BOOK NEWS
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Vancouver, check out 32 Books.
There are some fabulous events for students as this year's Festival that still have room for a class or two. A great event with some of our world-renowned authors will inspire, entertain and educate young people of all ages. You can get more information on available events here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/teachers/available_school.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents Literati, a gala fundraising dinner in support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Literati is presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join Literati host Bill Richardson and many of the 2010 Festival authors for an evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, and performances by Rebecca Jenkins, Joel Bakan and Ballet BC dancers. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
This year's Festival art raffle prize is a painting by Bau-Xi Gallery artist Jamie Evrard, which will be on display at Performance Works during the Festival - or stop by the VIWF office at 1398 Cartwright Street on Granville Island to view it now! Raffle details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Andrea Levy, who is appearing in three events at this year's Writers Festival. No one reads quite like her. Sit back and enjoy her on stage interview with Bill Richardson. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Stevie Cameron
Vancouver International Writers Festival presents a special free event with journalist Stevie Cameron. Her new book is On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the tragic story of Vancouver’s missing women. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/cameron.
Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean talks with Hal Wake about his new book The Vinyl Café Notebooks, a collection of wonderfully eclectic essays selected from 15 years of his CBC radio program. Please join us for a rare, intimate evening with one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/maclean.
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
The bonobo apes demonstrate more humanity than many of the humans in Sara Gruen's new novel Ape House, writes Monique Polak.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Sara+Gruen+novel+House+bonobo+apes+show+more+humanity+than+humans/3535317/story.html
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
James Urquhart says that some of the strongest scenes in Gary Shteyngart's SuperSad True Love Story "sustain...snatched intimacy in defiance of the debased, wired world around. None is so allusive or erotic as when Lenny indulges his taboo addiction for reading actual books, as opposed to superficially 'text-scanning for data'."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/super-sad-true-love-story-by-gary-shteyngart-2087677.html
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
In his review of David Grossman's To the End of the Land, Colm Tóibin writes: "This is one of those few novels that feel as though they have made a difference to the world."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Toibin-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1
The New Yorker includes a profile of David Grossman by George Packer.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/09/27/100927fa_fact_packer
In her review of The End of the Ice Age, Cherie Thiessen writes that Terence Young uses poetry and deft phrasing to flesh out his characters.
http://www.abcbookworld.com/view_author.php?id=5391
Ken Finkleman and Trevor Cole take very different approaches toward black-hearted laughs, says Nathan Whitlock. Finkleman's Noah's Turn is "a nasty joy".
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/866101--noah-s-turn-and-practical-jean
Caroline Adderson's The Sky Is Falling blends two time frames—the mid-1980s, a time in a Vancouver filled with idealistic views of peace, feminism, and other social issues and then 20 years later—examining the radicalism of youth and the wisdom of age.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/radicalism+youth+wisdom/3579263/story.html
Michael Winter has turned the very real facts of a St. John's murder trial into a compelling work of fiction in The Death of Donna Whalen, says Alex Good.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/866193--the-death-of-donna-whalen-true-crime-means-art
Of Gail Bowen's The Nesting Dolls, Gail Kasturi writes: "this latest Kilbourn mystery is a good read with some nicely shocking moments, and fans of the series will enjoy it."
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/09/24/book-review-the-nesting-dolls-by-gail-bowen/
Margaret Cannon writes about Quintin Jardine's A Rush of Blood: "It’s difficult to believe that the 20th Bob Skinner novel could be as good as the first, but it is."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/new-in-crime-fiction/article1711946/
Kevin Sylvester's Neil Flambé and the Aztec Abduction is the second in the Neil Flambé Capers series of mysteries. Reviewer Joan Yolleck writes that the two books are best read in sequence to fully grasp the history, humour and intensity of the very likeable main characters.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-neil-flamb-and-the-aztec-abduction-by-kevin-sylvester/article1727656/
AWARDS & LISTS
Michael Helm, Sarah Selecky, Joan Thomas, Jane Urquhart, and Kathleen Winter—who are all appearing at the Festival in October—are among the authors on the longlist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/20/giller-longlist.html
Michael Helm, Emma Donoghue, and Kathleen and Michael Winter are among the finalists for the $25,000 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. And local author Sarah Leavitt is nominated for the Writer's Trust Non-Fiction Prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/emma-donoghue-kathleen-and-michael-winter-among-finalists-for-writers-trust/article1732371/
Nigerian-born writer Chinua Achebe has captured the $300,000 US Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, recognition for his life's work of more than 20 volumes of short stories, essays, poems, and novels.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/25/achebe-gish-prize.html
Crime writer Peter Robinson has won the 2010 Harbourfront Festival Prize, which rewards writers who have had a "substantial contribution to the world of books."
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/22/robinson-harbourfront-prize.html
Top 100 Food Plants: The World's Most Important Culinary Crops by Ernest Small won the inaugural Lane Anderson Prize of $10,000 for Canadian science writing.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/21/edible-plants-lane-anderson-ernest-small.html
Canadian author Melissa Madore is the "Canada and Europe" regional prize-winner in the 2010 Commonwealth Short Story Competition for her story Swallow Dive.
http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/Howwedeliver/Prizes/CommonwealthShortStoryCompetition/2010winners
Don DeLillo has won the PEN/Saul Bellow Award.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/27/don-delillo-pen-saul-bellow-award
Denise Chong is one of the finalists for the Ottawa Book Awards, in the category of English Non-Fiction, for her book Egg on Mao: the Story of an Ordinary Man Who Defaced an Icon and Unmasked a Dictatorship.
http://www.city.ottawa.on.ca/residents/arts/funding_awards/book_awards/finalists_en.html
Hiromi Goto has won the 2010 Sunburst young adult award for Half World, a book she presented at the 2009 Festival.
http://www.sunburstaward.org/content/2010-sunburst-winners
NEWS & FEATURES
Vintage has re-issued Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale in honour of the book's 25th anniversary this year. Charlotte Newman writes that "this novel seems ever more vital in the present day".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/26/the-handmaids-tale-margaret-atwood
Penguin has launched Allen Lane Canada, a non-fiction imprint which will focus on serious non-fiction, not just history.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/866590--penguin-launches-new-non-fiction-imprint
American libraries and bookshops are celebrating the freedom to read this week but attempts to force books off shelves are still rife across the country. Toni Morrison and Kurt Vonnegut are among those to have faced recent bans in American schools.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/27/celebrated-novels-us-censors
Memoirists have occasionally had difficulty with references to family members in a book. Now Irish poet Rita Ann Higgins has been forced to have Hurting God, her latest work, pulped following objections from her millionaire brother who took exception to references to him and their mother.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/poet-forced-to-pulp-book-after-row-with-her-family-2091318.html
BC's Poetry in Transit program has launched this year's poems for public transit.
http://thetyee.ca/ArtsAndCulture/2010/09/27/MovingWords/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=270910
BOOKS & WRITERS
David Rakoff's essays make the case for expecting the worst and the book jacket warns "No Inspirational Life Lessons Will Be Found in These Pages".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/Scheft-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
An excerpt can be found here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/26/books/review/excerpt-half-empty.html?ref=review
Rakoff's writing and response to his cancer is quite different from his sister Ruth's writing about hers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/david-and-ruth-rakoff-one-disease-two-very-different-books/article1728446/
David fears cancer but what he really hates is the musical Rent. Vit Wagner's review reminds us of Rakoff's capacity to see the half-full glass.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/863097--author-david-rakoff-s-negative-charge
While driving with his publisher and a box of books in the trunk on a low-key publicity tour, Alexander MacLeod learned that his debut short story collection, Light Lifting, was on the longlist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/866164--alexander-macleod-s-giller-surprise
Jim Bartley writes: "Like most of these seven stories, Light Lifting offers a vivid rendering of settings and cast and a satisfying scene-to-scene momentum."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-light-lifting-by-alexander-macleod/article1723850/
Geoff Nicholson reviews Alain de Botton's A Week at the Airport, the result of de Botton's having accepted an invitation to spend a week at Heathrow Airport as writer in residence at the newly opened Terminal 5, and then, in full view of passengers and staff, to draw together material for a book. "De Botton seems well aware of the inherent absurdity of his project," says Nicholson, adding that "a few hours with de Botton, even in an airport, will be time well spent."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/24/RVCQ1F1T7Q.DTL
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by poet Garry Morse. Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. Library, Emily Carr University, Granville Island. More information here, http://www.ecuad.ca/about/news/71335.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Mette Bach (Off the Highway) and Melanie Siebert (Deepwater Vee). Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
DAN GREEN
Readings from the author's debut work of fiction, Blue Saltwater, an historical drama which follows one Haida teenager's experience within the residential school system and his struggle to return home. Friday, October 1 at 7:30pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
BOB MERSEREAU
Launch of author's new book, Top 100 Canadian Singles. Sunday, October 3 at 5:00pm. Zulu Records, 1972 4th Ave. W. More information at www.zulurecords.com.
ANNABEL LYON
Discussion by the author of The Golden Mean. Monday, October 4 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CAROLINE ADDERSON
Award-winning author reads from her new novel, The Sky is Falling. Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On October 5, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club is pleased to once again partner with CBC Ideas to present the 2010 Massey Lecturer in an exclusive book club taping. This year Vancouver's own Douglas Coupland presents the first ever Massey in fiction! In "Player One: What is to Become of Us", Doug has created a five hour story that explores time, human identity, society, religion and the afterlife. Enter to win free tickets and a preview of the Masseys at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
GILLIAN JEROME
Author reads from her first book of non-fiction, Hope in Shadows: Stories and Photographs from Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Thursday, October 7 at 12:30pm, free. Room 7100, Special Collections, W.A.C. Bennett Library, SFU, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby. More information at 778-782-6676.
BREN SIMMERS
Author launches her first book of poetry, Night Gears. Also a reading by Ben Hart and live music by Lisa O'Neill. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.
RAYMOND VERDAGUER
Canadian printmaker and book illustrator Raymond Verdaguer will talk about prints and book illustrations done in the media of copper plates, woodcuts and linocuts. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. Oakridge Public Library, southeast corner of Oakridge Shopping Centre; free parking.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Join CBC Radio’s Grant Lawrence for the launch of his debut book Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm. Grant’s days spent in Desolation Sound as a child led him away from the coast to a life in music and journalism and eventually back again. In Adventures in Solitude, Grant returns to regale us with tales of this unique place. This free event will be held in the MOV Studio with musical performances from Jill Barber and Said the Whale. A cash bar will be available. For more information regarding Grant’s book launch in Vancouver, please call the Museum of Vancouver at 604.736.4431.
DOUG SAUNDERS
Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents the author of Arrival City, a new book analyzing the rise of mega-cities in a vastly changing world. Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets $15/$12 and are available at www.capilanou.ca/theatre or 604-990-7810. Kay Meek Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION
An evening of poetry and prose with the Cross-Border Pollination team. Wednesday, October 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, Central Branch, VPL, 350 West Georgia Street.
GURJINDER BASRAN
Winner of the Great BC Novel contest launches her new novel, Everything Was Good-bye. Wednesday, October 13 at 7:30pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at www.mothertonguepublishing.com.
THE MAKING OF THE SZYK HAGGADAH, A SACRED JEWISH TEXT
Irvin Ungar, Proprietor, Historicana Books, Burlingame, California will speak about the making of this sacred text in Limited, Deluxe and Premier editions. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street (Main & Broadway).
Upcoming
ARTHUR BLACK
Luncheon, reading and book signing with the author of A Chip Off the Old Black. Thursday, October 21 at 11:00am. Preregistration required. West Point Grey United Church, 4595 8th Ave. W. More information at 604-224-4388.
CHARLES CLAPHAM
Author launches his second edition of the Great Walks of Vancouver. Thursday, October 21 at 7:00pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
BOOK LAUNCH
Tightrope Books presents the Vancouver launch for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2010, edited by Lorna Crozier and Series Editor Molly Peacock. Saturday, October 23 at 4:00pm. The Agro Café, 1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island. More information at www.tightropebooks.com.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 41
BOOK NEWS
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Vancouver, check out 32 Books.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival invites you to Literati, our annual Gala Dinner, presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join a host of 2010 Festival authors for an unforgettable evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, hosted by Bill Richardson. In support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Writers Festival Art Raffle! Win a beautiful Jamie Evrard painting, Leap of Faith II-Yellow, Green and Red Flowers (Edition 1/1). Jamie Evrard creates rich and exuberant still life and floral paintings using several mediums, including oil paint, monotype and watercolour. Jamie has an exhibition the Bau-Xi Gallery until October 2. Raffle details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Kate Braid, accompanied by musician Clyde Reed, reading from her collection Turning Left to the Ladies—an autobiographical account of her experiences building homes and high rises. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Stevie Cameron
Vancouver International Writers Festival presents a special event with journalist Stevie Cameron. Her new book is On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the tragic story of Vancouver’s missing women. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/cameron.
