BOOK NEWS
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Count down the days to our event with Louise Penny with 'The Real Places of Three Pines' (gamacheseries.com), a series of bi-monthly blog posts about locations from each of the Inspector Gamache novels. Discover the inspiration behind the Hadley House from A Fatal Grace, the general store from The Brutal Telling, the monastery of Saint-Gilbert-Entre-les-Loups from The Beautiful Mystery and more!
After you've explored Three Pines, head on over to our website to purchase a ticket for our event so you can be among the first to hear Louise discuss her latest book, The Nature of the Beast, with Hal Wake on August 24th.
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
Indian Summer Festival's #ISFIdeas Series presents a hot double bill: 5x15 features five brilliant local and international storytellers (Naresh Fernandes, Amber Dawn, Meeru Dhalwala, Patrick Stewart and Jagdeep Mangat) and Taj Mahal Foxtrot evokes 1930s Bombay, when American jazz musicians met Indian artists, and brought swing to the streets of India. Details at indiansummerfest.ca.
Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts
Join Canada's longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices... with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood's heritage gardens. August 13-16, 2015. Sechelt, BC. Information at writersfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
Emily Carroll and Jillian and Mariko Tamaki have won the 2015 Eisner Awards. The former for best short story, while the latter two were awarded the prize for best graphic novel.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/07/14/jillian-and-mariko-tamaki-emily-carroll-win-2015-eisner-awards/
YOUNG READERS
Here are three new picture books worth checking out: The Princess and the Pony, by Kate Beaton, Float, by Daniel Miyares, and InvisiBill, by Maureen Fergus. The first turns the idea of "cute" on its head, the second is a celebration of "play," and the last is about how family can make you invisible.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-a-trio-of-new-picture-books-by-kate-beaton-daniel-miyares-and-maureen-fergus/article25251312/
NEWS & FEATURES
Nominations are still open for the 2015 City of Vancouver Mayor's Arts Awards. Deadline has been extended to Friday, July 17.
http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/2015/5/29/nominations-open-for-the-2015-city-of-vancouver-mayors-arts-awards
Harper Lee is all over the news this week, with her new (old) novel Go Set a Watchman finally being released. Now, her lawyer is suggesting that she may have written a third novel.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/13/harper-lee-third-novel-lawyer-tonja-carter
When is a bestseller not a bestseller? The New York Times had omitted Ted Cruz's colouring book from its bestseller list after accusations of bulk purchasing.
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/07/when-is-a-bestseller-not-a-bestseller-when-the-nyt-says-so/
The mayor of Venice has officially banned books in schools that "include themes of homosexuality and disability." As a result, Venetian libraries are up in arms, with many librarians encouraging people to read banned titles.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/mayor-of-venice-bans-gay-friendly-childrens-books/
Chris Hadfield has penned an ode to the "delightful impossibility" of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles. Check it out, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/chris-hadfield-pens-an-ode-to-the-delightful-impossibility-of-ray-bradburys-martian-chronicles/article25414257/
Do you re-read books? Nabokov once claimed that "there is no reading, only rereading!" Here's Tim Parks' take on the matter.
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2015/jul/11/rereading-unlocking-the-mind/
Charles Dickens' notes have revealed previously unknown identities of short-story authors, including Wilkie Collins and Lewis Carroll. "The find also gives insight into Dickens' nepotism, showing that he used his weekly magazine All the Year Round to publish three articles of dubious quality by his then teenage sons, Frank and Sydney."
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charles-dickens-notes-solve-the-mystery-of-unidentified-victorian-authors-10384128.html
Is the author pseudonym passé? "It's two years since JK Rowling's 'Robert Galbraith' revelation, yet the only literary disguise of late has been Erika Leonard masquerading as EL James. Could the nom de plume be a thing of the past?"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jul/10/demise-pseudonyms-books?CMP=twt_books-gdnbooks
The U.S. Authors Guild is fighting low ebook royalties. "As authors struggle with ever-diminishing profits on their work, the Guild said the time has come for publishers to change their e-book royalty rate."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/67433-authors-guild-slams-inadequate-e-book-royalty.html
What are the consequences of our cultural obsession with newness? That's the question asked in this week's New York Times' Bookends. Siddhartha Deb and Anna Holmes discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/books/review/what-are-the-consequences-of-our-cultural-obsession-with-newness.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
The first reviews of Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee's second novel, have come out. Here's The Guardian's take on the book, which they call "more complex" than To Kill a Mockbird, but "less compelling."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/12/go-set-a-watchman-review-harper-lee-to-kill-a-mockingbird
Canada's largest public art project has been documented in a new book called Art for War and Peace. The Sampson-Matthews silkscreen project was "a patriotic endeavor during WWII," spurring the printing of paintings that featured Canadian landscapes by the likes of Emily Carr and the Group of Seven.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-s-largest-public-art-project-documented-in-new-book-art-for-war-and-peace-1.3140814
A new book, Meanwhile There Are Letters, is about mutual reawakening. In this case, the reawakening was between two famous authors: Eudora Welty, maven of Southern letters, and Ross Macdonald, a best-selling crime writer!
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/14/books/review-eudora-welty-and-ross-macdonald-conjoined-by-a-torrent-of-words.html
Despite what its title might imply, Poetry is Useless, by Anders Nilsen, isn't anti-poetry. Along with Marc Bell's Stroppy (also reviewed here), it's a book of cartoons with a very literary (and poetic) bent!
http://www.straight.com/life/487776/marc-bell-and-anders-nilsen-poetry-and-world-making
In this piece, Jade Colbert looks at new work by Martine Delvaux, Jocelyn Saucier and Suzanne Leblanc. Among the subjects tackled: female coming-of-age stories, familial love, growing up in Quebec, and what it might be like to be the sister of a 19th-century philosopher.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-jade-colbert-looks-at-new-work-by-martine-delvaux-jocelyne-saucier-and-suzanne-leblanc/article25414158/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DRUNK DIAL
Open Circles presents a night of poetry and other performances. Featuring Sydney McNeill, Kristel Saan, Ole Vezina, Curtis Aucoin and Cara Seccafien. Open mic sign up still available by emailing iamresonantbellworld@gmail.com. Sunday, July 19 at 8:00pm. The Media Club, 695 Cambie Street, Vancouver.
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, July 23 at 5:00pm. Salt Spring Island Public Library, 129 Mc Phillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Steve Noyes, Bren Simmers and Carmelo Militano plus open mic. Thursday, July 23 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.
MASHED POETICS
A night of spoken word and music mash-up where we pick a music album, form a cover band, and get poets to write new poems based on the music. Friday, July 24 at 9:00pm. Tickets: $10. 7 Dining Lounge, 53 West Broadway, Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
intergen(d)erational call & response
Spoken word performances that challenge and inspire. A collaborative project of Quirk-e (Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders) and Youth 4 A Change. Monday, July 27 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
KARA STANLEY
Author reads from her acclaimed new memoir, "Fallen: A Trauma, A Marriage, and the Transformative Power of Music." Followed by live music by her husband, Simon Paradis, performing with Joe Stanton as roots duo Stanton Paradis. Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, Greater Victoria Public Library. More information at gvpl.ca.
Upcoming
RICHARD GOODFELLOW
Vancouver author signs his debut thriller novel, Collector of Secrets. Saturday, August 15 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby.
KOOTENAY BOOKWEEKEND
The Kootenay Bookweekend will be hosting passionate page-tuners reading and discussing The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King, Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt, Local Customs by Audrey Thomas and our guest author, Arno Kopecky's book The Oil Man and the Sea. September 18-20, 2015 in Nelson, BC. Registration forms and information at kootenaybookweekend.ca.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 16
BOOK NEWS
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Tickets are going fast for our special event with Louise Penny, August 24th. Louise is kicking off her multi-city book tour for her new book with our event in Vancouver, so you'll be among the very first to hear her read from
The Nature of the Beast!
Kirkus Reviews calls The Nature of the Beast "a mystery with global scope and consequences... What makes this story most magical... is the perfect reminder of the dark side of human nature, but that side does not always win out. Penny is an expert at pulling away the surface of her characters to expose their deeper-and often ugly-layers, always doing so with a direct but compassionate hand."
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine.
Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
AWARDS & LISTS
The Man Booker International Prize and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize have merged. The new £50,000 award will be given to a work of literary fiction translated into English.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/man-booker-306625
Lawrence Hill has been appointed to the Order of Canada for "his writing representing black history in Canada and for his charitable efforts to help girls and women in Africa through the Aminata Fund, named for The Book of Negroes protagonist." His newest novel, The Illegal, is due in September.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/07/02/lawrence-hill-among-writers-honoured-with-order-of-canada/
The winners of the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction have been announced. Anthony Doerr and Bryan Stevenson won for All the Light We Cannot See, and Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.
http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult
YOUNG READERS
What are the best autobiographies for children and teenagers? Here's a great list.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jul/06/malala-bear-grylls-autobiographies-for-children-and-teenagers
NEWS & FEATURES
Jamie Reid, a Vancouver poet and community activist, has died. Reid was a co-founder of the TISH poetry movement at UBC, along with future Poets Laureate George Bowering and Fred Wah.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Vancouver+writer+activist+fought+justice+decency/11183686/story.html#ixzz3fFZZKTOS
Attention Harper Lee fans! The Wall Street Journal will be previewing the first chapter of Lee's Go Set A Watchman on July 10th.
