Horrormeister King to make Canadian debut at new books fest

Bestselling writer Stephen King will make his first public appearance in Canada next month atBooked!, a new literary festival set for Toronto this June.

The prolific U.S. author is set to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Canadian Booksellers Association during the three-day event, scheduled to run June 7-9.

King is one of a host of literary headliners representing a multitude of genres at the festival.

"We wanted to create a fun and accessible readers' fest to bring publishers, booksellers and booklovers together for great events geared to every kind of reader," Paul McNally, past president of the CBA and one of the festival's founding organizers,said in a statement.

Others set to participate include journalist and activist Naomi Klein, provocative author and critic Christopher Hitchens, youth author Kenneth Oppel, gossip columnist Jeannette Walls, murder-mystery author Louise Penny and novelist Richard B. Wright.

Aside from the gala tribute to King, other highlights of the festival will include:

• Two days of children's programming featuring Oppel and Sean Cullen.
• Around-table discussion between some of Canada's top crime and mystery writers.
• Abreakfast and lunch series featuring Wright and other novelists such as Frances Itani and Elizabeth Hay.

Overall, more than 50 authors will discuss their latest and upcoming works.

Organizers are planning readings, forums, panels and other programming — both free and ticketed —at a host of locations around downtown Toronto, including at bookstores, Fort York, Harbourfront Centre and the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.