BOOK NEWS
SPECIAL EVENT
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling.
Jeannette Walls finally got her glass castle, a 205-acre farm in Virginia, but she won't ever take it for granted. Read an interview with her in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/magazine/how-jeannette-walls-spins-good-stories-out-of-bad-memories.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=books
Special $16 Book Club Price and Chance to Meet Jeannette Walls
Purchase a minimum of 5 tickets for your group and pay just $16 per ticket, plus be entered for a chance to attend a private reception with Jeannette Walls. Click here for more details, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls/contest.
Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Dutch writer Gerbrand Bakker has won this year's £10,000 Independent Foreign Fiction Prize with his novel The Detour, published by Harvill Secker. Bakker will share the prize money with the title's translator, David Colmer.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/bakkers-detour-wins-independent-foreign-fiction-prize.html
Montreal-based author Josip Novakovich has been shortlisted for the Man Booker International prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/man-booker-international-prize-shortlist-interviews
John Green's The Fault in our Stars is one of the eight children's books on the Guardian children's fiction prize 2013 longlist. The books deal with war, dystopian futures and terminal illness–but their tales of children overcoming adversity are both entertaining and inspiring.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books
Toronto-based writer Laura Clarke, 27, is this year's winner of the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. The prize gives Clarke $5,000 for Mule Variations, a collection of poems. Two finalists received $1,000 each: Laura Matwichuk of Vancouver won for Here Comes the Future and Suzannah Showler of Toronto for The Reason and Other Poems.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/28/laura_clarke_wins_rbc_bronwen_wallace_award.html
YOUNG READERS
In Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, a cranky neighbour puts Lyle in the zoo but experiences a change of heart when the crocodile saves him from a fire. "Lyle is as lovable as ever and the story and colored pictures as nonsensical." For ages 4 to 8.
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/bernard-waber
The One and Only Ivan, about a silverback gorilla, is in the news now. Last month, the book was awarded the John Newbery Medal as the best children's book of the year. "Ivan" is based on the true story of a gorilla that is at a mall. But it's fiction because it's written from Ivan's point of view. For ages 4 to 5.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/kidspost/newbery-winner-talks-for-the-animals/2013/02/11/74d3533a-7076-11e2-8b8d-e0b59a1b8e2a_story.html
John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, tells a Guardian children's books site member about how his bestselling teen novel was nearly a zombie adventure. Green reads aloud The Fault In Our Stars here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/audio/2013/feb/12/john-green-fault-in-our-stars-podcast
NEWS & FEATURES
The Canadian branch of New York based Simon and Schuster is now permitted to publish books in Canada by Canadian authors, according to a statement released by Heritage Canada.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/simon-and-schuster-gets-green-light-to-publish-canadian-books-domestically/article12228841/
Bernard Waber, the author and illustrator of Lyle, Lyle Crocodile, died May 16, at 91.
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/20236038-423/author-of-lyle-lyle-crocodile-dies.html
James Salter, the veteran American novelist and short story writer, reads Break it Down, a story by Lydia Davis, winner of the 2013 Man Booker International prize. The podcast is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/audio/2013/may/23/james-salter-lydia-davis-break-it-down
Being on the jury of the Man Booker Prize is no mean feat. With 150 books to read, Natalie Haynes barely has time to sleep. But, she says, the popularity of historical fiction means she now knows a lot more about world history. Judging the Man Booker Prize, to paraphrase Bette Davis, is not for sissies, says Haynes.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/natalie-haynes-confessions-of-a-booker-judge-8626050.html
The red carpet was rolled out, the dignitaries arrived in a whirlwind of helicopters and armed guards, and the obituaries came pouring in as Nigeria buried the revered writer Chinua Achebe on Thursday. It was exactly the sort of pomp the literary titan hated, and often ripped apart with the witty, acerbic tip of his pen, writes Monica Mark.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/23/chinua-achebe-funeral-nigerian-author
Some miles north of London, John Richards, a retired newspaperman, is experiencing an unusually rotten spring. Richards is the founder and chairman of the Apostrophe Protection Society. His world—related to the tiny mark that denotes possessives and the omission of letters from certain words—appears to be crashing down around him. Are apostrophes necessary? Not really, writes Matthew J.X. Malady.
http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_good_word/2013/05/apostrophes_and_when_to_use_them_punctuation_necessary_at_all_not_really.single.html
Some still think of Jane Austen as a modest country mouse, wedded to the quiet sameness of village life. In fact, she loved going to London: to the theatre, the shops and fashionable gatherings. One of these latter events is replicated in virtual fashion by the website What Jane Saw, launched last weekend by conscientious American Janeites.
http://www.whatjanesaw.org/
Huffington Post has compared the original titles of classic books with their current titles. Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury was originally Twilight; George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, The Last Man in Europe. Nabokov's Lolita was The Kingdom by the Sea and Tolstoy's War and Peace was originally titled All's Well That Ends Well. More titles of classic books are here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/21/classic-books-original-titles-_n_3311784.html
Frank magazine is to live again as a political satire website in October, says Michael Bate, editor and publisher of Frank magazine.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/frank-magazine-to-live-again-as-a-political-satire-website-in-october-publisher-says/article12138733/
ebook sales appear to be plateauing, suggests a report by BookNet Canada. BookNet Canada president and CEO Noah Genner says early sales data from this year shows ebook sales are steady and no longer growing. BookNet Canada suggests book sales are strongly tied to gift giving, with most consumers preferring to buy their books in stores rather than shopping online.
http://globalnews.ca/news/578084/ebook-sales-in-canada-plateauing-report/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Empress Dowager Cixi, which promises to overturn conventional understanding of the Chinese ruler, is Jung Chang's first book in eight years. The Wild Swans author has based her biography on "long and detailed" research in newly opened Chinese and western archives, said publisher Jonathan Cape. The "extraordinary" story of the Empress Dowager Cixi, will be released this autumn.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/23/jung-chang-groundbreaking-new-biography
Themes of fate, family life and renewal are brilliantly explored in Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, a story of a life lived in wartime Britain, writes Alex Clark, adding that Atkinson's new novel is a marvel, a great big confidence trick–but one that invites the reader to take part in the deception.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/mar/06/life-after-life-kate-atkinson-review
A newly discovered manuscript by the American Nobel prize-winner Pearl S. Buck will be published this autumn, 40 years after her death. Open Road Media, which will publish The Eternal Wonder, said the novel was completed shortly before Buck died, and was found in storage in January. Her novels deal with the clash of East and West.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/24/lost-pearl-s-buck-novel
Romance, time travel, history, mystery: Susanna Kearsley's The Firebird has it all, writes Linda Diebl. It's an enchanting story told with wit and dexterity. The Firebird focuses on Nicola, a psychic born with a gift she slowly learns to trust, with the help of Scottish policeman Rob McMorran. This is a book to remember, says Diebl.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/24/the_firebird_by_susanna_kearsley_review.html
Midway through Khaled Hosseini's And the Mountains Echoed, an Afghan poet in Paris gives an uncandid interview to a literary journal. True to her art, the writer is an identity thief. "The creative process is a necessarily thievish undertaking," Nila Wahdati, tells her interviewer. "Dig beneath a beautiful piece of writing...and you will find all manner of dishonour."
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Writer+identity+thief/8431397/story.html
Imagine that you are listening to a book club discuss a novel. British literary theorist Terry Eagleton's How to Read Literature begins by asking you to imagine a similar conversation. Both discuss everything about these novels except the qualities that make them novels, works of imaginative literature. Eagleton argues that, like literary analysis, literary evaluation must be learned through practice.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/a-major-critic-says-weve-forgotten-how-to-read-does-it-matter/article12128764/
George Stanley's new collection of poetry, After Desire, is a gift to the reader, writes Tom Sandborn. Poetry isn't a mass market winner, but occasionally, a reader who loves the form is given a miraculous new gift to reward an unfashionable, cranky devotion. George Stanley's After Desire is such a gift, says Sandborn, describing the collection as a small masterpiece.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/George+Stanley+collection+gift+reader/8431092/story.html
The Borgias' very name has become shorthand for scheming, scandal, audacious ambition and illicit sex. Their potential for drama has caught the imagination of Sarah Dunant and the breathtaking scale of their hunger for power still captivate us. Dunant's Blood & Beauty opens with Spanish-born Rodrigo Borgia bribing and charming his way on to the papal throne.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/25/sarah-dunant-blood-beauty-review
The Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes is the subject of a small, literary boom on the anniversary of his death with a North American release of more than a dozen works as e-books for the first time, including the groundbreaking 1962 novel The Death of Artemio Cruz, which tells a sweeping story at the heart of the birth of modern Mexico.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-a-carlos-fuentes-boom-on-the-anniversary-of-his-death-20130515,0,2793142.story
Between My Father and the King: New and Uncollected Stories, is the latest in a series of posthumous publications of NZ author Janet Frame's work. Frame, the subject of Jane Campion's 1990 film An Angel At My Table, was treated as outsider: institutionalized and mislabeled as schizophrenic and subjected to electroshock therapy-until she won a literary prize.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/books/review/between-my-father-and-the-king-by-janet-frame.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130524
Carol Rumen's poem of the week is Fred D'Aquiat's The Rose of Toulouse. A jagged "Song of Experience", "Boy Soldier" has some of the simplicity and directness of Blake, but the moral indignation is implicit rather than explicit. The boy portrayed is an individual, but he is also the universal child-soldier, writes Carol Rumen.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2013/may/27/poem-of-the-week-fred-d-aguiar
COMMUNITY EVENTS
BOOK LAUNCH
Vancouver launch of The Red Album by Stephen Collis and Tuft by Kim Minkus. Thursday, May 30 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
GEORGE STANLEY
Author launches his new book of poetry, After Desire. Friday, May 31 at 8:00pm, free. Commercial St. Cafe, 3599 Commercial Street, Vancouver.
CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
Upcoming
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Daphne Marlatt and Michelle Barker plus open mic. Wednesday, June 12, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
NOMADOS LAUNCH
Readings by Jen Currin, Christine Leclerc and Colin Smith. Wednesday, June 12 at 8:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
BC BOOK PRIZE POETRY FINALISTS
Join the winner and finalists for the 2012 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize as they read from their nominated works. Wednesday, June 19 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at www.vpl.ca.
