Imagine On Air presents Rick Mercer

Wordfest's Imagine On Air presents Canadian comic genius Rick Mercer in celebration of his new, guaranteed bestseller: Talking to Canadians. The one-hour conversation will start at 7:00 PM MT and will be hosted by Mercer’s BFF and frequent comedy foil, Jann Arden. (The pre-show will begin at 6:50 PM.)

Tickets are $36 (plus tax) and include your ticket, a copy of Talking to Canadians, and shipping in Canada. There will also be an exclusive opportunity to ask questions, and you can email them in advance to questions@wordfest.com. *Signed copies (*bookplates) available only to the first 300 ticket holders. We are now sold out of signed copies.

We are delighted to be partnering with Indigo Books. The official publication date for Talking to Canadians is Nov. 2, at which point Indigo can begin shipping the books – as soon as they process your order, Indigo will send you a confirmation email with tracking information. Please note that we will do our very best to ship the included book as soon as orders are placed; however, delivery in advance of showtime cannot be guaranteed.

You'll also receive an email reminder the day before the show, as well as Wordfest's unique Digital Doggie Bag the day after with links and extras inspired by the conversation. If you are unable to watch live or want to watch again, the show will be available on demand at Wordfest.com until midnight Jan. 7, 2022.

We’re thankful to Penguin Random House Canada for making it possible for us to connect you with Rick Mercer and Calgary's beloved Jann Arden.

Note: If you have already purchased a hard cover or audio version of Talking to Canadians – or live outside of Canada – and would like to experience this show, please contact us at boxoffice@wordfest.com.

About Rick Mercer

Rick Mercer is Canada’s sharpest and funniest political satirist. He first came to fame with Show Me the Button I’ll Push It, or Charles Lynch Must Die, a one-man show that toured across Canada. He co-created and was a resident performer on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and was the host of The Rick Mercer Report, the Corporation’s highest-rated comedy show, for fifteen seasons. Mercer is co-chair of the Spread the Net campaign, dedicated to preventing the spread of Malaria in Africa, and has also campaigned for the Canadian AIDS Society’s The Walk for Life project. His many honours include 21 Geminis and the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award. He is from St. John’s and currently resides in Toronto.

Follow him on Twitter @rickmercer and Instagram @itsrickmercer

About Talking to Canadians

Canada's beloved comic genius tells his own story for the first time.

What is Rick Mercer going to do now? That was the question on everyone's lips when the beloved comedian retired his hugely successful TV show after 15 seasons – and at the peak of its popularity. The answer came not long after, when he roared back in a new role as stand-up-comedian, playing to sold-out houses wherever he appeared.

And then Covid-19 struck. And his legions of fans began asking again: What is Rick Mercer going to do now? Well, for one thing, he's been writing a comic masterpiece. For the first time, this most private of public figures has turned the spotlight on himself, in a memoir that's as revealing as it is hilarious. In riveting anecdotal style, Rick charts his rise from highly unpromising schoolboy (in his reports “the word ‘disappointment’ appeared a fair bit”) to the heights of TV fame. Along the way came an amazing break when, not long out of his teens, his one-man show Show Me the Button, I'll Push It. Or, Charles Lynch Must Die, became an overnight sensation – thanks in part to a bizarre ambush by its target, Charles Lynch himself. That's one story you won’t soon forget, and this book is full of them.

There's a tale of how little Rick helped himself to a tree from the neighbours' garden that's set to become a new Christmas classic. There's Rick the aspiring actor, braving “the scariest thing I have ever done in my life” by performing with the Newfoundland Shakespeare Company; unforgettable scenes with politicians of every variety, from Jean Chrétien to George W. Bush to Stockwell Day; and a wealth of behind-the-scenes revelations about the origins and making of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Made in Canada, and Talking to Americans. All leading of course to the greenlighting of that mega-hit, Rick Mercer Report…

It's a life so packed with incident (did we mention Bosnia and Kabul?) and laughter we can only hope that a future answer to “What is Rick Mercer going to do now?” is: “Write volume two.”

About Host Jann Arden

Jann Arden is a singer, songwriter, broadcaster, actor, author, and social media star. The celebrated multi-platinum, award-winning artist catapulted onto the music scene in 1993 with her debut album, Time for Mercy, featuring the hit single “I Would Die for You.” A year later she had her international break-out hit, “Insensitive.” She has written four books, the most recent being the Canadian bestseller Feeding My Mother: Comfort and Laughter in the Kitchen as My Mom Lives with Memory Loss. A multiple Juno Award-winner, Arden continues to record and tour; in 2020 she was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. She is also the star of her own hit TV sitcom, Jann, now in it’s third season, as well as the host of the weekly Jann Arden Podcast.

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @jannarden.

Imagine On Air presents Rick Mercer

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