BOOK NEWS
Just announced! - Stickboy: From Page To Stage
Join us for an enlightening conversation about the process of transforming Stickboy, a book by world-renowned spoken word artist Shane Koyczan, into a contemporary opera. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/stickboy.
Tuesday, October 7 at 7:30pm
Frederic Wood Theatre, UBC
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12580&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/stickboy) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Just Announced! - Conrad Black
From the acclaimed biographer and historian Conrad Black comes Rise to Greatness, a major new reexamination of the history of Canada—a revealing, groundbreaking account of the people and events that shaped a nation. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12599&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, The Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Join in a group re-read of the first nine books of Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series to prepare for the release of the latest book, The Long Way Home, http://gamacheseries.com/.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
FESTIVAL
The 32nd annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts runs from August 14-17, 2014. The festival features established literary stars and exciting, new voices including Angie Abdou, Steven Galloway, Linda Holeman, Heather O'Neill and Miriam Toews and a finale event with spoken word artists Jillian Christmas, Zaccheus Jackson and Brendan McLeod. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
Last week, the longlist (containing American authors for the first time) for the Man Booker Prize was released...which means that it's now also time to vote for the shortlist for the more democratic "Not the Booker prize!" Several Canadians, including Joseph Boyden and Lisa Moore, are in contention.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/28/not-the-booker-prize-vote-shortlist
To Kill a Mockingbird has topped a vote for the "most life-changing" books written by women. "The selection of 20 titles was voted for by the public after the Baileys women's prize for fiction launched a campaign to find the novels, by women, 'that have most impacted, shaped or changed readers' lives.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/29/to-kill-a-mockingbird-life-changing-women-harper-lee
The winners of the 2014 PEN Literary Awards have been announced. "The winners of the more than a dozen awards that were announced include poet Frank Bidart, playwright David Rabe and essayist James Wolcott."
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-pen-2014-literary-award-winners-20140730-story.html
YOUNG READERS
Lydia Davis has modernized obscure dialects in a new edition of the 1898 children's book, Bob, Son of Battle. The project arose out of Davis' concern that the novel, which has been described as "probably the greatest dog story ever written," was disappearing from reading lists.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/63429-lydia-davis-modernizes-bob-son-of-battle.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Vancouver is looking for its next Poet Laureate. "The People's poet," as the position is known, is an honourary position that begins in October 2014, and lasts for two to three years. Nominations are open until August 27.
http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/vancouver-looks-for-its-next-poet-laureate.aspx
Do you have Canadian novels pegged? Here's a list of "every Canadian novel ever", which includes such titles as Will the Cod Return, Or Must We Move to Toronto? and The Next Three Chapters Are Set in the 1830s Bush For No Reason But Then We'll Be Back to This 1970s University Women's Studies Department.
http://the-toast.net/2014/07/22/every-canadian-novel-ever/
A concerning trend has arising in the world of book selling (and book giving). Nine million fewer books were given as gifts in 2013.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10996661/Publishing-industry-blow-as-nine-million-fewer-books-given-as-gifts-in-2013.html
What do Stephen Colbert, Lena Dunham and James Franco have in common? Besides the fact that they're famous, they have all been responsible in recent years for the promotion of books, including those of the more serious variety. Welcome to the era of celebrity booksellers!
http://flavorwire.com/469640/stephen-colbert-lena-dunham-yes-even-james-franco-and-the-era-of-celebrity-as-bookseller
On that note, Jack White, the lauded musician, has launched a book publishing company called Third Man Books. Their first title will be a poetry collection with a musical twist. Besides the book, the release will include five broadsides of poems intended for framing and two vinyl records.
http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/jack-white-is-getting-into-the-book-business_b88399
According to book cover designer Peter Mendelsund, "dead authors get the best book jackets," since the living ones can often be so demanding. Now he's become his own worst nightmare: he's started writing a book. Here's the story of the creative art of selling a book by its cover.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/books/peter-mendelsund-book-designer-debuts-as-a-writer.html
Three early JD Salinger stories have been published after being out of print for seventy years. The Young Folks, Go See Eddie and Once a Week Won't Kill You were all allowed to be published after an indie imprint discovered that the rights were still available.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/28/jd-salinger-stories-published-70-years-out-of-print
BOOKS & WRITERS
Alexi Zentner's novel, The Lobster Kings, was written with the purpose to "engage in conversation with King Lear. I like to say that all literature is in conversation with all of the literature that came before it. Rather than just parroting Shakespeare, I was hoping to advance the discussion."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2014/07/25/last-word-alexi-zentner-on-the-summer-of-shakespeare/
A folktale from Haruki Murakami's new novel, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, has been published in this week's Slate Book Review. Check it out here:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/07/haruki_murakami_excerpt_from_colorless_tsukuru_tazaki_and_his_years_of_pilgrimage.html
Or, if you prefer, here's an interactive introduction to Murakami's new novel. It's called Tsukuru Tazaki's puzzle. Turn your sound up!
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/07/haruki_murakami_novel_colorless_tsukuru_tazaki_an_interactive_puzzle.html
In Austin Clarke's latest collection of short fiction, They Never Told Me and Other Stories, the author "presents a vision of Canada as a country more preoccupied with the appearance of multicultural enlightenment than with its actual practice." Clarke's vision comes from his own experience as an immigrant from Barbados.
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/not-quite-home/
R.H. Slansky's winning entry in the 2013 International 3-Day Novel-Writing Contest is about to be published as a novella by Anvil Press. Called Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer by Zara Zalinzi, you can read an excerpt, here:
http://www.geist.com/fiction/confessions-of-a-circus-performer
Mark Ford is a "reticent poet. He musters a book a decade. So far there have been three, each better than the previous." His newest collection, Selected Poems, contains both old and new work, and illustrates his "stethoscopic ear for the sounds disappointment can squeeze from a human heart."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/30/books/selected-poems-by-mark-ford-covers-a-career.html
Emily Abendroth's new book of poetry, ]exclosures[, tackles "prison work, political poetry and research in creative writing." She's interviewed by the Rumpus poetry book club, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/07/the-rumpus-poetry-book-club-chat-with-emily-abendroth/
Samantha Irby is the "rare comedian who touches you deeply as she cracks you up with straight talk about everything from her middle-aged thumb-sucking and Crohn's disease (how very much it makes sex and dating suck) to condescending white people and her dead parents." Her debut book is called Meaty.
http://therumpus.net/2014/07/conversations-with-writers-braver-than-me-17-samantha-irby/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
GRAEME TRUELOVE
Reading by 2014 Roderick Haig-Brown Regional finalist with his book Svend Robinson: A Life in Politics. Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St. More information and additional dates can be found here, www.bcbookprizes.ca/news/article/graeme-truelove-west-coast-book-tour/.
SHISHOSETSU LITERARY READINGS
The Shishosetsu (also known as Watakushi Shosetusu or I-novel) emerged in the early part of the 20th century in Japan. The genre is distinguished by self-revealing narrative with the author as the central character, allowing for the author to enter their narrative on an intimate level. Featuring Leanne Dunic, Lydia Kwa, Marie Mutsuki Mockett, and Sally Ito. Sunday, August 3 at 1:30pm. Firehall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova, Vancouver. More information at powellstreetfestival.com.
POETRY IN THE PARK
This week's featured poets are Fran Bourassa, Franci Louann and Bonnie Nish with host, Kyle McKillop. Wednesday, August 6 at 6:30pm. Queens Park Band Shell, New Westminster. More information at rclas.com/poetry-park.
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
BC CRIME FICTION
Crime writers E.R. Brown, Sam Wiebe, and R.J. Harlick discuss how B.C.'s dark side plays into their most recent novels. Saturday, August 16 at 2:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
DEBORAH HARKNESS
Author presents the finale to her trilogy with the last book, The Book of Life. Monday, August 18 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby. More information at 604-431-0463.
