Award-winning author Charlotte Gray, Giller Prize winner Austin Clarke and national archivist Ian Wilson will visit McMaster next week for an international conference exploring archives and Canadian literature.

The conference, entitled “Turning the Knobs on Writers' Closets: Archives and Canadian Literature”, takes place May 24-26.

Gray, who will provide the keynote address, has used archival resources extensively in researching her books on such Canadian icons such as Pauline Johnson.

Clarke, whose papers are located at McMaster, will read at the banquet and national archivist, Ian Wilson, will open the second day. In addition, Elizabeth Hay, will read at a lunch session in celebration of Marian Engel. Hay was the 2002 winner of the prestigious Marian Engel Award. Engel's papers are also at McMaster and a collection of her letters has been released by University of Toronto Press. It was Engel's article “Turning the Knobs on Writers' Closets” (Globe and Mail, November 1984) which inspired the title of this conference.

The event is co-sponsored by Library and Archives Canada, McMaster University and Wilfrid Laurier University.

McMaster houses many notable literary collections, including the papers of Pierre Berton, Austin Clarke, Matt Cohen, George Fetherling, Pauline Johnson, Raymond Knister, Farley Mowat, Susan Musgrave, the manuscripts of Margaret Laurence, and the records of Canada's major publishing houses and the Writers' Union of Canada, as well as the Marian Engel archives. The conference will include a special session in celebration of Engel (1933-1985), and her contribution to Canadian literature.

For the complete conference schedule, click here.