BOOK NEWS
Festival Wrap-Up
The Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival wrapped up this week, with 60 per cent of events at near capacity and more than 13,000 people attending over the six days of the Festival. Events with David Mitchell, Ali Smith, David Grossman, Andrea Levy, Lynda Barry and many others were sell outs. "People want to see and hear the world’s best writers—and the world’s best writers want to come to Vancouver’s literary festival,” says Hal Wake, the Festival’s artistic director.
One hundred national and international authors appeared, coming to Vancouver from Canada, the US, the UK, Italy, France, Ireland, Israel, Australia, and New Zealand. The Festival attracted nominees and winners of all the major literary prizes, including the Man Booker, the Giller Prize, the Rogers Trust Prize and the Governor General’s literary awards.
Check our Festival blog to see what our bloggers had to say about events with Andrea Levy and David Mitchell and many others.
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/festival/2010/blog
Last chance to get your ticket for the Festival art raffle! Enter the draw to win a exquisite painting by Vancouver artist Jamie Evrard and support the Festival. Tickets are $20 (only 300 printed). The draw takes place Friday October 29 at noon so call now: 604 681 6330 ext 109.
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle
Festival Lost and Found
Two scarves, two umbrellas, jacket, t-shirt, keychain, two Festival books, reading glass case, water bottle, earring, cellphone pouch, purple grocery bag. Call the office to identify.
Special Events
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
"The bonobo apes demonstrate more humanity than many of the humans in Sara Gruen's new novel Ape House", writes Monique Polak in the Montreal Gazette. http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Sara+Gruen+novel+House+bonobo+apes+show+more+humanity+than+humans/3535317/story.html
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
AWARDS & LISTS
Miguel Syjuco's Ilustrado has been nominated for Quebec's Hugh MacLennan Prize for fiction, Erin Moure’s O Resplandor for the A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/15/quebec-literary-awards.html#ixzz12T6uNup0
Retired TV writer, producer and host John Leigh Walters has won the $10,000 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for A Very Capable Life: The Autobiography of Zarah Petri, a retelling of his mother's immigration from Hungary to Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/13/staebler-award-walters-petri-capable-life.html
Mark Sinnett’s The Carnivore, a novel set at the time of Hurricane Hazel, is the winner of the $15,000 Toronto Book Award.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/875495--mark-sinnett-wins-toronto-book-award
J.K. Rowling has won the inaugural Hans Christian Andersen Literature Prize, a prize created to honour children's authors who write in the spirit of Andersen.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/19/hans-andersen-prize.html
Visions of British Columbia, edited by Bruce Grenville and Scott Steedman, has won the 2010 Vancouver Book Award.
http://vancouver.ca/commsvcs/cultural/gasp/awards/book/2010/index.htm
Three authors have been awarded ReLit Awards for literature: Michael Kenyon for the novel The Beautiful Children, Stuart Ross, for his short story collection Buying Cigarettes for the Dog and Gillian Jerome, for her poetry collection Red Nest.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/22/relit-awards.html
Sandra Birdsell, Alice Kuipers (twice) and Yann Martel are among the authors shortlisted for the Saskatchewan Book Awards. David Baudemont and Martine Noël-Maw (who have participated in La Joie de Lire) are shortlisted for the Prix du Livre Français category.
http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/images/stories/PDF_Files/PressReleases/2010_Shortlisted_Titles.pdf
Turkish publisher Irfan Sanci, currently being prosecuted for publishing a translation of Apollinaire's 1911 novel Les exploits d'un jeune Don Juan (The Exploits of a Young Don Juan) has been recognized with a special Freedom to Publish award.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/25/turkish-publisher-obscenity-trial-honoured
Books by Kathleen Winter, Michael Winter, Trevor Cole, Emma Donoghue, and Michael Helm have been nominated for the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize. The Globe and Mail online offers readers excerpts from each book and the opportunity to vote.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/take-refuge-in-michael-helms-city/article1773821/
NEWS & FEATURES
Stuart Jeffries interviews Howard Jacobson on the experience of winning the 2010 Man Booker Prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/13/howard-jacobson-booker-winner-interview
The comic novel is not a genre, Jacobson tells Boyd Tonkin.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/howard-jacobson-funny-jewish-sad-no-its-just-a-novel-2106102.html
Meanwhile, Bloomsbury has printed an additional 150,000 copies of Jacobson's book.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11532332
Laura Miller describes why Salon believes the Booker is the best of the annual literary awards.
http://www.salon.com/books/literary_prizes/index.html?story=/books/laura_miller/2010/10/13/booker
As part of as yet undisclosed 'bigger plans', Orange, sponsor of the Orange prize for fiction has dropped the debut authors' prize, in favour of year-round online promotion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/14/orange-ditches-award-for-new-writers
At 89, Farley Mowat says his new book, Eastern Passage, is his last. He says that his typewriters are all broken and he's become a house painter.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/the-gospel-according-to-farley-mowat/article1758795/
Nineteen years after the publication of Such a Long Journey, Rohinton Mistry finds himself mounting a vigorous defence of his book and of freedom of speech after the novel was dropped from a Mumbai University curriculum and copies burned by ultra-nationalists.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/19/rohinton-mistry.html
Fiction Uncovered is the title of a new promotion next year intended to identify eight talented British authors who haven't had the exposure they deserve.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/22/fiction-uncovered-highlight-overlooked-novels
For 50 years, historians have assumed the Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial could hardly have been more entertaining than it actually was. Now there are some additional details discovered in letters and papers in the Penguin archive at Bristol University. A 50th anniversary edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover is forthcoming.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-drama-behind-the-lady-c-defence-2115114.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Charles Foran's new biography, Mordecai: The Life and Times, fills a significant void in Richler scholarship, writes Howard Heft. "The new biography is a fitting tribute to Mordecai Richler."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/biography+fitting+tribute+Mordecai+Richler/3713176/story.html
Hans Keilson, a former German resistance fighter who wrote a novel 63 years ago is to see Comedy in a Minor Key published in Britain for the first time. Rave US reviews have given the unknown author belated recognition among "the world's very greatest writers".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/17/german-hans-keilson-comedy-minor-key?CMP=EMCGT_181010&
Player One, Douglas Coupland’s tale of four strangers holed up in an airport cocktail lounge while the world around them crumbles, has an odd tenderness, says Stephanie Merritt.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/24/player-one-douglas-coupland-review
Catherine Bush adds that this is a novel obsessed with time, and with the breakdown of storytelling as a way of making meaning.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/player-one-what-is-to-become-of-us-by-douglas-coupland/article1768724/
Hugo Hamilton admires Bernhard Schlink's The Weekend, a novel that proceeds almost like a stage play.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/23/weekend-bernhard-schlink-reader-review
Donna Rifkind suggests that the notion of literature as echo is useful for readers of David Grossman's To the End of the Land, which seeks to escape the entrenched ways of thinking about what Israelis call "the situation."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/18/AR2010101805159.html
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince has been re-interpreted as a graphic novel by Joann Sfar. The LA Times calls it "a beautiful and well-rendered tribute to the original".
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-little-prince-joann-sfar-20101024,0,4401253.story
In Zero History, William Gibson imagines the links between the billion-dollar fashion industry and the military. Jason Anderson spoke to Gibson about clothes, old-time westerns and how he goes about "executing" his novels.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/25/william-gibson-zero-history.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MAKING WAVES: READING BC AND PACIFIC NORTHWEST LITERATURE
Featuring poets and essayists George McWhirter, Trevor Carolan, Judith Copithorne, Susan McCaslin, and Colin James Sanders. Thursday, October 28 at 7:30pm, free. Café Montmartre (4362 Main Street). More information at info@anvilpress.com.
GHOSTS IN THE HOOD
BC author Robert C. Belyk's collection of true ghost stories will be presented as a dramatic reading. Friday, October 29 at 6:45pm and 8:00pm. Inlet Theatre, 100 Newport Drive, Port Moody. More information at www.cityofportmoody.com/arts.
THE RETURNING JOURNEY
Poetry book launch and concert featuring author Dalannah Gail Bowen and keyboardist Michael Creber. Thursday, October 28 at 8:00pm, free. Centre A (2 W. Hastings). More information at dalannahgailbowen@yahoo.ca.
ONE BOOK, ONE VANCOUVER
Enjoy a double bill of District 9 and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Friday, October 29 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
COLD LAND, WARM HEARTS
Keith Billington will be signing books. Saturday, October 30 at 1:30pm. Black Bond Books, Royal City Centre (102 -610 Sixth Street, New Westminster). For more information please contact 604-528-6226.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Host of CBC Radio 3 Podcast with Grant Lawrence presents a slideshow and book signing for Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nudist Potluck, and Other Stories from Desolation Sound. Monday, November 1 at 7:00pm, free. Vancouver Public Library, Central Branch (350 W. Georgia). More information at 604-331-3603.
