The prize-winning novelists Margaret Atwood and Michael Ondaatje, together with other Canadian writers, have rallied behind a 16-year-old boy who was imprisoned for a month over Christmas after reading aloud a short story he had written about blowing up his school.
The cream of the Canadian literary establishment made speeches in defence of freedom of expression, read fiction and recited poetry at a rally in the nation's capital at the weekend as the grateful teenager, wearing a Pink Panther tie, basked in their attention and support.
The case became a cause celebre after the boy, who is still a juvenile and cannot be named under Canadian law, was thrown in jail for writing a short story entitled Twisted, about a young man seeking revenge for the cruelty he had endured at the hands of his classmates.
His lawyer, Mr Frank Horn, said the boy was taken into custody shortly after reading it aloud in drama class. But in the weeks since he was released from prison it has become clear that the criminal charges against him may go beyond those filed for simply writing a story with a violent ending.
Many authors were careful to say they did not know the full story behind his detention; the details of his arrest and the charges against him have not been made public because of a court-ordered publication ban.
He now faces four counts of uttering death threats, only one of which is related to his short story. His younger brother was also in jail for several weeks over Christmas after being accused of threatening to blow up two schools.
The writers have been criticised by the local teachers' union for presenting the boy as a martyr for free speech without knowing the facts.
The readings, poems and speeches, though, appeared designed to show support for a troubled young man rather than to turn him into a hero.
"Childhood can be hell," said Ms Atwood, who won the Booker Prize last year for her 10th novel, The Blind Assassin. She presented the boy with First Words, a collection of early writings by authors who went on to become famous.
Michael Ondaatje, author of The English Patient and Anil's Ghost, said writing about strong emotions such as anger could be therapeutic. "I see myself as someone who has been saved by writing," he said. "God knows what I would have been, become or how I would have ended up without it."
The boy, who lives near Cornwall, in south-eastern Ontario, said the rally was one of the best moments of his life. He promised he would keep on saying thank you until he was dead.)