In his review of On the Farm, Rafe Mair writes: “Stevie Cameron has written yet another great book exposing, as is her wont, the "comfortable establishment" in our country of indifference to societal ills that might be expensive nuisances to deal with.”
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/09/13/PicktonHorror/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=130910
Neil Boyd writes that Cameron gives us women who were much more than drug-addled prostitutes, women with families and hopes.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-on-the-farm-by-stevie-cameron-pickton/article1711472/?cmpid=rss1
Read chapter 1 here:
http://www.mysterybooks.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780676975840&view=excerpt
Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean talks with Hal Wake about his new book The Vinyl Café Notebooks, a collection of wonderfully eclectic essays selected from 15 years of his CBC radio program. Please join us for a rare, intimate evening with one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/maclean.
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sara Gruen talks to Martin Levin about her preparation for, and visits and talking with, bonobos.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/talk-to-the-animals-and-theyll-talk-back/article1702488/
But are we really listening, asks Diane Baker Mason in her review of Ape House.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-ape-house-by-sara-gruen/article1702481/
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Jeffrey Simpson comments that Charlotte Gray's Gold Diggers allows us to experience the greed, debauchery and hardship endured by prospectors during the Klondike gold rush: one of the most astonishing moments in Canadian history.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/grays-account-of-the-klondike-gold-rush-deserves-to-strike-it-rich/article1707485/
Pascale Quiviger's The Breakwater House is a riddle that entertains and delights, but refuses solution...it rejects the easy endings offered by most novels.” writes Casey N. Cap.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-breakwater-house-by-pascale-quiviger/article1571318/
Ron Charles describes Emma Donoghue's Room as one of the most affecting and subtly profound novels of the year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/14/AR2010091406235.html
What gives Room particular authenticity was the author's decision to tell the story through the eyes of Jack, who was born in captivity, says reviewer Stephen Amidon.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-room-by-emma-donoghue/article1702566/
Aimee Bender finds the child narrator one of the most engaging in years—"his voice so pervasive I could hear him chatting away during the day when I wasn’t reading the book".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Bender-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1
Francine Prose writes that in Yiyun Li's subtle stories of hapless souls, destiny continually subverts plans for happiness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Prose-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Quill and Quire describes Chevy Stevens' Still Missing as a gripping debut novel.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6908
Stevens' character Annie is kept captive differently than the characters in Donoghue's Room. Annie is a strong, smart woman who won't stop fighting to regain her sanity and equilibrium, says Janet Maslin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/books/05book.html
Edmund White writes that every one of Wells Tower's stories in Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned is polished and distinctive. His range is wide, writing with equal power about men older than he is, young women and boys.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/books/review/White-t.html
Commenting on Joan Thomas' Curiosity, J.C. Sutcliffe writes "being able to sink fully into a novel-length, fictionalized exploration of Mary Anning's life is a bit like eating comfort food at a high-end restaurant."
“http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-curiosity-by-joan-thomas/article1513447/
This is a love story with a narrative dynamic as old as Cinderella, says Philip Marchand.
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/afterword/archive/2010/04/03/open-book-by-philip-marchand-joan-thomas-s-curiosity.aspx
Russell Wangersky returns to the Festival with his first novel The Glass Harmonica, which sketches the history of an inner-city street in St. John's through the eyes of multiple characters.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-glass-harmonica-by-russell-wangersky/article1551301/
David Grossman's To the End of the Land is the Guardian's Book of the Week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/18/david-grossman-end-of-the-land
Charles Foran's Mordecai is one of the ten books Martin Levin has identified as 'must reads' for this fall.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/10-books-you-have-to-read-this-fall/article1711599/
Richard Helm writes that Michael Winter's The Death of Donna Whalen weaves its spell in small increments and that Winter has produced one of the best documentary accounts of a Canadian crime ever written.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Michael+Winter+does+true+crime/3543361/story.html
Lynn Coady adds: "His respect for his 'characters' who have given him his story and lent him their voices...brings an entirely new kind of Michael Winter to the page."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-death-of-donna-whalen-by-michael-winter/article1711436/
T.F. Rigelhof says Caroline Adderson's The Sky is Falling "has the most memorable final chapter of anything I’ve read in years."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-sky-is-falling-by-caroline-adderson/article1711435/
The surprise Canadian publishing success is Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Secret Daughter—now No. 2 on Canada's bestsellers list.
http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20100918.RVGOWDA0918ATL/TPStory/TPEntertainment/
Michael Winter talks about his new novel The Death of Donna Whalen and how it's a departure from his previous work.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/michael-winter-st-johns-with-no-veneer-no-romance/article1717039/
AWARDS & LISTS
Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, has won the 2010 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/15/wolfe-national-book-foundation.html
Seán Cullen’s children’s novel The Prince of Neither Here Nor There is one of five books shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/862135--sean-cullen-makes-toronto-book-awards-short-list
Five of the authors on the longlist for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize will be appearing at the Festival this fall.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/small-presses-dominate-giller-long-list/article1715325/
NEWS & FEATURES
The Nobel Prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has turned his fictional Museum of Innocence into fact.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/The+museum+that+was+written+down/21427
Daniel Pennac and Michael Morpurgo share the experience of having been regarded as dunces. They both now write and are teachers. Pennac’s latest book Chagrin d’école (published this month in English as School Blues) is about a dunce.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/daniel-pennac-head-teacher-from-the-school-of-joy-2081187.html
Leah McLaren argues that Sisterhood is the hottest memoir topic right now.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/let-the-boys-have-their-bromances-sisterhood-is-the-hot-memoir-topic/article1712340/
BOOKS & WRITERS
To coincide with Granta's publication of its issue devoted to the best new writing from Pakistan, an extract from one of its standout stories.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/13/extract-leila-wilderness-nadeem-aslam
Richard Wright's Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard, may be the final proof that he is indeed CanLit's answer to Meryl Streep, says Emily Donaldson in The Star.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/862481--mr-shakespeare-s-bastard-the-wright-stuff
What is the essence of a human being when everything that defines her humanity has been taken from her? That is the underlying question in Ingrid Betancourt's recently published Even Silence Has An End, about her six years in captivity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/18/ingrid-betancourt-i-still-have-nightmares
Kate Kellaway in her review of Robert Bringhurst's Selected Poems, writes that Bringhurst's work – funny, fond and devastating – grasps the essence of what it is to be alive.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/19/robert-bringhurst-selected-poems-review
Poet and family doctor Shane Neilson on why editors of poetry anthologies should leave themselves out of the mix.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/editor-heel-thyself/article1716728/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
IN MANIA'S MEMORY
Launch of Vancouver writer Lisa Birnie's latest book. Thursday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Bau-Xi Gallery, 3045 Granville Street. For more information, 604-733-7011.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
THE ARTEMIS ROCKS!
Launch of best-selling author Eoin Colfer's seventh book in his Artemis Fowl adventure series. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Free admission but tickets required via online contest at www.vpl.ca. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
WRITER'S STUDIO SNEAK PREVIEW
The SFU Writer's Studio will be launching emerge, its 2010 anthology, at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, but for those people looking for a sneak preview, the authors will be performing pre-release readings at the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, on Thursday, September 23, from 7-10 p.m. More information at www.thewritersstudio.ca.
ROB HALPERN AND TAYLOR BRADY
Reading by poet Rob Halpern and talk by Taylor Brady. Friday, September 24 at 8:00pm. Suggested donation: $3-$5. Spartacus Books, 684 East Hastings Street.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
BOOK ARTS MOSAIC OPENING
Books by award-winning local writers will be showcased for the opening of A Book Arts Mosaic. A book sale and meet the authors event happen in conjunction. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Burnaby Arts Council's Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby. Details at info@burnabyartscouncil.org.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WRITING AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
An interactive program led by Silvana Goldemberg Faifman, designed for those who love stories and want to unlock their creative potential. Saturday, September 25 at 3:30pm, free. Limited seating, please register here: http://behappyalltogether.wordpress.com. Richmond Public Library, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
POETRY READING
Governor-General's Award nominated poet Barry McKinnon (In the Millennium) and Terrace poet Simon Thompson (Why Does It Feel So Late?) will fete the new People's Co-op with readings from their books. Saturday, September 25 at 7:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
TAYLOR BRADY AND ROB HALPERN
Reading by the author of Microclimate (Brady) and talk by Rob Halpern. Saturday, September 25 at 8:00pm. Suggested donation: $3-$5. W2 Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ
Reading by the author of The Stalker, a Good Reads novel written for adult literacy learners. Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00pm, free. Bob Prittie Metrotown, 6100 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby. For more information, phone 604-436-5400.
SO LARGE AN ANIMAL
Reading by New Westminster poet Bibiana Tomasic. Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00pm. Museum of Vancouver Studio, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On September 29, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club will welcome author Marina Nemat with her second memoir "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed". Marina was thrown into Iran's most notorious prison at the age of 16 after demanding her teacher stop teaching religious propaganda and resume teaching math. After two years of hell, she finally emigrated to Canada in 1991. A powerful, shocking, and ultimately inspiring story, enter to win free tickets to see Marina at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by poet Garry Morse. Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. Library, Emily Carr University, Granville Island. More information here, http://www.ecuad.ca/about/news/71335.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Mette Bach (Off the Highway) and Melanie Siebert (Deepwater Vee). Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
Upcoming
DAN GREEN
Readings from the author's debut work of fiction, Blue Saltwater, an historical drama which follows one Haida teenager's experience within the residential school system and his struggle to return home. Friday, October 1 at 7:30pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
ANNABEL LYON
Discussion by the author of The Golden Mean. Monday, October 4 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CAROLINE ADDERSON
Award-winning author reads from her new novel, The Sky is Falling. Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On October 5, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club is pleased to once again partner with CBC Ideas to present the 2010 Massey Lecturer in an exclusive book club taping. This year Vancouver's own Douglas Coupland presents the first ever Massey in fiction! In "Player One: What is to Become of Us", Doug has created a five hour story that explores time, human identity, society, religion and the afterlife. Enter to win free tickets and a preview of the Masseys at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Join CBC Radio’s Grant Lawrence for the launch of his debut book Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm. Grant’s days spent in Desolation Sound as a child led him away from the coast to a life in music and journalism and eventually back again. In Adventures in Solitude, Grant returns to regale us with tales of this unique place. This free event will be held in the MOV Studio with musical performances from Jill Barber and Said the Whale. A cash bar will be available. For more information regarding Grant’s book launch in Vancouver, please call the Museum of Vancouver at 604.736.4431.
DOUG SAUNDERS
Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents the author of Arrival City, a new book analyzing the rise of mega-cities in a vastly changing world. Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets $15/$12 and are available at www.capilanou.ca/theatre or 604-990-7810. Kay Meek Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Vancouver, check out 32 Books.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival invites you to Literati, our annual Gala Dinner, presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join a host of 2010 Festival authors for an unforgettable evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, hosted by Bill Richardson. In support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Writers Festival Art Raffle! Win a beautiful Jamie Evrard painting, Leap of Faith II-Yellow, Green and Red Flowers (Edition 1/1). Jamie Evrard creates rich and exuberant still life and floral paintings using several mediums, including oil paint, monotype and watercolour. Jamie has an exhibition the Bau-Xi Gallery until October 2. Raffle details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Kate Braid, accompanied by musician Clyde Reed, reading from her collection Turning Left to the Ladies—an autobiographical account of her experiences building homes and high rises. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Stevie Cameron
Vancouver International Writers Festival presents a special event with journalist Stevie Cameron. Her new book is On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the tragic story of Vancouver’s missing women. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/cameron.
In his review of On the Farm, Rafe Mair writes: “Stevie Cameron has written yet another great book exposing, as is her wont, the "comfortable establishment" in our country of indifference to societal ills that might be expensive nuisances to deal with.”