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/06/go-set-a-watchman-first-chapter-online
Speaking of which, Go Set a Watchman may have been discovered years earlier than reported. A new account of its "discovery" has appeared, raising questions about "whether the book was lost and accidentally recovered, and about why Ms. Lee would not have sought to publish it earlier."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/books/harper-lee-go-set-a-watchman-may-have-been-found-earlier-than-thought.html
British novelist Louise Doughty is calling out publishers for "short-termism" that overlooks excellent authors. If things continue as they are, the next Hilary Mantel could "slip through our fingers."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/louise-doughty-novelist-warns-uk-publishers-that-their-shorttermism-could-see-the-next-hilary-mantel-slip-through-our-fingers-10359068.html
Is classic literature inherently "boring?" It shouldn't have to be, claims Leila Roy in this piece for Book Riot. Here's a great list of page-turner classics.
http://bookriot.com/2015/06/29/just-old-doesnt-mean-boring-experiencing-literary-classics-pageturners/
J.K. Rowling has announced a new chapter in the Harry Potter saga: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child—a play detailing the "'untold part' of the wizard's young life." The play will be performed next summer.
http://flavorwire.com/524997/j-k-rowling-announces-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-a-play-detailing-the-untold-part-of-the-story
Do moralists make bad novelists? In this week's New York Times' Bookends, Alice Gregory and Pankaj Mishra discuss "whether moral preoccupations have a place in good fiction."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/books/review/do-moralists-make-bad-novelists.html
Poetic justice is being served. "The owner of the humble garden tool that inspired William Carlos Williams's classic poem 'The Red Wheelbarrow' is finally getting his due!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/books/the-secret-of-william-carlos-williamss-the-red-wheelbarrow.html
The Vancouver Public Library and CWILL BC have announced the books selected for the first installation of the Reading Lights, an initiative to feature books on lamp posts around Vancouver.
https://cwillbc.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/announcing-reading-lights-2015-selected-books/
Nominations are still open for the 2015 City of Vancouver Mayor's Arts Awards. Deadline has been extended to Friday, July 17.
http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/2015/5/29/nominations-open-for-the-2015-city-of-vancouver-mayors-arts-awards
BOOKS & WRITERS
A Year of Marvellous Ways, by Sarah Winman, is a strong effort that shows "a poetic attention to image and metaphor." Set in 1947, its protagonist (named Marvellous Ways) is a 90-year-old woman who lives alone in a trailer in rural Cornwall.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/20/a-year-of-marvellous-ways-by-sarah-winman-review.html
The Invaders, by Karolina Waclawiak, is a "sad ballad of suburbia." Described as "Connecticut noir," it "revises Cheever and Updike by making women the avatars of the delights and terrors of upper middle class life."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/07/the-invaders-karolina-waclawiak-review-sad-ballad-suburbia
Multitudinous Heart is a newly translated book of poetry by Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Translated by Richard Zenith, the book includes "samples from every phase of the revered Brazilian poet's career."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/books/review-multitudinous-heart-newly-translated-poetry-by-carlos-drummond-de-andrade.html
Tom Sperlinger's Romeo and Juliet in Palestine is an "illuminating look at the wider role of education." The book describes the author's time teaching English literature to students in the West Bank.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/05/romeo-and-juliet-in-palestine-review-tom-sperlinger
Popular in Britain and "difficult to categorize", David Constantine has now made his North American debut with "style and conviction." His short story collection is called In Another Country.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/17/in-another-country-by-david-constantine-review.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Celebrate Nunavut Day with an inspiring, interactive storytelling session and discussion with Inuit storyteller and author Michael Kusugak. Thursday, July 9 at 5:30pm. Vancouver Maritime Museum. More information and to reserve tickets, http://vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/event/nunavut-day-perfect-story.
THE EVER AFTER
Indian Summer Festival and The Banff Centre present Padma Viswanathan and Jaspreet Singh, two of Canada’s most brilliant literary stars, venture into territory people most often wander alone. Friday, July 10 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $15/$20. SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at indiansummerfest.ca.
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
Part of the Indian Summer Festival, a panel featuring a group of writers linked by the fact that they once drove (or still drive) taxis. Friday, July 10 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $15. More information at indiansummerfest.ca.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
VAN SLAM
Vancouver poetry house presents feature poet, Cynthia French. Monday, July 13 at 7:00pm. Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, July 23 at 5:00pm. Salt Spring Island Public Library, 129 Mc Phillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Steve Noyes, Bren Simmers and Carmelo Militano plus open mic. Thursday, July 23 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.
MASHED POETICS
A night of spoken word and music mash-up where we pick a music album, form a cover band, and get poets to write new poems based on the music. Friday, July 24 at 9:00pm. Tickets: $10. 7 Dining Lounge, 53 West Broadway, Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
intergen(d)erational call & response
Spoken word performances that challenge and inspire. A collaborative project of Quirk-e (Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders) and Youth 4 A Change. Monday, July 27 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
KARA STANLEY
Author reads from her acclaimed new memoir, "Fallen: A Trauma, A Marriage, and the Transformative Power of Music." Followed by live music by her husband, Simon Paradis, performing with Joe Stanton as roots duo Stanton Paradis. Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, Greater Victoria Public Library. More information at gvpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
Join Canada's longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices... with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood's heritage gardens. August 13-16, 2015. Sechelt, BC. Information at writersfestival.ca.
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Tickets are going fast for our special event with Louise Penny, August 24th. Louise is kicking off her multi-city book tour for her new book with our event in Vancouver, so you'll be among the very first to hear her read from
The Nature of the Beast!
Kirkus Reviews calls The Nature of the Beast "a mystery with global scope and consequences... What makes this story most magical... is the perfect reminder of the dark side of human nature, but that side does not always win out. Penny is an expert at pulling away the surface of her characters to expose their deeper-and often ugly-layers, always doing so with a direct but compassionate hand."
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine.
Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
AWARDS & LISTS
The Man Booker International Prize and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize have merged. The new £50,000 award will be given to a work of literary fiction translated into English.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/man-booker-306625
Lawrence Hill has been appointed to the Order of Canada for "his writing representing black history in Canada and for his charitable efforts to help girls and women in Africa through the Aminata Fund, named for The Book of Negroes protagonist." His newest novel, The Illegal, is due in September.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/07/02/lawrence-hill-among-writers-honoured-with-order-of-canada/
The winners of the 2015 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction have been announced. Anthony Doerr and Bryan Stevenson won for All the Light We Cannot See, and Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption.
http://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/carnegieadult
YOUNG READERS
What are the best autobiographies for children and teenagers? Here's a great list.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/jul/06/malala-bear-grylls-autobiographies-for-children-and-teenagers
NEWS & FEATURES
Jamie Reid, a Vancouver poet and community activist, has died. Reid was a co-founder of the TISH poetry movement at UBC, along with future Poets Laureate George Bowering and Fred Wah.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Vancouver+writer+activist+fought+justice+decency/11183686/story.html#ixzz3fFZZKTOS
Attention Harper Lee fans! The Wall Street Journal will be previewing the first chapter of Lee's Go Set A Watchman on July 10th.
http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/06/go-set-a-watchman-first-chapter-online
Speaking of which, Go Set a Watchman may have been discovered years earlier than reported. A new account of its "discovery" has appeared, raising questions about "whether the book was lost and accidentally recovered, and about why Ms. Lee would not have sought to publish it earlier."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/books/harper-lee-go-set-a-watchman-may-have-been-found-earlier-than-thought.html
British novelist Louise Doughty is calling out publishers for "short-termism" that overlooks excellent authors. If things continue as they are, the next Hilary Mantel could "slip through our fingers."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/louise-doughty-novelist-warns-uk-publishers-that-their-shorttermism-could-see-the-next-hilary-mantel-slip-through-our-fingers-10359068.html
Is classic literature inherently "boring?" It shouldn't have to be, claims Leila Roy in this piece for Book Riot. Here's a great list of page-turner classics.
http://bookriot.com/2015/06/29/just-old-doesnt-mean-boring-experiencing-literary-classics-pageturners/
J.K. Rowling has announced a new chapter in the Harry Potter saga: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child—a play detailing the "'untold part' of the wizard's young life." The play will be performed next summer.
http://flavorwire.com/524997/j-k-rowling-announces-harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-a-play-detailing-the-untold-part-of-the-story
Do moralists make bad novelists? In this week's New York Times' Bookends, Alice Gregory and Pankaj Mishra discuss "whether moral preoccupations have a place in good fiction."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/12/books/review/do-moralists-make-bad-novelists.html
Poetic justice is being served. "The owner of the humble garden tool that inspired William Carlos Williams's classic poem 'The Red Wheelbarrow' is finally getting his due!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/07/books/the-secret-of-william-carlos-williamss-the-red-wheelbarrow.html
The Vancouver Public Library and CWILL BC have announced the books selected for the first installation of the Reading Lights, an initiative to feature books on lamp posts around Vancouver.
https://cwillbc.wordpress.com/2015/07/03/announcing-reading-lights-2015-selected-books/
Nominations are still open for the 2015 City of Vancouver Mayor's Arts Awards. Deadline has been extended to Friday, July 17.
http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/2015/5/29/nominations-open-for-the-2015-city-of-vancouver-mayors-arts-awards
BOOKS & WRITERS
A Year of Marvellous Ways, by Sarah Winman, is a strong effort that shows "a poetic attention to image and metaphor." Set in 1947, its protagonist (named Marvellous Ways) is a 90-year-old woman who lives alone in a trailer in rural Cornwall.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/20/a-year-of-marvellous-ways-by-sarah-winman-review.html
The Invaders, by Karolina Waclawiak, is a "sad ballad of suburbia." Described as "Connecticut noir," it "revises Cheever and Updike by making women the avatars of the delights and terrors of upper middle class life."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/07/the-invaders-karolina-waclawiak-review-sad-ballad-suburbia
Multitudinous Heart is a newly translated book of poetry by Carlos Drummond de Andrade. Translated by Richard Zenith, the book includes "samples from every phase of the revered Brazilian poet's career."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/books/review-multitudinous-heart-newly-translated-poetry-by-carlos-drummond-de-andrade.html
Tom Sperlinger's Romeo and Juliet in Palestine is an "illuminating look at the wider role of education." The book describes the author's time teaching English literature to students in the West Bank.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/05/romeo-and-juliet-in-palestine-review-tom-sperlinger
Popular in Britain and "difficult to categorize", David Constantine has now made his North American debut with "style and conviction." His short story collection is called In Another Country.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/17/in-another-country-by-david-constantine-review.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Celebrate Nunavut Day with an inspiring, interactive storytelling session and discussion with Inuit storyteller and author Michael Kusugak. Thursday, July 9 at 5:30pm. Vancouver Maritime Museum. More information and to reserve tickets, http://vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/event/nunavut-day-perfect-story.
