BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True-This Friday!
It's summertime and the living is easy. Join us at Scotch o'clock (7:30 pm) for A Dram Come True at Hycroft this Friday June 5. Sample 44 rare and distinguished single malts plus select spirits, Tinhorn Creek wine and appetizers, while supporting the Vancouver Writers Fest.
For a preview of what to expect check out A Dram Come True whisky expert Dave Mason on Global TV's Morning News BC:
http://globalnews.ca/video/2023038/a-dram-come-true-scotch-tasting
Details and tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true
AWARDS & LISTS
Rivka Galchen has won the 2014 Danuta Gleed Literary Award for her short-fiction collection, American Innovations. Her debut novel, Atmospheric Disturbances, was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award and the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/01/rivka-galchen-wins-2014-danuta-gleed-literary-award/
Margaret Atwood and C.C. Humphreys are among the winners of this year's Arthur Ellis Awards for Crime Writing. The awards were judged by a panel of twenty-one writers, reviewers, librarians, booksellers, and academics specializing in the crime genre.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/29/margaret-atwood-c-c-humphreys-among-2015-arthur-ellis-award-winners/
The Lambda literary awards, a "celebration of queer culture and queer literature," were handed out this week in New York City. The big winner of the night was John Waters, the filmmaker and writer who called his award "the Imperial Margarine crown of queer royalty".
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/02/lambda-literary-awards-lgbt-literature-john-waters
The shortlists for the government of Ontario's Trillium Book Awards have been announced, recognizing "excellent works of literature by the province's writers published the year prior." Margaret Atwood, Thomas King and Dionne Brand are among the finalists.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/27/margaret-atwood-dionne-brand-thomas-king-among-2015-trillium-book-awards-finalists/
Meanwhile, in Atlantic Canada, Carmelita McGrath and Andrew Peacock have won the 2015 Newfoundland and Labrador Book Awards. McGrath is the recipient of this year's E.J. Pratt Award for her collection, Escape Velocity, and Peacock won this year's non-fiction award for his debut title, Creatures of the Rock: A Veterinarian's Adventures in Newfoundland.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/27/carmelita-mcgrath-and-andrew-peacock-win-2015-newfoundland-and-labrador-book-awards/
Ali Smith has won The Baileys women's prize for How to Be Both.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/03/ali-smith-wins-baileys-prize-with-how-to-be-both
YOUNG READERS
A new children's book, Sweep Up the Sun, salutes birds in flight. Unlike many high-quality nonfiction picture books, however, it uses photography rather than traditional illustration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/books/review/winged-wonders.html
NEWS & FEATURES
The New York Times has sparked criticism after releasing an all-white summer reading list. "According to Gawker, past volumes of the esteemed publication's summer reading list have also had a diversity problem."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/the-new-york-times-sparks-criticism-after-releasing-an-allwhite-reading-list-10274663.html
A proof copy of The Bell Jar has been unearthed. Attributed to Plath's pseudonym Victoria Lucas, the early version of the novel reveals many last-minute changes to the text.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/28/the-bell-jar-proof-copy-found-sylvia-plath
Philip Larkin once described literary parties as his idea of "hell on earth." For Philip Hensher, however, things felt very different. "You never knew what would happen next at an old-style literary gathering. Where else could you argue with Doris Lessing about underpants from M&S?"
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/01/philip-larkin-doris-lessing-literary-party
And if you do get invited to such a gathering, here are some great tips for how to survive! Headphones, books and cigarettes are just a few of many helpful tools that can be employed.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/02/how-to-survive-literary-parties-author-francis-plug
"Is it good poetry where every other line rhymes, instead of having each line rhyme with the one before it?" What about a "name of a book that dramatizes bedbugs?" Before Google, these were just a few of the questions asked in a now-revealed cache of New York Public Library question cards.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/28/librarian-new-york-public-librarys-quirkiest-enquiries
BOOKS & WRITERS
Several years ago, Hilary Mantel's novel, Wolf Hall, won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. Now it's a success on the London Stage. Hilary Mantel discusses taking the book from page to stage, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/31/theater/hilary-mantel-on-taking-her-wolf-hall-novels-to-the-stage.html
Kamel Daoud's "stunning" debut novel, The Meursault Investigation, retells Albert Camus's existential classic, The Stranger, from an Algerian point of view. "This is not just a clever, playful conceit...it provides the architecture for an intricately layered tale that not only makes us reassess Camus's novel but also nudges us into a contemplation of Algeria's history and current religious politics."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/29/books/review-kamel-daoud-interrogates-camus-in-the-meursault-investigation.html
This fall, feminist icon Gloria Steinem will be publishing her first book in more than 20 years. My Life on the Road has been described as "a candid account of how her early years led her to an on-the-road kind of life traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2015/05/27/gloria-steinem-book-my-life-on-the-road/28008947/
Sara Novic's first novel, Girl at War, explores "how the experience of war can be conveyed to those who don't know it." Narrated by a former child soldier at the end of the Yugoslavian civil war, Girl at War‘s language is charged with enough vitality that "its story wil be remember by readers a world away.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/books/review/girl-at-war-by-sara-novic.html
"At first glance, poets Claudia Emerson and Philip Metres have nothing to say to each other. Maybe that's the point." Emerson's The Opposite House and Metres' Sand Opera are looked at side by side, here:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/06/the_opposite_house_by_claudia_emerson_and_sand_opera_by_philip_metres_reviewed.html
Make it True: Poetry from Cascadia, is a poetry anthology that celebrates sustainability and "harmony with nature... From Alaska to Arcata, from Nanaimo to Missoula, the 89 poets in this Cascadian collection explore, preserve and celebrate the mind's wilderness and the wilderness of this place."
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Anthology+poetry+from+Cascadia+celebrates+sustainability+harmony+with+nature/11093961/story.html#ixzz3bxAzRA8F
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents writer, filmmaker, and wilderness guide Calder Cheverie, director of The Peel Project. Thursday, June 4 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
BOOKS & BISCOTTI
Features readings by British Columbia writers Diego Bastianutti, Robert Pepper Smith, and Anna Ciampolini Foschi, and the premiere of a documentary movie by Ornella Sinigaglia. Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00pm, free. Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St., Vancouver. More information at italianculturalcentre.ca.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Alex Leslie and Robin Susanto plus open mic. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
HEATHER HALEY
Author reads from her debut novel The Town Slut's Daughter. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Storm Crow Tavern. More information at howesoundpublishing@gmail.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Adrienne Gruber and Raoul Fernandes with open mic. Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 10
BOOK NEWS
The Board of Directors of the Vancouver Writers Fest is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Nozick as Executive Director, effective June 22. Nozick, who was most recently Director of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival, takes over from current VWF Executive Director Camilla Tibbs, who has accepted a position as Executive Director of the Richmond Gateway Theatre.
A Dram Come True
Dust off your kilt! Tickets are still available for A Dram Come True, the VWF's scotch tasting fundraiser on June 5.
Reasons to attend:
Where else can you sample 40+ amazing scotches plus select spirits and Tinhorn Creek wine, with a jazz pianist tickling the ivories in the background?
Supports the Vancouver Writers Fest and Spreading the Word programs for students
Hycroft makes a great date night destination!
For a preview of what to expect check out A Dram Come True whisky expert Dave Mason on Global TV's Morning News BC:
http://globalnews.ca/video/2023038/a-dram-come-true-scotch-tasting
Details and tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true
AWARDS & LISTS
The shortlist for Kobo's $10,000 Emerging Writer Prize, which "recognizes excellent debut titles published the year prior and available on the digital platform," has been made public. Kim Fu, Elizabeth Renzetti and Plum Johnson are among the chosen few.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/20/kim-fu-plum-johnson-among-those-shortlisted-for-inaugural-kobo-emerging-writer-prize/
Alix Hawley has won Amazon.ca's First Novel Award for All True Not a Lie In It. The prize recognizes "an exceptional English-language title by a Canadian debut novelist."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/22/alix-hawley-wins-amazon-ca-first-novel-award/
The winners of the 2015 Alberta Literary Awards have been announced. Rudy Wiebe took the fiction prize for his novel, Come Back.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/25/winners-of-the-2015-alberta-literary-awards-announced/
The 2015 O. Henry Prize stories, which will appear in an anthology in September, have been revealed. Russell Banks' A Permanent Member of the Family was selected.
http://lithub.com/the-o-henry-prize-stories-for-2015/
YOUNG READERS
Here are some new children's books for young music-lovers! The first features an animal orchestra; the second, the real-life story of a Cuban girlswho longs to play the drums; the third, a story of young Doc Watson; the fourth about music in New Orleans; and the last, an innovative tribute to the partnership of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/books/review/20childrens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
How does the Vancouver Public Library remain relevant in an increasingly diverse city? "It's not easy to do in the wake of the Conservative government's cancellation of the mandatory long-form census."
http://www.straight.com/life/456406/how-vancouver-public-library-remains-relevant-increasingly-diverse-city
It looks like we might soon be finding poetry in our parks! One Vancouver Park Board commissioner has put forth a motion to "work with staff from the Vancouver Public Library on a pilot program to bring poetry to Vancouver's parks in 2015 and to explore longer term options for a broader Poetry in Parks program to be launched in 2016".
http://www.straight.com/blogra/456266/poetry-coming-vancouver-parks
The brutal murder of three Bangladeshi bloggers has led to an outcry from the international writing community. Margaret Atwood, Rohinton Mistry and Yann Martel are just three of the more than 150 writers who are urging the Bangladeshi government to take action.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/05/margaret-atwood-yann-martel-and-other-writers-speak-out-against-bangladesh-blogger-murders.html
Speaking of Margaret Atwood, she has been chosen as the inaugural author to commit a manuscript to Scottish conceptual artist Katie Paterson's Future Library project. Last year, a forest of 1,000 trees was planted "to be cut down in one century to provide paper to publish never-before-read manuscripts by renowned authors."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/21/margaret-atwood-to-add-manuscript-to-future-library-on-may-26/
And Margaret Atwood becomes the first author to add a secret story to the Future Library.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/margaret-atwood-becomes-1st-author-to-add-secret-story-to-future-library-1.3087724
The "true face of Shakespeare" has appeared in a botany book, or so claims botanist and historian Mark Griffiths. Whether it's actually "the literary discovery of the century" appears to be up for debate!
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32782267
Scrabble has "come crashing into the 21st century," thanks to the addition of a whole legion of new words, many of which cannot be found in the dictionary. "People use slang in social media posts, tweets, blogs, comments, text messages – you name it–so there's a host of evidence for informal varieties of English that simply didn't exist before."
http://radio.com/2015/05/21/scrabble-adds-words-hashtag-vape-obvs/
A nonprofit organization is crowdfunding for its "eGranary Pocket Library," a "library on a chip" that provides information for people without internet access. "Each library is customized to a particular audience. For example, the nonprofit recently created an ebola pocket library with the CDC, World Health Organization and other charitable groups."