EXTRAVAGANT SIGNALS
Shhhh! poetry slam featuring Lucia Misch, Zaccheus Jackson, Duncan Shields, Rupert Common and more. Wednesday, June 19 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $7-10. More information at extravagantsignals.eventbrite.com.
GEORGE WOODCOCK LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Presentation of the 20th annual George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding literary career in British Columbia to William New. Tuesday, June 25 at l7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at www.vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Catherine Owen, Susan McCaslin, Jude Neale, Bernice Lever, Kevin Spenst plus open mic. Thursday, June 26, 7-9:30 pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5.
All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Readings by Christopher Levenson, Cathy Stonehouse, Thoung Vuong-Riddick, Joanne Arnott, and Dvora Levin. Friday, July 14 at 3:00pm. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Book News Vol. 8 No. 15
BOOK NEWS
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 29 as acclaimed writer and historian Conrad Black talks to Kirk LaPointe about his new book Flight of the Eagle, a strategic history of the United States. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://conradblack.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 EVENTS
A Dram Come True!
Just one week to go until A Dram Come True and tickets are almost sold out! This is your last chance to take part in our fabulous scotch tasting fundraiser featuring over 30 whiskies at ten tasting bars. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be pouring from a selection of eight rare single cask whisky bottlings-an opportunity that is usually only available to members. We'll also be pouring from Macallan's new 1824 series, not yet available in BC. There will be many more exciting drams, delicious food, wine, spirits and a fabulous silent auction. Don't miss out, click here to get your tickets today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Lydia Davis wins Man Booker International Prize.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/lydia-davis-wins-man-booker-international-prize-2013
Law professor AT Williams has won the Orwell book prize for political writing for his investigation into the killing of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa by British Army soldiers in Iraq. The judges said that A Very British Killing was "written in the spirit" of Orwell's journalism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/orwell-prize-baha-mousa-at-williams
The Libris Awards shortlist includes Terry Fallis, Will Ferguson, Alice Munro, and Nancy Richler. Lifetime Achievement Awards have been presented to Alice Munro and Jack Rabinovitch.
http://www.storeconference.ca/libris
First-time author Kathy Para's novel Lucky has won Mother Tongue Publishing's second Search for the Great BC Novel Contest. Lucky is described as an unflinching novel set in the Middle East and Canada. Lucky will be published this fall by Mother Tongue Publishing.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Kathy+Para+Lucky+wins+Great+Novel+Contest/8405484/story.html
Observer writer Ed Vulliamy has won the Ryszard Kapuscinski award 2013 for his book Amexica: War Along the Borderline, which documents the US-Mexican drug wars.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/18/ed-vulliamy-ryszard-kapuscinski-award
Truth Like the Sun, Jim Lynch's third novel, like his first two novels, is set in western Washington. His first, The Highest Tide, won the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. The second novel, Border Songs won the Washington State Book Award.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Journalist+author+writes+about+what+fascinates/8405445/story.html
Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse is the winner of the annual First Nation Communities Read competition.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/richard-wagamese-wins-first-nation-communities-read-competition/
The Independent Foreign Fiction prize goes to Gerbrand Bakker for The Detour.
www/guardian.c.uk./books/2013/may/21/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-gerbrand-bakker
YOUNG READERS
Caroline Adderson's Middle of Nowhere has won Adderson her second Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Award. Curtis has had stints in foster care, and he doesn't ever want to repeat them or have Artie forced into a similar situation. As the authorities move in on Curtis and Artie, the boys escape with a neighbour to an abandoned family cabin. For ages 9 to 12.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7638
Breakaway and Hockey Girl are two books aimed at girls who love hockey. Team captain Jessie, is challenged to lead by example, on and off the ice. Then the girls' ice time is cut because boys' teams always take first priority. Breakaway stands out as a sports story that focuses on a girls' team that's as respected as its male counterpart, says Suzanne Gardner. For ages 10+ and 14+.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7872
Animals speak volumes to those who know how to listen. Clearly, Patricia MacLachlan and her daughter, Emily, are among those who do. In Cat Talk, they give us a series of free-verse poems that provide an insight into the personalities of various felines—adopting the voices of specific cats and, in the process, depicting character traits that set those cats apart from others of their species. Poems are the cat's meow. Ages 4 to 104.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Kids+Poems+meow/8402937/story.html#ixzz2Tc8AkoBm
NEWS & FEATURES
Ireland's newest stamp features an entire short story written by Dublin teenager, Eoin Moore.
http://www.thejournal.ie/fighting-worlds-stamp-912325-May2013/
A charity auction of annotated first edition novels raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for English Pen. JK Rowling reveals that she invented quidditch in a Manchester hotel; Ian Rankin, that he originally planned to kill off Rebus at the inspector's first outing. Margaret Atwood, Nadine Gordimer, Philip Pullman, Tom Stoppard and Ian McEwan have also donated annotated first editions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/17/book-auction-secrets-jk-rowling
How do you organise your books? Tate Britain has rearranged its paintings in chronological order–can that teach those of us with chaotic bookshelves anything? asks John Crace.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/shortcuts/2013/may/19/how-do-you-organise-your-books
The so-called "war on terror" has legitimised practices in the UK most commonly associated with totalitarian regimes. As Victoria Brittain portrays in Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror, all have a huge impact on the women and children who are drawn into this world where deprivation of civil rights is the norm, writes Yvonne Roberts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/12/shadow-lives-victoria-brittain-review
The Library's Future is Not an Open Book, writes Julie V. Iovine. "The library today", said Michael Colford, the director of library services in Boston, "is more of a platform launching you in all different directions." It already offers an incomparable "experience," with plenty of "Inspiration for all New Yorkers" to spare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324000704578386500193028168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
There are strong echoes of Dickens in Lavanya Sankaran's The Hope Factory, writes Jessica Holland: one word is never used when five will do. Like Oliver Twist, the Hope Factory succeeds best as a portrait of a city. When Anand looks at the west, he sees "the stoic industry of their ancestors" dissolved into "whining, waffling plaint". It is, he reflects, "the mirror image of his own existence".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/19/hope-factory-lavanya-sankaran-review
Upfronts is a free, semi-annual, digital publication that features downloadable selections from new and upcoming Hamish Hamilton titles. The inaugural issue, released in winter 2013, features an exclusive preview of Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden's forthcoming novel, The Orenda, as well as excerpts from new works by Colin McAdam, D.W. Wilson and Michael Winter.
http://www.hamishhamilton.ca/upfronts/
BOOKS & WRITERS
There is a gripping story at the heart of And the Mountains Echoed, writes Kim Hughes, the third and latest novel by Khaled Hosseini. In his new novel, Hosseini reminds readers why so many millions loved his earlier books.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/khaled-hosseini-returns-with-a-novel-that-embodies-afghan-storytelling/article11992247/
When her books were first published, the wrath of the Catholic Church and much of Ireland came down on the young shoulders of Edna O'Brien. Her books struck such a chord among readers they were burned. "I was considered something of a Jezebel because of my books," she writes in Country Girl, her memoir. Now 82, O'Brien, for the first time, recounts her life.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/16/country_girl_by_edna_obrien_review.html
There's a reason most organized religions encourage their followers to love their neighbours or heed some similar variation of The Golden Rule, writes Joel Yanofsky. Neighbours, it turns out, are not easy to love. Ru Freeman's new novel On Sal Mal Lane provides all the petty grievances, prejudices, and attractions for her characters' inevitable progress from youthful innocence to harsh grown-up reality.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Review+Close+neighbours+worlds+apart+Lane/8402942/story.html#ixzz2TxzxJ1j4
Australia's Qantas Airlines is promoting the announcement of its extended flight routes by commissioning a series of books that last exactly as long as each flight. Called "A Story For Every Journey," each one promises to take only as long as a specific flight to read, so that you'll finish just as the plane touches down.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-qantas-flight-length-books-20130521,0,5934762.story
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
THE BIRDS & THE BEES
Bill Reid, Craig Keating, Diamond Almas, Emily Jubenvill, Justin Malialis, and Sonia Haynes share their tales of fresh starts, food, farming, and the buzz of spring in 10 minutes or less. Friday, May 24 at 7:00pm, free. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th, North Vancouver.
3RD ANNUAL VOGON POETRY SLAM AND VOG-OFF
To celebrate Towel Day and Douglas Adams, the absolutely worst poems in the universe are to be presented slam style at an evening gala. Saturday, May 25 at 1:00pm. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Featuring Fran Bourassa, Wilhelmina Salmi, RC Weslowski, with host Sho Wiley. Sunday, May 26 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Event for poets between 12 and 22 years of age includes Jacob Gebrewold, Floyd VB, Mariah Dear, Andrew Warner, and Victoria Fraser. Monday, May 27 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $6/4. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
FICTIONKNITSTA!
An evening with some of today's top Canadian women authors! "Expect gripping yarns, and purls of wisdom that may just leave you in stitches." The evening host will be Leanne Prian, author of Hoopla and Yarn Bombing. Readings by Cathy Ace, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon, and Stella Harvey. Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
JAY RUZESKY
Lecture and reading by the author of In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Maritime Museum of BC, 28 Bastion Square, Victoria. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
Vancouver launch of The Red Album by Stephen Collis and Tuft by Kim Minkus. Thursday, May 30 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
Upcoming
CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
NOMADOS LAUNCH
Readings by Jen Currin, Christine Leclerc and Colin Smith. Wednesday, June 12 at 8:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 29 as acclaimed writer and historian Conrad Black talks to Kirk LaPointe about his new book Flight of the Eagle, a strategic history of the United States. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://conradblack.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 EVENTS
A Dram Come True!
