Book News Vol. 8 No. 8

BOOK NEWS

Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas

Join us on Wednesday, April 10 for an evening with Ania Szado reading from Studio Saint-Ex, Billie Livingston reading from One Good Hustle and Patrick Taylor bringing his Irish country charm. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca/.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library. Incite is sponsored by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and supported by the R.J. Nelson Family Foundation.

A DRAM COME TRUE

Dust off your kilt, gather your friends and grab a glass, A Dram Come True is back!

Join us at the legendary Hycroft Manor on May 31, 2013 for a lively celebration of spirits. Our five whisky bars will cater to the true aficionado, with a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. You don't want to miss the special surprises and scotch whisky selection we've got in store for you this year, click to buy your tickets today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

AWARDS & LISTS

The Alcuin Society has announced the winners of its 31st annual Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada. The winning books will be exhibited at the Frankfurt and Leipzig Book Fairs, the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo; and nine Canadian provinces. The books will also be entered in the international book design competition in Leipzig, Germany in 2014.
http://www.alcuinsociety.com/awards/

Patricia McCarthy's first world war poem has won the National Poetry Competition 2013, winning a £5,000 prize and comparisons with Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/27/first-world-war-national-poetry-competition-2013

Toronto writer Becky Blake has won the CBC Short Story Prize and a cheque for $6,000 for her story "The Three Times Rule."
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Toronto+writer+Becky+Blake+wins+Short+Story+Prize/8155279/story.html#ixzz2P3x5yR24

Performance poet Kate Tempest has won the Ted Hughes poetry prize for her 'spoken story' with Brand New Ancients, which reincarnates the gods of old in members of two London families.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/27/kate-tempest-ted-hughes-poetry-prize

Argentinian illustrator Isol has won the world's largest children's prize, the Astrid Lindgren memorial award. The Swedish government annually awards the £500,000 prize to an individual or organisation working "in the spirit of Astrid Lindgren" to "safeguard democratic values".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2013/mar/26/astrid-lindgren-winner-2013-isol

American author Seanan McGuire has been shortlisted five times for this year's Hugo awards, America's most prestigious science fiction prize. Writing under her pseudonym Mira Grant, McGuire was shortlisted for the best novel Hugo for Blackout, the finale to her zombie trilogy, and for the best novella prize for San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/31/seanan-mcguire-hugo-awards-shortlist

After reading sixty-six manuscript submissions, judges Gurjinder Basran and David Chariandy have shortlisted manuscripts by Katrin Horowitz, Kathy Para, Tony Power, Lenore Rowntree and Bill Stenson for the final judge, Caroline Adderson, to read for the 2nd Search for the Great B.C. Novel contest.
http://mothertonguepublishing.com/?page_id=72

YOUNG READERS

Rachel Hartman's Seraphina is a tale is about a young lady who is half-dragon, half-human! As tension rises between the dragons and the humans, Seraphina struggles to protect her secret. In her review Rachie writes: "Seraphina was a captivating book, the plot was exciting and the characters suited the story perfectly. A thrilling book, I would recommend it." For ages 9 and up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/mar/29/reader-reviews-roundup?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

Roddy Doyle's A Greyhound of a Girl is a wonderful book about four generations of women: a teenager, her mother, the grandmother and a great grandmother (who's a ghost). This book is a perfect blend of cheerfulness and seriousness, writes Red Badger. Roddy Doyle writes in a way that makes the book easy to read. For ages 12 and up.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/mar/30/review-greyhound-of-a-girl-roddy-doyle

Nix Minus One, Jill MacLean's compelling teenage story of secrets, revolves around a tongue-tied and introverted teenage boy. The novel is set in Bullbirds Cove, a small town in Newfoundland that used to be home to 37 families but, now that "the codfish are gone from the sea (and) groundfishing closed years ago," only 23 families remain. For ages 14 and up.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+Minus/8170350/story.html#ixzz2P3oVYnMC

NEWS & FEATURES

Kildare Dobbs, acclaimed 'man of letters,' has died at 89. Dobbs co-founded the Canadian magazine Tamarack Review and won a Governor General's Literary Award.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/01/kildare_dobbs_acclaimed_man_of_letters_dies_at_age_89.html

Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cancer cells have formed the foundation for work leading to two Nobel prizes. Science writer Rebecca Skloot's book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks not only analyzes the behavior of doctors but also treats the reader to a moving biography of Henrietta and her children.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/apr/04/henrietta-lacks-cancer-cells