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/09/13/PicktonHorror/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=130910
Neil Boyd writes that Cameron gives us women who were much more than drug-addled prostitutes, women with families and hopes.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-on-the-farm-by-stevie-cameron-pickton/article1711472/?cmpid=rss1
Read chapter 1 here:
http://www.mysterybooks.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780676975840&view=excerpt
Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean talks with Hal Wake about his new book The Vinyl Café Notebooks, a collection of wonderfully eclectic essays selected from 15 years of his CBC radio program. Please join us for a rare, intimate evening with one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/maclean.
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sara Gruen talks to Martin Levin about her preparation for, and visits and talking with, bonobos.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/talk-to-the-animals-and-theyll-talk-back/article1702488/
But are we really listening, asks Diane Baker Mason in her review of Ape House.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-ape-house-by-sara-gruen/article1702481/
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Jeffrey Simpson comments that Charlotte Gray's Gold Diggers allows us to experience the greed, debauchery and hardship endured by prospectors during the Klondike gold rush: one of the most astonishing moments in Canadian history.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/grays-account-of-the-klondike-gold-rush-deserves-to-strike-it-rich/article1707485/
Pascale Quiviger's The Breakwater House is a riddle that entertains and delights, but refuses solution...it rejects the easy endings offered by most novels.” writes Casey N. Cap.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-breakwater-house-by-pascale-quiviger/article1571318/
Ron Charles describes Emma Donoghue's Room as one of the most affecting and subtly profound novels of the year.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/14/AR2010091406235.html
What gives Room particular authenticity was the author's decision to tell the story through the eyes of Jack, who was born in captivity, says reviewer Stephen Amidon.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-room-by-emma-donoghue/article1702566/
Aimee Bender finds the child narrator one of the most engaging in years—"his voice so pervasive I could hear him chatting away during the day when I wasn’t reading the book".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Bender-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1
Francine Prose writes that in Yiyun Li's subtle stories of hapless souls, destiny continually subverts plans for happiness.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Prose-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Quill and Quire describes Chevy Stevens' Still Missing as a gripping debut novel.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6908
Stevens' character Annie is kept captive differently than the characters in Donoghue's Room. Annie is a strong, smart woman who won't stop fighting to regain her sanity and equilibrium, says Janet Maslin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/books/05book.html
Edmund White writes that every one of Wells Tower's stories in Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned is polished and distinctive. His range is wide, writing with equal power about men older than he is, young women and boys.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/books/review/White-t.html
Commenting on Joan Thomas' Curiosity, J.C. Sutcliffe writes "being able to sink fully into a novel-length, fictionalized exploration of Mary Anning's life is a bit like eating comfort food at a high-end restaurant."
“http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-curiosity-by-joan-thomas/article1513447/
This is a love story with a narrative dynamic as old as Cinderella, says Philip Marchand.
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/afterword/archive/2010/04/03/open-book-by-philip-marchand-joan-thomas-s-curiosity.aspx
Russell Wangersky returns to the Festival with his first novel The Glass Harmonica, which sketches the history of an inner-city street in St. John's through the eyes of multiple characters.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-glass-harmonica-by-russell-wangersky/article1551301/
David Grossman's To the End of the Land is the Guardian's Book of the Week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/18/david-grossman-end-of-the-land
Charles Foran's Mordecai is one of the ten books Martin Levin has identified as 'must reads' for this fall.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/10-books-you-have-to-read-this-fall/article1711599/
Richard Helm writes that Michael Winter's The Death of Donna Whalen weaves its spell in small increments and that Winter has produced one of the best documentary accounts of a Canadian crime ever written.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Michael+Winter+does+true+crime/3543361/story.html
Lynn Coady adds: "His respect for his 'characters' who have given him his story and lent him their voices...brings an entirely new kind of Michael Winter to the page."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-death-of-donna-whalen-by-michael-winter/article1711436/
T.F. Rigelhof says Caroline Adderson's The Sky is Falling "has the most memorable final chapter of anything I’ve read in years."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-sky-is-falling-by-caroline-adderson/article1711435/
The surprise Canadian publishing success is Shilpi Somaya Gowda's Secret Daughter—now No. 2 on Canada's bestsellers list.
http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20100918.RVGOWDA0918ATL/TPStory/TPEntertainment/
Michael Winter talks about his new novel The Death of Donna Whalen and how it's a departure from his previous work.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/michael-winter-st-johns-with-no-veneer-no-romance/article1717039/
AWARDS & LISTS
Tom Wolfe, author of The Right Stuff and The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, has won the 2010 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/15/wolfe-national-book-foundation.html
Seán Cullen’s children’s novel The Prince of Neither Here Nor There is one of five books shortlisted for the Toronto Book Award.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/862135--sean-cullen-makes-toronto-book-awards-short-list
Five of the authors on the longlist for the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize will be appearing at the Festival this fall.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/small-presses-dominate-giller-long-list/article1715325/
NEWS & FEATURES
The Nobel Prize winning Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has turned his fictional Museum of Innocence into fact.
http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/The+museum+that+was+written+down/21427
Daniel Pennac and Michael Morpurgo share the experience of having been regarded as dunces. They both now write and are teachers. Pennac’s latest book Chagrin d’école (published this month in English as School Blues) is about a dunce.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/daniel-pennac-head-teacher-from-the-school-of-joy-2081187.html
Leah McLaren argues that Sisterhood is the hottest memoir topic right now.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/let-the-boys-have-their-bromances-sisterhood-is-the-hot-memoir-topic/article1712340/
BOOKS & WRITERS
To coincide with Granta's publication of its issue devoted to the best new writing from Pakistan, an extract from one of its standout stories.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/13/extract-leila-wilderness-nadeem-aslam
Richard Wright's Mr. Shakespeare’s Bastard, may be the final proof that he is indeed CanLit's answer to Meryl Streep, says Emily Donaldson in The Star.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/862481--mr-shakespeare-s-bastard-the-wright-stuff
What is the essence of a human being when everything that defines her humanity has been taken from her? That is the underlying question in Ingrid Betancourt's recently published Even Silence Has An End, about her six years in captivity.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/18/ingrid-betancourt-i-still-have-nightmares
Kate Kellaway in her review of Robert Bringhurst's Selected Poems, writes that Bringhurst's work – funny, fond and devastating – grasps the essence of what it is to be alive.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/19/robert-bringhurst-selected-poems-review
Poet and family doctor Shane Neilson on why editors of poetry anthologies should leave themselves out of the mix.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/editor-heel-thyself/article1716728/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
IN MANIA'S MEMORY
Launch of Vancouver writer Lisa Birnie's latest book. Thursday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Bau-Xi Gallery, 3045 Granville Street. For more information, 604-733-7011.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
THE ARTEMIS ROCKS!
Launch of best-selling author Eoin Colfer's seventh book in his Artemis Fowl adventure series. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Free admission but tickets required via online contest at www.vpl.ca. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
WRITER'S STUDIO SNEAK PREVIEW
The SFU Writer's Studio will be launching emerge, its 2010 anthology, at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, but for those people looking for a sneak preview, the authors will be performing pre-release readings at the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, on Thursday, September 23, from 7-10 p.m. More information at www.thewritersstudio.ca.
ROB HALPERN AND TAYLOR BRADY
Reading by poet Rob Halpern and talk by Taylor Brady. Friday, September 24 at 8:00pm. Suggested donation: $3-$5. Spartacus Books, 684 East Hastings Street.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
BOOK ARTS MOSAIC OPENING
Books by award-winning local writers will be showcased for the opening of A Book Arts Mosaic. A book sale and meet the authors event happen in conjunction. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Burnaby Arts Council's Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby. Details at info@burnabyartscouncil.org.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WRITING AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
An interactive program led by Silvana Goldemberg Faifman, designed for those who love stories and want to unlock their creative potential. Saturday, September 25 at 3:30pm, free. Limited seating, please register here: http://behappyalltogether.wordpress.com. Richmond Public Library, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
POETRY READING
Governor-General's Award nominated poet Barry McKinnon (In the Millennium) and Terrace poet Simon Thompson (Why Does It Feel So Late?) will fete the new People's Co-op with readings from their books. Saturday, September 25 at 7:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
TAYLOR BRADY AND ROB HALPERN
Reading by the author of Microclimate (Brady) and talk by Rob Halpern. Saturday, September 25 at 8:00pm. Suggested donation: $3-$5. W2 Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
GAIL ANDERSON-DARGATZ
Reading by the author of The Stalker, a Good Reads novel written for adult literacy learners. Tuesday, September 28 at 7:00pm, free. Bob Prittie Metrotown, 6100 Willingdon Ave, Burnaby. For more information, phone 604-436-5400.
SO LARGE AN ANIMAL
Reading by New Westminster poet Bibiana Tomasic. Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00pm. Museum of Vancouver Studio, 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On September 29, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club will welcome author Marina Nemat with her second memoir "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed". Marina was thrown into Iran's most notorious prison at the age of 16 after demanding her teacher stop teaching religious propaganda and resume teaching math. After two years of hell, she finally emigrated to Canada in 1991. A powerful, shocking, and ultimately inspiring story, enter to win free tickets to see Marina at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by poet Garry Morse. Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. Library, Emily Carr University, Granville Island. More information here, http://www.ecuad.ca/about/news/71335.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Mette Bach (Off the Highway) and Melanie Siebert (Deepwater Vee). Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
Upcoming
DAN GREEN
Readings from the author's debut work of fiction, Blue Saltwater, an historical drama which follows one Haida teenager's experience within the residential school system and his struggle to return home. Friday, October 1 at 7:30pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
ANNABEL LYON
Discussion by the author of The Golden Mean. Monday, October 4 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen and Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CAROLINE ADDERSON
Award-winning author reads from her new novel, The Sky is Falling. Tuesday, October 5 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On October 5, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club is pleased to once again partner with CBC Ideas to present the 2010 Massey Lecturer in an exclusive book club taping. This year Vancouver's own Douglas Coupland presents the first ever Massey in fiction! In "Player One: What is to Become of Us", Doug has created a five hour story that explores time, human identity, society, religion and the afterlife. Enter to win free tickets and a preview of the Masseys at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Join CBC Radio’s Grant Lawrence for the launch of his debut book Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm. Grant’s days spent in Desolation Sound as a child led him away from the coast to a life in music and journalism and eventually back again. In Adventures in Solitude, Grant returns to regale us with tales of this unique place. This free event will be held in the MOV Studio with musical performances from Jill Barber and Said the Whale. A cash bar will be available. For more information regarding Grant’s book launch in Vancouver, please call the Museum of Vancouver at 604.736.4431.
DOUG SAUNDERS
Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents the author of Arrival City, a new book analyzing the rise of mega-cities in a vastly changing world. Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets $15/$12 and are available at www.capilanou.ca/theatre or 604-990-7810. Kay Meek Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 40
BOOK NEWS
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival invites you to Literati, our annual Gala Dinner, presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join a host of 2010 Festival authors for an unforgettable evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, hosted by Bill Richardson. In support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Writers Festival Art Raffle! Win a beautiful Jamie Evrard painting, Leap of Faith II-Yellow, Green and Red Flowers (Edition 1/1). Jamie Evrard creates rich and exuberant still life and floral paintings using several mediums, including oil paint, monotype and watercolour. Look for her latest exhibition at the Bau-Xi Gallery. Raffle details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Gillian Slovo talking to Bill Richardson about what led her to write not a historical novel, but a novel set in history. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Just announced - Stevie Cameron
Vancouver International Writers Festival presents a special event with journalist Stevie Cameron. Her new book is On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the tragic story of Vancouver’s missing women. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/cameron.
