Two friends from Poland went to a small town in Nova Scotia to see bestselling author Rachel Reid at a fundraiser for libraries this weekend.
Zofia Chrapkiewicz says this is her first time in Canada, and what motivated her to come was the popular book series Game Changers.
The books portray romances between professional male hockey players and have gained even more attention following a hit TV adaptation of the second book in the series, Heated Rivalry.
But to Chrapkiewicz, these are more than just steamy books.
“Heated Rivalry came as a blessing in my queer experience and self-discovery,” said Chrapkiewicz. “I hope that I can have a love story like Shane and Ilya with my Canadian woman.”
The Annapolis Valley Regional Library hosted the event with the author on Saturday in Wolfville, N.S., which had a silent auction and a Q&A session. It raised just over $70,000, which will help keep libraries running until the next fiscal year.
Chrapkiewicz travelled with her friend, Zuzana Sokolova, who is also very grateful for Reid’s work.
“In Poland, the situation is a bit worse, like the queer people aren’t really protected. So seeing happy stories really makes me hope for a better future,” said Sokolova.
Unlike Chrapkiewicz, Sokolova first visited Canada last year to watch the Heated Rivalry premiere in Toronto. She said she has been a fan of the series since 2019, so seeing it on the big screen was important to her.
Sokolova decided to return to Canada for a Heated Rivalry-themed trip, this time bringing her friend along.
While they were planning the trip, they saw a post by Reid promoting the event, and decided to come a couple of days earlier than planned to make it.
“I’m really happy that I can be here and help this cause because I’ve been fond of Rachel since 2019, so for a long time. So I want to help in any way I can,” said Sokolova.
After visiting Nova Scotia, the pair will make their way to Toronto and Montreal for other book-related events. They are also meeting with other fans they made through social media who are also fans of Reid’s work.
Last month, Rachel Reid donated $300,000 to the Annapolis Valley Regional Library after it announced five branches were set to permanently close due to financial issues.
“As an author, but also as a Nova Scotian who’s had a tremendous amount of success and good fortune this year, I just felt like I needed to give back to the place I live in,” said the Halifax author in an interview on Saturday.
Julia Merritt, the library chief executive officer, said the money Reid donated and what they collected at the event helps keep libraries open for a few more months, but it is not a permanent solution.
“We need sustainable funding, which includes annual increases for inflation and other standard increases to costs,” she said, adding that last year, the library deficit started at $625,000, and she anticipates that for the next fiscal year, it would be getting close to $700,000.
Merritt, as well as other library officials, have been calling on the province to update the funding formula. In November of last year, her regional library also launched a campaign encouraging users to call their MLAs and other elected officials to raise awareness about the frail financial situation of libraries.
“It was a fantastic engagement from the public. And so the next step will be to see if that can be turned into sustainable funding long term,” she said.
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