BOOK NEWS
Incite @ VPL
Please join us for round two of Incite on February 9. A discussion of Making Waves: Reading BC and Pacific Northwest Literature with editor Trevor Carolan and contributing writers Colin James Sanders, Russell Thornton and Hilary Turner.
7:30 pm on Wednesday, February 9
Admission is free
Alice MacKay room, Central Library
Preregister for Incite here, http://incitevpl.eventbrite.com. Please note that registration is so that we know how many people to expect. Admission on the night is always on a first-come-first-served basis.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.
Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
Jacobson's Man Booker award-winning book, The Finkler Question, deals with love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.
Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.
AWARDS & LISTS
Liz Lochhead has been appointed makar, Scotland's national poet.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/19/liz-lochhead-makar-scotland-national-poet
Richard Meier has won the inaugural Picador Poetry Prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/20/picador-poetry-prize-richard-meier
Four of the winning poems can be found here.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/20/poems-richard-meier
Jonathan Franzen is a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Awards; Christopher Hitchens, Patti Smith, David Grossman and Siddhartha Mukherjee are among the finalists for the National Book Awards in various categories.
http://www.seattlepi.com/artandlife/1404ap_us_books_critics_awards.html
Poet Jo Shapcott has won the Costa book of the year award for her book Of Mutability.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/25/costa-book-award-jo-shapcott
Ian McEwan has won prizes from many parts of the western world, but none as controversial as the Jerusalem Prize, which will be awarded to him at a book fair in Israel next month.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/19/ian-mcewan-accept-jerusalem-prize
McEwan has replied to writers who had called on him to boycott the Israeli award by insisting on his right to engage in dialogue with Israelis across the region's political divide.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/25/ian-mcewan-defends-jerusalem-prize
Nobel laureate Derek Walcott has been named winner of the TS Eliot prize for the best new collection of poems published in the UK or Ireland for his 'moving and technically flawless work'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/24/ts-eliot-prize-derek-walcott
NEWS & FEATURES
The 60-year tradition of an unknown person’s leaving three roses and a half-empty bottle of cognac at Edgar Allan Poe's grave to mark Poe’s birth has ended. However, some sort of Poe tradition is expected to continue every January 19.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/19/edgar-allan-poe-toaster-no-show.html
Just two days after the release of O: A Presidential Novel, the "anonymous" author has been revealed to be Mark Salter a former speechwriter for John McCain.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/27/mark-salter-revealed-as-author-of-o-a-presidential-novel/
Michiko Kakutani finds the book "a thoroughly lackadaisical performance-trite, implausible and decidedly unfunny.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/21/books/21book.html?ref=books
Elizabeth Renzetti offers a brief description of how anonymous writing has changed since the early 20th Century.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/elizabeth-renzetti/todays-anonymii-aint-what-they-used-be-back-in-the-day-we-had-joe-klein/article1870941/
The Globe and Mail acknowledged the first anniversary of Paul Quarrington’s death with this essay and song.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/its-not-dark-yet-a-final-song-from-paul-quarrington/article1877690/
"All I've ever wanted, since I was a child, was to do something wonderful," says Patti Smith in an interview.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2011/jan/22/patti-smith-saturday-interview
Bernardine Evaristo examines what a landmark rap anthology can tell us about the links between the poetry of the street and the poetry of the page.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/what-can-a-landmark-rap-anthology-tell-us-about-the-links-between-the-poetry-of-the-street-and-the-poetry-of-the-page-2189868.html
Philip Pullman’s speech to the people in Oxford’s packed town hall on the importance of professional librarians and libraries (and some other social services) has been printed here.
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/philip-pullman/this-is-big-society-you-see-it-must-be-big-to-contain-so-many-volunteers?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzEmail&utm_content=201210&utm_campaign=0
In an attempt to explore "Englishness" in a changed England and to reclaim the patron saint, St. George, poets Andrew Motion, Jo Shapcott and Michael Symmons Roberts, have written new works to redefine St George within a "questing agnostic liturgy".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/24/poets-enlist-st-george-liturgy
BOOKS & WRITERS
Refugees often flee their homelands empty-handed, but there is plenty of emotional baggage. Dinaw Mengestu’s How to Read the Air is a challenging novel that inhabits the paradoxes of the refugee's story, writes Peter Carty.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/how-to-read-the-air-by-dinaw-mengestu-2189874.html
In the fifteen years since she first wrote about identity in the digital age, Sherry Turkle has changed her views; her new book Alone Together reflects her current conviction that "we expect more from technology and less from each other."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/books/review/Lehrer-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3&pagewanted=all
The follow-up to Nicolas Dickner’s Nikolski is Apocalypse for Beginners, with the end of the world heralded by the best-before date on the back of a ramen noodles package. Ian MacGillis argues that Dickner’s choice of period is crucial.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Nicolas+Dickner+Apocalypse+Beginners+best+before+date+herald/4143981/story.html
Emily Donaldson writes that in The Paper Garden, Toronto-based poet Molly Peacock has produced a winsomely unorthodox ode to Mary Granville Pendarves Delany that is part biography, part miniature coffee-table book and part memoir.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/926115--review-molly-peacock-s-the-paper-garden
A new translation of Roland Barthes’ The Preparation of the Novel finally makes available in English a most unusual book by one of the most significant literary figures of the twentieth century, writes Mairéad Hanrahan.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7171122.ece
The Independent on Sunday describes Emma Donoghue’s Room as a ‘unique work of art’.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/room-by-emma-donoghue-2191836.html
Olivia Laing describes how Atiq Rahimi explores the plight of Afghan women in his beautiful, thoughtful novella, The Patience Stone.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/23/patience-stone-atiq-rahimi-review
Rachel Hoar places Linda Grant’s We Had It So Good as part of an important fictional oeuvre that offers a fresh and perceptive commentary on our times.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/we-had-it-so-good-by-linda-grant-2191832.html
Salon online contains The Moon Above His Head, a short story by Yann Martel, an excerpt from Amnesty International’s "Freedom: Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/story/index.html?story=/books/feature/2011/01/10/freedom_yann_martel_excerpt
Daniel Rasmussen’s riveting new book, American Uprising: The Untold Story of America’s Largest Slave Revolt tells the previously untold story of the continent’s largest slave revolt in January 1811. Mitch Potter adds that there is also a Haiti connection.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/926867--untold-story-of-u-s-slave-rebellion-retold-centuries-later
Adrienne Rich is one of the United States’ foremost political poets. In her review of Tonight No Poems Will Serve, poems 2007–2010, Sara Marcus writes: "The poems in this book grapple with war even as they grope toward peace."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/23/RVRL1H99O2.DTL
Doug Johnstone calls David Vann’s Caribou Island "An American classic" and "jaw-droppingly powerful". These are not even the most effusive quotes about the book, but for once the hype is justified.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/caribou-island-by-david-vann-2191831.html
Alaska is the secret hero of the novel, says Kevin Canty.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/books/review/Canty-t.html?pagewanted=all
An excerpt is here:
http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinside/index.aspx?isbn13=9780061875724
Alexander Linklater calls physician/author Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer a "magnificent study of cancer".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/23/emperor-maladies-biography-cancer-siddhartha-mukherjee-review
Ali Eteraz’s award-winning Children of Dust had, as its subtitle, A Memoir of Pakistan. Its re-publication will read A Portrait of the Muslim as a Young Man. Rosemary Sorensen describes the work as "an ambitious and accomplished work of literature".
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/against-all-odds/story-e6frg8nf-1225991105441
Don Coles’ prime concern has long been the perplexing passage of time and, in his new collection of poems, Where We Might Have Been, that concern has intensified.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/where-we-might-have-been-by-don-coles/article1881190/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
HARD CORE LOGO: LIVE
Touchstone Theatre presents Hard Core Logo: LIVE, based on the book by Vancouver author Michael Turner, film by Bruce McDonald, and screenplay by Noel S. Baker, with original music by Joe "Shithead" Keithley and lyrics by Michael Turner. 8pm January 26 - February 6 at the Rickshaw Theatre, 254 East Hastings Street. Tickets available at Tickets Tonight or by calling 604-684-2787.
WILLIAM GIBSON
Author will read from his latest novel Zero History. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=30.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Fiona Lam, author of Intimate Distances and Double Lives. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
MOTHERSTONE
Chris Harris, one of Canada’s most respected photographers will introduce his new book Motherstone: BC’s Volcanic Plateau. Thursday, January 27 at 7:30pm, free. Unity Church, 5840 Oak Street. More information at www.naturevancouver.ca.
MASHED POETICS VI
Featuring RC Weslowski, Pam Bentley, Daniela Elza, Jillian Christmas, Sean McGarragle, Kyle Hawke, Daniel Zomparelli, Scruffmouth, Janet Rogers, Kyle Mallinson, Jeremy Loveday. Hendrix Cover Band 3rd Stone From the Sun playing the entire album. Each poet has been given a song from the album as a prompt to create a new piece of work to be performed at the show. Thursday, January 27 at 8:00pm. $5-$10 sliding scale. Cottage Bistro (4468 Main Street).
GABOR GASZTONYI
Award winning photographer Gabor Gasztonyi presents A Room in the City (Anvil Press), his five-year project of photographing the residents of the Cobalt, Balmoral, Regent and Sunrise Hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Monday, January 31 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
CANADA READS CELEBRATION
Actor Lorne Cardinal is defending Carol Shields' Unless in this year's Canada Reads on CBC Radio! Join Sheryl Mackay in the CBC Studio One Book Club with Lorne and one of Carol's best friends, Shelagh Rogers, as they pay tribute with stories, memories and readings of the beloved Ms. Shields! Come share your own love of her work on Tuesday February 1 in the CBC Broadcast Centre. For free tickets go to www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
PRISM INTERNATIONAL
Readings by Rachel Knudsen, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Dina Del Bucchia, Jill Mandrake, Gillian Jerome, Shannon Rayne, Charles Demers and George Bowering. Thursday, February 3 at 7:00pm. Tickets $10 and comes with complimentary copies of magazines. The Beaumont Studios, 316 5th Ave. W. More information at 604-822-2514.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Launch of the author's debut collection The Beggar's Garden. Friday, February 4 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=29.
WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Readings and excerpts by Canada's top aboriginal writers and songwriters in one of the Drives' newest tapas bars. Featuring Joanne Arnott, Janet Rogers, Lee Maracle, Garry Gottfriedson, Wil George, Michelle Sylliboy and Wanda John. With musical performances by Russell Wallace as well as Greg Coyes. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm. Pay-what-you-can. The Pond, 1441 Commercial Drive. More information at www.fullcircleperformance.ca.
STEVE WEINER AND HANNAH CALDER
Authors read from their respective novels, Sweet England and More House. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information here: http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40108.
Upcoming
TIM WARD
Author and journalist reads from the 20th anniversary edition of his bestselling classic, What the Buddha Never Taught. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Andre Alexis (Beauty & Sadness) and Harry Karlinsky (The Evolution of Inanimate Objects). Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Governor General's Award nominated poet Erin Moure. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. ECU Library, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
MICHAEL MCCLURE
San Francisco poet will be reading from his works. Friday, February 11 at 8:00pm, free but please RSVP to library@sfu.ca. Room 1700 (Labatt's Hall), SFU Vancouver - Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street. For more information, email power@sfu.ca.
JOHN FURLONG
VANOC CEO signs his behind-the-scenes book about the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Patriot Hearts. Saturday, February 12 at 3:00pm. Chapters, Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers' Union of Canada's 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
KATHERINE GOVIER
Author reads from her new novel, The Ghost Brush, the story of Oie, daughter of 19th century Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00pm, free Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Aaron Peck, author of The Bewilderments of Bernard Willis. Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
EVELYN LAU AND RAY HSU
Readings by the authors of Living Under Plastic (Lau) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (Hsu). Thursday, February 24 at 1:00pm. Dodson Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at http://ow.ly/3C8k7.
SERENDIPITY 2011: A GRAPHIC NOVEL EVENT
With Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), Raina Telgemeier (Smile), Matt Holm, co-creator of Babymouse, Aaron Renier (The Unsinkable Walker Bean and Spiralbound) and JASON SHIGA (Meanwhile). February 26, 2011 @ SCARFE 100 (the Education Building), UBC 8:00-3:30 pm. Early Bird (before Feb 1): Student $50.00 Members $125.00 Non-members $140.00. Lunch included. Registration: http://vancouverchildrenslitroundtable.wordpress.com.
RUBIN CARTER
Discussion with Dr. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, author of Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness, hosted by Neil Boyd. Monday, February 28 at 7:30pm. Tickets $28/$22. Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Details here: http://ow.ly/3G5oO.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Book News Vol. 6 No. 3
BOOK NEWS
On Wednesday January 26 we launch Incite@VPL, our new free bi-weekly series, in partnership with VPL. Our inaugural event features Andrew Pyper, Amber Dawn and Michael Christie. This is your personal invitation to join us for the beginning of an new venture—expect animated discussions, on-stage interviews, performances and readings.
This spring we’ll feature well known writers like Joyce Carol Oates, Bernhard Schlink, Johanna Skibsrud, Alexander MacLeod, Dianne Warren, Timothy Taylor, Madeleine Thien, Lorna Crozier and Zsuzsi Gartner, and introduce you to exciting new voices like Aurian Haller, Theodora Armstrong and Gurjinder Basran.
Please join us at the Central Library, 350 West Georgia St. at 7:30 pm and bring a friend—or your entire book club. Let us know that you’re coming, by registering here, http://incitevpl.eventbrite.com/. NB Registration does not guarantee a seat. (Please note: parking may be at a premium because of a Canucks game so plan accordingly).
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.
Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
Jacobson's Man Booker award-winning book, The Finkler Question, deals with love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.
Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.
AWARDS & LISTS
Vancouver author Dennis Foon’s award-winning film Life, Above All has been shortlisted in the Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film category.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Local+writer+film+Oscar+shortlist/4136947/story.html
Doug Saunders' Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World and Shelagh Grant's Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America are shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize for the year's best English-language book on global affairs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/two-canadians-on-gelber-short-list/article1872815/
The British Science Fiction Association has announced the shortlist for the BSFA 2010 Awards.
http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/2010-bsfa-awards-shortlists-2/
The finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/01/finalists-2010-philip-k-dick-award/
NEWS & FEATURES
Acclaimed New Brunswick author David Adams Richards has been named the first artist in residence at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/12/nb-richards-artist-in-residence.html
Lorna Goodison, Timothy Taylor, Miriam Toews and Elizabeth Hay are four of the ten authors with upcoming new books that Vit Wagner recommends we watch for this spring.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/920795--spring-books-10-canuck-titles-to-watch-for-in-the-coming-months
Andrew Pyper claims that the never-ending history of the small-town haunted house is "the North American folk tale par excellence". The Guardians, says Pyper, is a "straight-ahead ghost story."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/andrew-pyper-and-the-dark-heart-of-a-small-town/article1870529/
60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, Swedish author Frederik Colting’s sequel to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is to be issued in a number of countries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/12/catcher-rye-sequel-jd-salinger
By agreement with the Salinger estate, the book is banned from being published or sold in Canada or the U.S.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/13/salinger-lawsuit.html
So I Shot Him, one of 15 undated short stories by Dashiell Hammett found in the archives at the University of Texas at Austin, is to be released February 28 in The Strand magazine.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/13/hammett-story.html
James Bond and Sherlock Holmes are to be resurrected for two new full-length novels being penned by authors Anthony Horowitz and Jeffrey Deaver.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8265688/James-Bond-and-Sherlock-Holmes-resurrected-in-new-novels.html
A Connecticut schools superintendent is seeking to shut down a production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, because some of the teenage actors would have to utter the word "nigger". The rights-holders to the play will not allow alterations.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/connecticut-school-official-objecting-to-racial-term-wants-to-block-wilson-play/
In a memoir to be published next week, Stieg Larsson’s partner Eva Gabrielsson reveals that Larsson had completed 200 pages in the series' fourth instalment before dying. She wants to finish the series.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/15/larsson-gabrielsson-memoir.html
Two novels published last fall—Paula Marantz Cohen’s What Alice Knew and Cynthia Ozick’s Foreign Bodies—are about or inspired by Henry James. David Lodge explores why 21st C. novelists love James.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/why-21st-century-novelists-love-henry-james/article1868746/
The Montreal Gazette’s Ian Gillis interviews Lynda Barry on The Secret Power of Doodling.
http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/narratives/archive/2011/01/15/the-secret-power-of-doodling-an-interview-with-lynda-barry.aspx
Bruised egos and frayed friendships often follow the publication of a novel. But few fictional representations are so offensive to their (reputed) models that actual violence ensues. The notable exception took place 100 years ago this month.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/books/review/Duffy-t.html
Initially, The Tyee asked only the Vancouver Public Library what were the ten most borrowed books in 2010. Now, they have received similar lists from libraries in Fort Nelson, Port Alberni, and places in between.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2011/01/17/BCBorrowers/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=170111
Canadians read a lot of books: Canadians buy more than one million a week; urban library systems report weekly print circulation numbers in the tens or even hundreds of thousands.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/when-it-comes-to-books-canadians-read-a-lot-but-also-worry-a-lot/article1874777/
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Beggar’s Garden, Michael Christie’s debut collection of linked stories, will be published this month by HarperCollins Canada. Here is an excerpt:
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/12/michael-christie-a-good-story/
When Prisoner of Tehran was published in 2007, Maclean’s described it as "one of the finest (memoirs) ever written by a Canadian."
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070528_105299_105299&source=srch
Nine years after being released from prison (aged 18), author Marina Nemat moved with her family to Canada. After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed was published last fall. Donna Bailey Nurse describes it as a "surprisingly upbeat immigrant story". http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/after-tehran-a-life-reclaimed-by-marina-nemat/article1765536/
Shelagh Rogers’ interview of Nemat can be found here:
http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem: The Biography is about both Jerusalem the city and the idea. Dan Jones writes: "it's hard to imagine a more comprehensive, sensible and engaging attempt than this".
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/jerusalem-the-biography-by-simon-sebag-montefiore-2185584.html
Jonathan Beckman says that the book Jerusalem has a rather old-fashioned structure, but it is a city of the imagination, an inspiration for religious sects and hundreds of artists and writers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/16/jerusalem-biography-sebag-montefiore-review
Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes presents his latest, Destiny and Desire, as a first-person narration delivered by a severed head. It’s a novel of violence, betrayal and irony, with Dickensian elements.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/01/15/destiny_and_desire_a_novel_of_violence_betrayal_and_irony/
Joel Yanofsky reminds us that Henry James acquired the title The Master. Given Ozicks’ mastery of her work in Foreign Bodies, he suggests it is perhaps time to pass the title on.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Cynthia+Ozick+shows+mastery+herself+updates+Henry+James+masterpiece/4104277/story.html
Candace Fertile writes that Silence, one of the stories in The Empty Family, Colm Tóibin’s new collection, is constructed in a (Henry) Jamesian style.