A group of the world's leading Shakespeare scholars have come together to produce a book that details definitive evidence that the Bard did write his own plays. The academics feel the anti-Shakespeare campaign has intensified lately, and that the elevation of Shakespeare authorship studies to master's degree status has been the final straw.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2013/mar/30/shakespeare-scholars-silence-doubters

Amazon has bought Goodreads, one of the Web's most popular book review sites. Goodreads is a social network of more than 16 million bookworms who share reviews and book recommendations.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57576891-93/amazon-scoops-up-goodreads-social-network/

Wanted: person of means, with plenty of sturdy shelving, likes to be read to by literary titans. Must own turntable, and remember how to operate it. Toronto writer and collector Greg Gatenby is standing by to hear from you. The former director of the Harbourfront Reading Series is selling what he calls the largest known collection of writers' voices on vinyl discs. All of which can be yours on eBay in an auction ending on Sunday. You can start the bidding at $10,000 (U.S). The Buy-It-Now price is $85,000.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/james-joyce-jrr-tolkien-and-sylvia-plath-on-vinyl-place-your-bids-now/article10394795/

The Guardian includes an edited extract from Mom & Me & Mom, by Maya Angelou, to be published 11 April by Virago. Maya Angelou was just three when her mother sent her to live with her grandma, and 13, when they were reunited. As a child, she understood that her voice was so powerful that it could kill people.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/30/maya-angelou-terrible-wonderful-mother

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban as she returned home from school, is writing a book about the traumatic event and her long-running campaign to promote children's education. Publisher Weidenfeld and Nicolson will release I am Malala in Britain and Commonwealth countries this fall. Little, Brown and Co. will publish the memoir in the United States and beyond.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/03/28/malala-memoir.html

Colm Toíbín reads from The Testament of Mary, his reimagining of the life of the mother of Christ, in a Guardian Books Podcast.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2013/mar/29/colm-toibin-testament-mary-podcast

The ageing Casanova spent his final years writing his memoirs, "the only remedy I could think of to keep me from going mad or dying of grief", he said. A new book from French publisher Laffont reveals Casanova as "a much more complex character than the cliché he has become", a man who loved liberty as much as women.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/30/casanova-man-who-loved-liberty-as-much-as-women

One hundred years after suffragettes struggled against injustice, Jeanette Winterson writes about the battles remaining to be fought. Suffragettes believed that a woman who could vote was a woman who could change how society operated. That hasn't happened; instead, women have become adapters to the environment, says Winterson, adding "There are a billion illiterate people in the world; two-thirds are women." http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2013/mar/29/jeanette-winterson-suffragettes-manchester-art

Emma Brockes says that Julian Barnes' new book Levels of Life is part essay, part short story, part memoir but, above all, it's a love story dedicated to–and about–Pat Kavanagh, his wife, who died in 2008. As Pat was an intensely private person, Barnes, in the section describing his own grief, never uses her name.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/30/julian-barnes-sense-of-another-ending

The Geist Spring Workshop Series is back! Same great writing environment with some new classes and instructors. The workshops are:The Creative Blender with Elee Kraljii Gardiner; From Diary to Graphic Narrative with Sarah Leavitt; Getting It Into Print with Billeh Nickerson; Writing from Life with Jane Silcott. More information here:
http://www.geistnewsletter.com/ws-spring-workshops-2013.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

The US military in Guantánamo Bay called Ahmed Errachidi "The General": in London, he was a cook. His journey from one role to the other is fascinating; a man trying to support his family, not a terrorist. Still, he spent more than five years in Guantánamo Bay. Gillian Slovo introduces Extract from The General: The Ordinary Man Who Challenged Guantánamo by Ahmed Errachidi.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/28/ahmed-errachidi-guantanamo-bay-general

Bosnian-American writer Aleksandar Hemon's The Book of Lives is best described as a memoir in essays—short, episodic essays, none longer than 15 pages. As the book goes on, you feel them connecting in loose ways—small bits of a life, spoonfuls from a larger bowl, writes Steven Galloway. Hemon's strange and wonderful book altered the fabric of my life, says Galloway.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/alexsandar-hemon-reinvents-the-memoir-and-makes-good-borscht/article10177515/?cmpid=rss1

