UTSC's Westoll named to Canada Reads long list

U of T Scarborough staff member Andrew Westoll’s book The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary has been selected as one of the Top 40 in CBC’s Canada Reads: True Stories competition.

In addition, four instructors who teach for U of T's School of Continuing Studies were named to the list:

• Dave Bidini, who teaches songwriting, for On a Cold Road;
• Karen Connelly, who teaches poetry, for Burmese Lessons;
• Marina Nemat, who teaches creative writing in Farsi, for Prisoner of Tehran; and
• Shaughnessy Bishop Stall, who teaches a trio of writing courses, for Down To This.

The books were chosen from among non-fiction titles nominated by thousands of Canadians. The Top  40 selection places Westoll beside luminaries such as Pierre Berton, Carol Shields and Farley Mowat. The list of books will be whittled down to 10 titles through an online vote. Eventually five titles will be chosen for discussion on CBC Radio One.

Westoll is a writer in the UTSC communications department. He’s a primatologist by training, the author of a previous book, The Riverbones, and a Gold National Magazine Award winner.

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary details Westoll’s time at an animal sanctuary near Montreal, where he helped care for, and eventually befriended, chimps who had spent decades as medical research subjects. The Walrus magazine called the book “generous and deeply affecting.”

In the current issue of UTSC Commons, UTSC vice-principal (research) Malcolm Campbell talked to Westoll about his book and his experiences.

To vote for the Top 10 go to Canada Reads by midnight Sunday, Oct. 30.