Book News Vol. 7 No. 16

BOOK NEWS




Mother's Day

Give the gift of great writing and ideas! Purchase an annual membership for your mom for just $35 and she'll receive discounts on books and Festival events, and a personal invitation to attend our Members' Reception. We'll also package her new membership in an attractive gift envelope! To purchase, call the office at 604-681-6330 x109.



Membership

If being a member of the VIWF didn't already have enough benefits, we've added an extra incentive! Every two weeks new and renewing members will have a chance to win a book by a Festival or Incite author, or tickets to our special event with Richard Ford on May 28. At the end of August we'll have a grand prize draw for a deluxe pack of Festival tickets - two tickets to any event of your choice for each day of the Festival! This week's winner Dave Reid, received a signed copy of Timothy Taylor's The Blue Light Project. On May 2 we will draw the winner of Linden MacIntyre's latest novel, Why Men Lie. Sign up now here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_membership.php.



VIRTUAL FESTIVAL



This week is the third in a series of 25 audio archives from past Festival events. Wild West, from 2011 features Marina Endicott, Pauline Holdstock, Guy Vanderhaeghe, and Rudy Wiebe. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/multimedia/audio-archives.



UPCOMING VIWF EVENTS



Incite



At the next Incite on Tuesday, May 15, former CBC executive Richard Stursberg will be interviewed on stage by Marsha Lederman about his new memoir, Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Successes Inside the CBC. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemay15.



Richard Ford

Pulitzer Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author Richard Ford comes to Vancouver on May 28 with his latest novel, Canada. A visionary novel of vast landscapes, complex identities and fragile humanity. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/richardford.



A Dram Come True

The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents the tenth annual single malt scotch whisky sampling. Enjoy the superb, complex flavours of a variety of rare and distinguished single malts. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/content/dram-come-true.



AWARDS & LISTS



Veteran novelist but first-time SF author Jane Rogers has won this year's Arthur C. Clarke award for The Testament of Jessie Lamb, describing a world crippled by biological terrorism.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/03/jane-rogers-arthur-c-clarke-2012?newsfeed=true



Julie Otsuka has won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction for The Buddha in the Attic, her slim prose poem about Japanese picture brides coming to America after World War I.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/arts-post/post/julie-otsuka-wins-penfaulkner-prize-for-the-buddha-in-the-attic/2012/05/06/gIQAJT0h5T_blog.html



Vancouver writer Jen Neale has been named winner of the $5,000 Writers' Trust Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers for her short-story Elk-Headed Man.

http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1172121--vancouver-s-jen-neale-takes-bronwen-wallace-prize-for-emerging-writers



The Doug Wright Awards for Canadian cartooning were celebrated last weekend, with honours to: Kate Beaton for Hark! A Vagrant; Ethan Rilly, for Pope Hats #2; and The Pigskin Peters Award to Toronto's Michael Comeau for Hellberta. Montreal-based veteran political cartoonist Terry Mosher, widely known by the pen name Aislin, was inducted to the Giants of the North - Canadian Cartoonists Hall of Fame.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/05/06/comic-doug-wright-winners.html



YOUNG READERS



In celebration of the TD Canadian Children's Book Week May 5 through 12, here are some additional reviews of children's books.



Read the whole of Michael Morpurgo's short story, Letter for Carlos, about a soldier writing home to his young son. Morpurgo explains that the letter for Carlos is told from the point of view of an Argentinian soldier during the Falklands war. Ages 13 and up.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2012/may/02/michael-morpurgo-letter-for-carlos



Alan Wolf's The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic is not to be confused with Hugh MacLennan's novel. It's an astounding collection of poetry (most of it free verse) that breathes new life into a story that is known far and wide, writes Bernie Goedhardt. Ages 10 to 110.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+poetic+tribute+Titanic/6530558/story.html#ixzz1tx9WhW1k



What would happen if you lived on a small island with your parents and you came home to discover that they had been kidnapped? If you're Madeleine, you hire fedora-wearing bunny detectives, Mr. and Mrs. Bunny—Detectives Extraordinaire! by Mrs. Bunny and translated from "The Rabbit" by Polly Horvath. Ages 8-12.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/book-review-mr-and-mrs-bunny--detectives-extraordinaire/2012/04/05/gIQAo2J0xS_story.html



Rachel Vail's Piggy Bunny features Liam, who was just like all the other piglets, except for one thing...Liam wanted to be the Easter Bunny. Ages 4-7.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/books/ct-books-piggy-bunny-by-rachel-vail,0,215417.story



