Author Ron Brown Wins Freedom to Read Award
Toronto – February 9, 2015 – The Writers’ Union of Canada (TWUC) is extremely pleased to announce that Ron Brown, Past Chair of TWUC, journalist, and author of 25 books, is the 2015 recipient of TWUC’s Freedom to Read Award. The award is presented annually in recognition of advocacy on behalf of free expression in Canada. Past recipients include John Ralston Saul, Patsy Aldana, and Lawrence Hill.
“Ron actually created the Freedom to Read Award 16 years ago,” noted TWUC Chair Harry Thurston, “and he’s dedicated a couple of decades to the cause of freedom of expression in Canada. I can’t think of a more deserving recipient, especially in this year when the world has seen such distressing attacks on free speech.”
Brown has served on the Book and Periodical Council’s Freedom of Expression Committee since the early 1990s, and has been integral to the planning of the annual Freedom to Read Week, a national celebration of Canadians’ freedom of expression, which this year runs from February 22 to 28. His passionate defence of free speech has included protests against the banning of books from Canadian schools and libraries and the blocked importation of books at Canadian borders.
The 2015 Freedom to Read Award will be presented to Ron Brown on February 25, at READ. WRITE. SPEAK., a special Freedom to Read Week event at Supermarket (268 Augusta Avenue) in Toronto. The evening (beginning at 7:30pm, doors open at 7pm) features an on-stage discussion between media lawyer Brian MacLeod Rogers and investigative journalist and author Paula Todd.
More information about READ. WRITE. SPEAK. is available at this link.
The Writers’ Union of Canada is our country’s national organization representing more than 2,000 professional authors of books. The Union is dedicated to fostering writing in Canada, and promoting the rights, freedoms, and economic well-being of all writers.
www.writersunion.ca
For additional information:
Harry Thurston, Chair
chair@writersunion.ca
John Degen, Executive Director
416.703.8982 Ext. 221
jdegen@writersunion.ca