THE EVER AFTER
Indian Summer Festival and The Banff Centre present Padma Viswanathan and Jaspreet Singh, two of Canada’s most brilliant literary stars, venture into territory people most often wander alone. Friday, July 10 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $15/$20. SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at indiansummerfest.ca.
IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
Part of the Indian Summer Festival, a panel featuring a group of writers linked by the fact that they once drove (or still drive) taxis. Friday, July 10 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $15. More information at indiansummerfest.ca.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
VAN SLAM
Vancouver poetry house presents feature poet, Cynthia French. Monday, July 13 at 7:00pm. Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, July 23 at 5:00pm. Salt Spring Island Public Library, 129 Mc Phillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Steve Noyes, Bren Simmers and Carmelo Militano plus open mic. Thursday, July 23 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.
MASHED POETICS
A night of spoken word and music mash-up where we pick a music album, form a cover band, and get poets to write new poems based on the music. Friday, July 24 at 9:00pm. Tickets: $10. 7 Dining Lounge, 53 West Broadway, Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
intergen(d)erational call & response
Spoken word performances that challenge and inspire. A collaborative project of Quirk-e (Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders) and Youth 4 A Change. Monday, July 27 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
KARA STANLEY
Author reads from her acclaimed new memoir, "Fallen: A Trauma, A Marriage, and the Transformative Power of Music." Followed by live music by her husband, Simon Paradis, performing with Joe Stanton as roots duo Stanton Paradis. Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, Greater Victoria Public Library. More information at gvpl.ca.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
Join Canada's longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers, featuring established literary stars and exciting, new voices... with opportunities for writers and readers to mingle amidst Rockwood's heritage gardens. August 13-16, 2015. Sechelt, BC. Information at writersfestival.ca.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 15
BOOK NEWS
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Tickets are still on sale for our special event with Louise Penny, August 24th 2015. Louise will be discussing the 11th book in her Inspector Gamache series, The Nature of the Beast, with Hal Wake.
Set in the dark and mysterious village of Three Pines, Quebec, The Nature of the Beast follows Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache as they investigate the disappearance of a nine year old boy.
Want a sneak peek of the novel? An Excerpt from the thrilling first chapter is available online:
http://gamacheseries.com/the-nature-of-the-beast/excerpt/
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
AWARDS & LISTS
M.G. Vassanji has won the 2015 Molson Prize. The prize, administered by the Canadian Council for the Arts, recognizes "distinguished members of the arts and social-science communities in Canada for long-term contributions to their field."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/29/m-g-vassanji-wins-2015-molson-prize/
The finalists for the 2015 Alberta Book Publishing Awards have been announced. The awards recognize excellence in book design, illustration, academic scholarship, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/25/2015-alberta-book-publishing-awards-finalists-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Little Red Henry, by Linda Urban, is a "refreshing new picture book" in which a little boy finds independence, despite his hovering family. The goal of the book is clear: "A vision of a saner landscape of parenting, where imagined disasters don't lurk in every independent move a child makes and children are allowed to become competent actors in the physical world."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/books/review/a-cure-for-hovering.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Dave Godfrey, writer and founder of House of Anansi press, has died. He was a pioneer in Canadian Literature, pursuing modernism, energized by "the idea of a vibrant, living national literature that could stand as a bulwark against the encroachment of American cultural hegemony."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/06/25/modernism-has-come-to-canada-the-enduring-legacy-of-dave-godfrey/
Margaret Atwood has agreed to yet another new and very different project. She will be contributing cartoons to The Secret Loves of Geek Girls anthology.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/25/margaret-atwood-writes-cartoon-strip-for-geek-girl-anthology
A library in Charleston, South Carolina, has been renamed in honour of one of this past month's church shooting victims. Known as "a librarian's librarian," Cynthia Graham Hurd (after whom the library was named) also happened to be the manager of that particular branch.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/26/charleston-library-renamed-in-honour-of-shooting-victim
It was George Orwell's birthday last week. To celebrate, the CBC has gathered a collection of features that "further explore Orwell's work and why it continues to be relevant today."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/01/george-orwell-a-tribute.html
Is there an overabundance of memoirs? "Europeans don't buy memoirs," Kate Gale was told on her first trip to Frankfurt. She asked why, and got "a series of answers none of which added up. 'We're narcissists too,' one French publisher told [her], 'Just not as much as Americans.'"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-gale/who-cares-about-your-life_b_7674386.html
How does one get "generation YouTube" reading books? "Publishers understandably want to cash-in on those with huge online followings, but they're missing a trick by ignoring book lovers in favour of gamers and fashionistas."
http://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2015/jun/29/youtube-blogging-books-publishing-zoella-pewdiepie-abookutopia-thebooktuber
BOOKS & WRITERS
Louis de Bernières' new book, Dust That Falls From Dreams, is his eighth novel. It was inspired by the story of his grandmother's first fiancé, who died of his wounds during the First World War. De Bernières is interviewed here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/28/louis-de-bernieres-dust-that-falls-from-dreams-interview
Wimbledon has begun so here's a list of "smashing reads," a "celebration of tennis in literature!"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/29/game-set-smashing-reads-for-wimbledon
Pride events are also ramping up from coast to coast. Here's the CBC's take on the best new books by LGBT authors.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/celebrate-pride-this-summer-with-great-lgbt-reads.html
Set during one long hot summer in the 1970s, Tim Lott's "extremely likeable" The Last Summer of the Water Strider is both a coming-of-age story and "a snapshot of the end of an era." When a young man's mother unexpectedly dies, he's sent to live with his uncle, a hippie whose home is a riverboat.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/the-last-summer-of-the-water-strider-tim-lott-review-novel
Speaking of summer...has malaise set in yet? If you're bored, here are "25 great literary series to replace your TV habit this summer...instead of binge-watching something old on Netflix, why not binge-read a great book series?"
http://flavorwire.com/523165/25-great-literary-series-to-replace-your-tv-habit-this-summer
Mislaid/The Wallcreeper, by Nell Zink, is "prodigiously intelligent and odd." Nonetheless, "the originality of the US author's celebrated ornithological debut is also evident in her second, equally striking, novel."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/26/mislaid-the-wallcreeper-nell-zink-review-novels
In May, Vancouver's Anvil Press published the final book by Quebec author Nelly Arcan to be translated into English. Called Breakneck, it shows "why she's one of the best writers Canada has ever produced."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-nelly-arcans-breakneck-shows-why-shes-one-of-the-best-writers-canada-has-ever-produced/article25143354/
The Guardian newspaper's poem of the week is Song, by Tzu-Yeh. Translated by Arthur Waley, it's "a flirtatious fourth-century confession of a young woman's passion" that "is vivid, sharp and sensual."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/29/poem-of-the-week-song-by-tzu-yeh-tr-arthur-waley
Annie Freud has finally "embraced the family name." After a lifetime of avoidance, she published her first collection of poetry in 2007, and now has written a third, called The Remains. She discusses her life, work and newfound familial acceptance, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/annie-freud-interview-why-ive-finally-embraced-the-family-name
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents celebrated crime writer E.R. Brown, author of the Edgar nominated novel Almost Criminal. Also on the playbill, a diverse line-up of talented writers in all genres. Thursday, July 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
TRACEY LINDBERG
Book launch of the author's new book, Birdie. Friday, July 3 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street.
CHUNQING WANG
Author will talk about life in her ancestral village of Yibancun in Shanxi Province, China and read from her book, You May as Well Sing, Brother. Saturday, July 4 at 2pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information and sign up at yourlibrary.ca.
VAN SLAM
Vancouver poetry house presents featured poet, Ayda. Monday, July 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
A TASTE OF HAIDA GWAII
Susan Musgrave and Stephen Reid talk about their literary work and the lives that inspire it, and to promote Susan's upcoming cookbook, A Taste of Haida Gwaii. Monday, July 6 at 7:30pm, free. Floral & Hardy Edible Plants, 688 E. Hastings, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Celebrate Nunavut Day with an inspiring, interactive storytelling session and discussion with Inuit storyteller and author Michael Kusugak. Thursday, July 9 at 5:30pm. Vancouver Maritime Museum. More information and to reserve tickets, http://vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/event/nunavut-day-perfect-story.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Steve Noyes, Bren Simmers and Carmelo Militano plus open mic. Thursday, July 23 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.
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from Little Washer of Sorrows. Saturday, July 25 at 2:00pm. Salt Spring Island Public Library, 129 Mc Phillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
KARA STANLEY
Author reads from her acclaimed new memoir, "Fallen: A Trauma, A Marriage, and the Transformative Power of Music." Followed by live music by her husband, Simon Paradis, performing with Joe Stanton as roots duo Stanton Paradis. Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, Greater Victoria Public Library. More information at gvpl.ca.
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Tickets are still on sale for our special event with Louise Penny, August 24th 2015. Louise will be discussing the 11th book in her Inspector Gamache series, The Nature of the Beast, with Hal Wake.
