Book News Vol. 6 No. 9

BOOK NEWS

Incite @ VPL

The next installment of Incite (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/readingseries) will feature John Burns interviewing Dianne Warren, as well as readings by Evelyn Lau and Aurian Haller.

7:30 pm on Wednesday, March 9
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemarch9
Admission is free
Alice MacKay room, Central Library

Let us know you're coming by registering here, http://incitevpl.eventbrite.com. Please note that registration is so that we know how many people to expect. Admission on the night is always on a first-come-first-served basis.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Jodi Picoult - March 13, 2011
The bestselling author of My Sister's Keeper will read from her new novel, Sing You Home, accompanied by guitarist Ellen Wilber. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/picoult.

Howard Jacobson - April 13, 2011
(2010 Man Booker award winner)
The Finkler Question is a scorching story of friendship and loss, exclusion and belonging, and of the wisdom and humanity of maturity. Funny, furious, unflinching, this extraordinary novel shows one of our finest writers at his brilliant best. Presented in partnership with the Jewish Book Festival. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jacobson.

Simon Winchester - April 18, 2011
The bestselling author of Krakatoa, returns to the natural world with his epic new book, a "biography" of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic: Great Sea Battles, Heroic Discoveries, Titanic Storms, and a Vast Ocean of a Million Stories. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/winchester.

Elizabeth Hay & Miriam Toews - May 5, 2011
Two of Canada's most acclaimed and beloved writers will discuss their new books, Alone in the Classroom and Irma Voth. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/haytoews.

AWARDS & LISTS

The winner of the 2011 Lionel Gelber Prize is Shelagh D. Grant, Canada's leading authority on Arctic history, for her book Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America, published by Douglas & McIntyre.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2011/01/c6890.html

Three B. C. poets are finalists for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers, a literary award designed to highlight promising young talent: Raoul Fernandes, of Vancouver, and Garth Martens and Anne-Marie Turza, both of Victoria. The winner will be announced in April.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/03/01/bronwen-wallace-prize.html

Brian Brett and Leslie Beckmann are among the six West Coast finalists for the 2010 CBC Literary Awards.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/West+Coast+writers+make+short+list/4370597/story.html

Readers in the CBC Book Club have voted for their favourite books in the inaugural CBC Book Club Awards. There are 16 Bookie categories and Zsuzsi Gartner, Sarah Leavitt and Billie Livingston are among the sixteen winners of Bookie Beavers.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/bookclub/2011/02/the-cbc-bookies-winners-revealed.html

NEWS & FEATURES

Five hundred free copies of Judy Fong Bates' Midnight at the Dragon Café were handed out Monday on a Toronto streetcar, for this year's Keep Toronto Reading One Book campaign.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/944392--one-book-rides-the-rocket

To celebrate year 15 of 'Poetry in Transit,' The Tyee offers some locally sourced verse you could be reading while riding.
http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2011/02/23/MissedTheBus/

20,000 passionate book lovers will give away 1,000,000 books (including three Canadians' works) to members of the public across the UK and Ireland on the inaugural World Book Night on Saturday 5 March 2011.
http://www.worldbooknight.org/2010/12/the-largest-book-give-away-ever-attempted/

It's more than half a century since Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl landed like a bombshell in the staid world of 1950s America. But what was the poet really like? Friends and colleagues remember him.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/23/allen-ginsberg-howl-poem-film

We have heard of journalists becoming novelists, but not the other way around. Libyan Hisham Matar, most recently author of Anatomy of a Disappearance, has transformed his London flat into a newsroom.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/24/libya-gaddafi-protesters-news-blackout

Eighty-five boxes of manuscripts, long kept in a Cornish barn, are the first batch of a vast literary archive that John le Carré has given to the Bodleian library, Oxford.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/23/john-le-carre-archive-bodleian

A panel of judges read many debut novels for a BBC television show, identified twelve new novelists and developed a new respect for creative writing courses.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/25/literary-fiction-twelve-best-new-novelists

A newly translated Russian novel retells Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings from the perspective of the bad guys. The Last Ring-Bearer tells the story of Middle-earth according to Mordor.
http://www.salon.com/books/laura_miller/2011/02/15/last_ringbearer/index.html

The estate of JRR Tolkien is embroiled in a fierce legal battle over an American novel that uses the author of The Lord of the Rings as a central character.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/26/mirkwood-jrr-tolkien-legal-battle

Wang Xiaofang's novels are known as "officialdom fiction". The author exposes the shady world but readers buy his books for tips for becoming government officials. Penguin will publish A Civil Servant's Notebook in translation later this year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/25/wang-xiaofang-exposes-chinese-bureaucracy