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/study+family+many+fractured+forms/4113737/story.html
"One to watch" is how the Guardian describes American author Ida Hattemer-Higgins and her debut novel The History of History: A Novel of Berlin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/16/hattemer-higgins-history-third-reich
Hans Werner finds Alan Taylor’s The Civil War of 1812 easily the best book he’s read on the war. It may also cause us to re-think what we believe we know about the War.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/921861--the-civil-war-of-1812
Neal Cassady was the hard-living, fast-driving, pill-popping womanizer immortalized in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. His wife Carolyn Cassady explodes a few myths in Off the Road: Twenty Years with Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/18/beat-poets-cassady-kerouac-ginsberg
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Elizabeth Bachinsky, the author of three collections of poetry: Curio, Home of Sudden Service, and God of Missed Connections. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
SCIENCE FICTION BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Discussion of author James Blish's sci-fi odyssey Black Easter. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm, free. The Grind & Gallery (4124 Main). More information at darthbuddy2000@yahoo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Share in an evening of literary surprises featuring Dennis E. Bolen and Soressa Gardner. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
YARN BOMBING
Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore, co-authors of the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti host a community knit-in. Yarn and needles provided along with refreshments. Sunday, January 23 at 2:00pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. Complete details and additional dates here, www.yarnbombing.com.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
GAIL VAZ-OXLADE
Financial guru, host of television's 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess as well as author of Debt-Free Forever, discusses and signs her new book, Never Too Late. Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WILLIAM GIBSON
Author will read from his latest novel Zero History. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=30.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Fiona Lam, author of Intimate Distances and Double Lives. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
MASHED POETICS VI
Featuring RC Weslowski, Pam Bentley, Daniela Elza, Jillian Christmas, Sean McGarragle, Kyle Hawke, Daniel Zomparelli, Scruffmouth, Janet Rogers, Kyle Mallinson, Jeremy Loveday. Hendrix Cover Band 3rd Stone From the Sun playing the entire album. Each poet has been given a song from the album as a prompt to create a new piece of work to be performed at the show. Thursday, January 27 at 8:00pm. $5-$10 sliding scale. Cottage Bistro (4468 Main Street).
GABOR GASZTONYI
Award winning photographer Gabor Gasztonyi presents A Room in the City (Anvil Press), his five-year project of photographing the residents of the Cobalt, Balmoral, Regent and Sunrise Hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Monday, January 31 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
CANADA READS CELEBRATION
Actor Lorne Cardinal is defending Carol Shields' Unless in this year's Canada Reads on CBC Radio! Join Sheryl Mackay in the CBC Studio One Book Club with Lorne and one of Carol's best friends, Shelagh Rogers, as they pay tribute with stories, memories and readings of the beloved Ms. Shields! Come share your own love of her work on Tuesday February 1 in the CBC Broadcast Centre. For free tickets go to www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Launch of the author's debut collection The Beggar's Garden. Friday, February 4 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=29.
WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Readings and excerpts by Canada's top aboriginal writers and songwriters in one of the Drives' newest tapas bars. Featuring Joanne Arnott, Janet Rogers, Lee Maracle, Garry Gottfriedson, Wil George, Michelle Sylliboy and Wanda John. With musical performances by Russell Wallace as well as Greg Coyes. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm. Pay-what-you-can. The Pond, 1441 Commercial Drive. More information at www.fullcircleperformance.ca.
STEVE WEINER AND HANNAH CALDER
Authors read from their respective novels, Sweet England and More House. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information here: http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40108.
TIM WARD
Author and journalist reads from the 20th anniversary edition of his bestselling classic, What the Buddha Never Taught. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Governor General's Award nominated poet Erin Moure. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. ECU Library, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers' Union of Canada's 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
KATHERINE GOVIER
Author reads from her new novel, The Ghost Brush, the story of Oie, daughter of 19th century Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00pm, free Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Aaron Peck, author of The Bewilderments of Bernard Willis. Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
EVELYN LAU AND RAY HSU
Readings by the authors of Living Under Plastic (Lau) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (Hsu). Thursday, February 24 at 1:00pm. Dodson Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at http://ow.ly/3C8k7.
RUBIN CARTER
Discussion with Dr. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, author of Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness, hosted by Neil Boyd. Monday, February 28 at 7:30pm. Tickets $28/$22. Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Details here: http://ow.ly/3G5oO.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
On Wednesday January 26 we launch Incite@VPL, our new free bi-weekly series, in partnership with VPL. Our inaugural event features Andrew Pyper, Amber Dawn and Michael Christie. This is your personal invitation to join us for the beginning of an new venture—expect animated discussions, on-stage interviews, performances and readings.
This spring we’ll feature well known writers like Joyce Carol Oates, Bernhard Schlink, Johanna Skibsrud, Alexander MacLeod, Dianne Warren, Timothy Taylor, Madeleine Thien, Lorna Crozier and Zsuzsi Gartner, and introduce you to exciting new voices like Aurian Haller, Theodora Armstrong and Gurjinder Basran.
Please join us at the Central Library, 350 West Georgia St. at 7:30 pm and bring a friend—or your entire book club. Let us know that you’re coming, by registering here, http://incitevpl.eventbrite.com/. NB Registration does not guarantee a seat. (Please note: parking may be at a premium because of a Canucks game so plan accordingly).
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.
Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
Jacobson's Man Booker award-winning book, The Finkler Question, deals with love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.
Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.
AWARDS & LISTS
Vancouver author Dennis Foon’s award-winning film Life, Above All has been shortlisted in the Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film category.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Local+writer+film+Oscar+shortlist/4136947/story.html
Doug Saunders' Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World and Shelagh Grant's Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America are shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Prize for the year's best English-language book on global affairs.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/two-canadians-on-gelber-short-list/article1872815/
The British Science Fiction Association has announced the shortlist for the BSFA 2010 Awards.
http://vectoreditors.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/2010-bsfa-awards-shortlists-2/
The finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award have been announced.
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2011/01/finalists-2010-philip-k-dick-award/
NEWS & FEATURES
Acclaimed New Brunswick author David Adams Richards has been named the first artist in residence at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/12/nb-richards-artist-in-residence.html
Lorna Goodison, Timothy Taylor, Miriam Toews and Elizabeth Hay are four of the ten authors with upcoming new books that Vit Wagner recommends we watch for this spring.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/920795--spring-books-10-canuck-titles-to-watch-for-in-the-coming-months
Andrew Pyper claims that the never-ending history of the small-town haunted house is "the North American folk tale par excellence". The Guardians, says Pyper, is a "straight-ahead ghost story."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/andrew-pyper-and-the-dark-heart-of-a-small-town/article1870529/
60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, Swedish author Frederik Colting’s sequel to J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, is to be issued in a number of countries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/12/catcher-rye-sequel-jd-salinger
By agreement with the Salinger estate, the book is banned from being published or sold in Canada or the U.S.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/13/salinger-lawsuit.html
So I Shot Him, one of 15 undated short stories by Dashiell Hammett found in the archives at the University of Texas at Austin, is to be released February 28 in The Strand magazine.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/13/hammett-story.html
James Bond and Sherlock Holmes are to be resurrected for two new full-length novels being penned by authors Anthony Horowitz and Jeffrey Deaver.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8265688/James-Bond-and-Sherlock-Holmes-resurrected-in-new-novels.html
A Connecticut schools superintendent is seeking to shut down a production of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, because some of the teenage actors would have to utter the word "nigger". The rights-holders to the play will not allow alterations.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/13/connecticut-school-official-objecting-to-racial-term-wants-to-block-wilson-play/
In a memoir to be published next week, Stieg Larsson’s partner Eva Gabrielsson reveals that Larsson had completed 200 pages in the series' fourth instalment before dying. She wants to finish the series.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/15/larsson-gabrielsson-memoir.html
Two novels published last fall—Paula Marantz Cohen’s What Alice Knew and Cynthia Ozick’s Foreign Bodies—are about or inspired by Henry James. David Lodge explores why 21st C. novelists love James.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/why-21st-century-novelists-love-henry-james/article1868746/
The Montreal Gazette’s Ian Gillis interviews Lynda Barry on The Secret Power of Doodling.
http://communities.canada.com/montrealgazette/blogs/narratives/archive/2011/01/15/the-secret-power-of-doodling-an-interview-with-lynda-barry.aspx
Bruised egos and frayed friendships often follow the publication of a novel. But few fictional representations are so offensive to their (reputed) models that actual violence ensues. The notable exception took place 100 years ago this month.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/16/books/review/Duffy-t.html
Initially, The Tyee asked only the Vancouver Public Library what were the ten most borrowed books in 2010. Now, they have received similar lists from libraries in Fort Nelson, Port Alberni, and places in between.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2011/01/17/BCBorrowers/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=170111
Canadians read a lot of books: Canadians buy more than one million a week; urban library systems report weekly print circulation numbers in the tens or even hundreds of thousands.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/when-it-comes-to-books-canadians-read-a-lot-but-also-worry-a-lot/article1874777/
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Beggar’s Garden, Michael Christie’s debut collection of linked stories, will be published this month by HarperCollins Canada. Here is an excerpt:
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/12/michael-christie-a-good-story/
When Prisoner of Tehran was published in 2007, Maclean’s described it as "one of the finest (memoirs) ever written by a Canadian."
http://www.macleans.ca/article.jsp?content=20070528_105299_105299&source=srch
Nine years after being released from prison (aged 18), author Marina Nemat moved with her family to Canada. After Tehran: A Life Reclaimed was published last fall. Donna Bailey Nurse describes it as a "surprisingly upbeat immigrant story". http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/after-tehran-a-life-reclaimed-by-marina-nemat/article1765536/
Shelagh Rogers’ interview of Nemat can be found here:
http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/
Historian Simon Sebag Montefiore’s Jerusalem: The Biography is about both Jerusalem the city and the idea. Dan Jones writes: "it's hard to imagine a more comprehensive, sensible and engaging attempt than this".