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Donna Bailey Nurse describes Jane Urquhart's Sanctuary Line as a book lover's novel.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-sanctuary-line-by-jane-urquhart/article1694290/
Michael Helm's Cities of Refuge explores what happens when two types of exiles—the dispossessed and the spiritually homeless—come together writes Stephen Amidon.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-cities-of-refuge-by-michael-helm/article1544884/
The NY Times calls Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal a "wildly brilliant and precocious first novel", a coming-of-age story with secrets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/books/review/Ross-t.html
The Globe and Mail offers a few more details. Apparently a simple plot, but Catton reveals no clear distinction between what is the scandal, what is the saxophone lesson and what is the play.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-rehearsal-by-eleanor-catton/article1600727/
Barbara Casey says of Emma Donoghue's Room "Both gripping and poignant, it's a tribute to human resourcefulness and resilience in extremity, and a stirring portrait of a mother's devotion...a worthy Booker Prize contender."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/859420--room-a-worthy-booker-prize-contender
The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Berry writes that William Gibson's "Zero History can be enjoyed in isolation from its predecessors, but the entire trilogy rewards a thorough and sequential reading."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/RVHN1F93TL.DTL
The Washington Post's Art Taylor says that "Zero History proves momentous...Gibson remains as coolly incisive as ever in his observations, whether about technology or marketing or, yes, fashion."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/AR2010091006689.html
And in the NY Times, Scarlett Thomas writes that "Gibson is also celebrating a world where people do still care about something."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/books/review/Thomas-t.html?ref=books
Alex Clark hails Yiyun Li's delicate and haunting short-story collection, Gold Boy, Emerald Girl. "A hugely impressive collection."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/11/gold-boy-emerald-girl-yiyun-li
Fan Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the sophistication and honesty of Li's collection often derives from a deep understanding of the history, culture and politics of China, and of their impact on ordinary people."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/RVHN1F93MU.DTL
Drew Hayden Taylor uses Nanabush, the mischievous trickster, shapeshifter, and culture hero as inspiration in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, his first novel for adults. A modern twist to ancient native folklore, says Erin Balser.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6809
Jon Paul Fiortina has a new poem in the October issue of The Walrus.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.10-poetry-dying-in-winnipeg/
Charles Foran's biography Mordecai: The Life and Times will appear in October. Meanwhile, Noah Richler experiences his father's ghost on the set of the filming of Barney's Version.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.10-arts-my-dad-the-movie-and-me/
Leah Hager Cohen finds Sara Gruen’s Ape House to be “fun, in an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink way”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/books/review/Cohen-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Here is an excerpt:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/books/review/excerpt-ape-house.html?ref=review
Gary Shteyngart's life story is more colourful than most fiction, says Peter Conrad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/shteyngart-super-sad-love-story-interview
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists of the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Bolen Book Children's Book Prize have been announced.
http://www.victoria.ca/contentmanager/press/100909_mr.pdf
Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf, a playwright and screenwriter based in Montreal, is one of seven mid-career artists to win Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards, each worth $15,000.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/08/mid-career-artists.html
Andrew Motion, chair of the judges, explains how the shortlist for this year's Man Booker prize was decided, "We didn't mean to be popular."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/11/booker-prize-andrew-motion-judging
NEWS & FEATURES
The New Republic writes that the numbers have been crunched and it's official: The New York Times really does review more fiction by men than by women. Far more.
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/77506/the-read-franzen-fallout-ruth-franklin-sexism
It is well known that the trapped Chilean miners are organized and have been assigned various leadership responsibilities. The Guardian reports that among these positions are an Official Biographer and an Official Poet—perhaps not so surprising in the country that produced the Nobel prize-winning poets Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/09/chilean-miners-typical-day
The film Life, Above All, based on a novel by Toronto author Allan Stratton and a screenplay by Vancouver-based Dennis Foon, will be South Africa's official entry for the 2011 Academy Awards.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/s-africa-enters-oscars-with-movie-based-on-toronto-authors-novel/article1702681/
William Gibson speaks to the Wall Street Journal about the future of publishing: made to order books.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/06/william-gibson-on-the-future-of-book-publishing/
After Wallander: the bleak Scandinavian landscapes have inspired a series of hit books about dour detectives. More writers are lining up to claim the Nordic crime crown.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/12/stieg-larsson-henning-mankell-wallander
Monday, September 13 was Roald Dahl Day 2010. To mark the day, Philip Ardagh, winner of the Roald Dahl Funny prize set up in his memory, selected his top ten Dahl tales.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/13/top-10-roald-dahl-children-books
BOOKS & WRITERS
Now that the publication bans have been lifted, Stevie Cameron has produced On The Farm: Robert William Pickton and The Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women, the first comprehensive overview of how Willie Pickton became a psychopathic monster and how he wasn't caught for so long.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/predator+prey/3510795/story.html
Dan Falk finds Sam Keen's The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements—to be jargon-free, with its focus on the magic (including parlour tricks) and the horrors of chemical science.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-disappearing-spoon-by-sam-kean/article1699796/
David Suzuki sums up his life's work in his new book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for our Sustainable Future. Despite everything, he is optimistic.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Despite+everything+David+Suzuki+optimistic/3495656/story.html
Wait for Me! Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister, Deborah Mitford's story, written at age 90, is a worthy addition to the family oeuvre, says Rachel Cooke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/12/mitford-debo-deborah-devonshire-nancy-decca
In an interview, the Duchess says she embarked on her memoir because she felt her family, and her parents in particular, had been portrayed unfairly in the media.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/12/deborah-duchess-of-devonshire-chatsworth?CMP=EMCGT_130910&
Donald Sturrock's Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl informs us that Dahl was controlling and bullying, that critics and librarians deprecated him and Ursula K. Le Guin reported that exposure to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had turned her daughter ‘quite nasty'. But Dahl knew the road to the hearts of his readers.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/6257818/beating-his-demons.thtml
Dahl described himself in his later years as "a geriatric child".
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/storyteller-the-life-of-roald-dahl-by-donald-sturrock-2073902.html
Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, a picture book written by President Obama before he took office in 2009, will be released November 16. Meanwhile, illustrator Loren Long is completing the illustrations.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/obama-writes-childrens-book/?ref=books
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Annabel Lyon (The Golden Mean) and Naomi Beth Wakan (Book Ends: A year between the covers). Thursday, September 16 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
EILEEN MYLES AND LISA ROBERTSON
Contemporary poets Myles and Robertson read from their latest books Inferno: A Poet's Novel and R's Boat. Saturday, September 18 at 2:00pm. Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston, Granville Island. More information at 604-844-3809.
FREE WRITING WORKSHOP
In partnership with the North Vancouver District Library, the Lynn Valley Literary Society is holding free writing workshops for adults and youth. At noon, drop in for information about the society's upcoming adult workshops and its Young Writers' Club program. Saturday, September 18 at 12:00pm, free. Lynn Valley branch, North Vancouver District Library, 1277 Lynn Valley Rd. For times and information, visit www.nvdpl.north-van.bc.ca.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
PEN IN HAND
Readings by Patricia Young and Eve Joseph. Monday, September 20 at 7:30pm. Serious Coffee, Cook Street Village, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at 250-590-8010.
SARAH LEAVITT
Book launch of Tangles: A story about Alzheimer's, my mother and me. Also live music and a silent auction to benefit selected Alzheimer's charities. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street.
ERIC ENNO TAMM
The author reads from his book The Horse that Leaps through Clouds, a cautionary tale about the rise of modern China. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
JOHN PASS AND THERESA KISHKAN
Authors will be reading from their works. Thursday, September 23 at 12:30pm, free. Refreshments will be served. Special Collections, room 7100, 7th floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby.
IN MANIA'S MEMORY
Launch of Vancouver writer Lisa Birnie's latest book. Thursday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Bau-Xi Gallery, 3045 Granville Street. For more information, 604-733-7011.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
THE ARTEMIS ROCKS!
Launch of best-selling author Eoin Colfer's seventh book in his Artemis Fowl adventure series. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Free admission but tickets required via online contest at www.vpl.ca. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
WRITER'S STUDIO SNEAK PREVIEW
The SFU Writer's Studio will be launching emerge, its 2010 anthology, at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, but for those people looking for a sneak preview, the authors will be performing pre-release readings at the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, on Thursday, September 23, from 7-10 p.m. More information at www.thewritersstudio.ca.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
BOOK ARTS MOSAIC OPENING
Books by award-winning local writers will be showcased for the opening of A Book Arts Mosaic. A book sale and meet the authors event happen in conjunction. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Burnaby Arts Council's Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby. Details at info@burnabyartscouncil.org.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WRITING AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
An interactive program led by Silvana Goldemberg Faifman, designed for those who love stories and want to unlock their creative potential. Saturday, September 25 at 3:30pm, free. Limited seating, please register here: http://behappyalltogether.wordpress.com. Richmond Public Library, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
Upcoming
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On September 29, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club will welcome author Marina Nemat with her second memoir "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed". Marina was thrown into Iran's most notorious prison at the age of 16 after demanding her teacher stop teaching religious propaganda and resume teaching math. After two years of hell, she finally emigrated to Canada in 1991. A powerful, shocking, and ultimately inspiring story, enter to win free tickets to see Marina at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Mette Bach (Off the Highway) and Melanie Siebert (Deepwater Vee). Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On October 5, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club is pleased to once again partner with CBC Ideas to present the 2010 Massey Lecturer in an exclusive book club taping. This year Vancouver's own Douglas Coupland presents the first ever Massey in fiction! In "Player One: What is to Become of Us", Doug has created a five hour story that explores time, human identity, society, religion and the afterlife. Enter to win free tickets and a preview of the Masseys at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival invites you to Literati, our annual Gala Dinner, presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join a host of 2010 Festival authors for an unforgettable evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, hosted by Bill Richardson. In support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Writers Festival Art Raffle! Win a beautiful Jamie Evrard painting, Leap of Faith II-Yellow, Green and Red Flowers (Edition 1/1). Jamie Evrard creates rich and exuberant still life and floral paintings using several mediums, including oil paint, monotype and watercolour. Look for her latest exhibition at the Bau-Xi Gallery. Raffle details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Gillian Slovo talking to Bill Richardson about what led her to write not a historical novel, but a novel set in history. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Just announced - Stevie Cameron
Vancouver International Writers Festival presents a special event with journalist Stevie Cameron. Her new book is On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the tragic story of Vancouver’s missing women. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/cameron.
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Donna Bailey Nurse describes Jane Urquhart's Sanctuary Line as a book lover's novel.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-sanctuary-line-by-jane-urquhart/article1694290/
Michael Helm's Cities of Refuge explores what happens when two types of exiles—the dispossessed and the spiritually homeless—come together writes Stephen Amidon.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-cities-of-refuge-by-michael-helm/article1544884/
The NY Times calls Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal a "wildly brilliant and precocious first novel", a coming-of-age story with secrets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/books/review/Ross-t.html
The Globe and Mail offers a few more details. Apparently a simple plot, but Catton reveals no clear distinction between what is the scandal, what is the saxophone lesson and what is the play.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-rehearsal-by-eleanor-catton/article1600727/
Barbara Casey says of Emma Donoghue's Room "Both gripping and poignant, it's a tribute to human resourcefulness and resilience in extremity, and a stirring portrait of a mother's devotion...a worthy Booker Prize contender."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/859420--room-a-worthy-booker-prize-contender
The San Francisco Chronicle's Michael Berry writes that William Gibson's "Zero History can be enjoyed in isolation from its predecessors, but the entire trilogy rewards a thorough and sequential reading."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/RVHN1F93TL.DTL
The Washington Post's Art Taylor says that "Zero History proves momentous...Gibson remains as coolly incisive as ever in his observations, whether about technology or marketing or, yes, fashion."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/10/AR2010091006689.html
And in the NY Times, Scarlett Thomas writes that "Gibson is also celebrating a world where people do still care about something."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/books/review/Thomas-t.html?ref=books
Alex Clark hails Yiyun Li's delicate and haunting short-story collection, Gold Boy, Emerald Girl. "A hugely impressive collection."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/11/gold-boy-emerald-girl-yiyun-li
Fan Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle writes that the sophistication and honesty of Li's collection often derives from a deep understanding of the history, culture and politics of China, and of their impact on ordinary people."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/10/RVHN1F93MU.DTL
Drew Hayden Taylor uses Nanabush, the mischievous trickster, shapeshifter, and culture hero as inspiration in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, his first novel for adults. A modern twist to ancient native folklore, says Erin Balser.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6809
Jon Paul Fiortina has a new poem in the October issue of The Walrus.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.10-poetry-dying-in-winnipeg/
Charles Foran's biography Mordecai: The Life and Times will appear in October. Meanwhile, Noah Richler experiences his father's ghost on the set of the filming of Barney's Version.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.10-arts-my-dad-the-movie-and-me/
Leah Hager Cohen finds Sara Gruen’s Ape House to be “fun, in an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink way”.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/books/review/Cohen-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Here is an excerpt:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/05/books/review/excerpt-ape-house.html?ref=review
Gary Shteyngart's life story is more colourful than most fiction, says Peter Conrad.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/shteyngart-super-sad-love-story-interview
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists of the City of Victoria Butler Book Prize and the Bolen Book Children's Book Prize have been announced.
http://www.victoria.ca/contentmanager/press/100909_mr.pdf
Dominick Parenteau-Lebeuf, a playwright and screenwriter based in Montreal, is one of seven mid-career artists to win Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards, each worth $15,000.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/08/mid-career-artists.html
Andrew Motion, chair of the judges, explains how the shortlist for this year's Man Booker prize was decided, "We didn't mean to be popular."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/11/booker-prize-andrew-motion-judging
NEWS & FEATURES
The New Republic writes that the numbers have been crunched and it's official: The New York Times really does review more fiction by men than by women. Far more.