Kyo Maclear's Virginia Wolf wakes up feeling wolfish and wants to be left alone, finally crawling back into bed to hide under the covers. Her sister Vanessa takes paint brush in hand to transform their bedroom into "Bloomsberry": the perfect place of Virginia's imagination. Ages 5 to 8.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Kids+Dealing+with+dark+mood/6566234/story.html



NEWS & FEATURES



Maurice Sendak, the children's book author and illustrator who saw the sometimes-dark side of childhood in books like Where the Wild Things Are and In the Night Kitchen, died early Tuesday. He was 83.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/maurice-sendak-author-of-where-the-wild-things-are-dead-at-83/article2426001/



A 2011 Globe and Mail interview with Sendak is here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-globes-interview-with-author-sendak-portrait-of-a-cranky-old-man/article2177811/



Slate includes a series of Sendak illustrations we may have forgotten about.

http://www.slate.com/slideshows/arts/maurice-sendak-illustrations-from-rosies-door-to-brundibar.html



Peter Ladner has written about face-to-face storytelling as an important component of the resurgence of Vancouver's creative class.

http://crosscut.com/2012/05/01/vancouver/8222/rise-Vancouvers-creative-class/?page=single



Neil Gaiman, the author of Coraline, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last month, read C.S. Lewis as a child and thought, "When I am a writer, I shall do parenthetical asides. And footnotes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/books/review/neil-gaiman-shares-his-reading-habits.html?_r=1&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20120504



"One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new empty page does not know who you are," John Irving says, in an interview with The Star's Greg Quill.

http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1172273--john-irving-interview



Bring up the Bodies, Hilary Mantel's sequel to Wolf Hall, will be published this week. Read the beginning here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/08/bring-bodies-hilary-mantel-wolf-hall



Hilary Mantel describes how she puts words in the mouths of her Tudor characters. Accept that you will never be authentic, she advises.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303459004577363870847167262.html



Oh, those Tudors! We can't get enough of them, writes Margaret Atwood, admitting to a weakness for the Tudors, and Hilary Mantel's Booker-winning Wolf Hall. Now comes Bring Up the Bodies, which picks up the body parts where Wolf Hall left off.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/04/bring-up-the-bodies-hilary-mantel-review



Two fragile, handwritten draft pages of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, discovered about two months ago, have been put on public display in Paris ahead of their sale at a forthcoming auction.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/05/03/little-prince-pages-found-auction.html



Lamenting the state of the book review has been the literary world's favourite pastime ever since Edgar Allan Poe reviewed for Graham's Magazine in the 1840s. Why do lovers of literature take such joy in criticizing the critics?

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/book-reviews-a-tortured-history/256301/



The Atlantic has published an article about the "tortured history" of book reviews, agreeing that some of the problems come from the murky provenance of reviewers themselves, with authors vs. critics feuds, and face-slaps, spitting contests, and pie fights.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2012/04/the-greatest-author-vs-critic-feuds-of-all-time/256531/



Tehran's international book fair, held annually in May, attracts half a million visitors per day and more than 2,000 publishing houses. Titles include Farsi translations of works by JG Ballard, Dostoevsky and Haruki Murakami.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/02/tehran-international-book-fair-crackdown



The Guardian's Alison Flood reports that twenty of the 53 winners of Australia's Miles Franklin award are no longer in print. "The nation's literary heritage is gathering dust," declares the Age. "The shabby treatment of these Australian treasures must end."

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/a-loss-for-words-winning-books-hit-the-dust-20120428-1xs13.html#ixzz1tVatn1WR



Egyptian authors and others are calling on their government to issue permits for them to enter Gaza and participate in the Palestine festival of literature. PalFest is a travelling festival established in 2008, and has never been successful in reaching Gaza.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/02/egyptian-writers-plea-gaza-permits-palfest



Marjorie Perloff argues, in the Boston Review, that prizes are ruining poetry.

http://www.bostonreview.net/BR37.3/marjorie_perloff_poetry_lyric_reinvention.php



Tim Bowling's The Tinsmith begins with the American Civil War and ends with the key characters' relocation to the canneries in the Fraser River area which, at that time was indeed the wild west, writes Steven Brown.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Civil+comes+Fraser+Valley+thanks+Bowling/6567038/story.html



Amazon isn't destroying publishing, it's reshaping it. Google, Apple and Amazon are vying to become literature's new gatekeepers but good publishing is about more than market share, writes Nick Harkaway.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/apr/26/amazon-publishing-destroying?CMP=EMCNEWEML1355