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/jerusalem-the-biography-by-simon-sebag-montefiore-2185584.html
Jonathan Beckman says that the book Jerusalem has a rather old-fashioned structure, but it is a city of the imagination, an inspiration for religious sects and hundreds of artists and writers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/16/jerusalem-biography-sebag-montefiore-review
Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes presents his latest, Destiny and Desire, as a first-person narration delivered by a severed head. It’s a novel of violence, betrayal and irony, with Dickensian elements.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/01/15/destiny_and_desire_a_novel_of_violence_betrayal_and_irony/
Joel Yanofsky reminds us that Henry James acquired the title The Master. Given Ozicks’ mastery of her work in Foreign Bodies, he suggests it is perhaps time to pass the title on.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Cynthia+Ozick+shows+mastery+herself+updates+Henry+James+masterpiece/4104277/story.html
Candace Fertile writes that Silence, one of the stories in The Empty Family, Colm Tóibin’s new collection, is constructed in a (Henry) Jamesian style.
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/study+family+many+fractured+forms/4113737/story.html
"One to watch" is how the Guardian describes American author Ida Hattemer-Higgins and her debut novel The History of History: A Novel of Berlin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/16/hattemer-higgins-history-third-reich
Hans Werner finds Alan Taylor’s The Civil War of 1812 easily the best book he’s read on the war. It may also cause us to re-think what we believe we know about the War.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/921861--the-civil-war-of-1812
Neal Cassady was the hard-living, fast-driving, pill-popping womanizer immortalized in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. His wife Carolyn Cassady explodes a few myths in Off the Road: Twenty Years with Cassady, Kerouac and Ginsberg.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/18/beat-poets-cassady-kerouac-ginsberg
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Elizabeth Bachinsky, the author of three collections of poetry: Curio, Home of Sudden Service, and God of Missed Connections. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
SCIENCE FICTION BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP
Discussion of author James Blish's sci-fi odyssey Black Easter. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm, free. The Grind & Gallery (4124 Main). More information at darthbuddy2000@yahoo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Share in an evening of literary surprises featuring Dennis E. Bolen and Soressa Gardner. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
YARN BOMBING
Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore, co-authors of the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti host a community knit-in. Yarn and needles provided along with refreshments. Sunday, January 23 at 2:00pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. Complete details and additional dates here, www.yarnbombing.com.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
GAIL VAZ-OXLADE
Financial guru, host of television's 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess as well as author of Debt-Free Forever, discusses and signs her new book, Never Too Late. Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
WILLIAM GIBSON
Author will read from his latest novel Zero History. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=30.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Fiona Lam, author of Intimate Distances and Double Lives. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
MASHED POETICS VI
Featuring RC Weslowski, Pam Bentley, Daniela Elza, Jillian Christmas, Sean McGarragle, Kyle Hawke, Daniel Zomparelli, Scruffmouth, Janet Rogers, Kyle Mallinson, Jeremy Loveday. Hendrix Cover Band 3rd Stone From the Sun playing the entire album. Each poet has been given a song from the album as a prompt to create a new piece of work to be performed at the show. Thursday, January 27 at 8:00pm. $5-$10 sliding scale. Cottage Bistro (4468 Main Street).
GABOR GASZTONYI
Award winning photographer Gabor Gasztonyi presents A Room in the City (Anvil Press), his five-year project of photographing the residents of the Cobalt, Balmoral, Regent and Sunrise Hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Monday, January 31 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
CANADA READS CELEBRATION
Actor Lorne Cardinal is defending Carol Shields' Unless in this year's Canada Reads on CBC Radio! Join Sheryl Mackay in the CBC Studio One Book Club with Lorne and one of Carol's best friends, Shelagh Rogers, as they pay tribute with stories, memories and readings of the beloved Ms. Shields! Come share your own love of her work on Tuesday February 1 in the CBC Broadcast Centre. For free tickets go to www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Launch of the author's debut collection The Beggar's Garden. Friday, February 4 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=29.
WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Readings and excerpts by Canada's top aboriginal writers and songwriters in one of the Drives' newest tapas bars. Featuring Joanne Arnott, Janet Rogers, Lee Maracle, Garry Gottfriedson, Wil George, Michelle Sylliboy and Wanda John. With musical performances by Russell Wallace as well as Greg Coyes. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm. Pay-what-you-can. The Pond, 1441 Commercial Drive. More information at www.fullcircleperformance.ca.
STEVE WEINER AND HANNAH CALDER
Authors read from their respective novels, Sweet England and More House. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information here: http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40108.
TIM WARD
Author and journalist reads from the 20th anniversary edition of his bestselling classic, What the Buddha Never Taught. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Governor General's Award nominated poet Erin Moure. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. ECU Library, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers' Union of Canada's 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
KATHERINE GOVIER
Author reads from her new novel, The Ghost Brush, the story of Oie, daughter of 19th century Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00pm, free Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by Aaron Peck, author of The Bewilderments of Bernard Willis. Thursday, February 17 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island.
EVELYN LAU AND RAY HSU
Readings by the authors of Living Under Plastic (Lau) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (Hsu). Thursday, February 24 at 1:00pm. Dodson Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at http://ow.ly/3C8k7.
RUBIN CARTER
Discussion with Dr. Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, author of Eye of the Hurricane: My Path from Darkness, hosted by Neil Boyd. Monday, February 28 at 7:30pm. Tickets $28/$22. Capilano University Performing Arts Theatre, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Details here: http://ow.ly/3G5oO.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Book News Vol. 6 No. 2
BOOK NEWS
Join the Vancouver International Writers Festival for a new series of illuminating readings and discussions with novelists, poets, non-fiction writers and more. The series launches on Wednesday, January 26 with Andrew Pyper (The Guardians), Amber Dawn (Sub Rosa) and Michael Christie (The Beggar's Garden). Other confirmed authors include 2010 Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud, 2010 Giller Prize nominee Alexander MacLeod, Joyce Carol Oates, Lorna Crozier, Zsuzsi Gartner, Bernhard Schlink, Timothy Taylor and Madeleine Thien. Info: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/readingseries.
Incite @ VPL
An Exploration of Books and Ideas
7:30 pm every second Wednesday, Free
Alice McKay Room, Central Library
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.
Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
Jacobson's Man Booker award-winning book, The Finkler Question, deals with love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.
Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.
AWARDS & LISTS
Moon Over Manifest, a debut novel by Clare Vanderpool has won the John Newbery Medal for the year's outstanding contribution to children's literature. The Randolph Caldecott Medal, for the most distinguished picture book for children, went to A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/books/11stonewall.html?ref=books
Jason Wallace, whose debut novel Out of Shadows was turned down by 100 literary agents and publishers prior to being picked up by Andersen Press, was named winner of the Costa Children's Book Award.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/writer-who-was-rejected-100-times-is-finally-rewarded-2176111.html
Yiyun Li's collection Gold Boy, Emerald Girl has been shortlisted for the $20,000 US Story Prize, the annual literary honour celebrating short fiction.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/10/story-prize-nominees.html
The shortlist for the Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction includes: Stevie Cameron for On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women; Charles Foran for Mordecai: The Life & Times; Ross King for Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven; George Sipos for The Geography of Arrival: A Memoir; and Merrily Weisbord for The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das.
http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/latest-news.asp
NEWS & FEATURES
The Washington Post fiction editor, Ron Charles, has come to believe that Canadian book awards are, well, loony. He's baffled by a Governor General's Award judging process that passes up Alice Munro's Too Much Happiness in favour of Kate Pullinger's The Mistress of Nothing, which, in his review, Charles describes as a "little historical romance".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010404879.html
Eleven individuals (seven of whom are authors) have accepted the invitation from The New York Times' Room for Debate section to address the issue of changing words in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-change-huckleberry-finn
Key Porter has shut down its publishing operations. Publisher Jordan Fenn describes the action as the company "temporarily suspending publishing operations while it pursues a restructuring of its business."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/key-porter-shuts-down-publishing-operations/article1862576/
Saskatchewan author Mary-Ann Kirkby signed a distribution agreement last year with Key Porter Books for her memoir I am Hutterite. The future of that deal is now up in the air.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/09/sask-publishers-loss-.html
Author, journalist, former publisher, Robert McCrum examines the impact of what are now ubiquitous—creative writing courses—and asks: Do creative writing courses make novels too ‘literary'?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/jan/10/creative-writing-courses-too-literary
Babies as young as just six months old can now be introduced to the world of ebook apps, with Ladybird's popular Baby Touch Peekaboo series going digital.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/10/ladybird-launches-ebook-app-babies
Why do people love Stieg Larsson's novels? asks Joan Acocella in this week's New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/01/10/110110crat_atlarge_acocella
Columbia University Press has republished David Foster Wallace's early academic work under the title Fate, Time, and Language. Daniel Menaker writes that, even if the reader doesn't understand all or even half of it, this is an excellent chapbook about a subject—human responsibility—that is of increasing urgency in jurisprudence, social codes and personal conduct.
