BOOK NEWS
Incite @ VPL
This January we launched Incite, our new reading series in cooperation with Vancouver Public Library. For the last five months we have presented great writers and new books to Vancouver readers, every second Wednesday. We hope you’ve had a chance to join us. Incite is now on hiatus while we plan this year’s Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival. The series will start up again in September; confirmed already is The Birth House author Ami MacKay on November 9. Check Book News in August for details on the fall schedule.
SUNSHINE COAST FESTIVAL OF THE WRITTEN ARTS
Tickets are now on sale for the 29th Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, Canada's longest-running literary festival, taking place August 4-7, 2011 in beautiful downtown Sechelt. Call 1-800-565-9631 to order tickets. Information: www.writersfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
British-African author Aminatta Forna has captured the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for The Memory of Love. Forna's story of war and its consequences is set in Sierra Leone.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/05/21/commonwealth-writers-prize.html?ref=rss
Gary Shteyngart is the first American ever to win the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic fiction, which goes to a book that "has captured the comic spirit of PG Wodehouse". Shteyngart won for the 'wild comedy' of his novel Super Sad True Love Story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/24/pg-wodehouse-prize-gary-shteyngart
Edmund de Waal's much-praised biography of his family's history, The Hare with Amber Eyes, has been named winner of the £10,000 Ondaatje prize. The Royal Society of Literature award is given annually to a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which best evokes "the spirit of a place". De Waal also won the Costa biography award, earlier this year.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/24/ondaatje-prize-edmund-de-waal
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have awarded Nebula Awards to: Rachel Swirsky for best novella, The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window; Eric James Stone for best novelette; Kij Johnson's Ponies, an allegory about female bullying, tied for best short story with a piece by Harlan Ellison. Connie Willis won in the novel category for Blackout and All Clear, her two-part chronicle of a time-travel assignment gone awry.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/science-fiction-and-fantasy-writers-of-america-hold-annual-convention/2011/05/21/AF4vkK9G_story.html
Newfoundland and Labrador writer Kathleen Winter has won the 2011 Atlantic Fiction Prize for her book Annabel. The former Parliamentary Poet Laureate John Steffler won the 2011 Atlantic Poetry Prize for Lookout, his fifth poetry collection.
http://www.thetelegram.com/News/Local/2011-05-20/article-2523095/Locals-take-home-Atlantic-Book-Awards/1
Richelle Kosar has won the Toronto Star Short Story contest with Citrines. Second prize winner is Erik Martinez for Up High Towards the Night; third, is Samantha Cragg for Drinking In The Basement.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/994987--toronto-star-short-story-contest-winner-citrines
NEWS & FEATURES
In The Use and Abuse of Literature, author and Harvard professor Marjorie Garber writes that literature is not “good for you,” it is simply “good.” Her message: beware the single interpretation, the closing argument, the simple solution, says Nathan Whitlock.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/995180--the-use-and-abuse-of-literature-by-marjorie-garber
Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth has topped a list of the biggest selling books championed by departing TV diva Oprah Winfrey over the past decade.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/20/winfrey-books-tolle.html
A rare, handwritten manuscript of Jane Austen's unfinished novel The Watsons is to be sold at auction at Sotherby's in London. The Watsons manuscript shows how Austen's other manuscripts would have looked and shines a light on how she worked.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/20/jane-austen-rare-manuscript-sale-auction
When sci-fi writer Geoffrey Hoyle was asked in 1972 to imagine what the world might be like in 2011, little could he have known quite how many advances he would correctly predict.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/the-man-who-saw-the-future-how-the-scifi-writer-geoffrey-hoyle-predicted-2011s-technologies-in-1972-2285839.html
LA Times journalist Jessica Gelt writes about the transformative moment on her 15 year-old self of reading Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-jessica-gelt-20110522,0,1836204.story
Author Umberto Eco and script-writer Jean-Claude Carrière make some surprising revelations about the scope of their reading.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/22/umberto-eco-writer-not-reader
As digital technology transforms the world of knowledge, writes Ian Brown, there remains a need for spaces that give the mind a home, with the help of specialists which Brown calls “the knowledge concierge”, some call ‘a librarian'.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/dont-discard-the-librarians/article2030514/
In an interview with Kira Cochrane, we learn that Marcia Clark, prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case, has turned to writing books. Her first novel, Guilt by Association, is a thriller about a special trials prosecutor.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/23/marcia-clark-after-simpson-trial?CMP=EMCGT_240511&
As this week's contributor to the New York Times' Sunday Routine section, Gary Shteyngart describes how he spends his day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/22/nyregion/for-gary-shteyngart-hunting-food-and-ideas-on-sundays.html?_r=1&ref=books
The response to Claire Callil's unwillingness to vote for Philip Roth's Booker prize prompts Laura Miller to ask: are women who hate Philip Roth blinded by feminist ideology? Nope.
http://www.salon.com/books/phillip_roth/index.html?story=/books/laura_miller/2011/05/23/callil_vs_roth
Alberto Manguel considers the burning of Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey and asks: how is this still happening?
http://www.geist.com/opinion/burning-mistry
BOOKS & WRITERS
Mellissa Fung interviewed both her rapist the morning after he assaulted her and the man who had knifed her—showing herself to be the ultimate journalist. Under An Afghan Sky is a gripping, searching memoir, says Julius Majerczyk.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Abducted+Afghanistan/4821838/story.html
Between captivity and freedom, optimism alternates with psychological bottom, with long days and nights of boredom. Under the Afghan Sky is a richly detailed chronicle of Fung's ordeal, with an ending as happy as possible, says Michael Posner.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/under-the-afghan-sky-a-memoir-of-captivity-by-mellissa-fung/article2029767/
Philip Kerr writes that Erik Larsen's non-fiction book In the Garden of Beasts reads like an elegant thriller—and is utterly compelling. A key character is Martha Dodd, the U.S. Ambassador's daughter, who becomes a spy for the Soviet Union.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/erik-larsons-in-the-garden-of-beasts/2011/04/05/AFwbUr2G_story.html
In his time, Dodd was taunted, undercut and called “Ambassador Dud.” And he ultimately recognized enough reality, and clung to enough dignity, to make Mr. Larson's powerful, poignant historical narrative a transportingly true story, adds Janet Maslin.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/books/in-the-garden-of-beasts-by-erik-larson-review.html?ref=books&pagewanted=all
Recently, a few German writers have delved into their family pasts in the Third Reich. The Perfect Nazi, Martin Davidson's family memoir, uncovers the life of his grandfather, loyal stormtrooper and trained dentist. Nicholas Stargardt calls the book “truly remarkable”.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7175086.ece
Novelists are lucky, says Sandip Roy. While "new India" nonfiction has come under attack for what is written, Bharati Mukherjee writes about two Bangalores and one woman, telling a story about the best of times and the worst of times.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/21/RVS51JC6DU.DTL
Tracy Sherlock writes that in Caleb's Crossing, Geraldine Brooks has successfully built a fascinating story around a nugget of history involving the first native American to graduate from Harvard—in 1665.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/piece+history+transformed+into+fiction/4821836/story.html
Matthew Gilbert writes that Brooks merges her research with her intuitive sense of the daily lives of both real and fictional individuals—a dazzling act of imagination, creating intimate historical fiction, says Gilbert.
http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-15/ae/29546233_1_novel-teachings-vineyard
'Americans are not very good at nation-building', says Francis Fukayama. Once a favourite of the US right, Fukayama's The Origins of Political Order shows why the anti-state instincts of the Tea Party movement are wrong, writes Will Hutton.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/20/francis-fukuyama-origins-political-order-review
“The pace is fervent, the prose heady and the social observations are bang-on in Zsuzsi Gartner's latest collection. She has outdone herself with Better Living Through Plastic Explosives”, writes Patricia Dawn Robertson, anticipating a fistful of award nominations.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/brilliant-collections-heady-adult-prose-attacks-all-comers-122380773.html
In Scribbling Women: True Tales from Astonishing Lives, Marthe Jocelyn portrays eleven women, some highly educated, others barely literate, one a horse thief—a powerfully respectful, artful and joyous celebration of a group of diverse women, writes Deirdre Baker.
http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/activities/familyevents/article/995172--scribbling-women-by-marthe-jocelyn
COMMUNITY EVENTS
THROWN
Book launch and signing for the book Thrown: British Columbia's Apprentices of Bernard Leach and Their Contemporaries. Thursday, May 26 at 6:00pm, free. Gallery of BC Ceramics, 1359 Cartwright Street, Granville Island.