Just one week to go until A Dram Come True and tickets are almost sold out! This is your last chance to take part in our fabulous scotch tasting fundraiser featuring over 30 whiskies at ten tasting bars. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will be pouring from a selection of eight rare single cask whisky bottlings-an opportunity that is usually only available to members. We'll also be pouring from Macallan's new 1824 series, not yet available in BC. There will be many more exciting drams, delicious food, wine, spirits and a fabulous silent auction. Don't miss out, click here to get your tickets today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Lydia Davis wins Man Booker International Prize.
http://www.themanbookerprize.com/news/lydia-davis-wins-man-booker-international-prize-2013
Law professor AT Williams has won the Orwell book prize for political writing for his investigation into the killing of hotel receptionist Baha Mousa by British Army soldiers in Iraq. The judges said that A Very British Killing was "written in the spirit" of Orwell's journalism.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/orwell-prize-baha-mousa-at-williams
The Libris Awards shortlist includes Terry Fallis, Will Ferguson, Alice Munro, and Nancy Richler. Lifetime Achievement Awards have been presented to Alice Munro and Jack Rabinovitch.
http://www.storeconference.ca/libris
First-time author Kathy Para's novel Lucky has won Mother Tongue Publishing's second Search for the Great BC Novel Contest. Lucky is described as an unflinching novel set in the Middle East and Canada. Lucky will be published this fall by Mother Tongue Publishing.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Kathy+Para+Lucky+wins+Great+Novel+Contest/8405484/story.html
Observer writer Ed Vulliamy has won the Ryszard Kapuscinski award 2013 for his book Amexica: War Along the Borderline, which documents the US-Mexican drug wars.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/18/ed-vulliamy-ryszard-kapuscinski-award
Truth Like the Sun, Jim Lynch's third novel, like his first two novels, is set in western Washington. His first, The Highest Tide, won the Pacific Northwest Bookseller Award. The second novel, Border Songs won the Washington State Book Award.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Journalist+author+writes+about+what+fascinates/8405445/story.html
Richard Wagamese's Indian Horse is the winner of the annual First Nation Communities Read competition.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/richard-wagamese-wins-first-nation-communities-read-competition/
The Independent Foreign Fiction prize goes to Gerbrand Bakker for The Detour.
www/guardian.c.uk./books/2013/may/21/independent-foreign-fiction-prize-gerbrand-bakker
YOUNG READERS
Caroline Adderson's Middle of Nowhere has won Adderson her second Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Award. Curtis has had stints in foster care, and he doesn't ever want to repeat them or have Artie forced into a similar situation. As the authorities move in on Curtis and Artie, the boys escape with a neighbour to an abandoned family cabin. For ages 9 to 12.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7638
Breakaway and Hockey Girl are two books aimed at girls who love hockey. Team captain Jessie, is challenged to lead by example, on and off the ice. Then the girls' ice time is cut because boys' teams always take first priority. Breakaway stands out as a sports story that focuses on a girls' team that's as respected as its male counterpart, says Suzanne Gardner. For ages 10+ and 14+.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7872
Animals speak volumes to those who know how to listen. Clearly, Patricia MacLachlan and her daughter, Emily, are among those who do. In Cat Talk, they give us a series of free-verse poems that provide an insight into the personalities of various felines—adopting the voices of specific cats and, in the process, depicting character traits that set those cats apart from others of their species. Poems are the cat's meow. Ages 4 to 104.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Kids+Poems+meow/8402937/story.html#ixzz2Tc8AkoBm
NEWS & FEATURES
Ireland's newest stamp features an entire short story written by Dublin teenager, Eoin Moore.
http://www.thejournal.ie/fighting-worlds-stamp-912325-May2013/
A charity auction of annotated first edition novels raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for English Pen. JK Rowling reveals that she invented quidditch in a Manchester hotel; Ian Rankin, that he originally planned to kill off Rebus at the inspector's first outing. Margaret Atwood, Nadine Gordimer, Philip Pullman, Tom Stoppard and Ian McEwan have also donated annotated first editions.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/17/book-auction-secrets-jk-rowling
How do you organise your books? Tate Britain has rearranged its paintings in chronological order–can that teach those of us with chaotic bookshelves anything? asks John Crace.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/shortcuts/2013/may/19/how-do-you-organise-your-books
The so-called "war on terror" has legitimised practices in the UK most commonly associated with totalitarian regimes. As Victoria Brittain portrays in Shadow Lives: The Forgotten Women of the War on Terror, all have a huge impact on the women and children who are drawn into this world where deprivation of civil rights is the norm, writes Yvonne Roberts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/12/shadow-lives-victoria-brittain-review
The Library's Future is Not an Open Book, writes Julie V. Iovine. "The library today", said Michael Colford, the director of library services in Boston, "is more of a platform launching you in all different directions." It already offers an incomparable "experience," with plenty of "Inspiration for all New Yorkers" to spare.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324000704578386500193028168.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
There are strong echoes of Dickens in Lavanya Sankaran's The Hope Factory, writes Jessica Holland: one word is never used when five will do. Like Oliver Twist, the Hope Factory succeeds best as a portrait of a city. When Anand looks at the west, he sees "the stoic industry of their ancestors" dissolved into "whining, waffling plaint". It is, he reflects, "the mirror image of his own existence".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/19/hope-factory-lavanya-sankaran-review
Upfronts is a free, semi-annual, digital publication that features downloadable selections from new and upcoming Hamish Hamilton titles. The inaugural issue, released in winter 2013, features an exclusive preview of Scotiabank Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden's forthcoming novel, The Orenda, as well as excerpts from new works by Colin McAdam, D.W. Wilson and Michael Winter.
http://www.hamishhamilton.ca/upfronts/
BOOKS & WRITERS
There is a gripping story at the heart of And the Mountains Echoed, writes Kim Hughes, the third and latest novel by Khaled Hosseini. In his new novel, Hosseini reminds readers why so many millions loved his earlier books.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/khaled-hosseini-returns-with-a-novel-that-embodies-afghan-storytelling/article11992247/
When her books were first published, the wrath of the Catholic Church and much of Ireland came down on the young shoulders of Edna O'Brien. Her books struck such a chord among readers they were burned. "I was considered something of a Jezebel because of my books," she writes in Country Girl, her memoir. Now 82, O'Brien, for the first time, recounts her life.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/16/country_girl_by_edna_obrien_review.html
There's a reason most organized religions encourage their followers to love their neighbours or heed some similar variation of The Golden Rule, writes Joel Yanofsky. Neighbours, it turns out, are not easy to love. Ru Freeman's new novel On Sal Mal Lane provides all the petty grievances, prejudices, and attractions for her characters' inevitable progress from youthful innocence to harsh grown-up reality.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Review+Close+neighbours+worlds+apart+Lane/8402942/story.html#ixzz2TxzxJ1j4
Australia's Qantas Airlines is promoting the announcement of its extended flight routes by commissioning a series of books that last exactly as long as each flight. Called "A Story For Every Journey," each one promises to take only as long as a specific flight to read, so that you'll finish just as the plane touches down.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-qantas-flight-length-books-20130521,0,5934762.story
COMMUNITY EVENTS
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
THE BIRDS & THE BEES
Bill Reid, Craig Keating, Diamond Almas, Emily Jubenvill, Justin Malialis, and Sonia Haynes share their tales of fresh starts, food, farming, and the buzz of spring in 10 minutes or less. Friday, May 24 at 7:00pm, free. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th, North Vancouver.
3RD ANNUAL VOGON POETRY SLAM AND VOG-OFF
To celebrate Towel Day and Douglas Adams, the absolutely worst poems in the universe are to be presented slam style at an evening gala. Saturday, May 25 at 1:00pm. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Featuring Fran Bourassa, Wilhelmina Salmi, RC Weslowski, with host Sho Wiley. Sunday, May 26 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Event for poets between 12 and 22 years of age includes Jacob Gebrewold, Floyd VB, Mariah Dear, Andrew Warner, and Victoria Fraser. Monday, May 27 at 8:00pm. Tickets: $6/4. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
FICTIONKNITSTA!
An evening with some of today's top Canadian women authors! "Expect gripping yarns, and purls of wisdom that may just leave you in stitches." The evening host will be Leanne Prian, author of Hoopla and Yarn Bombing. Readings by Cathy Ace, Gillian Campbell, Nicole Dixon, and Stella Harvey. Tuesday, May 28 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
JAY RUZESKY
Lecture and reading by the author of In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Maritime Museum of BC, 28 Bastion Square, Victoria. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
Vancouver launch of The Red Album by Stephen Collis and Tuft by Kim Minkus. Thursday, May 30 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive.
Upcoming
CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
NOMADOS LAUNCH
Readings by Jen Currin, Christine Leclerc and Colin Smith. Wednesday, June 12 at 8:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Book News Vol. 8 No. 14
BOOK NEWS
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 22 as bestselling author Meg Wolitzer and Jim Lynch talk about their latest books. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca.
Meg Wolitzer's novel, The Interestings, moves away from an intense focus on women's place in the world and the illusion of one's specialness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/meg-wolitzers-latest-captures-the-sting-and-pleasure-of-living/article11147623/
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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
A Dram Come True is fast approaching! This year ten whisky tasting bars will feature fabulous scotches from Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor, the Single Malt Whisky Society and others, as well as rare releases and special
surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today.
Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Barbara Kingsolver has been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for her novel Flight Behaviour, a novel charting the impact of climate change on a rural farming community in the Appalachians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/barbara-kingsolver-interview-flight-behaviour
Avery Nordman, a 13 year old student from Grand Forks, B.C., is the winner of the World Literacy Canada's Write for a Better World writing contest.
http://www.worldlit.ca/write2013winners
Read interviews with the contenders for next week's Man Booker International prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/14/man-booker-international-prize-finalists-speak
Philip Hensher has won the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje prize with a fictionalized account of his husband's childhood in what is now Bangladesh. Scenes from Early Life tells the story of Zaved Mahmood, whom Hensher married in 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/14/philip-hensher-wins-ondaatje-prize
The five regional winners of the Commonwealth book prize for best first novel have just been announced: Lisa O'Donnell (UK), Ezekel Alan (Jamaica), Michael Sala (Australia), E.E. Sule (Nigeria), Nayomi Munawura (Sri Lanka).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2013/may/14/commonwealth-book-prize-2013-fiction-in-pictures#/?picture=408768605&index=4
Howard Jacobson has won his second Wodehouse prize for comic fiction. The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse award secures the author his second Old Spot pig, named in honour of his winning novel Zoo Time.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/howard-jacobson-wins-second-wodehouse-prize
Iain M. Banks, Cory Doctorow, China Miéville and Terry Pratchett are among the finalists for the 2013 Locus Award in fifteen categories of work, ranging from science fiction and fantasy, young adult and first novel, novelette and anthology, as well as publisher, editor and artist.