Set in the dark and mysterious village of Three Pines, Quebec, The Nature of the Beast follows Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache as they investigate the disappearance of a nine year old boy.
Want a sneak peek of the novel? An Excerpt from the thrilling first chapter is available online:
http://gamacheseries.com/the-nature-of-the-beast/excerpt/
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
AWARDS & LISTS
M.G. Vassanji has won the 2015 Molson Prize. The prize, administered by the Canadian Council for the Arts, recognizes "distinguished members of the arts and social-science communities in Canada for long-term contributions to their field."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/29/m-g-vassanji-wins-2015-molson-prize/
The finalists for the 2015 Alberta Book Publishing Awards have been announced. The awards recognize excellence in book design, illustration, academic scholarship, fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/25/2015-alberta-book-publishing-awards-finalists-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Little Red Henry, by Linda Urban, is a "refreshing new picture book" in which a little boy finds independence, despite his hovering family. The goal of the book is clear: "A vision of a saner landscape of parenting, where imagined disasters don't lurk in every independent move a child makes and children are allowed to become competent actors in the physical world."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/books/review/a-cure-for-hovering.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Dave Godfrey, writer and founder of House of Anansi press, has died. He was a pioneer in Canadian Literature, pursuing modernism, energized by "the idea of a vibrant, living national literature that could stand as a bulwark against the encroachment of American cultural hegemony."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/06/25/modernism-has-come-to-canada-the-enduring-legacy-of-dave-godfrey/
Margaret Atwood has agreed to yet another new and very different project. She will be contributing cartoons to The Secret Loves of Geek Girls anthology.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/25/margaret-atwood-writes-cartoon-strip-for-geek-girl-anthology
A library in Charleston, South Carolina, has been renamed in honour of one of this past month's church shooting victims. Known as "a librarian's librarian," Cynthia Graham Hurd (after whom the library was named) also happened to be the manager of that particular branch.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/26/charleston-library-renamed-in-honour-of-shooting-victim
It was George Orwell's birthday last week. To celebrate, the CBC has gathered a collection of features that "further explore Orwell's work and why it continues to be relevant today."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/01/george-orwell-a-tribute.html
Is there an overabundance of memoirs? "Europeans don't buy memoirs," Kate Gale was told on her first trip to Frankfurt. She asked why, and got "a series of answers none of which added up. 'We're narcissists too,' one French publisher told [her], 'Just not as much as Americans.'"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kate-gale/who-cares-about-your-life_b_7674386.html
How does one get "generation YouTube" reading books? "Publishers understandably want to cash-in on those with huge online followings, but they're missing a trick by ignoring book lovers in favour of gamers and fashionistas."
http://www.theguardian.com/media/commentisfree/2015/jun/29/youtube-blogging-books-publishing-zoella-pewdiepie-abookutopia-thebooktuber
BOOKS & WRITERS
Louis de Bernières' new book, Dust That Falls From Dreams, is his eighth novel. It was inspired by the story of his grandmother's first fiancé, who died of his wounds during the First World War. De Bernières is interviewed here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/28/louis-de-bernieres-dust-that-falls-from-dreams-interview
Wimbledon has begun so here's a list of "smashing reads," a "celebration of tennis in literature!"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/29/game-set-smashing-reads-for-wimbledon
Pride events are also ramping up from coast to coast. Here's the CBC's take on the best new books by LGBT authors.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/celebrate-pride-this-summer-with-great-lgbt-reads.html
Set during one long hot summer in the 1970s, Tim Lott's "extremely likeable" The Last Summer of the Water Strider is both a coming-of-age story and "a snapshot of the end of an era." When a young man's mother unexpectedly dies, he's sent to live with his uncle, a hippie whose home is a riverboat.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/the-last-summer-of-the-water-strider-tim-lott-review-novel
Speaking of summer...has malaise set in yet? If you're bored, here are "25 great literary series to replace your TV habit this summer...instead of binge-watching something old on Netflix, why not binge-read a great book series?"
http://flavorwire.com/523165/25-great-literary-series-to-replace-your-tv-habit-this-summer
Mislaid/The Wallcreeper, by Nell Zink, is "prodigiously intelligent and odd." Nonetheless, "the originality of the US author's celebrated ornithological debut is also evident in her second, equally striking, novel."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/26/mislaid-the-wallcreeper-nell-zink-review-novels
In May, Vancouver's Anvil Press published the final book by Quebec author Nelly Arcan to be translated into English. Called Breakneck, it shows "why she's one of the best writers Canada has ever produced."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-nelly-arcans-breakneck-shows-why-shes-one-of-the-best-writers-canada-has-ever-produced/article25143354/
The Guardian newspaper's poem of the week is Song, by Tzu-Yeh. Translated by Arthur Waley, it's "a flirtatious fourth-century confession of a young woman's passion" that "is vivid, sharp and sensual."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/29/poem-of-the-week-song-by-tzu-yeh-tr-arthur-waley
Annie Freud has finally "embraced the family name." After a lifetime of avoidance, she published her first collection of poetry in 2007, and now has written a third, called The Remains. She discusses her life, work and newfound familial acceptance, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/annie-freud-interview-why-ive-finally-embraced-the-family-name
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents celebrated crime writer E.R. Brown, author of the Edgar nominated novel Almost Criminal. Also on the playbill, a diverse line-up of talented writers in all genres. Thursday, July 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
TRACEY LINDBERG
Book launch of the author's new book, Birdie. Friday, July 3 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street.
CHUNQING WANG
Author will talk about life in her ancestral village of Yibancun in Shanxi Province, China and read from her book, You May as Well Sing, Brother. Saturday, July 4 at 2pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information and sign up at yourlibrary.ca.
VAN SLAM
Vancouver poetry house presents featured poet, Ayda. Monday, July 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
A TASTE OF HAIDA GWAII
Susan Musgrave and Stephen Reid talk about their literary work and the lives that inspire it, and to promote Susan's upcoming cookbook, A Taste of Haida Gwaii. Monday, July 6 at 7:30pm, free. Floral & Hardy Edible Plants, 688 E. Hastings, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Celebrate Nunavut Day with an inspiring, interactive storytelling session and discussion with Inuit storyteller and author Michael Kusugak. Thursday, July 9 at 5:30pm. Vancouver Maritime Museum. More information and to reserve tickets, http://vancouvermaritimemuseum.com/event/nunavut-day-perfect-story.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Steve Noyes, Bren Simmers and Carmelo Militano plus open mic. Thursday, July 23 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.
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from Little Washer of Sorrows. Saturday, July 25 at 2:00pm. Salt Spring Island Public Library, 129 Mc Phillips Ave., Salt Spring Island.
KARA STANLEY
Author reads from her acclaimed new memoir, "Fallen: A Trauma, A Marriage, and the Transformative Power of Music." Followed by live music by her husband, Simon Paradis, performing with Joe Stanton as roots duo Stanton Paradis. Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, Greater Victoria Public Library. More information at gvpl.ca.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 14
BOOK NEWS
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Warm hospitality. World class spa. Exceptional service. Be yourself. Be pampered. We'll take care of the rest." - The Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa
There are only 6 days left to enter our Romantic Weekend Getaway raffle! This is a fabulous weekend vacation package and we are so excited to be able to give it away. The package includes a roundtrip flight on Pacific Coastal Airlines and a two night stay in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, so it will be the perfect opportunity to relax and take in the beauty of the BC coast.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Join us on August 24, 2015 as Louise Penny and our very own Hal Wake discuss the 11th book in Penny's wildly popular Inspector Gamache Series, The Nature of the Beast.
"Three Pines again proves no refuge in Penny's stellar [The Nature of the Beast]...fans will delight in [her] continued complex fleshing out of characters they have come to love."—Publisher's Weekly, starred review.
Copies of The Nature of the Beast as well as previous Inspector Gamache novels will be available for purchase at the event. Bookstores won't have The Nature of the Beast on their shelves until August 25, so this is your chance to get your copy early and to have it signed by the author herself!
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
FESTIVALS
The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival continues with more great music including Pink Martini, Chris Botti, The Roots and The Waifs, free shows at David Lam Park/Roundhouse this weekend and on Granville Island (plus Canada Day, July 1), and much more. More information at http://www.coastaljazz.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
Nick Cutter, Thomas King and Emily St. John Mandel are just a few of the authors who have been shortlisted for the Sunburst Awards, which recognize "excellent works of Canadian fantasy and speculative fiction published the previous year." The winners will be revealed in the fall.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/22/nick-cutter-thomas-king-emily-st-john-mandel-among-authors-shortlisted-for-sunburst-awards/
Tanya Landman and William Grill have won the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals, the oldest awards for children's fiction. Both of their stories were inspired by historical events.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/11691240/Real-life-stories-win-Carnegie-and-Kate-Greenaway-medals.html
YOUNG READERS
Here's Quill and Quire's "Books for Young People" fall preview. Among the anticipated titles is a book on Canadian musical legend Oscar Peterson, who gets the picture-book treatment in Oscar Lives Next Door.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2015/06/22/fall-books-for-young-people-preview-titles-for-exploring/
"Show-stopping butterflies and fireflies" are the stars of these picture books set in "the loveliest corners of the insect world." Four different children's titles are reviewed, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/23/books/review/23childrens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
"Cult" author James Salter has died. "The novelist Richard Ford, one of many fellow writers who appreciated Salter's work long before it won general public acclaim, once declared that he 'writes American sentences better than anyone.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/22/james-salter
Where are English bookstores thriving? You might not guess it: China!
http://goodereader.com/blog/bea/english-bookstores-are-thriving-in-china
As it turns out, the love for English literature in China extends far beyond our language's most accessible authors. Here's a piece on James Joyce's growing popularity in China.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/james-joyces-growing-popularity-in-china/
Penguin Random House is now selling books on Twitter. "When you click on book related branding by Penguin Random House, such as a Tweet about a latest bestseller it will take you to a dedicated product page."