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045289/fund-this/this-library-on-a-chip-gives-people-without-internet-access-all-the-information-th
What's the place of indulgence in writing? "Indulgent, which—along with self-indulgent—has come to represent something very, very bad where art is concerned." Here's one woman's argument otherwise.
http://flavorwire.com/519421/in-defense-of-indulgent-art
Have you ever been on a literary pilgrimage? "For those shaped by words, whose dreams are forged between the leaves of books, trips like these are how we become a part of the stories that helped to direct our own."
http://bookriot.com/2015/05/18/literary-pilgrimage/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Judy Blume has written her first novel for adults in 17 years. In the Unlikely Event, which will be published next month, takes place in 1952 and was inspired by three real-life plane crashes in Blume's own hometown.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/magazine/judy-blume-knows-all-your-secrets.html
Neil Smith's Boo is "a novel of tremendous imagination," telling the story of Oliver "Boo" Dalrymple, who goes to heaven after dying of an apparent heart defect in front of his locker. "With Boo, Neil Smith has written something valuable and important for both young readers and older ones."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-neil-smiths-boo-is-a-novel-of-tremendous-imagination/article24567457/
What's it like to be a deaf novelist? In this interview, Sara Novi Novic "explains the challenges of being a deaf author and why deafness is still used as a synonym for stupidity."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/23/what-its-like-to-be-a-deaf-novelist
Two debut poetry collections by Liz Howard and Madhur Anand "mix technical language with themes of identity, selfhood and race." Both collections are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/two-debut-poetry-collections-mix-technical-language-with-themes-of-identity-selfhood-and-race/article24454121/
Jim Shepard's newest novel, The Book of Aron, is a coming-of-age story set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two. He's interviewed about the book, the best advice he's ever received, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/look-for-the-weirdness-in-your-own-work/article24566332/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE DE COSMOS ENIGMA
Local author Gordon Hawkins launches his book The De Cosmos Enigma, a study of the life of BC's second premier. Friday, May 29 at 3:30pm, free. GVPL Central Branch, 735 Broughton St., Victoria. More information at 250-940-4875.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents writer, filmmaker, and wilderness guide Calder Cheverie, director of The Peel Project. Thursday, June 4 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
BOOKS & BISCOTTI
Features readings by British Columbia writers Diego Bastianutti, Robert Pepper Smith, and Anna Ciampolini Foschi, and the premiere of a documentary movie by Ornella Sinigaglia. Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00pm, free. Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St., Vancouver. More information at italianculturalcentre.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
The Board of Directors of the Vancouver Writers Fest is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Nozick as Executive Director, effective June 22. Nozick, who was most recently Director of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival, takes over from current VWF Executive Director Camilla Tibbs, who has accepted a position as Executive Director of the Richmond Gateway Theatre.
A Dram Come True
Dust off your kilt! Tickets are still available for A Dram Come True, the VWF's scotch tasting fundraiser on June 5.
Reasons to attend:
Where else can you sample 40+ amazing scotches plus select spirits and Tinhorn Creek wine, with a jazz pianist tickling the ivories in the background?
Supports the Vancouver Writers Fest and Spreading the Word programs for students
Hycroft makes a great date night destination!
For a preview of what to expect check out A Dram Come True whisky expert Dave Mason on Global TV's Morning News BC:
http://globalnews.ca/video/2023038/a-dram-come-true-scotch-tasting
Details and tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true
AWARDS & LISTS
The shortlist for Kobo's $10,000 Emerging Writer Prize, which "recognizes excellent debut titles published the year prior and available on the digital platform," has been made public. Kim Fu, Elizabeth Renzetti and Plum Johnson are among the chosen few.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/20/kim-fu-plum-johnson-among-those-shortlisted-for-inaugural-kobo-emerging-writer-prize/
Alix Hawley has won Amazon.ca's First Novel Award for All True Not a Lie In It. The prize recognizes "an exceptional English-language title by a Canadian debut novelist."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/22/alix-hawley-wins-amazon-ca-first-novel-award/
The winners of the 2015 Alberta Literary Awards have been announced. Rudy Wiebe took the fiction prize for his novel, Come Back.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/25/winners-of-the-2015-alberta-literary-awards-announced/
The 2015 O. Henry Prize stories, which will appear in an anthology in September, have been revealed. Russell Banks' A Permanent Member of the Family was selected.
http://lithub.com/the-o-henry-prize-stories-for-2015/
YOUNG READERS
Here are some new children's books for young music-lovers! The first features an animal orchestra; the second, the real-life story of a Cuban girlswho longs to play the drums; the third, a story of young Doc Watson; the fourth about music in New Orleans; and the last, an innovative tribute to the partnership of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/books/review/20childrens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
How does the Vancouver Public Library remain relevant in an increasingly diverse city? "It's not easy to do in the wake of the Conservative government's cancellation of the mandatory long-form census."
http://www.straight.com/life/456406/how-vancouver-public-library-remains-relevant-increasingly-diverse-city
It looks like we might soon be finding poetry in our parks! One Vancouver Park Board commissioner has put forth a motion to "work with staff from the Vancouver Public Library on a pilot program to bring poetry to Vancouver's parks in 2015 and to explore longer term options for a broader Poetry in Parks program to be launched in 2016".
http://www.straight.com/blogra/456266/poetry-coming-vancouver-parks
The brutal murder of three Bangladeshi bloggers has led to an outcry from the international writing community. Margaret Atwood, Rohinton Mistry and Yann Martel are just three of the more than 150 writers who are urging the Bangladeshi government to take action.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/05/margaret-atwood-yann-martel-and-other-writers-speak-out-against-bangladesh-blogger-murders.html
Speaking of Margaret Atwood, she has been chosen as the inaugural author to commit a manuscript to Scottish conceptual artist Katie Paterson's Future Library project. Last year, a forest of 1,000 trees was planted "to be cut down in one century to provide paper to publish never-before-read manuscripts by renowned authors."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/21/margaret-atwood-to-add-manuscript-to-future-library-on-may-26/
And Margaret Atwood becomes the first author to add a secret story to the Future Library.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/margaret-atwood-becomes-1st-author-to-add-secret-story-to-future-library-1.3087724
The "true face of Shakespeare" has appeared in a botany book, or so claims botanist and historian Mark Griffiths. Whether it's actually "the literary discovery of the century" appears to be up for debate!
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32782267
Scrabble has "come crashing into the 21st century," thanks to the addition of a whole legion of new words, many of which cannot be found in the dictionary. "People use slang in social media posts, tweets, blogs, comments, text messages – you name it–so there's a host of evidence for informal varieties of English that simply didn't exist before."
http://radio.com/2015/05/21/scrabble-adds-words-hashtag-vape-obvs/
A nonprofit organization is crowdfunding for its "eGranary Pocket Library," a "library on a chip" that provides information for people without internet access. "Each library is customized to a particular audience. For example, the nonprofit recently created an ebola pocket library with the CDC, World Health Organization and other charitable groups."
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045289/fund-this/this-library-on-a-chip-gives-people-without-internet-access-all-the-information-th
What's the place of indulgence in writing? "Indulgent, which—along with self-indulgent—has come to represent something very, very bad where art is concerned." Here's one woman's argument otherwise.
http://flavorwire.com/519421/in-defense-of-indulgent-art
Have you ever been on a literary pilgrimage? "For those shaped by words, whose dreams are forged between the leaves of books, trips like these are how we become a part of the stories that helped to direct our own."
http://bookriot.com/2015/05/18/literary-pilgrimage/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Judy Blume has written her first novel for adults in 17 years. In the Unlikely Event, which will be published next month, takes place in 1952 and was inspired by three real-life plane crashes in Blume's own hometown.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/magazine/judy-blume-knows-all-your-secrets.html
Neil Smith's Boo is "a novel of tremendous imagination," telling the story of Oliver "Boo" Dalrymple, who goes to heaven after dying of an apparent heart defect in front of his locker. "With Boo, Neil Smith has written something valuable and important for both young readers and older ones."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-neil-smiths-boo-is-a-novel-of-tremendous-imagination/article24567457/
What's it like to be a deaf novelist? In this interview, Sara Novi Novic "explains the challenges of being a deaf author and why deafness is still used as a synonym for stupidity."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/23/what-its-like-to-be-a-deaf-novelist
Two debut poetry collections by Liz Howard and Madhur Anand "mix technical language with themes of identity, selfhood and race." Both collections are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/two-debut-poetry-collections-mix-technical-language-with-themes-of-identity-selfhood-and-race/article24454121/
Jim Shepard's newest novel, The Book of Aron, is a coming-of-age story set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two. He's interviewed about the book, the best advice he's ever received, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/look-for-the-weirdness-in-your-own-work/article24566332/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE DE COSMOS ENIGMA
Local author Gordon Hawkins launches his book The De Cosmos Enigma, a study of the life of BC's second premier. Friday, May 29 at 3:30pm, free. GVPL Central Branch, 735 Broughton St., Victoria. More information at 250-940-4875.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents writer, filmmaker, and wilderness guide Calder Cheverie, director of The Peel Project. Thursday, June 4 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
BOOKS & BISCOTTI
Features readings by British Columbia writers Diego Bastianutti, Robert Pepper Smith, and Anna Ciampolini Foschi, and the premiere of a documentary movie by Ornella Sinigaglia. Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00pm, free. Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St., Vancouver. More information at italianculturalcentre.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 9
BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True
Single cask whisky and locally distilled spirits at A Dram Come True
The 13th annual Dram Come True highlights single cask whiskies. Tasting whisky from a single cask is a rare opportunity made even more special by the fact that once it's all been drunk, it's gone for good. This year, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which bottles some of the finest single cask whisky in the world, will be pouring seven of their latest bottlings-a privilege usually reserved solely for society members.
Your ticket gets you full access to the whisky tasting, access to the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, spirits from Odd Society Spirits, chocolate pairing by Chocolate Arts and appetizers from Emelle's catering. Don't wait to purchase your tickets-this event sold out last year!
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
AWARDS & LISTS
Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, the author of Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, among others, has won this year's Man Booker International Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/laszlo-krasznahorkai-wins-man-booker-international-prize-1.3079381
Debut novelist Christine Piper is among five selected for the Miles Franklin Prize's 2015 shortlist. The award is Australia’s most prestigious literary prize.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/18/debut-novelist-christine-piper-joins-shortlist-for-2015-miles-franklin-prize
The 2015 Atlantic Book Awards winners were announced, and included Linden MacIntyre for Punishment.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/19/2015-atlantic-book-awards-winners-revealed/
YOUNG READERS
What children's stories inspired today's leading authors? "From sinister water-babies to Chinese warlords, Norse gods to star-crossed lovers...In a new edition of a volume first published in 1992, writers recall the tales that shaped their imaginations."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/09/writers-books-inspired-young-the-pleasures-of-reading-edited-antonia-fraser
Amazon has launched a Young Adult book club. The first book is I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Participants can submit questions for Nelson from now until May 30.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/amazon-editors-launch-a-young-adult-book-club/103360
NEWS & FEATURES
What city has more bookstores per capita than any other? You might be surprised by the answer: Buenos Aires!
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/05/what-city-has-more-bookstores-per-capita-than-any-other/
If you're traveling through Toronto instead of Buenos Aires, you may not need to worry about the lack of bookstores. Free ebooks are now available at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-links/2015/05/13/toronto-airport-to-offer-free-harpercollins-ebooks-atwood-honoured-by-american-academy-of-arts-and-letters-and-more/
Have you ever made yourself read a book you didn't like? Believe it or not, there might be some benefits to the deed.
http://bookriot.com/2015/05/13/benefits-reading-book-dont-like/
Project Bookmark Canada, "which erects textual markers from stories and poems in the places where literary scenes are set," has announced that it will unveil a Cape Breton bookmark for Alistair MacLeod’s novel No Great Mischief. MacLeod died last year at 77.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/12/cape-breton-bookmark-site-to-honour-alistair-macleod/
What's the state of digital publishing in Canada? This infographic provides some interesting facts.
