I was recently in Toronto to support a fantastic Irish documentary called Mattress Men which was premiering at the Hotdocs Canadian International Film Festival. In my wildest dreams I never imagined that I’d one day get to hang out at Niagara Falls with a talking mattress. It was a magical experience.

During my time in Toronto, I also took part in the Rowers Reading Series alongside Canadian authors Kevin Hardcastle, Tasneem Jamal, Larissa Lai, and Priscila Uppal. We each answered a little Q&A prior to the event which you can read here. I’m very grateful to the organisers and to Heather J Wood, in particular, for adding me to the line-up.It was a lovely, convivial, well-hosted and well-attended event. I enjoyed all of the readings. I particularly loved Priscila Uppal’s engaging and witty short story “Sleepwalking” which was told from the point of view of a pair of feet, and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of her collection.

I hope to visit Canada again in the future. For now, it’s back to reality in Dublin and finishing work on novel 2. I’m taking part in a few other events in the coming months which I’m excited about. More about those anon…