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My Body is Distant: a Discussion with Author Paige Maylott

in partnership with SPECTRUM

Adults

Join us for an evening discussion as author Paige Maylott discusses her book My Body is Distant: A Memoir.

About My Body is Distant:

In My Body Is Distant, Paige Maylott writes about her life — both virtual and IRL — as she explores her authentic self and sexuality through dream-like virtual worlds. While Paige dances in online BDSM clubs and hurls spells on virtual battlefields, she is swept into a fairy tale romance that pushes her into discovery mode: How can she transcend her carefully curated computer universe and manifest that happiness in the real world?

As she discovers the person she is meant to be, Paige contends with a cancer diagnosis and an imploding marriage while struggling to convert an online love story into reality. When a humiliation at work provides the necessary push to transition, Paige finds the freedom to explore her new self.

Part trans woman’s coming-out story and part heartfelt romance, My Body Is Distant follows Paige from a childhood obsession with the 1980s game Zork, through a health crisis and divorce, to, ultimately, an affirmation of authenticity and self-love.

About Paige Maylott:

Paige Maylott is a Canadian novelist, gamer, and explorer of alternate realities. Her memoir, My Body is Distant (ECW Press, Fall 2023), explores gender transition, critical illness, and digital identity. This work earned the gold Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) for LGBTQ+ Non-Fiction, was shortlisted for the Rakuten Kobo 2024 Emerging Writer Prize, and was featured in the Hamilton Review of Books' "The Best Books of 2023." Paige's writing has been celebrated by CBC Books, Publisher’s Weekly, Open Book, the Whistler Writers Festival and more. She resides in Hamilton, Ontario where she collects rabbit paraphernalia, retro video games, and cares for a small menagerie of cute, but demanding, furry friends.

Programmer:  Molly

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