MATT HERN
The local author discusses his latest book Common Ground in a Liquid City: Essays in Defense of an Urban Future, a down-to-earth look at the importance of space and place in urban renewal. Thursday, May 26 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
STEVE NOYES
The B.C. author of six books of poetry and fiction reads from his first novel It Is Just That Your House Is So Far Away. Thursday, May 26 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
TORN
Launch of the new anthology features local mama writers sharing their stories about the joys and conflicts of modern motherhood and readings from contributors and local "momior" writers. Thursday, May 26 at 7:00pm, free. Rhizome Cafe, 317 E. Broadway. More information at www.rhizomecafe.ca.
DOUGLAS COUPLAND
Douglas Coupland will be hosting an interactive presentation on Marshall McLuhan and YouTube. Thursday, May 26 at 8:00pm, free. The Waldorf Hotel, 1489 East Hastings. More information at http://tinyurl.com/4226kem.
THE PALE SURFACE OF THINGS
Join us as award winning author, Janey Bennett, discusses her novel, The Pale Surface of Things. The story is set on the Greek Island of Crete. Saturday, May 28 at 3:00pm, free. Kitsilano Branch, 2425 Macdonald Street.
EUROPEAN BOOK CLUB
The first book to be read and discussed will be the novel Visitation by German writer Jenny Erpenbeck. Saturday, May 28 at 4:00pm, free but registration is required at eubookclub.vancouver@shaw.ca. Unitarian Church of Vancouver, 949 49th Ave. W.
DI BRANDT
Pen-In-Hand Poetry/Prose Reading Series and Turnstone Press present a Sunday brunch and workshop with author/poet Di Brandt. Sunday, May 29; brunch at 11am, workshop at 1:15pm. Cost: $40/$25. The Well, 821 Fort Street, Victoria. For complete details, email info@thewellvictoria.com.
JEFF BURSEY
Author reads from his novel, Verbatim, a blackly humorous exposé of parliamentary practice in an unnamed Atlantic province. Monday, May 30 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.
NATIONAL BOOK COLLECTING CONTEST 2010-11
The W.A. Deacon Literary Foundation and Alcuin Society will be presenting the cash prizes to this year's local winners of the National Book-Collecting Contest for young Canadians under 30 years of age. The event will take place on Monday, May 30 at Simon Fraser Univeristy, Rm. 2520 - 515 West Hastings Street, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.
A CAPITAL CRIME WAVE
Spend an evening with Canadian mystery authors, R.J. Harlick and Barbara Fradkin as they discuss the underlying aboriginal and psychological themes of their mystery series. Wednesday, June 1 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.
THUNDERING WORD
Spoken word and storytelling performances by C.R. Avery, Bill McNamara, Mary Gavan, Bryant Ross and Rosemary Nowicki. Saturday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Location TBA. For information, visit www.inthehousefestival.com.
Upcoming
SHERYL SALLOUM
Launch of the author's new book The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton. Thursday, June 9 at 8:00pm. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. More information at info@mothertonguepublishing.com.
IRSHAD MANJI
Canadian author and journalist discusses her new book Allah, Liberty, and Love. Friday, June 10 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $18/$15. Capilano Performing Arts Theatre, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at www.capilanou.ca/theatre/.
GREEK POETRY READING
Manolis Aligizakis is going to talk about his translation of the works of renowned Greek poet, Yiannis Ritsos and about his book The Vernal Equinox. Saturday, June 11 at 3:00pm, free. Kitsilano Branch, VPL, 2425 Macdonald Street.
WORDPLAY
WordPlay is a program of Vancouver Poetry House that sends poets to classrooms to perform spoken word poetry and to run workshops. This year marks the debut of Summer Youth Slam Camp (July 4 to 8) at Little Mountain Gallery. Fifteen youth poets will work with Vancouver's best slam poets in this spoken word intensive. The deadline for registration for Slam Camp is June 15. For more details, go to vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
KEVIN MCNEILLY
Reading by the author of Embouchure, his debut poetry collection. Thursday, June 16 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Robson Square, plaza level, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
TIMES OUT OF JOINT
Simon Fraser University's 11th annual English Graduate Conference will be held from Thursday, June 16 to Saturday, June 18 at SFU's Harbour Centre (Thursday and Friday) and the Segal Graduate School of Business (Saturday). All events are open to the general public. There is no fee for attendance. For more information check the website: www.sfu.ca/~gradconf/.
JOAN THOMAS
Award-winning novelist Joan Thomas reads from her love story, Curiosity. Tuesday, June 21 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library. 350 W. Georgia St.
WRITE ON BOWEN 2011
Join writers from all over the Lower Mainland for a series of intensive, interactive writing workshops, panel presentations, and other events. July 8 to 11, Artisan Square, Bowen Island. For complete details, visit www.writeonbowen.com.
HAIKU NORTH AMERICA
A long weekend of papers, presentations, workshops, readings, and other activities in celebration of haiku poetry, held at the Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle. Featured presenters already include Cor van den Heuvel, Richard Gilbert, David Lanoue, Carlos Colón, Fay Aoyagi, Jim Kacian, Emiko Miyashita, George Swede, and many others. August 3-7, 2011. For more information, visit www.haikunorthamerica.com.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Book News Vol. 6 No. 19
BOOK NEWS
Incite @ VPL
The next installment of Incite (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemay11) will feature Madeleine Thien, Jen Sookfong Lee and Patrick deWitt.
Reviews from the recent Incite event with Bernhard Schlink:
This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to great writers.
Well done - interesting author who expressed a compelling perspective.
Excellent event - remarkable author and glad I heard about it.
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.
This is the last Incite event before our summer hiatus. Incite events launch again September 14.
SPECIAL EVENTS
A Dram Come True - May 13, 2011
Tomorrow ! There are still tickets available for A Dram Come True but they are going fast! Join us for a scintillating evening of scotch whisky sampling and enjoy a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. "The light music of whiskey falling into a glass - an agreeable interlude." - James Joyce. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dramcometrue
Mellissa Fung - May 28, 2011
CBC Journalist Mellissa Fung will discuss her soon to be released memoir, Under an Afghan Sky, with Kirk LaPointe. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/fung
AWARDS & LISTS
A group of Australian women writers and publishers are working to set up an equivalent of the Orange prize in their country, to combat what they describe as "the systemic exclusion of women writers over several decades" from the country's major literary awards. The new prize has the working title of A Prize of One's Own.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/04/australian-version-orange-prize
Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada have announced that Vancouver storyteller Melanie Roy is the winner of the 2nd annual Storykeeper Award/Prix Guardienne des Contes.
Three Doug Wright Awards—celebrating excellence in the Canadian art and alternative comic scene—were awarded Saturday. Montreal-based cartoonist and illustrator Pascal Girard won the best book award for Bigfoot, Alex Fellows, the emerging talent honour for Spain and Morocco, and Michael DeForge, the Pigskin Peters Award, for Spotting Deer.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2011/05/08/wright-award-comics-winners.html
Vancouver writer Helen Waldstein Wilkes' Letters from the Lost: A Memoir of Discovery is one of five finalists for the $10,000 Alberta Readers' Choice book award. Other finalists are: Robert Kroetsch, Jeff Gailus, Michael J. Martineck; and brothers Clem and Olivier Martini.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Voting+begins+finalists+Alberta+book+prize/4666530/story.html
Five authors have been shortlisted for The Caine Prize for African Writing, known as the African Booker: David Medalie (South Africa); Tim Keegan (South Africa); NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe); Laura Kubuitsile (Botswana); and Beatrice Lamwaka (Uganda).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/09/caine-prize-shortlist.html
Read the five finalists on the Caine Prize website:
http://www.caineprize.com/
Tim Wynne-Jones is a finalist for the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award—often dubbed the Nobel Prize for children's literature, or "Little Nobel".