http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2013/05/09/2013-locus-nominees-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Amy Krouse Rosenthal's I Scream Ice Cream is about an exclamation mark who feels out of place in a line of periods and struggles to fit in. The book is bound to amuse young readers (and listeners)—especially when our hero encounters a question mark. The result is a read-to-yourself-and-figure-it-out book, writes Bernie Goedhart. For ages 7 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+Scream+Cream/8368773/story.html#ixzz2SxUX54M2
David O'Connells' Monster and Chips is complete with jokes and a witty plot', writes Evapea. Joe was just a normal boy with a normal life until he discovered a monster diner. During his quest to find chips, he stumbled across a door with a red 'F' on it and learns about vomit burgers, flattened frog fritters, and monsters. For ages 7 to 8.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/may/06/review-monster-and-chips-david-o-connell
The comic-book art form Raina Telgemeier uses to illustrate her words has both simplicity and a sophistication that makes it accessible to young readers. There is a joie de vivre in Drama and other books, even when its characters are dealing with clueless boys or wire-tightening orthodontists, writes Bernie Goedhart. For ages 10 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+drama+middle+school/8138583/story.html#ixzz2T1gY6gPz
NEWS & FEATURES
Fresno inaugurated its first poet laureate in April, formally embracing a rich poetic history that had received little recognition. Not only have Houston and Los Angeles established poet laureateships but so have Boise, Idaho; Key West, Fla.; McAllen, Tex.; and San Mateo County, near San Francisco. The popularity of poets is a pleasant surprise. Why now, though, remains something of a mystery.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/poets-laureate-proliferate-across-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The citizens of Florence, not least City Councillor Eugenio Giani, hope that a tourism miracle will result from Dan Brown's Inferno, the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. There are rich pickings for hidden, deadly meanings in Dante's description of his descent into hell in the Divine Comedy. In a preview chapter, a female assassin tries to kill Langdon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/dan-brown-inferno-florence-tourism
The refusal of Nobel laureate Mo Yan to discuss politics raises a question: do cultural figures in China have a responsibility to be dissidents? "I just want to write," says Mo Yan. Mo Yan directly addressed a main controversy that surrounded him since his win: "Should Nobel laureates take on more social responsibility?" His answer was a firm negative.
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/05/mo-yan-i-just-want-to-write-leave-me-alone/275751/
World Literacy Canada (WLC) received 1,300 short stories from students in grades 5-8 from every province and territory in Canada for the Write for a Better World 2013 writing contest. The winning stories were selected by best selling Canadian author Eric Walters because they were beautifully crafted and epitomized the ideals of global citizenship. The top ten winning stories can be read online.
http://www.worldlit.ca/write2013winners
Bid to censor Anne Frank's 'pornographic' diary in Michigan schools fails.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/16/censor-anne-frank-diary-schools-fails
What's a Charlotte Bronte poem worth? $47,000 an inch.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-poetry-at-50000-an-inch-20130411,0,2642820.story
BOOKS & WRITERS
Acclaimed as one of the great postwar American writers, James Salter has, at 87, spent his working life in the shadow of his peers; All That Is has a grandeur all its own. Salter's reputation rests on two collections of short stories, and a memoir, Burning the Days. He is, nevertheless, the kind of American writer who is sometimes called great, says Rachel Clarke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/james-salter-forgotten-hero-literature-interview
Work on The Poisonwood Bible began with my reading Endless Enemies, says Barbara Kingsolver, an analysis of US foreign policy that overrules the autonomy of developing nations, somewhat as a condescending parent would rule a child. "The analogy struck me as novelesque," she writes: "arrogance masquerading as helpfulness could be a personal story that also functioned as allegory."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/book-club-barbara-kingsolver-poisonwood
This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood by Alan Johnson describes the former British Home Secretary's memories of extreme childhood poverty, perhaps the last example of a leading politician who was born into the working class–perhaps even what we would now call the underclass. In the main, Johnson writes about two extraordinary women who waged a battle for survival.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/02/this-boy-alan-johnson-review
In John LeCarré's A Delicate Truth, Toby Bell considers recent history and the new order, particularly the use by government of corporate security forces to engage in war. The mission is carried out, hailed a success and everybody goes back to their pre-mission lives: a warning bell about the sort of society one creates when the truth is doomed to remain secret.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/10/a_delicate_truth_by_john_le_carr_review.html
Painter Leo Millar arrives on the island of La Mouche, near Normandy, in a deep fog. It's 1966, the U.S. is bombing Hanoi and de Gaulle is planning a trip to the U.S.S.R., the backdrop to Lewis DeSoto's The Restoration Artist. He is alone because, just over a year or two ago, his wife Claudine and 10-year-old son Piero were killed in a terrorist attack on Cyprus: "Another small war in another small place."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/broken-artist-mute-orphan-mysterious-woman-is-this-a-soap-opera-or-a-novel/article11848829/?cmpid=rss1
Eve Ensler, the celebrated author of The Vagina Monologues, has shifted her attention to working with women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An excerpt from Ensler's In the Body of the World can be found here:
http://www.vancouversun.com/Book+excerpt+Body+World+Ensler/8367984/story.html
The same spirit that has informed many a film has seen adaptations of literary novels, writes John Dugdale. William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying will be at the Cannes Film Festival next week; Paul Thomas Anderson will soon shoot his version of Pynchon's Inherent Vice. Something is clearly changing, raising the question of whether any books still remain off-limits.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Book+excerpt+Body+World+Ensler/8367984/story.html
It takes an extraordinary novelist to capture the life of a character so ordinary that we might not notice her, writes Monique Polak. Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs gives us Nora Eldridge: unmarried, 42, clog-wearing, a former third-grade teacher: unremarkable. When a new child arrives in her classroom, and Nora gets to know him and his parents, her life is transformed.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Claire+Messud+Woman+Upstairs+remarkable+tale/8368769/story.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
UNTYING THE APRON: DAUGHTERS REMEMBER MOTHERS OF THE 1950s
Readings by Kate Braid, Shauna Butterwick, Clarissa P. Green, Zoe Landale, Marsha Lederman, Daphne Marlatt, Jane Munro, and Sheila Norgate. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Refreshments will be served. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at www.peoplescoopbookstore.com.
ARGO ADVENTURE OR CANADIAN CAPER?
A dialogue with Mark and Cora Lijek, two of six Americans represented in the 2013 "Best Picture" Argo. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm. Room 2600, Westminster Savings Lecture Theatre, SFU Surrey. Free but registration and more information here, http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/ArgoAdventureorCanadianCaper.html.
BOOK LAUNCH: JANET E. CAMERON
Join Janet E. Cameron for the launch of her debut novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, a coming of age novel set in Nova Scotia in the 1980s. May 16 at 7:00 Ppm at Christianne's Lyceum (3696 W. 8th Ave.). Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book will be available for sale. Call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com for more information.
MIAH
Author Julia Lin reads from her new book. Saturday, May 18 at 2:00pm. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver. More information at julialinbooks.com.
BOOK LAUNCH AND POETRY READING
Celebrate the launch of Force Field–77 Women Poets of British Columbia, edited by Susan Musgrave, with a poetry reading. Sunday, May 19 at 2:00pm, free. Seymour Art Gallery, 4360 Gallant Avenue, North Vancouver. More information at www.seymourartgallery.com.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Readings by Danny Peart, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Kate Braid, and Elsie Neufeld. Sunday, May 19 at 3:00pm. Admission by donation. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 21. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Crystal Favel is the featured author. Tuesday, May 21 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.com.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
3RD ANNUAL VOGON POETRY SLAM AND VOG-OFF
To celebrate Towel Day and Douglas Adams, the absolutely worst poems in the universe are to be presented slam style at an evening gala. Saturday, May 25 at 1:00pm. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Featuring Fran Bourassa, Wilhelmina Salmi, RC Weslowski, with host Sho Wiley. Sunday, May 26 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
Upcoming
JAY RUZESKY
Lecture and reading by the author of In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Maritime Museum of BC, 28 Bastion Square, Victoria. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.
CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People’s Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 22 as bestselling author Meg Wolitzer and Jim Lynch talk about their latest books. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca.
Meg Wolitzer's novel, The Interestings, moves away from an intense focus on women's place in the world and the illusion of one's specialness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/meg-wolitzers-latest-captures-the-sting-and-pleasure-of-living/article11147623/
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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
A Dram Come True is fast approaching! This year ten whisky tasting bars will feature fabulous scotches from Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor, the Single Malt Whisky Society and others, as well as rare releases and special
surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today.
Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Barbara Kingsolver has been shortlisted for the Women's Prize for her novel Flight Behaviour, a novel charting the impact of climate change on a rural farming community in the Appalachians.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/barbara-kingsolver-interview-flight-behaviour
Avery Nordman, a 13 year old student from Grand Forks, B.C., is the winner of the World Literacy Canada's Write for a Better World writing contest.
http://www.worldlit.ca/write2013winners
Read interviews with the contenders for next week's Man Booker International prize.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/14/man-booker-international-prize-finalists-speak
Philip Hensher has won the Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje prize with a fictionalized account of his husband's childhood in what is now Bangladesh. Scenes from Early Life tells the story of Zaved Mahmood, whom Hensher married in 2009.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/14/philip-hensher-wins-ondaatje-prize
The five regional winners of the Commonwealth book prize for best first novel have just been announced: Lisa O'Donnell (UK), Ezekel Alan (Jamaica), Michael Sala (Australia), E.E. Sule (Nigeria), Nayomi Munawura (Sri Lanka).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/gallery/2013/may/14/commonwealth-book-prize-2013-fiction-in-pictures#/?picture=408768605&index=4
Howard Jacobson has won his second Wodehouse prize for comic fiction. The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse award secures the author his second Old Spot pig, named in honour of his winning novel Zoo Time.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/15/howard-jacobson-wins-second-wodehouse-prize
Iain M. Banks, Cory Doctorow, China Miéville and Terry Pratchett are among the finalists for the 2013 Locus Award in fifteen categories of work, ranging from science fiction and fantasy, young adult and first novel, novelette and anthology, as well as publisher, editor and artist.