http://www.salon.com/books/writing/index.html?story=/books/feature/2011/01/02/fate_time_language
Justin Moyer adds that "fiction lovers with even a minimal knowledge of Aristotle and Wittgenstein will understand that the core proposition of fatalism - we have no say in what we do - haunted Wallace's writing."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010706484.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Tom Sandborn describes David Homel's Midway as a finely crafted, intelligent and moving novel, an impressive book that rewards close reading.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/midway-by-david-homel/article1857364/
Paolo Bacigalupi's debut novel, The Windup Girl, the winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction, is set in a dystopian Bangkok after the world has suffered an environmental catastrophe. David Evans finds the prose stunning and the book, entertaining.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-windup-girl-by-paolo-bacigalupi-2176842.html
In his discussion of Doug Coupland's Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!, David Carr writes that "...to a reader interested in a little serious fun, a dip into someone we pretend to understand but don't really know, "You Know Nothing of My Work!" is a welcome taunt." Coupland argues persuasively that McLuhan thought differently because he was wired differently; unalloyed admiration for an incredibly complicated thinker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/books/review/Carr-t.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1&pagewanted=all
Adam Kirsch writes about The Letters of Saul Bellow that Bellow's correspondence "demonstrates the peculiar burdens of intimacy with a writer", but it also emphasizes his conviction of the necessity of writing.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7170556.ece
Ray Robertson reminds us that Saul Bellow, as with the majority of us, was foremost interested in himself. He quotes Bellow's comment in a letter to literary critic Granville Hicks: "There is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to write as well as one can."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/saul-bellow-letters-edited-by-benjamin-taylor/article1861270/
Maureen Freely states that few writers have untangled the paradoxes and unintended consequences of political Islam as Kenan Malik does in From Fatwa to Jihad. In the end, she says, Malik's real subject is not Islam but rather, the mismanagement of immigration and its impact on Enlightenment values.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010706482.html
Don Waters describes the writing in Colm Tóibín's The Empty Family as "graceful prose". "Though his dream narratives are often associative rather than linear, they wind up feeling magic, precise and perfectly plotted."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/09/RVAE1H3C57.DTL
John Barber interviews Tóibín over a faulty transatlantic connection.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/colm-tobn-and-the-sounds-of-silence/article1861340/
A haunted house is at the heart of Andrew Pyper's The Guardians. Mark Medley writes that The Guardians is unquestionably a horror novel, a slight departure for Pyper. Pyper's formula has attracted the attention of movie producers and The Guardians has been optioned.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/07/fear-factor-andrew-pyper's-mid-life-crisis-scared-him-into-working-harder/
Christy Ann Conlan describes The Guardians as "a book that looks at what happens when you hate and fear what you see in the mirror, a tale of friendship and of those bonds of youth. It's a novel that is both a coming-of-age story, and a story of midlife crisis".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-guardians-by-andrew-pyper/article1861442/
Alex Bozikovic describes Witold Rybczynski's Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas about Cities as a pithy and lively look at the art of city-building.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/makeshift-metropolis-ideas-about-cities-by-witold-rybczynski/article1866030/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
WALK MYSELF HOME
Caitlin Press presents readings from Walk Myself Home, an anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and oral interviews about violence against women, with contributions by Kate Braid, Yasuko Thahn, and Susan Musgrave. Thursday, January 13 at 7:00pm, free. Central Library, 350 W. Georgia.
SHEILA HETI
Author talks with Hal Wake about her latest book, How Should a Person Be?. Thursday, January 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets $12. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W. More information and tickets at 604-257-5111.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Sheila Heti (How Should A Person Be?) and Bren Simmers (Night Gears). Friday, January 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
TARIQ MALIK
Author launches his new historical novel Chanting Denied Shores, which follows the lives of four protagonists of the Komagata Maru debacle. Book signing to follow. Sunday, January 16 at 2:30pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. More information at www.kogawahouse.com.
ANNE GIARDINI
Author reads from her warm and witty novel, Advice for Italian Boys. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SPOKEN INK
Burnaby Writers' Society presents Shauna Paull, author of roughened in undercurrent. Tuesday, January 18 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.
STEVE WEINER AND SAM WHARTON
Local authors explore post-World War England in their books Sweet England and Ignorant Armies with dramatically different results. Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Share in an evening of literary surprises featuring Dennis E. Bolen and Soressa Gardner. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
YARN BOMBING
Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore, co-authors of the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti host a community knit-in. Yarn and needles provided along with refreshments. Sunday, January 23 at 2:00pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. Complete details and additional dates here, www.yarnbombing.com.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
Upcoming
GAIL VAZ-OXLADE
Financial guru, host of television's 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess as well as author of Debt-Free Forever, discusses and signs her new book, Never Too Late. Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
GABOR GASZTONYI
Award winning photographer Gabor Gasztonyi presents A Room in the City (Anvil Press), his five-year project of photographing the residents of the Cobalt, Balmoral, Regent and Sunrise Hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Monday, January 31 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. The performance at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver will feature the singers and actors from the VIWF's sold out 2009 production. Tickets for the event, which features special guest and Writers' Trust co-founder Graeme Gibson, a cocktail reception, and an auction of original postcard stories from celebrated Canadian writers and other select items, are $175. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Readings and excerpts by Canada's top aboriginal writers and songwriters in one of the Drives' newest tapas bars. Featuring Joanne Arnott, Janet Rogers, Lee Maracle, Garry Gottfriedson, Wil George, Michelle Sylliboy and Wanda John. With musical performances by Russell Wallace as well as Greg Coyes. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm. Pay-what-you-can. The Pond, 1441 Commercial Drive. More information at www.fullcircleperformance.ca.
STEVE WEINER AND HANNAH CALDER
Authors read from their respective novels, Sweet England and More House. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information here: http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40108.
TIM WARD
Author and journalist reads from the 20th anniversary edition of his bestselling classic, What the Buddha Never Taught. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers' Union of Canada's 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
KATHERINE GOVIER
Author reads from her new novel, The Ghost Brush, the story of Oie, daughter of 19th century Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00pm, free Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
EVELYN LAU AND RAY HSU
Readings by the authors of Living Under Plastic (Lau) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (Hsu). Thursday, February 24 at 1:00pm. Dodson Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at http://ow.ly/3C8k7.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
Join the Vancouver International Writers Festival for a new series of illuminating readings and discussions with novelists, poets, non-fiction writers and more. The series launches on Wednesday, January 26 with Andrew Pyper (The Guardians), Amber Dawn (Sub Rosa) and Michael Christie (The Beggar's Garden). Other confirmed authors include 2010 Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud, 2010 Giller Prize nominee Alexander MacLeod, Joyce Carol Oates, Lorna Crozier, Zsuzsi Gartner, Bernhard Schlink, Timothy Taylor and Madeleine Thien. Info: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/readingseries.
Incite @ VPL
An Exploration of Books and Ideas
7:30 pm every second Wednesday, Free
Alice McKay Room, Central Library
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.
Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
Jacobson's Man Booker award-winning book, The Finkler Question, deals with love, loss and male friendship, and explores what it means to be Jewish today. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.
Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.
AWARDS & LISTS
Moon Over Manifest, a debut novel by Clare Vanderpool has won the John Newbery Medal for the year's outstanding contribution to children's literature. The Randolph Caldecott Medal, for the most distinguished picture book for children, went to A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by Philip C. Stead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/11/books/11stonewall.html?ref=books
Jason Wallace, whose debut novel Out of Shadows was turned down by 100 literary agents and publishers prior to being picked up by Andersen Press, was named winner of the Costa Children's Book Award.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/writer-who-was-rejected-100-times-is-finally-rewarded-2176111.html
Yiyun Li's collection Gold Boy, Emerald Girl has been shortlisted for the $20,000 US Story Prize, the annual literary honour celebrating short fiction.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/10/story-prize-nominees.html
The shortlist for the Charles Taylor Prize for literary non-fiction includes: Stevie Cameron for On the Farm: Robert William Pickton and the Tragic Story of Vancouver's Missing Women; Charles Foran for Mordecai: The Life & Times; Ross King for Defiant Spirits: The Modernist Revolution of the Group of Seven; George Sipos for The Geography of Arrival: A Memoir; and Merrily Weisbord for The Love Queen of Malabar: Memoir of a Friendship with Kamala Das.
http://www.thecharlestaylorprize.ca/latest-news.asp
NEWS & FEATURES
The Washington Post fiction editor, Ron Charles, has come to believe that Canadian book awards are, well, loony. He's baffled by a Governor General's Award judging process that passes up Alice Munro's Too Much Happiness in favour of Kate Pullinger's The Mistress of Nothing, which, in his review, Charles describes as a "little historical romance".
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/04/AR2011010404879.html
Eleven individuals (seven of whom are authors) have accepted the invitation from The New York Times' Room for Debate section to address the issue of changing words in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/05/does-one-word-change-huckleberry-finn
Key Porter has shut down its publishing operations. Publisher Jordan Fenn describes the action as the company "temporarily suspending publishing operations while it pursues a restructuring of its business."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/key-porter-shuts-down-publishing-operations/article1862576/
Saskatchewan author Mary-Ann Kirkby signed a distribution agreement last year with Key Porter Books for her memoir I am Hutterite. The future of that deal is now up in the air.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2011/01/09/sask-publishers-loss-.html
Author, journalist, former publisher, Robert McCrum examines the impact of what are now ubiquitous—creative writing courses—and asks: Do creative writing courses make novels too ‘literary'?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/jan/10/creative-writing-courses-too-literary
Babies as young as just six months old can now be introduced to the world of ebook apps, with Ladybird's popular Baby Touch Peekaboo series going digital.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/10/ladybird-launches-ebook-app-babies
Why do people love Stieg Larsson's novels? asks Joan Acocella in this week's New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2011/01/10/110110crat_atlarge_acocella
Columbia University Press has republished David Foster Wallace's early academic work under the title Fate, Time, and Language. Daniel Menaker writes that, even if the reader doesn't understand all or even half of it, this is an excellent chapbook about a subject—human responsibility—that is of increasing urgency in jurisprudence, social codes and personal conduct.