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/988855--tim-wynne-jones-in-the-running-for-the-little-nobel
NEWS & FEATURES
Peter Mansbridge talks to Mellissa Fung about her 28 days as a hostage in Afghanistan—a story she tells in her book Under an Afghan Sky.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/1221258968/ID=1909515050
Citing ''security reasons'', the Chinese government has banned the dissident author and poet Liao Yiwu from travelling to Australia to attend the Sydney Writers' Festival.
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/chinese-author-banned-from-visiting-sydney-20110510-1eh1r.html
Boyd Tonkin describes the careers of the six writers shortlisted for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The Prize will be awarded at the end of May.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-writers-on-the-front-line-2279470.html
After decades of pirated editions of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude in China—prompting Garcia Marquez to swear that even 150 years after his death his books would not be authorized in China—a Chinese publisher will bring out the first authorized edition this summer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/29/gabriel-garcia-marquez-chinese-edition
Zhang Lei describes how Marquez was persuaded to relinquish the 100 year ban.
http://life.globaltimes.cn/art/2011-04/647374.html
Montreal Gazette journalist Ian McGillis writes of his love of Ganges, Salt Spring Island, and especially its book stores.
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/05/07/ganges-the-book-town-that-amazon-forgot/
The web allows stories to be spun in different ways. The use of multimedia is beginning to take storytelling in radical new directions, writes Robert McCrum.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/deep-media-fiction-web-mccrum
Harper Lee has written one book—To Kill a Mockingbird. Marja Mills has written a memoir about Lee. While Lee denies cooperating with The Mockingbird Next Door, the publisher claims there was direct access to Lee, friends and family.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-live-0430-harper-lee-memoir-20110429,0,7537664.story
Philip Hensher comments: "The task of balancing the awareness of past success with the necessary task of producing new work is not one that every writer can achieve...much harder to deal with when they come early in a writer's career."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8485628/Why-Harper-Lee-has-remained-silent-all-these-years.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Douglas Todd writes that Andre Girard's Fathers: A Literary Anthology simultaneously acknowledges that fathers and mothers are inextricably linked and provides readers with a riveting collection of emotive examinations of dozens of particular dads. The author's blog is here:
http://patremoirpress.com/
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Understanding+parents/4744873/story.html
Writing about Madeleine Thien's bracing, shattering tales of Cambodian lives in Dogs at the Perimeter, Charles Foran describes Thien as a deeply empathetic and instinctive writer whose novel merits slow reading.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/dogs-at-the-perimeter-by-madeleine-thien/article2012824/
David Chau adds that "Dogs at the Perimeter is a work of restrained power, a remembrance of Cambodia's genocide and the accumulated identities that linger."
http://www.straight.com/article-390708/vancouver/book-review-dogs-perimeter-madeleine-thien
Ursula LeGuin says China Miéville‘s sophisticated science fiction novel Embassytown addresses who we are—"a fully achieved work of art."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/embassytown-china-mieville-review
The radicalism inherent in the best science fiction is at the heart of Miéville's work, and makes it perfect reading for our troubled times, writes Damien Walter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/may/10/china-mieville-radical-sf-mainstream
If we were to roll back history to the start of the 20th century and undo one event...it would be the war that began in 1914, suggests Adam Hochschild's To End All Wars. A compassionate and sympathetic book, writes Andrew Motion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/all-wars-adam-hochschild-review
Jonathan Manthorpe writes that Peter Godwin's The Fear is an important book not only for anyone who knows and loves Zimbabwe, but also for anyone who cares about human values.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Unmasking+Mugabe+evil/4732146/story.html
Is Journalism Worth Dying For? is a collection of essays by Russia's murdered Anna Politkovskaya, including dispatches from Chechnya, Paris and Sydney. There is also a long and surprisingly tender essay on her dog, writes Jason Farago.
http://www.salon.com/books/nonfiction/index.html?story=/books/2011/05/03/is_journalsim_worth_dying_for
There is much more to modern Icelandic writing than detectives and crime scenes, says Carolyne Larrington describing From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón (Sigurjón B. Sigurðsson).
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7174361.ece
James Magowan finds Steve Burgess' new memoir, Who Killed Mom? to be a marvelous book with an unfortunately silly title. It's a poignant, darkly humorous but very loving memoir of his parents, his mom especially, says Magowan.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/987441--who-killed-mom-by-steve-burgess
An excerpt is here:
http://www.vancouversun.com/couple+cons+hitch+ride+with/4744878/story.html
Pulse is a quietly apt title for Julian Barnes' vibrant new collection of stories, a book at once full of life and voice, and also pierced at points by sadness, writes Sylvia Brownrigg.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/08/RVM81J999T.DTL
In his review of Ian Brown's The Boy in the Moon, Roger Rosenblatt comments that the mystery of his son contains other mysteries and that Walker has made the Browns greater people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/books/review/book-review-the-boy-in-the-moon-by-ian-brown.html?_r=1&ref=books&pagewanted=all
An excerpt is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/books/review/excerpt-the-boy-in-the-moon-by-ian-brown.html?ref=review
Katja Grubisic writes that Best European Fiction 2011 is laudable and exciting for the number of non-mainstream translations, for the discovery of writing in languages too small and writers too far to reach, and for its very good writing.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/best-european-fiction-2011-edited-by-aleksandar-hemon/article2016816/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FELICE TEBBE AND "BOOKLYN" IN STRATHCONA
The Alcuin Society presents a book arts show-and-tell evening featuring artisis' books from over 100 artists, from the Brooklyn, NY, arts organization known as "Booklyn". Hosted by Chalk Exchange. Free admission. Chalk Exchange, 593 East Georgia St. Friday, May 13, 7:30-9pm. Doors open at 7:00.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Reading by the author of Demeter Goes Skydiving, her new volume of poetry. Friday, May 13 at 7:00pm. Admission by donation. Take 5 Cafe, 429 Granville Street. For more information, email twsread@sfu.ca.
EVERYDAY EDEN
Join food and lifestyle writer Christina Symons and horticulturalist and landscaper John Gillespie for a book signing, featuring refreshments and a demonstration from their new book Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Projects for the Whole Family to Enjoy. Saturday, May 14 at 2:00pm, free. Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks, 1740 2nd Ave. W. Pre-register at 604-688-6755 or visit www.bookstocooks.com.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION SERIES
Readings by Roberta Rich, Sheryda Warrener, Catherine Owen, Michael Dylan Welch, and Jericho Brown. Saturday, May 14 at 5:00pm, free. SFU Harbour Centre. room 7000 Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room.
ROB TAYLOR
Author launches his debut collection of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. Rowan's Roof Restaurant and Lounge, 2340 4th Ave. W.
AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANAAS
Join the author, illustrator and creator of Haida Manga for a discussion about his graphic novel Red: A Haida Manga. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $20, call 604-733-1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com to register. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W. www.christiannehayward.com.
MUSICWORKS MAGAZINE WRITING CONTEST
Enter Musicworks magazine's writing contest and composition contest to win some fabulous prizes including an Apple iPad or Ableton Live composition software. Deadline is May 16. For complete contest details and to enter, visit http://contest.musicworks.ca.
ROBERT W. MACKAY AND BEN NUTTALL-SMITH
Two Vancouver authors will give dynamic presentations from historical novels set 1000 years apart. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
ROBERT WHITAKER
Award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker reads. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
PEN-IN-HAND POETRY/PROSE READING SERIES
Featuring the poetry of Carol Matthews, Jay Ruzesky and Kim Goldberg. Monday May 16 at 7:30pm. Cost: $3 per person. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
BRUCE FRASER
The author will read from his book On Potato Mountain: a Chilcotin Mystery. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Firehall Meeting Room, Firehall Branch, 1455 10th Ave. W. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
THE CUCUMBER TREE
Author Bob Ross discusses his book The Cucumber Tree: Memories of a Vancouver Boyhood in celebration of the 14th Annual Dunbar Salmonberry Days festival. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Dunbar Branch, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3968.
CHESTER BROWN
Author reads from his new graphic novel, Paying For It, a contemporary defense of the world's oldest profession. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ORCA BOOK LAUNCH
Six Orca authors celebrate the release of their books for young readers. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at 604-734-2025.
I FEEL GREAT ABOUT MY HANDS
Join Shari Graydon and other contributors to the new anthology, I Feel Great About My Hands, a collection of stories from remarkable women who revel in the joys of aging. Wednesday, May 18 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.