With May being mystery month, Canada Writes! will publish six new short stories by some of Canada's top mystery novelists: William Deverell, Gail Bowen, Peter Robinson, Mary Jane Maffini, Therese Greenwood and Doug Moles. More information, including about Louise Penny's master class, is here:

http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/



BOOKS & WRITERS



It has always seemed appropriate that John Irving is the only great contemporary novelist to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, writes Tim Adams. In In One Person, an aspiring novelist comes out fighting as he comes to terms with his sexuality.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/04/john-irving-one-person-review



How many people have a chance to change something major in their lives without having to suffer the consequences? is the question asked of Emma Tupper in Catherine McKenzie's Forgotten—a clever, satisfying diversion of a book, writes Athena McKenzie.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/forgotten-by-catherine-mckenzie/article2419057/



Simon Mawer's The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is a thrilling tale of a beautiful spy parachuted into occupied France. Mawer writes about fear and about bravery better than any contemporary novelist I know, says Rachel Cooke.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/04/simon-mawer-girl-fell-sky-review



The story within Terry Tempest Williams's When Women Were Birds: Fifty-Four Variations on Voice involves a dying woman who bequeaths to her daughter all her journals. When the daughter looks at the journals, she finds that every one is blank.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/when-women-were-birds-fifty-four-variations-on-voice-by-terry-tempest-williams/article2420523/



Alison Bechdel's new graphic memoir, Are You My Mother?, which focuses on her sometimes-tense relationship with her mother, isn't so much a sequel to Fun Home as a logical outgrowth of the earlier book, writes Jeet Heer.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/alison-bechdel-tightens-the-family-circle/article2422567/



Noah Richler raises important questions in What We Talk About When We Talk About War, writes Paul Gessell. Gessell quotes historian Margaret MacMillan: "this is a fine polemic about important issues. You don't have to agree with everything Richler says but you must take him seriously."

http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Noah+Richler+raises+some+important+questions+book+What+Talk+About/6566417/story.html



Many forebears of American literature mostly lived in Concord, Mass., writes Carolyn See. And April Bernard is the latest to be beguiled by them. In the novel, Miss Fuller, Bernard captures them in all their quirky, inspiring and difficult ways.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-world-miss-fuller-by-april-bernard/2012/05/04/gIQAf2O61T_story.html



Though mostly known for Around the World in 80 Days and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne turned out almost as many other potboilers The Blockade Runners, an American civil war adventure, is one such, says Philip Womack.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/06/blockade-runners-jules-verne-review



Mark Haddon, the author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time takes us on a family holiday to Wales. And nothing much happens, in a thoroughly delicious way, writes Kate Kellaway.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/06/mark-haddon-red-house-review



Guy Delisle can find humour in even the most complicated places. Jonathan Kuehlein interviews Delisle about his book Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, as he tiptoes back and forth from the light to the heavy side of one of the most complex cities on the planet.

http://www.thestar.com/news/books/article/1174371--guy-delisle-interview



What makes us distinctively Canadian is our long constitutional connection to the British Crown, writes John Fraser in The Secret of the Crown. When it comes to what he perceives as lèse-majesté, Fraser forgets nothing and forgives nothing.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/books/the-secret-of-the-crown-by-john-fraser/article2425472/



COMMUNITY EVENTS



THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Hear the stories and experiences of your community, from the historical to the hilarious. Thursday, May 10 at 7:00pm, free. Denman Cinemas, 1779 Comox. More information at www.vancouver.ca/westendplan/.



EAT & GREET

Celebrate the launch of a new cookbook that explores the sights, sounds, and food to be found at Vancouver's public markets. Thursday, May 10 at 7:00pm, free. Blue Parrot Organic Coffee House, 1689 Johnston Street, Granville Island. More information at www.arsenalpulp.com.



DANIEL KALLA

Meet bestselling medical thriller author with his novel, The Far Side of the Sky: a novel of love and death in Shanghai. Thursday, May 10 at 7:00pm, free but register at 604-598-7426. Meeting room 120, City Centre Library, 10350 University Drive. More information at www.surreylibraries.ca.



TWS READING SERIES

Another great evening of poetry and story telling is planned featuring guest author is Claudia Cornwall, author of At the World's Edge: Curt Lang's Vancouver, 1937-1998. Friday, May 11 at 7:00pm. Take 5 Cafe, 429 Granville St. at West Hastings.



BC BOOK PRIZES: POETRY FINALISTS READING

Finalists for the 2012 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize read from their nominated work. The evening will be hosted by Evelyn Lau, Vancouver's Poet Laureate. Friday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St.



STORYTELLING NIGHT

Come hear the stories and experiences of your community, as recounted by local storytellers. Friday, May 11 at 7:00pm. WISE Hall, 1882 Adanac. More information at www.vancouver.ca/grandviewplan/.



