As part of its fall 2012 program, the Twin Lakes Probus Club in Orillia has invited Ted Barris to address the members at one of its regular meetings. On Thursday, October 18, 2012, he will speak about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on one of his recent bestselling books, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” Copies of a number of Ted’s books will be on hand for sale and autographing.

When: 10 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012.

Where: Orillia Legion branch located on Mississauga Street.

Contact: Gail Madell, gmadell@sympatico.ca

We all do it. We all need it. We all wish it were easier… Writers search for ideas. They depend on finding them. They often look for them in others. Whether poets, short-fiction writers, novelists or non-fiction writers, we often look for and gather stories from the experiences of those around us. But what if the source is resistant? What if recalling the story is traumatic? What then? Ted Barris, journalist, CBC broadcaster and author of 16 non-fiction books, has spent much of his professional life overcoming such barriers. As a journalist, broadcast interviewer and best-selling author of (among other topics) Canadian war histories, he has interviewed thousands of subjects – some willing, others not. Citing some notable examples – including from within his own family – Ted often is called upon to talk to fellow writers about getting the story and techniques for making it easier, when for all the world it seemed an impossibility.

Where: Writers’ Community of York Region luncheon

When: Midday, Saturday, Dec. 9, 2012

Contact: TBA

Following his “Vimy Ridge” talk at the Richmond Hill Historical Society last fall, Ted Barris has been invited for a return visit to speak about his most recent book, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” Audiences continue to show great interest in Barris’s research into the effects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in particular its effects on Canadians returning from operations in Afghanistan. So, Ted will oblige by offering stories from his work in this sensitive area. Copies of his bestselling book will be available for purchase and autograph.

When: 7:30 p.m., Monday, November 19, 2012.

Where: Wallace Hall, Presbyterian Church, 10066 Yonge Street, Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Contact: Andrea Kulesh, president Richmond Hill Historical Society, r.hillhistsoc@hotmail.com

The organizers of this year’s Chiefs’ and Petty Officers’ Mess at HMCS York, in Toronto, have invited Ted Barris to address the dinner on Saturday, May 12, 2012. He will speak about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on one of his recent bestselling books, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” In the course of his 40 years as a journalist and published historian, Ted draws from the experience of having interviewed nearly 4,000 veterans in Canada. Copies of a number of Ted’s books will be on hand for sale and autographing.

When: 6 p.m., Saturday, May 12, 2012.

Where: HMCS York, 659 Lakeshore Blvd. W., Toronto, Ontario.

Contact: Maggie Birtch, CPO Second Class, 416-565-1798, maggietimber@hotmail.com

To open the annual conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists, on Friday, April 27, 2012, in Toronto, Ted Barris will moderate a plenary session entitled, “News has value on any platform.” A panel of top news executives, including Jennifer McGuire, chief of English News at CBC, and Brodie Fenlon, senior news editor of Huffington Post Canada, will look at “the state of the industry.” Barris moderates the first of many sessions held over the weekend .

When: 9 a.m., Friday, April 27, 2012.

Where: Fairmont Royal York Hotel, Front Street, Toronto.

Contact: Ellin Bessner, CAJ board member, ebessner@gmail.com, Centennial College 416-289-5000 x8826.

At last year’s Vimy Dinner, held at Branch 67 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Lindsday, Ted Barris offered a unique telling of the famous WWI battle at Vimy Ridge. This year, back by popular demand, the author of 16 bestselling, non-fiction books addresses the Vimy dinner about the job of getting veterans to do what they pathologically cannot – talk. Based on his bestselling book, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan,” Barris offers some insights to a few of the nearly 4,000 interviews he’s done with Canadian veterans.

When: Wednesday, April 4, 2012.

Where: Branch 67, Royal Canadian Legion, Lindsay, Ont.

Contact: Harold Jessup,1st vice-president, harold.jessup@sympatico.ca

In another of his regular visits to Blue Heron Books’s “Books and Brunch” series, Ted Barris interviews bestselling author Giles Blunt in front of an audience at Wyndance Golf Club, south of Uxbridge. After spending over 20 years in New York City, Giles Blunt now lives in Toronto. His past work includes writing scripts for television programs such as Law & Order, Street Legal and Night Heat. His novel “Forty Words for Sorrow,” won the British Crime Writers’ Macallan Silver Dagger. “A Delicate Storm,” was the winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel and “Blackfly Season” was one of Margaret Cannon’s Best Mysteries of the 2010 Year. Blunt’s “By the Time You Read This,” was a national bestseller; and “No Such Creature” earned a place on the Globe and Mail‘s list of Top Ten Crime Books.

When: 11 a.m. Sunday, March 25, 2012.

Where: Wyndance Golf Club, Hwy 21 west of Coppin’s Corners, Uxbridge, Ontario.

Contact: Shelley Macbeth, proprietor, Blue Heron Books, 905-852-4282, www.blueheronbooks.com

Ted Barris travels to Orillia on Wednesday, March 14, 2012, to speak to members of the local Canadian Club about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on his bestselling book “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.”

When: 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 14, 2012.

Where: St. Paul’s United Church, 62 Peter Street North, Orillia, Ontario.

Contact: Carolyn Cassells, 705-456-9630, bigbirds@rogers.com

As part of its fall 2012 program, the Women’s Canadian Club of London has invited Ted Barris to address the membership on Thursday, November 8, 2012, at London’s Centennial Hall. He will speak about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on one of his recent bestselling books, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” Copies of a number of Ted’s books will be on hand for sale and autographing.

When: 2 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 8, 2012.

Where: Centennial Hall, London, Ontario.

Contact: Allister Cameron, a.c.cameron@sympatico.ca

As part of its 2012 Speakers program, the Canadian Club of Durham Region has invited Ted Barris to address the membership on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012. He will speak about the job of getting veterans to speak about their experiences; his talk is based on one of his recent bestselling books, “Breaking the Silence: Veterans’ Untold Stories from the Great War to Afghanistan.” Copies of a number of Ted’s books will be on hand for sale and autographing.

When: 2 – 3 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012.

Where: 420 Wing RCAF Association, 1000 Stevenson Road (south end of Oshawa Airport).

Contact: Sandra Maackin, smackin6@gmail.com, 905-430-2695.