GORDON BITNEY
A humorous and informative story of a summer in Provence, France by the author of Provence, je t'aime. Wednesday, November 3 at 6:30pm, free. Kitsilano Branch, 2425 Macdonald Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ELIZABETH KOSTOVA
Author of The Historian reads from her new novel about art and obsession, The Swan Thieves. Wednesday, November 3 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
ANNABEL LYON
Reading by the author of The Golden Mean. Thursday, November 4 at 1:00pm, free.Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, Room 301 Point Grey Campus, 1961 East Mall. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
GURJINDER BASRAN
Author reads from her book Everything Was Good-Bye, winner of the Search for the Great B.C. Novel contest, chosen from 64 manuscripts by Jack Hodgins. Thursday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
THE ESSENTIALS: 150 GREAT B.C. BOOKS AND AUTHORS
Alan Twigg discusses his book, a guide to writing and writers that have shaped our literary landscape. Monday, November 8 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at www.vpl.ca.
Upcoming
JOEL HENG HARTSE
Reading by the author of Sects, Love, and Rock & Roll. Wednesday, November 10 at 7:00pm. The Wired Monk, 2610 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ow.ly/30vW8.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
Singer/songwriter, rancher and grassland conservationist Ian Tyson will be here with his new memoir The Long Trail: My Life in the West. Ian reflects on how his love for the West started in Victoria, nurtured and inspired his musical talent, taught him life lessons in the saddle, and has saved his soul. Sunday, November 14. Enter to win free tickets at www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
SEE THE VOICE
Visible Verse's 10th anniversary celebration and festival. November 19-20, 2010. Pacific Cinematheque, 1131 Howe Street. For complete program details, visit http://heatherhaley.com/visibleverse.php.
ATLANTIC/PACIFIC: AN EVENING OF POETRY
Readings by Judy Halebsky and Sandy Shreve. Thursday, November 25 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 44
BOOK NEWS
Festival News
There are still tickets available for many of the 68 events at next week's Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books & Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Van, check out 32 Books.
Check out the Georgia Straight's VIWF contest - enter to win tickets to one of the events at this year's Vancouver International Writers Festival plus a book from one of the featured authors.
http://www.straight.com/contest/vancouver/vancouver-international-writers-festival-kickoff.
And another Georgia Straight contest featuring books published by Penguin Canada to celebrate their 75th anniversary. http://www.straight.com/contest/vancouver/celebrate-penguin-books-75th-anniversary
The Literati silent auction features a plethora of fabulous items, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati. Tickets for this year's art raffle for a painting by Jamie Evrard will be available at Literati and at Performance Works during the Festival, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Check out our new Festival video, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/festivalvideo. Forward it to friends who are curious about the Festival experience!
Special Events
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sandra Kasturi calls Sara Gruen’s Ape House “an entertaining drama of human-animal relations.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869401--ape-house-an-entertaining-drama-of-human-animal-relations
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Bill Richardson and British novelist Sarah Waters at the top of their game in this conversation about Waters' novel The Little Stranger.
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
The premise of Marc Levy's All Those Things We Never Said is completely insane, writes Anne Sutherland, but if you throw logic and believability out the window, the novel is entertaining.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/reads+Dead+time/3645103/story.html
Dave Bidini's Home and Away about the 2010 Homeless World Cup "demonstrates the capacity of sports to act as a therapeutic agent and a catalyst for social change." Dave Bidini will appear in event 42.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-home-and-away-by-dave-bidini/article1745848/email/
Part travelogue, part exploration, part mid-winter love story, Breakfast at the Exit Café is both about a road trip from and an exploration of, told in alternating voices by Merilyn Simonds and Wayne Grady, of the nation of the American Dream. Simonds and Grady will appear in event 42.
http://www.dmpibooks.com/book/breakfast-at-the-exit-cafe
Derek Lundy's Borderlands is also about a road trip, this one Lundy's rather wild motorcycle ride along America's borders. Derek Lundy will appear in event 42.
http://www.straight.com/article-341742/vancouver/borderlands-tracks-derek-lundys-wild-motorcycle-ride-along-americas-borders
Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium is an historical and cultural odyssey beginning in Edmonton and ranging around the Balkans as Myrna Kostash tracks the origins of her inherited religion. Myrna Kostash will appear in event 42.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Cracking+books/3177690/story.html
Denise Chong's Egg on Mao profiles one of the men who, 20 years ago, dared to lob eggs at a portrait of Mao, an act that even today serves as an inspiration for China's pro-democracy forces, writes Alexander Varty. Denise Chong will appear in event 42.
http://www.straight.com/article-262659/egg-mao-praises-truly-brave-iconoclast
Mishka Mourani writes that Tony Di Nardo's collection Alien, Correspondent is a book to savor. "This collection of poems is reminiscent of the oriental rugs Di Nardo mentions in one of his poems." Both Alien, Correspondent and Soul on Standby were published this spring.
http://www.brickbooks.ca/?p=1382
William Gibson's Zero History features an amnesiac caught up in some high-tech espionage. It is about surveillance and about being on and off the radar. William Gibson will appear in event 37.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/zero-history-by-william-gibson-2061839.html
Anosh Irani's Dahanu Road brings together two families whose fates are dangerously intertwined. Anosh Irani will appear in event 37.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-dahanu-road-by-anosh-irani/article1551350/
Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil is a novel of ideas that considers both the bond between humans and animals and man's capacity for committing terrible acts, says the Seattle Times. Yann Martel will appear in event 37.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2011607590_br18martel.html
Adam Lewis Schroeder's In the Fabled East is a gripping and witty romp through colonial Indochina, a novel to lose yourself in. Adam Lewis Schroeder will appear in event 37.
http://www.thestar.com/article/839764--in-the-fabled-east-a-novel-to-lose-yourself-in
Linwood Barclay's latest, Never Look Away, starts as a mystery, revolving around the inexplicable disappearance of a young wife and mother. Then he revs into thriller mode.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-never-look-away-by-linwood-barclay/article1491331/
Growing up on the grounds of a now-defunct sanatorium gave Martha Brooks a setting and experience for Queen of Hearts, which Lucy Silag describes as a novel of friendship.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-queen-of-hearts-by-martha-brooks/article1724024/
"Rhythm is everything in Anthony Doerr's new collection, Memory Wall. His tales all seem somehow to undulate, to surge and recede like the tides, moving gracefully between different places and times." Anthony Doerr will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/books/review/Rafferty-t.html
Marisa Silver's extraordinary book, Alone With You, is a starkly elegant and superbly rendered collection of short stories. Marisa Silver will appear in event 55.
http://books.google.ca/books?sitesec=reviews&id=5lPXi5pRUVAC
Wells Tower has invented a world of rough men and strong women, and the women have had their patience sorely tried. Wells Tower will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/books/review/White-t.html
The stories in Yiyun Li's Gold Boy, Emerald Girl create in the reader the shock of commingled pleasure and melancholy. Yiyun Li will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Prose-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Aaron Bushkowsky's Curtains for Roy offers a hilarious and poignant peek into the world of theatre, where the greatest drama is offstage and the best performances take place behind the curtain. Aaron Bushkowsky will appear in event 57.
http://www.cormorantbooks.com/titles/curtainsforroy.shtml
In Seven Good Reasons Not to be Good, John Gould does a masterful job of reminding the reader that there is a whole lot in life over which we have no control. John Gould will appear in event 57.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Local+writer+talent+shines+longer+form/3429106/story.html
Rachel Wyatt's Letters to Omar involves three retired women who take on a cause, trying to make the world a better place while one of them writes unsent letters to people she admires, and to a few she despises. Rachel Wyatt will appear in event 57.
http://coteaubooks.com/book_uploads/media_releases/media_159.pdf
How do objects summon memories? What do real images feel like? These types of questions permeate the pages of Lynda Barry's graphic novel What It Is. Lynda Barry will appear in event 57.
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/shopCatalogLong.php?st=art&art=a45a8141b837f5
Candace Fertile writes that using the graphic novel form to write a memoir of her mother's struggles with Alzheimer's, Sarah Leavitt has re-created her mother, a woman anyone would be privileged to have known.
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Pictures+capture+pathos/3649176/story.html
Reviews of Charles Foran's Mordecai: The Life and Times, Michael Winter's The Death of Donna Whalen, and Camilla Gibb's The Beauty of Humanity Movement are included in The Walrus' "Seven new titles of note".
http://walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.11-walrus-reads-the-walrus-reads/
Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal is a debut novel that has already won prizes. But then, isn't everything a performance, in one way or another? Eleanor Catton will appear in event 51.