http://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2015/5/11/infographic-state-of-digital-publishing-in-canada-2014.html
Hong Kong is "clamping down" on creative writing. In this piece, Madeleine Thien discusses the closure of a major university's MFA program. "The decision to close City University’s MFA programme is plainly intended to limit free expression–showing just how vital it is."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/18/why-hong-kong-is-clamping-down-on-creative-writing
What's the future of reading? "There’s no mystery about it. Walter Mosley, best-selling author of the Easy Rawlins series, has good news for those who love to read."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-future-of-reading-theres-no-mystery-about-it-1430104991
BOOKS & WRITERS
Elizabeth Day's third novel, Paradise City, features four characters, the most interesting of which is a Ugandan asylum seeker. Day’s third novel is "her most accomplished yet," possessing " a propulsion that her earlier novels, for all their emotional courage, lacked."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/16/paradise-city-elizabeth-day-review-novel
Michael V. Smith's new memoir, My Body is Yours, contains themes for which he's well known: "small towns, sexual orientation and familial ties." His first two novels cover similar territory, though they don't reach as far in terms of graphically capturing "the complicated relationships Smith has had with his father, addiction, sex, and his own body." Smith is interviewed here:
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/15/qa-michael-v-smith-on-public-persona-gender-in-memoir-and-writing-with-vulnerability/
Giving Up, by Mike Steeves, is a "profound and hilarious" book. The novel’s main theme is faith, "from the interpersonal trust required in romantic relationships to the surrogate systems and signifiers to which we assign meaning in a secular age."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/not-your-traditional-book-review-giving-up-is-profound-and-hilarious-it-was-also-written-by-my-friend/article24453666/
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's The Woman Who Read Too Much is "a haunting, complex portrait" of an 18th-century Persian mystic, "one of the most powerfully convincing characters in recent historical fiction." Alberto Manguel reviews the book, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/16/woman-read-too-much-bahiyyih-nakhjavani-review
Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins is a "gorgeous novel" that visits a family changed by the Second World War. It tells the story of Edward "Teddy" Todd, an RAF wing commander who's life is defined by the paradox of combat: "to feel so alive in the midst of carnage."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/kate-atkinsons-a-god-in-ruins-is-a-gorgeous-novel-that-visits-a-family-changed-by-war/article24434278/
The Gracekeepers, by Kirsty Logan, is "a watery dystopia" in which rising waters swallow the soil and survivors cluster on boats and islands. "Like Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven, The Gracekeepers circles the peculiar business of the culture humans make, and tries to understand why we would persist in the direst circumstances."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/15/the-gracekeepers-kirsty-logan-watery-dystopia
COMMUNITY EVENTS
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
MEET THE AUTHOR
BC Book Prize nominee, Brian Payton, discusses his novel The Wind is Not a River. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
MEGA FAUNA
Launch of Cloudscape Comics' latest anthology. Friday, May 22 at 6:00pm, free. Cloudscape Studio, 5955 Ross, Vancouver. More information at cloudscapecomics.com.
SHAWN CURTIS STIBBARDS
Launch of the author's debut novel, The Video Watcher. Friday, May 22 at 7:00pm, free. Pulpfiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at biblioasis.com.
VANCOUVER COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
Weekend-long celebration of comics, with readings, panels and workshops. May 23-24, 2015. Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver. More information at vancaf.com.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring Meredith Quartermain (I, Bartleby) and Colin Browne (The Hatch). Saturday, May 23 at 2:00pm. Access Gallery, 222 East Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
POETIC JUSTICE
Features Meagan Schlee-Bedard and Bernice Lever with host Franci Louann. Sunday, May 24 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
Upcoming
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
A Dram Come True
Single cask whisky and locally distilled spirits at A Dram Come True
The 13th annual Dram Come True highlights single cask whiskies. Tasting whisky from a single cask is a rare opportunity made even more special by the fact that once it's all been drunk, it's gone for good. This year, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which bottles some of the finest single cask whisky in the world, will be pouring seven of their latest bottlings-a privilege usually reserved solely for society members.
Your ticket gets you full access to the whisky tasting, access to the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, spirits from Odd Society Spirits, chocolate pairing by Chocolate Arts and appetizers from Emelle's catering. Don't wait to purchase your tickets-this event sold out last year!
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
AWARDS & LISTS
Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, the author of Satantango and The Melancholy of Resistance, among others, has won this year's Man Booker International Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/laszlo-krasznahorkai-wins-man-booker-international-prize-1.3079381
Debut novelist Christine Piper is among five selected for the Miles Franklin Prize's 2015 shortlist. The award is Australia’s most prestigious literary prize.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/18/debut-novelist-christine-piper-joins-shortlist-for-2015-miles-franklin-prize
The 2015 Atlantic Book Awards winners were announced, and included Linden MacIntyre for Punishment.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/19/2015-atlantic-book-awards-winners-revealed/
YOUNG READERS
What children's stories inspired today's leading authors? "From sinister water-babies to Chinese warlords, Norse gods to star-crossed lovers...In a new edition of a volume first published in 1992, writers recall the tales that shaped their imaginations."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/09/writers-books-inspired-young-the-pleasures-of-reading-edited-antonia-fraser
Amazon has launched a Young Adult book club. The first book is I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. Participants can submit questions for Nelson from now until May 30.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/amazon-editors-launch-a-young-adult-book-club/103360
NEWS & FEATURES
What city has more bookstores per capita than any other? You might be surprised by the answer: Buenos Aires!
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/05/what-city-has-more-bookstores-per-capita-than-any-other/
If you're traveling through Toronto instead of Buenos Aires, you may not need to worry about the lack of bookstores. Free ebooks are now available at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-links/2015/05/13/toronto-airport-to-offer-free-harpercollins-ebooks-atwood-honoured-by-american-academy-of-arts-and-letters-and-more/
Have you ever made yourself read a book you didn't like? Believe it or not, there might be some benefits to the deed.
http://bookriot.com/2015/05/13/benefits-reading-book-dont-like/
Project Bookmark Canada, "which erects textual markers from stories and poems in the places where literary scenes are set," has announced that it will unveil a Cape Breton bookmark for Alistair MacLeod’s novel No Great Mischief. MacLeod died last year at 77.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/12/cape-breton-bookmark-site-to-honour-alistair-macleod/
What's the state of digital publishing in Canada? This infographic provides some interesting facts.
http://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2015/5/11/infographic-state-of-digital-publishing-in-canada-2014.html
Hong Kong is "clamping down" on creative writing. In this piece, Madeleine Thien discusses the closure of a major university's MFA program. "The decision to close City University’s MFA programme is plainly intended to limit free expression–showing just how vital it is."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/18/why-hong-kong-is-clamping-down-on-creative-writing
What's the future of reading? "There’s no mystery about it. Walter Mosley, best-selling author of the Easy Rawlins series, has good news for those who love to read."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-future-of-reading-theres-no-mystery-about-it-1430104991
BOOKS & WRITERS
Elizabeth Day's third novel, Paradise City, features four characters, the most interesting of which is a Ugandan asylum seeker. Day’s third novel is "her most accomplished yet," possessing " a propulsion that her earlier novels, for all their emotional courage, lacked."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/16/paradise-city-elizabeth-day-review-novel
Michael V. Smith's new memoir, My Body is Yours, contains themes for which he's well known: "small towns, sexual orientation and familial ties." His first two novels cover similar territory, though they don't reach as far in terms of graphically capturing "the complicated relationships Smith has had with his father, addiction, sex, and his own body." Smith is interviewed here:
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/15/qa-michael-v-smith-on-public-persona-gender-in-memoir-and-writing-with-vulnerability/
Giving Up, by Mike Steeves, is a "profound and hilarious" book. The novel’s main theme is faith, "from the interpersonal trust required in romantic relationships to the surrogate systems and signifiers to which we assign meaning in a secular age."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/not-your-traditional-book-review-giving-up-is-profound-and-hilarious-it-was-also-written-by-my-friend/article24453666/
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani's The Woman Who Read Too Much is "a haunting, complex portrait" of an 18th-century Persian mystic, "one of the most powerfully convincing characters in recent historical fiction." Alberto Manguel reviews the book, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/16/woman-read-too-much-bahiyyih-nakhjavani-review
Kate Atkinson’s A God in Ruins is a "gorgeous novel" that visits a family changed by the Second World War. It tells the story of Edward "Teddy" Todd, an RAF wing commander who's life is defined by the paradox of combat: "to feel so alive in the midst of carnage."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/kate-atkinsons-a-god-in-ruins-is-a-gorgeous-novel-that-visits-a-family-changed-by-war/article24434278/
The Gracekeepers, by Kirsty Logan, is "a watery dystopia" in which rising waters swallow the soil and survivors cluster on boats and islands. "Like Emily St John Mandel’s Station Eleven, The Gracekeepers circles the peculiar business of the culture humans make, and tries to understand why we would persist in the direst circumstances."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/15/the-gracekeepers-kirsty-logan-watery-dystopia
COMMUNITY EVENTS
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
MEET THE AUTHOR
BC Book Prize nominee, Brian Payton, discusses his novel The Wind is Not a River. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
MEGA FAUNA
Launch of Cloudscape Comics' latest anthology. Friday, May 22 at 6:00pm, free. Cloudscape Studio, 5955 Ross, Vancouver. More information at cloudscapecomics.com.
SHAWN CURTIS STIBBARDS
Launch of the author's debut novel, The Video Watcher. Friday, May 22 at 7:00pm, free. Pulpfiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at biblioasis.com.
VANCOUVER COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
Weekend-long celebration of comics, with readings, panels and workshops. May 23-24, 2015. Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver. More information at vancaf.com.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring Meredith Quartermain (I, Bartleby) and Colin Browne (The Hatch). Saturday, May 23 at 2:00pm. Access Gallery, 222 East Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
POETIC JUSTICE
Features Meagan Schlee-Bedard and Bernice Lever with host Franci Louann. Sunday, May 24 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
Upcoming
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 8
BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True
A Dram Come True, the VWF's signature scotch tasting fundraiser, captures the spirit of World Whisky Day (May 16) with a celebration of the pleasures of uisge beatha (the water of life).
A Dram Come True is Vancouver's best single malt scotch event-we've just confirmed that there will be 35 select and rare malts poured. Click here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-tasting-menu, for a sneak peek at the 2015 tasting menu.
Your ticket gets you full access to the single malt tasting, plus the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, chocolate pairing by Chocolate Arts and appetizers by Emelle's, in the elegant surroundings of Hycroft.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
Three seasoned voices of CanLit: Guy Vanderhaeghe (Daddy Lenin and Other Stories), Mark Anthony Jarman (Knife Party at the Hotel Europa), and Joan Thomas (The Opening Sky). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 20
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
AWARDS & LISTS
Margaret Atwood has been named a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. "The academy is an honour society based in New York and founded in 1898, with members over the years ranging from James Baldwin and William Faulkner to Leonard Bernstein and Jasper Johns."
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/atwood-named-member-of-american-arts-academy-303035941.html
Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel has won the U.K.'s Arthur C. Clark Award for Science-fiction for her dystopian novel Station Eleven. The novel was also shortlisted for the PEN-Faulkner Award and longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/07/emily-st-john-mandel-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award-for-science-fiction/
Neel Mikherjee's The Lives of Others has been awarded the Encore Prize. "The 'ambition and depth' of the Booker-shortlisted novel secures £10,000 award for the best second novel of the year."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/12/neel-mukherjees-the-lives-of-others-wins-encore-prize
Paul Kingsnorth's crowdfunded novel, The Wake, has won Bookseller Magazine's Book of the Year award. The novel was written in an invented form of Old English.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/12/paul-kingsnorth-crowdfunded-novel-the-wake-wins-book-of-the-year-award
YOUNG READERS
A new children's book is taking environmentalism to a whole new level—hand-stitched and made from acid-free paper, ecological ink and jacaranda seeds; after reading the story, kids can plant the book in soil and it will grow into a tree!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/plantable-book-tree_n_7244060.html
NEWS & FEATURES
A 52,438-word dissertation by a UBC Ph.D. candidate has made headlines for eschewing almost all punctuation. The student "wanted to make a point about aboriginal culture, colonialism, and 'the blind acceptance of English language conventions in academia.'"
