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UID:30392-0@www.visitcalgary.com
DTSTAMP:20260829T015404Z
DTSTART:20260904T010000Z
DTEND:20260904T020000Z
SUMMARY:Book Launch: We Are Busy Being Alive
DESCRIPTION:A reading by Rishi Midha to celebrate the release of his new bo
 ok\, We Are Busy Being Alive\, joined by Kirti Bhadresa. The Book: Set in a
  North American milieu of detachment and alienation\, the stories in We Are
  Busy Being Alive document the attempts of disillusioned characters to re-e
 nchant themselves with a seemingly indifferent world. Their flailing quests
  after a sense of purpose are equal parts tragic\, absurd\, frivolous\, and
  touchingly human.A drug-fuelled romance with a stolen painting\; a sexual 
 awakening at the dentist’s\; a crisis of personality from the months-long
  haze of a forest fire. Small spectacles dangle outside the confines of the
  everyday\, keeping the restless characters reaching.The stories are a nudg
 e out the door and into the lonesome night\, with a wink and a shrug as if 
 to say—what else to do? Through each quiet inflection of hope\, mischief\
 , and despair\, We Are Busy Being Alive reacquaints readers with the magica
 l qualities of their miserable\, monumental lives. About the Authors Rishi 
 Midha’s short fiction has appeared in Best Canadian Stories 2026\, subTer
 rain\, and The New Quarterly. He has won or been a finalist for the LUSH Tr
 iumphant Fiction Contest and the the Peter Hinchcliffe Short Fiction Award.
  We Are Busy Being Alive is his debut story collection. Kirti Bhadresa live
 s in Calgary\, Alberta on Treaty 7 territory. Kirti has published fiction a
 nd non-fiction writing in literary journals including The Fiddlehead\, Prai
 rie Fire and Room Magazine. Her first book\, a short story collection entit
 led An Astonishment of Stars was published in October 2024 by ECW Press. An
  Astonishment of Stars was on the CBC Most Anticipated list and went on to 
 become an indie bestseller. It was a 2025 Writers’ Guild of Alberta Ficti
 on Finalist\, was longlisted for the 2025 Giller Prize\, was a Shelf Life B
 ooks Staff Pick\, and won the Alberta Short Story Collection prize in 2026.
 \n\nhttps://www.visitcalgary.com/events/book-launch-we-are-busy-being-alive
 \n\nhttps://www.facebook.com/events/1558145289344276/
LOCATION:1302 4 St SW #100\, Calgary\, AB\, Canada\, Alberta T2R 0X8\, 1302
  4 St SW\, Calgary\, Ab\, t2r 0x8
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