PAMELA PORTER AND BERYL YOUNG

Book launch of award-winning Pamela Porter's new collection of poetry, No Ordinary Place. She is joined by Beryl Young who will be reading from

Charlie: A Home Child's Life in Canada. Sunday, May 13 at 2:00pm, free. Refreshments provided. Old Hastings Mill Store Museum, 1575 Alma Street (at Point Grey Road). More information at www.ronsdalepress.com.



DEAD POETS READING SERIES

Featuring readings by Lilija Valis, Kate Braid, Chris Gilpin, George McWhirter and Evelyn Lau. Sunday, May 13 at 3:00pm. Entry by donation. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. Details and registration here, www.deadpoetslive.com.



BOHEMIAN CARESS

A new multidisciplinary performance series of poets, spoken-word performers joined by a band improvising with their work, and a live painter putting the energy onto canvas. Sunday, May 13 at 7:30pm. Montmartre Cafe, 4362 Main Street.



ISHA JUDD

Reading by the author of Love Has Wings. Monday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.



LUNCH POEMS @SFU

Lunchtime readings every month featuring well-known and up-and-coming poets. May 16 features Sandy Shreve and guest poet Rob Taylor. Presented by Simon Fraser University. Wednesday, May 16, 12-1pm, SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). Free admission, no registration required. Information at: www.facebook.com/LunchPoemsAtSFU.



DAVID RUSSELL

Reading by the author of Deadly Lessons, his first novel that was nominated for the Crime Writers of Canada award. Wednesday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.



YOUTH INSPIRE ETHIOPIA BOOK LAUNCH

Launch of the youth organization's book that explores Ethiopian communities through the eyes of Ethiopian youth. Proceeds from the book go back to the involved centers or schools to support youth community and leadership programs. Thursday, May 17 at 6:30pm, free. Robert Lee YMCA, 955 Burrard. More information at humanities_healing@hotmail.com.



ROBSON READING SERIES

Readings by Catherine Owen (Catalysts) and Waubgeshig Rice (Midnight Sweatlodge). Thursday, May 17 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore/Library at Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.



SKAGIT RIVER POETRY FESTIVAL

Three days of poetry, song and storytelling featuring Carolyn Forche', Tony Hoagland and many others. May 17-20, 2012. La Conner, WA. Complete information at www.skagitriverpoetry.org.



JOHN IRVING

The author will talk about his new novel In One Person on Friday, May 18th, 2012 at 7:30 pm at the North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts. Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Ticket price of $30 includes a copy of the new novel available for pick up at the event. More information at 604.990.7810 or http://www2.capilanou.ca/news-events/nscucentre.html.



Upcoming



LYNNE BOWEN

Author reads from her book Whoever Gives Us Bread, that tells the stories of BC's Italian immigrants. Tuesday, May 22 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.



SARAH LEAVITT

Sarah Leavitt discusses her graphic memoir Tangles: A Story About Alzheimer's, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 24 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $20 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.



JEFF RUBIN

Canadian economist and author reads from his new book The End of Growth. Thursday, May 24 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $24. Admission includes one free copy of the book. North Shore Credit Union Centre for the Performing Arts, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at www.capilanou.ca/nscucentre.



DIONNE BRAND

26th annual Margaret Laurence Lecture featuring Canadian poet, novelist, essayist and documentarian. Friday, May 25 at 8:00pm. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.writerstrust.com.



THAT SUMMER IN FRANKLIN

Linda Hutsell-Manning talks about her writing career and reads from her novel. Monday, May 28 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.



VANCOUVER POETRY SLAM

Fan appreciation night and the debut of the 2012 Vancouver Youth Poetry Slam team. Monday, May 28 at 8:00pm. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. More information at www.vancouverpoetryhouse.com.



AN EVENING OF ART AND POETRY

Featuring Ahava Shira, Avie Estrin, Taslim Jaffer, Daniela Elza, Bonnie Nish, Ms. Spelt and David Shewel, who will read their poetry inspired by the art exhibit, Celebrating Jerusalem. Tuesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Gallery Room, Jewish Community Centre, 950 W. 41st Ave. More information at blnish@pandorascollective.com.



PIERRE COUPAY

Local poet and artist shares poetry, slides and discusses poetry and painting. Wednesday, June 6 at 7:00pm, free. Dr. G. Paul Singh Study Hall, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at 604-998-3450.



ROBSON READING SERIES

Readings by Phil Hall (Killdeer) and Aaron Bushkowsky (Curtains for Roy). Thursday, June 7 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore/Library at Robson Square, 800 Robson Street. More information at www.robsonreadingseries.ubc.ca.