http://www.sliceofscifi.com/2013/05/09/2013-locus-nominees-announced/
YOUNG READERS
Amy Krouse Rosenthal's I Scream Ice Cream is about an exclamation mark who feels out of place in a line of periods and struggles to fit in. The book is bound to amuse young readers (and listeners)—especially when our hero encounters a question mark. The result is a read-to-yourself-and-figure-it-out book, writes Bernie Goedhart. For ages 7 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+Scream+Cream/8368773/story.html#ixzz2SxUX54M2
David O'Connells' Monster and Chips is complete with jokes and a witty plot', writes Evapea. Joe was just a normal boy with a normal life until he discovered a monster diner. During his quest to find chips, he stumbled across a door with a red 'F' on it and learns about vomit burgers, flattened frog fritters, and monsters. For ages 7 to 8.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/may/06/review-monster-and-chips-david-o-connell
The comic-book art form Raina Telgemeier uses to illustrate her words has both simplicity and a sophistication that makes it accessible to young readers. There is a joie de vivre in Drama and other books, even when its characters are dealing with clueless boys or wire-tightening orthodontists, writes Bernie Goedhart. For ages 10 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Kids+drama+middle+school/8138583/story.html#ixzz2T1gY6gPz
NEWS & FEATURES
Fresno inaugurated its first poet laureate in April, formally embracing a rich poetic history that had received little recognition. Not only have Houston and Los Angeles established poet laureateships but so have Boise, Idaho; Key West, Fla.; McAllen, Tex.; and San Mateo County, near San Francisco. The popularity of poets is a pleasant surprise. Why now, though, remains something of a mystery.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/us/poets-laureate-proliferate-across-us.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The citizens of Florence, not least City Councillor Eugenio Giani, hope that a tourism miracle will result from Dan Brown's Inferno, the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. There are rich pickings for hidden, deadly meanings in Dante's description of his descent into hell in the Divine Comedy. In a preview chapter, a female assassin tries to kill Langdon.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/dan-brown-inferno-florence-tourism
The refusal of Nobel laureate Mo Yan to discuss politics raises a question: do cultural figures in China have a responsibility to be dissidents? "I just want to write," says Mo Yan. Mo Yan directly addressed a main controversy that surrounded him since his win: "Should Nobel laureates take on more social responsibility?" His answer was a firm negative.
http://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/05/mo-yan-i-just-want-to-write-leave-me-alone/275751/
World Literacy Canada (WLC) received 1,300 short stories from students in grades 5-8 from every province and territory in Canada for the Write for a Better World 2013 writing contest. The winning stories were selected by best selling Canadian author Eric Walters because they were beautifully crafted and epitomized the ideals of global citizenship. The top ten winning stories can be read online.
http://www.worldlit.ca/write2013winners
Bid to censor Anne Frank's 'pornographic' diary in Michigan schools fails.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/16/censor-anne-frank-diary-schools-fails
What's a Charlotte Bronte poem worth? $47,000 an inch.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-poetry-at-50000-an-inch-20130411,0,2642820.story
BOOKS & WRITERS
Acclaimed as one of the great postwar American writers, James Salter has, at 87, spent his working life in the shadow of his peers; All That Is has a grandeur all its own. Salter's reputation rests on two collections of short stories, and a memoir, Burning the Days. He is, nevertheless, the kind of American writer who is sometimes called great, says Rachel Clarke.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/james-salter-forgotten-hero-literature-interview
Work on The Poisonwood Bible began with my reading Endless Enemies, says Barbara Kingsolver, an analysis of US foreign policy that overrules the autonomy of developing nations, somewhat as a condescending parent would rule a child. "The analogy struck me as novelesque," she writes: "arrogance masquerading as helpfulness could be a personal story that also functioned as allegory."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/11/book-club-barbara-kingsolver-poisonwood
This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood by Alan Johnson describes the former British Home Secretary's memories of extreme childhood poverty, perhaps the last example of a leading politician who was born into the working class–perhaps even what we would now call the underclass. In the main, Johnson writes about two extraordinary women who waged a battle for survival.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/02/this-boy-alan-johnson-review
In John LeCarré's A Delicate Truth, Toby Bell considers recent history and the new order, particularly the use by government of corporate security forces to engage in war. The mission is carried out, hailed a success and everybody goes back to their pre-mission lives: a warning bell about the sort of society one creates when the truth is doomed to remain secret.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/10/a_delicate_truth_by_john_le_carr_review.html
Painter Leo Millar arrives on the island of La Mouche, near Normandy, in a deep fog. It's 1966, the U.S. is bombing Hanoi and de Gaulle is planning a trip to the U.S.S.R., the backdrop to Lewis DeSoto's The Restoration Artist. He is alone because, just over a year or two ago, his wife Claudine and 10-year-old son Piero were killed in a terrorist attack on Cyprus: "Another small war in another small place."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/broken-artist-mute-orphan-mysterious-woman-is-this-a-soap-opera-or-a-novel/article11848829/?cmpid=rss1
Eve Ensler, the celebrated author of The Vagina Monologues, has shifted her attention to working with women in the Democratic Republic of Congo. An excerpt from Ensler's In the Body of the World can be found here:
http://www.vancouversun.com/Book+excerpt+Body+World+Ensler/8367984/story.html
The same spirit that has informed many a film has seen adaptations of literary novels, writes John Dugdale. William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying will be at the Cannes Film Festival next week; Paul Thomas Anderson will soon shoot his version of Pynchon's Inherent Vice. Something is clearly changing, raising the question of whether any books still remain off-limits.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Book+excerpt+Body+World+Ensler/8367984/story.html
It takes an extraordinary novelist to capture the life of a character so ordinary that we might not notice her, writes Monique Polak. Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs gives us Nora Eldridge: unmarried, 42, clog-wearing, a former third-grade teacher: unremarkable. When a new child arrives in her classroom, and Nora gets to know him and his parents, her life is transformed.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Claire+Messud+Woman+Upstairs+remarkable+tale/8368769/story.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
UNTYING THE APRON: DAUGHTERS REMEMBER MOTHERS OF THE 1950s
Readings by Kate Braid, Shauna Butterwick, Clarissa P. Green, Zoe Landale, Marsha Lederman, Daphne Marlatt, Jane Munro, and Sheila Norgate. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm, free. Refreshments will be served. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at www.peoplescoopbookstore.com.
ARGO ADVENTURE OR CANADIAN CAPER?
A dialogue with Mark and Cora Lijek, two of six Americans represented in the 2013 "Best Picture" Argo. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm. Room 2600, Westminster Savings Lecture Theatre, SFU Surrey. Free but registration and more information here, http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/ArgoAdventureorCanadianCaper.html.
BOOK LAUNCH: JANET E. CAMERON
Join Janet E. Cameron for the launch of her debut novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, a coming of age novel set in Nova Scotia in the 1980s. May 16 at 7:00 Ppm at Christianne's Lyceum (3696 W. 8th Ave.). Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book will be available for sale. Call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com for more information.
MIAH
Author Julia Lin reads from her new book. Saturday, May 18 at 2:00pm. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, 578 Carrall Street, Vancouver. More information at julialinbooks.com.
BOOK LAUNCH AND POETRY READING
Celebrate the launch of Force Field–77 Women Poets of British Columbia, edited by Susan Musgrave, with a poetry reading. Sunday, May 19 at 2:00pm, free. Seymour Art Gallery, 4360 Gallant Avenue, North Vancouver. More information at www.seymourartgallery.com.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Readings by Danny Peart, Elizabeth Bachinsky, Kate Braid, and Elsie Neufeld. Sunday, May 19 at 3:00pm. Admission by donation. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 21. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Crystal Favel is the featured author. Tuesday, May 21 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.com.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
3RD ANNUAL VOGON POETRY SLAM AND VOG-OFF
To celebrate Towel Day and Douglas Adams, the absolutely worst poems in the universe are to be presented slam style at an evening gala. Saturday, May 25 at 1:00pm. Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Featuring Fran Bourassa, Wilhelmina Salmi, RC Weslowski, with host Sho Wiley. Sunday, May 26 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
Upcoming
JAY RUZESKY
Lecture and reading by the author of In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage. Wednesday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Maritime Museum of BC, 28 Bastion Square, Victoria. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.
CALL AND RESPONSE: THREE
Poets in Conversation. Join Anna Swanson, Bren Simmers and Ariel Gordon for a reading that celebrates a decade of friendship. Saturday, June 8th at 7:30 pm, free. People’s Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Author will give an illustrated talk about the artist Ina D.D. Uhthoff, who was a driving force in the Victoria art scene of the mid-20th century. Sunday, June 9 at 4:00pm. Royal BC Museum, 675 Belleville Street, Victoria. More information at royalbcmuseum.bc.ca.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Book News Vol. 8 No. 13
BOOK NEWS
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 22 as bestselling author Meg Wolitzer and Jim Lynch talk about their latest books. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca.
Meg Wolitzer's novel, The Interestings, moves away from an intense focus on women's place in the world and the illusion of one's specialness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/meg-wolitzers-latest-captures-the-sting-and-pleasure-of-living/article11147623/
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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
A Dram Come True is fast approaching! This year ten whisky tasting bars will feature fabulous scotches from Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor, the Single Malt Whisky Society and others, as well as rare releases and special
surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today.
Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
The first Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction has been awarded to Don DeLillo, the author of Underworld, White Noise, and Libra, among numerous other works.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/don-delillo-is-first-recipient-of-library-of-congress-prize-for-american-fiction/2013/04/24/ae1ff5f8-acd5-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story.html#license-ae1ff5f8-acd5-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f2
Elmer Guy, president of Navajo Technical College, has announced the appointment of Luci Tapahonso as the Navajo Nation's first Poet Laureate. The goal of designating a chief poet is "to encourage other Navajo poets, writers, film makers and artists to realize how important their work is to the continuance and growth of Navajo contemporary culture," said Guy.
http://omdoamcountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/30/luci-tapahonso-named-navajo-nations-first-poet-laureate-149114
Saskatchewan-based writer Cassie Stocks has won the 2013 Leacock Medal for humour for her debut novel, Dance, Gladys, Dance.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/04/25/leacock-medal.html
Chris Beckett has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the UK's top science fiction prize, for his novel Dark Eden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/01/chris-beckett-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
Anakana Schofield has won the 2012 First Novel Award for her novel Malarky.