http://www.salon.com/books/writing/index.html?story=/books/feature/2011/01/02/fate_time_language
Justin Moyer adds that "fiction lovers with even a minimal knowledge of Aristotle and Wittgenstein will understand that the core proposition of fatalism - we have no say in what we do - haunted Wallace's writing."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010706484.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Tom Sandborn describes David Homel's Midway as a finely crafted, intelligent and moving novel, an impressive book that rewards close reading.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/midway-by-david-homel/article1857364/
Paolo Bacigalupi's debut novel, The Windup Girl, the winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards for science fiction, is set in a dystopian Bangkok after the world has suffered an environmental catastrophe. David Evans finds the prose stunning and the book, entertaining.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-windup-girl-by-paolo-bacigalupi-2176842.html
In his discussion of Doug Coupland's Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work!, David Carr writes that "...to a reader interested in a little serious fun, a dip into someone we pretend to understand but don't really know, "You Know Nothing of My Work!" is a welcome taunt." Coupland argues persuasively that McLuhan thought differently because he was wired differently; unalloyed admiration for an incredibly complicated thinker.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/books/review/Carr-t.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1&pagewanted=all
Adam Kirsch writes about The Letters of Saul Bellow that Bellow's correspondence "demonstrates the peculiar burdens of intimacy with a writer", but it also emphasizes his conviction of the necessity of writing.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7170556.ece
Ray Robertson reminds us that Saul Bellow, as with the majority of us, was foremost interested in himself. He quotes Bellow's comment in a letter to literary critic Granville Hicks: "There is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to write as well as one can."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/saul-bellow-letters-edited-by-benjamin-taylor/article1861270/
Maureen Freely states that few writers have untangled the paradoxes and unintended consequences of political Islam as Kenan Malik does in From Fatwa to Jihad. In the end, she says, Malik's real subject is not Islam but rather, the mismanagement of immigration and its impact on Enlightenment values.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/07/AR2011010706482.html
Don Waters describes the writing in Colm Tóibín's The Empty Family as "graceful prose". "Though his dream narratives are often associative rather than linear, they wind up feeling magic, precise and perfectly plotted."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/09/RVAE1H3C57.DTL
John Barber interviews Tóibín over a faulty transatlantic connection.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/colm-tobn-and-the-sounds-of-silence/article1861340/
A haunted house is at the heart of Andrew Pyper's The Guardians. Mark Medley writes that The Guardians is unquestionably a horror novel, a slight departure for Pyper. Pyper's formula has attracted the attention of movie producers and The Guardians has been optioned.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/07/fear-factor-andrew-pyper's-mid-life-crisis-scared-him-into-working-harder/
Christy Ann Conlan describes The Guardians as "a book that looks at what happens when you hate and fear what you see in the mirror, a tale of friendship and of those bonds of youth. It's a novel that is both a coming-of-age story, and a story of midlife crisis".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-guardians-by-andrew-pyper/article1861442/
Alex Bozikovic describes Witold Rybczynski's Makeshift Metropolis: Ideas about Cities as a pithy and lively look at the art of city-building.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/makeshift-metropolis-ideas-about-cities-by-witold-rybczynski/article1866030/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
WALK MYSELF HOME
Caitlin Press presents readings from Walk Myself Home, an anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and oral interviews about violence against women, with contributions by Kate Braid, Yasuko Thahn, and Susan Musgrave. Thursday, January 13 at 7:00pm, free. Central Library, 350 W. Georgia.
SHEILA HETI
Author talks with Hal Wake about her latest book, How Should a Person Be?. Thursday, January 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets $12. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W. More information and tickets at 604-257-5111.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Sheila Heti (How Should A Person Be?) and Bren Simmers (Night Gears). Friday, January 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
TARIQ MALIK
Author launches his new historical novel Chanting Denied Shores, which follows the lives of four protagonists of the Komagata Maru debacle. Book signing to follow. Sunday, January 16 at 2:30pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. More information at www.kogawahouse.com.
ANNE GIARDINI
Author reads from her warm and witty novel, Advice for Italian Boys. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SPOKEN INK
Burnaby Writers' Society presents Shauna Paull, author of roughened in undercurrent. Tuesday, January 18 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.
STEVE WEINER AND SAM WHARTON
Local authors explore post-World War England in their books Sweet England and Ignorant Armies with dramatically different results. Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Share in an evening of literary surprises featuring Dennis E. Bolen and Soressa Gardner. Thursday, January 20 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5 at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
YARN BOMBING
Leanne Prain and Mandy Moore, co-authors of the book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti host a community knit-in. Yarn and needles provided along with refreshments. Sunday, January 23 at 2:00pm. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. Complete details and additional dates here, www.yarnbombing.com.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
Upcoming
GAIL VAZ-OXLADE
Financial guru, host of television's 'Til Debt Do Us Part and Princess as well as author of Debt-Free Forever, discusses and signs her new book, Never Too Late. Tuesday, January 25 at 7:00pm. Chapters Broadway and Granville, 2505 Granville Street. More information at 604-731-7822.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
GABOR GASZTONYI
Award winning photographer Gabor Gasztonyi presents A Room in the City (Anvil Press), his five-year project of photographing the residents of the Cobalt, Balmoral, Regent and Sunrise Hotels in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Monday, January 31 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. The performance at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver will feature the singers and actors from the VIWF's sold out 2009 production. Tickets for the event, which features special guest and Writers' Trust co-founder Graeme Gibson, a cocktail reception, and an auction of original postcard stories from celebrated Canadian writers and other select items, are $175. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
WRITERS COLLECTIVE
Readings and excerpts by Canada's top aboriginal writers and songwriters in one of the Drives' newest tapas bars. Featuring Joanne Arnott, Janet Rogers, Lee Maracle, Garry Gottfriedson, Wil George, Michelle Sylliboy and Wanda John. With musical performances by Russell Wallace as well as Greg Coyes. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm. Pay-what-you-can. The Pond, 1441 Commercial Drive. More information at www.fullcircleperformance.ca.
STEVE WEINER AND HANNAH CALDER
Authors read from their respective novels, Sweet England and More House. Monday, February 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information here: http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40108.
TIM WARD
Author and journalist reads from the 20th anniversary edition of his bestselling classic, What the Buddha Never Taught. Thursday, February 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers' Union of Canada's 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers' Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
KATHERINE GOVIER
Author reads from her new novel, The Ghost Brush, the story of Oie, daughter of 19th century Japanese printmaker Hokusai. Tuesday, February 15 at 7:00pm, free Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
EVELYN LAU AND RAY HSU
Readings by the authors of Living Under Plastic (Lau) and Cold Sleep Permanent Afternoon (Hsu). Thursday, February 24 at 1:00pm. Dodson Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at http://ow.ly/3C8k7.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Book News Vol. 6 No. 1
BOOK NEWS
The new year is the time for exciting new projects - this month we launch Incite, a new twice-monthly series of illuminating readings, interviews and discussions with novelists, poets, non-fiction writers and more. Join us at the launch on Wednesday, January 26, featuring Andrew Pyper, Amber Dawn and Michael Christie. Other confirmed Spring appearances include 2010 Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud and 2010 Giller Prize nominee Alexander MacLeod, as well as local stars Zuszsi Gartner and Timothy Taylor. Info: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/readingseries.
Incite @ VPL
An Exploration of Books and Ideas
7:30 pm every second Wednesday, Free
Alice McKay Room, Central Library
AWARDS & LISTS
Award winners in each of the five categories of Costa Book Awards have been announced. The five winners are now shortlisted for the grand prize of 2010 Costa Book of the Year which will be announced at the end of this month.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/maggie-ofarrell-wins-costa-book-award-for-best-novel/article1857381/
Books by Doug Saunders, Lawrence Martin, Shelagh D. Grant, Anna Porter and Tim Cook are the five finalists for the 2010-2011 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for excellence in political writing. The prize will be awarded in Ottawa in February.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/two-globe-writers-up-for-shaughnessy-cohen-prize/article1858408/
The $50,000 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the most prestigious literary prize in the Arab world unveiled its nominees in December, riling critics who say it is a politically charged shortlist crafted to appeal to Western audiences. The award will be announced in March.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=122614#axzz18f9Qix38
Authors, publishers, and broadcasters about literary matters are among the 54 Canadians recently appointed to the Order of Canada. These include Patricia Aldana for her contributions to children's publishing, novelist/poet/publisher Nicole Brossard, literary critic Linda Hutcheon, and Sheila Rogers, host of CBC Radio's The Last Chapter and a committed volunteer in the fields of mental health and literacy.
http://www.einnews.com/pr-news/273660-governor-general-announces-54-new-appointments-to-the-order-of-canada-
NEWS & FEATURES
After the death of Edwin Morgan, Scotland's greatest living poet and the country's first makar—its national poet laureate—the country is now struggling with determining how to go about appointing his successor.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/02/scotland-poet-laureate?CMP=EMCGT_030111&
Indignez-vous!, a political essay written by Resistance hero 93-year-old Stéphane Hessel topped the Christmas bestseller list in France.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/26/stephane-hessel-93-french-bestseller
In an interview about his second novel Caribou Island, David Vann reveals how writing saved his life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/david-vann-caribou-island-interview
Research for his latest book The Forest Laird has convinced author Jack Whyte that the mythic figure of Robin Hood was inspired by the 13th C. Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Braveheart+inspiration+Robin+Hood+novelist+claims/4055542/story.html
The Oxford English Dictionary has launched a Save the Words campaign. Register on the site to adopt at-risk words—words at risk of being dropped from the dictionary as they fall out of usage. Adopters promise to use their word in conversation.
