Pawagi, manjusha

We at Open Book are excited to partner again this year with Toronto's most unique literary festival, The Word on the Street , which takes place this year on Sunday, September We've had the chance to speak to several of the authors appearing in the Vibrant Voices tent, which celebrates excellence in Ontario literature, and we're launching our series today, speaking with Manjusha Pawagi , who has one very impressive c.

Manjusha Pawagi has a law degree from the University of Toronto and a journalism degree from Stanford University.

A Stanford-educated lawyer and journalist, she was appointed to the Bench almost ten years ago. Somehow she also managed to fit in a career as a children's author, with publications including the beloved picture book, The Girl Who Hated Books , which was nominated for a Blue Spruce Award. She returns this year to add to even more to her list of achievements, turning her hand to memoir with Love and Laughter in the Time of Chemotherapy Second Story Press.

Witty, generous, and determinedly hopeful in the face of all that she was going through, Manjusha's memoir is relatable, honest, and inspiring as well as being downright funny. We talk to her today about what she will be reading at The Word on the Street, her advice for a great public reading, and her favourite place in Ontario. In it I describe what it was like to face my own mortality when I honestly had thought I would live forever; I expound on how the worst moments of your life can be made even worse with roommates; and I answer the age old question, how can you get a banana popsicle when you really need one?

Spoiler alert: I survive. Have you attended The Word on the Street in the past? If so, tell us about a favourite memory. If not, what are you most looking forward to? The Vibrant Voices tent celebrates Ontario authored and published books. Tell us about a favourite Ontario author or book you've read. On the Shores of Darkness There is Light is a book by Ontario author Cordelia Strube that has continued to stay vividly with me even years after I first read it.

What's the best advice you've ever received or the best advice you would offer about public readings? My favourite spot in Ontario is Vanderwater Conservation Area near Belleville where the Moira River curves and creates a series of rushing waterfalls that you can splash across and sit in.