Upcoming
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Author Sam Wiebe launches his latest book Last of the Independents. Tuesday, September 2 at 7:00pm. Shebeen Whiskey House, 212 Carrall Street, Vancouver.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
DOUBLE ENTENDRE
An evening of fiction and poetry with Ann Eriksson reading from her new novel, High Clear Bell of Morning, and Gary Geddes reading selected poems from,"What Does a House Want? Monday, September 8 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poet's work. Sunday, September 14 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
BIRTH OF A RARE BOOK
Christopher Levenson, poet and author, will present with Peter Braun, Master Printer of New Leaf Editions, and Sigrid Albert, graphic artist, a discussion about the genesis of producing a rare book of poetry and etchings. Sunday, September 21 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
VANCOUVER IS ASHES
Vancouver Is Ashes is the first detailed exploration of a landmark, yet seldom revisited event in Vancouver's history. Lisa Anne Smith uses eye-witness accounts to investigate events of that pivotal day. Monday, September 22 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
WORD VANCOUVER
Festival promoting books and authors with free exhibits, performances, and hands-on activities for a wide range of ages and interests. September 24-28, 2014. Complete details at wordvancouver.ca.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 21
BOOK NEWS
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
FESTIVAL
The 32nd annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts runs from August 14-17, 2014. The festival features established literary stars and exciting, new voices including Angie Abdou, Steven Galloway, Linda Holeman, Heather O’Neill and Miriam Toews and a finale event with spoken word artists Jillian Christmas, Zaccheus Jackson and Brendan McLeod. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The longlist for the 2014 Man Booker Prize has been announced.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/no-canadians-in-the-running-for-2014-man-booker-prize-1.2715294
Okwiri Oduor, a young Kenyan writer, has won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story entitled My Father's Head. The £10,000 Caine Prize is Africa's leading literary award.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/bm/wn/newsworld.php?id=1053915
Predictions are already in for the 2014 Man Booker longlist! Here's The Guardian's take:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/22/man-booker-prize-2014-contention
YOUNG READERS
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Thickety by J.A. White, and A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn, are three young adult novels reviewed in this week's Globe and Mail. Find out why they're "worth a read," here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/three-young-adult-fiction-books-worth-a-read/article19675381/
And if you're an adult who's been actively following the debate over the "worth" of reading YA fiction (if you're no longer YA yourself), then this piece might be of interest to you: the adult lessons of YA, and why "stories about growth, change, and epiphanies resonate in a different way when you're older."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/the-adult-lessons-of-ya-fiction/372417/
NEWS & FEATURES
Does poetry matter? Can poetry be more relevant? The answer seems to be yes...and no...at least according to American poet David Biespiel!
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/18/does-poetry-matter/poems-hold-the-mysteries-of-the-present-dreams-of-the-future
Never mind worth. Never mind relevance. Is poetry even popular? Irish poet (and 2013 Writers fest author) Paul Muldoon joins the conversation, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/18/does-poetry-matter/is-poetry-popular-whos-counting
It's Ernest Hemingway's 115th birthday! To celebrate, the Huffington Post has created a pretty wonderful GIF that features, unsurprisingly, an old man and the sea! Check it out here:
https://twitter.com/HuffPostBooks/status/491279511976042497/photo/1
What does it mean to be addicted to reading? Zadie Smith has written an ode to "bibliomania, a happy disorder nicely accommodated by this forgiving time of year."
http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Author-Zadie-Smith-What-to-Read-This-Summer
For those of you who share Zadie Smith's affliction, here's some great news: the New Yorker's fiction section has become more accessible! The magazine has unlocked (lifted it paywall on) all stories published since 2007. Here are 25 of the best:
http://longform.org/posts/our-25-favorite-unlocked-new-yorker-articles
What's the place of race in writing workshops? Matthew Salesses discusses Junot Diaz's 'MFA vs. POC,' and his own reactions to topics of race in the classroom.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/20/313158511/salesses-writers-workshop-diversity?ft=1&f=1032
Here's an infographic worth checking out: the lengths of famous novels, poems and plays from literary history, organized, systematized, categorized and depicted artistically. How do epic poems ranks? What about stories that can be read in fewer than five minutes?
http://electricliterature.com/infographic-word-counts-of-famous-books/
If you prefer shorter-length reading, then this story about Twitter might be right up your alley. "From #readwomen2014 to #WeNeedDiverseBooks, hashtags are helping to build community in the literary world". Here are the best literary hashtags on Twitter:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/19/the_best_literary_hashtags_on_twitter/
Speaking of all things digital, Amazon has launched an unlimited e-book service, which it hopes will "encourage readers to obsessively devour books by best-selling authors such as Michael Lewis and Suzanne Collins the way Netflix Inc. users binge-watch House of Cardsand Orange is the New Black."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/amazon-launches-unlimited-e-book-service/article19680674/
What makes a great book cover? It's been a popular topic of discussion lately, but this might be the most thorough dissemination (and collection of covers) yet!
http://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2014/07/17/books-on-book-covers/
What is "kidspeak" and why should we take it more seriously? In this piece, Adam Gopnik discusses the mysterious language of twelve-to fourteen-year-olds.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/conscientiousness-kidspeak
As one-hundredth anniversary commemorations continue for the First World War, it's always important to remember the place of literature in that conflict. Here are Katherine Ashenburg's reasons "why literature written out of the First World War is some of the last century's finest writing."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-literature-written-out-of-the-first-world-war-is-some-of-the-last-centurys-finest-writing/article19674494/
"So many worthy titles never get a chance to find an audience. What's a conscientious reader to do?" Learn how shelving can save a book's life, here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/how-shelving-can-save-the-life-of-a-book/373164/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Despite the rain we've had these last few days, it looks like beach weather is set to return very soon. Here are five must-read beach novels for your next vacation (mini reviews included). Unsurprisingly, one of them is called The Vacationers!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/18/best-beach-reads-new-books_n_5568424.html
And the lists continue! Here are the 10 best books of the year (so far), as voted by readers of The Guardian newspaper. Reader reviews are included!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/21/the-10-best-books-of-the-year-so-far1?CMP=twt_gu
Last Meal at Whole Foods is the name of Saïd Sayrafiezadeh's story in this week's New Yorker. No, it's not a goodbye to health food. Rather, it's about saying farewell to a mother who is living her last days, and just wants a little more broccoli cake.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/28/last-meal-whole-foods
Malcolm Gladwell is also set to make (yet another) appearance in the New Yorker next week. Though the print version hasn't come out yet, you can already check it out online! This time the topic is British spy Kim Philby, and the book, A Spy Among Friends, which details his life.
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=%22A%20Spy%20Among%20Friends%22
Heather O'Neill's new novel, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, "is set in her hometown of Montreal and concerns the lives of brother and sister as they attempt to outgrow their eccentric, distinctive family name." She discusses her new novel, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/i-always-looked-for-advice-from-books-heather-oneill/article19675436/
According to William T. Vollmann, author of Last Stories and Other Stories, "writers can do anything." He works by an assassin's credo: "Nothing is true; all is permissible."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-creative-liberation-in-nothing-is-off-limits-all-is-permissible/374481/
Ashley Little's Anatomy of a Girl Gang is a novel which just might follow the same credo. In her case, however, her protagonists are not assassins, but members of a newly formed all-girl gang on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/girls-in-gangs/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
POETRY IN THE PARK
A trio of poets will be featured: Janet Kvammen, Lilija Valis and Garry Ward with host, Kyle McKillop. Wednesday July 30, 6:30pm. Queens Park Band Shell, New Westminster. More information at rclas.com/poetry-park.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
Upcoming
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
FESTIVAL
The 32nd annual Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts runs from August 14-17, 2014. The festival features established literary stars and exciting, new voices including Angie Abdou, Steven Galloway, Linda Holeman, Heather O’Neill and Miriam Toews and a finale event with spoken word artists Jillian Christmas, Zaccheus Jackson and Brendan McLeod. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The longlist for the 2014 Man Booker Prize has been announced.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/no-canadians-in-the-running-for-2014-man-booker-prize-1.2715294
Okwiri Oduor, a young Kenyan writer, has won the 2014 Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story entitled My Father's Head. The £10,000 Caine Prize is Africa's leading literary award.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/bm/wn/newsworld.php?id=1053915
Predictions are already in for the 2014 Man Booker longlist! Here's The Guardian's take:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/22/man-booker-prize-2014-contention
YOUNG READERS
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, The Thickety by J.A. White, and A Creature of Moonlight by Rebecca Hahn, are three young adult novels reviewed in this week's Globe and Mail. Find out why they're "worth a read," here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/three-young-adult-fiction-books-worth-a-read/article19675381/
And if you're an adult who's been actively following the debate over the "worth" of reading YA fiction (if you're no longer YA yourself), then this piece might be of interest to you: the adult lessons of YA, and why "stories about growth, change, and epiphanies resonate in a different way when you're older."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/06/the-adult-lessons-of-ya-fiction/372417/
NEWS & FEATURES
Does poetry matter? Can poetry be more relevant? The answer seems to be yes...and no...at least according to American poet David Biespiel!
