Book News Vol. 8 No. 6

BOOK NEWS

Incite: Our free, bi-weekly reading series continues!

Join us on Wednesday, March 27 for an evening with Pat Morrow and Sharon Wood who share their gripping stories of climbing Everest and reaching the summit in distinctly different ways. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca/.

Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library. Incite is sponsored by the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association and supported by the R.J. Nelson Family Foundation.

SPECIAL EVENT

Sally Armstrong in conversation with Kathryn Gretsinger
Armstrong's unflinching accounts of atrocities experienced by women around the world have mobilized readers to become involved in global issues. In her new book, Ascent of Women, the award-winning journalist, author, and human rights activist comments on recent studies by economists and social scientists that claim women hold the key to economic justice and the end to violence in developing countries. Click here to get your tickets today, https://secure.artsclub.com/tickets/reserve.aspx?type=rentals&performanceNumber=8146

In Ascent of Women, Sally Armstrong writes that women in the Congo, Senegal, India, and other countries are questioning their oppression, an extraordinary shift since speaking of their experiences is a taboo. Even in the jungle, women have begun to realize that if you can't talk about it, you can't change it.
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Women+unite+rise+across+globe/8067358/story.html

Monday, March 25 at 7:30pm
St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church
Burrard at Nelson

A DRAM COME TRUE

Tickets are on sale now for our popular single malt tasting A Dram Come True. Join us at Hycroft, the elegant Shaughnessy mansion, for an evening of great fun and good spirits. Enjoy the superb, complex flavours of a variety of rare and distinguished single malts, a premium silent auction, Cuban cigars and great company. A Dram Comes True is a fundraiser for the Writers Fest. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

AWARDS & LISTS

The Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng has won the 2012 Man Asian prize, impressing judges with a tale about memory and forgetting, set in the shadow of the second world war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/14/tan-twan-eng-man-asian-prize

Eryn Green has joined Adrienne Rich, John Ashbery, W.S. Merwin and Jack Gilbert on the illustrious list of winners of the Yale Series of Younger Poets prize, for an unpublished manuscript by an American citizen under 40 who has not yet published a full book of poems, includes publication by Yale University Press.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/15/young-poet-wins-old-prize/?ref=booksupdate&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130315

Junot Diaz's story Miss Lora is on the shortlist for the Sunday Times EFG Private Bank short story award ($45,000).
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-junot-diaz-lands-on-shortlist-for-45000-british-short-story-prize-20130225,0,7972901.story

The winners of Geist's Second Annual Erasure Poetry Contest who erased Sheila Heti's How Should a Person Be? into their own winning poems are Mark Petrie, Frank Beltrano, Patrick Grace and runners up.
http://www.geist.com/articles/announcing-the-winners-of-the-second-annual-geist-erasure-poetry-contest!/

Sheila Heti's How Should a Person Be? Is one of twenty books long listed for the women's prize for fiction. Stories and reviews are here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2013/mar/13/womens-prize-for-fiction-2013-longlist

Marie Ponsot has won the Ruth Lily Poetry Prize of $100,000, for lifetime achievement.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-ruth-lily-poetry-prize-for-100000-to-go-to-marie-ponsot-20130318,0,1270585.story

YOUNG READERS

Candace Fleming's Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart delves into Earhart's accomplishments and showmanship. Fleming resurrects the aviator and the times in which she flew. Ages 9 and up.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/best-childrens-books-of-2011/2011/11/15/gIQAwyLfiO_story.html

Lemony Snicket's The Bad Beginning is a fantastic book. writes Awesome-Charlie. Three children learn that their parents and home have perished in a fire. The children are under the care of Mr Poe, who's in charge of their fortune, and they are moving in with their new guardian. Will he be nice? The answer is a definite NO!, says Awesome-Charlie. Ages 8 to 12.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/mar/13/review-bad-beginning-by-lemony-snicket

Patricia Skidmore's Marjorie Too Afraid to Cry describes the experience of thousands of poor children (including the author's mother) sent to Canada and other British colonies/dominions. Some were orphans. Others' parents were persuaded that their children would have a better life in Canada. For many, being shipped overseas meant loss, "loss of country and records, loss of family and roots." Grades 11 and up or ages 16 and up.
http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol19/no27/marjorietooafraidtocry.html

NEWS & FEATURES

One of the world's most popular writers, Paulo Coelho has survived being sent to an asylum by his parents and tortured by Brazil's ruling militia. The only thing that relaxes him is archery.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/17/paulo-coelho-manuscript-found-in-accra

With the spread of digital technologies, dictionaries have become a two-way mirror, a record not just of words' meanings, but of what we want to know. Digital dictionaries read us, writes Jennifer Howard.
http://chronicle.com/article/In-the-Digital-Era-Our/137719/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

The tiny letters TSE engraved on a gold band reveal the distinguished pedigree of the fountain pen used at the Royal Society of Literature when novelist James Wood signs the roll book as a Fellow. The pen is believed to have been given to the poet by his mother and has been left to the society by his widow, Valerie.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/17/ts-eliot-pen-society-literature

