Oxford Reads’ Seventh annual gala brings readers together

(Left to right) Author Emily Austin and Oxford Reads Gala host Sarah Acchione discuss the book Everyone in this Room Will Someday be Dead, Austin's other works, and her influences on her debut novel at the Oxford Reads Gala on Nov. 8. (Emily Stewart Photo).

Emily Stewart

After reading the selected novel for the 2024 Oxford Reads program, attendees of the seventh annual Oxford Reads Gala were ready to get their questions about ‘Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead’ answered.

The Market Theatre on 22 Reeve St. was filled with an engaged audience eager to listen to author Emily Austin’s writing process at the Oxford Reads Gala on Nov. 8.  The evening began with Austin reading selections from the Oxford Reads book for 2024.

During the Q and A hosted by Sarah Acchione, Austin talked about grieving the loss of her Catholic grandmother while writing the book, her writing process, and approaching death, dying, existentialism, and mental illness in her writing with humour. A book signing followed.  

“We had a great turnout from our community,” said Sarah Adam, chair of the Oxford Reads committee. “People loved this book. People loved engaging with this book, and it was such an interesting conversation between Sarah and Emily."

Austin is an author from St. Thomas currently living in Ottawa with a degree in English Literature and Religious Studies from King’s University College and a master’s degree in library and information sciences from Western University. The author spoke highly of libraries.

"I’m so honoured to be welcomed here by the library. I’m obsessed with libraries, and I think they might be the remedy for all of the horrors of today,” Austin said before a round of applause from the audience.

Oxford Reads is a collaborative initiative by the Oxford County Library and the Woodstock Public Library encouraging Oxford County residents to read the selected book by a Canadian author for the year. Usually, the library staff will pick the book to be voted on by the community, but this year residents had a chance to suggest a book. Austin’s award-winning novel Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead is about a lesbian atheist who ends up working as a church secretary by mistake, and was selected after an overwhelming majority vote.

“Seeing what happened this year and the reception to the title that was recommended by a community member,” Adam said. “This will absolutely be something that we’ll be considering in the future. We'll always want to call in the community to help us create that list, I think moving forward."

Leading up to the event, the libraries held activities related to the book such as a murder mystery night, paint night, book club meetings, craft night of a cemetery terrarium, and a discussion with a death doula.

The seventh annual Oxford Reads Gala, and other galas before it, had the author in attendance. Adam said that requirements for the Oxford Reads selection include that the author must be living, and it must be possible for the author to attend the gala.

“It adds such a richness to the conversation after we've spent months reading the same book and having our own internal conversations,” she said. “To be able to hear directly from the author is such a special experience that we get to have."