Mohsin Hamid's novel How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia follows the rise and fall of a wheeler-dealer, set in Pakistan in a "megalopolis" that resembles Hamid's home town, Lahore. While they are often portrayed as unscrupulous or grotesque, Hamid asks us to consider that the new breed of entrepreneurs might be rational, honourable people responding as best they can to their environment.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/28/how-get-filthy-hamid-review?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2

Tanis Rideout's Above All Things is loosely based on George Mallory's 1924 expedition to Mount Everest, his third time to the mountain, determined to succeed this time.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Novel+provides+peak+experience/8166238/story.html

Riddley Walker rivals the Passion as the perfect Easter story, says Sarah Ditum. Russell Hoban's 1980 dystopian classic is melodramatic and unique, and suggests there is more to human beings than being human. That intimation of the something beyond is my favourite thing about Riddley Walker, says Ditum.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/01/riddley-walker-passion-easter-story

While the title story of Theodora Armstrong's Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility centres on a Kamloops-based air traffic controller's notion of perfect flying conditions, that title's seductive vision of the life of ideal ease, clarity and comfort-smooth sailing, in other words-pervades the entire collection, writes Brett Josef Grubisic.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Short+stories+explore+tumults+youth/8173220/story.html#ixzz2PEsh0Juo

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks by Jeanne Theoharis is a "richly informative, calmly passionate and much needed portrait of a working-class activist who looked poverty and discrimination squarely in the face and never stopped rebelling against them," says The New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/31/books/review/the-rebellious-life-of-mrs-rosa-parks-by-jeanne-theoharis.html?nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130329&_r=0

William Sutcliffe tells Alison Flood why The Wall—his first novel for young adults—is about the Israeli occupation. The crossover novel is set in a city split in two by a vast wall. On one side live the privileged. On the other, live the desperate, the occupied., "The story of our era is the divide between the haves and the have-nots", says Sutcliffe.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/mar/30/review-the-wall-william-sutcliffe

COMMUNITY EVENTS

HULLABALOO SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL
A youth poetry festival featuring 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, Amy Everhart and Ted-X featured poet Truth Is. April 3-6, 2013. Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews. Complete details at youthslam.ca.

SOME POETRY, SOME PROSE ATLANTIC TO PACIFIC
Carole Glasser Langille (Church of The Exquisite Panic:The Ophelia Poems, Kate Braid (Journeywoman: Swinging A Hammer In A Man's World), and Sandy Shreve (Level Crossing) read from their works. Thursday, April 4 at 7:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive. More information at 604-253-6442 or www.peoplescoopbookstore.com.

VERSES FESTIVAL OF WORDS
3rd annual Multimedia festival devoted to the spoken word features musicians, storytellers, artists, and poets from across Canada competing to become the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Champion. April 8-13, 2013. Complete details at versesfestival.ca.

JULIA LIN
Book launch and reading of the author's newest book, Miah. Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00pm, free. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library, 100-7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond. More information at yourlibrary.ca.

BOOKTOPIA
West Vancouver Children's Literature Festival, is an annual festival intended to promote literacy, celebrate language arts and cultivate creative thought amongst youth and families. Features Sarah Ellis, Barbara Reid, and Shane Koyczan. Registration begins April 9. For complete details, visit booktopia.ca.

MYSTERIES ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY
Meet the person behind the series about the classroom pet that so many children adore. Tuesday, April 9 at 7:00pm at West Point Grey United Church (4595 8th Ave. W.). Also, Wednesday, April 10 at 4:00pm at Lynn Valley Branch, NVDL (1277 Lynn Valley Road). Details and ticket purchase at kidsbooks.ca.

BC BOOK PRIZES SOIREE 2013
Celebrates all the nominated authors for the 2013 BC Book Prizes as well as the recipient of the 2013 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, who will be announced at the Soirée. Wednesday, April 10 at 6:00pm, free. Joe's Apartment, 919 Granville Street, Vancouver. More information at bcbookprizes.ca.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Ontario playwright and poet Penn Kemp and short story writer and poet Alex Leslie. Wednesday, April 10 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at pandorascollective.com.

TALONBOOKS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Talonbooks is launching its Spring poetry collection. Featuring readings by Dina Del Bucchia, Wanda John-Kehewin, Mariner Janes, Stephen Collis and Daphne Marlatt. Wednesday, April 10 at 8:00pm. Anza Club, 3 W. 8th Ave. More information at talonbooks.com.

