Boathouse snags man of many parts for writers’ night
Writers’ nights at Mom Tri’s Boathouse hotel kick off again on April 29 with an evening with Bangkok-based Canadian film-maker, writer and public speaker Bjorn Turmann.
Busy guy: Bjorn Turmann.
Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bjorn Turmann is one of a handful of authors in the world to simultaneously release a novel and a book of non-fiction on the same day. In his case, this was on February 10, when he launched both his novel, The Last Tobacco Shop in the World, and his work on making speeches, Speaking Energy: Public Speaking for Humans…Finally!
Last Tobacco Shop, set in the year 2040 on a fictitious island in the Andaman Sea near Phuket, has been described by CNN senior correspondent Robert Vito as “Powerful and unforgettable … a riveting, clever plot.”
Speaking Energy has already received endorsements from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Speakers Bureau in Chicago. Books previously published are Good Daughter and The Karaoke World of Cortous Haire.
The man has dozens of credits. He is a globally authorized Microsoft communications coach with a long list of Fortune 500 clients. He has also been a regular guest lecturer at Chulalongkorn University’s film department, speaking about the other love of his life, making movies.
His independent movies include Benevolent Bodysnatchers, and 30-minute documentary about the work of the Poh Teck Tung Foundation in Bangkok; Tracks, a 23-minute doc about people living along the train tracks in Klong Teui; a 19-minute fictional movie, Postcards from Pattaya; and his most recent – and the shortest at just 5 minutes – Gai Yaang, a fried chicken murder mystery. Both fiction works were accepted for screening at the Melbourne
And in case that’s not enough, Turmann is the writer and co-creator of a “futuristic television sitcom” set in the year 3000 and scheduled to go into pre-production in late 2010. Oh yes, and he is also a founding partner of the award-winning Vancouver based studio, The Embassy Visual Effects, one of the creative teams behind the Oscar-nominated films District 9 and Iron Man.
The writers’ night starts at 7pm. All are welcome, and entry is free. For more information email Boathouse PR manager Lisa Sol.