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/18/does-poetry-matter/poems-hold-the-mysteries-of-the-present-dreams-of-the-future
Never mind worth. Never mind relevance. Is poetry even popular? Irish poet (and 2013 Writers fest author) Paul Muldoon joins the conversation, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/07/18/does-poetry-matter/is-poetry-popular-whos-counting
It's Ernest Hemingway's 115th birthday! To celebrate, the Huffington Post has created a pretty wonderful GIF that features, unsurprisingly, an old man and the sea! Check it out here:
https://twitter.com/HuffPostBooks/status/491279511976042497/photo/1
What does it mean to be addicted to reading? Zadie Smith has written an ode to "bibliomania, a happy disorder nicely accommodated by this forgiving time of year."
http://www.oprah.com/oprahsbookclub/Author-Zadie-Smith-What-to-Read-This-Summer
For those of you who share Zadie Smith's affliction, here's some great news: the New Yorker's fiction section has become more accessible! The magazine has unlocked (lifted it paywall on) all stories published since 2007. Here are 25 of the best:
http://longform.org/posts/our-25-favorite-unlocked-new-yorker-articles
What's the place of race in writing workshops? Matthew Salesses discusses Junot Diaz's 'MFA vs. POC,' and his own reactions to topics of race in the classroom.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/07/20/313158511/salesses-writers-workshop-diversity?ft=1&f=1032
Here's an infographic worth checking out: the lengths of famous novels, poems and plays from literary history, organized, systematized, categorized and depicted artistically. How do epic poems ranks? What about stories that can be read in fewer than five minutes?
http://electricliterature.com/infographic-word-counts-of-famous-books/
If you prefer shorter-length reading, then this story about Twitter might be right up your alley. "From #readwomen2014 to #WeNeedDiverseBooks, hashtags are helping to build community in the literary world". Here are the best literary hashtags on Twitter:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/19/the_best_literary_hashtags_on_twitter/
Speaking of all things digital, Amazon has launched an unlimited e-book service, which it hopes will "encourage readers to obsessively devour books by best-selling authors such as Michael Lewis and Suzanne Collins the way Netflix Inc. users binge-watch House of Cardsand Orange is the New Black."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/amazon-launches-unlimited-e-book-service/article19680674/
What makes a great book cover? It's been a popular topic of discussion lately, but this might be the most thorough dissemination (and collection of covers) yet!
http://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2014/07/17/books-on-book-covers/
What is "kidspeak" and why should we take it more seriously? In this piece, Adam Gopnik discusses the mysterious language of twelve-to fourteen-year-olds.
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/conscientiousness-kidspeak
As one-hundredth anniversary commemorations continue for the First World War, it's always important to remember the place of literature in that conflict. Here are Katherine Ashenburg's reasons "why literature written out of the First World War is some of the last century's finest writing."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-literature-written-out-of-the-first-world-war-is-some-of-the-last-centurys-finest-writing/article19674494/
"So many worthy titles never get a chance to find an audience. What's a conscientious reader to do?" Learn how shelving can save a book's life, here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/how-shelving-can-save-the-life-of-a-book/373164/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Despite the rain we've had these last few days, it looks like beach weather is set to return very soon. Here are five must-read beach novels for your next vacation (mini reviews included). Unsurprisingly, one of them is called The Vacationers!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/18/best-beach-reads-new-books_n_5568424.html
And the lists continue! Here are the 10 best books of the year (so far), as voted by readers of The Guardian newspaper. Reader reviews are included!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/21/the-10-best-books-of-the-year-so-far1?CMP=twt_gu
Last Meal at Whole Foods is the name of Saïd Sayrafiezadeh's story in this week's New Yorker. No, it's not a goodbye to health food. Rather, it's about saying farewell to a mother who is living her last days, and just wants a little more broccoli cake.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/07/28/last-meal-whole-foods
Malcolm Gladwell is also set to make (yet another) appearance in the New Yorker next week. Though the print version hasn't come out yet, you can already check it out online! This time the topic is British spy Kim Philby, and the book, A Spy Among Friends, which details his life.
https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=%22A%20Spy%20Among%20Friends%22
Heather O'Neill's new novel, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, "is set in her hometown of Montreal and concerns the lives of brother and sister as they attempt to outgrow their eccentric, distinctive family name." She discusses her new novel, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/i-always-looked-for-advice-from-books-heather-oneill/article19675436/
According to William T. Vollmann, author of Last Stories and Other Stories, "writers can do anything." He works by an assassin's credo: "Nothing is true; all is permissible."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/the-creative-liberation-in-nothing-is-off-limits-all-is-permissible/374481/
Ashley Little's Anatomy of a Girl Gang is a novel which just might follow the same credo. In her case, however, her protagonists are not assassins, but members of a newly formed all-girl gang on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/girls-in-gangs/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
POETRY IN THE PARK
A trio of poets will be featured: Janet Kvammen, Lilija Valis and Garry Ward with host, Kyle McKillop. Wednesday July 30, 6:30pm. Queens Park Band Shell, New Westminster. More information at rclas.com/poetry-park.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at 7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
Upcoming
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 20
BOOK NEWS
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
AWARDS & LISTS
The jury for the 2014 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction has been announced. Two authors from last years Vancouver Writers Fest are on the jury: Charles Foran and Priscila Uppal!
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/07/2014-hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize-for-nonfiction-jury-announced.html
The shortlist for the CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize has been revealed. Check it out, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/finalists-for-the-2014-cbc-creative-nonfiction-prize-announced.html
YOUNG READERS
Una LaMarche's Like No Other is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. This time around, Juliet is Hasidic and Romeo is a "lanky West Indian nerd!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/books/review/like-no-other-by-una-lamarche.html
For younger children, here are three new books that feature children struggling with displacement and new surroundings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/books/review/from-there-to-here-the-good-pie-party-and-bad-bye-good-bye.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Nadine Gordimer, the great South African writer and activist, has died. Though she did not originally choose apartheid as her subject, "she found it impossible to dig deeply into South African life without striking repression. And once the Afrikaner nationalists came to power in 1948, the scaffolds of the apartheid system began to rise around her and could not be ignored."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/books/nadine-gordimer-novelist-and-apartheid-foe-dies-at-90.html
In happier news, it's Wole Soyinka's 80th birthday! The author of two novels, dozens of plays, eight books of poetry and a handful of memoirs, he was also the first African to win the Nobel Prize. Check out this link for some wonderful video interviews and readings featuring the Nigerian poet!
http://www.blogcitylights.com/2014/07/14/poetry-on-a-monday-wole-soyinka-turns-80/
Is grammar overrated? Stephen Fry thinks so! In this kinetic type video, he and lexicographic researcher Ammon Shea make the argument that "relaxed usage isn't stupider, and actually has the potential to be literally impactful."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/07/is-grammar-overrated.html
S. Bear Bergman, an author and activist who appears occasionally onstage with Ivan Coyote, is launching a children's bookclub that aims to tackle LGBTQ themes. Called the "Flamingo Rampant Book Club," there is a campaign underway to raise money for the club (which will go towards paying writers, artists, graphic designers and more.)