It's 40 years since Virago Books was set up to celebrate the work of female writers. How successful has it been? asks Kira Cochrane. The influence of the feminist publishing movement can be seen in the power of women in publishing and in the ongoing insistence that women's voices should be taken seriously, says Cochrane.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/14/virago-changed-publishers-attitudes-women

The noise on a mid-Manhattan street provoked Tracy Chevalier's interest in the value of silence. When she encountered communal silence at a Quaker meeting, she knew she had to build it into a novel. "I can hope that my imprecise attempt to describe silence will pique readers' curiosity," says Chevalier. It has prompted Chevalier's current novel, The Last Runaway.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/14/tracy-chevalier-power-of-silence

In an interview with Robert McCrum, Chevalier says: "(slavery is) an issue that has to be raised in America, until it's put to bed. And that may be never."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/17/tracy-chevalier-interview-last-runaway

Toppan Printing printed a book the size of the eye of a needle. Insects and ants will probably be the only creatures that can read this. The 22 page micro-book is called "Shiki no Kusabana" (flowers of seasons) and contains the names and microscopic monochrome illustrations of Japanese flowers. The pages are 0.75 millimetres (0.03 inch) in size while the letters are just 0.01 mm wide.
http://japandailypress.com/needle-eye-sized-book-goes-for-guinness-record-for-smallest-printed-book-1425113

Search for a book using Toronto Public Library's online catalogue and you'll notice a little box that instructs you to "buy your own copy and support the Toronto Public Library." TPL's administration has entered into a "retail affiliate" relationship with Indigo, giving the library five per cent of the cost of every purchase made through its catalogue.
http://torontoist.com/2013/03/toronto-public-librarys-catalog-now-points-users-to-indigo-ca/

A new documentary doesn't unveil Philip Roth, but leaves one admiring the fearless ability to mine his psyche for his art. There are several surprising things to learn about Roth in the new PBS documentary, says Emma Brockes. The biggest reveal, given Roth's entrenched public image as furiously vain and terrifically grumpy is just how charming and likable he is.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/emmabrockes

BOOKS & WRITERS

A series of letters between a man at war and a woman on the Russian homefront provide the narrative for a literary masterpiece, Mikhail Shishkin's The Light and the Dark, that interweaves the fantastical with the real. Sasha writes from the home front; Vovka's letters, mired in the unignorable present. One recurrent theme: "There will always be war for tomorrow."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/13/light-and-dark-mikhail-shishkin-review

A.S. Byatt launches an exclusive series of new stories inspired by water with Sea Story, a tale of love and environmental disaster.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/15/as-byatt-short-story-sea

Otto de Kat's Julia is a novel of love and war, and a life spent accepting other people's choices, writes Jane Housham. The doctor called to the scene of Christiaan Dudok's suicide pronounces it to have been "painless". An interrogation of whether or not this is true–not literally but existentially–underpins the rest of this short but satisfying novel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/15/julia-otto-de-kat-review

How far would you go to save your daughter? Andrew Pyper's The Demonologist provides a subtle answer. A mystery woman invites Professor Ullman to visit Venice. The Thin Woman, as Ullman calls her in the absence of a name, refers to him as a demonologist. The Demonologist is for readers who do not shy away from things that go bump in the night, says François Lauzon.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/Chilling+supernatural+thriller+enthralls+intensity/8106589/story.html#ixzz2NkWjkuzs

Here and Now is a collection of letters between Paul Auster and J. M. Coetzee, in which the writers attempt to "strike sparks off each other." In his first letter, Coetzee writes. "I've been thinking about friendships, how they arise, why they last so long, longer than the passional attachments of which they are sometimes (wrongly) considered to be pale imitations."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/03/15/here_and_now_letters_2008_2011_by_paul_auster_and_jm_coetzee_review.html

In Turn of Mind, Alice LaPlante puts herself inside the mind of Dr. Jennifer White, a retired surgeon with Alzheimer's disease. The story progresses in the disjointed way LaPlante imagines a mind wracked by Alzheimer's would experience life: good days and bad; sometimes she remembers, sometimes she doesn't. A compelling mystery novel with an imaginative second layer, writes Tracy Sherlock.
http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Dementia+adds+twist+murder+mystery/8109430/story.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

HAIKU INVITATIONAL 2013
Vancouver loves its flowering cherry trees-all 40,000 of them! While they bloom from March through May, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival invites you to celebrate their beauty with your haiku. Now accepting submissions. Complete contest details here: www.vcbf.ca.

THE LINE HAS SHATTERED
Premiere screening of film documentary on the 1963 Vancouver Poetry Conference, directed by Robert McTavish. Introduced by Canadian Poet Laureate (and '63 conference participant) Fred Wah. Thursday, March 21 at 7:30pm. Cost: $5/$3. Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, SFU Woodward's, 149 West Hastings. For reservations, email library@sfu.ca.