CBC STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The CBC Studio One Book Club presents three of B.C.'s hottest garden bloggers with new books - Andrea Bellamy with Sugar Snaps and Strawberries and Christina Symons & John Gillespie with Everyday Eden. Thursday, May 19th, 6:30 pm, at the CBC Broadcast Centre. Free tickets www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MARC KAUFMAN
Reading and discussion by the author of First Contact. Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Reading by the author of Demeter Goes Skydiving, her new volume of poetry. Wednesday, May 25 at 7:30pm, free. Pelican Rouge Coffee House, 15142 North Bluff Road, White Rock. For more information, email literary@semiahmooarts.com.
Upcoming
SHERYL SALLOUM
Launch of the author's new book The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton. Thursday, June 9 at 8:00pm. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. More information at info@mothertonguepublishing.com.
HAIKU NORTH AMERICA
A long weekend of papers, presentations, workshops, readings, and other activities in celebration of haiku poetry, held at the Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle. Featured presenters already include Cor van den Heuvel, Richard Gilbert, David Lanoue, Carlos Colón, Fay Aoyagi, Jim Kacian, Emiko Miyashita, George Swede, and many others. August 3-7, 2011. For more information, visit www.haikunorthamerica.com.
Incite @ VPL
The next installment of Incite (http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemay11) will feature Madeleine Thien, Jen Sookfong Lee and Patrick deWitt.
Reviews from the recent Incite event with Bernhard Schlink:
This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and listen to great writers.
Well done - interesting author who expressed a compelling perspective.
Excellent event - remarkable author and glad I heard about it.
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.
This is the last Incite event before our summer hiatus. Incite events launch again September 14.
SPECIAL EVENTS
A Dram Come True - May 13, 2011
Tomorrow ! There are still tickets available for A Dram Come True but they are going fast! Join us for a scintillating evening of scotch whisky sampling and enjoy a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. "The light music of whiskey falling into a glass - an agreeable interlude." - James Joyce. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dramcometrue
Mellissa Fung - May 28, 2011
CBC Journalist Mellissa Fung will discuss her soon to be released memoir, Under an Afghan Sky, with Kirk LaPointe. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/fung
AWARDS & LISTS
A group of Australian women writers and publishers are working to set up an equivalent of the Orange prize in their country, to combat what they describe as "the systemic exclusion of women writers over several decades" from the country's major literary awards. The new prize has the working title of A Prize of One's Own.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/04/australian-version-orange-prize
Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada have announced that Vancouver storyteller Melanie Roy is the winner of the 2nd annual Storykeeper Award/Prix Guardienne des Contes.
Three Doug Wright Awards—celebrating excellence in the Canadian art and alternative comic scene—were awarded Saturday. Montreal-based cartoonist and illustrator Pascal Girard won the best book award for Bigfoot, Alex Fellows, the emerging talent honour for Spain and Morocco, and Michael DeForge, the Pigskin Peters Award, for Spotting Deer.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2011/05/08/wright-award-comics-winners.html
Vancouver writer Helen Waldstein Wilkes' Letters from the Lost: A Memoir of Discovery is one of five finalists for the $10,000 Alberta Readers' Choice book award. Other finalists are: Robert Kroetsch, Jeff Gailus, Michael J. Martineck; and brothers Clem and Olivier Martini.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Voting+begins+finalists+Alberta+book+prize/4666530/story.html
Five authors have been shortlisted for The Caine Prize for African Writing, known as the African Booker: David Medalie (South Africa); Tim Keegan (South Africa); NoViolet Bulawayo (Zimbabwe); Laura Kubuitsile (Botswana); and Beatrice Lamwaka (Uganda).
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/09/caine-prize-shortlist.html
Read the five finalists on the Caine Prize website:
http://www.caineprize.com/
Tim Wynne-Jones is a finalist for the biennial Hans Christian Andersen Award—often dubbed the Nobel Prize for children's literature, or "Little Nobel".
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/988855--tim-wynne-jones-in-the-running-for-the-little-nobel
NEWS & FEATURES
Peter Mansbridge talks to Mellissa Fung about her 28 days as a hostage in Afghanistan—a story she tells in her book Under an Afghan Sky.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/1221258968/ID=1909515050
Citing ''security reasons'', the Chinese government has banned the dissident author and poet Liao Yiwu from travelling to Australia to attend the Sydney Writers' Festival.
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/chinese-author-banned-from-visiting-sydney-20110510-1eh1r.html
Boyd Tonkin describes the careers of the six writers shortlisted for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The Prize will be awarded at the end of May.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-writers-on-the-front-line-2279470.html
After decades of pirated editions of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude in China—prompting Garcia Marquez to swear that even 150 years after his death his books would not be authorized in China—a Chinese publisher will bring out the first authorized edition this summer.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/29/gabriel-garcia-marquez-chinese-edition
Zhang Lei describes how Marquez was persuaded to relinquish the 100 year ban.
http://life.globaltimes.cn/art/2011-04/647374.html
Montreal Gazette journalist Ian McGillis writes of his love of Ganges, Salt Spring Island, and especially its book stores.
http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2011/05/07/ganges-the-book-town-that-amazon-forgot/
The web allows stories to be spun in different ways. The use of multimedia is beginning to take storytelling in radical new directions, writes Robert McCrum.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/deep-media-fiction-web-mccrum
Harper Lee has written one book—To Kill a Mockingbird. Marja Mills has written a memoir about Lee. While Lee denies cooperating with The Mockingbird Next Door, the publisher claims there was direct access to Lee, friends and family.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-live-0430-harper-lee-memoir-20110429,0,7537664.story
Philip Hensher comments: "The task of balancing the awareness of past success with the necessary task of producing new work is not one that every writer can achieve...much harder to deal with when they come early in a writer's career."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/8485628/Why-Harper-Lee-has-remained-silent-all-these-years.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Douglas Todd writes that Andre Girard's Fathers: A Literary Anthology simultaneously acknowledges that fathers and mothers are inextricably linked and provides readers with a riveting collection of emotive examinations of dozens of particular dads. The author's blog is here:
http://patremoirpress.com/
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Understanding+parents/4744873/story.html
Writing about Madeleine Thien's bracing, shattering tales of Cambodian lives in Dogs at the Perimeter, Charles Foran describes Thien as a deeply empathetic and instinctive writer whose novel merits slow reading.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/dogs-at-the-perimeter-by-madeleine-thien/article2012824/
David Chau adds that "Dogs at the Perimeter is a work of restrained power, a remembrance of Cambodia's genocide and the accumulated identities that linger."
http://www.straight.com/article-390708/vancouver/book-review-dogs-perimeter-madeleine-thien
Ursula LeGuin says China Miéville‘s sophisticated science fiction novel Embassytown addresses who we are—"a fully achieved work of art."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/embassytown-china-mieville-review
The radicalism inherent in the best science fiction is at the heart of Miéville's work, and makes it perfect reading for our troubled times, writes Damien Walter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2011/may/10/china-mieville-radical-sf-mainstream
If we were to roll back history to the start of the 20th century and undo one event...it would be the war that began in 1914, suggests Adam Hochschild's To End All Wars. A compassionate and sympathetic book, writes Andrew Motion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/08/all-wars-adam-hochschild-review
Jonathan Manthorpe writes that Peter Godwin's The Fear is an important book not only for anyone who knows and loves Zimbabwe, but also for anyone who cares about human values.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Unmasking+Mugabe+evil/4732146/story.html
Is Journalism Worth Dying For? is a collection of essays by Russia's murdered Anna Politkovskaya, including dispatches from Chechnya, Paris and Sydney. There is also a long and surprisingly tender essay on her dog, writes Jason Farago.
http://www.salon.com/books/nonfiction/index.html?story=/books/2011/05/03/is_journalsim_worth_dying_for
There is much more to modern Icelandic writing than detectives and crime scenes, says Carolyne Larrington describing From the Mouth of the Whale by Sjón (Sigurjón B. Sigurðsson).