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2014/07/14/activist-and-author-s-bear-bergman-launches-kickstarter-to-fund-lgbtq-themed-childrens-book-club/
As advances are being made in the realm of LGBTQ children's literature, there's still a stark truth out there: school libraries are suffering all round. Scores of authors in the UK, including children's laureate Malorie Blackman and former poet laureate Andrew Motion, are pressing the government to take urgent action.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/15/authors-lobby-government-school-libraries-malorie-blackman
And if the libraries shut down, well...there's always Dungeons and Dragons! According to Junot Díaz, "for nerds like us, D&D hit like an extra horizon." The game functioned as "a sort of storytelling apprenticeship." Díaz, Sherman Alexie, Stephen Colbert, George R.R. Martin and Cory Doctorow are just some of many authors who were influenced by the role-playing game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/books/dungeons-dragons-has-influenced-a-generation-of-writers.html
Who's sitting next to you on public transit? If you live in New York, chances are that they might be a 'zine' maker! A zine-making event, called the MTA Zine Residency, has taken over the New York subway and ferry system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/arts/design/zine-makers-grab-their-metrocards-and-go-to-work.html
Have you ever had a literary hangover? Here's a chance to "share your rude awakening from fictional reveries" after a heavy bout of reading, and the worst mornings after the book before!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/15/literary-hangovers-fictional-reading
Or if sports are more your thing, perhaps you'll enjoy reading about these World Cup squads, as imagined by readers of The Guardian, formed out of their favourite writers! Would you support a team that has Albert Camus has its goalie and Will Self at centre forward?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/11/the-literary-world-cup-readers-best-all-time-teams
Is resistance to Amazon futile in the publishing world? This is the question that The New York Times is asking, in relation to the Hachette-Amazon struggle that's been all over the news these past weeks. According to the Times, Amazon is a "friendly giant as long as it's fed!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/technology/amazon-a-friendly-giant-as-long-as-its-fed.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Nadine Gordimer's career lasted more than six decades. Here are some of its highlights: five must-read books.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/15/nadine-gordimer-five-must-read-books-nobel-laureate-death-90
In Catherine Lacey's moving first novel, Nobody Is Ever Missing, a woman buys herself a ticket from New York to New Zealand and vanishes without a word to anyone, including her husband. There, she lives "out of a backpack, sleep in sheds, and beg rides from strangers" so that she might become a "human non sequitur—senseless and misplaced."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/07/catherine_lacey_s_nobody_is_ever_missing_reviewed.html
Emily Gould's novel, Friendship, has caused quite a storm...not so much because of the novel's qualities, but rather, its author's past. She discusses the novel, its characters, her work at Gawker, social media backlash, and what makes a good 'internet writer,' here:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/14/bring_it_sad_sick_dudes_emily_gould_isnt_sorry_about_anything/
Second Time Around may be the name of Patricia Webb's 2014 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize-nominated work (she's a finalist in the competition), but it's also, quite literally, a second coming. After being long-listed for the CBC Poetry Prize In 1998, she disappeared from the writing community entirely.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/patricia-webb-2014-cbc-creative-nonfiction-finalist.html
Jennifer Clark is another finalist for CBC's Creative Nonfiction Prize. She's interviewed about "what she learned from her stint as a shepherd and the person she's written thousands of stories for," here.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/jennifer-clark-cbc-creative-nonfiction-finalist.html
The CBC has also produced a list of the "100 novels that make you proud to be Canadian." How many have you read? You can see the list, and take a quiz, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/books100.html
David Mitchell is writing a short story on Twitter. Called The Right Sort, it is the tale of a boy and his mother's valium pills.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/14/the-right-sort-david-mitchells-twitter-short-story
COMMUNITY EVENTS
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Dennis E. Bolen and Renee Saklikar with open mic. Thursday, July 24 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for
open mic at 7pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
Upcoming
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
32nd annual festival featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices. August 14-17, 2014. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
AWARDS & LISTS
The jury for the 2014 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction has been announced. Two authors from last years Vancouver Writers Fest are on the jury: Charles Foran and Priscila Uppal!
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/07/2014-hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize-for-nonfiction-jury-announced.html
The shortlist for the CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize has been revealed. Check it out, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/finalists-for-the-2014-cbc-creative-nonfiction-prize-announced.html
YOUNG READERS
Una LaMarche's Like No Other is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. This time around, Juliet is Hasidic and Romeo is a "lanky West Indian nerd!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/books/review/like-no-other-by-una-lamarche.html
For younger children, here are three new books that feature children struggling with displacement and new surroundings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/books/review/from-there-to-here-the-good-pie-party-and-bad-bye-good-bye.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Nadine Gordimer, the great South African writer and activist, has died. Though she did not originally choose apartheid as her subject, "she found it impossible to dig deeply into South African life without striking repression. And once the Afrikaner nationalists came to power in 1948, the scaffolds of the apartheid system began to rise around her and could not be ignored."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/15/books/nadine-gordimer-novelist-and-apartheid-foe-dies-at-90.html
In happier news, it's Wole Soyinka's 80th birthday! The author of two novels, dozens of plays, eight books of poetry and a handful of memoirs, he was also the first African to win the Nobel Prize. Check out this link for some wonderful video interviews and readings featuring the Nigerian poet!
http://www.blogcitylights.com/2014/07/14/poetry-on-a-monday-wole-soyinka-turns-80/
Is grammar overrated? Stephen Fry thinks so! In this kinetic type video, he and lexicographic researcher Ammon Shea make the argument that "relaxed usage isn't stupider, and actually has the potential to be literally impactful."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/07/is-grammar-overrated.html
S. Bear Bergman, an author and activist who appears occasionally onstage with Ivan Coyote, is launching a children's bookclub that aims to tackle LGBTQ themes. Called the "Flamingo Rampant Book Club," there is a campaign underway to raise money for the club (which will go towards paying writers, artists, graphic designers and more.)
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2014/07/14/activist-and-author-s-bear-bergman-launches-kickstarter-to-fund-lgbtq-themed-childrens-book-club/
As advances are being made in the realm of LGBTQ children's literature, there's still a stark truth out there: school libraries are suffering all round. Scores of authors in the UK, including children's laureate Malorie Blackman and former poet laureate Andrew Motion, are pressing the government to take urgent action.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/15/authors-lobby-government-school-libraries-malorie-blackman
And if the libraries shut down, well...there's always Dungeons and Dragons! According to Junot Díaz, "for nerds like us, D&D hit like an extra horizon." The game functioned as "a sort of storytelling apprenticeship." Díaz, Sherman Alexie, Stephen Colbert, George R.R. Martin and Cory Doctorow are just some of many authors who were influenced by the role-playing game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/books/dungeons-dragons-has-influenced-a-generation-of-writers.html
Who's sitting next to you on public transit? If you live in New York, chances are that they might be a 'zine' maker! A zine-making event, called the MTA Zine Residency, has taken over the New York subway and ferry system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/14/arts/design/zine-makers-grab-their-metrocards-and-go-to-work.html
Have you ever had a literary hangover? Here's a chance to "share your rude awakening from fictional reveries" after a heavy bout of reading, and the worst mornings after the book before!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/15/literary-hangovers-fictional-reading
Or if sports are more your thing, perhaps you'll enjoy reading about these World Cup squads, as imagined by readers of The Guardian, formed out of their favourite writers! Would you support a team that has Albert Camus has its goalie and Will Self at centre forward?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jul/11/the-literary-world-cup-readers-best-all-time-teams
Is resistance to Amazon futile in the publishing world? This is the question that The New York Times is asking, in relation to the Hachette-Amazon struggle that's been all over the news these past weeks. According to the Times, Amazon is a "friendly giant as long as it's fed!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/13/technology/amazon-a-friendly-giant-as-long-as-its-fed.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Nadine Gordimer's career lasted more than six decades. Here are some of its highlights: five must-read books.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/15/nadine-gordimer-five-must-read-books-nobel-laureate-death-90
In Catherine Lacey's moving first novel, Nobody Is Ever Missing, a woman buys herself a ticket from New York to New Zealand and vanishes without a word to anyone, including her husband. There, she lives "out of a backpack, sleep in sheds, and beg rides from strangers" so that she might become a "human non sequitur—senseless and misplaced."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/07/catherine_lacey_s_nobody_is_ever_missing_reviewed.html
Emily Gould's novel, Friendship, has caused quite a storm...not so much because of the novel's qualities, but rather, its author's past. She discusses the novel, its characters, her work at Gawker, social media backlash, and what makes a good 'internet writer,' here:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/14/bring_it_sad_sick_dudes_emily_gould_isnt_sorry_about_anything/
Second Time Around may be the name of Patricia Webb's 2014 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize-nominated work (she's a finalist in the competition), but it's also, quite literally, a second coming. After being long-listed for the CBC Poetry Prize In 1998, she disappeared from the writing community entirely.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/patricia-webb-2014-cbc-creative-nonfiction-finalist.html
Jennifer Clark is another finalist for CBC's Creative Nonfiction Prize. She's interviewed about "what she learned from her stint as a shepherd and the person she's written thousands of stories for," here.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/07/jennifer-clark-cbc-creative-nonfiction-finalist.html
The CBC has also produced a list of the "100 novels that make you proud to be Canadian." How many have you read? You can see the list, and take a quiz, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/books100.html
David Mitchell is writing a short story on Twitter. Called The Right Sort, it is the tale of a boy and his mother's valium pills.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/14/the-right-sort-david-mitchells-twitter-short-story
COMMUNITY EVENTS
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Dennis E. Bolen and Renee Saklikar with open mic. Thursday, July 24 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for
open mic at 7pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
Upcoming
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
32nd annual festival featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices. August 14-17, 2014. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 19
BOOK NEWS
Just announced! - Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Just announced! - Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
AWARDS & LISTS
Three Canadians (Adam Sternbergh, Louise Penny and Will Ferguson) have made the longlist for the 2014 Dagger Awards, presented by the U.K. Crime Writers' Association. Among the nominated novels is Ferguson's Giller Prize-winning book 419.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/07/02/adam-sternbergh-louise-penny-will-ferguson-make-u-k-crime-writers-association-awards-longlists/
Fantasy fiction author Guy Gavriel Kay has been awarded the Order of Canada. Besides having written twelve novels and a book of poetry, Kay helped edit J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the posthumously published prequel to The Hobbit.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chris-hadfield-guy-gavriel-kay-rick-mercer-to-get-order-of-canada-1.2692252
YOUNG READERS
With subjects ranging from animals to outer space, and even standards of beauty, here are three new pictures books for your child. One of the titles even features illustration by two girls, aged nine and eleven.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/from-beauty-to-animals-to-outer-space-three-new-picture-books-for-your-child/article19468107/
NEWS & FEATURES
Munro's Books, the venerable Victoria retailer launched 50 years ago by Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro and her then husband, is being turned over to a team of senior employees to run.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/owner-of-munros-books-in-victoria-handing-over-shop-to-employees/article19530442/
Copian, Cananda's adult literacy database and resource entre has lost federal funding. Copian was the "nucleus of Canada's community literacy network for 25 years," and has now been forced to close.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/03/mainstay_of_canadas_literacy_movement_topples_goar.html
Reinterpretation is a constant in literature, though this may be a step too far. A group of intrepid theatre folk in England has staged what might be the most unusual King Lear to date. "Called King Lear with Sheep, it was, quite literally, a barnyard affair!"