http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/penguin-random-house-now-selling-books-on-twitter
Does a true artist care what his audience thinks? That's the question being asked on this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Ayana Mathis discuss "the relationship between writers and readership," here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/books/review/does-a-true-artist-care-what-his-audience-thinks.html
Have you ever wondered what it's like to have dyslexia? This font can show you.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/dyslexia-font-daniel-britton_n_7615156.html
Simon Armitage has been voted Oxford's new Professor of Poetry, and not everyone is happy about it. The post was established in the early 18th century, and previous holders include Robert Graves, Cecil Day-Lewis and WH Auden.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11687586/simon-armitage-oxford-professor-of-poetry.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In Amy Bloom's new novel, Lucky Us, "the sexual secrets of the 1930s film industry mix with untold stories of her own ancestors." She explains the novel, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/23/amy-bloom-novelist-bringing-hollywood-and-family-out-of-closet
Graham Swift's England and Other Stories, is a collection of tales that "tend to be short, dense narratives that unfold, origami-style, into complex meditations on characters' lives, tales with vistas as panoramic as those in the stories of Alice Munro." Mortality is a main theme, looming large.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/books/review-graham-swifts-england-and-other-stories-a-darkness-across-time-and-fates.html
Vendela Vida's fourth book, The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, is about "a shifty American whose terrible decisions keep the narrative moving at a taut and suspenseful clip." It's Vida's finest book yet, "a taut, suspenseful story that ticks along with marvelous efficiency, like a little bomb."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/books/review-vendela-vidas-the-divers-clothes-lie-empty-offers-freedom-to-escape.html
Saint Mazie, by Jami Attenberg details a fascinating period of New York history that "transcends its mid-20th-century Manhattan setting." The novel is a fictionalised account of the life of the Big Apple's "Queen of the Bowery."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/21/saint-mazie-review-jami-attenberg
Melody: Story of a Nude Dancer has cemented Sylvie Rancourt's legacy as "one of Canada's first, and most important, graphic memoirists... Read Melody, and see what love and life look like, freed from all spite."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-melody-cements-sylvie-rancourts-legacy-as-one-of-canadas-first-and-most-important-graphic-memoirists/article25038651/
The Vancouver Sun's book club is currently discussing Boo, a new novel by Neil Smith. Feedback and mini reviews can be found here. On June 26th, Neil Smith will also be chatting online with readers.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/book+club+year+protagonist+quest+meaning/11151629/story.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from her new book of dark comedy, satire and twisted fables, The Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm. Pulpfiction Books, Main Street, Vancouver.
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.
A GATHERING OF POETS
An evening of poetry by B.C.'s finest wordsmiths featuring Jane Munro, Cecily Nicholson, Rob Budde, Kayla Czaga, Patrick Lane and Russell Thornton. Moderated by Vancouver's Poet Laureate Rachel Rose. Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEBRA KOMAR
Author discusses her new book Murder at Fort Stikine: Solving a Centuries Old Crime in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CARELLIN BROOKS AND MICHAEL V. SMITH
Authors read from their latest works: One Hundred Days of Rain (Brooks) and My Body Is Yours (Smith). Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Storytelling sessions with Inuit storyteller and children's author Michael Kusugak. Wednesday, July 1 at 11am and 1pm, free. Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver. More information at vancouvermaritimemuseum.com.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents celebrated crime writer E.R. Brown, author of the Edgar nominated novel Almost Criminal. Also on the playbill, a diverse line-up of talented writers in all genres. Thursday, July 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Warm hospitality. World class spa. Exceptional service. Be yourself. Be pampered. We'll take care of the rest." - The Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa
There are only 6 days left to enter our Romantic Weekend Getaway raffle! This is a fabulous weekend vacation package and we are so excited to be able to give it away. The package includes a roundtrip flight on Pacific Coastal Airlines and a two night stay in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, so it will be the perfect opportunity to relax and take in the beauty of the BC coast.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake
Join us on August 24, 2015 as Louise Penny and our very own Hal Wake discuss the 11th book in Penny's wildly popular Inspector Gamache Series, The Nature of the Beast.
"Three Pines again proves no refuge in Penny's stellar [The Nature of the Beast]...fans will delight in [her] continued complex fleshing out of characters they have come to love."—Publisher's Weekly, starred review.
Copies of The Nature of the Beast as well as previous Inspector Gamache novels will be available for purchase at the event. Bookstores won't have The Nature of the Beast on their shelves until August 25, so this is your chance to get your copy early and to have it signed by the author herself!
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
FESTIVALS
The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival continues with more great music including Pink Martini, Chris Botti, The Roots and The Waifs, free shows at David Lam Park/Roundhouse this weekend and on Granville Island (plus Canada Day, July 1), and much more. More information at http://www.coastaljazz.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
Nick Cutter, Thomas King and Emily St. John Mandel are just a few of the authors who have been shortlisted for the Sunburst Awards, which recognize "excellent works of Canadian fantasy and speculative fiction published the previous year." The winners will be revealed in the fall.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/22/nick-cutter-thomas-king-emily-st-john-mandel-among-authors-shortlisted-for-sunburst-awards/
Tanya Landman and William Grill have won the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals, the oldest awards for children's fiction. Both of their stories were inspired by historical events.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/11691240/Real-life-stories-win-Carnegie-and-Kate-Greenaway-medals.html
YOUNG READERS
Here's Quill and Quire's "Books for Young People" fall preview. Among the anticipated titles is a book on Canadian musical legend Oscar Peterson, who gets the picture-book treatment in Oscar Lives Next Door.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2015/06/22/fall-books-for-young-people-preview-titles-for-exploring/
"Show-stopping butterflies and fireflies" are the stars of these picture books set in "the loveliest corners of the insect world." Four different children's titles are reviewed, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/23/books/review/23childrens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
"Cult" author James Salter has died. "The novelist Richard Ford, one of many fellow writers who appreciated Salter's work long before it won general public acclaim, once declared that he 'writes American sentences better than anyone.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/22/james-salter
Where are English bookstores thriving? You might not guess it: China!
http://goodereader.com/blog/bea/english-bookstores-are-thriving-in-china
As it turns out, the love for English literature in China extends far beyond our language's most accessible authors. Here's a piece on James Joyce's growing popularity in China.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/james-joyces-growing-popularity-in-china/
Penguin Random House is now selling books on Twitter. "When you click on book related branding by Penguin Random House, such as a Tweet about a latest bestseller it will take you to a dedicated product page."
http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/penguin-random-house-now-selling-books-on-twitter
Does a true artist care what his audience thinks? That's the question being asked on this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Ayana Mathis discuss "the relationship between writers and readership," here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/books/review/does-a-true-artist-care-what-his-audience-thinks.html
Have you ever wondered what it's like to have dyslexia? This font can show you.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/dyslexia-font-daniel-britton_n_7615156.html
Simon Armitage has been voted Oxford's new Professor of Poetry, and not everyone is happy about it. The post was established in the early 18th century, and previous holders include Robert Graves, Cecil Day-Lewis and WH Auden.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11687586/simon-armitage-oxford-professor-of-poetry.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In Amy Bloom's new novel, Lucky Us, "the sexual secrets of the 1930s film industry mix with untold stories of her own ancestors." She explains the novel, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/23/amy-bloom-novelist-bringing-hollywood-and-family-out-of-closet
Graham Swift's England and Other Stories, is a collection of tales that "tend to be short, dense narratives that unfold, origami-style, into complex meditations on characters' lives, tales with vistas as panoramic as those in the stories of Alice Munro." Mortality is a main theme, looming large.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/books/review-graham-swifts-england-and-other-stories-a-darkness-across-time-and-fates.html
Vendela Vida's fourth book, The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, is about "a shifty American whose terrible decisions keep the narrative moving at a taut and suspenseful clip." It's Vida's finest book yet, "a taut, suspenseful story that ticks along with marvelous efficiency, like a little bomb."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/books/review-vendela-vidas-the-divers-clothes-lie-empty-offers-freedom-to-escape.html
Saint Mazie, by Jami Attenberg details a fascinating period of New York history that "transcends its mid-20th-century Manhattan setting." The novel is a fictionalised account of the life of the Big Apple's "Queen of the Bowery."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/21/saint-mazie-review-jami-attenberg
Melody: Story of a Nude Dancer has cemented Sylvie Rancourt's legacy as "one of Canada's first, and most important, graphic memoirists... Read Melody, and see what love and life look like, freed from all spite."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-melody-cements-sylvie-rancourts-legacy-as-one-of-canadas-first-and-most-important-graphic-memoirists/article25038651/
The Vancouver Sun's book club is currently discussing Boo, a new novel by Neil Smith. Feedback and mini reviews can be found here. On June 26th, Neil Smith will also be chatting online with readers.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/book+club+year+protagonist+quest+meaning/11151629/story.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from her new book of dark comedy, satire and twisted fables, The Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm. Pulpfiction Books, Main Street, Vancouver.
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.
