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On Wednesday, the next Wild & Wonderful Words reading event takes place at Sookram\u2019s Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.).<\/p>\n
Hosted as always by author (and Free Press reviewer) Sheldon Birnie, this month\u2019s event will see writers Cale Plett, Jeff Miller, Martha B\u00e1tiz, Anna Leventhal and Allie Leigh take the proverbial stage to share their work.<\/p>\n
The event is free and open to attendees of all ages, and gets underway at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
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Also taking place on Wednesday at 7 p.m., should your tastes lean more towards science fiction, prolific author Robert J. Sawyer returns to Winnipeg (to McNally Robinson\u2019s Grant Park location, specifically) to launch his latest The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine, published by Shadowpaw Press.<\/p>\n
Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com<\/a><\/p>\n The sequel to 2024\u2019s The Downloaded, Sawyer\u2019s latest sees an asteroid heading towards Earth, prompting an ex-con and a starship crew to re-upload their consciousnesses into cyberspace \u2014 where they encounter old foes and their younger selves.<\/p>\n \u25cf \u25cf \u25cf<\/p>\n A trio of lauded authors join forces on Thursday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson\u2019s Grant Park location to talk about the unforgettable characters they have created in their work.<\/p>\n Winnipeg\u2019s Zilla Jones (The World So Wide), rural Ontario\u2019s Hollay Ghadery (The Unravelling of Ou) and Toronto\u2019s Alison Gadsby (Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive) will convene at the bookstore at an event presented with support from the Writers\u2019 Union of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. The event will be hosted by Winnipeg\u2019s Lindsay Wong (Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies).<\/p>\n \u25cf \u25cf \u25cf<\/p>\n On Friday at 7 p.m., McNally Robinson\u2019s Grant Park location welcomes Vancouver Island author Monique Gray Smith to talk about her latest book Sharing the Light: Stories and Reflections, published in January by House of Anansi.<\/p>\n In her book, Smith weaves together reflections, short stories and more in ruminations on five transformative practices \u2014 love, joy, gratitude, happiness and hope. She\u2019ll be joined in conversation at the launch by Shelagh Rogers.<\/p>\n \u25cf \u25cf \u25cf<\/p>\n Also on Friday, Lifesshort Gallery and Studios (411 Pembina Hwy.) will host a trio of poets as part of a book launch that gets underway at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n Anna Veprinska will launch her latest collection, Wound Archive, published earlier this month by The Porcupine\u2019s Quill. She\u2019ll be joined at the launch by poets (and Free Press reviewers) melanie brannagan frederiksen and Ariel Gordon, who will also read their respective work.<\/p>\n In addition to coffee\/tea and cookies, copies of Veprinska\u2019s and Gordon\u2019s latest books will be available for purchase.<\/p>\n \u25cf \u25cf \u25cf<\/p>\n A reminder: the next Free Press Book Club takes place Tuesday at 7 p.m., and will feature local authors\/podcasters Sabrina Janke and Alex Judge reading from and talking about their book Portage and Main: How an Iconic Intersection Shaped Winnipeg\u2019s History, Politics, and Urban Life.<\/p>\n Buy on mcnallyrobinson.com<\/a><\/p>\n The book club is presented in conjunction with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Copies of Portage and Main, published in November 2025 by Great Plains Press, are available at the bookstore.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no cost to join the book club; for more information, including future book club picks, see wfp.to\/bookclub.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/bensigurdson<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Ben Sigurdson Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press\u2018s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press\u2019s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It\u2019s part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Ben](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/150404-Ben-MacPhee-Sigurdson-4-.jpg\")
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Literary editor, drinks writer
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