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/07/king-lear-sheep/
Like Shakespeare, Jane Austen is frequently updated for modern audiences. But will, for instance, the twenty-three-year-old-spinster idea in Pride and Prejudice, resonate with contemporary readers?
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/if-pride-and-prejudice-took-place-today-jane-would-have-to-be-40/373874/
Prejudice isn't just about age, of course. Despite our aspirations, it's an unfortunate truth that racism in the publishing industry is still "often quite blatant." In this interview, novelists Bernice McFadden and Lauren Francis-Sharma talk race, publishing, writing, motherhood and more.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/01/bernice_mcfadden_racism_in_publishing_is_often_quite_blatant/
Everything that's old is new again in book design. More specifically, the 70's are back. "Chip Kidd thinks Lena Dunham's book cover could use an upgrade. But she's not alone in reviving 70s-style fonts!"
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118526/lena-dunhams-book-design-could-use-upgrade-says-chip-kidd
What does it mean to cry over a book? In a recent debate over the role of young adult fiction, Ruth Graham recently argued that "I'm a reader who did not weep. Does this make me heartless? Or does it make me a grown-up?"
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/07/crying-while-reading-through-the-centuries.html
A new edition of The Sun Also Rises is being released with an alternate opening. The reissue features the book's original first chapter, as well as several photographs. On one of the photos "Hemingway added in pencil, as an epigraph, Gertrude Stein's quotation 'You are all a lost generation.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/books/hemingways-novel-is-reissued-with-original-first-chapter.html
Speaking of books with a history, in 1851, The London Atlas stated: "We really do believe that Melville knows more about whales than any man from Jonah down." Learn more about the real life inspirations behind Moby-Dick, here:
http://airshipdaily.com/blog/07012014-moby-dick-real-life-inspiration
BOOKS & WRITERS
Now that we're halfway through the year, Slate has released its list of "mid-year musts." Four must-read books are featured, with topics ranging from James Joyce's Ulysses, to the role of alcohol in the lives of great American writers.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/03/mid_year_musts_the_best_of_2014_%E2%80%93_so_far/
If you're looking for something a little closer to home, here's the CBC list of the top ten indigenous books for summer reading. All the books are new releases by aboriginal authors, featuring fiction, science, politics and romance.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/10-top-indigenous-books-for-your-summer-reading-list-1.2695671
It's easy to decry technology, but this iPad app might just change your mind on the matter. Called The Seamus Heaney: Five Fables, the app features five "beautiful, homespun" Heaney translations of poems by the 15th century Scot Robert Henryson. The app also features interviews with Heaney about his first encounter with the medieval tales, discussions with experts, and charming BBC animation.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/03/seamus_heaney_fives_fables_app_is_the_most_charming_thing_on_my_ipad.html
In this month's New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Rebecca Curtis reads Leonard Michaels' The Penultimate Conjecture. You can hear Curtis read the story, and discuss it with Deborah Treisman, the magazine's fiction editor, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/07/fiction-podcast-rebecca-curtis-reads-leonard-michaels.html
Back on our side of the border, The Walrus is featuring Mark Callanan's poem Part of the Main as part of its summer reading series.
http://thewalrus.ca/part-of-the-main/
Debra Dean's career began onstage, but now it has moved to the page. She discusses the thin line between fiction and autobiography and how she became a writer, in an interview with The Rumpus, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/07/the-rumpus-interview-with-debra-dean/
"Financial concerns for a writer will never go away—so the key is to decide how you define success." Or at least so claims Ted Thompson, who recently sold his debut novel for $25,000. Here's the debut novelist's experiment in radical honesty:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/03/i_sold_my_book_for_25000_a_debut_novelists_experiment_with_radical_honesty/
Is all confessional writing self indulgent? Leslie Jamison doesn't think so. When her book of essays, The Empathy Exams, came out, she was "inundated with notes from strangers longing to share their stories in return."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/05/leslie-jamison-empathy-exams-confessional-writing-not-self-indulgent
North Vancouver-raised writer Emily Donaldson's new book, The Slender Margin, is a "fluidly ranging miscellany of facts, poetry, history, mythology and memoir." The book explores the infant death of her brother, and the interconnections between death, language and art.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/in-the-slender-margin-an-unflinching-embrace-of-deaths-reality-and-persistent-mystery/article19365767/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
BE NOBODY
Three Jewels Vancouver presents a book signing and public talk with Be Nobody author Lama Marut. Friday, July 11 at 6:30pm. Banyen Books and Sound, 3608 W. 4th Ave.
BOOKS ON THE RADIO
Readings by Zsuzsi Gartner, Chris Walter, Nathaniel G. Moore, Rachel Rose, Buck Buchwald, and Britt Huddart. Friday, July 11, doors at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Epic Sculpture Studio, 1670 Franklin, Vancouver. More information at booksontheradio.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
Candice James and Manolis launch new books Purple Haze and Autumn Leaves. Saturday, July 12 at 1:30pm. New Westminster Arts Council Gallery, Queens Park, New Westminster.
THE ADIRONDACK HAYSTACK
Book reading of recently released collection of short fiction from Regina author Nic Olson. Music by Son Howler. Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm, free. Kokopelli Salon, 2052 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at ballsofrice.com.
AN EVENING WITH
An evening with George Bowering, Grant Buday, and Jon Paul Fiorentino at the new Book Warehouse. Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poet's work. Sunday, July 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
Note new date! C.C. Humphreys launches his new novel, Plague. Sunday, July 13 at 5:00pm. The Fringe Cafe, 3124 West Broadway. More information at 604-738-6977.
LITERARY CAFE: HARRISON FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
Features writers Andrea MacPherson, Daniela Elza, John Carroll, Rajnish Dhawan, Katie Stobbart, Michelle Rickaby, and Michelle Vandepol. Musicians: Jared Burrows, Clyde Reed, and Rob Kholer. July 14, 7:30 pm, at Memorial Hall. Tickets: $12.00 (for tickets and more information click here, harrisonfestival.com/hall_performer_14.lit_cafe.gk.
Upcoming
GETTING MESSY WITH WRITING
Daniela Elza will lead a free writing workshop. July 15, 6:30-8:30pm, at New West Public Library, 716-6th Avenue, New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or secretary@rclas.com. Sponsored by the Royal City Literary Arts Society and the Library.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Micheal Heatherington, Susan Musgrave and Steve Noyes plus open mic. Wednesday, July 16, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at pandorascollective.com.
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
32nd annual festival featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices. August 14-17, 2014. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
Just announced! - Bruce Cockburn
Legendary Canadian singer and songwriter Bruce Cockburn talks about his long-awaited memoir, Rumours of Glory.
Monday, November 10 at 7:30 pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12385&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
Just announced! - Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle, singer-songwriter and front man of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, talks about his new memoir, Where I Belong.