There is a sharp increase in the number of crime writers in Canada. Ian Hamilton is one, now writing the sixth book in his series featuring Toronto-based, Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant Ava Lee.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/945476--ian-hamilton-leading-a-canadian-crime-wave

Moacyr Scliar, the Brazilian writer whose novel Max and the Cats Yann Martel cites as inspiration for Life of Pi, has died, aged 73.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2011/02/28/moacyr-scliar-obit.html

Marsha Lederman interviews Timothy Taylor on The Blue Light Project, and on the meaning of his decision to set this book in a place that is neither named nor identified.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/vancouvers-timothy-taylor-goes-global/article1920705/singlepage/#articlecontent

A number of previously banned books have now returned to the shelves in Tunisia and Egypt.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/28/banned-books-return-egypt-tunisia

Furious librarians are calling for a boycott of publisher HarperCollins over its decision to put a limit on the number of times its ebooks can be loaned.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/mar/01/restrictions-library-ebook-loans

BOOKS & WRITERS

Topical fiction can sometimes be trumped by the day's headlines, writes Boyd Tonkin. Justin Cartwright's Other People's Money on the financial meltdown and the misdeeds of bankers reminds us that high finance is built on the shifting sands of fiction.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/from-a-crisis-to-a-drama-how-justin-cartwright-turned-the-banking-panic-into-fiction-2224508.html

Elena Mauli's 13 rue Thérèse is based on some items in a box of mementos which the author has carried since she was very young.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-book-13-rue-therese-20110225,0,4800240.story

Peter Behrens describes Carsten Jensen's We, The Drowned—almost 700 pages of interwoven stories covering a period of 100 years—as a gorgeous, unsparing novel.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/21/AR2011022104508.html

Hermione Lee writes that Hasham Matar's Anatomy of a Disappearance, as with his earlier Booker-nominated In the Country of Men, is filled with absence and longing, powerfully depicted.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/26/anatomy-disappearance-hisham-matar-review

The New Yorker includes Naima, a short story by Hasham Matar.
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2011/01/24/110124fi_fiction_matar

Stephen Abell reviews four books on the work of J. M. Coetzee—and the limits of sympathy.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7172118.ece

Mary Hoffman is won over by the unusual love story at the heart of Sita Brahmachari‘s Artichoke Hearts. This YA story concerns the author's daughter and her own mother-in-law, as well as a boy/girl romance in the background.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/feb/26/artichoke-hearts-sita-brahmachari-childrens-review

Dave Eggars' Zeitoun is a superlative account of the real-life experience of a victim of Hurricane Katrina. Abdulrahman Zeitoun and his wife Kathy's tales are almost too horrific for fiction, writes Lesley McDowell.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/zeitoun-by-dave-eggers-2226602.html

Rebecca Hunt's debut novel Mr. Chartwell is as delicious as it is audacious, writes Julie Wittes Schlack. Chartwell is Winston Churchill's ‘black dog of depression' visible only to Churchill and to Chartwell's landlady.
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/02/23/a_vivid_battle_with_the_black_dog_of_depression/

Nancy Wigston calls this a "stunner of a debut".
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/article/943882--mr-chartwell-by-rebecca-hunt

Tatiana De Rosnay's A Secret Kept continues her interest in Parisian high society through this tale of the secrets of a particular family.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/a-secret-that-goes-down-smoothly/article1925447/

James Bartleman's historical novel, As Long as the Rivers Flow, focuses on the consequences of Canada's residential school system—and concludes with hope, writes Maggie de Vries.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-midwife-of-venice-by-roberta-rich/article1920568/

Adele Logan Alexander's Parallel Worlds: The Remarkable Gibbs-Hunts and the Enduring (In)Significance of Melanin brings to our attention a remarkable family's saga from birth in Victoria, B.C. up to the civil rights era.
http://thetyee.ca/Books/2011/02/28/BornBlackinVic/?utm_source=mondayheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=280211

Michiko Kakutani writes that Jeff Greenfield's Then Everything Changed is a riveting book on three small-scale and plausible what-ifs "that came within a whisker of actually happening."
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/books/01book.html?ref=books

Candace Fertile writes that the short pieces in Richard Wagamese's One Story, One Song remind us of human beings' place in the world and of our connectedness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/one-story-one-song-by-richard-wagamese/article1923711/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Billeh Nickerson and Daniel Zomparelli. Thursday, March 3 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 suggested donation at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. For more information, email blinsh_pandoras@yahoo.ca.

DAVID J. SMITH
Launch of the author's new book This Child Every Child: A Picture Book for Children About the Rights of Children. Friday, March 4 at 6:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=34.

