Western Reads is back! Western Reads is a book club series that invites alumni and friends to join us in reading works by celebrated Canadian authors.

We kick off the program with Hellgoing, a short story collection by Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Lynn Coady. With astonishing range and depth, Coady gives us nine unforgettable new stories, each one grabbing our attention from the first line and resonating long after the last.

Lynn Coady is the author of the bestselling novel The Antagonist, which was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, as well as the novels Mean Boy, Saints of Big Harbour, and Strange Heaven and the short story collection Play the Monster Blind. She has been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour, and has four times made the Globe and Mail’s annual list of Top 100 Books. Originally from Cape Breton, she now lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where she is a founding and senior editor of the award-winning magazine Eighteen Bridges.

Light refreshments will be available.

Please register online by Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The following celebrity readers will attend the event and join the discussion:

David Simmonds, Western alumnus & VP, Pulbic Affairs at McKesson Canada
As VP, Government Affairs at McKesson Canada, David Simmonds provides strategic communications, stakeholder engagement, and public affairs  leadership on public policy issues facing McKesson's healthcare businesses. He is a member of Western University's Alumni Association Board of  Directors; Summit Advisory Committee Member at CivicAction; and Secretary of the Board at Casey House. A sought after speaker David's commentary can be found in the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and on CBC News: The National.

Betty Anne Younker, Dean of the Don Wright Faculty of Music at Western
Betty Anne Younker returns to Western University as dean and professor of Music Education of the Don Wright Faculty. She was on faculty from 1997-  2000 during which time she was awarded the Dr. Pedro Goldman Award by the Faculty of Music Students' Council. In addition, she was awarded the  distinguished Alumnus of the Year by Pennsylvania State University College of Arts and Architecture (2008). Before returning to Western, Younker was  associate dean for Academic Affairs and associate professor of Music Education at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include critical and  creative thinking within the disciplines of philosophy and psychology. Before appointments at the university level, Younker taught in band, choral, and  general music settings in the public school system as well as taught flute students from beginning to university levels of performance.

Please contact Western Alumni if you require information in an alternate format, or if any other arrangements can make this event accessible to you.