Captivating story set in Toronto ideal pick for this year’s city wide book club

TORONTO (Tuesday, February 21, 2012) – Girls Fall Down, by Maggie Helwig, has been chosen as Toronto Public Library’s One Book community read for 2012.  The title was revealed by CBC Radio’s Matt Galloway today on Metro Morning.

Girls Fall Down was published in 2008 by Coach House Books and shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award. The novel opens with girls falling down on the subway; soon there is a city-wide panic.  This gripping and beautifully written book is both a love story and a comment on our anxious post-9/11 times.

“I am delighted that Girls Fall Down has been chosen as the library's One Book,” said Helwig, “ and I hope it can be part of the ongoing conversation about what kind of city we are, and what kind of city we want to be."

The One Book program is part of the library’s month long literary festival, Keep Toronto Reading, which celebrates books and reading at the library and at partner locations across the city.  The One Book program invites all Torontonians to read the same book and then come together to talk about it at events across the city in April. 

Events include opportunities to meet the author, discuss the book’s themes, attend a public lecture, or take a tour that brings the book’s settings to life–a guided ravine walk or a night-time tour of the PATH system.  Photography buffs can also enter the library’s Hidden Toronto photo contest.  Full details at tpl.ca/ktr

The library’s One Book program was launched in 2008 with Michael Redhill’s Consolation.  Subsequent One Book titles include Loyalty Management by Glen Downie, More by Austin Clarke and Midnight at the Dragon Café by Judy Fong Bates. 

Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 19 million people visit our branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow over 33 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131.

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Media Contact:

Tina Srebotnjak, Manager, Cultural and Special Events Programming, 416-393-7098

Media@torontopubliclibrary.ca