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7174361.ece
James Magowan finds Steve Burgess' new memoir, Who Killed Mom? to be a marvelous book with an unfortunately silly title. It's a poignant, darkly humorous but very loving memoir of his parents, his mom especially, says Magowan.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/987441--who-killed-mom-by-steve-burgess
An excerpt is here:
http://www.vancouversun.com/couple+cons+hitch+ride+with/4744878/story.html
Pulse is a quietly apt title for Julian Barnes' vibrant new collection of stories, a book at once full of life and voice, and also pierced at points by sadness, writes Sylvia Brownrigg.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/05/08/RVM81J999T.DTL
In his review of Ian Brown's The Boy in the Moon, Roger Rosenblatt comments that the mystery of his son contains other mysteries and that Walker has made the Browns greater people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/books/review/book-review-the-boy-in-the-moon-by-ian-brown.html?_r=1&ref=books&pagewanted=all
An excerpt is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/books/review/excerpt-the-boy-in-the-moon-by-ian-brown.html?ref=review
Katja Grubisic writes that Best European Fiction 2011 is laudable and exciting for the number of non-mainstream translations, for the discovery of writing in languages too small and writers too far to reach, and for its very good writing.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/best-european-fiction-2011-edited-by-aleksandar-hemon/article2016816/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FELICE TEBBE AND "BOOKLYN" IN STRATHCONA
The Alcuin Society presents a book arts show-and-tell evening featuring artisis' books from over 100 artists, from the Brooklyn, NY, arts organization known as "Booklyn". Hosted by Chalk Exchange. Free admission. Chalk Exchange, 593 East Georgia St. Friday, May 13, 7:30-9pm. Doors open at 7:00.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Reading by the author of Demeter Goes Skydiving, her new volume of poetry. Friday, May 13 at 7:00pm. Admission by donation. Take 5 Cafe, 429 Granville Street. For more information, email twsread@sfu.ca.
EVERYDAY EDEN
Join food and lifestyle writer Christina Symons and horticulturalist and landscaper John Gillespie for a book signing, featuring refreshments and a demonstration from their new book Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Projects for the Whole Family to Enjoy. Saturday, May 14 at 2:00pm, free. Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks, 1740 2nd Ave. W. Pre-register at 604-688-6755 or visit www.bookstocooks.com.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION SERIES
Readings by Roberta Rich, Sheryda Warrener, Catherine Owen, Michael Dylan Welch, and Jericho Brown. Saturday, May 14 at 5:00pm, free. SFU Harbour Centre. room 7000 Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room.
ROB TAYLOR
Author launches his debut collection of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. Rowan's Roof Restaurant and Lounge, 2340 4th Ave. W.
AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANAAS
Join the author, illustrator and creator of Haida Manga for a discussion about his graphic novel Red: A Haida Manga. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $20, call 604-733-1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com to register. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W. www.christiannehayward.com.
MUSICWORKS MAGAZINE WRITING CONTEST
Enter Musicworks magazine's writing contest and composition contest to win some fabulous prizes including an Apple iPad or Ableton Live composition software. Deadline is May 16. For complete contest details and to enter, visit http://contest.musicworks.ca.
ROBERT W. MACKAY AND BEN NUTTALL-SMITH
Two Vancouver authors will give dynamic presentations from historical novels set 1000 years apart. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
ROBERT WHITAKER
Award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker reads. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
PEN-IN-HAND POETRY/PROSE READING SERIES
Featuring the poetry of Carol Matthews, Jay Ruzesky and Kim Goldberg. Monday May 16 at 7:30pm. Cost: $3 per person. Serious Coffee, 230 Cook Street, Victoria.
BRUCE FRASER
The author will read from his book On Potato Mountain: a Chilcotin Mystery. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Firehall Meeting Room, Firehall Branch, 1455 10th Ave. W. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
THE CUCUMBER TREE
Author Bob Ross discusses his book The Cucumber Tree: Memories of a Vancouver Boyhood in celebration of the 14th Annual Dunbar Salmonberry Days festival. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Dunbar Branch, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3968.
CHESTER BROWN
Author reads from his new graphic novel, Paying For It, a contemporary defense of the world's oldest profession. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ORCA BOOK LAUNCH
Six Orca authors celebrate the release of their books for young readers. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at 604-734-2025.
I FEEL GREAT ABOUT MY HANDS
Join Shari Graydon and other contributors to the new anthology, I Feel Great About My Hands, a collection of stories from remarkable women who revel in the joys of aging. Wednesday, May 18 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.
CBC STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The CBC Studio One Book Club presents three of B.C.'s hottest garden bloggers with new books - Andrea Bellamy with Sugar Snaps and Strawberries and Christina Symons & John Gillespie with Everyday Eden. Thursday, May 19th, 6:30 pm, at the CBC Broadcast Centre. Free tickets www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MARC KAUFMAN
Reading and discussion by the author of First Contact. Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Reading by the author of Demeter Goes Skydiving, her new volume of poetry. Wednesday, May 25 at 7:30pm, free. Pelican Rouge Coffee House, 15142 North Bluff Road, White Rock. For more information, email literary@semiahmooarts.com.
Upcoming
SHERYL SALLOUM
Launch of the author's new book The Life and Art of Mildred Valley Thornton. Thursday, June 9 at 8:00pm. Heritage Hall, 3102 Main Street. More information at info@mothertonguepublishing.com.
HAIKU NORTH AMERICA
A long weekend of papers, presentations, workshops, readings, and other activities in celebration of haiku poetry, held at the Seattle Center, at the foot of the Space Needle. Featured presenters already include Cor van den Heuvel, Richard Gilbert, David Lanoue, Carlos Colón, Fay Aoyagi, Jim Kacian, Emiko Miyashita, George Swede, and many others. August 3-7, 2011. For more information, visit www.haikunorthamerica.com.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Book News Vol. 6 No. 18
BOOK NEWS
Incite @ VPL
Coming up in May, we are offering two installments of Incite in one week! A special Incite on May 9 features Bernhard Schlink, author of The Reader, reading from his new novel The Weekend, and on Wednesday, May 11 Zsuzsi Gartner discusses her latest book, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, and singer-songwriter Sylvia Tyson reads from her debut novel, Joyner's Dream.
Reviews from the recent Incite event with Joyce Carol Oates and Johanna Skibsrud:
Remarkable, courageous and generous reading. Thank you!
A wonderful evening in every way.
A true thrill to hear Joyce Carol Oates-a rare treat. Thank you.
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
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.
A Dram Come True - May 13, 2011
There are still tickets available for A Dram Come True but they are going fast! Join us for a scintillating evening of scotch whisky sampling and enjoy a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. "The light music of whiskey falling into a glass - an agreeable interlude." - James Joyce. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dramcometrue
Mellissa Fung - May 28, 2011
CBC Journalist Mellissa Fung will discuss her soon to be released memoir, Under an Afghan Sky, with Kirk LaPointe. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/fung
AWARDS & LISTS
Globe and Mail European bureau chief Doug Saunders has won the $35,000 Donner Prize for Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World. The award jury declared it "a work that analyzes a global trend that we ignore at our peril.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-globes-doug-saunders-wins-donner-prize/article2001091/
85-year-old Ana Maria Matute received the 2010 Cervantes prize, the Spanish-speaking world's top literary honour, from King Juan Carlos last week, the third woman to receive the award in its 35-year history. Matute is acclaimed for her lyrical novels dealing with the lives of children and adolescents.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2011/04/27/cervantes-matute-prize.html
South African author Lauren Beukes has won the Arthur C. Clarke award, the UK's top science fiction prize, for her novel Zoo City, set in an alternate Johannesburg.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/28/lauren-beukes-arthur-c-clarke-award
The Canada Reads Poetry 2011 champion is Forage by Rita Wong.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/04/28/forage-by-rita-wong-wins-canada-reads-poetry/#more-31980
Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, author of Sea of Poppies, has won the 2011 Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/28/blue-met-grand-prix.html
Michael Van Rooy, the Winnipeg writer who died while on a book tour earlier this year, has earned an Arthur Ellis Award nomination for A Criminal to Remember. Other shortlisted authors include Louise Penny, Jeffrey Moore and Sheree Fitch. The awards are named for Arthur Ellis, the pseudonym used by Canada's official hangman.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/arthur-ellis-awards.html
Emerging writer Eleanor Catton has won the Amazon.ca First Novel award for The Rehearsal.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/amazon-first-novel-catton-rehearsal.html
Trevor Cole's Practical Jean has won the 2011 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/leacock-cole-practical-jean.html
Quebec mystery writer Louise Penny has captured an Agatha Award for a fourth year in a row for best mystery novel, with Bury Your Dead, the sixth in the Insp. Gamache series.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/01/penny-agatha-award.html
The Walrus leads in the National Magazine Awards with 35 nominations. Writer J.B. MacKinnon and photographer Edward Burtynsky are also among the finalists for awards.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/02/national-magazine-award-nominees.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Maxine Hong Kingston talks with Susanna Rustin about changing times in China, turning to poetry 'to hasten the pace of creation' and getting arrested with Alice Walker.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/26/maxine-hong-kingston-whitman
Canadian poet Katherine Leyton spent April in Miami, celebrating Poetry Month by approaching strangers and asking them to read poems by Erin Robson, Ken Babstock and Matt Rader, among others, on camera.