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/77506/the-read-franzen-fallout-ruth-franklin-sexism
It is well known that the trapped Chilean miners are organized and have been assigned various leadership responsibilities. The Guardian reports that among these positions are an Official Biographer and an Official Poet—perhaps not so surprising in the country that produced the Nobel prize-winning poets Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/09/chilean-miners-typical-day
The film Life, Above All, based on a novel by Toronto author Allan Stratton and a screenplay by Vancouver-based Dennis Foon, will be South Africa's official entry for the 2011 Academy Awards.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/s-africa-enters-oscars-with-movie-based-on-toronto-authors-novel/article1702681/
William Gibson speaks to the Wall Street Journal about the future of publishing: made to order books.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/06/william-gibson-on-the-future-of-book-publishing/
After Wallander: the bleak Scandinavian landscapes have inspired a series of hit books about dour detectives. More writers are lining up to claim the Nordic crime crown.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/12/stieg-larsson-henning-mankell-wallander
Monday, September 13 was Roald Dahl Day 2010. To mark the day, Philip Ardagh, winner of the Roald Dahl Funny prize set up in his memory, selected his top ten Dahl tales.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/13/top-10-roald-dahl-children-books
BOOKS & WRITERS
Now that the publication bans have been lifted, Stevie Cameron has produced On The Farm: Robert William Pickton and The Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women, the first comprehensive overview of how Willie Pickton became a psychopathic monster and how he wasn't caught for so long.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/predator+prey/3510795/story.html
Dan Falk finds Sam Keen's The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements—to be jargon-free, with its focus on the magic (including parlour tricks) and the horrors of chemical science.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-disappearing-spoon-by-sam-kean/article1699796/
David Suzuki sums up his life's work in his new book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for our Sustainable Future. Despite everything, he is optimistic.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Despite+everything+David+Suzuki+optimistic/3495656/story.html
Wait for Me! Memoirs of the Youngest Mitford Sister, Deborah Mitford's story, written at age 90, is a worthy addition to the family oeuvre, says Rachel Cooke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/12/mitford-debo-deborah-devonshire-nancy-decca
In an interview, the Duchess says she embarked on her memoir because she felt her family, and her parents in particular, had been portrayed unfairly in the media.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/12/deborah-duchess-of-devonshire-chatsworth?CMP=EMCGT_130910&
Donald Sturrock's Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl informs us that Dahl was controlling and bullying, that critics and librarians deprecated him and Ursula K. Le Guin reported that exposure to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory had turned her daughter ‘quite nasty'. But Dahl knew the road to the hearts of his readers.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/6257818/beating-his-demons.thtml
Dahl described himself in his later years as "a geriatric child".
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/storyteller-the-life-of-roald-dahl-by-donald-sturrock-2073902.html
Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters, a picture book written by President Obama before he took office in 2009, will be released November 16. Meanwhile, illustrator Loren Long is completing the illustrations.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/14/obama-writes-childrens-book/?ref=books
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Annabel Lyon (The Golden Mean) and Naomi Beth Wakan (Book Ends: A year between the covers). Thursday, September 16 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
EILEEN MYLES AND LISA ROBERTSON
Contemporary poets Myles and Robertson read from their latest books Inferno: A Poet's Novel and R's Boat. Saturday, September 18 at 2:00pm. Charles H. Scott Gallery, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston, Granville Island. More information at 604-844-3809.
FREE WRITING WORKSHOP
In partnership with the North Vancouver District Library, the Lynn Valley Literary Society is holding free writing workshops for adults and youth. At noon, drop in for information about the society's upcoming adult workshops and its Young Writers' Club program. Saturday, September 18 at 12:00pm, free. Lynn Valley branch, North Vancouver District Library, 1277 Lynn Valley Rd. For times and information, visit www.nvdpl.north-van.bc.ca.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
PEN IN HAND
Readings by Patricia Young and Eve Joseph. Monday, September 20 at 7:30pm. Serious Coffee, Cook Street Village, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at 250-590-8010.
SARAH LEAVITT
Book launch of Tangles: A story about Alzheimer's, my mother and me. Also live music and a silent auction to benefit selected Alzheimer's charities. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street.
ERIC ENNO TAMM
The author reads from his book The Horse that Leaps through Clouds, a cautionary tale about the rise of modern China. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
JOHN PASS AND THERESA KISHKAN
Authors will be reading from their works. Thursday, September 23 at 12:30pm, free. Refreshments will be served. Special Collections, room 7100, 7th floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby.
IN MANIA'S MEMORY
Launch of Vancouver writer Lisa Birnie's latest book. Thursday, September 23 at 6:00pm. Bau-Xi Gallery, 3045 Granville Street. For more information, 604-733-7011.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
THE ARTEMIS ROCKS!
Launch of best-selling author Eoin Colfer's seventh book in his Artemis Fowl adventure series. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Free admission but tickets required via online contest at www.vpl.ca. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3603.
WRITER'S STUDIO SNEAK PREVIEW
The SFU Writer's Studio will be launching emerge, its 2010 anthology, at the Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival, but for those people looking for a sneak preview, the authors will be performing pre-release readings at the Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, on Thursday, September 23, from 7-10 p.m. More information at www.thewritersstudio.ca.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
BOOK ARTS MOSAIC OPENING
Books by award-winning local writers will be showcased for the opening of A Book Arts Mosaic. A book sale and meet the authors event happen in conjunction. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Burnaby Arts Council's Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby. Details at info@burnabyartscouncil.org.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WRITING AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
An interactive program led by Silvana Goldemberg Faifman, designed for those who love stories and want to unlock their creative potential. Saturday, September 25 at 3:30pm, free. Limited seating, please register here: http://behappyalltogether.wordpress.com. Richmond Public Library, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
Upcoming
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On September 29, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club will welcome author Marina Nemat with her second memoir "After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed". Marina was thrown into Iran's most notorious prison at the age of 16 after demanding her teacher stop teaching religious propaganda and resume teaching math. After two years of hell, she finally emigrated to Canada in 1991. A powerful, shocking, and ultimately inspiring story, enter to win free tickets to see Marina at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Mette Bach (Off the Highway) and Melanie Siebert (Deepwater Vee). Thursday, September 30 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library, Robson Square (plaza level, 800 Robson Street).More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
On October 5, the CBC Radio Studio One Book Club is pleased to once again partner with CBC Ideas to present the 2010 Massey Lecturer in an exclusive book club taping. This year Vancouver's own Douglas Coupland presents the first ever Massey in fiction! In "Player One: What is to Become of Us", Doug has created a five hour story that explores time, human identity, society, religion and the afterlife. Enter to win free tickets and a preview of the Masseys at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 39
BOOK NEWS
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For complete Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island including Blackberry Books.
There was an excited buzz about Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell's appearance at the Festival as soon as it was announced, and An Intimate Evening with David Mitchell (event 60) sold out during VIWF earlybird ticket sales. Mitchell fans needn't despair however; due to the overwhelming demand, we've added another solo event, An Intimate Afternoon with David Mitchell (event 68) at 5:00 pm Saturday, October 23, at the Waterfront Theatre.
Famed cartoonist/author Lynda Barry (Ernie Pook's Comeek) will also be making an additional appearance at the Festival. In addition to a Sunday morning workshop and an event with local graphic memoirist Sarah Leavitt, Barry will join Aaron Bushkowsky, John Gould and Rachel Wyatt in event 57 The Lighter Side, on Saturday Oct 23 at 2pm.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Simon Winchester in conversation with Hal Wake. One of the most entertaining writers ever to grace a VIWF stage, Simon Winchester tells the dramatic story of the San Francisco earthquake as only he can. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
John Vaillant
The author of the multi-award-winning The Golden Spruce will discuss his new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/vaillant.
The accolades for John Vaillant's The Tiger continue to come in—Joe Wiebe in the Vancouver Sun adds to earlier reviews: "...Reader, if you're wondering why you'd want to read a book about tigers set in Russia, remember that the same could be said for the many thousands of people who never expected to find themselves reading, and loving, a book about a golden spruce on a remote island off the B.C. coast."
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tiger+tiger+burning+brighter+than+ever/3481396/story.html
Simon Winchester, who knows the Primorye Krai well, writes: "if this book did happen to ring slightly less than true, believe me, I would know. But it doesn't. Any skepticism on my part was quite unwarranted. This turns out to be a quite brilliant addition to the – admittedly very spare – literature of the region. And it is a book that recounts with power and excitement the true story of a titanic confrontation that took place deep in the Ussuri forests, in the harsh midwinter at the end of 1997."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-tiger-a-true-story-of-vengeance-and-survival-by-john-vaillant/article1694374/
An essay by John Vaillant on how he was blindsided by The Tiger can be found here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/exit-the-tiger/article1694479/
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Paolo Giordano's haunting novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers is "a finely tuned machine powered by the perverse mechanics of need".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/books/review/Schillinger-t.html?_r=1
Tayari Jones writes that Andrea Levy's insightful recent novel, The Long Song, reminds us she is one of the best historical novelists of her generation. Her heroine narrates the beginning of the end of slavery in Jamaica, coming to a climax with the 1831 Baptist War. "This story of a single woman is a story of the ages."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704891.html
An extract from The Long Song can be found here:
http://www.andrealevy.co.uk/the_long_song/index.php
The stories in Yiyun Li's Gold Boy, Emerald Girl are "exquisitely made, and function with a vast, metronomic precision that eschews anything inessential", says David Mattin in The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/gold-boy-emerald-girl-by-yiyun-li-2067796.html
The Story of Flight is published in the New Yorker's ‘20 Under 40 Fiction' series.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/08/30/100830fi_fiction_li
Here is a Q & A with Yiyun Li.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/06/14/100614fi_fiction_20under40_qa_yiyun-li
Yiyun Li has disconnected herself from the Internet in order, she says, to become a better,calmer bookworm.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/03/RVH11F6787.DTL&type=books
Jane Urquhart's first novel in five years includes a climax that surprised even the author, writes Vit Wagner.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/855924--urquhart-s-surprise
Emily Donaldson finds that Jane Urquhart's Sanctuary Line has at once the sprawling feel of a multi-generational epic and the shuttered confinement of a one-act play. "One of the most grounded of Urquhart's books." http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/855141--sanctuary-line-jane-urquhart-nails-another-novel
Ian McGillis argues in the Gazette that "when the dust from the current tussle settles, Sanctuary Line - measured, dignified, calm on the surface but containing as much thematic richness and plain literary pleasure as a reader could care to dig for - will still be standing."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/novel+Sanctuary+Line+Jane+Urquhart+revisits+classic+CanLit+territory/3479145/story.html
An interview with Emma Donoghue addresses the matter of the possible connections between Donoghue's Room and the notorious case of Austrian monster Josef Fritzl.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/emma-donoghues-restrained-novel-about-two-captives-illuminates-the-power-of-parental-love/article1695433/
The Guardian series Once Upon a Life focuses this week on Emma Donoghue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/once-upon-life-emma-donoghue
Wlliam Gibson's Zero History features an amnesiac caught up in some high-tech espionage. It is about surveillance, through GPS or CCTV, and about being on and off the radar. It is also about clothes. Gibson's inventive descriptions (Bigend's ghastly suit looks like "antimatter paired with mohair") are reminiscent of Douglas Adams's offbeat humour.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/zero-history-by-william-gibson-2061839.html
Gibson also weighs in on the future of publishing.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/06/william-gibson-on-the-future-of-book-publishing/
Jack Batten reminds us that, as in previous Joanne Kilburn novels, Gail Bowen's The Nesting Dolls is as much domestic drama as crime novel.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/850598--the-nesting-dolls-and-crime-machine
AWARDS & LISTS
Emma Donoghue, Andrea Levy, Damon Galgut, Howard Jacobson, Peter Carey and Tom McCarthy have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/emma-donoghue-among-six-finalists-for-booker-prize/article1697851/
The Guardian adds details on the judging process and on the authors—both those shortlisted and those, not.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/booker-prize-shortlist-drops-frontrunners
The Telegraph offers a review of all of the shortlisted titles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booker-prize/7986949/Man-Booker-Prize-2010-shortlist-announced.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Terry Pratchett talks about his new young adult novel I Shall Wear Midnight (the last in his Tiffany Aching series) and about living with a very rare form of Alzheimer's. "I'm open to joy. But I'm also more cynical." http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/01/terry-pratchett-alzheimers-assisted-suicide?CMP=EMCGT_020910&CMP=EMCNEWEML961
Steve Silberman interviews Oliver Sachs prior to the release in October of his new book The Mind's Eye.