GLIMPSES OF AFRICA: PHOTOGRAPHY, POETRY AND MUSIC
An evening featuring music by singer/songwriter, Nancy Newman and poetry inspired by photographs by Claudine Pommier in her Glimpses of Africa exhibit. March 21, 7-9 pm, at Sidney and Gertrude Zack Gallery, Jewish Community Centre, 950 West 41st Ave, Vancouver. Free admission.

ROBERT R. REID AWARD
The Alcuin Society presents Will Rueter (Aliquando Press) in an illustrated interview by Rollin Milroy (Heavenly Monkey). The 6th Robert R. Reid Award and Medal for Lifetime Achievement in the Book Arts will be presented to Rueter. Thursday, March 21 at 7:30 pm, free. Fletcher Challenge Room, Harbour Centre, SFU Downtown Campus, 2300-515 West Hastings St., Vancouver. More information at http://blog.alcuinsociety.com.

WRITERS INTERNATIONAL NETWORK CANADA
2nd annual literary festival featuring Dennis E. Bolen, Bonnie Nish, Jai Birdi, Lila Shahani and many others. Hosted by Lilija Valis, Bernice Lever and Charlene Sayo. Saturday, March 23 from 10am to 4pm. Richmond Cultural Centre, 7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond. More information at 604-327-6040.

BOOK SALE
Fundraiser for the writer-in-residence program at Historic Joy Kogawa House. Lots of new and used books for leisure reading. Donations of books are welcome. Sunday, March 24, 10am to 4pm. Unitarian Church of Vancouver, 949 59th Ave. W. For book pickup or more information, email kogawahouse@yahoo.ca.

POETIC JUSTICE
Readings featuring Teo Dobre, Kyle Hawke and Sho Wiley with host Franci Louann. Sunday, March 24 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
A night of socially engaged writing of peace provocation and witness with the launch of Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Anthology. Featuring Cristine Leclerc with special guests Susan McCaslin, Stephen Collis, Renee Saklikar, Elena E. Johnson and Juliane Okot Bitek. Thursday, March 28, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.

AN EVENING OF POETRY READINGS
People's Co-op Bookstore presents poets Jan Conn, Zoe Landale, Jane Munro, and Pamela Porter. Thursday, March 28 at 7:30pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at peoplescoopbookstore.com.

Upcoming

ROBERT J. SAWYER
Author reads from his latest book, Red Planet Blues, a noir mystery set on a lawless Mars in a future where everything is cheap, and life is even cheaper. Wednesday, April 3 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at www.vpl.ca.

HULLABALOO SPOKEN WORD FESTIVAL
A youth poetry festival featuring 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, Amy Everhart and Ted-X featured poet Truth Is. April 3-6, 2013. Roundhouse Community Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews. Complete details at youthslam.ca.

VERSES FESTIVAL OF WORDS
3rd annual festival celebrating the transformative power of words. April 8-13, 2013. Complete details at versesfestival.ca.

TALONBOOKS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Talonbooks is launching its Spring poetry collection. Featuring readings by Dina Del Bucchia, Wanda John-Kehewin, Mariner Janes, Stephen Collis and Daphne Marlatt. Wednesday, April 10 at 8:00pm. Anza Club, 3 W. 8th Ave. More information at talonbooks.com.

LITFEST
The 3rd Annual LitFest New West celebrates the literary arts at New Westminster Public Library and Douglas Collage. April 11-13, 2013. More information at artscouncilnewwest.org.

FORCE FIELD
Force Field - 77 Women Poets of British Columbia. The first of its kind in thirty-four years, this anthology strongly celebrates women poets, from the emerging, mid-career to the established. Saturday, April 13 at 3:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye rooms, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at www.vpl.ca.

EVENT'S 2013 NON-FICTION CONTEST
Writers are invited to submit manuscripts exploring the creative non-fiction form. $1500 in prizes available, plus publication. Contest judge Russell Wangersky. Maximum entry length is 5000 words. $34.95 entry fee. April 15, 2013, deadline. Entrants will receive a one-year subscription to EVENT (or extension). Complete contest guidelines can be found at eventmags.com.

ARTHUR ELLIS AWARDS SHORTLIST
BC members of Crime Writers of Canada will present a lively panel discussion about Canadian crime writing, followed by announcement of nominees for this years Arthur Ellis Awards. Thursday, April 18 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at www.vpl.ca.

NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
A celebration of Canadian writers featuring Helen Humphreys, Terry Fallis, Evelyn Lau, Sean Cranbury and others. April 19-20, 2013. Lynn Valley branch, North Vancouver District Public Library, 1277 Lynn Valley Road, North Vancouver. Complete details at northshorewritersfestival.com.

FAN EXPO VANCOUVER
Second annual comicon featuring comic, anime, science fiction, horror and gaming. Authors scheduled to appear include Hiromi Goto, A.M. Dellamonica, Eileen Kernaghan and many more. April 20-21, 2013. Complete details a fanexpovancouver.com.