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ubc-student-writes-52438-word-architecture-dissertation-with-no-punctuation-not-everyone-loved-it
What's in a name? That's the question being explored in this new infographic, called 'A History of Pen Names!' "The image features several literary icons including Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer author Mark Twain, and Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë"
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/the-pseudonyms-of-icons-infographic/103203
Does typeface still matter in our digital age? A new typeface used to take years to create, and now "thousands are available at the click of a drop-down menu. So why do most of us still rely on the old classics?"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/they-came-in-with-william-caxtons-printing-press-but-typefaces-still-matter-in-the-digital-age-10230301.html
Is Twitter a useful platform for short fiction? Earnest Hemingway's famous six-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn" would have been "the perfect candidate for this year's #TwitterFiction Festival, where writers such as Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng will practice crafting very brief tales online, beginning on May 11."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/07/twitter-fiction_n_7205686.html
What do Anthony Doerr, Joyce Carol Oates and Elissa Schapell all have in common? They've all published work in the same magazine! "It wasn't one of the usual literary outlets, like Tin House, The Paris Review or The New Yorker. It was Rhapsody, an in-flight magazine for United Airlines."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/business/media/rhapsody-the-in-flight-magazine-is-becoming-a-first-class-literary-journal.html
If you're living in the United States, here's a fact you might not know: "your local library is on the front lines against government surveillance!"
http://www.thenation.com/article/206561/librarians-versus-nsa
What do we want from writing? "It's time to rethink everything. Everything. What it means to write and what it means to write for a public—and which public."
http://flavorwire.com/517331/what-do-we-want-from-writing-money-a-career-recognition
BOOKS & WRITERS
Anne Enright's new novel, The Green Road, was partially written on the dramatic west coast of Ireland. "Over the years I had avoided what I call 'the landscape solution' in Irish prose...But there I was myself, getting fixed on the green road, and it seemed to me that this was something I should allow myself to write about now."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/09/return-western-shore-anne-enright-yielding-irish-tradition
In David Gates' new collection, A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me, each character "has an arsenal just special enough to make the damage he or she wreaks distinctive." Most of the stories have already been published, but "their cumulative effect is still powerful."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/books/review-david-gates-delivers-more-havoc-in-a-hand-reached-down-to-guide-me.html
Look Who's Back, a German book that satirizes Hitler, has been an extraordinary success. It's "evidence of a generational shift, a sense that 70 years after the Nazis, it's time to use dark humor to address Germany's past."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/books/look-whos-back-germans-reflect-on-the-success-of-a-satire-about-hitler.html
Tina Packer's Women of Will takes a "look at Shakespeare's feminine side," taking a detailed look at his literary heroines. Packer knows the territory well—she's the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/books/review-women-of-will-by-tina-packer-a-look-at-shakespeares-feminine-side.html
In his new collection, Confidence, Russell Smith "plumbs the psyches of the seemingly superficial in frequently funny prose that exudes an understanding of their anxieties about ambition, class, stature and their own desirability." The book walks the fine line between satire and humanity, balancing "contempt and compassion."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/as-an-anthropologist-of-the-urbane-russell-smith-plumbs-the-psyches-of-the-seemingly-superficial-in-confidence/article24337359/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SOUTHBANK WRITERS READING SERIES
Featuring Surrey-based poet Phinder Dulai, author of dream / arteries, Ragas from the Periphery, and Basmati Brown. Thursday, May 14 at 6:00pm, free. City Centre Library, Surrey. More information at surreylibraries.ca.
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
VAN SLAM
Featuring San Jose-based stand-up poet Mike McGee. Monday, May 18 at 7:00pm. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
W.P. KINSELLA
Author will read from his new book The Essential W.P. Kinsella. Tuesday, May 19 at 6:30pm. Hope Library, More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
MEET THE AUTHOR
BC Book Prize nominee, Brian Payton, discusses his novel The Wind is Not a River. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
MEGA FAUNA
Launch of Cloudscape Comics' latest anthology. Friday, May 22 at 6:00pm, free. Cloudscape Studio, 5955 Ross, Vancouver. More information at cloudscapecomics.com.
SHAWN CURTIS STIBBARDS
Launch of the author's debut novel, The Video Watcher. Friday, May 22 at 7:00pm, free. Pulpfiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at biblioasis.com.
VANCOUVER COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
Weekend-long celebration of comics, with readings, panels and workshops. May 23-24, 2015. Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver. More information at vancaf.com.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring Meredith Quartermain (I, Bartleby) and Colin Browne (The Hatch). Saturday, May 23 at 2:00pm. Access Gallery, 222 East Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
POETIC JUSTICE
Features Meagan Schlee-Bedard and Bernice Lever with host Franci Louann. Sunday, May 24 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
Upcoming
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
A Dram Come True
A Dram Come True, the VWF's signature scotch tasting fundraiser, captures the spirit of World Whisky Day (May 16) with a celebration of the pleasures of uisge beatha (the water of life).
A Dram Come True is Vancouver's best single malt scotch event-we've just confirmed that there will be 35 select and rare malts poured. Click here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-tasting-menu, for a sneak peek at the 2015 tasting menu.
Your ticket gets you full access to the single malt tasting, plus the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, chocolate pairing by Chocolate Arts and appetizers by Emelle's, in the elegant surroundings of Hycroft.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
Three seasoned voices of CanLit: Guy Vanderhaeghe (Daddy Lenin and Other Stories), Mark Anthony Jarman (Knife Party at the Hotel Europa), and Joan Thomas (The Opening Sky). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 20
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
AWARDS & LISTS
Margaret Atwood has been named a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. "The academy is an honour society based in New York and founded in 1898, with members over the years ranging from James Baldwin and William Faulkner to Leonard Bernstein and Jasper Johns."
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/arts/atwood-named-member-of-american-arts-academy-303035941.html
Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel has won the U.K.'s Arthur C. Clark Award for Science-fiction for her dystopian novel Station Eleven. The novel was also shortlisted for the PEN-Faulkner Award and longlisted for the Baileys Women's Prize.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/07/emily-st-john-mandel-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award-for-science-fiction/
Neel Mikherjee's The Lives of Others has been awarded the Encore Prize. "The 'ambition and depth' of the Booker-shortlisted novel secures £10,000 award for the best second novel of the year."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/12/neel-mukherjees-the-lives-of-others-wins-encore-prize
Paul Kingsnorth's crowdfunded novel, The Wake, has won Bookseller Magazine's Book of the Year award. The novel was written in an invented form of Old English.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/12/paul-kingsnorth-crowdfunded-novel-the-wake-wins-book-of-the-year-award
YOUNG READERS
A new children's book is taking environmentalism to a whole new level—hand-stitched and made from acid-free paper, ecological ink and jacaranda seeds; after reading the story, kids can plant the book in soil and it will grow into a tree!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/11/plantable-book-tree_n_7244060.html
NEWS & FEATURES
A 52,438-word dissertation by a UBC Ph.D. candidate has made headlines for eschewing almost all punctuation. The student "wanted to make a point about aboriginal culture, colonialism, and 'the blind acceptance of English language conventions in academia.'"
http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ubc-student-writes-52438-word-architecture-dissertation-with-no-punctuation-not-everyone-loved-it
What's in a name? That's the question being explored in this new infographic, called 'A History of Pen Names!' "The image features several literary icons including Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer author Mark Twain, and Jane Eyre author Charlotte Brontë"
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/the-pseudonyms-of-icons-infographic/103203
Does typeface still matter in our digital age? A new typeface used to take years to create, and now "thousands are available at the click of a drop-down menu. So why do most of us still rely on the old classics?"
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/they-came-in-with-william-caxtons-printing-press-but-typefaces-still-matter-in-the-digital-age-10230301.html
Is Twitter a useful platform for short fiction? Earnest Hemingway's famous six-word story "For Sale: Baby shoes, never worn" would have been "the perfect candidate for this year's #TwitterFiction Festival, where writers such as Margaret Atwood and Celeste Ng will practice crafting very brief tales online, beginning on May 11."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/07/twitter-fiction_n_7205686.html
What do Anthony Doerr, Joyce Carol Oates and Elissa Schapell all have in common? They've all published work in the same magazine! "It wasn't one of the usual literary outlets, like Tin House, The Paris Review or The New Yorker. It was Rhapsody, an in-flight magazine for United Airlines."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/04/business/media/rhapsody-the-in-flight-magazine-is-becoming-a-first-class-literary-journal.html
If you're living in the United States, here's a fact you might not know: "your local library is on the front lines against government surveillance!"
http://www.thenation.com/article/206561/librarians-versus-nsa
What do we want from writing? "It's time to rethink everything. Everything. What it means to write and what it means to write for a public—and which public."
http://flavorwire.com/517331/what-do-we-want-from-writing-money-a-career-recognition
BOOKS & WRITERS
Anne Enright's new novel, The Green Road, was partially written on the dramatic west coast of Ireland. "Over the years I had avoided what I call 'the landscape solution' in Irish prose...But there I was myself, getting fixed on the green road, and it seemed to me that this was something I should allow myself to write about now."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/09/return-western-shore-anne-enright-yielding-irish-tradition
In David Gates' new collection, A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me, each character "has an arsenal just special enough to make the damage he or she wreaks distinctive." Most of the stories have already been published, but "their cumulative effect is still powerful."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/11/books/review-david-gates-delivers-more-havoc-in-a-hand-reached-down-to-guide-me.html
Look Who's Back, a German book that satirizes Hitler, has been an extraordinary success. It's "evidence of a generational shift, a sense that 70 years after the Nazis, it's time to use dark humor to address Germany's past."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/books/look-whos-back-germans-reflect-on-the-success-of-a-satire-about-hitler.html
Tina Packer's Women of Will takes a "look at Shakespeare's feminine side," taking a detailed look at his literary heroines. Packer knows the territory well—she's the founding artistic director of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Massachusetts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/books/review-women-of-will-by-tina-packer-a-look-at-shakespeares-feminine-side.html
In his new collection, Confidence, Russell Smith "plumbs the psyches of the seemingly superficial in frequently funny prose that exudes an understanding of their anxieties about ambition, class, stature and their own desirability." The book walks the fine line between satire and humanity, balancing "contempt and compassion."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/as-an-anthropologist-of-the-urbane-russell-smith-plumbs-the-psyches-of-the-seemingly-superficial-in-confidence/article24337359/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SOUTHBANK WRITERS READING SERIES
Featuring Surrey-based poet Phinder Dulai, author of dream / arteries, Ragas from the Periphery, and Basmati Brown. Thursday, May 14 at 6:00pm, free. City Centre Library, Surrey. More information at surreylibraries.ca.
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
VAN SLAM
Featuring San Jose-based stand-up poet Mike McGee. Monday, May 18 at 7:00pm. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
W.P. KINSELLA
Author will read from his new book The Essential W.P. Kinsella. Tuesday, May 19 at 6:30pm. Hope Library, More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
MEET THE AUTHOR
BC Book Prize nominee, Brian Payton, discusses his novel The Wind is Not a River. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
MEGA FAUNA
Launch of Cloudscape Comics' latest anthology. Friday, May 22 at 6:00pm, free. Cloudscape Studio, 5955 Ross, Vancouver. More information at cloudscapecomics.com.
SHAWN CURTIS STIBBARDS
Launch of the author's debut novel, The Video Watcher. Friday, May 22 at 7:00pm, free. Pulpfiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at biblioasis.com.
VANCOUVER COMIC ARTS FESTIVAL
Weekend-long celebration of comics, with readings, panels and workshops. May 23-24, 2015. Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver. More information at vancaf.com.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring Meredith Quartermain (I, Bartleby) and Colin Browne (The Hatch). Saturday, May 23 at 2:00pm. Access Gallery, 222 East Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
POETIC JUSTICE
Features Meagan Schlee-Bedard and Bernice Lever with host Franci Louann. Sunday, May 24 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 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 www.pandorascollective.com.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
Upcoming
WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 7
BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True
A Dram Come True, the VWF's signature scotch tasting fundraiser, captures the spirit of World Whisky Day (May 16) with a celebration of the pleasures of uisge beatha (the water of life).
A Dram Come True is Vancouver's best single malt scotch event, featuring more than 25 select and rare malts. Click here for a sneak peek at the 2015 tasting menu.