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3560/artsbooks/11584/enter_stage_right_.html
Paul Harding's debut Pultzer Prize-winning novel Tinkers deals with time (clocks), memory, consciousness and identity. Pau Harding will appear in events 51 and 55.
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/afterword/archive/2010/04/12/paul-harding-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction.aspx
Pascale Quiviger explores the nature of truth in The Breakwater House, a novel about two girls growing up together, so close that they easily pretend to be one another when convenient. How do we know when a true thing is true? Pascale Quiviger will appear in event 51.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-breakwater-house-by-pascale-quiviger/article1571318/
Miguel Syjuco's award-winning Ilustrado features a character named Miguel Syjido who is both biographer and detective—an extraordinary debut. Miguel Syjuco, the author, will appear in event 51.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-ilustrado-by-miguel-syjuco/article1560330/
AWARDS & LISTS
British author Howard Jacobson has won the 2010 Man Booker Prize for his comic novel The Finkler Question.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/howard-jacobson-wins-man-booker-for-comic-novel/article1754042/
David Grossman was handed the prestigious German Book Trade Peace Prize on Sunday at the Frankfurt Book Fair this past weekend. Though the award was announced in June, the actual ceremony didn't happen until Sunday, during the annual fair.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/10/german-prize-grossman.html
Diarmaid MacCulloch's A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Giancarlo Casale's The Ottoman Age of Exploration and Marla R. Miller's Betsy Ross and the Making of America are finalists for the $75,000 Cundill Prize in History.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872198--history-book-award-finalists
Sandra Birdsell's Waiting for Joe, Emma Donoghue's Room, Drew Hayden Taylor's, Motorcycles & Sweetgrass and Kathleen Winter's Annabel are among the English-language finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards. Marie-Claire Blais' Mai au bal des prédateurs and Dany Laferrière’s L'énigme du retour are among the French-language finalists.
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/releases/2010/lx129310227358016415.htm
NEWS & FEATURES
The NY Times reports that parents are so focused on preparing their children for standardized testing, they dismiss picture books and argue for chapter books as early as kindergarten.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html?_r=1
In prior years, the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature was often not recognized. The 2010 Nobel Prize has gone to a writer whose name is well known to and widely venerated by the global literary community.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100703808.html
A profile of Nobel prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa, a master of humour and humanity, is found here.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/novelist-politician-literary-bruiser-ndash-and-nobel-prize-winner-2101077.html
In a recent interview Henning Mankell ponders the reasons for the extraordinary global popularity of Nordic detectives. And he admits that he follows Graham Greene's example of stopping work in the middle of a sentence.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/henning-mankell-the-special-relationship-2098590.html
Actor Jonathan Pryce reads the recently unearthed Last Letter by Ted Hughes in a (UK) channel 4 video.
http://www.channel4.com/news/newly-discovered-ted-hughes-poem
Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, long described as 'unfilmable' is to be made into a film by a Toronto-based film company.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-unfilmable-book-comes-to-the-big-screen-2101807.html
Alice Munro's story Carrie appears in the latest issue of the New Yorker (subscription required).
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction
The Writers' Union of Canada has announced that submissions are being accepted until November 10, 2010 for the 18th annual short prose competition for developing writers. The winning entry will be the best Canadian work of 2,500 words in the English language, fiction or nonfiction, written by an unpublished author. The prize for the winning entry is $2,500.
http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/call-submissions-18th-annual-short-prose-competition-developing-writers
Walter Skold, the man behind the Dead Poets Society of America is inaugurating what he hopes will one day be a widespread literary holiday to honour and remember poets.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/07/dead-poets-remembrance-day.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Peter C. Newman in his review of Lawrence Martin's Harperland says: "The book’s most telling chapters deal with the Prime Minister's absolute domination of his party, his ministers, his cabinet and the every aspect of government."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-harperland-by-lawrence-martin/article1749251/
Tim McCarthy's Booker Prize-nominated C and Lee Rourke's Not-the-Booker-Prize nominated The Canal tilt against convention and attempt to define "a new generation in experimental fiction."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872482--c-a-novel-and-the-canal
The NY Times says that John Vaillant's The Tiger bears a striking resemblance to its fictional seafaring predecessors: the white whale and the movie-star shark (both of which are said to have been inspired by real creatures).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/books/review/Lewine-t.html?ref=books
Arturo Fontaine's La Vida Doble is a remarkable novel of politics, sex and torture in Chile that resists the moral high ground, writes David Gallagher. Carlos Fuentes says that Fontaine is the true heir to José Donoso, generally regarded as the finest novelist in Chile.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7167160.ece
Bill Bryson's new book At Home: A Short History of Private Life is based on the premise that the homes we live in have much to tell us about our history and ourselves.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872448--at-home-bill-bryson-considers-where-we-live
Poets Gary Geddes in Swimming Ginger and Michael Lista in Bloom engage with the historical record to explore such themes as love, power and politics — subjects that resonate in every era.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872388--swimming-ginger-and-bloom-musing-on-the-past
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ONE SENTENCE MEMORY CONTEST
The Memory Festival, brought to you by the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, Geist and SFU Writing and Publishing Program, wants your memories of Vancouver. Prize is a one year subscription to Geist, deadline is October 31, 2010. Complete details here, http://bit.ly/aNDAab.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Steven Heighton and Ian Williams. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information, phone 604-822-6453.
THE MAKING OF THE SZYK HAGGADAH, A SACRED JEWISH TEXT
Irvin Ungar, Proprietor, Historicana Books, Burlingame, California will speak about the making of this sacred text in Limited, Deluxe and Premier editions. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street (Main & Broadway).
VANCOUVER ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
33 used and antiquarian booksellers from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and California. Friday, October 15, 3pm-9pm Saturday, October 16, 10am-5pm Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
R.A. SALVATORE
Meet bestelling author R.A. Salvatore as he signs Gauntlgrym, the first book in the the brand new Drizzt trilogy, Neverwinter. Saturday, October 16 at 12:00pm, free. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street. More information at 604-682-4066.
DARLENE FOSTER
Book signing by the author of Amanda in Arabia, The Perfume Flask. Saturday, October 16 at 1:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, 5251 Ladner Trunk Road, Ladner.
A TASTE OF WORDS
A Mother Tongue Publishing night with novelist Gurjinder Basran (Everything Was Good-bye), poets Daniela Elza (4poets) and Mona Fertig (The Unsettled). Music and song by Peter Haase (Liverpool Pete). Saturday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Cafe Montmartre, 3941 Main Street.
CV2 MAGAZINE ANNIVERSARY COAST TO COAST READING TOUR
CV2 Magazine will be hosting a poetry reading featuring Billeh Nickerson, Bren Simmers, Donato Mancini, and Elizabeth Bachinsky will share the stage. Saturday, October 16 at 8:00pm, free. W2 Storyeum, 151 Cordova St. W.
PEN-IN-HAND READING SERIES
Readings by poets Bernice Lever and Ashok Bhargava. Monday, October 18 at 7:30pm. Suggested donation is $3. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at ainbinder.collins@gmail.com.
Upcoming
PLAY CHTHONICS READING SERIES
Readings by Lee Maracle and Fabiola Nabil Naguib. Wednesday, October 20 at 3:00pm, free. Graham House at Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at http://playchthonics.blogspot.com/.
ARTHUR BLACK
Luncheon, reading and book signing with the author of A Chip Off the Old Black. Thursday, October 21 at 11:00am. Preregistration required. West Point Grey United Church, 4595 8th Ave. W. More information at 604-224-4388.
CHARLES CLAPHAM
Author launches his second edition of the Great Walks of Vancouver. Thursday, October 21 at 7:00pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
LAUNCH FOR THE BEST CANADIAN POETRY 2010
Tightrope Books presents the Vancouver launch for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2010, edited by Lorna Crozier and Series Editor Molly Peacock. Saturday, October 23 at 4:00pm. The Agro Café, 1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island. More information at www.tightropebooks.com.
PEN-IN-HAND READING SERIES
Readings by poets Steve Mcormond and Steve Noyes. Monday, October 25 at 7:30pm. Suggested donation is $3. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at ainbinder.collins@gmail.com.
KEITH BILLINGTON
Join the bestselling author of House Calls by Dogsled as he shares more hair-raising medical emergencies in Cold Land, Warm Hearts: More Memories of an Arctic Medical Outpost. Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting Room, Level 3, Central Library
350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact VPL - Popular Reading Library at 604-331-3691.
COLD LAND, WARM HEARTS
Keith Billington will be signing books. Saturday, October 30 at 1:30pm. Black Bond Books, Royal City Centre (102 -610 Sixth Street, New Westminster). For more information please contact 604-528-6226.