VANCOUVER WOMEN READ
As part of the W2 Utopia Festival, readings by Hannah Calder, Hiromi Goto, Kim Fu, Antionette Rea and Christie Lee Charles. Saturday, March 5 at 8:00pm. For tickets and complete information, visit http://ow.ly/45Sr0.

MADELEINE IS...
The National Film Board of Canada, and poet Colin Browne present the rarely seen made-in-Vancouver feature film Madeleine Is...(1971). Preceded by Don Owen's Notes for a Film About Donna and Gail (1966). Sunday, March 6 at 2:30pm. The Waldorf Hotel, 1489 East Hastings. More information at www.waldorfhotel.com.

YARN BOMBING
Yarn Bombing (the art of crochet and knit graffiti) at Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 West 64th Avenue, Vancouver. Help stitch knitted blossoms in place on the Kogawa cherry tree (whose story is told in Joy Kogawa's book Naomi's Tree) on Sunday, March 6, 2 to 3:30pm. More details: http://www.kogawahouse.com/node/251.

VANCOUVER POETRY SLAM
Van Slam featuring Alessandra Naccarato. Monday, March 7 at 8:00pm. Cover charge: $5-10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.

POETRY AROUND THE WORLD
Poetry and spoken word featuring New Westminster Poet Laureate Candice James, Selene Bertelsen, Jemma Downes and Sharon Taylor. Thursday, March 10 at 6:30pm, free. Renfrew Public Library, 2969 22nd Ave. E., Vancouver.

ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by John Gould and Terence Young. Thursday, March 10 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square, Plaza Level, 800 Robson St. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.

RACHEL WYATT
Reading and discussion of the author's new novel, Letters to Omar. Thursday, March 10 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at http://ardeabooksandart.com/event/?event_id=31.

SUNSHINE COAST ARTS COUNCIL READING SERIES
Rachel Wyatt discusses her new novel, Letters to Omar. Saturday, March 12 at 8:00pm, free. Sunshine Coast Arts Centre, 5714 Medusa, Sechelt. More information at http://www.suncoastarts.com/profiles/scartscouncil/writersseries.html.

CABIN FEVER
Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Maleea Acker - three former fire lookouts - read from their debut collections of poetry. Monday, March 14 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.

Upcoming

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Donato Mancini and Jess Hill. Thursday, March 17 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 suggested donation at the door. The Prophouse Cafe, 1636 Venables Street. For more information, email blinsh_pandoras@yahoo.ca.

CAROLINE ADDERSON
Join author Caroline Adderson for a discussion about her novel The Sky is Falling. Part book club, part literary reading, the event includes wine, light refreshments and lively debate. Thursday, March 17 at 7:00pm. Cost: $20. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W. Call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com to register.

JORDAN SCOTT
Reading by the author of Silt and Blert. Friday, March 18 at 8:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive. More information at http://www.newstarbooks.com/news.php?news_id=40111.

BECKETT SOUNDINGS
Launch party for Inge Israel's new poetry collection. Also readings with Barbara Pelman and Pamela Porter. Sunday, March 20 at 5:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at ronsdalepress.com.

ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Suzanne Buffam and Derek Lundy. Thursday, March 24 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square, Plaza Level, 800 Robson St. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.

THREE POETS READING
New books of poetry presented by Cathy Ford, bill bissett and Mona Fertig. Saturday, April 9 at 3:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact VPL - Literature and Social Science at 604-331-3738.

ROBSON READING SERIES
Readings by Ryan Knighton and Ed Macdonald. Thursday, April 7 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square, Plaza Level, 800 Robson St. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.

RAISE SHIT!
Come join Susan Boyd, Donald MacPherson and Bud Osborn discuss their book Raise Shit! Social Action Saving Lives, which explores the community activism in Vancouver's DTES that led to the opening of the first safe injection site. Wednesday, April 13 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact VPL - Literature and Social Science at 604-331-3738.

NON-FICTION WRITING CONTEST
EVENT is both a literary journal showcasing fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction and a sponsor of an annual non-fiction contest. The deadline for submissions to the 2011 EVENT Non-Fiction Contest is April 15, 2011. Three winners will each receive $500 (plus publication payment). Publication in EVENT 40/3 (December 2011). Submission details here: http://event.douglas.bc.ca.

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL POETRY FESTIVAL
The inaugural Vancouver International Poetry Festival will harness the diversity of spoken word in Canada and beyond to present a world-class spoken word festival that showcases the best that Canada has to offer, as well as exploring and expanding the boundaries of contemporary spoken word. April 18-23, 2011. For complete details, visit http://vancouverpoetryfestival.com.