http://www.geist.com/blogs/news/anakana-schofield-wins/
Martine Noël-Maw's Les fantômes de Spiritwood, presented at the 2012 Writers Fest, has been shortlisted for the French Saskatchewan Book Awards.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/saskatchewan/2013/04/26/005-finalistes-prix-livre-francais-sask-book-awards.shtml
At the 2013 Edgar Awards, Dennis Lehane's Live by Night was crowned the best novel of the year.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/lehanes-live-by-night-wins-edgar-award/?ref=booksupdate&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130503
YOUNG READERS
Meg Tilly's A Taste of Heaven tells of a blossoming friendship between two 10-year-old girls; it is also a cautionary tale about the price of celebrity. Madison Stokes grows up "in the sleepy town of Rosedale" where her biggest problems are putting up with a 5-year-old sister and an annoying male classmate. For ages 8 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Kids+Tilly+cautionary+tale+fame/8301946/story.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Arman Kazemi, a writer and journalist from Vancouver currently working with Toronto's CBC Community desk, has an interest in writing about contemporary literature and new media. By tweeting a group of Canadian poets requesting their thoughts on what it means to be a poet in the digital era, he learned that there is a space for the production and reception of poetry in social media.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/05/digital-poetry-1.html
Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world, was at the heart of 60s counterculture and is now widely revered as the tech visionary whose book anticipated the web. Carole Cadwalladr meets the man for whom big ideas are a way of life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/05/stewart-brand-whole-earth-catalog
Harper Lee, the reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has sued a literary agent, claiming that he tricked the ageing writer into assigning him copyright on the classic book. The move marks a rare step into the spotlight for Lee, who is known for keeping a low profile and eschewing almost all media requests.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/04/harper-lee-sues-agent-copyright
Three authors have filed suit against self-publishing service provider Author Solutions, and its parent company Penguin, airing a laundry list of complaints and alleging the company is engaged in deceitful, dubious business practices. "Defendants have marketed themselves as an independent publisher," the complaint reads. "Instead, Defendants are a print-on-demand vanity press."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/57046-authors-sue-self-publishing-service-author-solutions.html
A coalition of global literary figures including five Nobel literature laureates have called on China to respect its population's right to freedom of expression, and to release those writers "unjustly imprisoned for exercising this most fundamental right". "We cannot..listen to China's great and emerging creative voices without hearing the silence of those whose voices are forcibly restrained," they write.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/03/writers-world-china-freedom-expression
The bestselling author Hanif Kureishi has lost his life savings of £120,000 after becoming the latest high-profile personality to fall foul of suspected fraud. Kureishi, best known for writing My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, said he had lost his money after being persuaded to invest in a property deal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/03/hanif-kureishi-victim-suspected-fraud
The long lost letters of J.D. Salinger reveal a caustic, brilliant young man, writes Katy Waldman. No form is as intimate as a letter, and Salinger's most famous novel reads like a direct note to the reader. Arguably, we've all been Holden Caulfield's pen pal, even if we haven't all written him back, says Waldman.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/25/j_d_salinger_letters_to_marjorie_sheard_reveal_a_caustic_brilliant_young.html
Ashraf Hussein was one of the hundreds of Libyans who descended on the capital's Martyrs Square this week to browse through thousands of books in Tripoli's first major second hand book sale after the 2011 war that ousted Gaddafi. The book sale exposed Libyans to books banned under Gaddafi.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/tripoli-book-sale_n_3153606.html
There are American novelists, and then there are American women novelists, according to Wikipedia. Authors Amanda Filipacchi and Elissa Schappell noticed that editors had begun moving women from the 'American novelists' category to the 'American women novelists' subcategory". Male novelists on Wikipedia, however–no matter how small or obscure they are–all get to be in the category 'American novelists'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/25/wikipedia-women-american-novelists?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29
Independent British booksellers delivered a taxation petition, with over 150,000 signatures, to No. 10 Downing Street, requesting that the PM make Amazon pay UK corporation tax. The MPs claimed that Amazon was avoiding UK taxes by reporting its European sales through a Luxembourg-based unit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/24/independent-booksellers-amazon-tax-petition
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet has announced its 2013-2014 season. Launching the season will be a new adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's a project that's been in the works for eight years.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/theatre/2013/04/23/royal-winnipeg-ballet-announces-2013-2014-season/
John Freeman, the editor of Granta, has announced that he is departing the magazine, effective July 15. "As the books I've been meaning to write are beginning to crowd to the front of my mind, it felt time to leave," said Freeman. Freeman's How to Read a Novelist will come out in the fall.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/granta-editor-stepping-down/
Lawrence Hill is still trying to come to terms with the burning of his novel The Book of Negroes—in June 2011, at Oosterpark, in Amsterdam, beside the monument commemorating the end of Dutch slavery. It was carried out by a group of Dutch Surinamese, descendants of slaves, who took offence at the book's title, reports Donna Bailey Nurse.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/26/dear_sir_i_intend_to_burn_your_book_by_lawrence_hill_column.html
Writers' Union of Canada to vote on admitting self-published authors.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/books/2013/05/08/writers-union-of-canada-to-vote-on-admitting-self-published-authors
BOOKS & WRITERS
The secret to David Sedaris is that he's such a good writer that it wouldn't really matter if he wasn't being funny, writes Tabatha Southey. In Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, there is a shift of tone in his work. "That's perhaps the gift of a great humour writer like Sedaris," says Southey.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/david-sedariss-new-collection-proves-hes-more-than-just-a-humorist/article115725
Sedaris writes for the listener first, and the reader, second—not the only reason why Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls is three or eight times more pleasurable than audiobooks, writes Kyle Minor. Equally important is that the listener gets to hear the stories in the voice of the human being who made them.
http://www.salon.com/2013/04/25/david_sedaris_has_a_pleasingly_strange_voice/
Professor Don Tillman exhibits characteristics of Asperger's syndrome. While the subject of autism has been tackled in Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the first-person narration in Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project demonstrates the gulf between the literal interpretations of human behaviour and the actuality.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/28/rosie-project-graeme-simsion-review
Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs arrives at a curious time in our national conversation about gender roles, writes Ron Charles. Decades after protests over the Equal Rights Amendment, "angry feminist" is still a slur, and the words "bitter" and "shrill" sit in their silos, ready to be launched at any woman who drops her pleasant smile while debating sexual harassment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/claire-messuds-the-woman-upstairs-reviewed-by-ron-charles/2013/04/23/dd544516-a2d2-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html
Jowita Bydlowska's memoir Drunk Mom explores a surprising story of addiction, recounting a new mother's relapse into alcoholism. The Polish-born writer had intended to tell her story as a novel, but then felt that choosing fiction suggested she was in denial about her substance abuse. She describes the binges and blackouts, lying to others as well as to herself.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/04/30/video-drunk-mom-memoir.html
Violence is front and centre in Eve Ensler's In the Body of the World, writes M.A.C. Farrant. There will be no soft stories told, no fond memories to be found within its pages. What Ensler has written is raw and difficult. It's about cancer and it's about violence and, like both, it's messy, even ugly, says Farrant.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/from-rape-to-cancer-eve-enslers-journey-back-to-her-own-body/article11698741/
The periodic table of Middle Earth includes characters from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
http://lotrproject.com/projects/periodictable/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FASHION AND FICTION
Readings by Barbara Lambert and Caroline Adderson. Thursday, May 9 at 5:00pm. Eileen Fisher, 2721 Granville Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-733-5225.
DON PEPPER
Author launches Fishing the Coast, about commercial salmon fishing as seen through the eyes of a fisherman. Includes a slideshow, talk, and book signing. Thursday, May 9 at 5:30pm, free. Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden, Vancouver. More information at 604-257-8300.
MURDER TIMES THREE
Readings and discussion by three local mystery writers: Cathy Ace, Elizabeth Elwood, and Debra Purdy Kong. Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm, free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
WRITTEN IN THE FOREST
Poetry reading by Han Shan Poets opening Susan Falk's Art Exhibition. Sat. May 11, 12-3 pm. Poetry Readings between 1 and 2 pm, at The Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Road, Fort Langley. Wine and cheese; silent auction of 12 new paintings by Susan Falk based on 12 poems by the Han Shan Poets. Contact: 604-888-7411. Information: www.fortgallery.ca.
JEREMY TANKARD
Meet the award-winning author and illustrator of Grumpy Bird, Me Hungry!, and Boo Hoo Bird. Tuesday, May 14. Cloverdale Library at 10:30am; Port Kells Library at 1:15pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC SALTWATER WOMEN
Saltwater Women at Work author and photographer Vickie Jensen shares stories and insights from 110 B.C. women who chose tough, uncommon jobs on the water. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. The Sylvia Hotel, 1154 Gilford.
LEAF PRESS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Celebrate Leaf Press' spring poetry collections: Surge Narrows by Emilia Nielsen, milk tooth bane bone by Daniela Elza and Dark Matter by Leanne McIntosh, May 14th, 7pm, at Rowan's Roof Top Restaurant, 2340 W 4th Ave, Vancouver. Readings. Books for sale. Free event with appetisers and mingling. For more information: www.leafpress.ca.
AN EVENING OF POETRY AND MERRIMENT
Featuring Stephen Collis, Wanda John-Kehewin, Christine McNair, Sandra Ridley, Jacob Scheier, and Jacqueline Turner. Tuesday, May 14, doors at 7:00pm. Cost: $5/PWYC. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at realvancouverwriters.org.
EVE ENSLER
Author of The Vagina Monologues speaks at Capilano University as part of the Pacific Arbour Speaker Series. Her talk will focus on her new release In the Body of the World. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $20 and includes a copy of In the Body of the World. For more info: www.capilanou.ca/nscucentre.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Calvin Wharton and Wanda John-Kehewin will be featured. Wednesday, May 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Join the best selling author as she reads from the sequel to her smash hit The Midwife of Venice. Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
ARGO ADVENTURE OR CANADIAN CAPER?
A dialogue with Mark and Cora Lijek, two of six Americans represented in the 2013 "Best Picture" Argo. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm. Room 2600, Westminster Savings Lecture Theatre, SFU Surrey. Free but registration and more information here, http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/ArgoAdventureorCanadianCaper.html.
BOOK LAUNCH: JANET E. CAMERON
Join Janet E. Cameron for the launch of her debut novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, a coming of age novel set in Nova Scotia in the 1980s. May 16 at 7:00 Ppm at Christianne's Lyceum (3696 W. 8th Ave.). Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book will be available for sale. Call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com for more information.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 21. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Wednesday, May 22 as bestselling author Meg Wolitzer and Jim Lynch talk about their latest books. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitevpl2013spring.eventbrite.ca.
Meg Wolitzer's novel, The Interestings, moves away from an intense focus on women's place in the world and the illusion of one's specialness.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/meg-wolitzers-latest-captures-the-sting-and-pleasure-of-living/article11147623/
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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
A Dram Come True is fast approaching! This year ten whisky tasting bars will feature fabulous scotches from Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor, the Single Malt Whisky Society and others, as well as rare releases and special
surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today.
Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls' latest novel, The Silver Star, is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about an intrepid girl who challenges the injustice of the adult world–a triumph of imagination and storytelling. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
The first Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction has been awarded to Don DeLillo, the author of Underworld, White Noise, and Libra, among numerous other works.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/don-delillo-is-first-recipient-of-library-of-congress-prize-for-american-fiction/2013/04/24/ae1ff5f8-acd5-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f26d70e_story.html#license-ae1ff5f8-acd5-11e2-b6fd-ba6f5f2
Elmer Guy, president of Navajo Technical College, has announced the appointment of Luci Tapahonso as the Navajo Nation's first Poet Laureate. The goal of designating a chief poet is "to encourage other Navajo poets, writers, film makers and artists to realize how important their work is to the continuance and growth of Navajo contemporary culture," said Guy.
http://omdoamcountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/04/30/luci-tapahonso-named-navajo-nations-first-poet-laureate-149114
Saskatchewan-based writer Cassie Stocks has won the 2013 Leacock Medal for humour for her debut novel, Dance, Gladys, Dance.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/04/25/leacock-medal.html
Chris Beckett has won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the UK's top science fiction prize, for his novel Dark Eden.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/01/chris-beckett-wins-arthur-c-clarke-award?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2
Anakana Schofield has won the 2012 First Novel Award for her novel Malarky.
http://www.geist.com/blogs/news/anakana-schofield-wins/
Martine Noël-Maw's Les fantômes de Spiritwood, presented at the 2012 Writers Fest, has been shortlisted for the French Saskatchewan Book Awards.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/saskatchewan/2013/04/26/005-finalistes-prix-livre-francais-sask-book-awards.shtml
At the 2013 Edgar Awards, Dennis Lehane's Live by Night was crowned the best novel of the year.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/03/lehanes-live-by-night-wins-edgar-award/?ref=booksupdate&nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130503
YOUNG READERS
Meg Tilly's A Taste of Heaven tells of a blossoming friendship between two 10-year-old girls; it is also a cautionary tale about the price of celebrity. Madison Stokes grows up "in the sleepy town of Rosedale" where her biggest problems are putting up with a 5-year-old sister and an annoying male classmate. For ages 8 to 12.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Kids+Tilly+cautionary+tale+fame/8301946/story.html
NEWS & FEATURES
Arman Kazemi, a writer and journalist from Vancouver currently working with Toronto's CBC Community desk, has an interest in writing about contemporary literature and new media. By tweeting a group of Canadian poets requesting their thoughts on what it means to be a poet in the digital era, he learned that there is a space for the production and reception of poetry in social media.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2013/05/digital-poetry-1.html
Stewart Brand's Whole Earth Catalog, the book that changed the world, was at the heart of 60s counterculture and is now widely revered as the tech visionary whose book anticipated the web. Carole Cadwalladr meets the man for whom big ideas are a way of life.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/05/stewart-brand-whole-earth-catalog
Harper Lee, the reclusive author of To Kill A Mockingbird, has sued a literary agent, claiming that he tricked the ageing writer into assigning him copyright on the classic book. The move marks a rare step into the spotlight for Lee, who is known for keeping a low profile and eschewing almost all media requests.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/04/harper-lee-sues-agent-copyright
Three authors have filed suit against self-publishing service provider Author Solutions, and its parent company Penguin, airing a laundry list of complaints and alleging the company is engaged in deceitful, dubious business practices. "Defendants have marketed themselves as an independent publisher," the complaint reads. "Instead, Defendants are a print-on-demand vanity press."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/57046-authors-sue-self-publishing-service-author-solutions.html
A coalition of global literary figures including five Nobel literature laureates have called on China to respect its population's right to freedom of expression, and to release those writers "unjustly imprisoned for exercising this most fundamental right". "We cannot..listen to China's great and emerging creative voices without hearing the silence of those whose voices are forcibly restrained," they write.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/may/03/writers-world-china-freedom-expression
The bestselling author Hanif Kureishi has lost his life savings of £120,000 after becoming the latest high-profile personality to fall foul of suspected fraud. Kureishi, best known for writing My Beautiful Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, said he had lost his money after being persuaded to invest in a property deal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/may/03/hanif-kureishi-victim-suspected-fraud
The long lost letters of J.D. Salinger reveal a caustic, brilliant young man, writes Katy Waldman. No form is as intimate as a letter, and Salinger's most famous novel reads like a direct note to the reader. Arguably, we've all been Holden Caulfield's pen pal, even if we haven't all written him back, says Waldman.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/04/25/j_d_salinger_letters_to_marjorie_sheard_reveal_a_caustic_brilliant_young.html
Ashraf Hussein was one of the hundreds of Libyans who descended on the capital's Martyrs Square this week to browse through thousands of books in Tripoli's first major second hand book sale after the 2011 war that ousted Gaddafi. The book sale exposed Libyans to books banned under Gaddafi.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/25/tripoli-book-sale_n_3153606.html
There are American novelists, and then there are American women novelists, according to Wikipedia. Authors Amanda Filipacchi and Elissa Schappell noticed that editors had begun moving women from the 'American novelists' category to the 'American women novelists' subcategory". Male novelists on Wikipedia, however–no matter how small or obscure they are–all get to be in the category 'American novelists'.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/25/wikipedia-women-american-novelists?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+theguardian%2Fbooks%2Frss+%28Books%29
Independent British booksellers delivered a taxation petition, with over 150,000 signatures, to No. 10 Downing Street, requesting that the PM make Amazon pay UK corporation tax. The MPs claimed that Amazon was avoiding UK taxes by reporting its European sales through a Luxembourg-based unit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/24/independent-booksellers-amazon-tax-petition
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet has announced its 2013-2014 season. Launching the season will be a new adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. It's a project that's been in the works for eight years.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/theatre/2013/04/23/royal-winnipeg-ballet-announces-2013-2014-season/
John Freeman, the editor of Granta, has announced that he is departing the magazine, effective July 15. "As the books I've been meaning to write are beginning to crowd to the front of my mind, it felt time to leave," said Freeman. Freeman's How to Read a Novelist will come out in the fall.
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/25/granta-editor-stepping-down/
Lawrence Hill is still trying to come to terms with the burning of his novel The Book of Negroes—in June 2011, at Oosterpark, in Amsterdam, beside the monument commemorating the end of Dutch slavery. It was carried out by a group of Dutch Surinamese, descendants of slaves, who took offence at the book's title, reports Donna Bailey Nurse.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/26/dear_sir_i_intend_to_burn_your_book_by_lawrence_hill_column.html
Writers' Union of Canada to vote on admitting self-published authors.
http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/scene/books/2013/05/08/writers-union-of-canada-to-vote-on-admitting-self-published-authors
BOOKS & WRITERS
The secret to David Sedaris is that he's such a good writer that it wouldn't really matter if he wasn't being funny, writes Tabatha Southey. In Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, there is a shift of tone in his work. "That's perhaps the gift of a great humour writer like Sedaris," says Southey.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/david-sedariss-new-collection-proves-hes-more-than-just-a-humorist/article115725
Sedaris writes for the listener first, and the reader, second—not the only reason why Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls is three or eight times more pleasurable than audiobooks, writes Kyle Minor. Equally important is that the listener gets to hear the stories in the voice of the human being who made them.
http://www.salon.com/2013/04/25/david_sedaris_has_a_pleasingly_strange_voice/
Professor Don Tillman exhibits characteristics of Asperger's syndrome. While the subject of autism has been tackled in Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the first-person narration in Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project demonstrates the gulf between the literal interpretations of human behaviour and the actuality.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/28/rosie-project-graeme-simsion-review
Claire Messud's The Woman Upstairs arrives at a curious time in our national conversation about gender roles, writes Ron Charles. Decades after protests over the Equal Rights Amendment, "angry feminist" is still a slur, and the words "bitter" and "shrill" sit in their silos, ready to be launched at any woman who drops her pleasant smile while debating sexual harassment.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/claire-messuds-the-woman-upstairs-reviewed-by-ron-charles/2013/04/23/dd544516-a2d2-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html
Jowita Bydlowska's memoir Drunk Mom explores a surprising story of addiction, recounting a new mother's relapse into alcoholism. The Polish-born writer had intended to tell her story as a novel, but then felt that choosing fiction suggested she was in denial about her substance abuse. She describes the binges and blackouts, lying to others as well as to herself.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/04/30/video-drunk-mom-memoir.html
Violence is front and centre in Eve Ensler's In the Body of the World, writes M.A.C. Farrant. There will be no soft stories told, no fond memories to be found within its pages. What Ensler has written is raw and difficult. It's about cancer and it's about violence and, like both, it's messy, even ugly, says Farrant.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/from-rape-to-cancer-eve-enslers-journey-back-to-her-own-body/article11698741/
The periodic table of Middle Earth includes characters from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
http://lotrproject.com/projects/periodictable/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FASHION AND FICTION
Readings by Barbara Lambert and Caroline Adderson. Thursday, May 9 at 5:00pm. Eileen Fisher, 2721 Granville Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-733-5225.
DON PEPPER
Author launches Fishing the Coast, about commercial salmon fishing as seen through the eyes of a fisherman. Includes a slideshow, talk, and book signing. Thursday, May 9 at 5:30pm, free. Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden, Vancouver. More information at 604-257-8300.
MURDER TIMES THREE
Readings and discussion by three local mystery writers: Cathy Ace, Elizabeth Elwood, and Debra Purdy Kong. Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm, free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
WRITTEN IN THE FOREST
Poetry reading by Han Shan Poets opening Susan Falk's Art Exhibition. Sat. May 11, 12-3 pm. Poetry Readings between 1 and 2 pm, at The Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Road, Fort Langley. Wine and cheese; silent auction of 12 new paintings by Susan Falk based on 12 poems by the Han Shan Poets. Contact: 604-888-7411. Information: www.fortgallery.ca.
JEREMY TANKARD
Meet the award-winning author and illustrator of Grumpy Bird, Me Hungry!, and Boo Hoo Bird. Tuesday, May 14. Cloverdale Library at 10:30am; Port Kells Library at 1:15pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC SALTWATER WOMEN
Saltwater Women at Work author and photographer Vickie Jensen shares stories and insights from 110 B.C. women who chose tough, uncommon jobs on the water. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:00pm, free. The Sylvia Hotel, 1154 Gilford.
