A Way to Be Happy (Biblioasis) is the title of Caroline Adderson’s newest book, published last month (and reviewed earlier this month in the Scout Book Club, Vol. 17). Before you get your back (or hopes) up: no, this is not a guidebook to “wellness”. Rather, it’s a compilation of eight short stories that sees the Vancouver-based writer deftly swerving between local settings, eras, and a spectrum of narrators, to produce a near-perfect collection about a bunch of very imperfect yet entirely plausible characters and scenarios.

For good reason, Adderson is one of three panelists (Shashi Bhat and Aaron Kreuter are the others) enlisted to expound on the short story form at this year’s Vancouver Writers Fest. “Short Stories, Infinite Identities” takes place on Wednesday, October 23rd at 5:30pm, at Performance Works (Granville Island). (Tickets are still available, here.) Perfect timing to touch base with the author!

There are a lot of memorable characters in A Way to Be Happy. I won’t ask you to pick a “favourite”… However, imagine that you could meet one of them in real life, over a meal. Who would you choose, why them, and what/where are you eating together?

Tough question! Do I make my choice for the food or the company? The only remotely “foodie” type in the collection is Ketman, from “The Procedure,” who took over the job of cooking from his long-time, long- suffering wife, and now fantasizes about starring in his own cooking show, The Red-Neck Gourmet. However, he would want to tell me all about his recent colonoscopy while we ate. So I’ll pick someone who needs a decent meal – Taryn, from “All Our Auld Acquaintances are Gone,” who, with her partner, (also unhoused and with addiction issues), infiltrates a series of New Year’s Eve parties in order to fund their recovery. I’d take her out for Pho and send her off with a vat of it. (Recommended: Baoguette Vietnamese Bistro in Kerrisdale.)

When crafting a short story, do you have a “recipe” that you follow? What is it? Or else, how did the stories in this particular collection come together – individually, and as a cohesive compilation?

I don’t usually think of it as a recipe, but let’s go with that metaphor. Generally, I start with a situation that interests me, something I’ve read, or overheard, or invented. That’s the first ingredient. But then there’s a long wait, sometimes years. My subconscious needs to figure out who would plausibly be involved in this situation. Once I have the character, then I’m cooking. But what I’m actually creating isn’t clear until the end. I like to stay open to where my character wants to go. I like to be as surprised as the reader.

Vancouver and elsewhere in BC seem to play an important role in your narrative landscape…is this a conscious or subconscious decision? How important is Vancouver/BC to your identity as a writer? What does being a “Vancouver (or BC) Writer” mean to you?

When I’m writing, I’m essentially seeing the story play out in my head, so it’s easiest to write from where I am. No plane fares! But I also feel strongly that we shouldn’t only have stories set in Toronto or New York or London. Oddly, I wasn’t born in BC and, though I’ve lived here longer than anywhere else, and have set most of my work here, I still don’t really think of myself as “a Vancouver writer”. I have a love-hate relationship with the place. I love how it was when I first came in the 80s – cheap and gritty. I hate that it’s so unaffordable now, so demolition-crazed.

What is your favourite word?

At the moment “borborygmi”, which is the medical term for digestive sounds. Back to the food theme!

How about a favourite/most impactful sentence composed by another writer that you return to?

This is a quote from Carol Shields that I have pinned on my office wall about what she considered good writing: “I look first to language that possesses an accuracy that cannot really exist without leaving its trace of deliberation. I want, too, the risky articulation of what I recognize but haven’t yet articulated myself. And finally, I hope for some fresh news from another country that satisfies, by its modesty, a microscopic enlargement of my world.”

Your favourite place in Vancouver?

Pacific Spirit Park.

Your favourite place to write? Please describe the space, and what makes it so inspiring or conducive to the process.

I’m a creature of habit. I live in a 1920s house where the upstairs is actually an attic. That’s where my office is. My desk faces the wall, not the window, so I’m not distracted and can better “see” the story. I do have a skylight above me in case I need to appeal to the heavens.

What do you hope to take away from your experience as a panelist on “Short Stories, Infinite Identities”? And what sort of takeaway do you hope that the folks in the audience have?

I think of short stories as a rarified form, so any opportunity to gather afficionados is a treat. Shashi Bhat and I have already done some events together; she’s brilliant, as is our moderator, Shaena Lambert. I look forward to meeting Aaron Kreuter and reading his work. I hope everyone who comes to the event falls under the spell of this compressed, poetic genre and goes home with an armful of short story collections.