Interiew: John Irving by Seamus O'Regan

Catherine Belyea is a broadcaster whose career in private radio and at the CBC has centred on music and the arts. This is the 13th year she has hosted readings and interviews at the IFOA.

John Irving published his first novel, Setting Free the Bears, in 1968. His novel The World According to Garp won the National Book Award in 1980. In 1992, Irving was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. In 2000, he won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules – which itself garnered seven Academy Award nominations. In 2001, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In his twelfth novel, Last Night in Twisted River, Irving returns to his signature New England for a story spanning five decades.

Seamus O’Regan is the co-host of CTV’s CANADA AM and host of Arts & Minds and The O’Regan Files on Bravo! A native of St. John’s, Newfoundland, O’Regan joined CANADA AM as co-host in 2002. He has received numerous honours throughout his career, including Maclean’s magazine’s 100 “Young Canadians to Watch” in the new century and Canada’s Top 40 under 40 list.