway station is Wellesley and street parking is available. Admission is free. A jar is passed for voluntary donations.

Rowers acknowledges financial assistance from The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council, The Toronto Arts Council. Individual features may be funded The League of Canadian Poets' Canada Poetry Tours or The Writers' Union of Canada's National Public Readings Program.

Cassandra Blanchard was born in Whitehorse, Yukon and is part of the Selkirk First Nation. She attended the University of British Columbia and received a Bachelor of Arts. Fresh Pack of Smokes is her first book. She currently lives on Vancouver Island.

Derek Mascarenhas is a graduate of the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies Creative Writing Program, a finalist and runner up for the Penguin Random House of Canada Student Award for Fiction, and a nominee for the Marina Nemat Award. He has works published in places such as The Dalhousie Review, Switchback, The Fieldstone Review, Maple Tree Literary Supplement, Cosmonauts Avenue, The Rusty Toque, Joyland, and The Antigonish Review. Derek Mascarenhas is one of four children born to parents who emigrated from Goa, India, and settled in Burlington, Ontario. A backpacker who has traveled across six continents, Derek currently resides in Toronto.

Anubha Mehta is a Canadian writer and artist who was born in India. With a doctorate in Political Science, and two decades of Canadian public service experience, Anubha has been awarded for her leadership work with diverse communities. Her book, The Politics of Nation Building and Art Patronage (2012), was a culmination of years of her research in late 1990s. Her short stories and poems have been published in several Canadian magazines and journals and reflect her travels and life lived on both sides of the globe. She currently lives in Mississauga, Ontario. Peacock in the Snow is her debut novel. www.AnubhaMehta.com

Judy Rebick is a life-long feminist activist, journalist, and writer. She is the founder of rabble.ca, a former President of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, a leader of the pro-choice movement and author of six books, most recently a memoir, Heroes in My Head (House of Anansi, 2018). Follow her on twitter @judyrebick