A Down East Kitchen Party with Donna Morrissey

When a deathbed confession uncovers secrets about his birth, twenty-year-old Roan—who has always believed himself an orphan, with no last name—sets off on a quest to discover the truth of his origins. His journey takes him across the snow-covered landscape of Newfoundland from the remote Northern Peninsula to St. John’s and then onto the Newfoundland, one of the rickety and poorly equipped ships heading out to the sealing grounds for the spring hunt.

For us, Donna has always been part of the Blue Heron Books family, and we’re excited to welcome her back to Ontario this fall as part of The Book Drunkard Festival in conversation with Brad Smith. In the spirit of a family reunion, you’re invited to a Newfoundland ‘kitchen party’ celebrating the Ontario launch of Donna’s new book, Rage The Night. Join us for lively conversations, literary enthusiasm, and a deeper look at Roan’s journey.

Ticket prices include a signed copy of Rage The Night and light refreshments.

“A search for identity becomes a struggle to survive in a merciless place. Donna Morrissey tells a powerful story with eloquence and indelible detail—of people and a place in a time soon to be lost to living memory.”

—Linden MacIntyre, award-winning author of The Bishop’s Mand and The Winter Wives

DONNA MORRISSEY is the author of the nationally bestselling memoir Pluck, which was a finalist for the Atlantic Book Awards’ Non-Fiction Award, and of six acclaimed and bestselling novels. Among her honours are the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Fiction for The Fortunate Brother; Sylvanus Now was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize; and The Deception of Livvy Higgs was a One Read pick for Nova Scotia in 2017. Her fiction has also won awards in the US and the UK, and has been translated into several languages. Born and raised in Newfoundland, she lives in Halifax.

BRAD SMITH is an internationally acclaimed novelist and screenwriter. Brad Smith is the author of 14 novels to date, including THE RETURN OF KID COOPER, winner of the 2019 SPUR AWARD from the Western Writers of America, ONE-EYED JACKS and COPPERHEAD ROAD, both short-listed for the Dashiell Hammett Award, and ALL HAT, adapted to a feature film which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, starring Luke Kirby, Rachael Leigh Cooke and Keith Carradine. Smith also wrote and directed the Bravo short, FADING FAST.

Smith’s writing draws on his wellspring of experiences working across Canada, the U.S. and Africa, at a variety of jobs, including railway signalman, truck driver, bartender, ditch digger, school teacher, farmer, maintenance electrician and
roofer. He restores vintage cars and currently owns a 1968 Mustang and a 1937 Ford coupe. He is a baseball fanatic and plays golf regularly with varying degrees of success. He lives in a 90-year-old farmhouse in southern Ontario.

NOVELS

RISES A MORAL MAN – 1990 – Penumbra Press

ONE-EYED JACKS – 2000 – Doubleday Canada

ALL HAT – 2003 – Penguin Canada

BUSTED FLUSH – 2005 – Penguin Canada

BIG MAN COMING DOWN THE ROAD – 2007 – Penguin Canada

RED MEANS RUN – 2012 – Simon & Schuster Canada

CROW’S LANDING – 2013 – Simon & Schuster Canada

SHOOT THE DOG – 2014 – Simon & Schuster Canada

ROUGH JUSTICE – 2016 – Severn House

HEARTS OF STONE – 2017 – Severn House

THE RETURN OF KID COOPER – 2018 – Skyhorse

THE GOLIATH RUN – 2020 – At Bay Press

CACTUS JACK – 2020 – Skyhorse

COPPERHEAD ROAD – 2022 – At Bay Press

SCREENPLAYS

ALL HAT – Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2007

FADING FAST – Bravo TV