LITFEST
The 3rd Annual LitFest New West celebrates the literary arts at New Westminster Public Library and Douglas Collage. April 11-13, 2013. More information at artscouncilnewwest.org.

ALIVE AT THE CENTRE ANTHOLOGY LAUNCH
Celebrate the Vancouver launch of Alive at the Centre: An Anthology of Poems from the Pacific NorthWest. The anthology includes poems from three cities: Vancouver, Portland, and Seattle. Poet Laureate Evelyn Lau will open the night and the host is Rob Taylor. Friday, April 12 at 7:00pm, free. Rhizome Cafe (317 E. Broadway).

FORCE FIELD
Force Field - 77 Women Poets of British Columbia. The first of its kind in thirty-four years, this anthology strongly celebrates women poets, from the emerging, mid-career to the established. Saturday, April 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at www.vpl.ca.

Upcoming

EVENT'S 2013 NON-FICTION CONTEST
Writers are invited to submit manuscripts exploring the creative non-fiction form. $1500 in prizes available, plus publication. Contest judge Russell Wangersky. Maximum entry length is 5000 words. $34.95 entry fee. April 15, 2013, deadline. Entrants will receive a one-year subscription to EVENT (or extension). Complete contest guidelines can be found at eventmags.com.

NORTH SHORE WRITERS ASSOCIATION
Celebrate National Poetry Month with guest poet/speaker Daniela Elza, author of milk tooth bane bone. Monday, April 15 at 7:00pm. Members free, non-members $5. Potlatch Room, Capilano District Library, 3045 Highland Blvd., North Vancouver. More information at nswiters.org.

JENNIFER NIELSEN
Reading by the author of The False Prince and its sequel The Runaway Frog. Monday, April 15 at 7:00pm at Kidsbooks South Surrey (960 15033-32nd St., Surrey). Also, Tuesday, April 16 at 7:00pm at West Point Grey United Church (4595 8th Ave. W.). Details and ticket purchase at kidsbooks.ca.

LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Readings by Betsy Warland and Mercedes Eng. Wednesday, April 17 at 12 noon, free.Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings. More information at sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS SHORTLIST
BC members of Crime Writers of Canada will present a lively panel discussion about Canadian crime writing, followed by announcement of nominees for this years Arthur Ellis Awards. Thursday, April 18 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at www.vpl.ca.

NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
A celebration of Canadian writers featuring Helen Humphreys, Terry Fallis, Evelyn Lau, Sean Cranbury and others. April 19-20, 2013. Lynn Valley branch, North Vancouver District Public Library, 1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver. Complete details at northshorewritersfestival.com.

FAN EXPO VANCOUVER
Second annual comicon featuring comic, anime, science fiction, horror and gaming. Authors scheduled to appear include Hiromi Goto, A.M. Dellamonica, Eileen Kernaghan and many more. April 20-21, 2013. Complete details at fanexpovancouver.com.

POEMS FROM PLANET EARTH
Vancouver launch of Poems from Planet Earth anthology with readings by contributors. Saturday, April 20 at 2:00pm. Suggested donation: $5. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W., Vancouver.

BOOK LAUNCH
Penticton writer Michelle Barker launches her debut Young Adult fantasy novel "The Beggar King" (Thistledown Press, 2013). Tuesday, April 23 at 6:30pm. The Establishment (3162 West Broadway).

JOHN VAILLANT
An evening of literary discussion, commentary, and slides as John discusses the history, ecology, and political intrigue behind his most recent work The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival. Wednesday, April 24 at 7:00pm, free. Chilliwack Library, 45860 First Avenue, Chilliwack. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.

SUSAN JUBY
Reading by the best-selling author of the internationally popular Alice MacLeod books. Wednesday, April 24 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.

IAN WEIR
Reading by the author of Daniel O'Thunder from his new novel The Resurrection Man. Thursday, April 25 at 7:00pm, free. Clearbrook Library, 32320 George Ferguson Way, Abbotsford. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features YA novelist James McCann and Writers in the Making from Eric Hamber. Thursday, April 25 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at pandorascollective.com.

RACHEL HARTMAN
Reading by the author of Seraphina, followed by short musical examples and light refreshments. Saturday, April 27 at 2:00pm, free but register by calling 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at bpl.bc.ca.