The May publication of Khaled Hosseini’s latest bestseller, And the Mountains Echoed, marked a full six years since the release of the Kabul-born author’s previous novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns. Perhaps the long break had to do with a lack of financial urgency: A Thousand Splendid Suns and its 2003 predecessor, The Kite Runner, have combined to sell 38 million copies worldwide. Then again, Hosseini was likely busy with the foundation named after him, dedicated to helping needy people in Afghanistan. Hear him discuss these and other subjects next Thursday (December 5), in a special Vancouver Writers Fest event at St. Andrew’s–Wesley United Church. See www.writersfest.bc.ca/.