Your ticket gets you access to the single malt bars, plus the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, chocolate pairing and Emelle's awesome catering, in the elegant surroundings of Hycroft.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
Three seasoned voices of CanLit: Guy Vanderhaeghe (Daddy Lenin and Other Stories), Mark Anthony Jarman (Knife Party at the Hotel Europa), and Joan Thomas (The Opening Sky). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 20
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
Festivals
The 14th annual DOXA documentary film festival features Censored Voices, a series of interviews made with young Israeli soldiers immediately following the Six-Day War. Saturday May 9, 4:45pm. Details at doxafestival.ca/film/censored.
AWARDS & LISTS
Terry Fallis's fourth book, No Relation, has won the Leacock Medal for Humour. This is the second time Fallis has won the prize (he also won in 2008 for The Best Laid Plans).
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/04/30/terry-fallis-wins-second-leacock-medal-for-no-relation/
Margaret Atwood, Heather O'Neill and Eliza Robertson are among 16 Canadians longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Award. The €25,000 award is "given to a story collection published in English between July 2014 and June 2015."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/01/margaret-atwood-heather-oneill-and-eliza-robertson-among-16-canadians-longlisted-for-the-frank-oconnor-award/
Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel has been named winner of the U.K.'s Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science-fiction for her dystopian novel Station Eleven.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/07/emily-st-john-mandel-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award-for-science-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
Frank Viva's "ingenious" new picture book, Outstanding in the Rain, fashions a delightful story out of sound-alike phrases. What exactly does that mean? Just consider the book's title.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/books/review/frank-vivas-outstanding-in-the-rain.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Does the Leacock Award discriminate against women? "It's the biggest award for humour writing in Canada—and women have only won it six times since 1947." Here's why the award's history of overlooking women is "no laughing matter!"
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/04/29/leacock-awards-history-of-overlooking-women-is-no-laughing-matter.html
The Banff Centre will be offering a new slate of residencies this fall (the first in more than a decade), including ones dedicated to memoir, crime, and mountain and wilderness writing. Salman Rushdie will also be appearing at a public event.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/04/banff-centre-to-introduce-slate-of-new-residencies.html
President Obama has teamed up with publishers to distribute $25 million worth of ebooks to low-income students. "We're going to provide millions of e-books online so that they're available for young people who maybe don't have as many books at home or don't always have access to a full stock of reading materials," Obama said during a virtual town hall.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/obama-e-book-low-income-students_n_7182476.html
A lost Dylan Thomas notebook, "rediscovered after lying forgotten in a drawer for decades," is set to go on public display later this month. The notebook is one of only five used by Thomas.
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Rare-Dylan-Thomas-notebook-opened-public/story-26420539-detail/story.html
A cache of Mark Twain stories has also appeared, thanks to the work of scholars at the University of California, Berkeley. The stories, many of which are 150 years old, were written by Twain when he was a 29-year-old newspaperman in San Francisco.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/mark-twain-cache-uncovered-berkeley
Mr. Darcy's real-life inspiration might have been identified! Dr Susan Law, a historian, "believes the fictional aristocrat was based on the first Earl of Morley, John Parker, who was married to a friend of Austen and said to be 'intense.'"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11569673/Jane-Austens-real-Mr-Darcy-unmasked-by-historian.html
More than 30 authors, including Junot Díaz and Lorrie Moore, have signed a letter in protest of PEN's recent decision to give Charlie Hebdo the James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award. "There is a critical difference between staunchly supporting expression that violates the acceptable, and enthusiastically rewarding such expression," stated the letter.
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/more-than-30-authors-including-junot-diaz-and-lorrie-moore-sign-letter-in-protest-of-pen-award-to-charlie-hebdo
And on the other side of the spectrum, there's Salman Rushdie. "Is Salman Rushdie a Voltaire for our age? His fierce defence of PEN America's prize for Charlie Hebdo's defiant provocations recalls the Enlightenment hero, but sets Rushdie against other public figures."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/01/salman-rushdie-charlie-hebdo-pen-award-voltaire
BOOKS & WRITERS
Lynn Crosbie's new novel, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, is "a grunge elegy akin to author Michael Turner's iconic punk novel, Hard Core Logo," with "so many pop culture references it slides seamlessly in and out of true confessions." It follows the story of two lovers—one a disaffected teen and the other a dead rock star she meets in the hospital.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/05/02/where-did-you-sleep-last-night-by-lynn-crosbie-review.html
When Miriam Toews wrote All My Puny Sorrows, she "worried people would think, what is wrong with this family?" In this interview, Toews discusses "growing up Mennonite and how she managed to transform family tragedy into a novel suffused with joy."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/miriam-toews-interview-all-my-puny-sorrows-mennonite
Elena Johnson is a Vancouver-based poet whose first book, Field Notes for the Alpine Tundra, "was written and researched during a month-long stint in 2008 as writer-in-residence at a remote ecology research station in the Yukon." In this interview, she discusses nature poetry, data and writing from the alpine tundra.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/05/01/poetry-month-qa-elena-johnson-on-nature-poetry-data-and-writing-from-the-alpine-tundra/
"Bellow's nonfiction has the same strengths as his stories and novels: a dynamic responsiveness to character, place and time (or era)." Martin Amis reviews a new collection of Saul Bellows' nonfiction, There Is Simply Too Much to Think About, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/books/review/there-is-simply-too-much-to-think-about-saul-bellows-nonfiction.html
The Green Road by Anne Enright, is "an exquisite collage of Irish lives. A reunion dominates this moving family drama but it's the distinct individual stories that fascinate." It could almost read as a collection of short stories, a genre in which Enright is fêted.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/03/the-green-road-anne-enright-review-exquisite-collage
K.I. Press is a poet from rural Alberta, who now lives in Winnipeg. In her fourth collection, Exquisite, "Press turns mothering poems on their ear, while focusing on biomechanical androids and pop culture."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/29/poetry-month-qa-k-i-press-on-motherhood-and-her-latest-collection/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
WHISKY FUNDRAISER
The North Vancouver District Public Library is holding a ceilidh music and whisky fundraiser in support of their children's literature department. Saturday, May 9. Details at http://www.nvdpl.ca/article/whisky-library.
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CUFFED!
Readings by William Deverell (Sing a Worried Song) and Owen Laukkanen (The Stolen Ones). Hosted by Sheryl McKay. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm, by donation. Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver. More info at cuffedfestival.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
WRITERS ADULT ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
A Dram Come True
A Dram Come True, the VWF's signature scotch tasting fundraiser, captures the spirit of World Whisky Day (May 16) with a celebration of the pleasures of uisge beatha (the water of life).
A Dram Come True is Vancouver's best single malt scotch event, featuring more than 25 select and rare malts. Click here for a sneak peek at the 2015 tasting menu.
Your ticket gets you access to the single malt bars, plus the Tinhorn Creek wine bar, chocolate pairing and Emelle's awesome catering, in the elegant surroundings of Hycroft.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
Three seasoned voices of CanLit: Guy Vanderhaeghe (Daddy Lenin and Other Stories), Mark Anthony Jarman (Knife Party at the Hotel Europa), and Joan Thomas (The Opening Sky). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 20
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
Festivals
The 14th annual DOXA documentary film festival features Censored Voices, a series of interviews made with young Israeli soldiers immediately following the Six-Day War. Saturday May 9, 4:45pm. Details at doxafestival.ca/film/censored.
AWARDS & LISTS
Terry Fallis's fourth book, No Relation, has won the Leacock Medal for Humour. This is the second time Fallis has won the prize (he also won in 2008 for The Best Laid Plans).
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/04/30/terry-fallis-wins-second-leacock-medal-for-no-relation/
Margaret Atwood, Heather O'Neill and Eliza Robertson are among 16 Canadians longlisted for the Frank O'Connor Award. The €25,000 award is "given to a story collection published in English between July 2014 and June 2015."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/01/margaret-atwood-heather-oneill-and-eliza-robertson-among-16-canadians-longlisted-for-the-frank-oconnor-award/
Canadian novelist Emily St. John Mandel has been named winner of the U.K.'s Arthur C. Clarke Award for Science-fiction for her dystopian novel Station Eleven.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/07/emily-st-john-mandel-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award-for-science-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
Frank Viva's "ingenious" new picture book, Outstanding in the Rain, fashions a delightful story out of sound-alike phrases. What exactly does that mean? Just consider the book's title.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/15/books/review/frank-vivas-outstanding-in-the-rain.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Does the Leacock Award discriminate against women? "It's the biggest award for humour writing in Canada—and women have only won it six times since 1947." Here's why the award's history of overlooking women is "no laughing matter!"
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/04/29/leacock-awards-history-of-overlooking-women-is-no-laughing-matter.html
The Banff Centre will be offering a new slate of residencies this fall (the first in more than a decade), including ones dedicated to memoir, crime, and mountain and wilderness writing. Salman Rushdie will also be appearing at a public event.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/04/banff-centre-to-introduce-slate-of-new-residencies.html
President Obama has teamed up with publishers to distribute $25 million worth of ebooks to low-income students. "We're going to provide millions of e-books online so that they're available for young people who maybe don't have as many books at home or don't always have access to a full stock of reading materials," Obama said during a virtual town hall.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/obama-e-book-low-income-students_n_7182476.html
A lost Dylan Thomas notebook, "rediscovered after lying forgotten in a drawer for decades," is set to go on public display later this month. The notebook is one of only five used by Thomas.
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Rare-Dylan-Thomas-notebook-opened-public/story-26420539-detail/story.html
A cache of Mark Twain stories has also appeared, thanks to the work of scholars at the University of California, Berkeley. The stories, many of which are 150 years old, were written by Twain when he was a 29-year-old newspaperman in San Francisco.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/04/mark-twain-cache-uncovered-berkeley
Mr. Darcy's real-life inspiration might have been identified! Dr Susan Law, a historian, "believes the fictional aristocrat was based on the first Earl of Morley, John Parker, who was married to a friend of Austen and said to be 'intense.'"
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11569673/Jane-Austens-real-Mr-Darcy-unmasked-by-historian.html
More than 30 authors, including Junot Díaz and Lorrie Moore, have signed a letter in protest of PEN's recent decision to give Charlie Hebdo the James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award. "There is a critical difference between staunchly supporting expression that violates the acceptable, and enthusiastically rewarding such expression," stated the letter.
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/more-than-30-authors-including-junot-diaz-and-lorrie-moore-sign-letter-in-protest-of-pen-award-to-charlie-hebdo
And on the other side of the spectrum, there's Salman Rushdie. "Is Salman Rushdie a Voltaire for our age? His fierce defence of PEN America's prize for Charlie Hebdo's defiant provocations recalls the Enlightenment hero, but sets Rushdie against other public figures."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/may/01/salman-rushdie-charlie-hebdo-pen-award-voltaire
BOOKS & WRITERS
Lynn Crosbie's new novel, Where Did You Sleep Last Night, is "a grunge elegy akin to author Michael Turner's iconic punk novel, Hard Core Logo," with "so many pop culture references it slides seamlessly in and out of true confessions." It follows the story of two lovers—one a disaffected teen and the other a dead rock star she meets in the hospital.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/05/02/where-did-you-sleep-last-night-by-lynn-crosbie-review.html
When Miriam Toews wrote All My Puny Sorrows, she "worried people would think, what is wrong with this family?" In this interview, Toews discusses "growing up Mennonite and how she managed to transform family tragedy into a novel suffused with joy."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/02/miriam-toews-interview-all-my-puny-sorrows-mennonite
Elena Johnson is a Vancouver-based poet whose first book, Field Notes for the Alpine Tundra, "was written and researched during a month-long stint in 2008 as writer-in-residence at a remote ecology research station in the Yukon." In this interview, she discusses nature poetry, data and writing from the alpine tundra.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/05/01/poetry-month-qa-elena-johnson-on-nature-poetry-data-and-writing-from-the-alpine-tundra/
"Bellow's nonfiction has the same strengths as his stories and novels: a dynamic responsiveness to character, place and time (or era)." Martin Amis reviews a new collection of Saul Bellows' nonfiction, There Is Simply Too Much to Think About, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/03/books/review/there-is-simply-too-much-to-think-about-saul-bellows-nonfiction.html
The Green Road by Anne Enright, is "an exquisite collage of Irish lives. A reunion dominates this moving family drama but it's the distinct individual stories that fascinate." It could almost read as a collection of short stories, a genre in which Enright is fêted.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/03/the-green-road-anne-enright-review-exquisite-collage
K.I. Press is a poet from rural Alberta, who now lives in Winnipeg. In her fourth collection, Exquisite, "Press turns mothering poems on their ear, while focusing on biomechanical androids and pop culture."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/29/poetry-month-qa-k-i-press-on-motherhood-and-her-latest-collection/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
WHISKY FUNDRAISER
The North Vancouver District Public Library is holding a ceilidh music and whisky fundraiser in support of their children's literature department. Saturday, May 9. Details at http://www.nvdpl.ca/article/whisky-library.