http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2010/09/01/oliver-sacks-on-vision-his-new-book-and-surviving-cancer/
"Publishing's notion of what women want is dated and patronizing. In my case it's like trying to stuff a rottweiler in a dress" writes Lionel Shriver.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/02/publishers-ghettoise-women-writers-and-readers?CMP=EMCGT_030910&CMP=EMCNEWEML961
Neil Gaiman's comic series The Sandman (winner of the World Fantasy Award) is to be adapted as a TV series.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/02/neil-gaiman-sandman.html
La carte et le territoire (The map and the territory), the latest book by the French author Michel Houellebecq was supposed to be his least incendiary yet. However, there is another brewing controversy: alleged plagiarism—of the book title and several passages from Wikipedia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/07/michel-houllebecq-novel-plagiarism-accusation
"I stole from Wikipedia, but it's not plagiarism", says Houellebecq.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/i-stole-from-wikipedia-but-its-not-plagiarism-says-houellebecq-2073145.html
Theresa Breslin talks about bringing the past to light through writing historical fiction for contemporary readers. Breslin is on the longlist for the Guardian' children's fiction prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/02/theresa-breslin-bringing-past-life
She reads "real" books; he reads e-books. Or vice versa. And the publishing industry is paying close attention, trying to figure out how to market books to households that read in different ways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/technology/02couples.html?_r=1&hpw
"Culture is another word for people", says David Adams Richards in his contribution to analyses of major issues in the 2010 N.B. election.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nbvotes2010/story/2010/08/31/nb-david-adams-richards-culture-131.html?ref=rss
Do the cultural gatekeepers really give white male fiction writers preferential coverage over authors of the distaff and ethnic variety? Slate did some research.
http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/
Vit Wagner suggests ten international titles to watch for this fall.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/856501--10-books-to-watch-for-this-fall
Who buys books? 40-year old women and others, concludes the Seattle Times.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2012801171_litlife06.html?syndication=rss
BOOKS & WRITERS
Nicholas Shakespeare and Bruce Chatwin's widow Elizabeth have selected and edited Bruce Chatwin's letters in Under the Sun: The Letters of Bruce Chatwin. Blake Morrison describes the book as "a handsome book, full of informative passages and illuminating quotes."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/04/bruce-chatwin-letters-nicholas-shakespeare
Catherine Taylor describes Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean as a "justifiably garlanded novel".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/04/first-novels-review-roundup
In an interview with Sean O'Hagan, Irish writer Claire Keegan claims short stories are limited. Her short story Foster will appear as a stand-alone book. This rare honour is fully deserved, says O'Hagan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/claire-keegan-short-story-interiew
André Alexis reports that Hans Keilson's novella Comedy in a Minor Key is a mixture of grief, hope, fear and, if such a thing is possible, dry slapstick—a tonally eccentric work. The book was first published in 1947; it has taken until now to be translated into English. "It's the work of a consummate artist, a wonderful writer," says Alexis. Keilson is now 100.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-comedy-in-a-minor-key-by-hans-keilson/article1694235/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SPIDER ROBINSON
The Library's sixth Writer in Residence will read from some of his many award-winning works and talk about the writing process at his inaugural reading. Thursday, September 9 at 7:00pm, free. Alice McKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SAGA THURSDAY ARTIST TALK
Discussion and reading by Monika Ullmann, author of The Life and Art of David Marshall, a book about the Vancouver-based sculptor. Thursday, September 9 at 7:30pm, free. Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88 Ave., Surrey). More information at www.arts.surrey.ca.
GARY GEDDES
Reading by the author from his latest book of poetry, Swimming Ginger. Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3603.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
Upcoming
SARAH LEAVITT
Book launch of Tangles: A story about Alzheimer's, my mother and me. Also live music and a silent auction to benefit selected Alzheimer's charities. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
JOHN PASS AND THERESA KISHKAN
Authors will be reading from their works. Thursday, September 23 at 12:30pm, free. Refreshments will be served. Special Collections, room 7100, 7th floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For complete Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island including Blackberry Books.
There was an excited buzz about Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell's appearance at the Festival as soon as it was announced, and An Intimate Evening with David Mitchell (event 60) sold out during VIWF earlybird ticket sales. Mitchell fans needn't despair however; due to the overwhelming demand, we've added another solo event, An Intimate Afternoon with David Mitchell (event 68) at 5:00 pm Saturday, October 23, at the Waterfront Theatre.
Famed cartoonist/author Lynda Barry (Ernie Pook's Comeek) will also be making an additional appearance at the Festival. In addition to a Sunday morning workshop and an event with local graphic memoirist Sarah Leavitt, Barry will join Aaron Bushkowsky, John Gould and Rachel Wyatt in event 57 The Lighter Side, on Saturday Oct 23 at 2pm.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Simon Winchester in conversation with Hal Wake. One of the most entertaining writers ever to grace a VIWF stage, Simon Winchester tells the dramatic story of the San Francisco earthquake as only he can. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
John Vaillant
The author of the multi-award-winning The Golden Spruce will discuss his new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/vaillant.
The accolades for John Vaillant's The Tiger continue to come in—Joe Wiebe in the Vancouver Sun adds to earlier reviews: "...Reader, if you're wondering why you'd want to read a book about tigers set in Russia, remember that the same could be said for the many thousands of people who never expected to find themselves reading, and loving, a book about a golden spruce on a remote island off the B.C. coast."
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Tiger+tiger+burning+brighter+than+ever/3481396/story.html
Simon Winchester, who knows the Primorye Krai well, writes: "if this book did happen to ring slightly less than true, believe me, I would know. But it doesn't. Any skepticism on my part was quite unwarranted. This turns out to be a quite brilliant addition to the – admittedly very spare – literature of the region. And it is a book that recounts with power and excitement the true story of a titanic confrontation that took place deep in the Ussuri forests, in the harsh midwinter at the end of 1997."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-tiger-a-true-story-of-vengeance-and-survival-by-john-vaillant/article1694374/
An essay by John Vaillant on how he was blindsided by The Tiger can be found here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/exit-the-tiger/article1694479/
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Paolo Giordano's haunting novel The Solitude of Prime Numbers is "a finely tuned machine powered by the perverse mechanics of need".
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/books/review/Schillinger-t.html?_r=1
Tayari Jones writes that Andrea Levy's insightful recent novel, The Long Song, reminds us she is one of the best historical novelists of her generation. Her heroine narrates the beginning of the end of slavery in Jamaica, coming to a climax with the 1831 Baptist War. "This story of a single woman is a story of the ages."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/07/AR2010050704891.html
An extract from The Long Song can be found here:
http://www.andrealevy.co.uk/the_long_song/index.php
The stories in Yiyun Li's Gold Boy, Emerald Girl are "exquisitely made, and function with a vast, metronomic precision that eschews anything inessential", says David Mattin in The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/gold-boy-emerald-girl-by-yiyun-li-2067796.html
The Story of Flight is published in the New Yorker's ‘20 Under 40 Fiction' series.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/08/30/100830fi_fiction_li
Here is a Q & A with Yiyun Li.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2010/06/14/100614fi_fiction_20under40_qa_yiyun-li
Yiyun Li has disconnected herself from the Internet in order, she says, to become a better,calmer bookworm.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/03/RVH11F6787.DTL&type=books
Jane Urquhart's first novel in five years includes a climax that surprised even the author, writes Vit Wagner.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/855924--urquhart-s-surprise
Emily Donaldson finds that Jane Urquhart's Sanctuary Line has at once the sprawling feel of a multi-generational epic and the shuttered confinement of a one-act play. "One of the most grounded of Urquhart's books." http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/855141--sanctuary-line-jane-urquhart-nails-another-novel
Ian McGillis argues in the Gazette that "when the dust from the current tussle settles, Sanctuary Line - measured, dignified, calm on the surface but containing as much thematic richness and plain literary pleasure as a reader could care to dig for - will still be standing."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/novel+Sanctuary+Line+Jane+Urquhart+revisits+classic+CanLit+territory/3479145/story.html
An interview with Emma Donoghue addresses the matter of the possible connections between Donoghue's Room and the notorious case of Austrian monster Josef Fritzl.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/emma-donoghues-restrained-novel-about-two-captives-illuminates-the-power-of-parental-love/article1695433/
The Guardian series Once Upon a Life focuses this week on Emma Donoghue.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/once-upon-life-emma-donoghue
Wlliam Gibson's Zero History features an amnesiac caught up in some high-tech espionage. It is about surveillance, through GPS or CCTV, and about being on and off the radar. It is also about clothes. Gibson's inventive descriptions (Bigend's ghastly suit looks like "antimatter paired with mohair") are reminiscent of Douglas Adams's offbeat humour.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/zero-history-by-william-gibson-2061839.html
Gibson also weighs in on the future of publishing.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/09/06/william-gibson-on-the-future-of-book-publishing/
Jack Batten reminds us that, as in previous Joanne Kilburn novels, Gail Bowen's The Nesting Dolls is as much domestic drama as crime novel.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/850598--the-nesting-dolls-and-crime-machine
AWARDS & LISTS
Emma Donoghue, Andrea Levy, Damon Galgut, Howard Jacobson, Peter Carey and Tom McCarthy have been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/emma-donoghue-among-six-finalists-for-booker-prize/article1697851/
The Guardian adds details on the judging process and on the authors—both those shortlisted and those, not.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/booker-prize-shortlist-drops-frontrunners
The Telegraph offers a review of all of the shortlisted titles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booker-prize/7986949/Man-Booker-Prize-2010-shortlist-announced.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Terry Pratchett talks about his new young adult novel I Shall Wear Midnight (the last in his Tiffany Aching series) and about living with a very rare form of Alzheimer's. "I'm open to joy. But I'm also more cynical." http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/01/terry-pratchett-alzheimers-assisted-suicide?CMP=EMCGT_020910&CMP=EMCNEWEML961
Steve Silberman interviews Oliver Sachs prior to the release in October of his new book The Mind's Eye.
http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2010/09/01/oliver-sacks-on-vision-his-new-book-and-surviving-cancer/
"Publishing's notion of what women want is dated and patronizing. In my case it's like trying to stuff a rottweiler in a dress" writes Lionel Shriver.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/02/publishers-ghettoise-women-writers-and-readers?CMP=EMCGT_030910&CMP=EMCNEWEML961
Neil Gaiman's comic series The Sandman (winner of the World Fantasy Award) is to be adapted as a TV series.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/02/neil-gaiman-sandman.html
La carte et le territoire (The map and the territory), the latest book by the French author Michel Houellebecq was supposed to be his least incendiary yet. However, there is another brewing controversy: alleged plagiarism—of the book title and several passages from Wikipedia.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/07/michel-houllebecq-novel-plagiarism-accusation
"I stole from Wikipedia, but it's not plagiarism", says Houellebecq.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/i-stole-from-wikipedia-but-its-not-plagiarism-says-houellebecq-2073145.html
Theresa Breslin talks about bringing the past to light through writing historical fiction for contemporary readers. Breslin is on the longlist for the Guardian' children's fiction prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/02/theresa-breslin-bringing-past-life
She reads "real" books; he reads e-books. Or vice versa. And the publishing industry is paying close attention, trying to figure out how to market books to households that read in different ways.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/02/technology/02couples.html?_r=1&hpw
"Culture is another word for people", says David Adams Richards in his contribution to analyses of major issues in the 2010 N.B. election.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nbvotes2010/story/2010/08/31/nb-david-adams-richards-culture-131.html?ref=rss
Do the cultural gatekeepers really give white male fiction writers preferential coverage over authors of the distaff and ethnic variety? Slate did some research.
