What: Sidney and Peninsula Literary Festival
Where: Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Ave.
When: Friday to Sunday
Tickets: $15 to $140 (single event or weekend pass)
More information: sidneyliteraryfestival.ca
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Scaachi Koul is funny, smart, cutting and not afraid of controversy.
Koul, 26, is a writer for BuzzFeed whose humour, commentary and culture writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times and the Globe and Mail, as well other Canadian publications.
Last year, she received a barrage of online harassment after putting a call-out on Twitter for story pitches from non-white contributors, which made national news.
Koul will be in Victoria for the first time this weekend as a featured author in the Sidney and Peninsula Literary Festival, to read from her new book: One Day We鈥檒l All Be Dead And None Of This Will Matter.
The debut collection of essays details Koul鈥檚 experiences as a writer in Toronto, growing up in a South Asian family in Calgary and feeling like an outsider in sa国际传媒 and in India.
鈥淚 wanted to write a book I would鈥檝e wanted to read when I was younger, one that would鈥檝e made me feel a little less lonely or a little less uncomfortable,鈥� Koul said via email. 鈥淚 wrote the book for brown girls first. There鈥檚 a lot of talk around being relatable for a white audience, which I鈥檓 not too concerned about. I wrote for the people that I thought would appreciate it most, but I think the themes are pretty universal.鈥�
Koul writes a lot about her family 鈥� 鈥淭hey鈥檙e insane people, how could I not?鈥� she jokes 鈥� and they feature prominently in the book, which her parents support but have mixed feelings about.
鈥淢y mom read the book and called it 鈥榝unny and sad,鈥� which I鈥檇 consider a perfect review,鈥� Koul said. 鈥淢y dad didn鈥檛 read it 鈥� I think he knows that there are stories I tell that he鈥檚 not interested in learning, so sometimes it鈥檚 best to live in a bit of ignorance.鈥�
Koul said her experience of being harassed online and sometimes being criticized for her opinions hasn鈥檛 changed how she writes or dampened her tone.
鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to live like that 鈥� I can鈥檛 work with the feeling that someone is breathing down my neck, ready to say something insane about murdering me,鈥� said Koul about online trolls. She did note that she鈥檚 more careful about tagging her location and family on social media.
She gets different responses from different audiences.
鈥淚 think sometimes white people get sensitive when I talk about race, as if it鈥檚 a personal attack on them and their lives. People from other people-of-colour communities seem to have the same experiences that I do, so it seems like something they鈥檝e responded well to.鈥�
The festival strikes a balance between local favourites and a new vanguard of Canadian authors in fiction, non-fiction and poetry, with a mix of readings, workshops and panel discussions.
鈥淲e try to have a range of writers,鈥� said festival president Janet Daines. 鈥淚t started out as very grassroots, with local authors like Susan Musgrave and Patrick Lane. But we鈥檙e also trying to appeal to younger people and new audiences.鈥�
Participating authors include Guy Vanderhaeghe, Gary Barwin, Pat Carney, M.A.C. Farrant, Charlotte Gill, Anosh Irani, Yasuko Thanh, Katherine Govier, Kevin Patterson, Jan Zwicky, Pauline Holdstock, Robert J. Wiersema and sa国际传媒 columnist Jack Knox.
Wiersema is a Victoria novelist who teaches writing at Camosun College and Vancouver Island University and will conduct a fiction workshop. He said he鈥檚 always impressed with the range of writing students and their experiences.
鈥淲e tend to think of ourselves as this provincial little town, but people come here from all over with so many life experiences,鈥� Wiersema said. 鈥淭hat definitely comes out in their writing.
鈥淚n the workshop, we talk about how you see yourself as a writer, your dreams and goals, as well as what it鈥檚 like to be a full-time writer.鈥