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CUFFED!
Readings by William Deverell (Sing a Worried Song) and Owen Laukkanen (The Stolen Ones). Hosted by Sheryl McKay. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm, by donation. Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver. More info at cuffedfestival.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
THE EXILES' GALLERY
Reading in honour of poet Elise Partridge. Featuring Jordan Abel, Caroline Adderson, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Elee Kraljii Gardiner, Aislinn Hunter, Gillian Jerome, Fiona Tinwei Lam, George McWhirter, Barbara Nickel, Christopher Patton, Miranda Pearson, Rob Taylor, and Rhea Tregebov. Thursday, May 21 at 7:00pm, free. Heartwood Cafe, 317 Broadway E., Vancouver. More information at heartwoodcc.ca.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
WRITERS ADULT ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 6
BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True
Join us for our signature fundraising event, A Dram Come True
This celebration of whisky from around the world features a variety of rare and distinguished single malts curated by the President of the West Coast Whisky Society. We've just lined up six additional drams, including the GlenDronach Single Cask and Tullibardine Sovereign, bringing us to a grand total of 20-with more to come! Your ticket gets you access to all the bars-where you can taste as much as you please-plus meats, cheeses and more from Emelle's catering.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
An evening of dark humour with a hint of the supernatural: Russell Smith (Confidence), Adam Lewis Schroeder (All Day Breakfast), and Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 6
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
Festival
The 14th annual DOXA documentary film festival features the Canadian premiere of Even Though the Whole World is Burning, a portrait of leading American writer W. S. Merwin, and City Centre, Vancouver poet Evelyn Lau’s ode to an elderly lady and her little green house. Details at doxafestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The B.C. Book Prizes for 2015 were awarded at a gala ceremony last Saturday evening in Vancouver. Each winner took home $2,000 while Betty Keller, winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, received $5,000.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/27/2015-b-c-book-prizes-announced/
The finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards, which recognize excellence in Canadian crime writing, have been announced. The awards include Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Book in French and Best Juvenile/YA Book.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/24/arthur-ellis-awards-finalists-announced-for-best-canadian-crime-writing/
The Canadian Library Association has announced the winners of its 2015 awards, aimed at Children's and Young Adult books. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (who came to last year's Writers Fest) earned top honours in the Young Adult Book category.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html
It's a big week for children's and YA fiction! The shortlists for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards have also been revealed. "The two annual awards, in the categories of Children's Picture Book and Young Adult/Middle Reader, each comes with a $6,000 purse and are presented in recognition of excellence in Canadian English-language writing and illustration in books for children."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/22/2015-ruth-and-sylvia-schwartz-awards-shortlists-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Neil Gaiman has written a new children's book. Here's a review by one young reader, who rates it "five stars out of five because it had such a brilliant atmosphere and it was devised so cleverly. I would recommend it to children 10 + for a truly petrifying read. You have been warned."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/apr/26/review-coraline-neil-gaiman
Random House has announced that it will increase the printing for What Pet Should I Get, a previously undiscovered Dr. Seuss title, to 1 million copies. In the first 24 hours following the news, "there were 122.5 million impressions on Twitter, and in the 24 hours following that, the number increased to over 200 million."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/04/random-house-raises-first-printing-of-new-dr-seuss-to-1-million/
NEWS & FEATURES
"We manage to ignore poetry in our daily routines, but when life seems bewildering, we're desperate to attack a poetry anthology or gripped by website frenzy. But which poem?" It's National Poetry Month! Here's a guide to finding some quintessentially Canadian poetry.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/words-that-capture-the-big-things-in-life-for-national-poetry-month/article24108431/
Speaking of all things Canadian, many readers were saddened this week to hear about the death of Jonathan Crombie, who played Gilbert Blythe in the landmark Anne of Green Gables miniseries. Was Gilbert Blythe the "perfect man?" Here's one devoted reader's ode to the literary heartthrob.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-culture/2015/04/23/jonathan-crombie-gilbert-blythe-and-the-perfect-man-archetype/
The Magna Carta has just turned 800. To celebrate, Britain is donating a souvenir copy of the text to every primary school in the country. Here's a Q&A about the famous document.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/11383687/The-Magna-Carta-explained.html
The first bookstore dedicated to self-published authors has opened in Florida. "Frustrated by a lack of opportunity to display and sell their work, self-published children's author and illustrator Patti Brassard Jefferson and history author Timothy Jacobs decided to create a bookstore of their own, Gulf Coast Bookstore, and to only sell books by indie authors."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/66254-first-bookstore-dedicated-to-self-published-authors-opens-in-florida.html
A few weeks ago we reported that Miguel de Cervantes' bones had been found. What should the world do with them? Leave them alone, says Spain's new literary laureate.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html
How does the internet help or hinder a writer's life? In this piece, three Vancouver authors discuss their lives online, with Zsuszi Gartner and Evelyn Lau falling into one camp (limiting access), and Andrew Gray (UBC creative writing program coordinator) into the other.
http://www.straight.com/life/435366/vancouver-authors-debate-merits-limiting-online-lives
"Novels about troubled unions are nothing new...But in an era when so many of us feel increasingly disconnected, novels of struggling marriages are having a happy (if dysfunctional) new golden era." Leah McLaren outlines our "new, dysfunctional relationship with literature," here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/leah-mclaren-our-new-dysfunctional-relationship-with-literature/article24106796/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Bren Simmer's short story collection, Hasting-Sunrise, is "is a long poem that spans a year of living in the East Vancouver residential neighbourhood. The book came out of a long effort "to find home and a sense of belonging in a city where so many people struggle with the cost of living." Simmer is interviewed by Quills & Quire here:
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/21/poetry-month-qa-bren-simmers-on-writing-from-and-to-her-neighbourhood/
Lori Lansens' new novel, The Mountain Story, is "a master class in fiction." Told from a male point of view, the book hooks the reader from the very beginning. Five days, four lost hikers, three survivors—that's all you need to know!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/lori-lansenss-new-novel-the-mountain-story-is-a-master-class-in-fiction/article24104069/
Two new collections by Guy Vanderhaeghe and Heather O'Neill "reside at opposite ends of the spectrum." Vanderhaeghe's Daddy Lenin and Other Stories is "a collection of stories in a naturalist vein," while O'Neill's Daydreams of Angels "operates most often in a fabulist mode."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/new-collections-by-guy-vanderhaeghe-and-heather-oneill-reside-at-opposite-ends-of-the-spectrum/article24106957/
This week's Guardian Books podcast is all about nature writing, featuring Sarah Hall and John Lewis-Stempel. The discussion explores the "current boom in nature writing," as well as the authors' two books, Meadowland and The Wolf Border.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/apr/24/nature-writing-sarah-hall-john-lewis-stempel-podcast
Toni Morrison's new book, God Help the Child, is all about "the danger of beauty." That's just one of many things that she discusses in this interview with The Guardian, along with her support for Hillary, and how she's earned the right to say "shut up!"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/25/toni-morrison-books-interview-god-help-the-child
More than 500 Canadian writers will volunteer as guest booksellers at 130 independent bookstores across the country for the first Authors for Indies on Saturday.
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/04/10/authors-to-support-local-bookstores-may-2/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL
Features more than forty poets from across Cascadia, a bioregion that stretches from California to Alaska, including Sam Hamill, Brenda Hillman, Robert Bringhurst, Susan Musgrave, Sharon Thesen, Joanne Arnott, and Stephen Collis. April 30-May 3, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC. Complete details at cascadiapoetryfestival.org.
PAUL YEE
Meet the author of Dead Man's Gold and Ghost Train. April 30 at 10:00am. Newton Library meeting room, Newton Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7408.
DISRUPTIVE POWER
Launch of Taylor Owen's new book, Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age. Thursday, April 30 at 6:30pm, free. Make Studios, 257 7th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information here, journalism.ubc.ca.
BOOKFEST 2015
29th annual festival presented by Vancouver Island Children's Book Festival. Saturday, May 2, 2015 in downtown Nanaimo, BC. For complete details and ticket information, visit bookfest.ca.
AUTHORS FOR INDIES
Book Warehouse, Hager Books and Kidsbooks are among the nine independent bookstores participating in Saturday's Authors for Indies. You can plan your itinerary with help from Book Net Canada: http://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2015/4/27/an-authors-for-indies-itinerary-v
ancouver.html#.VUEnTU05C70.
E.D BLODGETT AND RAY NURSE
A concert of poetry and lute music in which poetry is read throught the filter of music. Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets: $15. Visualspace Gallery, 3352 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. For more information and tickets, email yukiko@yukikoonley.com.
JAN COATES
Readings for children and teens by the author of The Power of Harmony and Rocket Man. Part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week, bookweek.ca. Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. For times and locations, visit surreylibraries.ca.
JUDY YUNG AND EDDIE FUNG
Readings by the authors of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island and The Adventures of Eddie Fung. Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with award-winning author, John Vaillant as he introduces his latest book, The Jaguar's Children. Presented by Semiahmoo Arts in partnership with Black Bond Books, May 5, 7:30 pm at the Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601 20th Avenue, Surrey. $10. Pre-registration recommended: info@semiahmooarts.com or 604-536-8333.
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CUFFED!
