Fran Lebowitz: In Conversation

Literary

“Success didn’t spoil me, I’ve always been insufferable.” – Fran Lebowitz

VIP Tickets: $250
A very limited number of VIP tickets are still available for Sunday’s show, and include reserved premium seating and a copy of Fran Lebowitz’ collected essays, The Fran Lebowitz Reader. A tax receipt will be issued for the maximum allowable amount.
To purchase VIP tickets: 647.925.0643 x226 | lauren.ak@kofflerarts.org

The Koffler Centre of the Arts is thrilled to present the Dorothy Shoichet Lecture Series, featuring author, raconteur, cultural satirist and American cultural icon, Fran Lebowitz.

*** Due to popular demand, there are now two shows: Saturday, April 21 at 6 PM & Sunday, April 22 at 4 PM ***

In a cultural landscape filled with endless pundits and talking heads, Fran Lebowitz stands out as one of America’s most insightful social commentators. Offering her acerbic views on current events and the media, her writing — pointed, taut and economical — is equally forthright, irascible, and unapologetically opinionated. Lebowitz is widely sought out for her razor-sharp commentary on everything from cigarettes to the Trump presidency.

Purveyor of urban cool, Lebowitz has been called “the heir to Dorothy Parker,” and was once named one of the year’s most stylish women by Vanity Fair. At age 67, she remains a style icon.

For her first Toronto appearance in five years, Lebowitz will hold court on stage – in conversation with Johanna Schneller (Globe and Mail columnist and host of CBC’s The Filmmakers) on Saturday, April 21 and Anna Maria Tremonti (host of CBC Radio’s The Current) on Sunday, April 22 – followed by an audience Q & A. Copies of her collected essays, The Fran Lebowitz Reader, will be available for purchase at the event through Ben McNally Books.

Flowers generously donated by Bloomex.

About Fran Lebowitz
Lebowitz worked odd jobs, such as taxi driving, belt peddling, and apartment cleaning before being hired by Andy Warhol as a columnist for Interview. Her first book, a collection of essays titled Metropolitan Life, was an international bestseller, as was a second collection, Social Studies. Lebowitz has also worked in television (Law & Order), film (The Wolf of Wall Street), and has long been a regular on various talk shows including those hosted by Jimmy Fallon, Conan O’Brien, and Bill Maher. She appears in various documentary films including the American Experience series on New York City, as well as Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures (2016), Regarding Susan Sontag (2014), and Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol (1990). Public Speaking, a documentary about Lebowitz directed by Martin Scorsese, premiered on HBO in November 2010.

Lebowitz lives in New York City, as she does not believe that she would be allowed to live anywhere else.

Abut Johanna Schneller
Johanna Schneller is one of North America’s leading freelance journalists specializing in entertainment features. She has profiled the most prominent actors of our time – among them, Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp, Diane Keaton, Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jeff Bridges, Liam Neeson, Robert Downey, Jr. and Nicole Kidman. Her cover stories have appeared in major magazines, including Vanity Fair, In Style, Premiere, More and Ladies Home Journal. She was a senior writer in the Los Angeles bureau of GQ magazine from 1990 to 1994. Her weekly Fame Game column in The Globe and Mail has been nominated for four National Newspaper Awards. As the host of CBC’s new series, The Filmmakers, Schneller interviews directors and film experts about classic Canadian films. She also hosted TVO’s renowned film series Saturday Night at the Movies. Schneller regularly conducts on-stage interviews for the Toronto International Film Festival and the Toronto Library. She co-wrote the best-selling book Uncontrollable, about Toronto’s notorious mayor, Rob Ford.

About Anna Maria Tremonti
Anna Maria Tremonti has won two Gemini awards, and a life Achievement Award from Women in Film and Television Toronto. During her time at The Current, she and the program have won numerous awards at the New York Festivals, including: Gold for Best News Documentary of Special (2013), Gold for Best Talk Special: Interview (2009), Silver for Best Newsmagazine (2013), Bronze for Best Talk Show Host (2008, 2014 and 2015), Bronze for Best Coverage, Breaking News (2015), and Bronze for Best News Documentary or Special (2014). Her work at The Current also has been recognized with an Amnesty International Canada Media Award (2012), three Gracie Awards (2011, 2014 and 2015), and several Gabriel Awards and RTDNA Awards, including the Adrienne Clarkson Diversity Award (2013), the Peter Gzowski Information Program Award (2009, 2011 & 2014) and the Gord Sinclair Live Special Events Award (2014).

With Tremonti at the helm, The Current in 2012 also won the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Excellence in Journalism Award (Large Media Category), and was a finalist for that top honour in 2013.