A GATHERING OF POETS
An evening of poetry by B.C.'s finest wordsmiths featuring Jane Munro, Cecily Nicholson, Rob Budde, Kayla Czaga, Patrick Lane and Russell Thornton. Moderated by Vancouver's Poet Laureate Rachel Rose. Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEBRA KOMAR
Author discusses her new book Murder at Fort Stikine: Solving a Centuries Old Crime in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CARELLIN BROOKS AND MICHAEL V. SMITH
Authors read from their latest works: One Hundred Days of Rain (Brooks) and My Body Is Yours (Smith). Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Storytelling sessions with Inuit storyteller and children's author Michael Kusugak. Wednesday, July 1 at 11am and 1pm, free. Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver. More information at vancouvermaritimemuseum.com.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents celebrated crime writer E.R. Brown, author of the Edgar nominated novel Almost Criminal. Also on the playbill, a diverse line-up of talented writers in all genres. Thursday, July 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 13
BOOK NEWS
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Our Romantic Oceanside Getaway Raffle is off to a great start! We've already sold 70 tickets, so make sure to purchase yours before it's too late. The getaway consists of a roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Comox and a two night stay for two in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, which features an oceanfront balcony, whirlpool tub and cozy fireplace.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
An Evening with Louise Penny
Eagerly awaiting the latest installment in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series? Tickets are now on sale for our special event with Louise Penny on Monday, August 24. Louise will be discussing the 11th book in the series, The Nature of the Beast, which has Inspector Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache investigating the disappearance of a nine year old boy in Three Pines, a small village with a dark, even monstrous, past.
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
FESTIVALS
The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival (June 18-July 1) features 14 days of great music including headliners Buddy Guy, Erykah Badu, Pink Martini, and The Roots, the North Shore jazz series featuring The Campbell Brothers and The Waifs, free concerts at the Vancouver Art Gallery/Robson Square (June 18-21), David Lam Park/Roundhouse(June 27-28) and Granville Island (Canada Day, July 1), and much more. Details at http://www.coastaljazz.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The Canadian Authors Association has announced the shortlists for its annual literary awards, which recognize "excellent titles published by the country's writers in the previous year." Ann-Marie MacDonald, Miriam Toews and Eliza Robertson all made the list.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/10/miriam-toews-sean-michaels-among-2015-canadian-authors-association-literary-awards-finalists/
Darrell Dennis has won the PMC Aboriginal Literature Award. "Peace Pipe Dreams: The Truth About Lies About Indians (Douglas & McIntyre), in which Dennis tackles misconceptions about First Nations people in Canada with personal anecdotes, history, and humour, will also serve as the official selected title of FNCR 2015–2016."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/10/darrell-dennis-wins-pmc-aboriginal-literature-award/
John Spurling has been awarded the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Ten Thousand Things, a book that was rejected by publishers 44 times. According to Spurling, "I always thought that I would like success to be in my seventies, and I'm seventy-nine this year, so have just made it!"
http://www.teleread.com/award/keep-those-rejection-slips-coming-authors-scottish-prize-goes-to-book-rejected-44-times/
Jack Livings has won the PEN Prize for Debut Fiction. His short story collection, The Dog, is set in China, where Livings lived for a time during the 1990s.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/jack-livings-wins-pen-prize-for-debut-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
June 11 was Robert Munsch's 70th birthday. Here are 70 facts "you might not know about the iconic storyteller to celebrate."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/70-amazing-facts-about-robert-munsch.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Vancouver has topped Amazon.ca's "Canadian Cities that Love to Read" list. "The West Coast city not only ranked number one overall, but Vancouver residents are proving to be a worldly bunch - buying more cookbooks, travel guides, business books, health guides and self-help titles than anyone else in the country."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/vancouver-is-1-on-amazoncas-canadian-cities-that-love-to-read-list.html
Juan Felipe Herrera has been named U.S. Poet Laureate. A son of migrant farmworkers, his writing "fuses wide-ranging experimentalism with reflections on Mexican-American identity." He is the first Latino to occupy the position.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/books/juan-felipe-herrera-of-california-to-be-next-poet-laureate.html
It was Bloomsday this week, celebrated every June 16th (the day in which the events of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses, take place.) How would Ulysses be received today?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/how-would-ulysses-be-received-today.html
Missouri's Ferguson Municipal Public Library has been chosen as Library Journal's library of the year. The tiny library's only full-time employee, Scott Bonner, "gained international attention after he and a handful of volunteers kept the doors open for patrons despite the breakout of riots last November."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/ferguson-library-named-library-of-the-year.html
A U.K. publisher has vowed to publish only women for a year in response to author Kamila Shamsie's call for direct action to beat gender bias in publishing. Called And Other Stories, they release 10 to 12 new titles a year.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/11/no-men-allowed-publisher-accepts-novelists-year-of-women-challenge
Why is English the only language that capitalizes the letter "I"? "Could ‘I' actually affect English speakers' sense of self?" Find out the answer, here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/09/english-first-person-pronouns_n_7485402.html
Are big publishers taking over fan-fiction? It has become a boon for licensors and publishers, who have used online forums to search out new authors who might be interested in contributing to the creative process.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/licensing/article/66650-embracing-the-fans.html
Can Instagram be used as a platform for memoir writing? An art history student at Cambridge University is "in the process of writing a fragmented memoir entirely on Instagram. Along the way, she's collected 339,000 readers—and a literary agent who's now turning her adventures into a book."
http://mic.com/articles/120102/caroline-calloway-instragram-memoir-book
BOOKS & WRITERS
Are you ready for some summertime reading? Here's the Georgia Straight's guide.
http://www.straight.com/life/469081/bright-books-warm-weather
Backlands, by Victoria Shorr, is "the fictionalized account of a real-life one-eyed bandit called Lampião and his lover, Maria Bonita — famous Brazilian outlaws who took from the rich and gave to the poor." Backlands is "less a tale of adventure than an exploration of love and loyalty, of the relationship between a people and their land."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/backlands-by-victoria-shorr.html
Tracey Lindberg's debut novel, Birdie, has introduced "an important new voice in Canadian fiction." It's an idiosyncratic and relatable tale about a Cree-Métis woman who moves from northern Alberta to B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, thanks to a girlhood obsession with the long-running CBC TV series The Beachcombers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-tracey-lindbergs-debut-novel-birdie-introduces-an-important-new-voice-in-canadian-fiction/article24940197/
Jami Attenberg's new novel, inspired by a 1940 New Yorker profile, "centers on a bawdy, bighearted woman in Depression-era New York." Called Saint Mazie, it makes "sainthood seem not only attainable, but seductive!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/saint-mazie-by-jami-attenberg.html
Tua Forsström poem, Houdini in Karis), has been named Poem of the week by the Guardian Newspaper. "In this piece from the Finnish-Swedish poet's new collection, Houdini is an escape artist who longs for human connection." You can read the poem (and a discussion of it), here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/15/poem-of-the-week-houdini-in-karis-by-tua-forsstrom
Irina Kovalyova's debut short story collection, Specimen. is "a humanist collision of art and science." The science comes naturally to Kovalvoa, who has a PhD in microbiology and immunology.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/13/specimen-by-irina-kovalyova-review.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
W. RUTH KOZAK
Author reads from her new novel Shadow of the Lion. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Kitsilano branch, 2425 MacDonald St., Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3976.
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.
VOICE TO VOICE
Launch of the latest book from the Thursdays Writing Collective. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Lost and Found Cafe, 33 W. Hastings.
ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
Call for writers: real life choose your own adventure fiction The Active Fiction Project is a public art initiative that explores the intersection of public space and literary fiction. They're looking for a few talented authors to create short pieces of choose your own adventure fiction (max 10 pages) for this summer/fall. More information at www.activefictionproject.com/submissions.
DON MCLELLAN
Author reads from his first collection of stories, In the Quiet After Slaughter. Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00pm. Collingwood branch, 2985 Kingsway. More information at 604-665-3953.
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.
A GATHERING OF POETS
An evening of poetry by B.C.'s finest wordsmiths featuring Jane Munro, Cecily Nicholson, Rob Budde, Kayla Czaga, Patrick Lane and Russell Thornton. Moderated by Vancouver's Poet Laureate Rachel Rose. Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEBRA KOMAR
Author discusses her new book Murder at Fort Stikine: Solving a Centuries Old Crime in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CARELLIN BROOKS AND MICHAEL V. SMITH
Authors read from their latest works: One Hundred Days of Rain (Brooks) and My Body Is Yours (Smith). Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
Upcomings
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/poetry-lovers/readers/writers bring to life the works of their favourite deceased poets. Each reader will give a brief presentation on the life and work of their chosen poet, followed by a poetry reading. Sunday, July 12 at 3:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Our Romantic Oceanside Getaway Raffle is off to a great start! We've already sold 70 tickets, so make sure to purchase yours before it's too late. The getaway consists of a roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Comox and a two night stay for two in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, which features an oceanfront balcony, whirlpool tub and cozy fireplace.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
An Evening with Louise Penny
Eagerly awaiting the latest installment in Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series? Tickets are now on sale for our special event with Louise Penny on Monday, August 24. Louise will be discussing the 11th book in the series, The Nature of the Beast, which has Inspector Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache investigating the disappearance of a nine year old boy in Three Pines, a small village with a dark, even monstrous, past.
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.