http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/
Vit Wagner suggests ten international titles to watch for this fall.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/856501--10-books-to-watch-for-this-fall
Who buys books? 40-year old women and others, concludes the Seattle Times.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2012801171_litlife06.html?syndication=rss
BOOKS & WRITERS
Nicholas Shakespeare and Bruce Chatwin's widow Elizabeth have selected and edited Bruce Chatwin's letters in Under the Sun: The Letters of Bruce Chatwin. Blake Morrison describes the book as "a handsome book, full of informative passages and illuminating quotes."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/04/bruce-chatwin-letters-nicholas-shakespeare
Catherine Taylor describes Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean as a "justifiably garlanded novel".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/04/first-novels-review-roundup
In an interview with Sean O'Hagan, Irish writer Claire Keegan claims short stories are limited. Her short story Foster will appear as a stand-alone book. This rare honour is fully deserved, says O'Hagan.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/05/claire-keegan-short-story-interiew
André Alexis reports that Hans Keilson's novella Comedy in a Minor Key is a mixture of grief, hope, fear and, if such a thing is possible, dry slapstick—a tonally eccentric work. The book was first published in 1947; it has taken until now to be translated into English. "It's the work of a consummate artist, a wonderful writer," says Alexis. Keilson is now 100.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-comedy-in-a-minor-key-by-hans-keilson/article1694235/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SPIDER ROBINSON
The Library's sixth Writer in Residence will read from some of his many award-winning works and talk about the writing process at his inaugural reading. Thursday, September 9 at 7:00pm, free. Alice McKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SAGA THURSDAY ARTIST TALK
Discussion and reading by Monika Ullmann, author of The Life and Art of David Marshall, a book about the Vancouver-based sculptor. Thursday, September 9 at 7:30pm, free. Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88 Ave., Surrey). More information at www.arts.surrey.ca.
GARY GEDDES
Reading by the author from his latest book of poetry, Swimming Ginger. Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3603.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
Upcoming
SARAH LEAVITT
Book launch of Tangles: A story about Alzheimer's, my mother and me. Also live music and a silent auction to benefit selected Alzheimer's charities. Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
JOHN PASS AND THERESA KISHKAN
Authors will be reading from their works. Thursday, September 23 at 12:30pm, free. Refreshments will be served. Special Collections, room 7100, 7th floor of the W.A.C. Bennett Library, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
ROBERT BATEMAN
One of the world's greatest wildlife artists signs his new book, Bateman: New Works. Saturday, September 25 at 2:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
SHILPI SOMAYA GOWDA
Meet Canadian author Shilpi Somaya Gowda as she signs copies of her debut novel, Secret Daughter. Saturday, September 25 at 4:00pm. Chapters Park Royal, 900 Park Royal South, West Vancouver. More information at 604-922-3222.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
JACK WHYTE
Bestselling author from Kelowna, BC, signs the first book in his exciting new trilogy, The Forest Laird. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm. Chapters Marine Drive, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver. More information at 604-988-6681.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 38
BOOK NEWS
Important Notice
Tickets go on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival on September 8. You can get full information on our web site, www.writersfest.bc.ca. To ensure you get tickets to the events you really want to see, become a member for just $35. Tickets went on sale to members September 1. Membership information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/membership.
Just Announced
In the four years since its release Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen has sold millions of copies worldwide and is now available in 44 languages. Her highly anticipated new novel, Ape House, will be released this September and we are happy to announce a special event with her on November 4. This is a rare opportunity to this master storyteller share her fascination with the Bonobo ape. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Maile Meloy. Picking up hitchhikers is risky any time, no less on a snowy evening when your passengers turn out to be named Bonnie and Clyde. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
John Vaillant
The author of the multi-award-winning The Golden Spruce will discuss his new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/vaillant.
Vit Wagner describes John Vaillant's work as "true crime books with a wilderness twist". When Vaillant saw the film Conflict Tiger, which inspired his writing The Tiger, he thought: "My God, this is The Golden Spruce with stripes."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/854518--vengeful-eye-of-the-tiger
In his review of The Tiger in the Montreal Gazette, Eric Boodman reports that John Vaillant allows the reader to see through the eyes of a Russian poacher and a wildlife protection agent; he also permits us to inhabit the mind and body of the eponymous tiger. Vaillant's "superbly crafted story…keeps us glued to the page."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Through+tiger/3451120/story.html
Read Vaillant's magnificent book, writes John McMurtrie in the San Francisco Chronicle: "The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival offers readers a shiver-inducing portrait of a predator that has been revered - and feared - like no other animal."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/27/RVF71F31EL.DTL
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Kamila Shamsie is one of a new generation of several Pakistani writers in English (many of whom are under 40) who, according to Piali Roy, have created a literature that has finally sidestepped India's much ballyhooed reputation.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/after-the-flood/article1691325/
Arifa Akbar's interview with David Mitchell elicits the information that Mitchell deliberately changes the terms of storytelling with each book "because it allows for infinite possibilities". http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/david-mitchell-readers-enable-me-to-continue-to-do-what-i-love-prizes-wont-do-that-for-you-2063013.html
David Grossman speaks to The Observer about his novel To the End of the Land, a memorial to his son who was killed while serving in the army, and why he remains an opponent of his country's policy towards the Palestinians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/david-grossman-israel-hezbollah-interview
Linda Grants writes that Grossman has aimed as high as it is possible to do in a novel that deals with the great questions of love, intimacy, war, memory and fear of personal and national annihilation - and has overwhelmingly achieved everything.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/to-the-end-of-the-land-by-david-grossman-trans-jessica-cohen-2063011.html
Emma Donahue writes about her hero Anne Lister, who isn't exactly a hero.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/anne-lister-by-emma-donoghue
Candace Fertile describes Kathleen Winter's Annabel as "a beautifully sensitive novel, populated with realistic characters and led by a powerful sense of place".
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Birth+intersex+child+spurs+exploration+human+heart/3454651/story.html
John Barber profiles Jane Urquhart in the Globe and Mail. Her latest novel Sanctuary Line will be published this week.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/matriarch-of-all-she-surveys/article1687293/
Linwood Barclay reports that there is a brutal murder at the heart of Ken Finkleman's Noah's Turn, but this is not a conventional crime novel.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-noahs-turn-by-ken-finkleman/article1687457/
Vit Wagner adds that the novel, Finkleman's first, evokes Crime and Punishment.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/853720--novel-direction-for-ken-finkleman
In a conversation on technology with Stuart O'Connor of The Observer, William Gibson claims to be agnostic about technology, but he wants a robotic penguin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/william-gibson-interview
The End of the Ice Age, Terence Young's second collection of short stories, contains cautionary tales of the allure, and dangers, of intimacy. Julian Gunn writes that a newspaper being read upside-down could stand for the problem most of Young's characters face.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=3456295&sponsor=
The seven good reasons referred to in John Gould's Seven Good Reasons Not To Be Good come in the form of postcards that Matt McKay sends to his friend Zane. Reviewer Colin Holt writes that Gould has done a masterful job of reminding the reader that there is a whole lot in life over which we have no control.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Local+writer+talent+shines+longer+form/3429106/story.html
AWARDS & LISTS
Ten titles are on the Guardian first book award longlist for a £10,000 award, with subjects covered including everything from the itinerant experience of the Somali community to Churchill's 'black dog'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/27/guardian-first-book-award-longlist
Vancouver poet Gillian Jerome is one of the shortlisted nominees for the 2010 ReLit Awards for her debut book of poetry Red Nest. The ReLit Awards recognizes three categories (novel, poetry, short fiction) of excellence in books published by independent Canadian literary publishers.
http://relitawards.com/
David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jakob De Zoet has been nominated for the Not the Booker 2010. The results of the Not the Booker come out just before the Booker-proper. Will they choose the same winner?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/aug/31/not-the-booker-prize-nominations-open
NEWS & FEATURES
Poetry rained from the skies on Saturday night in Berlin as 100,000 bookmarks printed with poems by 80 poets from Germany and Chile were dropped on the city from a helicopter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/berlin-bombed-with-poetry
Publisher Oxford University Press said Sunday that burgeoning demand for the dictionary's online version has far outpaced demand for the printed versions. Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press, told The Sunday Times in an interview he didn't think the newest edition will be printed.
http://www.thestar.com/news/theworld/article/854028-oxford-dictionary-print-edition-may-be-dead
The Guardian assesses the merits of various online dictionaries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/30/online-dictionaries-oxford-collins-chambers
The Guardian interviews Nadine Gordimer about her, and others', return to political activism—against censorship.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/nadine-gordimer-fighting-censorship
South African playwright Athol Fugard criticizes dramatists for failing to confront issues of injustice, writing instead "for attention spans of 10 minutes between adverts".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/30/fugard-attacks-modern-dramatists
The Tyee has identified ten of BC's best neglected writers that deserve closer and wider reading. These include Malcolm Lowry, L. R. Wright, Ethel Wilson, Sheila Watson, and Paul St. Pierre.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/08/27/BCNeglectedWriters/
Consider these "Better Book Titles", a collection of Photoshopped covers with the titles books ought to have been given.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/08/a-book-by-any-other-name.html
"The evaluation of a fiction rests on impact not truth," writes Stuart Kelly in Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation, a work that evaluates the impact of the many fictions, literary and otherwise, of Sir Walter Scott.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/scottland-the-man-who-invented-a-nation-by-stuart-kelly-2063021.html
American author James Patterson has surpassed J.K. Rowling on the list of the world's highest-paid authors. Patterson has admitted he doesn’t write his own books.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/us-author-takes-rowlings-richlist-crown-2058846.html
The Tyee has a detailed list of links to BC’s literary online world.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/08/27/LiteraryWorldOnline/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=300810
The Boston Globe reminds us that when books were first published, no one knew what to do with them.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/08/29/cover_story/?page=full
BOOKS & WRITERS
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness has been published as a graphic novel, with drawings by Catherine Anyango.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/heart-of-darkness-graphic-novel
In Four Fish, Paul Greenberg describes "the future of the last wild food" with an engaging mix of science, history and an aficionado's enthusiasm - he is a lifelong sports fisherman – writes Richard Sherbaniuk, adding that Greenberg is solid, sensible and constructive in his analysis.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/four+fish+that+might+just+away/3451125/story.html
Stuart Jeffries is cheered by a writer who sees a social value in our habit of mucking things up. Kathryn Schulz argues passionately for the value of error. In Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, Schulz argues that the experience of being wrong helps to make us better people, with richer lives.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/being-wrong-kathryn-schulz-review
A recent edition of the Guardian Online includes The Empty Family, a new short story by Colm Tóibín.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/colm-toibin-short-story
Oil on Water, the latest book by award-winning Nigerian author Helon Habila is described initially as a Conradian river journey in search of a kidnap victim. Fittingly, the story two journalists are chasing is not what it seems.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/oil-on-water-helon-habila
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom is all the rage, even before it’s out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/books/28franzen.html?ref=books
Sam Tanenhaus describes Freedom as 'a masterpiece of American fiction'.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/books/review/Tanenhaus-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=all
John Barber interviewed Jonathan Franzen for the Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/jonathan-franzen-on-fiction-fame-and-freedom/article1687695/
An excerpt from Freedom is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/books/excerpt-freedom.html?ref=review
Spider Robinson says that Mary Roach's witty and accurate account of the history and future of space travel in Packing for Mars is a must read for sci-fi buffs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-packing-for-mars-by-mary-roach/article1687450/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
A ROOM IN THE CITY
Anvil Press presents the launch of Gabor Gasztonyi's book featuring 150 intimate photographs of five Downtown Eastside residents with an introduction by Dr. Gabor Maté. Thursday, September 1 at 7:00pm, free. Vancouver Photo Workshops Gallery (14 7th Ave. W.). More information at info@anvilpress.com.
SPIDER ROBINSON
The Library's sixth Writer in Residence will read from some of his many award-winning works and talk about the writing process at his inaugural reading. Thursday, September 9 at 7:00pm, free. Alice McKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SAGA THURSDAY ARTIST TALK
Discussion and reading by Monika Ullmann, author of The Life and Art of David Marshall, a book about the Vancouver-based sculptor. Thursday, September 9 at 7:30pm, free. Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88 Ave., Surrey). More information at www.arts.surrey.ca.
