Award winning Sechelt entrepreneur and author Cathrine Ann, whose compelling memoir Beautiful Buttons describes her triumph over a troubled and shocking past, has been slated to participate in the 2011 Brisbane Writers Festival.
Ann is one of only 29 international writers invited to the event, which boasts an audience of 30,000.
"I am thrilled to be asked to participate in what is arguably one of the most prestigious writers' festivals in the world," said Ann.
In Queensland Ann will participate in a number of panels and will be interviewed by prominent Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio host Richard Fidler. She will also share the podium with author Eva Gabrielsson, partner of the late Stieg Larsson, for a session titled "Catharsis: The Narrative of Trauma."
A highly sought-after inspirational speaker, Ann's rags-to-riches story includes an abusive childhood, forays into prostitution, illegal activities and living in a car when she founded her multi-million dollar business, Consumer Connection, based in Sechelt. She has won numerous awards and accolades from such powerful women as Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, Maria Shriver and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallon, to name just a few.
First published by Key Porter in hard cover in 2010, Beautiful Buttons was promptly chosen as a top pick by Chatelaine and lauded by the Globe & Mail who named her "an inspiration to women everywhere."
The book sold more than 5,000 copies by the time Key Porter shut down, prompting an offer from Toronto based publisher BPS Books. Film rights to the story have also been optioned.
The new revised paperback version of Beautiful Buttons, will be distributed through the Ingram Book Group and will be available by the end of August in bookstores and on-line in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, also on Kindle, ibook and Amazon.
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