Festival News
There are still tickets available for many of the 68 events at next week's Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books & Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Van, check out 32 Books.
Check out the Georgia Straight's VIWF contest - enter to win tickets to one of the events at this year's Vancouver International Writers Festival plus a book from one of the featured authors.
http://www.straight.com/contest/vancouver/vancouver-international-writers-festival-kickoff.
And another Georgia Straight contest featuring books published by Penguin Canada to celebrate their 75th anniversary. http://www.straight.com/contest/vancouver/celebrate-penguin-books-75th-anniversary
The Literati silent auction features a plethora of fabulous items, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati. Tickets for this year's art raffle for a painting by Jamie Evrard will be available at Literati and at Performance Works during the Festival, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati/raffle.
Check out our new Festival video, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/festivalvideo. Forward it to friends who are curious about the Festival experience!
Special Events
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sandra Kasturi calls Sara Gruen’s Ape House “an entertaining drama of human-animal relations.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869401--ape-house-an-entertaining-drama-of-human-animal-relations
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Bill Richardson and British novelist Sarah Waters at the top of their game in this conversation about Waters' novel The Little Stranger.
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
The premise of Marc Levy's All Those Things We Never Said is completely insane, writes Anne Sutherland, but if you throw logic and believability out the window, the novel is entertaining.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/reads+Dead+time/3645103/story.html
Dave Bidini's Home and Away about the 2010 Homeless World Cup "demonstrates the capacity of sports to act as a therapeutic agent and a catalyst for social change." Dave Bidini will appear in event 42.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-home-and-away-by-dave-bidini/article1745848/email/
Part travelogue, part exploration, part mid-winter love story, Breakfast at the Exit Café is both about a road trip from and an exploration of, told in alternating voices by Merilyn Simonds and Wayne Grady, of the nation of the American Dream. Simonds and Grady will appear in event 42.
http://www.dmpibooks.com/book/breakfast-at-the-exit-cafe
Derek Lundy's Borderlands is also about a road trip, this one Lundy's rather wild motorcycle ride along America's borders. Derek Lundy will appear in event 42.
http://www.straight.com/article-341742/vancouver/borderlands-tracks-derek-lundys-wild-motorcycle-ride-along-americas-borders
Prodigal Daughter: A Journey to Byzantium is an historical and cultural odyssey beginning in Edmonton and ranging around the Balkans as Myrna Kostash tracks the origins of her inherited religion. Myrna Kostash will appear in event 42.
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/Cracking+books/3177690/story.html
Denise Chong's Egg on Mao profiles one of the men who, 20 years ago, dared to lob eggs at a portrait of Mao, an act that even today serves as an inspiration for China's pro-democracy forces, writes Alexander Varty. Denise Chong will appear in event 42.
http://www.straight.com/article-262659/egg-mao-praises-truly-brave-iconoclast
Mishka Mourani writes that Tony Di Nardo's collection Alien, Correspondent is a book to savor. "This collection of poems is reminiscent of the oriental rugs Di Nardo mentions in one of his poems." Both Alien, Correspondent and Soul on Standby were published this spring.
http://www.brickbooks.ca/?p=1382
William Gibson's Zero History features an amnesiac caught up in some high-tech espionage. It is about surveillance and about being on and off the radar. William Gibson will appear in event 37.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/zero-history-by-william-gibson-2061839.html
Anosh Irani's Dahanu Road brings together two families whose fates are dangerously intertwined. Anosh Irani will appear in event 37.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-dahanu-road-by-anosh-irani/article1551350/
Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil is a novel of ideas that considers both the bond between humans and animals and man's capacity for committing terrible acts, says the Seattle Times. Yann Martel will appear in event 37.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/books/2011607590_br18martel.html
Adam Lewis Schroeder's In the Fabled East is a gripping and witty romp through colonial Indochina, a novel to lose yourself in. Adam Lewis Schroeder will appear in event 37.
http://www.thestar.com/article/839764--in-the-fabled-east-a-novel-to-lose-yourself-in
Linwood Barclay's latest, Never Look Away, starts as a mystery, revolving around the inexplicable disappearance of a young wife and mother. Then he revs into thriller mode.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-never-look-away-by-linwood-barclay/article1491331/
Growing up on the grounds of a now-defunct sanatorium gave Martha Brooks a setting and experience for Queen of Hearts, which Lucy Silag describes as a novel of friendship.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-queen-of-hearts-by-martha-brooks/article1724024/
"Rhythm is everything in Anthony Doerr's new collection, Memory Wall. His tales all seem somehow to undulate, to surge and recede like the tides, moving gracefully between different places and times." Anthony Doerr will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/books/review/Rafferty-t.html
Marisa Silver's extraordinary book, Alone With You, is a starkly elegant and superbly rendered collection of short stories. Marisa Silver will appear in event 55.
http://books.google.ca/books?sitesec=reviews&id=5lPXi5pRUVAC
Wells Tower has invented a world of rough men and strong women, and the women have had their patience sorely tried. Wells Tower will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/books/review/White-t.html
The stories in Yiyun Li's Gold Boy, Emerald Girl create in the reader the shock of commingled pleasure and melancholy. Yiyun Li will appear in event 55.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/books/review/Prose-t.html?nl=books&emc=booksupdateema3
Aaron Bushkowsky's Curtains for Roy offers a hilarious and poignant peek into the world of theatre, where the greatest drama is offstage and the best performances take place behind the curtain. Aaron Bushkowsky will appear in event 57.
http://www.cormorantbooks.com/titles/curtainsforroy.shtml
In Seven Good Reasons Not to be Good, John Gould does a masterful job of reminding the reader that there is a whole lot in life over which we have no control. John Gould will appear in event 57.
http://www.timescolonist.com/Local+writer+talent+shines+longer+form/3429106/story.html
Rachel Wyatt's Letters to Omar involves three retired women who take on a cause, trying to make the world a better place while one of them writes unsent letters to people she admires, and to a few she despises. Rachel Wyatt will appear in event 57.
http://coteaubooks.com/book_uploads/media_releases/media_159.pdf
How do objects summon memories? What do real images feel like? These types of questions permeate the pages of Lynda Barry's graphic novel What It Is. Lynda Barry will appear in event 57.
http://www.drawnandquarterly.com/shopCatalogLong.php?st=art&art=a45a8141b837f5
Candace Fertile writes that using the graphic novel form to write a memoir of her mother's struggles with Alzheimer's, Sarah Leavitt has re-created her mother, a woman anyone would be privileged to have known.
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Pictures+capture+pathos/3649176/story.html
Reviews of Charles Foran's Mordecai: The Life and Times, Michael Winter's The Death of Donna Whalen, and Camilla Gibb's The Beauty of Humanity Movement are included in The Walrus' "Seven new titles of note".
http://walrusmagazine.com/articles/2010.11-walrus-reads-the-walrus-reads/
Eleanor Catton's The Rehearsal is a debut novel that has already won prizes. But then, isn't everything a performance, in one way or another? Eleanor Catton will appear in event 51.
http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3560/artsbooks/11584/enter_stage_right_.html
Paul Harding's debut Pultzer Prize-winning novel Tinkers deals with time (clocks), memory, consciousness and identity. Pau Harding will appear in events 51 and 55.
http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/afterword/archive/2010/04/12/paul-harding-wins-pulitzer-prize-for-fiction.aspx
Pascale Quiviger explores the nature of truth in The Breakwater House, a novel about two girls growing up together, so close that they easily pretend to be one another when convenient. How do we know when a true thing is true? Pascale Quiviger will appear in event 51.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-the-breakwater-house-by-pascale-quiviger/article1571318/
Miguel Syjuco's award-winning Ilustrado features a character named Miguel Syjido who is both biographer and detective—an extraordinary debut. Miguel Syjuco, the author, will appear in event 51.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-ilustrado-by-miguel-syjuco/article1560330/
AWARDS & LISTS
British author Howard Jacobson has won the 2010 Man Booker Prize for his comic novel The Finkler Question.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/howard-jacobson-wins-man-booker-for-comic-novel/article1754042/
David Grossman was handed the prestigious German Book Trade Peace Prize on Sunday at the Frankfurt Book Fair this past weekend. Though the award was announced in June, the actual ceremony didn't happen until Sunday, during the annual fair.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/10/german-prize-grossman.html
Diarmaid MacCulloch's A History of Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, Giancarlo Casale's The Ottoman Age of Exploration and Marla R. Miller's Betsy Ross and the Making of America are finalists for the $75,000 Cundill Prize in History.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872198--history-book-award-finalists
Sandra Birdsell's Waiting for Joe, Emma Donoghue's Room, Drew Hayden Taylor's, Motorcycles & Sweetgrass and Kathleen Winter's Annabel are among the English-language finalists for the Governor General's Literary Awards. Marie-Claire Blais' Mai au bal des prédateurs and Dany Laferrière’s L'énigme du retour are among the French-language finalists.