http://tinyurl.com/3ugbrw3
Argentina is considering granting a special pension to writers on the grounds that they generate "social richness" but often end up impoverished. Authors who have published five books or invested 20 years in 'literary creation' would get £565 a month.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/27/argentina-considers-paying-writers-pension
Marja Mills' The Mockingbird Next Door, a biography of Harper Lee, will cover topics ranging from Lee's childhood in Alabama to why she never wrote a follow-up to her acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/27/harper-lee-bio.html
Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, spent his childhood moving between California and his native Lahore, thus developing a fascination with maps and with imaginary islands he could populate with the best of both places.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/01/once-upon-a-life-mohsin-hamid
Hamid's first book, Moth Smoke (now reissued in paperback), provides the context for the clash of cultures in its portrait of a country violently divided against itself, writes Rachel Aspden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/moth-smoke-mohsin-hamid-review
When Miles Franklin established Australia's most significant award for literary fiction, she wanted to encourage Australian writers and writing. And she knew the particular difficulties women writers faced. Since 1957, the prize has been awarded 39 times to male writers and 13 times to women.
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/a-closed-book-as-prize-list-leaves-women-on-outer-20110421-1dqgg.html
The Australian's Books blog reflects on the Miles Franklin short list, which has attracted a lot of comment for being all-male for the second time in three years.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/why-long-lists-can-be-so-unfair/story-e6frg8nf-1226045089010
Physician and author Rahul K. Parikh interviews Dr. Siddhartha Mukerjee (Emperor of All Maladies) because of Mukerjee's writing the "biography" of cancer, bringing to light its cultural, mythical, clinical, social and political history. Their focus: why cancer matters.
http://www.salon.com/books/our_picks/
Libraries have nothing at all to do with silence, says Bella Bathurst, as she reveals what communities are about to lose with the closure of libraries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/the-secret-life-of-libraries
120 years after it was condemned as 'vulgar' and 'unclean', an uncensored version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray has been published by Harvard University Press.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/27/dorian-gray-oscar-wilde-uncensored
BOOKS & WRITERS
Zsuzsi Gartner has been touted as a satirical writer, and to the degree that her latest collection of short stories, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, heaps scorn on a wide range of targets, the definition fits, writes Emily Donaldson.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/978977--better-living-through-plastic-explosives-by-zsuzsi-gartner
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist by Orhan Pamuk is a love letter to the literary novel, writes Cherilyn Parsons. It can expand your awareness and joy of reading. And for novelists, it's a treasure trove.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/gazing_into_the_center_of_the_novel_20110428/
Philip Hensher is also engrossed in Pamuk's vision for the novel, not least because "Over the past 50 or so years, literary criticism has abandoned its general duty to say interesting things about books to an ordinary reader.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8387989/The-Naive-and-the-Sentimental-Novelist-by-Orhan-Pamuk-review.html
Renewed critical interest in novelist William Golding has Faber producing centenary editions of Lord of the Flies and The Inheritors, and publishing daughter Judy's memoir Children of Lovers. The occasional King Lear quotes are apt, says Helen Taylor.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-children-of-lovers-by-judy-golding-2276056.html
Four characters in John Porcellino's graphic book The Next Day are real people, now adults, identified only by their first names. They attempted suicide, survived and lived to know another day, the next day of the book's title.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/983449--graphic-novella-the-next-day-tackles-suicide-and-survival
In Lucky Break, Esther Freud casts off the complex family ties that dominate her early books, and the middle European angst of more recent works, to embrace the funny yet brutal world of acting, says Susanna Rustin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/30/lucky-break-esther-freud-review
Monsieur Linh and His Child by award-winning author Phillippe Claudel is a tale of two old men who befriend each other, neither speaking the other's language, communicating through kindly smiles, gestures and tones of voice.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/monsieur-linh-child-philippe-claudel-review
Miriam Toews' Sweet Badass Dude is included in Geist's 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition and can be found here:
http://www.geist.com/dispatch/sweet-badass-dude
Aritha Van Herk suggests that Elizabeth Hay's Alone in the Classroom be read slowly, or better, read twice, for its poetry, entanglements and richness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/alone-in-the-classroom-by-elizabeth-hay/article2003976/
John Barber's interview with Hay adds insights into the author's approach.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/elizabeth-hay-a-celebrated-novelist-who-wears-a-cloak-of-self-deprecation/article2002875/
Gale Zoë Garnett describes Carsten Jensen's debut novel, We the Drowned, as "a huge achievement”. Nordic people live in relation to the water; this saga weaves myth, village life and sea, illuminating the lives of sailor and their loves.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/we-the-drowned-by-carsten-jensen/article2004011/
The terror of death and humankind's attempts to transcend it form the engrossing centre of John Gray's The Immortalization Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-immortalization-commission-by-john-gray/article2003851/
Lucy Popescu describes Camilla Gibbs' The Beauty of Humanity Movement as "a rich soup of memory and loss”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-beauty-of-humanity-movement-by-camilla-gibb-2278001.html
Brad MacKay writes that Chester Brown's Paying For It is about more than just its author's journey into john-dom. Paying For It is a defiant work of truth telling, writes MacKay.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/paying-for-it-by-chester-brown/article2003879/
Vit Wagner combines a review of Chester Brown's Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John with information about Brown's election campaign for The Libertarian Party.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/982927--paying-for-it-a-comic-strip-memoir-about-being-a-john-by-chester-brown
American author Cara Black has situated her eleven novels, including her latest, Murder in Passey, in different Paris arrondissements. Paris makes even murder most foul somehow more pleasurable, says Jack Batten.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/983310--murder-in-passy-by-cara-black
COMMUNITY EVENTS
AN EVENING WITH COACH HOUSE BOOKS
Readings by poet Helen Guri, author of Match and Alan Reid, author of Isobel & Emile. Thursday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square, Plaza Level, 800 Robson St. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
FRASER NIXON AND ANGIE ABDOU
John Burns hosts the Canadian writers reading from their new books The Man Who Killed and The Canterbury Trail. Thursday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.
CHAMPAGNE AND MEATBALLS
Historian Larry Hannant speaks about Bert Whyte's new memoir. Friday, May 6 at 7:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive. More information at www.peoplescoopbookstore.com.
MOTHER'S DAY TEA
Readings that celebrate women supporting women by Mette Bach, Shana Myara, Maddy Van Beek, Lorrie Miller, Cathleen With, and Fiona Tinwei Lam. Saturday, May 7 at 2:00pm. Tickets $10 and includes tea and goodies. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. More information at kogawahouse@yahoo.ca.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Poet launches her new volume Demeter Goes Skydiving. With host Liz Bachinsky and soprano Rachel Landrecht. Saturday, May 7 at 7:00pm. Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 W. 16th Ave., Vancouver. More information: Vivian@canadianmemorial.org.
ALMOST-ANYTHING-GOES ANARCHY SLAM
The Anarchy/Chaos Poetry Slam is your chance to put on a costume, use your props or break out that ukelele collecting dust in your closet. Monday, May 9 at 8:00pm. Admission: $6. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
THIS INNOCENT CORNER
Peggy Herring reads from her debut novel set in Bangladesh and Salt Spring Island. The reading will be accompanied by a slide show by international development photographer Shehzad Noorani. Tuesday, May 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
EVERYDAY EDEN
Join food and lifestyle writer Christina Symons and horticulturalist and landscaper John Gillespie for a book signing, featuring refreshments and a demonstration from their new book Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Projects for the Whole Family to Enjoy. Saturday, May 14 at 2:00pm, free. Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks, 1740 2nd Ave. W. Pre-register at 604-688-6755 or visit www.bookstocooks.com.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION SERIES
Readings by Roberta Rich, Sheryda Warrener, Catherine Owen, Michael Dylan Welch, and Jericho Brown. Saturday, May 14 at 5:00pm, free. SFU Harbour Centre. room 7000 Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room.