http://www.savethewords.org/
David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Emma Donoghue's Room, and David Grossman's To the End of the Land led in the number of recommendations made for the Guardian's list of the best books of 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/interactive/2010/dec/14/books-of-the-year-2010?CMP=EMCGT_211210&
Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood, Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean and two books in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy are among the ten books most lent by the Vancouver Public Library in 2010.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/12/30/BorrowedBooks2010/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=030111
The January Magazine's list of best books of 2010 include some unusual titles as well as familiar ones.
http://januarymagazine.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-books-of-2010-fiction.html
What is the place of serious criticism in the age of instant, ubiquitous opinion? ask the editors of the NY TIMES.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Tanenhaus-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1
Six accomplished critics explain the importance of their work. A sidebar in each essay offers links to the other essays.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Burn-t-web.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Author Cathal Morrow is to float himself on the Stock Exchange, with the hope that literary shareholders will buy 30,000 shares in him at £10 apiece. (He's retaining 30%, "the vital organs and so forth".) He's not legally allowed to sell shares in himself but investors can own part of the intellectual property of a project.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/19/author-floats-on-stock-exchange?CMP=EMCGT_201210&
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has sold his memoirs to publishers Canongate (UK) and Knopf (US). The book is to be published in March 2011. Wikileads: My Time at the World's Most Dangerous Website by former Wikileaks deputy Daniel Domscheit-Berg will be published on 27 January. And Texas-based Global Language Monitor has announced that Wikileaks has met the criteria to be considered a proper word.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/coming-soon-to-a-bookshop-near-you-assange-in-his-own-words-2166534.html
The plot formula—"the butler did it"—is the biggest cliché in mystery writing. An investigation of the evidence, writes Nate Pederson, reveals another story entirely. The butler was framed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/dec/09/why-we-think-the-butler-did-it
Make books do things e-books can't—and vice versa. As digital publishing grows, there's reason to push each medium to be more than just a receptacle for words, writes David L. Ulin.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-slow-reading-20101230,0,7304318.story
The Guardian reports that romance fiction powers the e-book market.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/robert-mccrum-digital-books-downmarket-publishing
The King James Bible brings the faithful and non-believers together in appreciation of its dazzling use of language. Celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the KJB began last month and will last a whole year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/faith/the-bible-that-even-atheists-worship-2166158.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
The RCMP was born in the wake of a drunken American slaughter of a harmless group of Assiniboine in Saskatchewan's Cypress Hills, writes reviewer Hans Werner. Werner recommends that copies of Charles Wilkins' The Wild Ride: A History of the North West Mounted Police 1873-1904 be placed in every high school library.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/909959--the-wild-ride-a-history-of-the-north-west-mounted
Tracy Sherlock writes that Gurjinder Basran's Everything Was Good-bye is an exploration of being torn between two cultures and between sub-sets of a culture.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Gurjinder+Basran+novel+Everything+Good+explores+being+torn+between/4042464/story.html
Jacob Rubin writes that Barry Hannah's high-wire prose has earned him a cult following and changed the American short story forever.
http://www.slate.com/id/2278455/
A new year means a new slate, right? Monique Polak reviews three self-improvement books: Piers Steels' The Procrastination Equation; Erin Katz's Where Did Noah Park the Ark?; and Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Never Too Late. Polak writes "May we get things done...may we save for the future...and may we have the sort of memory that can keep track of all this wise advice."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Self+improvement+year/4041958/story.html
The Guardian books team tells us there will be a new novel by Roddy Doyle in 2011, another tome from Noam Chomsky on US hegemony and Garrison Keillor's new book of sonnets - which he sings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2010/dec/10/books-2011-garrison-keillor-rpddy-doyle
After almost 20 years since its publication in French, Amélie Nothomb's Hygiene and the Assassin is finally available in English translation. Becky Toyne describes the book as a "cat-and-mouse tale with murderous intent" that skips the whodunit's traditional trail of clues. Still, with a protagonist whose name is Prétextat, one wonders.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/hygiene-and-the-assassin-by-amlie-nothomb/article1842005/
Andrei Codrecu's The Poetry Lesson is a novel of ends and beginnings, writes Alex Good, beginning with talking about epitaphs and famous last words, and ending with poets bursting out of the cemetery gates.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/912885--the-poetry-lesson-by-andrei-codrescu
In her review of Tarek Fatah's The Jew Is Not My Enemy and Martin Gilbert's In Ishmael's House, Paula Newberg writes "neither Fatah nor Gilbert restricts his analysis to the problematic Israel-Palestine dispute but rather, concern themselves with far broader questions".
http://aol.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/aolstory/TGAM/20110101/BOFATAH1224
The much-lauded Haitian American writer Edwidge Danticat had nearly finished gathering the stories for Haiti Noir, an anthology of crime stories, when Haiti was hit by the massive earthquake of January 2010. Carolyn Kellogg says the stories possess both classic and uniquely Haitian elements. Danticat adds in her introduction that they are "a snapshot of places that in some cases have become irreparably altered."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/books/la-ca-haiti-noir-20110102,0,484120.story
In his review of Julian Barnes' collection Pulse, Tim Evans writes that Barnes is still the master explorer of the intricacies of human relationships.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/julian-barnes-pulse-review
Alison Flood anticipates the literary highlights of 2011 (including Julian Barnes' latest).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/jan/03/best-books-2011
Even Silence Has an End, Ingrid Betancourt's memoir of her time as a hostage in the Colombian jungle, has been simultaneously published in nine languages and twelve countries. Sudhir Hazareesingh writes: "Like all great resistance memoirs, this is a tale of individual affirmation in the face of systematic attempts to destroy the human spirit."
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7170099.ece
Kevin Canfield writes that Daniel Lanois' episodic autobiography Soul Mining is more music memoir than personal autobiography. Still, stories such as those about Lanois' early work with Peter Gabriel, offer insights into Lanois.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/02/RV681GV8SP.DTL
The miracles of medical technology have given us compressed recollection in Tony Judt's The Memory Chalet, writes Geoff Dyer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Dyer-t.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema4&pagewanted=all
Google Books offers an excerpt here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=UKdIMjjZDO0C&printsec=frontcover
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CBC BOOK CLUB
On Wednesday January 12, William Gibson will be in the CBC Studio One Book Club with his latest novel Zero History. It's the third installment that began with Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. Sheryl MacKay's co-host for this Book Club is Douglas Coupland. Seating is limited so don't delay - enter to win free tickets at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
WALK MYSELF HOME
Caitlin Press presents readings from Walk Myself Home, an anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and oral interviews about violence against women, with contributions by Kate Braid, Yasuko Thahn, and Susan Musgrave. Thursday, January 13 at 7:00pm, free. Central Library, 350 W. Georgia.
SHEILA HETI
Author talks with Hal Wake about her latest book, How Should a Person Be?. Thursday, January 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets $12. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W. More information and tickets at 604-257-5111.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Sheila Heti (How Should A Person Be?) and Bren Simmers (Night Gears). Friday, January 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ANNE GIARDINI
Author reads from her warm and witty novel, Advice for Italian Boys. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
STEVE WEINER AND SAM WHARTON
Local authors explore post World War England in their books Sweet England and Ignorant Armies with dramatically different results. Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. The performance at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver will feature the singers and actors from the VIWF's sold out 2009 production. Tickets for the event, which features special guest and Writers' Trust co-founder Graeme Gibson, a cocktail reception, and an auction of original postcard stories from celebrated Canadian writers and other select items, are $175. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers’ Union of Canada’s 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers’ Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
The new year is the time for exciting new projects - this month we launch Incite, a new twice-monthly series of illuminating readings, interviews and discussions with novelists, poets, non-fiction writers and more. Join us at the launch on Wednesday, January 26, featuring Andrew Pyper, Amber Dawn and Michael Christie. Other confirmed Spring appearances include 2010 Giller Prize winner Johanna Skibsrud and 2010 Giller Prize nominee Alexander MacLeod, as well as local stars Zuszsi Gartner and Timothy Taylor. Info: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/readingseries.
Incite @ VPL
An Exploration of Books and Ideas
7:30 pm every second Wednesday, Free
Alice McKay Room, Central Library
AWARDS & LISTS
Award winners in each of the five categories of Costa Book Awards have been announced. The five winners are now shortlisted for the grand prize of 2010 Costa Book of the Year which will be announced at the end of this month.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/maggie-ofarrell-wins-costa-book-award-for-best-novel/article1857381/
Books by Doug Saunders, Lawrence Martin, Shelagh D. Grant, Anna Porter and Tim Cook are the five finalists for the 2010-2011 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for excellence in political writing. The prize will be awarded in Ottawa in February.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/two-globe-writers-up-for-shaughnessy-cohen-prize/article1858408/
The $50,000 International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the most prestigious literary prize in the Arab world unveiled its nominees in December, riling critics who say it is a politically charged shortlist crafted to appeal to Western audiences. The award will be announced in March.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=122614#axzz18f9Qix38
Authors, publishers, and broadcasters about literary matters are among the 54 Canadians recently appointed to the Order of Canada. These include Patricia Aldana for her contributions to children's publishing, novelist/poet/publisher Nicole Brossard, literary critic Linda Hutcheon, and Sheila Rogers, host of CBC Radio's The Last Chapter and a committed volunteer in the fields of mental health and literacy.