http://www.canadacouncil.ca/news/releases/2010/lx129310227358016415.htm
NEWS & FEATURES
The NY Times reports that parents are so focused on preparing their children for standardized testing, they dismiss picture books and argue for chapter books as early as kindergarten.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html?_r=1
In prior years, the name of the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature was often not recognized. The 2010 Nobel Prize has gone to a writer whose name is well known to and widely venerated by the global literary community.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/07/AR2010100703808.html
A profile of Nobel prize-winner Mario Vargas Llosa, a master of humour and humanity, is found here.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/novelist-politician-literary-bruiser-ndash-and-nobel-prize-winner-2101077.html
In a recent interview Henning Mankell ponders the reasons for the extraordinary global popularity of Nordic detectives. And he admits that he follows Graham Greene's example of stopping work in the middle of a sentence.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/henning-mankell-the-special-relationship-2098590.html
Actor Jonathan Pryce reads the recently unearthed Last Letter by Ted Hughes in a (UK) channel 4 video.
http://www.channel4.com/news/newly-discovered-ted-hughes-poem
Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children, long described as 'unfilmable' is to be made into a film by a Toronto-based film company.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/the-unfilmable-book-comes-to-the-big-screen-2101807.html
Alice Munro's story Carrie appears in the latest issue of the New Yorker (subscription required).
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction
The Writers' Union of Canada has announced that submissions are being accepted until November 10, 2010 for the 18th annual short prose competition for developing writers. The winning entry will be the best Canadian work of 2,500 words in the English language, fiction or nonfiction, written by an unpublished author. The prize for the winning entry is $2,500.
http://www.allianceforarts.com/blog/call-submissions-18th-annual-short-prose-competition-developing-writers
Walter Skold, the man behind the Dead Poets Society of America is inaugurating what he hopes will one day be a widespread literary holiday to honour and remember poets.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/07/dead-poets-remembrance-day.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Peter C. Newman in his review of Lawrence Martin's Harperland says: "The book’s most telling chapters deal with the Prime Minister's absolute domination of his party, his ministers, his cabinet and the every aspect of government."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-harperland-by-lawrence-martin/article1749251/
Tim McCarthy's Booker Prize-nominated C and Lee Rourke's Not-the-Booker-Prize nominated The Canal tilt against convention and attempt to define "a new generation in experimental fiction."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872482--c-a-novel-and-the-canal
The NY Times says that John Vaillant's The Tiger bears a striking resemblance to its fictional seafaring predecessors: the white whale and the movie-star shark (both of which are said to have been inspired by real creatures).
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/books/review/Lewine-t.html?ref=books
Arturo Fontaine's La Vida Doble is a remarkable novel of politics, sex and torture in Chile that resists the moral high ground, writes David Gallagher. Carlos Fuentes says that Fontaine is the true heir to José Donoso, generally regarded as the finest novelist in Chile.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7167160.ece
Bill Bryson's new book At Home: A Short History of Private Life is based on the premise that the homes we live in have much to tell us about our history and ourselves.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872448--at-home-bill-bryson-considers-where-we-live
Poets Gary Geddes in Swimming Ginger and Michael Lista in Bloom engage with the historical record to explore such themes as love, power and politics — subjects that resonate in every era.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/872388--swimming-ginger-and-bloom-musing-on-the-past
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ONE SENTENCE MEMORY CONTEST
The Memory Festival, brought to you by the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, Geist and SFU Writing and Publishing Program, wants your memories of Vancouver. Prize is a one year subscription to Geist, deadline is October 31, 2010. Complete details here, http://bit.ly/aNDAab.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Steven Heighton and Ian Williams. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information, phone 604-822-6453.
THE MAKING OF THE SZYK HAGGADAH, A SACRED JEWISH TEXT
Irvin Ungar, Proprietor, Historicana Books, Burlingame, California will speak about the making of this sacred text in Limited, Deluxe and Premier editions. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street (Main & Broadway).
VANCOUVER ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
33 used and antiquarian booksellers from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and California. Friday, October 15, 3pm-9pm Saturday, October 16, 10am-5pm Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
R.A. SALVATORE
Meet bestelling author R.A. Salvatore as he signs Gauntlgrym, the first book in the the brand new Drizzt trilogy, Neverwinter. Saturday, October 16 at 12:00pm, free. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street. More information at 604-682-4066.
DARLENE FOSTER
Book signing by the author of Amanda in Arabia, The Perfume Flask. Saturday, October 16 at 1:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, 5251 Ladner Trunk Road, Ladner.
A TASTE OF WORDS
A Mother Tongue Publishing night with novelist Gurjinder Basran (Everything Was Good-bye), poets Daniela Elza (4poets) and Mona Fertig (The Unsettled). Music and song by Peter Haase (Liverpool Pete). Saturday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Cafe Montmartre, 3941 Main Street.
CV2 MAGAZINE ANNIVERSARY COAST TO COAST READING TOUR
CV2 Magazine will be hosting a poetry reading featuring Billeh Nickerson, Bren Simmers, Donato Mancini, and Elizabeth Bachinsky will share the stage. Saturday, October 16 at 8:00pm, free. W2 Storyeum, 151 Cordova St. W.
PEN-IN-HAND READING SERIES
Readings by poets Bernice Lever and Ashok Bhargava. Monday, October 18 at 7:30pm. Suggested donation is $3. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at ainbinder.collins@gmail.com.
Upcoming
PLAY CHTHONICS READING SERIES
Readings by Lee Maracle and Fabiola Nabil Naguib. Wednesday, October 20 at 3:00pm, free. Graham House at Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at http://playchthonics.blogspot.com/.
ARTHUR BLACK
Luncheon, reading and book signing with the author of A Chip Off the Old Black. Thursday, October 21 at 11:00am. Preregistration required. West Point Grey United Church, 4595 8th Ave. W. More information at 604-224-4388.
CHARLES CLAPHAM
Author launches his second edition of the Great Walks of Vancouver. Thursday, October 21 at 7:00pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
LAUNCH FOR THE BEST CANADIAN POETRY 2010
Tightrope Books presents the Vancouver launch for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2010, edited by Lorna Crozier and Series Editor Molly Peacock. Saturday, October 23 at 4:00pm. The Agro Café, 1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island. More information at www.tightropebooks.com.
PEN-IN-HAND READING SERIES
Readings by poets Steve Mcormond and Steve Noyes. Monday, October 25 at 7:30pm. Suggested donation is $3. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria. More information at ainbinder.collins@gmail.com.
KEITH BILLINGTON
Join the bestselling author of House Calls by Dogsled as he shares more hair-raising medical emergencies in Cold Land, Warm Hearts: More Memories of an Arctic Medical Outpost. Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting Room, Level 3, Central Library
350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact VPL - Popular Reading Library at 604-331-3691.
COLD LAND, WARM HEARTS
Keith Billington will be signing books. Saturday, October 30 at 1:30pm. Black Bond Books, Royal City Centre (102 -610 Sixth Street, New Westminster). For more information please contact 604-528-6226.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Book News Vol. 5 No. 43
BOOK NEWS
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Vancouver, check out 32 Books.
There are some fabulous events for students as this year's Festival that still have room for a class or two, including an event with Kenneth Oppel, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/2010festival/event/22-everything-oppel. You can get more information on school events with the best availability here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/teachers/available_school.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents Literati, a gala fundraising dinner in support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Literati is presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join Literati host Bill Richardson and many of the 2010 Festival authors for an evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, and performances by Rebecca Jenkins, Joel Bakan and Ballet BC dancers. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Check out our new Festival video, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/festivalvideo. Forward it to friends who are curious about the Festival experience!
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Lisa Moore reading from her novel February, the story of a fictional Newfoundland family affected by a real-life tragedy. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean talks with Hal Wake about his new book The Vinyl Café Notebooks, a collection of wonderfully eclectic essays selected from 15 years of his CBC radio program. Please join us for a rare, intimate evening with one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/maclean.