FESTIVALS
The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival (June 18-July 1) features 14 days of great music including headliners Buddy Guy, Erykah Badu, Pink Martini, and The Roots, the North Shore jazz series featuring The Campbell Brothers and The Waifs, free concerts at the Vancouver Art Gallery/Robson Square (June 18-21), David Lam Park/Roundhouse(June 27-28) and Granville Island (Canada Day, July 1), and much more. Details at http://www.coastaljazz.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The Canadian Authors Association has announced the shortlists for its annual literary awards, which recognize "excellent titles published by the country's writers in the previous year." Ann-Marie MacDonald, Miriam Toews and Eliza Robertson all made the list.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/10/miriam-toews-sean-michaels-among-2015-canadian-authors-association-literary-awards-finalists/
Darrell Dennis has won the PMC Aboriginal Literature Award. "Peace Pipe Dreams: The Truth About Lies About Indians (Douglas & McIntyre), in which Dennis tackles misconceptions about First Nations people in Canada with personal anecdotes, history, and humour, will also serve as the official selected title of FNCR 2015–2016."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/10/darrell-dennis-wins-pmc-aboriginal-literature-award/
John Spurling has been awarded the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction for The Ten Thousand Things, a book that was rejected by publishers 44 times. According to Spurling, "I always thought that I would like success to be in my seventies, and I'm seventy-nine this year, so have just made it!"
http://www.teleread.com/award/keep-those-rejection-slips-coming-authors-scottish-prize-goes-to-book-rejected-44-times/
Jack Livings has won the PEN Prize for Debut Fiction. His short story collection, The Dog, is set in China, where Livings lived for a time during the 1990s.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/jack-livings-wins-pen-prize-for-debut-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
June 11 was Robert Munsch's 70th birthday. Here are 70 facts "you might not know about the iconic storyteller to celebrate."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/70-amazing-facts-about-robert-munsch.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Vancouver has topped Amazon.ca's "Canadian Cities that Love to Read" list. "The West Coast city not only ranked number one overall, but Vancouver residents are proving to be a worldly bunch - buying more cookbooks, travel guides, business books, health guides and self-help titles than anyone else in the country."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/vancouver-is-1-on-amazoncas-canadian-cities-that-love-to-read-list.html
Juan Felipe Herrera has been named U.S. Poet Laureate. A son of migrant farmworkers, his writing "fuses wide-ranging experimentalism with reflections on Mexican-American identity." He is the first Latino to occupy the position.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/10/books/juan-felipe-herrera-of-california-to-be-next-poet-laureate.html
It was Bloomsday this week, celebrated every June 16th (the day in which the events of James Joyce's novel, Ulysses, take place.) How would Ulysses be received today?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/how-would-ulysses-be-received-today.html
Missouri's Ferguson Municipal Public Library has been chosen as Library Journal's library of the year. The tiny library's only full-time employee, Scott Bonner, "gained international attention after he and a handful of volunteers kept the doors open for patrons despite the breakout of riots last November."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/06/ferguson-library-named-library-of-the-year.html
A U.K. publisher has vowed to publish only women for a year in response to author Kamila Shamsie's call for direct action to beat gender bias in publishing. Called And Other Stories, they release 10 to 12 new titles a year.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/11/no-men-allowed-publisher-accepts-novelists-year-of-women-challenge
Why is English the only language that capitalizes the letter "I"? "Could ‘I' actually affect English speakers' sense of self?" Find out the answer, here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/09/english-first-person-pronouns_n_7485402.html
Are big publishers taking over fan-fiction? It has become a boon for licensors and publishers, who have used online forums to search out new authors who might be interested in contributing to the creative process.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/licensing/article/66650-embracing-the-fans.html
Can Instagram be used as a platform for memoir writing? An art history student at Cambridge University is "in the process of writing a fragmented memoir entirely on Instagram. Along the way, she's collected 339,000 readers—and a literary agent who's now turning her adventures into a book."
http://mic.com/articles/120102/caroline-calloway-instragram-memoir-book
BOOKS & WRITERS
Are you ready for some summertime reading? Here's the Georgia Straight's guide.
http://www.straight.com/life/469081/bright-books-warm-weather
Backlands, by Victoria Shorr, is "the fictionalized account of a real-life one-eyed bandit called Lampião and his lover, Maria Bonita — famous Brazilian outlaws who took from the rich and gave to the poor." Backlands is "less a tale of adventure than an exploration of love and loyalty, of the relationship between a people and their land."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/backlands-by-victoria-shorr.html
Tracey Lindberg's debut novel, Birdie, has introduced "an important new voice in Canadian fiction." It's an idiosyncratic and relatable tale about a Cree-Métis woman who moves from northern Alberta to B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, thanks to a girlhood obsession with the long-running CBC TV series The Beachcombers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-tracey-lindbergs-debut-novel-birdie-introduces-an-important-new-voice-in-canadian-fiction/article24940197/
Jami Attenberg's new novel, inspired by a 1940 New Yorker profile, "centers on a bawdy, bighearted woman in Depression-era New York." Called Saint Mazie, it makes "sainthood seem not only attainable, but seductive!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/14/books/review/saint-mazie-by-jami-attenberg.html
Tua Forsström poem, Houdini in Karis), has been named Poem of the week by the Guardian Newspaper. "In this piece from the Finnish-Swedish poet's new collection, Houdini is an escape artist who longs for human connection." You can read the poem (and a discussion of it), here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/15/poem-of-the-week-houdini-in-karis-by-tua-forsstrom
Irina Kovalyova's debut short story collection, Specimen. is "a humanist collision of art and science." The science comes naturally to Kovalvoa, who has a PhD in microbiology and immunology.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/06/13/specimen-by-irina-kovalyova-review.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
W. RUTH KOZAK
Author reads from her new novel Shadow of the Lion. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Kitsilano branch, 2425 MacDonald St., Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3976.
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.
VOICE TO VOICE
Launch of the latest book from the Thursdays Writing Collective. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Lost and Found Cafe, 33 W. Hastings.
ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
Call for writers: real life choose your own adventure fiction The Active Fiction Project is a public art initiative that explores the intersection of public space and literary fiction. They're looking for a few talented authors to create short pieces of choose your own adventure fiction (max 10 pages) for this summer/fall. More information at www.activefictionproject.com/submissions.
DON MCLELLAN
Author reads from his first collection of stories, In the Quiet After Slaughter. Tuesday, June 23 at 7:00pm. Collingwood branch, 2985 Kingsway. More information at 604-665-3953.
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.
A GATHERING OF POETS
An evening of poetry by B.C.'s finest wordsmiths featuring Jane Munro, Cecily Nicholson, Rob Budde, Kayla Czaga, Patrick Lane and Russell Thornton. Moderated by Vancouver's Poet Laureate Rachel Rose. Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEBRA KOMAR
Author discusses her new book Murder at Fort Stikine: Solving a Centuries Old Crime in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CARELLIN BROOKS AND MICHAEL V. SMITH
Authors read from their latest works: One Hundred Days of Rain (Brooks) and My Body Is Yours (Smith). Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
Upcomings
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/poetry-lovers/readers/writers bring to life the works of their favourite deceased poets. Each reader will give a brief presentation on the life and work of their chosen poet, followed by a poetry reading. Sunday, July 12 at 3:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 12
BOOK NEWS
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Pamper yourself and rekindle the flame between you and your partner with a stay in the Romance Suite which features a cozy fireplace, a whirlpool bathtub, and an oceanfront balcony with a spectacular view of the Pacific.
The Vancouver Writers Fest Romantic Weekend Raffle features a two night stay in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, including a roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Comox on Pacific Coastal Airlines.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
Announcing - An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with the 11th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series, The Nature of the Beast. Set in Three Pines, Quebec, The Nature of the Beast begins with Laurent Lepage, a nine year old boy whose stories of alien invasions, walking trees and dinosaurs outside the village have many villagers, including newcomers Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, doubting the truth of his words. That is, until Laurent disappears and the people of Three Pines are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Information about tickets will be available soon. Keep checking our website for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny
AWARDS & LISTS
Jane Munro has been awarded the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize for her most recent collection, Blue Sonoma. Blue Sonoma focuses on the struggle Munro's long-time partner has faced with Alzheimer's.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/jane-munros-blue-sonoma-wins-griffin-poetry-prize/article24817466/
Judith Saltman and Jacques Payette have won the 2014 Claude Aubry Awards for distinguished service in the field of Canadian children's literature. Judith Saltman, author of Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing received the English-language award, while Jacques Payette was honoured for his work in French.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/09/judith-saltman-jacques-payette-win-ibby-canadas-aubry-award/
Winnipeg author Casey Plett has been named winner of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for transgender fiction. "The awards aim to recognize the best English-language LGBT titles published the previous year."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/09/casey-plett-wins-lambda-literary-award-for-transgender-fiction/
Vancouver writer Alex Leslie has won the $4,000 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT Emerging Writers. Leslie's works include the short-story collection People Who Disappear and the poetry collection The things I heard about you, both nominated for several awards.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/alex-leslie-wins-2015-dayne-ogilvie-prize-for-lgbt-emerging-writers/
Wayson Choy, also of Vancouver, has been named winner of this year's George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding long-time contributions to B.C. literature. "His stories connect us, help us understand our city's past, and let us see life through a different perspective. He has helped tear down barriers between cultures and generations."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/wayson-choy-receives-2015-george-woodcock-lifetime-achievement-award/
Ann-Marie MacDonald has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, nicknamed America's Nobel Prize. "MacDonald is the sole Canadian among nine authors shortlisted for their ongoing literary achievements."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/ann-marie-macdonald-shortlisted-for-2016-neustadt-prize/
YOUNG READERS
Illustrator Chris Riddell has been named as the UK's new children's laureate. "The 53-year-old illustrator, who lives in Brighton, is dedicating his laureateship to championing creativity and, in particular, to visual literacy."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/09/illustrator-chris-riddell-named-uk-childrens-laureate
Here are some new young adult fiction titles worth checking out! Among the books reviewed is The Truth Commission, by B.C.'s own Susan Juby, "her finest novel yet."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-new-young-adult-fiction-from-susin-nielsen-sarah-henstra-susan-juby-and-others/article24821718/
NEWS & FEATURES
Anne of Green Gables, one of Canada's favourite books and film adaptations, is set to be adapted for the screen once more. Filming is currently under way, with Martin Sheen playing Matthew Cuthbert.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.3104952
Is Quebec literature isolated from the rest of North America? Here's Pasha Malla's take on the matter: "Too Different and Too Familiar: The Challenge of French-Canadian Literature."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/too-different-and-too-familiar-the-challenge-of-french-canadian-literature
Carmine Starnino, editor at Montreal's Véhicule Press, also has an opinion on the matter. Why does the prospect of publishing a new collection by Pierre Nepveu plunge him "into despair? Because I already know what to expect when the book is finally released: what UK poet and translator Michael Hofmann has called "a deluge—a deluge of nothing."
http://www.partisanmagazine.com/blog/2015/6/8/why-the-book-im-about-to-publish-will-be-ignored
An attempt to break the book dominos world record has been condemned as "disrespectful to books!" Japan's Gifu City Library had planned the event in order to commemorate its spectacular new building, and promote Gifu as a "book city."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11653656/Book-dominos-world-record-attempt-causes-outcry-as-disrespectful-to-books.html
Are you a good online reader? Here's a guide to being better!
