By Sharon Harris

Hold on to your horrors, scary story-lovers: Stephen King is scheduled to make his first official Canadian appearance to receive a life-time achievement award from the Canadian Booksellers Association. The event, to be held at the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on Friday, June 8, will include an on-stage interview. The organizers say that tickets go on sale today (but as of 9 a.m. this morning, the website isn’t online). You can also order tickets by calling the Harbourfront Centre box office at 416-973-4000.
The Stephen King event is part of Booked!, a new literary festival that will take place over three days from June 7th to 9th as part of the Luminato festival and BookExpo. The organizers say Booked! includes “every possible reading genre: from horror to chick-lit, from comic books to current events,” with readings, presentations, forums, panel discussions, and children’s programming. Free events will be held at bookstores and locations throughout Toronto, while ticketed events (ranging from $5-$25) will be held at Fort York, Harbourfront and the MTCC.
Ooo that’s scaaaaarrry!