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sandra Kasturi calls Sara Gruen's Ape House "an entertaining drama of human-animal relations."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869401--ape-house-an-entertaining-drama-of-human-animal-relations
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Morgan Entrekin, president of Grove/Atlantic, calls Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn "the Vietnam novel of our generation".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/11/marlantes-matterhorn-book-review
Sandra Kasturi writes that Rebecca James' Beautiful Malice is technically a young adult novel – a kind of teen romance/suspense/revenge thriller – but with enough "grown-up" content to recommend it to adults.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-beautiful-malice-by-rebecca-james/article1655982/
Joel Yanofsky says that in To the End of the Land David Grossman "maps the Israeli soul."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/novel+Land+David+Grossman+maps+Israeli+soul/3610415/story.html
Margaret Cannon describes Chevy Stevens' Still Missing as "a very impressive debut".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/new-in-crime-fiction/article1737561/
Matt Baker writes that those acquainted with Richard Van Camp's earlier work will find familiar themes and subjects in The Moon of Letting Go.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6697
Judi Salltman's 2003 interview with Van Camp continues to offer insights into his storytelling.
http://www.richardvancamp.org/JSaltman.html
In her review of The Worst Thing She Ever Did, Dory Cerny writes that "Alice Kuipers' talent lies in creating believable teenaged characters."
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6900
Robert Wiersema writes that The Master of Happy Endings demonstrates the deft skills readers have come to expect from author Jack Hodgins.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/06/05/book-review-the-master-of-happy-endings-by%C2%A0jack%C2%A0hodgins/
Wendy Banks comments that, as the title—Waiting for Joe—hints, Sandra Birdsell's novel flirts with a bleak, contemporary Prairie absurdism. Televangelists notwithstanding, God might not have anything special in mind for any of us.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-waiting-for-joe-by-sandra-birdsell/article1742037/
Anosh Irani's Dahanu Road prompts two key questions: What turns the persecuted into the oppressor? And what makes a person finally stand up against community norms? seattlepi’s reviewer states: "On the surface this is a deceptively simple book, but you will discover there are secrets..."
http://www.seattlepi.com/books/417762_131333-blogcritics.org.html
The Globe & Mail describes the book as "a multigenerational saga set where the fates of two families are dangerously intertwined."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-dahanu-road-by-anosh-irani/article1551350/
AWARDS & LISTS
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Spanish-speaking world, won the Nobel Prize for Literature today.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/vargas-llosa-wins-nobel-literature-prize-2100548.html
Yiyun Li has been named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow for her dramatizing the myriad effects of late-twentieth-century China's sweeping social changes in a deeply moving, yet quietly understated, style of storytelling.
http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.6239749/k.1427/Meet_the_2010_Fellows.htm
Seamus Heaney has won the £10k Forward poetry prize for Human Chain, a collection of poems inspired by Heaney's experiences after a stroke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/06/seamus-heaney-forward-poetry-prize
George Bowering's The Box is one of four books shortlisted for the 2010 Vancouver Book Award. Other shortlisted books include Visions of British Columbia by art curator Bruce Grenville and editor/author Scott Steedman. The winner will be presented with a cash prize of $2,000 by the Mayor at City Hall on October 19.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/city-announces-shortlist-for-vancouver-book-award/article1733731/
Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn has been shortlisted for The 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.
http://centerforfiction.org/awards/2010shortlist.pdf
The Alberta Theatre Projects has awarded Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes, the Bob Edwards Award. The award recognizes a literary figure who has demonstrated outstanding curiosity and respect for freedom of expression.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/04/lawrence-hill.html
Canada Reads, the popular CBC Radio book debate, is taking a new approach to choosing books for 2011—asking Canadians to nominate the best books of the past decade. Only Canadian novels published in the last 10 years are eligible.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/05/canada-reads-2010.html
NEWS & FEATURES
When the Nobel Prize in literature was announced, the choice may be—if the last two years are any indication—a confounding one. David L. Ulin Book Critic at the LA Times examines the question: How do you quantify the best book when reading is such a subjective activity?
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-book-awards-20101004,0,6284604.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+latimes/entertainment+(Entertainment+News)
Key Porter Books has closed its Toronto office; the majority of its Toronto staff have been laid off. Harold Fenn names the extreme challenge of publishing in Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/30/key-porter-layoffs.html
One of Ford Madox Ford's great gifts to readers is the p.99 challenge. "Open the book to page 99 and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/sep/28/test-novel-before-you-read
Chuck Davis has announced that he needs help in finishing a massive history of Vancouver, the city he has chronicled all his adult life.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/tom-hawthorn/mr-vancouver-seeks-help-to-finish-his-magnum-opus/article1733850/
We need decadent novels (think Wilde, Baudelaire Huysman), but there aren't any, argues the Guardian. Where did the decadent novel go? asks John Lucas.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/sep/29/decadent-novel
Anna Porter gives us a word-portrait of Eva Gustafsson, Stieg Larsson's life partner and reminds us that Sweden isn't 'advanced' in all matters, especially recognizing common-law marriage. But there will be more books and there already exist Stieg Larsson Walks.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/exclusive-anna-porter-talks-to-stieg-larssons-life-partner/article1737265/
Salman Rushdie, speaking recently in Edmonton, says that there has never been a more dangerous time for artists who challenge official historical, political and religious doctrine in the world.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Dangerous+times+writers+Rushdie+says/3590338/story.html
Rushdie has written Luka and the Fire of Life, a novel for teenagers, which is to be published this week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/02/salman-rushdie-luka
Read detective novels to learn about foreign countries? Slate suggests that reading James Church's Detective O series will help one understand why North Koreans don't defect in greater numbers.
http://www.slate.com/id/2262159/
Philip Roth ruminates on God, his penchant for imagined hells, the nature of imagination and the origins of his stories in a conversation with David L. Ulin of the LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-philip-roth-20101003,0,5694780.story
Nemesis, a tale of a polio outbreak in wartime New Jersey is vintage Philip Roth, says Edward Docx.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/philip-roth-nemesis-book-review
The amount of time children spend reading books for enjoyment decreases as they use cellphones and other mobile technology, but e-books might just bring them back to literature.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/868327--do-e-books-spur-kids-to-read
And Other Stories is an imaginative new publishing initiative using reading groups to choose what it will publish. How to avoid the problem of publishing by committee is yet to be determined.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/oct/01/publishing-fiction
BOOKS & WRITERS
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary is David Sedaris' first work of fiction since his 1994 debut collection Barrel Fever. The book features illustrations by Ian Falconer, well known for his children's picture books about a pig named Olivia.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/868158--david-sedaris-animal-tales-he-has-known
Here are two extracts:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/david-sedaris-squirrel-seeks-chipmunk
David Bergen's The Matter with Morris, a novel of a father unhinged by his soldier son's loss in Afghanistan, has been longlisted for the Giller Prize.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869549--the-matter-with-morris-a-mourning-father-unhinged
Carlos Fuentes says that Fontaine is the true heir to José Donoso, generally regarded as the finest novelist in Chile. Fontaine's La Vida Doble is a remarkable novel that resists the moral high ground, writes David Gallagher.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7167160.ece
All the stories in Colm Tóibín's new collection, The Empty Family, are suffused with loneliness, longing and regret. But, says Thomas Jones, there's an extraordinary restrained steeliness to the storytelling.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/empty-family-colm-toibin-review
Lawrence Martin continues to plan to publish Harperland: The Politics of Control despite PMO accusations of bias.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/30/harper-book-lawrence-martin.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ROBSON READING SERIES
Special reading and conversation with Gerard Beirne. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information phone 604-822-6453.
BREN SIMMERS
Author launches her first book of poetry, Night Gears. Also a reading by Ben Hart and live music by Lisa O'Neill. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.
CATHRINE ANN
Award-winning entrepreneur Cathrine Ann reads from Beautiful Buttons: A Memoir of Survival and Triumph. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
RAYMOND VERDAGUER
Canadian printmaker and book illustrator Raymond Verdaguer will talk about prints and book illustrations done in the media of copper plates, woodcuts and linocuts. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. Oakridge Public Library, southeast corner of Oakridge Shopping Centre; free parking.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Join CBC Radio’s Grant Lawrence for the launch of his debut book Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm. This free event will be held in the MOV Studio with musical performances from Jill Barber and Said the Whale. A cash bar will be available. For more information regarding Grant’s book launch in Vancouver, please call the Museum of Vancouver at 604.736.4431.
DOUG SAUNDERS
Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents the author of Arrival City, a new book analyzing the rise of mega-cities in a vastly changing world. Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets $15/$12 and are available at www.capilanou.ca/theatre or 604-990-7810. Kay Meek Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.
BETH ROWLES SCOTT
Author of Pinch Me: A Long Walk from the Prairies, invites you to walk with her as she tells about her prairie childhood. Tuesday, October 12 at 6:00pm. Free but registration required. Firehall Branch, 1455 West 10th Avenue. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION
An evening of poetry and prose with the Cross-Border Pollination team. Wednesday, October 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, Central Branch, VPL, 350 West Georgia Street.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Steven Heighton and Ian Williams. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information, phone 604-822-6453.
