Jeff VanderMeer is an American author, editor and literary critic. The experimental fantasy author won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2015 for his book Annihilation — part of his bestselling Southern Reach trilogy — and his latest book, Borne, is a brilliant and surreal work that explores questions around biotechnology and non-human sentience.

Jeff VanderMeer will join John Irving and Rupi Kaur onstage in a conversation about books to celebrate the Cooke Agency's 25th year in the Canadian publishing industry on Sept. 6, 2017 in Toronto. The event is also a fundraiser for First Book Canada.

Here are three books that are meaningful to Jeff VanderMeer.

What it's about: James Thurber's sublimely whimsical fairy tale of love forestalled features a mysterious stranger named Golux, a gloomy castle,13 frozen clocks and an equally cold Duke.

VanderMeer says: ​"The combination of the uncanny, the mysterious Golux and an odd sense of humour really entranced me."

What it's about: The Walker children, also known as Captain John, Mate Susan, Able-Seaman Titty and Ship's Boy Roger, set sail on the Swallow and head for adventure on the open seas on their way to Wild Cat Island.

VanderMeer says: "The realistic yet exciting adventures of kids on boats along with an endless sense of summer and unexpected danger."

What it's about: This classic, epic high fantasy novel continues to inspire and inform today's popular culture.

VanderMeer says: "The idea of things valuable enough to be worth being hard-won, coupled with the revelation you could combine horror with fantasy in a story about sacrifice and doing the right thing."