Hey Janie Chang, I Have Been Wondering
Event Information
About this event
"I Have Been Wondering" is a limited series hosted by author and public speaker Danny Ramadan. Each month, Ramadan invites an author who identifies within the LGBTQ2+ community, and/or a racially marginalized community, to read for 15 minutes, then share a 30 minutes conversation, ending with a 15 minutes question period.
The event will be ticketed and will be hosted on a Zoom Webinar. At the end of the season, all six readings will be available for free on Ramadan's YouTube's channel. A No questions asked policy on providing free tickets to those asking for them will also be instituted.
Proud to be hosting Janie Chang for the November edition at 6pm on Thursday November 12th, 2020.
Janie Chang writes historical fiction that draws from a family history with 36 generations of recorded genealogy. She grew up listening to family stories about life in a small Chinese town and tales of ancestors who encountered dragons, ghosts, and immortals. Her first novel, THREE SOULS, was a finalist for the 2014 BC Book Prizes Fiction Prize; DRAGON SPRINGS ROAD, was a Globe and Mail national bestseller. Both were nominated for the International Dublin Literary Award. Her third book, THE LIBRARY OF LEGENDS, is a Globe and Mail national bestseller.
Future series authors are:
- December: Michael V. Smith.
- January: Faraza Doctor.
- February: Larissa Lai.
- And more!
Online Anti-harrasement policy:
That attendees will refrain from harassment of any sort including (but not limited to): visuals, language, comments, or questions of a racist, homophobic, sexist/sexual, or threatening nature. This includes actions that disrupt or interfere in any way with other attendees’ ability to participate. We do not tolerate harassment of any kind and will immediately disconnect offenders from the event.
While this event is hosted online, Danny Ramadan will be live from his home on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. As a newcomer and an univited guest on this land, I am thankful for the generousity and love I have personally received from folks identifying within the First Nations here, and across Canada. I also acknowledge the continued role of colonalization in the opression of the First Nations People, as well as other merginalized identities.
Organizer Danny Ramadan
Organizer of Hey Janie Chang, I Have Been Wondering
Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author, public speaker and LGBTQ+ refugees activist.
The Clothesline Swing, Ramadan’s debut novel, won the Independent Publisher Book Award for LGBT Fiction, The Canadian Authors Association’s award for Best Fiction, and was shortlisted for Evergreen Award, Sunburst Award and a Lambda Award. It was long listed for Canada Reads 2018. The novel is translated to French, German and Hebrew.
His children book, Salma the Syrian Chef, is released in March 2020 by Annick Press. The book received positive reviews, and is nominated to the 2021 Forest of Reading’s Blue Spruce Award.
He won the Fiddlehead Short Fiction Contest 2018 with My Name is Bridge, and was a finalist for the Bridge Prize with The Miraculous Return of Khaled from the Dead.
His forthcoming novel, The Foghorn Echoes, to be released by Penguin Canada in Summer 2022. He is also working on a collection of short fiction, The Syrian Survival Notebook, and a YA novel, Son of the Silk Maker.
He was named among the Top Immigrants to Canada 2017 as well as awarded the Mark S. Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Award for Excellency.
He graduated with a Masters in Fine Arts – Creative Writing at UBC and lives with his husband, Matthew Ramadan, in Vancouver.
Ramadan was selected as the Writer in Residence for the Saskatoon Public Library between September 2020 and May 2021.
