As part of 49th Shelf's #Fest2Fest, Julie Wilson spoke with Tanis Rideout via Skype about the long expedition that is writing a first novel—Above All Things took 10 years to research, write and edit—how stories exist to convey truth, not facts; and, what it means to meet readers in person at literary festivals.

For all our #Fest2Fest updates, bookmark www.49thshelf.com/Festivals.

Tanis Rideout appears at the Eden Mills Writers' Festival, September 16, 2012, 12:30 p.m., at "The Cottage."

Visit www.edenmillswritersfestival.ca for all details.

The annual Eden Mills Writers' Festival is held in the small village of Eden Mills, just east of Guelph, Ontario, the second Sunday after Labor Day in September. It is charming, scenic and unique; a perfect setting for a festival. The festival includes readings by poets, authors and other writers at various outdoor venues throughout the village.

Each year audiences of several thousand, from all over the world, now come to the Festival to enjoy the unique mix of quaint surroundings, great literature, and relaxed ambiance. Eden Mills is a place "where new writers are introduced to a large audience and established writers are newly engaged."

Follow the Eden Mills Writers' Festival on Twitter: @EMWF.

Share your festival experiences using the hashtag #EMWF.

About Above All Things: The Paris Wife meets Into Thin Air in this debut novel of obsession and divided loyalties, which brilliantly weaves together the harrowing story of George Mallory's ill-fated 1924 attempt to be the first man to conquer Mount Everest, with that of a single day in the life of his wife as she waits at home in England for news of his return.


A captivating blend of historical fact and imaginative fiction, Above All Things moves seamlessly back and forth between the epic story of Mallory's legendary final expedition and a heartbreaking account of a day in the life of Ruth Mallory.

Tanis Rideout received her MFA from the University of Guelph-Humber, and she has been a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers and the CBC Literary Awards. In 2006, she was named Poet Laureate for Lake Ontario by Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and joined Gord Downie on a tour to promote environmental justice on the lake. Sometimes referred to as the Poet Laureate of CanRock, Tanis joined Sarah Harmer’s I Love the Escarpment Tour to read a commissioned poem. She was born in Belgium, grew up in Bermuda and in Kingston, Ontario, and now lives in Toronto.

Follow Tanis Rideout: www.tanisrideout.com | @tanisrideout