In a conversation at the 10-day International Festival of Authors, award-winning author Alice Munro (pictured, via) revealed a recent battle with health problems.

Here's more from The Canadian Press: "Munro said she's had heart bypass surgery and 'just had cancer.' Still, Munro said she's 'been lucky with her health,' unlike her mother, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease at a relatively young age and died in her late 50s."

Recently the author took herself out of the running for the $50,000 Giller Prize, which she has won twice during her career. Last year she won the £60000 Man Booker International Prize, chosen out of a longlist that included 14 writers from 12 different countries. (Via Writer's Blog)