We're going to have to put some people on the Yann Martel book list.
I don't agree that our younger Canadians need to be dumbed down to. I think they are young, electronic, savvy, and cool, and they have a literary hunger and a cultural hunger that needs to be addressed. And we do them a disservice by making assumptions on their behalf as to what they want to hear.
If you were to look in the book world, we have incredible young writers. That says to me that they appreciated writing at an even younger age. When the Writers' Union was started 30 or 35 years ago, the average age of the writers, the members of the union--and you had to be a professional writer to join the union, you had to have created a book, had it produced by a recognized publisher, and had it sold in the marketplace--was 48 to 49.
When you graduate from school, you don't just write your first book. It's not like a lawyer or a doctor. It takes a period of time.