ROB TAYLOR
Author launches his debut collection of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. Rowan's Roof Restaurant and Lounge, 2340 4th Ave. W.
AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANAAS
Join the author, illustrator and creator of Haida Manga for a discussion about his graphic novel Red: A Haida Manga. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $20, call 604-733-1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com to register. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W. www.christiannehayward.com.
ROBERT W. MACKAY AND BEN NUTTALL-SMITH
Two Vancouver authors will give dynamic presentations from historical novels set 1000 years apart. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
ROBERT WHITAKER
Award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker reads. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
BRUCE FRASER
The author will read from his book On Potato Mountain: a Chilcotin Mystery. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Firehall Meeting Room, Firehall Branch, 1455 10th Ave. W. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
THE CUCUMBER TREE
Author Bob Ross discusses his book The Cucumber Tree: Memories of a Vancouver Boyhood in celebration of the 14th Annual Dunbar Salmonberry Days festival. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Dunbar Branch, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3968.
CHESTER BROWN
Author reads from his new graphic novel, Paying For It, a contemporary defense of the world's oldest profession. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ORCA BOOK LAUNCH
Six Orca authors celebrate the release of their books for young readers. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at 604-734-2025.
I FEEL GREAT ABOUT MY HANDS
Join Shari Graydon and other contributors to the new anthology, I Feel Great About My Hands, a collection of stories from remarkable women who revel in the joys of aging. Wednesday, May 18 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.
CBC STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The CBC Studio One Book Club presents three of B.C.'s hottest garden bloggers with new books - Andrea Bellamy with Sugar Snaps and Strawberries and Christina Symons & John Gillespie with Everyday Eden. Thursday, May 19th, 6:30 pm, at the CBC Broadcast Centre. Free tickets www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MARC KAUFMAN
Reading and discussion by the author of First Contact. Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Incite @ VPL
Coming up in May, we are offering two installments of Incite in one week! A special Incite on May 9 features Bernhard Schlink, author of The Reader, reading from his new novel The Weekend, and on Wednesday, May 11 Zsuzsi Gartner discusses her latest book, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, and singer-songwriter Sylvia Tyson reads from her debut novel, Joyner's Dream.
Reviews from the recent Incite event with Joyce Carol Oates and Johanna Skibsrud:
Remarkable, courageous and generous reading. Thank you!
A wonderful evening in every way.
A true thrill to hear Joyce Carol Oates-a rare treat. Thank you.
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
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.
A Dram Come True - May 13, 2011
There are still tickets available for A Dram Come True but they are going fast! Join us for a scintillating evening of scotch whisky sampling and enjoy a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. "The light music of whiskey falling into a glass - an agreeable interlude." - James Joyce. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dramcometrue
Mellissa Fung - May 28, 2011
CBC Journalist Mellissa Fung will discuss her soon to be released memoir, Under an Afghan Sky, with Kirk LaPointe. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/fung
AWARDS & LISTS
Globe and Mail European bureau chief Doug Saunders has won the $35,000 Donner Prize for Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World. The award jury declared it "a work that analyzes a global trend that we ignore at our peril.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-globes-doug-saunders-wins-donner-prize/article2001091/
85-year-old Ana Maria Matute received the 2010 Cervantes prize, the Spanish-speaking world's top literary honour, from King Juan Carlos last week, the third woman to receive the award in its 35-year history. Matute is acclaimed for her lyrical novels dealing with the lives of children and adolescents.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/books/story/2011/04/27/cervantes-matute-prize.html
South African author Lauren Beukes has won the Arthur C. Clarke award, the UK's top science fiction prize, for her novel Zoo City, set in an alternate Johannesburg.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/28/lauren-beukes-arthur-c-clarke-award
The Canada Reads Poetry 2011 champion is Forage by Rita Wong.
http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/04/28/forage-by-rita-wong-wins-canada-reads-poetry/#more-31980
Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, author of Sea of Poppies, has won the 2011 Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/28/blue-met-grand-prix.html
Michael Van Rooy, the Winnipeg writer who died while on a book tour earlier this year, has earned an Arthur Ellis Award nomination for A Criminal to Remember. Other shortlisted authors include Louise Penny, Jeffrey Moore and Sheree Fitch. The awards are named for Arthur Ellis, the pseudonym used by Canada's official hangman.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/arthur-ellis-awards.html
Emerging writer Eleanor Catton has won the Amazon.ca First Novel award for The Rehearsal.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/amazon-first-novel-catton-rehearsal.html
Trevor Cole's Practical Jean has won the 2011 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/29/leacock-cole-practical-jean.html
Quebec mystery writer Louise Penny has captured an Agatha Award for a fourth year in a row for best mystery novel, with Bury Your Dead, the sixth in the Insp. Gamache series.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/01/penny-agatha-award.html
The Walrus leads in the National Magazine Awards with 35 nominations. Writer J.B. MacKinnon and photographer Edward Burtynsky are also among the finalists for awards.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/05/02/national-magazine-award-nominees.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Maxine Hong Kingston talks with Susanna Rustin about changing times in China, turning to poetry 'to hasten the pace of creation' and getting arrested with Alice Walker.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/26/maxine-hong-kingston-whitman
Canadian poet Katherine Leyton spent April in Miami, celebrating Poetry Month by approaching strangers and asking them to read poems by Erin Robson, Ken Babstock and Matt Rader, among others, on camera.
http://tinyurl.com/3ugbrw3
Argentina is considering granting a special pension to writers on the grounds that they generate "social richness" but often end up impoverished. Authors who have published five books or invested 20 years in 'literary creation' would get £565 a month.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/27/argentina-considers-paying-writers-pension
Marja Mills' The Mockingbird Next Door, a biography of Harper Lee, will cover topics ranging from Lee's childhood in Alabama to why she never wrote a follow-up to her acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning To Kill a Mockingbird.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/04/27/harper-lee-bio.html
Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, spent his childhood moving between California and his native Lahore, thus developing a fascination with maps and with imaginary islands he could populate with the best of both places.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/may/01/once-upon-a-life-mohsin-hamid
Hamid's first book, Moth Smoke (now reissued in paperback), provides the context for the clash of cultures in its portrait of a country violently divided against itself, writes Rachel Aspden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/moth-smoke-mohsin-hamid-review
When Miles Franklin established Australia's most significant award for literary fiction, she wanted to encourage Australian writers and writing. And she knew the particular difficulties women writers faced. Since 1957, the prize has been awarded 39 times to male writers and 13 times to women.
http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/a-closed-book-as-prize-list-leaves-women-on-outer-20110421-1dqgg.html
The Australian's Books blog reflects on the Miles Franklin short list, which has attracted a lot of comment for being all-male for the second time in three years.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/why-long-lists-can-be-so-unfair/story-e6frg8nf-1226045089010
Physician and author Rahul K. Parikh interviews Dr. Siddhartha Mukerjee (Emperor of All Maladies) because of Mukerjee's writing the "biography" of cancer, bringing to light its cultural, mythical, clinical, social and political history. Their focus: why cancer matters.
http://www.salon.com/books/our_picks/
Libraries have nothing at all to do with silence, says Bella Bathurst, as she reveals what communities are about to lose with the closure of libraries.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/the-secret-life-of-libraries
120 years after it was condemned as 'vulgar' and 'unclean', an uncensored version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray has been published by Harvard University Press.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/27/dorian-gray-oscar-wilde-uncensored
BOOKS & WRITERS
Zsuzsi Gartner has been touted as a satirical writer, and to the degree that her latest collection of short stories, Better Living Through Plastic Explosives, heaps scorn on a wide range of targets, the definition fits, writes Emily Donaldson.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/978977--better-living-through-plastic-explosives-by-zsuzsi-gartner
The Naive and the Sentimental Novelist by Orhan Pamuk is a love letter to the literary novel, writes Cherilyn Parsons. It can expand your awareness and joy of reading. And for novelists, it's a treasure trove.