Upcoming
GARY GEDDES
Reading by the author from his latest book of poetry, Swimming Ginger. Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3603.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
Important Notice
Tickets go on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival on September 8. You can get full information on our web site, www.writersfest.bc.ca. To ensure you get tickets to the events you really want to see, become a member for just $35. Tickets went on sale to members September 1. Membership information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/membership.
Just Announced
In the four years since its release Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen has sold millions of copies worldwide and is now available in 44 languages. Her highly anticipated new novel, Ape House, will be released this September and we are happy to announce a special event with her on November 4. This is a rare opportunity to this master storyteller share her fascination with the Bonobo ape. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Maile Meloy. Picking up hitchhikers is risky any time, no less on a snowy evening when your passengers turn out to be named Bonnie and Clyde. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
John Vaillant
The author of the multi-award-winning The Golden Spruce will discuss his new book The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, a gripping tale of man and nature in collision, that leads inexorably to a final showdown in a clearing deep in the Siberian forest. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/vaillant.
Vit Wagner describes John Vaillant's work as "true crime books with a wilderness twist". When Vaillant saw the film Conflict Tiger, which inspired his writing The Tiger, he thought: "My God, this is The Golden Spruce with stripes."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/854518--vengeful-eye-of-the-tiger
In his review of The Tiger in the Montreal Gazette, Eric Boodman reports that John Vaillant allows the reader to see through the eyes of a Russian poacher and a wildlife protection agent; he also permits us to inhabit the mind and body of the eponymous tiger. Vaillant's "superbly crafted story…keeps us glued to the page."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Through+tiger/3451120/story.html
Read Vaillant's magnificent book, writes John McMurtrie in the San Francisco Chronicle: "The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival offers readers a shiver-inducing portrait of a predator that has been revered - and feared - like no other animal."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/27/RVF71F31EL.DTL
Alissa York and Richard Harvell
Please join us as Giller-shortlisted author Alissa York and debut novelist Richard Harvell read from their new works. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/yorkharvell.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Kamila Shamsie is one of a new generation of several Pakistani writers in English (many of whom are under 40) who, according to Piali Roy, have created a literature that has finally sidestepped India's much ballyhooed reputation.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/after-the-flood/article1691325/
Arifa Akbar's interview with David Mitchell elicits the information that Mitchell deliberately changes the terms of storytelling with each book "because it allows for infinite possibilities". http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/david-mitchell-readers-enable-me-to-continue-to-do-what-i-love-prizes-wont-do-that-for-you-2063013.html
David Grossman speaks to The Observer about his novel To the End of the Land, a memorial to his son who was killed while serving in the army, and why he remains an opponent of his country's policy towards the Palestinians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/david-grossman-israel-hezbollah-interview
Linda Grants writes that Grossman has aimed as high as it is possible to do in a novel that deals with the great questions of love, intimacy, war, memory and fear of personal and national annihilation - and has overwhelmingly achieved everything.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/to-the-end-of-the-land-by-david-grossman-trans-jessica-cohen-2063011.html
Emma Donahue writes about her hero Anne Lister, who isn't exactly a hero.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/anne-lister-by-emma-donoghue
Candace Fertile describes Kathleen Winter's Annabel as "a beautifully sensitive novel, populated with realistic characters and led by a powerful sense of place".
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Birth+intersex+child+spurs+exploration+human+heart/3454651/story.html
John Barber profiles Jane Urquhart in the Globe and Mail. Her latest novel Sanctuary Line will be published this week.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/matriarch-of-all-she-surveys/article1687293/
Linwood Barclay reports that there is a brutal murder at the heart of Ken Finkleman's Noah's Turn, but this is not a conventional crime novel.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-noahs-turn-by-ken-finkleman/article1687457/
Vit Wagner adds that the novel, Finkleman's first, evokes Crime and Punishment.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/853720--novel-direction-for-ken-finkleman
In a conversation on technology with Stuart O'Connor of The Observer, William Gibson claims to be agnostic about technology, but he wants a robotic penguin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/william-gibson-interview
The End of the Ice Age, Terence Young's second collection of short stories, contains cautionary tales of the allure, and dangers, of intimacy. Julian Gunn writes that a newspaper being read upside-down could stand for the problem most of Young's characters face.
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/story_print.html?id=3456295&sponsor=
The seven good reasons referred to in John Gould's Seven Good Reasons Not To Be Good come in the form of postcards that Matt McKay sends to his friend Zane. Reviewer Colin Holt writes that Gould has done a masterful job of reminding the reader that there is a whole lot in life over which we have no control.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Local+writer+talent+shines+longer+form/3429106/story.html
AWARDS & LISTS
Ten titles are on the Guardian first book award longlist for a £10,000 award, with subjects covered including everything from the itinerant experience of the Somali community to Churchill's 'black dog'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/27/guardian-first-book-award-longlist
Vancouver poet Gillian Jerome is one of the shortlisted nominees for the 2010 ReLit Awards for her debut book of poetry Red Nest. The ReLit Awards recognizes three categories (novel, poetry, short fiction) of excellence in books published by independent Canadian literary publishers.
http://relitawards.com/
David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jakob De Zoet has been nominated for the Not the Booker 2010. The results of the Not the Booker come out just before the Booker-proper. Will they choose the same winner?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/aug/31/not-the-booker-prize-nominations-open
NEWS & FEATURES
Poetry rained from the skies on Saturday night in Berlin as 100,000 bookmarks printed with poems by 80 poets from Germany and Chile were dropped on the city from a helicopter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/berlin-bombed-with-poetry
Publisher Oxford University Press said Sunday that burgeoning demand for the dictionary's online version has far outpaced demand for the printed versions. Nigel Portwood, chief executive of Oxford University Press, told The Sunday Times in an interview he didn't think the newest edition will be printed.
http://www.thestar.com/news/theworld/article/854028-oxford-dictionary-print-edition-may-be-dead
The Guardian assesses the merits of various online dictionaries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/30/online-dictionaries-oxford-collins-chambers
The Guardian interviews Nadine Gordimer about her, and others', return to political activism—against censorship.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/nadine-gordimer-fighting-censorship
South African playwright Athol Fugard criticizes dramatists for failing to confront issues of injustice, writing instead "for attention spans of 10 minutes between adverts".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/30/fugard-attacks-modern-dramatists
The Tyee has identified ten of BC's best neglected writers that deserve closer and wider reading. These include Malcolm Lowry, L. R. Wright, Ethel Wilson, Sheila Watson, and Paul St. Pierre.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/08/27/BCNeglectedWriters/
Consider these "Better Book Titles", a collection of Photoshopped covers with the titles books ought to have been given.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/08/a-book-by-any-other-name.html
"The evaluation of a fiction rests on impact not truth," writes Stuart Kelly in Scott-land: The Man Who Invented a Nation, a work that evaluates the impact of the many fictions, literary and otherwise, of Sir Walter Scott.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/scottland-the-man-who-invented-a-nation-by-stuart-kelly-2063021.html
American author James Patterson has surpassed J.K. Rowling on the list of the world's highest-paid authors. Patterson has admitted he doesn’t write his own books.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/us-author-takes-rowlings-richlist-crown-2058846.html
The Tyee has a detailed list of links to BC’s literary online world.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/08/27/LiteraryWorldOnline/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=300810
The Boston Globe reminds us that when books were first published, no one knew what to do with them.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/08/29/cover_story/?page=full
BOOKS & WRITERS
Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness has been published as a graphic novel, with drawings by Catherine Anyango.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/31/heart-of-darkness-graphic-novel
In Four Fish, Paul Greenberg describes "the future of the last wild food" with an engaging mix of science, history and an aficionado's enthusiasm - he is a lifelong sports fisherman – writes Richard Sherbaniuk, adding that Greenberg is solid, sensible and constructive in his analysis.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/four+fish+that+might+just+away/3451125/story.html
Stuart Jeffries is cheered by a writer who sees a social value in our habit of mucking things up. Kathryn Schulz argues passionately for the value of error. In Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, Schulz argues that the experience of being wrong helps to make us better people, with richer lives.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/being-wrong-kathryn-schulz-review
A recent edition of the Guardian Online includes The Empty Family, a new short story by Colm Tóibín.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/28/colm-toibin-short-story
Oil on Water, the latest book by award-winning Nigerian author Helon Habila is described initially as a Conradian river journey in search of a kidnap victim. Fittingly, the story two journalists are chasing is not what it seems.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/29/oil-on-water-helon-habila
Jonathan Franzen's Freedom is all the rage, even before it’s out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/books/28franzen.html?ref=books
Sam Tanenhaus describes Freedom as 'a masterpiece of American fiction'.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/books/review/Tanenhaus-t.html?ref=books&pagewanted=all
John Barber interviewed Jonathan Franzen for the Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/jonathan-franzen-on-fiction-fame-and-freedom/article1687695/
An excerpt from Freedom is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/books/excerpt-freedom.html?ref=review
Spider Robinson says that Mary Roach's witty and accurate account of the history and future of space travel in Packing for Mars is a must read for sci-fi buffs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-packing-for-mars-by-mary-roach/article1687450/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
A ROOM IN THE CITY
Anvil Press presents the launch of Gabor Gasztonyi's book featuring 150 intimate photographs of five Downtown Eastside residents with an introduction by Dr. Gabor Maté. Thursday, September 1 at 7:00pm, free. Vancouver Photo Workshops Gallery (14 7th Ave. W.). More information at info@anvilpress.com.
SPIDER ROBINSON
The Library's sixth Writer in Residence will read from some of his many award-winning works and talk about the writing process at his inaugural reading. Thursday, September 9 at 7:00pm, free. Alice McKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SAGA THURSDAY ARTIST TALK
Discussion and reading by Monika Ullmann, author of The Life and Art of David Marshall, a book about the Vancouver-based sculptor. Thursday, September 9 at 7:30pm, free. Surrey Art Gallery (13750 88 Ave., Surrey). More information at www.arts.surrey.ca.
Upcoming
GARY GEDDES
Reading by the author from his latest book of poetry, Swimming Ginger. Monday, September 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3603.
THE LEGACY
People's Co-op Bookstore and Greystone Books present a live appearance by David Suzuki in support of his book The Legacy: An Elder's Vision for Our Sustainable Future. Friday, September 17 at 8:00pm. Kitsilano Secondary (2550 W. 10th). More information at www.legacy.davidsuzuki.org.
KATHY PAGE AND ALISSA YORK
Authors will be reading from their works. Saturday, September 18. Bolen Books (111 - 1644 Hillside Avenue, Victoria). For more information, visit www.kathypage.info or contact Bolen Books, (250) 595-4232.
SUSAN BOYD
Join the author as she reads from her book Hooked: Drug War Films in Britain, Canada and the United States. Wednesday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information, phone 604-331-3738.
THE RAVEN'S GIFT
Author John Turk will read from his new book. Thursday, September 23 at 7:00pm. Banyen Books & Sound, 3608 4th Ave. West.
KOOTENAY BOOK WEEKEND
Discuss four books in small groups throughout the weekend. This year's books are The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barberry and our guest author, Anita Rau Badami's book Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? September 24-26, 2010, Nelson BC. Further information and registration forms can be found here, www.kootenaybookweekend.ca.
DAVID GLENN
The Burnaby Arts Council will host a launch of The Queen's Sword and The Queen's Jewels. Saturday, September 25 at 1:00pm. Deer Lake Gallery, 6584 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.
EVENING THE FRAYED EDGES
Launch of the Recovery Narrative Project's first anthology of collected works, edited by Susan J. Katz, featuring a series of narratives and poems bringing first-hand accounts of turning points in recovery from mental illness. Sunday, September 26 at 7:00pm, free. John Braithwaite Community Centre, 145 West 1st Street, North Vancouver.
WORD ON THE STREET
Annual event dedicated to promoting reading and literacy throughout the community. Sunday, September 26 from 11am to 6pm. Library Square, Central Libray, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information, visit www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/vancouver.
EVOLVE: VAMPIRE STORIES OF THE NEW UNDEAD
Listen to Vancouver writers Mary Choo, Sandra Wickham and Celdae (Colleen) Anderson, 3 of 22 Canadian authors featured in this most unusual and compelling collection as they re-imagine the future of vampires. Monday, September 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information phone 604-331-3691.
MICHAEL NICHOLL YAHGULANAAS
Reading by the author of Red. Thursday, September 30 at 1:00pm, free. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
