Winnipeg tour

The second phase of the Rollback book tour started yesterday (Thursday, April 26, 2007). This is the by-plane part, and I'll be hitting these Canadian cities over the next eight days: Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, and Saskatoon. Details are here.

The trip got off to a propitious start: the little bookstore at Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto had a nice face-out display of Rollback.

I was picked up at the Winnipeg airport by Bev Geddes, who was one of my writing students at the Banff Centre last September. After a quick lunch, Bev took me to the Shaw TV studios in Winnipeg, were I did an interview. We then had dinner with Chadwick Ginter, the SF buyer for McNally Robinson in Winnipeg; his girlfriend Wendy, who also works at McNally Robinson; and Judy, H.B. Fenn's Calgary sales rep, at a great place called Cafe Carlo.

Then at 7:00 p.m., I did my reading and signing at McNally Robinson. After that, it was off for a radio interview on CJOB at 10:00 p.m. -- and then the next morning (Friday, April 27, 2007) I appeared on Winnipeg CITY-TV's Breakfast Television, then high-tailed it for the Winnipeg airport, and flew from there to Calgary, Alberta, where I'm spending the weekend before heading off to Vancouver first thing Monday morning.

Some pictures:



Rollback face out at the airport bookstore in Toronto



Joanne Kelly of Shaw TV in Winnipeg records an interview with Rob; the interview will air every hour for 24 hours starting at noon Winnipeg time on Monday, April 30



Wendy and Chadwick from McNally Robinson; Robert J. Sawyer; Judy Parker from H.B. Fenn, Tor's Canadian distributor



Krista from McNally Robinson, who introduced Rob to the packed audience before his reading



Rob reading at McNally Robinson in Winnipeg



A wonderful banner in the window of McNally Robinson -- these guys know how to promote an event!



Winnipeg writer Bev Geddes who escorted Rob on his touring in that city -- despite being on crutches! -- at the end of the day



Jon Ljungberg, the host of Winnipeg's Breakfast Television, interviews Robert J. Sawyer bright and early on Friday, April 28

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site