http://www.truthdig.com/arts_culture/item/gazing_into_the_center_of_the_novel_20110428/
Philip Hensher is also engrossed in Pamuk's vision for the novel, not least because "Over the past 50 or so years, literary criticism has abandoned its general duty to say interesting things about books to an ordinary reader.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/8387989/The-Naive-and-the-Sentimental-Novelist-by-Orhan-Pamuk-review.html
Renewed critical interest in novelist William Golding has Faber producing centenary editions of Lord of the Flies and The Inheritors, and publishing daughter Judy's memoir Children of Lovers. The occasional King Lear quotes are apt, says Helen Taylor.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-children-of-lovers-by-judy-golding-2276056.html
Four characters in John Porcellino's graphic book The Next Day are real people, now adults, identified only by their first names. They attempted suicide, survived and lived to know another day, the next day of the book's title.
http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/983449--graphic-novella-the-next-day-tackles-suicide-and-survival
In Lucky Break, Esther Freud casts off the complex family ties that dominate her early books, and the middle European angst of more recent works, to embrace the funny yet brutal world of acting, says Susanna Rustin.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/apr/30/lucky-break-esther-freud-review
Monsieur Linh and His Child by award-winning author Phillippe Claudel is a tale of two old men who befriend each other, neither speaking the other's language, communicating through kindly smiles, gestures and tones of voice.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/may/01/monsieur-linh-child-philippe-claudel-review
Miriam Toews' Sweet Badass Dude is included in Geist's 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition and can be found here:
http://www.geist.com/dispatch/sweet-badass-dude
Aritha Van Herk suggests that Elizabeth Hay's Alone in the Classroom be read slowly, or better, read twice, for its poetry, entanglements and richness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/alone-in-the-classroom-by-elizabeth-hay/article2003976/
John Barber's interview with Hay adds insights into the author's approach.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/elizabeth-hay-a-celebrated-novelist-who-wears-a-cloak-of-self-deprecation/article2002875/
Gale Zoë Garnett describes Carsten Jensen's debut novel, We the Drowned, as "a huge achievement”. Nordic people live in relation to the water; this saga weaves myth, village life and sea, illuminating the lives of sailor and their loves.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/we-the-drowned-by-carsten-jensen/article2004011/
The terror of death and humankind's attempts to transcend it form the engrossing centre of John Gray's The Immortalization Commission: Science and the Strange Quest to Cheat Death.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-immortalization-commission-by-john-gray/article2003851/
Lucy Popescu describes Camilla Gibbs' The Beauty of Humanity Movement as "a rich soup of memory and loss”.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-beauty-of-humanity-movement-by-camilla-gibb-2278001.html
Brad MacKay writes that Chester Brown's Paying For It is about more than just its author's journey into john-dom. Paying For It is a defiant work of truth telling, writes MacKay.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/paying-for-it-by-chester-brown/article2003879/
Vit Wagner combines a review of Chester Brown's Paying for It: A Comic-Strip Memoir About Being a John with information about Brown's election campaign for The Libertarian Party.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/982927--paying-for-it-a-comic-strip-memoir-about-being-a-john-by-chester-brown
American author Cara Black has situated her eleven novels, including her latest, Murder in Passey, in different Paris arrondissements. Paris makes even murder most foul somehow more pleasurable, says Jack Batten.
http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/983310--murder-in-passy-by-cara-black
COMMUNITY EVENTS
AN EVENING WITH COACH HOUSE BOOKS
Readings by poet Helen Guri, author of Match and Alan Reid, author of Isobel & Emile. Thursday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Library/Bookstore at Robson Square, Plaza Level, 800 Robson St. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.
FRASER NIXON AND ANGIE ABDOU
John Burns hosts the Canadian writers reading from their new books The Man Who Killed and The Canterbury Trail. Thursday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.
CHAMPAGNE AND MEATBALLS
Historian Larry Hannant speaks about Bert Whyte's new memoir. Friday, May 6 at 7:00pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive. More information at www.peoplescoopbookstore.com.
MOTHER'S DAY TEA
Readings that celebrate women supporting women by Mette Bach, Shana Myara, Maddy Van Beek, Lorrie Miller, Cathleen With, and Fiona Tinwei Lam. Saturday, May 7 at 2:00pm. Tickets $10 and includes tea and goodies. Historic Joy Kogawa House, 1450 64th Ave. W. More information at kogawahouse@yahoo.ca.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Poet launches her new volume Demeter Goes Skydiving. With host Liz Bachinsky and soprano Rachel Landrecht. Saturday, May 7 at 7:00pm. Canadian Memorial Centre for Peace, 1825 W. 16th Ave., Vancouver. More information: Vivian@canadianmemorial.org.
ALMOST-ANYTHING-GOES ANARCHY SLAM
The Anarchy/Chaos Poetry Slam is your chance to put on a costume, use your props or break out that ukelele collecting dust in your closet. Monday, May 9 at 8:00pm. Admission: $6. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.
THIS INNOCENT CORNER
Peggy Herring reads from her debut novel set in Bangladesh and Salt Spring Island. The reading will be accompanied by a slide show by international development photographer Shehzad Noorani. Tuesday, May 10 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
EVERYDAY EDEN
Join food and lifestyle writer Christina Symons and horticulturalist and landscaper John Gillespie for a book signing, featuring refreshments and a demonstration from their new book Everyday Eden: 100+ Fun, Green Garden Projects for the Whole Family to Enjoy. Saturday, May 14 at 2:00pm, free. Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks, 1740 2nd Ave. W. Pre-register at 604-688-6755 or visit www.bookstocooks.com.
CROSS BORDER POLLINATION SERIES
Readings by Roberta Rich, Sheryda Warrener, Catherine Owen, Michael Dylan Welch, and Jericho Brown. Saturday, May 14 at 5:00pm, free. SFU Harbour Centre. room 7000 Earl and Jennie Lohn Policy Room.
ROB TAYLOR
Author launches his debut collection of poetry, The Other Side of Ourselves. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. Rowan's Roof Restaurant and Lounge, 2340 4th Ave. W.
AN EVENING WITH MICHAEL NICOLL YAHGULANAAS
Join the author, illustrator and creator of Haida Manga for a discussion about his graphic novel Red: A Haida Manga. Saturday, May 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets are $20, call 604-733-1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com to register. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W. www.christiannehayward.com.
ROBERT W. MACKAY AND BEN NUTTALL-SMITH
Two Vancouver authors will give dynamic presentations from historical novels set 1000 years apart. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at 604-331-3691.
ROBERT WHITAKER
Award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker reads. Monday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
Upcoming
BRUCE FRASER
The author will read from his book On Potato Mountain: a Chilcotin Mystery. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Firehall Meeting Room, Firehall Branch, 1455 10th Ave. W. For more information please contact Firehall Branch at 604-665-3970.
THE CUCUMBER TREE
Author Bob Ross discusses his book The Cucumber Tree: Memories of a Vancouver Boyhood in celebration of the 14th Annual Dunbar Salmonberry Days festival. Wednesday, May 18 at 6:30pm, free. Dunbar Branch, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-665-3968.
CHESTER BROWN
Author reads from his new graphic novel, Paying For It, a contemporary defense of the world's oldest profession. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
ORCA BOOK LAUNCH
Six Orca authors celebrate the release of their books for young readers. Wednesday, May 18 at 7:00pm, free. Ardea Books & Art, 2025 4th Ave. W. More information at 604-734-2025.
I FEEL GREAT ABOUT MY HANDS
Join Shari Graydon and other contributors to the new anthology, I Feel Great About My Hands, a collection of stories from remarkable women who revel in the joys of aging. Wednesday, May 18 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.
CBC STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The CBC Studio One Book Club presents three of B.C.'s hottest garden bloggers with new books - Andrea Bellamy with Sugar Snaps and Strawberries and Christina Symons & John Gillespie with Everyday Eden. Thursday, May 19th, 6:30 pm, at the CBC Broadcast Centre. Free tickets www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
MARC KAUFMAN
Reading and discussion by the author of First Contact. Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
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