http://www.einnews.com/pr-news/273660-governor-general-announces-54-new-appointments-to-the-order-of-canada-
NEWS & FEATURES
After the death of Edwin Morgan, Scotland's greatest living poet and the country's first makar—its national poet laureate—the country is now struggling with determining how to go about appointing his successor.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/02/scotland-poet-laureate?CMP=EMCGT_030111&
Indignez-vous!, a political essay written by Resistance hero 93-year-old Stéphane Hessel topped the Christmas bestseller list in France.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/26/stephane-hessel-93-french-bestseller
In an interview about his second novel Caribou Island, David Vann reveals how writing saved his life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/david-vann-caribou-island-interview
Research for his latest book The Forest Laird has convinced author Jack Whyte that the mythic figure of Robin Hood was inspired by the 13th C. Scottish freedom fighter William Wallace.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movie-guide/Braveheart+inspiration+Robin+Hood+novelist+claims/4055542/story.html
The Oxford English Dictionary has launched a Save the Words campaign. Register on the site to adopt at-risk words—words at risk of being dropped from the dictionary as they fall out of usage. Adopters promise to use their word in conversation.
http://www.savethewords.org/
David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, Emma Donoghue's Room, and David Grossman's To the End of the Land led in the number of recommendations made for the Guardian's list of the best books of 2010.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/interactive/2010/dec/14/books-of-the-year-2010?CMP=EMCGT_211210&
Margaret Atwood's The Year of the Flood, Annabel Lyon's The Golden Mean and two books in Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy are among the ten books most lent by the Vancouver Public Library in 2010.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2010/12/30/BorrowedBooks2010/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=030111
The January Magazine's list of best books of 2010 include some unusual titles as well as familiar ones.
http://januarymagazine.blogspot.com/2010/12/best-books-of-2010-fiction.html
What is the place of serious criticism in the age of instant, ubiquitous opinion? ask the editors of the NY TIMES.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Tanenhaus-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema1
Six accomplished critics explain the importance of their work. A sidebar in each essay offers links to the other essays.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Burn-t-web.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Author Cathal Morrow is to float himself on the Stock Exchange, with the hope that literary shareholders will buy 30,000 shares in him at £10 apiece. (He's retaining 30%, "the vital organs and so forth".) He's not legally allowed to sell shares in himself but investors can own part of the intellectual property of a project.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/dec/19/author-floats-on-stock-exchange?CMP=EMCGT_201210&
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has sold his memoirs to publishers Canongate (UK) and Knopf (US). The book is to be published in March 2011. Wikileads: My Time at the World's Most Dangerous Website by former Wikileaks deputy Daniel Domscheit-Berg will be published on 27 January. And Texas-based Global Language Monitor has announced that Wikileaks has met the criteria to be considered a proper word.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/coming-soon-to-a-bookshop-near-you-assange-in-his-own-words-2166534.html
The plot formula—"the butler did it"—is the biggest cliché in mystery writing. An investigation of the evidence, writes Nate Pederson, reveals another story entirely. The butler was framed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/dec/09/why-we-think-the-butler-did-it
Make books do things e-books can't—and vice versa. As digital publishing grows, there's reason to push each medium to be more than just a receptacle for words, writes David L. Ulin.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-slow-reading-20101230,0,7304318.story
The Guardian reports that romance fiction powers the e-book market.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/robert-mccrum-digital-books-downmarket-publishing
The King James Bible brings the faithful and non-believers together in appreciation of its dazzling use of language. Celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the KJB began last month and will last a whole year.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/faith/the-bible-that-even-atheists-worship-2166158.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
The RCMP was born in the wake of a drunken American slaughter of a harmless group of Assiniboine in Saskatchewan's Cypress Hills, writes reviewer Hans Werner. Werner recommends that copies of Charles Wilkins' The Wild Ride: A History of the North West Mounted Police 1873-1904 be placed in every high school library.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/909959--the-wild-ride-a-history-of-the-north-west-mounted
Tracy Sherlock writes that Gurjinder Basran's Everything Was Good-bye is an exploration of being torn between two cultures and between sub-sets of a culture.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Gurjinder+Basran+novel+Everything+Good+explores+being+torn+between/4042464/story.html
Jacob Rubin writes that Barry Hannah's high-wire prose has earned him a cult following and changed the American short story forever.
http://www.slate.com/id/2278455/
A new year means a new slate, right? Monique Polak reviews three self-improvement books: Piers Steels' The Procrastination Equation; Erin Katz's Where Did Noah Park the Ark?; and Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Never Too Late. Polak writes "May we get things done...may we save for the future...and may we have the sort of memory that can keep track of all this wise advice."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Self+improvement+year/4041958/story.html
The Guardian books team tells us there will be a new novel by Roddy Doyle in 2011, another tome from Noam Chomsky on US hegemony and Garrison Keillor's new book of sonnets - which he sings.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2010/dec/10/books-2011-garrison-keillor-rpddy-doyle
After almost 20 years since its publication in French, Amélie Nothomb's Hygiene and the Assassin is finally available in English translation. Becky Toyne describes the book as a "cat-and-mouse tale with murderous intent" that skips the whodunit's traditional trail of clues. Still, with a protagonist whose name is Prétextat, one wonders.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/hygiene-and-the-assassin-by-amlie-nothomb/article1842005/
Andrei Codrecu's The Poetry Lesson is a novel of ends and beginnings, writes Alex Good, beginning with talking about epitaphs and famous last words, and ending with poets bursting out of the cemetery gates.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/912885--the-poetry-lesson-by-andrei-codrescu
In her review of Tarek Fatah's The Jew Is Not My Enemy and Martin Gilbert's In Ishmael's House, Paula Newberg writes "neither Fatah nor Gilbert restricts his analysis to the problematic Israel-Palestine dispute but rather, concern themselves with far broader questions".
http://aol.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/aolstory/TGAM/20110101/BOFATAH1224
The much-lauded Haitian American writer Edwidge Danticat had nearly finished gathering the stories for Haiti Noir, an anthology of crime stories, when Haiti was hit by the massive earthquake of January 2010. Carolyn Kellogg says the stories possess both classic and uniquely Haitian elements. Danticat adds in her introduction that they are "a snapshot of places that in some cases have become irreparably altered."
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/books/la-ca-haiti-noir-20110102,0,484120.story
In his review of Julian Barnes' collection Pulse, Tim Evans writes that Barnes is still the master explorer of the intricacies of human relationships.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/02/julian-barnes-pulse-review
Alison Flood anticipates the literary highlights of 2011 (including Julian Barnes' latest).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/jan/03/best-books-2011
Even Silence Has an End, Ingrid Betancourt's memoir of her time as a hostage in the Colombian jungle, has been simultaneously published in nine languages and twelve countries. Sudhir Hazareesingh writes: "Like all great resistance memoirs, this is a tale of individual affirmation in the face of systematic attempts to destroy the human spirit."
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7170099.ece
Kevin Canfield writes that Daniel Lanois' episodic autobiography Soul Mining is more music memoir than personal autobiography. Still, stories such as those about Lanois' early work with Peter Gabriel, offer insights into Lanois.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/02/RV681GV8SP.DTL
The miracles of medical technology have given us compressed recollection in Tony Judt's The Memory Chalet, writes Geoff Dyer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/books/review/Dyer-t.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=booksupdateema4&pagewanted=all
Google Books offers an excerpt here:
http://books.google.com/books?id=UKdIMjjZDO0C&printsec=frontcover
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CBC BOOK CLUB
On Wednesday January 12, William Gibson will be in the CBC Studio One Book Club with his latest novel Zero History. It's the third installment that began with Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. Sheryl MacKay's co-host for this Book Club is Douglas Coupland. Seating is limited so don't delay - enter to win free tickets at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
WALK MYSELF HOME
Caitlin Press presents readings from Walk Myself Home, an anthology of poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and oral interviews about violence against women, with contributions by Kate Braid, Yasuko Thahn, and Susan Musgrave. Thursday, January 13 at 7:00pm, free. Central Library, 350 W. Georgia.
SHEILA HETI
Author talks with Hal Wake about her latest book, How Should a Person Be?. Thursday, January 13 at 7:30pm. Tickets $12. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W. More information and tickets at 604-257-5111.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Sheila Heti (How Should A Person Be?) and Bren Simmers (Night Gears). Friday, January 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
ANNE GIARDINI
Author reads from her warm and witty novel, Advice for Italian Boys. Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
STEVE WEINER AND SAM WHARTON
Local authors explore post World War England in their books Sweet England and Ignorant Armies with dramatically different results. Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
GUNG HAGGIS FAT CHOY WORLD POETRY NIGHT
Seventh annual gala, celebrating Robbie Burns Day and Chinese New Year. A celebration of Chinese and Scottish traditions with a distinctly Canadian twist! Monday, January 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading by Gurjinder Basran, Jack Hodgins and Drew Hayden Taylor. Thursday, January 27 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library Bookstore, Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
STEVEN HEIGHTON
One of Canada's finest writers, Steven Heighton reads from Every Lost Country. Wednesday, February 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
THE YEAR OF THE FLOOD
Writers' Trust co-founder Margaret Atwood will narrate a theatrical performance based on her best-selling novel, The Year of the Flood at a Writers' Trust of Canada fundraiser on February 3. The performance at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver will feature the singers and actors from the VIWF's sold out 2009 production. Tickets for the event, which features special guest and Writers' Trust co-founder Graeme Gibson, a cocktail reception, and an auction of original postcard stories from celebrated Canadian writers and other select items, are $175. Tickets and more information here, http://www.writerstrust.com/News/Events-%281%29/Writers--Trust-Presents-Margaret-Atwood.aspx.
POSTCARD STORY COMPETITION
Submissions are being accepted until February 14, 2011 for the Writers’ Union of Canada’s 12th annual Postcard Story Competition. The winning entry will receive $500 and will be published in Write, the magazine of The Writers’ Union of Canada. Submission details here: http://www.writersunion.ca/cn_postcard.asp.
NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.
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