Readings by William Deverell (Sing a Worried Song) and Owen Laukkanen (The Stolen Ones). Hosted by Sheryl McKay. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm, by donation. Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver. More info at cuffedfestival.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
A Dram Come True
Join us for our signature fundraising event, A Dram Come True
This celebration of whisky from around the world features a variety of rare and distinguished single malts curated by the President of the West Coast Whisky Society. We've just lined up six additional drams, including the GlenDronach Single Cask and Tullibardine Sovereign, bringing us to a grand total of 20-with more to come! Your ticket gets you access to all the bars-where you can taste as much as you please-plus meats, cheeses and more from Emelle's catering.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
An evening of dark humour with a hint of the supernatural: Russell Smith (Confidence), Adam Lewis Schroeder (All Day Breakfast), and Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 6
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
Festival
The 14th annual DOXA documentary film festival features the Canadian premiere of Even Though the Whole World is Burning, a portrait of leading American writer W. S. Merwin, and City Centre, Vancouver poet Evelyn Lau’s ode to an elderly lady and her little green house. Details at doxafestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The B.C. Book Prizes for 2015 were awarded at a gala ceremony last Saturday evening in Vancouver. Each winner took home $2,000 while Betty Keller, winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, received $5,000.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/27/2015-b-c-book-prizes-announced/
The finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards, which recognize excellence in Canadian crime writing, have been announced. The awards include Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Book in French and Best Juvenile/YA Book.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/24/arthur-ellis-awards-finalists-announced-for-best-canadian-crime-writing/
The Canadian Library Association has announced the winners of its 2015 awards, aimed at Children's and Young Adult books. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (who came to last year's Writers Fest) earned top honours in the Young Adult Book category.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html
It's a big week for children's and YA fiction! The shortlists for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards have also been revealed. "The two annual awards, in the categories of Children's Picture Book and Young Adult/Middle Reader, each comes with a $6,000 purse and are presented in recognition of excellence in Canadian English-language writing and illustration in books for children."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/22/2015-ruth-and-sylvia-schwartz-awards-shortlists-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Neil Gaiman has written a new children's book. Here's a review by one young reader, who rates it "five stars out of five because it had such a brilliant atmosphere and it was devised so cleverly. I would recommend it to children 10 + for a truly petrifying read. You have been warned."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/apr/26/review-coraline-neil-gaiman
Random House has announced that it will increase the printing for What Pet Should I Get, a previously undiscovered Dr. Seuss title, to 1 million copies. In the first 24 hours following the news, "there were 122.5 million impressions on Twitter, and in the 24 hours following that, the number increased to over 200 million."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/04/random-house-raises-first-printing-of-new-dr-seuss-to-1-million/
NEWS & FEATURES
"We manage to ignore poetry in our daily routines, but when life seems bewildering, we're desperate to attack a poetry anthology or gripped by website frenzy. But which poem?" It's National Poetry Month! Here's a guide to finding some quintessentially Canadian poetry.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/words-that-capture-the-big-things-in-life-for-national-poetry-month/article24108431/
Speaking of all things Canadian, many readers were saddened this week to hear about the death of Jonathan Crombie, who played Gilbert Blythe in the landmark Anne of Green Gables miniseries. Was Gilbert Blythe the "perfect man?" Here's one devoted reader's ode to the literary heartthrob.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-culture/2015/04/23/jonathan-crombie-gilbert-blythe-and-the-perfect-man-archetype/
The Magna Carta has just turned 800. To celebrate, Britain is donating a souvenir copy of the text to every primary school in the country. Here's a Q&A about the famous document.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/11383687/The-Magna-Carta-explained.html
The first bookstore dedicated to self-published authors has opened in Florida. "Frustrated by a lack of opportunity to display and sell their work, self-published children's author and illustrator Patti Brassard Jefferson and history author Timothy Jacobs decided to create a bookstore of their own, Gulf Coast Bookstore, and to only sell books by indie authors."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/66254-first-bookstore-dedicated-to-self-published-authors-opens-in-florida.html
A few weeks ago we reported that Miguel de Cervantes' bones had been found. What should the world do with them? Leave them alone, says Spain's new literary laureate.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html
How does the internet help or hinder a writer's life? In this piece, three Vancouver authors discuss their lives online, with Zsuszi Gartner and Evelyn Lau falling into one camp (limiting access), and Andrew Gray (UBC creative writing program coordinator) into the other.
http://www.straight.com/life/435366/vancouver-authors-debate-merits-limiting-online-lives
"Novels about troubled unions are nothing new...But in an era when so many of us feel increasingly disconnected, novels of struggling marriages are having a happy (if dysfunctional) new golden era." Leah McLaren outlines our "new, dysfunctional relationship with literature," here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/leah-mclaren-our-new-dysfunctional-relationship-with-literature/article24106796/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Bren Simmer's short story collection, Hasting-Sunrise, is "is a long poem that spans a year of living in the East Vancouver residential neighbourhood. The book came out of a long effort "to find home and a sense of belonging in a city where so many people struggle with the cost of living." Simmer is interviewed by Quills & Quire here:
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/21/poetry-month-qa-bren-simmers-on-writing-from-and-to-her-neighbourhood/
Lori Lansens' new novel, The Mountain Story, is "a master class in fiction." Told from a male point of view, the book hooks the reader from the very beginning. Five days, four lost hikers, three survivors—that's all you need to know!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/lori-lansenss-new-novel-the-mountain-story-is-a-master-class-in-fiction/article24104069/
Two new collections by Guy Vanderhaeghe and Heather O'Neill "reside at opposite ends of the spectrum." Vanderhaeghe's Daddy Lenin and Other Stories is "a collection of stories in a naturalist vein," while O'Neill's Daydreams of Angels "operates most often in a fabulist mode."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/new-collections-by-guy-vanderhaeghe-and-heather-oneill-reside-at-opposite-ends-of-the-spectrum/article24106957/
This week's Guardian Books podcast is all about nature writing, featuring Sarah Hall and John Lewis-Stempel. The discussion explores the "current boom in nature writing," as well as the authors' two books, Meadowland and The Wolf Border.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/apr/24/nature-writing-sarah-hall-john-lewis-stempel-podcast
Toni Morrison's new book, God Help the Child, is all about "the danger of beauty." That's just one of many things that she discusses in this interview with The Guardian, along with her support for Hillary, and how she's earned the right to say "shut up!"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/25/toni-morrison-books-interview-god-help-the-child
More than 500 Canadian writers will volunteer as guest booksellers at 130 independent bookstores across the country for the first Authors for Indies on Saturday.
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/04/10/authors-to-support-local-bookstores-may-2/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL
Features more than forty poets from across Cascadia, a bioregion that stretches from California to Alaska, including Sam Hamill, Brenda Hillman, Robert Bringhurst, Susan Musgrave, Sharon Thesen, Joanne Arnott, and Stephen Collis. April 30-May 3, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC. Complete details at cascadiapoetryfestival.org.
PAUL YEE
Meet the author of Dead Man's Gold and Ghost Train. April 30 at 10:00am. Newton Library meeting room, Newton Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7408.
DISRUPTIVE POWER
Launch of Taylor Owen's new book, Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age. Thursday, April 30 at 6:30pm, free. Make Studios, 257 7th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information here, journalism.ubc.ca.
BOOKFEST 2015
29th annual festival presented by Vancouver Island Children's Book Festival. Saturday, May 2, 2015 in downtown Nanaimo, BC. For complete details and ticket information, visit bookfest.ca.
AUTHORS FOR INDIES
Book Warehouse, Hager Books and Kidsbooks are among the nine independent bookstores participating in Saturday's Authors for Indies. You can plan your itinerary with help from Book Net Canada: http://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2015/4/27/an-authors-for-indies-itinerary-v
ancouver.html#.VUEnTU05C70.
E.D BLODGETT AND RAY NURSE
A concert of poetry and lute music in which poetry is read throught the filter of music. Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets: $15. Visualspace Gallery, 3352 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. For more information and tickets, email yukiko@yukikoonley.com.
JAN COATES
Readings for children and teens by the author of The Power of Harmony and Rocket Man. Part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week, bookweek.ca. Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. For times and locations, visit surreylibraries.ca.
JUDY YUNG AND EDDIE FUNG
Readings by the authors of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island and The Adventures of Eddie Fung. Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with award-winning author, John Vaillant as he introduces his latest book, The Jaguar's Children. Presented by Semiahmoo Arts in partnership with Black Bond Books, May 5, 7:30 pm at the Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601 20th Avenue, Surrey. $10. Pre-registration recommended: info@semiahmooarts.com or 604-536-8333.
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CUFFED!
Readings by William Deverell (Sing a Worried Song) and Owen Laukkanen (The Stolen Ones). Hosted by Sheryl McKay. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm, by donation. Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver. More info at cuffedfestival.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 5
BOOK NEWS
A Dram Come True
A whisky tasting fundraiser in support of the Vancouver Writers Fest.
We're pleased to announced that VonAlbrecht & Associates will be joining us at A Dram Come True this year, and presenting three exclusive bottlings for you to sample. One whisky they'll be pouring is the Coopers Choice Glen
Elgin 17 Year Old, an elusive malt at the best of times and very rare at this age. With only 360 bottles produced, this Scotch is strictly limited edition.
So far we've got 14 whiskies lined up, plus a full slate of Scotch Malt Whisky Society offerings, with plenty more to come. Click here (https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-tasting-menu) for a taste of what to expect at this year's event.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
An evening of dark humour with a hint of the supernatural: Russell Smith (Confidence), Adam Lewis Schroeder (All Day Breakfast), and Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 6
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
AWARDS & LISTS
Anthony Doerr has won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for All the Light We Cannot See. Elizabeth Kolbert was awarded the Nonfiction price for The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/all-the-light-we-cannot-see-wins-2015-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction/102302
Pierre Pratt has been awarded the 2015 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for his art in Stop, Thief!, written by Heather Tekavec. "The $1,000 prize recognizes excellent artistic talent in a Canadian picture book published in English or French the previous year."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/20/pierre-pratt-wins-2015-ibby-canada-elizabeth-mrazik-cleaver-picture-book-award/
The Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design is Canada's only national competition for book design. This past year's award winners were just announced, with 31 winning titles from 201 entries, from 9 provinces and 79 publishers.
http://alcuinsociety.com/awards/
YOUNG READERS
Are you looking for a new Young Adult book to check out? Here's a list of this year's best (so far!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/11340200/The-best-young-adult-books-of-2015.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Haruki Murakami and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have made it into Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people. "It's the rare novelist who in the space of a year finds her words sampled by Beyoncé, optioned by Lupita Nyong'o and honored with the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction."
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/haruki-murakami-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-make-times-influential-people-list/102117
T.H. Tsien, a scholar of Chinese books and printing, has died at 105. Besides being one the world's most renowned scholars of Chinese paleography (the study of ancient writing) and bibliography, he was also responsible for rescuing 30,000 books during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/world/asia/th-tsien-scholar-of-chinese-written-word-dies-at-105.html
Which makes better fodder for fiction? Grand historical events or everyday life? Thomas Mallon and Francine Prose discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/are-grand-historical-events-better-fodder-for-fiction-than-everyday-life.html
The U.S. Library of Congress has launched an Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. So far you can listen to 50 different poetry selections, spanning 75 years in time.
http://www.openculture.com/2015/04/library-of-congress-launches-new-online-poetry-archive.html
"Is there a relationship between the quantity of books available to us, the ease with which they can be written and published, and our reading experience?" Here's one man's take on our "era of massive overproduction."
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/apr/16/too-many-books/
Are you a fan of literary apps? Here are ten that you might not have heard of.
http://bookriot.com/2015/04/20/10-bookish-iphone-apps-may-not-heard/
BOOKS & WRITERS
"Many Canadian novelists and poets (Jane Urquhart is both) have some deep connection to the visual arts as well...Urquhart's new novel The Night Stages reminds us, as though we needed reminding, that her own relationship to art is a rich and especially meaningful one." This article outlines that relationship, as well as her new book.
http://www.straight.com/life/430601/jane-urquhart-continues-upward-night-stages
Here are two new poetry collections worth checking out, both of which offer different ways of looking at identity: The Road In Is Not the Same Road Out, by Karen Solie and Their Biography: an organism of relationships by Kevin McPherson.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/observe-and-report-two-new-poetry-collections-offer-different-ways-of-looking-at-identity/article24008435/
"In this book, I was very interested in childhood trauma paralyzing us in the contemporary world" states Toni Morrison in relation to her latest novel, God Help the Child. Listen to her interview with the CBC, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.3040660/toni-morrison-on-her-new-novel-god-help-the-child-race-and-racism-1.3040693
Poetry Notebook: Reflections on the Intensity of Language, is a "valedictory" book of poetry citicism by Clive James that "wrestles with how art is long, but life is short." The book is a collection of short essays—"brief and fluent," yet also representing "the distillation of years of thought and study."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/04/clive_james_poetry_notebook_reviewed.html
"Poet Gary Snyder has hung with the Beats, studied Buddhism, worked as a logger and he's still going strong." In this interview with NPR, Snyder discusses his new collection, This Present Moment.
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/18/400573636/at-84-poet-gary-snyder-lives-in-this-present-moment
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ASHLEY LITTLE
Reading by the author of Anatomy of A Girl Gang. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ARTHUR ELLIS SHORTLIST EVENT
Cathy Ace will be grilling a panel of her fellow BC crime writers including Don Hauka, Owen Laukkanen, Kay Stewart and Sam Wiebe about their latest, and forthcoming, works, as well as their writing styles and habits. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm, free but registration required. Bob Prittie Metrotown branch, Burnaby Public Library. Information and registration at 604-436-5410.