THE MAKING OF THE SZYK HAGGADAH, A SACRED JEWISH TEXT
Irvin Ungar, Proprietor, Historicana Books, Burlingame, California will speak about the making of this sacred text in Limited, Deluxe and Premier editions. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street (Main & Broadway).
VANCOUVER ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
33 used and antiquarian booksellers from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and California. Friday, October 15, 3pm-9pm Saturday, October 16, 10am-5pm Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
R.A. SALVATORE
Meet bestelling author R.A. Salvatore as he signs Gauntlgrym, the first book in the the brand new Drizzt trilogy, Neverwinter. Saturday, October 16 at 12:00pm, free. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street. More information at 604-682-4066.
DARLENE FOSTER
Book signing by the author of Amanda in Arabia, The Perfume Flask. Saturday, October 16 at 1:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, 5251 Ladner Trunk Road, Ladner.
A TASTE OF WORDS
A Mother Tongue Publishing night with novelist Gurjinder Basran (Everything Was Good-bye), poets Daniela Elza (4poets) and Mona Fertig (The Unsettled). Music and song by Peter Haase (Liverpool Pete). Saturday, October 16 at &;00pm, free. Cafe Montmartre, 3941 Main Street.
CV2 MAGAZINE ANNIVERSARY COAST TO COAST READING TOUR
CV2 Magazine will be hosting a poetry reading featuring Billeh Nickerson, Bren Simmers, Donato Mancini, and Elizabeth Bachinsky will share the stage. Saturday, October 16 at 8:00pm, free. W2 Storyeum, 151 Cordova St. W.
Upcoming
ARTHUR BLACK
Luncheon, reading and book signing with the author of A Chip Off the Old Black. Thursday, October 21 at 11:00am. Preregistration required. West Point Grey United Church, 4595 8th Ave. W. More information at 604-224-4388.
CHARLES CLAPHAM
Author launches his second edition of the Great Walks of Vancouver. Thursday, October 21 at 7:00pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
BOOK LAUNCH
Tightrope Books presents the Vancouver launch for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2010, edited by Lorna Crozier and Series Editor Molly Peacock. Saturday, October 23 at 4:00pm. The Agro Café, 1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island. More information at www.tightropebooks.com.
KEITH BILLINGTON
Join the bestselling author of House Calls by Dogsled as he shares more hair-raising medical emergencies in Cold Land, Warm Hearts: More Memories of an Arctic Medical Outpost. Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting Room, Level 3, Central Library
350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact VPL - Popular Reading Library at 604-331-3691.
COLD LAND, WARM HEARTS
Keith Billington will be signing books. Saturday, October 30 at 1:30pm. Black Bond Books, Royal City Centre (102 -610 Sixth Street, New Westminster). For more information please contact 604-528-6226.
Festival News
Tickets are on sale for the 23rd Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. For up-to-the-moment Festival information please visit our website: writersfest.bc.ca, or pick up a copy of the Festival program guide at various Lower Mainland locations including Book Warehouse locations, Chapters, Sitka Books and Art, Vancouver Public Library branches and on Granville Island at Blackberry Books. In North Vancouver, check out 32 Books.
There are some fabulous events for students as this year's Festival that still have room for a class or two, including an event with Kenneth Oppel, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/2010festival/event/22-everything-oppel. You can get more information on school events with the best availability here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/teachers/available_school.
The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents Literati, a gala fundraising dinner in support of Spreading the Word, the educational program of the Vancouver International Writers Festival. Literati is presented by Scotia Private Client Group. Join Literati host Bill Richardson and many of the 2010 Festival authors for an evening of festivity, food and literary laughs, and performances by Rebecca Jenkins, Joel Bakan and Ballet BC dancers. Complete details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/literati.
Check out our new Festival video, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/festivalvideo. Forward it to friends who are curious about the Festival experience!
Virtual Festival
The latest recording in our recently launched series of archived events from Festivals-past features Lisa Moore reading from her novel February, the story of a fictional Newfoundland family affected by a real-life tragedy. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives
Special Events
Stuart McLean
Stuart McLean talks with Hal Wake about his new book The Vinyl Café Notebooks, a collection of wonderfully eclectic essays selected from 15 years of his CBC radio program. Please join us for a rare, intimate evening with one of Canada's best loved storytellers. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/maclean.
Sara Gruen
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House Canada present the author of Water for Elephants reading from her new book Ape House. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gruen.
Sandra Kasturi calls Sara Gruen's Ape House "an entertaining drama of human-animal relations."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869401--ape-house-an-entertaining-drama-of-human-animal-relations
Gary Shteyngart
Vancouver International Writers Festival and the Cherie Smith JCGV Jewish Book Festival present the author of Super Sad True Love Story in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/shteyngart.
2010 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
The following authors are among those appearing at the Festival in October or participating in special events in the fall.
Morgan Entrekin, president of Grove/Atlantic, calls Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn "the Vietnam novel of our generation".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/jul/11/marlantes-matterhorn-book-review
Sandra Kasturi writes that Rebecca James' Beautiful Malice is technically a young adult novel – a kind of teen romance/suspense/revenge thriller – but with enough "grown-up" content to recommend it to adults.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-beautiful-malice-by-rebecca-james/article1655982/
Joel Yanofsky says that in To the End of the Land David Grossman "maps the Israeli soul."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/novel+Land+David+Grossman+maps+Israeli+soul/3610415/story.html
Margaret Cannon describes Chevy Stevens' Still Missing as "a very impressive debut".
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/new-in-crime-fiction/article1737561/
Matt Baker writes that those acquainted with Richard Van Camp's earlier work will find familiar themes and subjects in The Moon of Letting Go.
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6697
Judi Salltman's 2003 interview with Van Camp continues to offer insights into his storytelling.
http://www.richardvancamp.org/JSaltman.html
In her review of The Worst Thing She Ever Did, Dory Cerny writes that "Alice Kuipers' talent lies in creating believable teenaged characters."
http://www.quillandquire.com/reviews/review.cfm?review_id=6900
Robert Wiersema writes that The Master of Happy Endings demonstrates the deft skills readers have come to expect from author Jack Hodgins.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2010/06/05/book-review-the-master-of-happy-endings-by%C2%A0jack%C2%A0hodgins/
Wendy Banks comments that, as the title—Waiting for Joe—hints, Sandra Birdsell's novel flirts with a bleak, contemporary Prairie absurdism. Televangelists notwithstanding, God might not have anything special in mind for any of us.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/book-review-waiting-for-joe-by-sandra-birdsell/article1742037/
Anosh Irani's Dahanu Road prompts two key questions: What turns the persecuted into the oppressor? And what makes a person finally stand up against community norms? seattlepi’s reviewer states: "On the surface this is a deceptively simple book, but you will discover there are secrets..."
http://www.seattlepi.com/books/417762_131333-blogcritics.org.html
The Globe & Mail describes the book as "a multigenerational saga set where the fates of two families are dangerously intertwined."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-dahanu-road-by-anosh-irani/article1551350/
AWARDS & LISTS
Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed writers in the Spanish-speaking world, won the Nobel Prize for Literature today.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/vargas-llosa-wins-nobel-literature-prize-2100548.html
Yiyun Li has been named a 2010 MacArthur Fellow for her dramatizing the myriad effects of late-twentieth-century China's sweeping social changes in a deeply moving, yet quietly understated, style of storytelling.
http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.6239749/k.1427/Meet_the_2010_Fellows.htm
Seamus Heaney has won the £10k Forward poetry prize for Human Chain, a collection of poems inspired by Heaney's experiences after a stroke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/06/seamus-heaney-forward-poetry-prize
George Bowering's The Box is one of four books shortlisted for the 2010 Vancouver Book Award. Other shortlisted books include Visions of British Columbia by art curator Bruce Grenville and editor/author Scott Steedman. The winner will be presented with a cash prize of $2,000 by the Mayor at City Hall on October 19.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/city-announces-shortlist-for-vancouver-book-award/article1733731/
Karl Marlantes' Matterhorn has been shortlisted for The 2010 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize.
http://centerforfiction.org/awards/2010shortlist.pdf
The Alberta Theatre Projects has awarded Lawrence Hill, author of The Book of Negroes, the Bob Edwards Award. The award recognizes a literary figure who has demonstrated outstanding curiosity and respect for freedom of expression.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/04/lawrence-hill.html
Canada Reads, the popular CBC Radio book debate, is taking a new approach to choosing books for 2011—asking Canadians to nominate the best books of the past decade. Only Canadian novels published in the last 10 years are eligible.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/10/05/canada-reads-2010.html
NEWS & FEATURES
When the Nobel Prize in literature was announced, the choice may be—if the last two years are any indication—a confounding one. David L. Ulin Book Critic at the LA Times examines the question: How do you quantify the best book when reading is such a subjective activity?