Thursday, November 13 at 7:30 pm
Waterfront Theatre (1412 Cartwright Street, Granville Island)
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12388&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
AWARDS & LISTS
Three Canadians (Adam Sternbergh, Louise Penny and Will Ferguson) have made the longlist for the 2014 Dagger Awards, presented by the U.K. Crime Writers' Association. Among the nominated novels is Ferguson's Giller Prize-winning book 419.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/07/02/adam-sternbergh-louise-penny-will-ferguson-make-u-k-crime-writers-association-awards-longlists/
Fantasy fiction author Guy Gavriel Kay has been awarded the Order of Canada. Besides having written twelve novels and a book of poetry, Kay helped edit J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the posthumously published prequel to The Hobbit.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chris-hadfield-guy-gavriel-kay-rick-mercer-to-get-order-of-canada-1.2692252
YOUNG READERS
With subjects ranging from animals to outer space, and even standards of beauty, here are three new pictures books for your child. One of the titles even features illustration by two girls, aged nine and eleven.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/from-beauty-to-animals-to-outer-space-three-new-picture-books-for-your-child/article19468107/
NEWS & FEATURES
Munro's Books, the venerable Victoria retailer launched 50 years ago by Nobel Prize winner Alice Munro and her then husband, is being turned over to a team of senior employees to run.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/owner-of-munros-books-in-victoria-handing-over-shop-to-employees/article19530442/
Copian, Cananda's adult literacy database and resource entre has lost federal funding. Copian was the "nucleus of Canada's community literacy network for 25 years," and has now been forced to close.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2014/07/03/mainstay_of_canadas_literacy_movement_topples_goar.html
Reinterpretation is a constant in literature, though this may be a step too far. A group of intrepid theatre folk in England has staged what might be the most unusual King Lear to date. "Called King Lear with Sheep, it was, quite literally, a barnyard affair!"
http://modernfarmer.com/2014/07/king-lear-sheep/
Like Shakespeare, Jane Austen is frequently updated for modern audiences. But will, for instance, the twenty-three-year-old-spinster idea in Pride and Prejudice, resonate with contemporary readers?
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/if-pride-and-prejudice-took-place-today-jane-would-have-to-be-40/373874/
Prejudice isn't just about age, of course. Despite our aspirations, it's an unfortunate truth that racism in the publishing industry is still "often quite blatant." In this interview, novelists Bernice McFadden and Lauren Francis-Sharma talk race, publishing, writing, motherhood and more.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/01/bernice_mcfadden_racism_in_publishing_is_often_quite_blatant/
Everything that's old is new again in book design. More specifically, the 70's are back. "Chip Kidd thinks Lena Dunham's book cover could use an upgrade. But she's not alone in reviving 70s-style fonts!"
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118526/lena-dunhams-book-design-could-use-upgrade-says-chip-kidd
What does it mean to cry over a book? In a recent debate over the role of young adult fiction, Ruth Graham recently argued that "I'm a reader who did not weep. Does this make me heartless? Or does it make me a grown-up?"
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/07/crying-while-reading-through-the-centuries.html
A new edition of The Sun Also Rises is being released with an alternate opening. The reissue features the book's original first chapter, as well as several photographs. On one of the photos "Hemingway added in pencil, as an epigraph, Gertrude Stein's quotation 'You are all a lost generation.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/books/hemingways-novel-is-reissued-with-original-first-chapter.html
Speaking of books with a history, in 1851, The London Atlas stated: "We really do believe that Melville knows more about whales than any man from Jonah down." Learn more about the real life inspirations behind Moby-Dick, here:
http://airshipdaily.com/blog/07012014-moby-dick-real-life-inspiration
BOOKS & WRITERS
Now that we're halfway through the year, Slate has released its list of "mid-year musts." Four must-read books are featured, with topics ranging from James Joyce's Ulysses, to the role of alcohol in the lives of great American writers.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/03/mid_year_musts_the_best_of_2014_%E2%80%93_so_far/
If you're looking for something a little closer to home, here's the CBC list of the top ten indigenous books for summer reading. All the books are new releases by aboriginal authors, featuring fiction, science, politics and romance.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/aboriginal/10-top-indigenous-books-for-your-summer-reading-list-1.2695671
It's easy to decry technology, but this iPad app might just change your mind on the matter. Called The Seamus Heaney: Five Fables, the app features five "beautiful, homespun" Heaney translations of poems by the 15th century Scot Robert Henryson. The app also features interviews with Heaney about his first encounter with the medieval tales, discussions with experts, and charming BBC animation.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/07/03/seamus_heaney_fives_fables_app_is_the_most_charming_thing_on_my_ipad.html
In this month's New Yorker Fiction Podcast, Rebecca Curtis reads Leonard Michaels' The Penultimate Conjecture. You can hear Curtis read the story, and discuss it with Deborah Treisman, the magazine's fiction editor, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/07/fiction-podcast-rebecca-curtis-reads-leonard-michaels.html
Back on our side of the border, The Walrus is featuring Mark Callanan's poem Part of the Main as part of its summer reading series.
http://thewalrus.ca/part-of-the-main/
Debra Dean's career began onstage, but now it has moved to the page. She discusses the thin line between fiction and autobiography and how she became a writer, in an interview with The Rumpus, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/07/the-rumpus-interview-with-debra-dean/
"Financial concerns for a writer will never go away—so the key is to decide how you define success." Or at least so claims Ted Thompson, who recently sold his debut novel for $25,000. Here's the debut novelist's experiment in radical honesty:
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/03/i_sold_my_book_for_25000_a_debut_novelists_experiment_with_radical_honesty/
Is all confessional writing self indulgent? Leslie Jamison doesn't think so. When her book of essays, The Empathy Exams, came out, she was "inundated with notes from strangers longing to share their stories in return."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/05/leslie-jamison-empathy-exams-confessional-writing-not-self-indulgent
North Vancouver-raised writer Emily Donaldson's new book, The Slender Margin, is a "fluidly ranging miscellany of facts, poetry, history, mythology and memoir." The book explores the infant death of her brother, and the interconnections between death, language and art.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/in-the-slender-margin-an-unflinching-embrace-of-deaths-reality-and-persistent-mystery/article19365767/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
BE NOBODY
Three Jewels Vancouver presents a book signing and public talk with Be Nobody author Lama Marut. Friday, July 11 at 6:30pm. Banyen Books and Sound, 3608 W. 4th Ave.
BOOKS ON THE RADIO
Readings by Zsuzsi Gartner, Chris Walter, Nathaniel G. Moore, Rachel Rose, Buck Buchwald, and Britt Huddart. Friday, July 11, doors at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Epic Sculpture Studio, 1670 Franklin, Vancouver. More information at booksontheradio.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
Candice James and Manolis launch new books Purple Haze and Autumn Leaves. Saturday, July 12 at 1:30pm. New Westminster Arts Council Gallery, Queens Park, New Westminster.
THE ADIRONDACK HAYSTACK
Book reading of recently released collection of short fiction from Regina author Nic Olson. Music by Son Howler. Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm, free. Kokopelli Salon, 2052 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at ballsofrice.com.
AN EVENING WITH
An evening with George Bowering, Grant Buday, and Jon Paul Fiorentino at the new Book Warehouse. Saturday, July 12 at 8:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poet's work. Sunday, July 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
Note new date! C.C. Humphreys launches his new novel, Plague. Sunday, July 13 at 5:00pm. The Fringe Cafe, 3124 West Broadway. More information at 604-738-6977.
LITERARY CAFE: HARRISON FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
Features writers Andrea MacPherson, Daniela Elza, John Carroll, Rajnish Dhawan, Katie Stobbart, Michelle Rickaby, and Michelle Vandepol. Musicians: Jared Burrows, Clyde Reed, and Rob Kholer. July 14, 7:30 pm, at Memorial Hall. Tickets: $12.00 (for tickets and more information click here, harrisonfestival.com/hall_performer_14.lit_cafe.gk.
Upcoming
GETTING MESSY WITH WRITING
Daniela Elza will lead a free writing workshop. July 15, 6:30-8:30pm, at New West Public Library, 716-6th Avenue, New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or secretary@rclas.com. Sponsored by the Royal City Literary Arts Society and the Library.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Micheal Heatherington, Susan Musgrave and Steve Noyes plus open mic. Wednesday, July 16, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at pandorascollective.com.
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
POETRY READING
John Barton participates in an evening of poetry readings as part of the launch of Steve Noyes' poetry book, small data. John will be reading from his new poetry collection, Polari. Friday, July 25 at 7:30pm, free. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
SOLDIER OF THE HORSE
Author Robert W. Mackay shares personal photos, memories and insights into the Canadian Cavalry Brigade of which his father was a member. Wednesday, July 30 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
POSTAL CODE READINGS
Readings by the Thursdays Writing Collective and guest author Clint Burnham. Thursday, July 31 at7:00pm, free. Mount Pleasant branch, VPL, 1 Kingsway, Vancouver. More information at thursdayswritingcollective.ca.