MEET THE AUTHOR: JOHN VAILLANT
John Vaillant discuses his novel, The Jaguar's Children. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Featuring YA writers Jacquie Pearce and Lois Peterson plus open mic for youth. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
An evening of reading, laughs and conversation with poets Jeff Steudel (Foreign Park), Melissa Bull (Rue), and Kevin Spenst (Jabbering with Bing Bong). Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm, free. The Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-876-8710.
LITFEST NEW WEST
The Arts Council of New Westminster, in partnership with Douglas College, New Westminster Public Library and Royal City Literary Arts Society, presents the 5th Annual LitFest New West. April 24-25, 2015. Details at artscouncilnewwest.org/litfest.
A FEAST OF POETRY
Readings from five local poets, including Vancouver's Poet Laureate, Rachel Rose, Governor General's Award-winner David Zieroth, as well as Raoul Fernandes, Pam Galloway and Rob Taylor. Appetizers available; cash bar. Friday, April 24 at 7:00pm. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th St., North Vancouver. Details and registration at nvcl.ca.
JABBERING WITH BC
Canadian poets Kevin Spenst, Raoul Fernandes and Elena E. Johnson read from their recent works, discuss their writing processes, and take questions about poetry and writing. Saturday, April 25 at 3:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
BC BOOK PRIZES GALA
Winners in all seven categories will be announced and the recipient of the 2015 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, Betty Keller, will be celebrated. Saturday, April 25 at 5:30pm. Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel, 1133 West Hastings St., Vancouver. Details and tickets at bcbookprizes.ca.
RACHEL HARTMAN
Author of Seraphina reads from her latest book, Shadow Scale. Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00pm, free but registration required. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library. Information and registration at 604-299-8955.
TEEN POETRY SLAM
Teens in grades 8 through 12 perform an original poem in front of an audience, including a panel of judges. April 29 at 7:00pm. City Centre branch, Coquilam Public Library. For information and registration, phone 604-554-7339.
CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL
Features more than forty poets from across Cascadia, a bioregion that stretches from California to Alaska, including Sam Hamill, Brenda Hillman, Robert Bringhurst, Susan Musgrave, Sharon Thesen, Joanne Arnott, and Stephen Collis. April 30-May 3, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC. Complete details at cascadiapoetryfestival.org.
PAUL YEE
Meet the author of Dead Man's Gold and Ghost Train. April 30 at 10:00am. Newton Library meeting room, Newton Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7408.
BOOKFEST 2015
29th annual festival presented by Vancouver Island Children's Book Festival. Saturday, May 2, 2015 in downtown Nanaimo, BC. For complete details and ticket information, visit bookfest.ca.
E.D BLODGETT AND RAY NURSE
A concert of poetry and lute music in which poetry is read throught the filter of music. Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets: $15. Visualspace Gallery, 3352 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. For more information and tickets, email yukiko@yukikoonley.com.
JAN COATES
Readings for children and teens by the author of The Power of Harmony and Rocket Man. Part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week, bookweek.ca. Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. For times and locations, visit surreylibraries.ca.
JUDY YUNG AND EDDIE FUNG
Readings by the authors of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island and The Adventures of Eddie Fung. Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with award-winning author, John Vaillant as he introduces his latest book, The Jaguar's Children. Presented by Semiahmoo Arts in partnership with Black Bond Books, May 5, 7:30 pm at the Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601 20th Avenue, Surrey. $10. Pre-registration recommended: info@semiahmooarts.com or 604-536-8333.
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
Upcoming
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
A Dram Come True
A whisky tasting fundraiser in support of the Vancouver Writers Fest.
We're pleased to announced that VonAlbrecht & Associates will be joining us at A Dram Come True this year, and presenting three exclusive bottlings for you to sample. One whisky they'll be pouring is the Coopers Choice Glen
Elgin 17 Year Old, an elusive malt at the best of times and very rare at this age. With only 360 bottles produced, this Scotch is strictly limited edition.
So far we've got 14 whiskies lined up, plus a full slate of Scotch Malt Whisky Society offerings, with plenty more to come. Click here (https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-tasting-menu) for a taste of what to expect at this year's event.
Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Incite 2015
An evening of dark humour with a hint of the supernatural: Russell Smith (Confidence), Adam Lewis Schroeder (All Day Breakfast), and Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
FREE!
7:30pm, May 6
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite
AWARDS & LISTS
Anthony Doerr has won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for All the Light We Cannot See. Elizabeth Kolbert was awarded the Nonfiction price for The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/all-the-light-we-cannot-see-wins-2015-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction/102302
Pierre Pratt has been awarded the 2015 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for his art in Stop, Thief!, written by Heather Tekavec. "The $1,000 prize recognizes excellent artistic talent in a Canadian picture book published in English or French the previous year."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/20/pierre-pratt-wins-2015-ibby-canada-elizabeth-mrazik-cleaver-picture-book-award/
The Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design is Canada's only national competition for book design. This past year's award winners were just announced, with 31 winning titles from 201 entries, from 9 provinces and 79 publishers.
http://alcuinsociety.com/awards/
YOUNG READERS
Are you looking for a new Young Adult book to check out? Here's a list of this year's best (so far!)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/11340200/The-best-young-adult-books-of-2015.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Haruki Murakami and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have made it into Time Magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people. "It's the rare novelist who in the space of a year finds her words sampled by Beyoncé, optioned by Lupita Nyong'o and honored with the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction."
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/haruki-murakami-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-make-times-influential-people-list/102117
T.H. Tsien, a scholar of Chinese books and printing, has died at 105. Besides being one the world's most renowned scholars of Chinese paleography (the study of ancient writing) and bibliography, he was also responsible for rescuing 30,000 books during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/20/world/asia/th-tsien-scholar-of-chinese-written-word-dies-at-105.html
Which makes better fodder for fiction? Grand historical events or everyday life? Thomas Mallon and Francine Prose discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/19/books/review/are-grand-historical-events-better-fodder-for-fiction-than-everyday-life.html
The U.S. Library of Congress has launched an Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. So far you can listen to 50 different poetry selections, spanning 75 years in time.
http://www.openculture.com/2015/04/library-of-congress-launches-new-online-poetry-archive.html
"Is there a relationship between the quantity of books available to us, the ease with which they can be written and published, and our reading experience?" Here's one man's take on our "era of massive overproduction."
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/apr/16/too-many-books/
Are you a fan of literary apps? Here are ten that you might not have heard of.
http://bookriot.com/2015/04/20/10-bookish-iphone-apps-may-not-heard/
BOOKS & WRITERS
"Many Canadian novelists and poets (Jane Urquhart is both) have some deep connection to the visual arts as well...Urquhart's new novel The Night Stages reminds us, as though we needed reminding, that her own relationship to art is a rich and especially meaningful one." This article outlines that relationship, as well as her new book.
http://www.straight.com/life/430601/jane-urquhart-continues-upward-night-stages
Here are two new poetry collections worth checking out, both of which offer different ways of looking at identity: The Road In Is Not the Same Road Out, by Karen Solie and Their Biography: an organism of relationships by Kevin McPherson.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/observe-and-report-two-new-poetry-collections-offer-different-ways-of-looking-at-identity/article24008435/
"In this book, I was very interested in childhood trauma paralyzing us in the contemporary world" states Toni Morrison in relation to her latest novel, God Help the Child. Listen to her interview with the CBC, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-monday-edition-1.3040660/toni-morrison-on-her-new-novel-god-help-the-child-race-and-racism-1.3040693
Poetry Notebook: Reflections on the Intensity of Language, is a "valedictory" book of poetry citicism by Clive James that "wrestles with how art is long, but life is short." The book is a collection of short essays—"brief and fluent," yet also representing "the distillation of years of thought and study."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/04/clive_james_poetry_notebook_reviewed.html
"Poet Gary Snyder has hung with the Beats, studied Buddhism, worked as a logger and he's still going strong." In this interview with NPR, Snyder discusses his new collection, This Present Moment.
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/18/400573636/at-84-poet-gary-snyder-lives-in-this-present-moment
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ASHLEY LITTLE
Reading by the author of Anatomy of A Girl Gang. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ARTHUR ELLIS SHORTLIST EVENT
Cathy Ace will be grilling a panel of her fellow BC crime writers including Don Hauka, Owen Laukkanen, Kay Stewart and Sam Wiebe about their latest, and forthcoming, works, as well as their writing styles and habits. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm, free but registration required. Bob Prittie Metrotown branch, Burnaby Public Library. Information and registration at 604-436-5410.
MEET THE AUTHOR: JOHN VAILLANT
John Vaillant discuses his novel, The Jaguar's Children. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Featuring YA writers Jacquie Pearce and Lois Peterson plus open mic for youth. Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
An evening of reading, laughs and conversation with poets Jeff Steudel (Foreign Park), Melissa Bull (Rue), and Kevin Spenst (Jabbering with Bing Bong). Thursday, April 23 at 7:00pm, free. The Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-876-8710.
LITFEST NEW WEST
The Arts Council of New Westminster, in partnership with Douglas College, New Westminster Public Library and Royal City Literary Arts Society, presents the 5th Annual LitFest New West. April 24-25, 2015. Details at artscouncilnewwest.org/litfest.
A FEAST OF POETRY
Readings from five local poets, including Vancouver's Poet Laureate, Rachel Rose, Governor General's Award-winner David Zieroth, as well as Raoul Fernandes, Pam Galloway and Rob Taylor. Appetizers available; cash bar. Friday, April 24 at 7:00pm. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th St., North Vancouver. Details and registration at nvcl.ca.
JABBERING WITH BC
Canadian poets Kevin Spenst, Raoul Fernandes and Elena E. Johnson read from their recent works, discuss their writing processes, and take questions about poetry and writing. Saturday, April 25 at 3:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
BC BOOK PRIZES GALA
Winners in all seven categories will be announced and the recipient of the 2015 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence, Betty Keller, will be celebrated. Saturday, April 25 at 5:30pm. Pinnacle Vancouver Harbourfront Hotel, 1133 West Hastings St., Vancouver. Details and tickets at bcbookprizes.ca.
RACHEL HARTMAN
Author of Seraphina reads from her latest book, Shadow Scale. Tuesday, April 28 at 7:00pm, free but registration required. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library. Information and registration at 604-299-8955.
TEEN POETRY SLAM
Teens in grades 8 through 12 perform an original poem in front of an audience, including a panel of judges. April 29 at 7:00pm. City Centre branch, Coquilam Public Library. For information and registration, phone 604-554-7339.
CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL
Features more than forty poets from across Cascadia, a bioregion that stretches from California to Alaska, including Sam Hamill, Brenda Hillman, Robert Bringhurst, Susan Musgrave, Sharon Thesen, Joanne Arnott, and Stephen Collis. April 30-May 3, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC. Complete details at cascadiapoetryfestival.org.
PAUL YEE
Meet the author of Dead Man's Gold and Ghost Train. April 30 at 10:00am. Newton Library meeting room, Newton Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7408.
BOOKFEST 2015
29th annual festival presented by Vancouver Island Children's Book Festival. Saturday, May 2, 2015 in downtown Nanaimo, BC. For complete details and ticket information, visit bookfest.ca.
E.D BLODGETT AND RAY NURSE
A concert of poetry and lute music in which poetry is read throught the filter of music. Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets: $15. Visualspace Gallery, 3352 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. For more information and tickets, email yukiko@yukikoonley.com.
JAN COATES
Readings for children and teens by the author of The Power of Harmony and Rocket Man. Part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week, bookweek.ca. Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. For times and locations, visit surreylibraries.ca.
JUDY YUNG AND EDDIE FUNG
Readings by the authors of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island and The Adventures of Eddie Fung. Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
JOHN VAILLANT
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with award-winning author, John Vaillant as he introduces his latest book, The Jaguar's Children. Presented by Semiahmoo Arts in partnership with Black Bond Books, May 5, 7:30 pm at the Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601 20th Avenue, Surrey. $10. Pre-registration recommended: info@semiahmooarts.com or 604-536-8333.
CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.
TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.
AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.
THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.
Upcoming
MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.
SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.
NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.
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