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-book-awards-20101004,0,6284604.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+latimes/entertainment+(Entertainment+News)
Key Porter Books has closed its Toronto office; the majority of its Toronto staff have been laid off. Harold Fenn names the extreme challenge of publishing in Canada.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/30/key-porter-layoffs.html
One of Ford Madox Ford's great gifts to readers is the p.99 challenge. "Open the book to page 99 and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/sep/28/test-novel-before-you-read
Chuck Davis has announced that he needs help in finishing a massive history of Vancouver, the city he has chronicled all his adult life.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/tom-hawthorn/mr-vancouver-seeks-help-to-finish-his-magnum-opus/article1733850/
We need decadent novels (think Wilde, Baudelaire Huysman), but there aren't any, argues the Guardian. Where did the decadent novel go? asks John Lucas.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/sep/29/decadent-novel
Anna Porter gives us a word-portrait of Eva Gustafsson, Stieg Larsson's life partner and reminds us that Sweden isn't 'advanced' in all matters, especially recognizing common-law marriage. But there will be more books and there already exist Stieg Larsson Walks.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/exclusive-anna-porter-talks-to-stieg-larssons-life-partner/article1737265/
Salman Rushdie, speaking recently in Edmonton, says that there has never been a more dangerous time for artists who challenge official historical, political and religious doctrine in the world.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Dangerous+times+writers+Rushdie+says/3590338/story.html
Rushdie has written Luka and the Fire of Life, a novel for teenagers, which is to be published this week.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/02/salman-rushdie-luka
Read detective novels to learn about foreign countries? Slate suggests that reading James Church's Detective O series will help one understand why North Koreans don't defect in greater numbers.
http://www.slate.com/id/2262159/
Philip Roth ruminates on God, his penchant for imagined hells, the nature of imagination and the origins of his stories in a conversation with David L. Ulin of the LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-philip-roth-20101003,0,5694780.story
Nemesis, a tale of a polio outbreak in wartime New Jersey is vintage Philip Roth, says Edward Docx.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/philip-roth-nemesis-book-review
The amount of time children spend reading books for enjoyment decreases as they use cellphones and other mobile technology, but e-books might just bring them back to literature.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/868327--do-e-books-spur-kids-to-read
And Other Stories is an imaginative new publishing initiative using reading groups to choose what it will publish. How to avoid the problem of publishing by committee is yet to be determined.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/oct/01/publishing-fiction
BOOKS & WRITERS
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary is David Sedaris' first work of fiction since his 1994 debut collection Barrel Fever. The book features illustrations by Ian Falconer, well known for his children's picture books about a pig named Olivia.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/868158--david-sedaris-animal-tales-he-has-known
Here are two extracts:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/david-sedaris-squirrel-seeks-chipmunk
David Bergen's The Matter with Morris, a novel of a father unhinged by his soldier son's loss in Afghanistan, has been longlisted for the Giller Prize.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/869549--the-matter-with-morris-a-mourning-father-unhinged
Carlos Fuentes says that Fontaine is the true heir to José Donoso, generally regarded as the finest novelist in Chile. Fontaine's La Vida Doble is a remarkable novel that resists the moral high ground, writes David Gallagher.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7167160.ece
All the stories in Colm Tóibín's new collection, The Empty Family, are suffused with loneliness, longing and regret. But, says Thomas Jones, there's an extraordinary restrained steeliness to the storytelling.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/oct/03/empty-family-colm-toibin-review
Lawrence Martin continues to plan to publish Harperland: The Politics of Control despite PMO accusations of bias.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/09/30/harper-book-lawrence-martin.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ROBSON READING SERIES
Special reading and conversation with Gerard Beirne. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information phone 604-822-6453.
BREN SIMMERS
Author launches her first book of poetry, Night Gears. Also a reading by Ben Hart and live music by Lisa O'Neill. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.
CATHRINE ANN
Award-winning entrepreneur Cathrine Ann reads from Beautiful Buttons: A Memoir of Survival and Triumph. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
RAYMOND VERDAGUER
Canadian printmaker and book illustrator Raymond Verdaguer will talk about prints and book illustrations done in the media of copper plates, woodcuts and linocuts. Thursday, October 7 at 7:00pm, free. Oakridge Public Library, southeast corner of Oakridge Shopping Centre; free parking.
GRANT LAWRENCE
Join CBC Radio’s Grant Lawrence for the launch of his debut book Adventures In Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound ($26.95, Harbour Publishing) at the Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver) on Thursday, October 7th at 7:00 pm. This free event will be held in the MOV Studio with musical performances from Jill Barber and Said the Whale. A cash bar will be available. For more information regarding Grant’s book launch in Vancouver, please call the Museum of Vancouver at 604.736.4431.
DOUG SAUNDERS
Pacific Arbour Speaker Series presents the author of Arrival City, a new book analyzing the rise of mega-cities in a vastly changing world. Thursday, October 7 at 7:30pm. Tickets $15/$12 and are available at www.capilanou.ca/theatre or 604-990-7810. Kay Meek Centre, 1700 Mathers Ave., West Vancouver.
BETH ROWLES SCOTT
Author of Pinch Me: A Long Walk from the Prairies, invites you to walk with her as she tells about her prairie childhood. Tuesday, October 12 at 6:00pm. Free but registration required. Firehall Branch, 1455 West 10th Avenue. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION
An evening of poetry and prose with the Cross-Border Pollination team. Wednesday, October 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, Central Branch, VPL, 350 West Georgia Street.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Steven Heighton and Ian Williams. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. For more information, phone 604-822-6453.
THE MAKING OF THE SZYK HAGGADAH, A SACRED JEWISH TEXT
Irvin Ungar, Proprietor, Historicana Books, Burlingame, California will speak about the making of this sacred text in Limited, Deluxe and Premier editions. Thursday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street (Main & Broadway).
VANCOUVER ANTIQUARIAN BOOK FAIR
33 used and antiquarian booksellers from B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and California. Friday, October 15, 3pm-9pm Saturday, October 16, 10am-5pm Vancouver Public Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
R.A. SALVATORE
Meet bestelling author R.A. Salvatore as he signs Gauntlgrym, the first book in the the brand new Drizzt trilogy, Neverwinter. Saturday, October 16 at 12:00pm, free. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street. More information at 604-682-4066.
DARLENE FOSTER
Book signing by the author of Amanda in Arabia, The Perfume Flask. Saturday, October 16 at 1:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, 5251 Ladner Trunk Road, Ladner.
A TASTE OF WORDS
A Mother Tongue Publishing night with novelist Gurjinder Basran (Everything Was Good-bye), poets Daniela Elza (4poets) and Mona Fertig (The Unsettled). Music and song by Peter Haase (Liverpool Pete). Saturday, October 16 at &;00pm, free. Cafe Montmartre, 3941 Main Street.
CV2 MAGAZINE ANNIVERSARY COAST TO COAST READING TOUR
CV2 Magazine will be hosting a poetry reading featuring Billeh Nickerson, Bren Simmers, Donato Mancini, and Elizabeth Bachinsky will share the stage. Saturday, October 16 at 8:00pm, free. W2 Storyeum, 151 Cordova St. W.
Upcoming
ARTHUR BLACK
Luncheon, reading and book signing with the author of A Chip Off the Old Black. Thursday, October 21 at 11:00am. Preregistration required. West Point Grey United Church, 4595 8th Ave. W. More information at 604-224-4388.
CHARLES CLAPHAM
Author launches his second edition of the Great Walks of Vancouver. Thursday, October 21 at 7:00pm, free. Silk Purse, 1570 Argyle Ave., West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7292.
BOOK LAUNCH
Tightrope Books presents the Vancouver launch for The Best Canadian Poetry in English 2010, edited by Lorna Crozier and Series Editor Molly Peacock. Saturday, October 23 at 4:00pm. The Agro Café, 1363 Railspur Alley, Granville Island. More information at www.tightropebooks.com.
KEITH BILLINGTON
Join the bestselling author of House Calls by Dogsled as he shares more hair-raising medical emergencies in Cold Land, Warm Hearts: More Memories of an Arctic Medical Outpost. Tuesday, October 26 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting Room, Level 3, Central Library
350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact VPL - Popular Reading Library at 604-331-3691.
COLD LAND, WARM HEARTS
Keith Billington will be signing books. Saturday, October 30 at 1:30pm. Black Bond Books, Royal City Centre (102 -610 Sixth Street, New Westminster). For more information please contact 604-528-6226.
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