SUSAN K. FOREST
Vancouver author reads from her new kidsbook The Indigo Queen. Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm, free. Please RSVP to http://eepurl.com/XSBz9. Seating is limited! Y'S Books, 4307 Main Street at 27th, Vancouver. More information at ysbookstore.blogspot.ca.
SILVER TOTEM OF SHAME
R.J. Harlick, author of the wilderness-based Meg Harris mystery series, will be discussing and reading from her latest book. Various dates and locations between August 12 and August 16. For more information, visit vpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
32nd annual festival featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices. August 14-17, 2014. Complete details at writersfestival.ca.
SEBASTIEN DE CASTELL
Fantasy author reads from his swashbuckling adventure novel Traitor's Blade and gives a talk on the use of swordplay in fantasy and historical literature. Thursday, September 4 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
RONSDALE'S FALL POETRY
An evening of poetry with three award-winning B.C. poets: Garry Gottfriedson, Pamela Porter and Henry Rappaport—all with new collections to showcase. Wednesday, September 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Diane Tucker reads from her new poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Tuesday, September 16 at 7:30pm, free. la Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 18
BOOK NEWS
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
"Penny dexterously combines suspense with psychological drama, overlaying the whole with an all-powerful sense of landscape as a conduit to meaning...Another gem from the endlessly astonishing Penny." - Booklist (starred review)
"Perceptive...perfectly paced...Penny offers real insight into the evolution of artistic style as well as the envy that artists feel about each other's success...The prose is remarkable fresh, filled with illumination and delightful turns of phrase." - Publishers Weekly
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
"A globe-trotting, time-bending epic that touches down in, among other places, England, Switzerland, Iraq, and Australia...Is The Bone Clocks the most ambitious novel ever written, or just the most Mitchell-esque?... Mitchell's novel is a thing of beauty...The less said about the plot the better, but fans of Mitchell's books will be thrilled, and may even bump into a few characters they've met before." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
FESTIVAL
The Indian Summer Festival returns from July 3–12 with its multidisciplinary celebration of arts, ideas and diversity. The scintillating Ideas Series features writers, thinkers and performers from Canada, India and around the world including Priscila Uppal, Renee Saklikar, David Wong, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Orijit Sen, as well as the Lit and Sound Cabaret.
AWARDS & LISTS
Eight books have been longlisted for The Guardian's children's fiction prize. Find out more about the selected books, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/jun/28/guardian-childrens-fictions-prize-longlist-2014-in-pictures
B.C. poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar's book Children of Air India: Un/authorized Exhibits and Interjections won the 2014 Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry, which recognizes the best full-length English-language book of poems for adults by a Canadian writer.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/poet+wins+Canadian+Authors+Association+award/9981415/story.html
YOUNG READERS
"Reliability is one of the things book lovers cherish about books. The words books contain are the same on every reading; set a book down, and there it stays, until you are ready to pick it up again." But in two new picture books by Bob Staake and Katy Beebe, two precious books go missing and have to be found!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/books/my-pet-book-and-brother-hugo-and-the-bear.html
NEWS & FEATURES
The poet and novelist Dermot Healy passed away on Monday. He participated in the Writers Fest in 2011, and was known to be a true original with an inescapably "distinctive way of seeing and of saying, that was utterly trustworthy, because it was utterly his own."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/30/dermot-healy-poet-novelist-dies-aged-66
Allen Grosmann, a "poet's poet and scholar" also passed away this week. He once wrote that "poetry is a principle of power invoked by all of us against our vanishing."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/arts/allen-grossman-a-poets-poet-and-scholar-dies-at-82.html
George Orwell's birthplace in India is set to become a museum. Despite Orwell's influence, this will be the first museum celebrating his contribution to modern literature and journalism!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/30/george-orwell-birthplace-motihari-bihar-india-museum
When Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was trying to get her first novel published, "an agent told her that things would be easier ‘if only you were Indian,' because Indian writers were in vogue." Thankfully the reading public has become a bit more cosmopolitan, as a whole new wave of African writers are now making a splash in the book world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/arts/new-wave-of-african-writers-with-an-internationalist-bent.html
But that doesn't mean there's not still a lot of work to be done, both in Africa and abroad. A new project led by a UBC professor is aiming to address the shortage of picture books available for children in African languages. The African Storybook Projects is hoping to "boost early literacy levels in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and other countries."
http://www.straight.com/life/671861/african-storybook-project-brings-digital-books-kids
Have writers exhausted the supply of decent book titles? "Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?"
http://www.theguardian.com/global/2014/jun/27/are-authors-running-out-of-book-titles-kate-atkinson-stephen-king-muriel-spark-jk-rowling
Good grammar saves lives, rescues friendships, and "a single apostrophe can prevent you from being ostracised in your own neighbourhood." Despite this fact, local councils throughout the UK are taking a very drastic step: banishing apostrophes from street signs!
http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/jun/27/good-grammar-saves-lives-and-rescues-friendships
France has successfully passed its anti-Amazon bill, which is aimed at helping small bookstores survive. The bill specifically prohibits large online companies from offering free delivery on discounted books.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/27/france_passes_anti_amazon_bill_aimed_at_helping_small_bookstores/
BOOKS & WRITERS
When it comes to Indian literature, families are a central concern. From Jhumpa Lahiri's Mrs Sen's to Meera Syal's Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee, here are some of the greatest books about Indian families.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/25/top-10-stories-indian-families
Sina Queyras' poem, Elegy for Photographs Not Taken, appears in the most recent issue of Geist Magazine. It features references to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, pickled eggs and "raspberry afternoons fat as the tides at White Rock". You can read it here:
http://www.geist.com/fact/poetry/elegy-for-photographs-not-taken/
Gregory Betts' poem, Morphing, also appears in the magazine. The poem is laden with literary references that will seem familiar to most, though they are modernized and mixed, and as the title implies…morphed.
http://www.geist.com/fact/poetry/morphing/
In 1996, Joanna Rakoff began working as the personal assistant to J.D. Salinger's literary agent. Part of her job was to read stacks of fan mail, an experience that changed her life forever. Her new memoir, My Salinger Year, is an account of her trip down the "metaphorical rabbit hole" that year.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/30/i_was_just_amazed_joanna_rakoff_on_reading_salingers_fan_mail/
The characters are as old as time: Helen, Paris and Oenone, who all appear in the Homer's classic telling of the fall of Troy. But their story doesn't end there. They've reappeared in Jonathan Bennett's latest novel, The Colonial Hotel…or at least their names have!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-colonial-hotel-a-solid-novel-on-morality-in-our-not-quite-postcolonial-world/article19368567/
Speaking of the classics, there's a new translation out of Dante's Inferno. American poet Mary Jo Bang's version has been well received, with the exception of those "who are offended by references to Woody Allen, Virginia Woolf, Bob Dylan, T.S. Eliot, Jell-O, Boy Scouts, South Park, Pink Floyd, [and] Star Trek."
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/fresh-hell/#sthash.ao0AINyh.dpuf
For those who prefer traditional things told in a more straightforward manner, this link provides an excellent non-fiction option. "At the dawn of civilization, settlers on the Nile River made use of an everyday material to do something amazing." Here's an excerpt from Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World, a new book on one of the most important inventions in literary history.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/22/the_ancient_egyptian_invention_that_made_everything_else_possible/
Trevor Herriot's new book, The Road is How, "chronicles three days he spent walking the land in Saskatchewan following a tumble that could have been his last." He discusses his favourite fictional characters, historical periods, sentences and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/qa-trevor-herriot-on-his-new-book-becoming-a-legend-and-more/article19370566/
Now that it's July and the rains seem to be past, we can truly embrace the summer season! Here are a few "sun-drenched pages" to mark the turn of the season.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jun/27/landmarks-summer-literature
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DES KENNEDY
Canadian writer, environmentalist, and journalist Des Kennedy personalizes copies of his new book Heart & Soil: The Revolutionary Good of Gardens. Thursday, July 10 at 1:00pm. Book Warehouse, 632 W. Broadway.
BE NOBODY
Three Jewels Vancouver presents a book signing and public talk with Be Nobody author Lama Marut. Friday, July 11 at 6:30pm. Banyen Books and Sound, 3608 W. 4th Ave.
BOOK LAUNCH
Candice James and Manolis launch new books Purple Haze and Autumn Leaves. Saturday, July 12 at 1:30pm. New Westminster Arts Council Gallery, Queens Park, New Westminster.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poet's work. Sunday, July 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
C.C. Humphreys launches his new novel, Plague. Monday, July 14 at 5:00pm. The Fringe Cafe, 3124 West Broadway. More information at 604-738-6977.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Micheal Heatherington, Susan Musgrave and Steve Noyes plus open mic. Wednesday, July 16, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at pandorascollective.com.