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/being-a-better-online-reader
Paulo Coelho is offering two of his works for free, asking readers to pay only if they enjoyed reading them. ‘This idea does not harm the business,' he stated.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/09/paulo-coelho-buy-my-book-after-youve-read-it-only-if-you-liked-it
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ali Smith's recently won the Bailey's Fiction Prize. The "triumph in the women's fiction prize confirmed her as one of our pre-eminent writers. And, she says, the award shares her own preoccupation–how to assert a complex female identity in a world that tells women to be simple." Her new book, How to be Both, challenges the male cannon.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/05/baileys-prize-winner-ali-smith-interview
Joshua Cohen's new novel, Book of Numbers, features a struggling writer and a tech billionaire who share the same name. It "hums with the static of the cosmos," and "in its fractured way, is more impressive than all but a few novels published so far this decade.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/books/review-book-of-numbers-by-joshua-cohen-is-narrative-as-rich-as-the-web.html
"Today's fiction rarely has kind things to say about the middle-aged male psyche. Whether through hyper-masculine compensation, nostalgic tales of misspent youth or creepy accounts of abuse, most literary depictions of this maligned demographic might as well be accompanied by the warning sign: ‘Here be dragons!'" James Grainger's Harmless, on the other hand, is a "book made for today."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/mean-thriller-harmless-is-a-book-made-for-today/article24818969/
Colm Tóibín is featured in this week's Guardian books podcast. He discusses the women in his fiction, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/jun/05/colm-toibin-women-fiction-podcast
Aleksandar Hemon's The Making of Zombie Wars is "a violent, sexually astute, culturally exacting, zany and weirdly observant feat of writing." It's also one of the "funniest books of the year."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-aleksandar-hemons-the-making-of-zombie-wars-is-one-of-the-funniest-books-of-the-year/article24821619/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
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.
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.
VOICE TO VOICE
Launch of the latest book from the Thursdays Writing Collective. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Lost and Found Cafe, 33 W. Hastings.
Upcoming
ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
Call for writers: real life choose your own adventure fiction The Active Fiction Project is a public art initiative that explores the intersection of public space and literary fiction. They're looking for a few talented authors to create short pieces of choose your own adventure fiction (max 10 pages) for this summer/fall. More information at www.activefictionproject.com/submissions.
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.
Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!
Pamper yourself and rekindle the flame between you and your partner with a stay in the Romance Suite which features a cozy fireplace, a whirlpool bathtub, and an oceanfront balcony with a spectacular view of the Pacific.
The Vancouver Writers Fest Romantic Weekend Raffle features a two night stay in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, including a roundtrip flight from Vancouver to Comox on Pacific Coastal Airlines.
Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php
Special Event
Announcing - An Evening with Louise Penny
New York Times bestselling author, Louise Penny is back with the 11th book in her Chief Inspector Gamache series, The Nature of the Beast. Set in Three Pines, Quebec, The Nature of the Beast begins with Laurent Lepage, a nine year old boy whose stories of alien invasions, walking trees and dinosaurs outside the village have many villagers, including newcomers Armand and Reine-Marie Gamache, doubting the truth of his words. That is, until Laurent disappears and the people of Three Pines are faced with the possibility that one of his tall tales might have been true.
Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Information about tickets will be available soon. Keep checking our website for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny
AWARDS & LISTS
Jane Munro has been awarded the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize for her most recent collection, Blue Sonoma. Blue Sonoma focuses on the struggle Munro's long-time partner has faced with Alzheimer's.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/jane-munros-blue-sonoma-wins-griffin-poetry-prize/article24817466/
Judith Saltman and Jacques Payette have won the 2014 Claude Aubry Awards for distinguished service in the field of Canadian children's literature. Judith Saltman, author of Picturing Canada: A History of Canadian Children's Illustrated Books and Publishing received the English-language award, while Jacques Payette was honoured for his work in French.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/09/judith-saltman-jacques-payette-win-ibby-canadas-aubry-award/
Winnipeg author Casey Plett has been named winner of the 2015 Lambda Literary Award for transgender fiction. "The awards aim to recognize the best English-language LGBT titles published the previous year."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/09/casey-plett-wins-lambda-literary-award-for-transgender-fiction/
Vancouver writer Alex Leslie has won the $4,000 Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT Emerging Writers. Leslie's works include the short-story collection People Who Disappear and the poetry collection The things I heard about you, both nominated for several awards.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/alex-leslie-wins-2015-dayne-ogilvie-prize-for-lgbt-emerging-writers/
Wayson Choy, also of Vancouver, has been named winner of this year's George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding long-time contributions to B.C. literature. "His stories connect us, help us understand our city's past, and let us see life through a different perspective. He has helped tear down barriers between cultures and generations."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/wayson-choy-receives-2015-george-woodcock-lifetime-achievement-award/
Ann-Marie MacDonald has been selected as a finalist for the 2016 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, nicknamed America's Nobel Prize. "MacDonald is the sole Canadian among nine authors shortlisted for their ongoing literary achievements."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/08/ann-marie-macdonald-shortlisted-for-2016-neustadt-prize/
YOUNG READERS
Illustrator Chris Riddell has been named as the UK's new children's laureate. "The 53-year-old illustrator, who lives in Brighton, is dedicating his laureateship to championing creativity and, in particular, to visual literacy."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/09/illustrator-chris-riddell-named-uk-childrens-laureate
Here are some new young adult fiction titles worth checking out! Among the books reviewed is The Truth Commission, by B.C.'s own Susan Juby, "her finest novel yet."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-new-young-adult-fiction-from-susin-nielsen-sarah-henstra-susan-juby-and-others/article24821718/
NEWS & FEATURES
Anne of Green Gables, one of Canada's favourite books and film adaptations, is set to be adapted for the screen once more. Filming is currently under way, with Martin Sheen playing Matthew Cuthbert.
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/story/1.3104952
Is Quebec literature isolated from the rest of North America? Here's Pasha Malla's take on the matter: "Too Different and Too Familiar: The Challenge of French-Canadian Literature."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/too-different-and-too-familiar-the-challenge-of-french-canadian-literature
Carmine Starnino, editor at Montreal's Véhicule Press, also has an opinion on the matter. Why does the prospect of publishing a new collection by Pierre Nepveu plunge him "into despair? Because I already know what to expect when the book is finally released: what UK poet and translator Michael Hofmann has called "a deluge—a deluge of nothing."
http://www.partisanmagazine.com/blog/2015/6/8/why-the-book-im-about-to-publish-will-be-ignored
An attempt to break the book dominos world record has been condemned as "disrespectful to books!" Japan's Gifu City Library had planned the event in order to commemorate its spectacular new building, and promote Gifu as a "book city."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11653656/Book-dominos-world-record-attempt-causes-outcry-as-disrespectful-to-books.html
Are you a good online reader? Here's a guide to being better!
http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/being-a-better-online-reader
Paulo Coelho is offering two of his works for free, asking readers to pay only if they enjoyed reading them. ‘This idea does not harm the business,' he stated.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/09/paulo-coelho-buy-my-book-after-youve-read-it-only-if-you-liked-it
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ali Smith's recently won the Bailey's Fiction Prize. The "triumph in the women's fiction prize confirmed her as one of our pre-eminent writers. And, she says, the award shares her own preoccupation–how to assert a complex female identity in a world that tells women to be simple." Her new book, How to be Both, challenges the male cannon.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/05/baileys-prize-winner-ali-smith-interview
Joshua Cohen's new novel, Book of Numbers, features a struggling writer and a tech billionaire who share the same name. It "hums with the static of the cosmos," and "in its fractured way, is more impressive than all but a few novels published so far this decade.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/08/books/review-book-of-numbers-by-joshua-cohen-is-narrative-as-rich-as-the-web.html
"Today's fiction rarely has kind things to say about the middle-aged male psyche. Whether through hyper-masculine compensation, nostalgic tales of misspent youth or creepy accounts of abuse, most literary depictions of this maligned demographic might as well be accompanied by the warning sign: ‘Here be dragons!'" James Grainger's Harmless, on the other hand, is a "book made for today."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/mean-thriller-harmless-is-a-book-made-for-today/article24818969/
Colm Tóibín is featured in this week's Guardian books podcast. He discusses the women in his fiction, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/jun/05/colm-toibin-women-fiction-podcast
Aleksandar Hemon's The Making of Zombie Wars is "a violent, sexually astute, culturally exacting, zany and weirdly observant feat of writing." It's also one of the "funniest books of the year."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-aleksandar-hemons-the-making-of-zombie-wars-is-one-of-the-funniest-books-of-the-year/article24821619/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
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.
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.
VOICE TO VOICE
Launch of the latest book from the Thursdays Writing Collective. Thursday, June 18 at 7:00pm. Lost and Found Cafe, 33 W. Hastings.
Upcoming
ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
Call for writers: real life choose your own adventure fiction The Active Fiction Project is a public art initiative that explores the intersection of public space and literary fiction. They're looking for a few talented authors to create short pieces of choose your own adventure fiction (max 10 pages) for this summer/fall. More information at www.activefictionproject.com/submissions.
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
Book News Vol. 10 No. 11
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.
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.
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