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with her latest Chief Inspector Gamache book, A Long Way Home. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny.
Wednesday, September 3 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12377&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louisepenny) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
"Penny dexterously combines suspense with psychological drama, overlaying the whole with an all-powerful sense of landscape as a conduit to meaning...Another gem from the endlessly astonishing Penny." - Booklist (starred review)
"Perceptive...perfectly paced...Penny offers real insight into the evolution of artistic style as well as the envy that artists feel about each other's success...The prose is remarkable fresh, filled with illumination and delightful turns of phrase." - Publishers Weekly
An Evening with David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell talks to Hal Wake, the Vancouver Writers Fest's Artistic Director, and reads from his new novel, The Bone Clocks.
Saturday, September 27 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Purchase tickets online: http://vancouvertix.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?performanceNumber=12382&type=rentals
Click here (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidmitchell) for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs.
"A globe-trotting, time-bending epic that touches down in, among other places, England, Switzerland, Iraq, and Australia...Is The Bone Clocks the most ambitious novel ever written, or just the most Mitchell-esque?... Mitchell's novel is a thing of beauty...The less said about the plot the better, but fans of Mitchell's books will be thrilled, and may even bump into a few characters they've met before." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
FESTIVAL
The Indian Summer Festival returns from July 3–12 with its multidisciplinary celebration of arts, ideas and diversity. The scintillating Ideas Series features writers, thinkers and performers from Canada, India and around the world including Priscila Uppal, Renee Saklikar, David Wong, Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas and Orijit Sen, as well as the Lit and Sound Cabaret.
AWARDS & LISTS
Eight books have been longlisted for The Guardian's children's fiction prize. Find out more about the selected books, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2014/jun/28/guardian-childrens-fictions-prize-longlist-2014-in-pictures
B.C. poet Renée Sarojini Saklikar's book Children of Air India: Un/authorized Exhibits and Interjections won the 2014 Canadian Authors Association Award for Poetry, which recognizes the best full-length English-language book of poems for adults by a Canadian writer.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/poet+wins+Canadian+Authors+Association+award/9981415/story.html
YOUNG READERS
"Reliability is one of the things book lovers cherish about books. The words books contain are the same on every reading; set a book down, and there it stays, until you are ready to pick it up again." But in two new picture books by Bob Staake and Katy Beebe, two precious books go missing and have to be found!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/25/books/my-pet-book-and-brother-hugo-and-the-bear.html
NEWS & FEATURES
The poet and novelist Dermot Healy passed away on Monday. He participated in the Writers Fest in 2011, and was known to be a true original with an inescapably "distinctive way of seeing and of saying, that was utterly trustworthy, because it was utterly his own."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/30/dermot-healy-poet-novelist-dies-aged-66
Allen Grosmann, a "poet's poet and scholar" also passed away this week. He once wrote that "poetry is a principle of power invoked by all of us against our vanishing."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/arts/allen-grossman-a-poets-poet-and-scholar-dies-at-82.html
George Orwell's birthplace in India is set to become a museum. Despite Orwell's influence, this will be the first museum celebrating his contribution to modern literature and journalism!
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/30/george-orwell-birthplace-motihari-bihar-india-museum
When Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was trying to get her first novel published, "an agent told her that things would be easier ‘if only you were Indian,' because Indian writers were in vogue." Thankfully the reading public has become a bit more cosmopolitan, as a whole new wave of African writers are now making a splash in the book world.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/arts/new-wave-of-african-writers-with-an-internationalist-bent.html
But that doesn't mean there's not still a lot of work to be done, both in Africa and abroad. A new project led by a UBC professor is aiming to address the shortage of picture books available for children in African languages. The African Storybook Projects is hoping to "boost early literacy levels in Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and other countries."
http://www.straight.com/life/671861/african-storybook-project-brings-digital-books-kids
Have writers exhausted the supply of decent book titles? "Novels by Kate Atkinson, Stephen King and Muriel Spark have all had namesakes. Should writers adopt the imitator-proof JK Rowling approach instead?"
http://www.theguardian.com/global/2014/jun/27/are-authors-running-out-of-book-titles-kate-atkinson-stephen-king-muriel-spark-jk-rowling
Good grammar saves lives, rescues friendships, and "a single apostrophe can prevent you from being ostracised in your own neighbourhood." Despite this fact, local councils throughout the UK are taking a very drastic step: banishing apostrophes from street signs!
http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/jun/27/good-grammar-saves-lives-and-rescues-friendships
France has successfully passed its anti-Amazon bill, which is aimed at helping small bookstores survive. The bill specifically prohibits large online companies from offering free delivery on discounted books.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/27/france_passes_anti_amazon_bill_aimed_at_helping_small_bookstores/
BOOKS & WRITERS
When it comes to Indian literature, families are a central concern. From Jhumpa Lahiri's Mrs Sen's to Meera Syal's Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee, here are some of the greatest books about Indian families.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jun/25/top-10-stories-indian-families
Sina Queyras' poem, Elegy for Photographs Not Taken, appears in the most recent issue of Geist Magazine. It features references to Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, pickled eggs and "raspberry afternoons fat as the tides at White Rock". You can read it here:
http://www.geist.com/fact/poetry/elegy-for-photographs-not-taken/
Gregory Betts' poem, Morphing, also appears in the magazine. The poem is laden with literary references that will seem familiar to most, though they are modernized and mixed, and as the title implies…morphed.
http://www.geist.com/fact/poetry/morphing/
In 1996, Joanna Rakoff began working as the personal assistant to J.D. Salinger's literary agent. Part of her job was to read stacks of fan mail, an experience that changed her life forever. Her new memoir, My Salinger Year, is an account of her trip down the "metaphorical rabbit hole" that year.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/30/i_was_just_amazed_joanna_rakoff_on_reading_salingers_fan_mail/
The characters are as old as time: Helen, Paris and Oenone, who all appear in the Homer's classic telling of the fall of Troy. But their story doesn't end there. They've reappeared in Jonathan Bennett's latest novel, The Colonial Hotel…or at least their names have!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-colonial-hotel-a-solid-novel-on-morality-in-our-not-quite-postcolonial-world/article19368567/
Speaking of the classics, there's a new translation out of Dante's Inferno. American poet Mary Jo Bang's version has been well received, with the exception of those "who are offended by references to Woody Allen, Virginia Woolf, Bob Dylan, T.S. Eliot, Jell-O, Boy Scouts, South Park, Pink Floyd, [and] Star Trek."
http://www.geist.com/fact/reviews/fresh-hell/#sthash.ao0AINyh.dpuf
For those who prefer traditional things told in a more straightforward manner, this link provides an excellent non-fiction option. "At the dawn of civilization, settlers on the Nile River made use of an everyday material to do something amazing." Here's an excerpt from Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World, a new book on one of the most important inventions in literary history.
http://www.salon.com/2014/06/22/the_ancient_egyptian_invention_that_made_everything_else_possible/
Trevor Herriot's new book, The Road is How, "chronicles three days he spent walking the land in Saskatchewan following a tumble that could have been his last." He discusses his favourite fictional characters, historical periods, sentences and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/qa-trevor-herriot-on-his-new-book-becoming-a-legend-and-more/article19370566/
Now that it's July and the rains seem to be past, we can truly embrace the summer season! Here are a few "sun-drenched pages" to mark the turn of the season.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/jun/27/landmarks-summer-literature
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DES KENNEDY
Canadian writer, environmentalist, and journalist Des Kennedy personalizes copies of his new book Heart & Soil: The Revolutionary Good of Gardens. Thursday, July 10 at 1:00pm. Book Warehouse, 632 W. Broadway.
BE NOBODY
Three Jewels Vancouver presents a book signing and public talk with Be Nobody author Lama Marut. Friday, July 11 at 6:30pm. Banyen Books and Sound, 3608 W. 4th Ave.
BOOK LAUNCH
Candice James and Manolis launch new books Purple Haze and Autumn Leaves. Saturday, July 12 at 1:30pm. New Westminster Arts Council Gallery, Queens Park, New Westminster.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poet's work. Sunday, July 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
C.C. Humphreys launches his new novel, Plague. Monday, July 14 at 5:00pm. The Fringe Cafe, 3124 West Broadway. More information at 604-738-6977.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Micheal Heatherington, Susan Musgrave and Steve Noyes plus open mic. Wednesday, July 16, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at pandorascollective.com.
KATIE CROUCH
Author reads from her new book Abroad. Thursday, July 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
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