LEAF PRESS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Celebrate Leaf Press' spring poetry collections: Surge Narrows by Emilia Nielsen, milk tooth bane bone by Daniela Elza and Dark Matter by Leanne McIntosh, May 14th, 7pm, at Rowan's Roof Top Restaurant, 2340 W 4th Ave, Vancouver. Readings. Books for sale. Free event with appetisers and mingling. For more information: www.leafpress.ca.
AN EVENING OF POETRY AND MERRIMENT
Featuring Stephen Collis, Wanda John-Kehewin, Christine McNair, Sandra Ridley, Jacob Scheier, and Jacqueline Turner. Tuesday, May 14, doors at 7:00pm. Cost: $5/PWYC. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at realvancouverwriters.org.
EVE ENSLER
Author of The Vagina Monologues speaks at Capilano University as part of the Pacific Arbour Speaker Series. Her talk will focus on her new release In the Body of the World. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $20 and includes a copy of In the Body of the World. For more info: www.capilanou.ca/nscucentre.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Calvin Wharton and Wanda John-Kehewin will be featured. Wednesday, May 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Join the best selling author as she reads from the sequel to her smash hit The Midwife of Venice. Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
ARGO ADVENTURE OR CANADIAN CAPER?
A dialogue with Mark and Cora Lijek, two of six Americans represented in the 2013 "Best Picture" Argo. Thursday, May 16 at 7:00pm. Room 2600, Westminster Savings Lecture Theatre, SFU Surrey. Free but registration and more information here, http://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/ArgoAdventureorCanadianCaper.html.
BOOK LAUNCH: JANET E. CAMERON
Join Janet E. Cameron for the launch of her debut novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World, a coming of age novel set in Nova Scotia in the 1980s. May 16 at 7:00 Ppm at Christianne's Lyceum (3696 W. 8th Ave.). Refreshments will be served. Copies of the book will be available for sale. Call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com for more information.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 21. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MEET THE AUTHOR: RICHARD WAGAMESE
Richard Wagamese discusses his 2013 Canada Reads novel Indian Horse. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00PM. 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.
KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Meet the author of the Women of the Otherworld series for young people. Tuesday, June 11. Author reading at City Centre Library at 1:30pm; writing workshop for ages 12+ at Guildford Library at 4:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
BC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY FAMILY HISTORY BOOK AWARDS
A Strawberry tea and the BCGS 2012 Family History Book Awards. Authors' talks. All interested in genealogy and family history are welcome to attend. Wednesday, June 11 at 7:30pm. Danish Lutheran Church, 6010 Kincaid Street, Burnaby. More information at www.bcgs.ca.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Book News Vol. 8 No. 12
BOOK NEWS
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Monday, May 6 for an evening with theoretical physicist Lee Smolin who offers a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitemay6.eventbrite.ca/.
Theoretical physicist Lee Smolin asserts that "not only is time real, but nothing we know or experience gets closer to the heart of nature than the reality of time." An interview with Dr. Smolin about his new book Time Reborn (reviewed here http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-547-51172-6) has been broadcast on Quirks and Quarks, and can be heard here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/.
And on Wednesday, May 8, award-winning author Colin McAdam reads from A Beautiful Truth, paulo de costa reads from The Green and Purple Skin of the World and Shyam Selvadurai reads from his latest, The Hungry Ghosts. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemay8. 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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
Our five whisky tasting bars will entice first-time tasters and seasoned scotch drinkers alike. You'll get the most out of your tipple with teachings from knowledgeable tasting experts from two of the best private liquor stores in town, Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor. All of your favourites will be on offer, including Glenlivet, Amrut, Tullibardine and Glenfiddich, as well as rare releases and special surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so click here to get yours today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
The Vancouver Writers Fest and Simon & Schuster Canada present the bestselling author of The Glass Castle. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Colm Toibin is the recipient of this year's Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Blue+Metropolis+testament+Colm+Toibin/8269259/story.html
Vancouver writer Stephen Miller and Victoria writer Yasuko Thanh are among the finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards, which celebrate the best Canadian crime writing of the previous years. Other nominees are Linwood Barclay, Giles Blunt, Sean Chercover and Carsten Stroud.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/authors+earn+nods+mystery+writing/8271602/story.html
Philippe Béha is one of two Canadian nominees for the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award (author Kenneth Oppel, from Toronto, is the other)—touted as the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Kids+Philippe+B%c3%a9ha+stands+apart/8269173/story.html#ixzz2R4iPJsrB
Toronto writer Sheila Heti is on the short list for Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Others on the list include Barack Obama, Quentin Tarantino, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, American skier Lindsay Vonn and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/17/toronto_writer_sheila_heti_on_short_list_for_time_magazines_100_most_influential_people_in_the_world.html
The Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliotheques (CLA/ACB) has selected Susin Nielsen's The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen as its winning title for the 2013 Book of the Year for Children Award.
http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/the_reluctant_journal_henry_k_larsen_wins_2013_cla_book_year_children_award
IBBY Canada (International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section) has announced that illustrator Isabelle Arsenault is the winner of the 2012 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for Virginia Wolf, written by Kyo Maclear.
http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/ibby_canada_cleaver_picture_book_award_illustrator_isabelle_arsenault
YOUNG READERS
From The Toronto Star, mini reviews of four books set in Canada's far north, for ages 0 to 14. Plus, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, a novel for teens set in 1950's New Orleans.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/12/small_print_mini_reviews_of_books_for_tots_to_teens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
The Last Bookshop is a short film that will appeal to book lovers, imagining a future where physical books have died out. One day, a small boy's holographic entertainment fails, so he heads out to explore abandoned shops outside. Down a forgotten alley, he discovers the last ever bookshop. Inside, an ancient shopkeeper has been waiting over 25 years for a customer...
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/04/sunday-short-the-last-bookshop/
David Mamet joins the DIY trend as self-published ebooks top charts. The playwright's decision to do it himself comes as Rachel Van Dyken's homemade ebook heads UK and US charts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/18/self-publishing-davidmamet
Seven years ago Katherine Morton and Polly Dunbar co-founded the children's theatre company, Long Nose Puppets and have adapted four picture books into stage shows, including Arthur's Dream Boat. Their intent is to help the books come to life for children. All the productions have music written by Tom Gray of the band Gomez.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/apr/18/top-10-books-good-puppet-shows
Aminatta Forna, known for The Devil That Danced on the Water, documented the hanging of her father, a Sierra Leonean politician, on charges of treason. In The Hired Man, she returns to the psychology of civil conflict in the small, aptly named, Croatian town of Gost. Beneath the surface, life in Gost is anything but the simple pastoral idyll Laura had anticipated.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/21/aminatta-forna-hired-man-review
Critics have raised concerns about the proposed sale of two major libraries and the New York Public Library's plan to sell two other branches. A founder of the Citizens group, said: "We are opposing the sale of libraries, the shrinking of the library system and the deliberate under funding of the libraries as an excuse to push real estate deals out to developers."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/city-hall-protestors-rally-against-sale-of-libraries/?partner=rss&emc=rss
To a small contingent of readers, the 88 year-old American postmodernist William H. Gass is one of the great under-appreciated experimenters of the 20th century. Middle C, his third novel, comes 18 years after 1995's The Tunnel, which appeared 29 years after his 1966 debut. In between, Gass has published odd, self-referential novellas and occasional short story collections.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/12/middle_c_by_william_h_gass_review.html
Call it poetic justice. The distinguished Canadian poet David Wevill, who recently expressed dismay over the scheduled sale of hundreds of pages of his own early manuscripts by Bonhams next month, has prompted the British auction house to pull the vast collection off the block and arrange for it to be given to the man who created it a half-century ago.
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/British+collector+auction+house+give+Canadian+poet+gift+manuscripts/8245790/story.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In How Poetry Saved My Life, Amber Dawn asks, "Why do we so seldom hear the voices of those whose experience is so widespread?" While positing a few sobering answers, Dawn's slim memoir—comprising 18 poems and several essays that reflect 15 years of writing—begin to repair a problem her own question identifies. Her memoir categorically refuses silence, writes Brett Josef Grubisic.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Poetic+reflection+exposes+dark+side/8271581/story.html
"I had hoped that the book would appear with a blank cover and title page, so that only after the last page would the reader meet the title. In the publishing industry, that is not allowed," said J.M. Coetzee. The Childhood of Jesus is the story of an exceptional young boy and his caregivers, and a profound meditation, writes John Goldbach.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/the-gospel-according-to-jm-coetzee/article11421011/
"It took me a long time to be able to write about the Canada I came to," Shyam Selvadurai says, almost 30 years after the traumatic dislocation that brought his family here. He had no words to depict "the greyness of Scarborough" or render that "in its own sensual way," he says. The Hungry Ghosts is a refreshingly original hybrid, writes John Barber.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/with-third-novel-shyam-selvadurai-struggled-to-write-about-canada/article11417119/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE IN A POST-COLONIAL SOCIETY?
Author Jim McDowell explores the life of missionary Father August Brabant and the dynamics that shaped, and continue to define, the settler-colonial relationship between indigenous peoples and the state in Canada. Thursday, May 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
THE WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Featuring Christine Hayvice, Alison Brewin, Meharoona Ghani, Leslie Hill, Cullene Bryant, Matea Kalic, Janet Fretter, and Sandy Pool. Thursday, May 2 at 8:00pm. Admission by donation. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
VANCOUVER ISLAND CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL
27th annual festival of authors, illustrators, and storytellers from across Canada who present their work, tell stories, and/or show children how they do what they do. Featuring Roch Carrier, Kathy Beliveau, Tololwa Mollel and others. Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Nanaimo. For complete details, visit bookfest.ca.
GETTING IT INTO PRINT
Join Billeh Nickerson, author and editor extraordinaire, as he delves into the secrets of getting your work published. Saturday, May 4 at 10:00am. W Room, Woodward's Building, 5th floor, 111 East Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at geist.com.
GLEN HUSER
Award-winning author of The Runaway, Touch of the Clown and Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen will read from his work and take questions from the audience. Saturday, May 4 at 11:15am, free. Kerrisdale branch, 2112 42nd Ave. W. More information at vpl.ca.
RICHARD SCRIMGER
Meet the author of The Nose from Jupiter and Ink Me. Monday, May 6 and Friday, May 10. For times and complete information, visit surreylibraries.ca.
BARBARA REID
Meet the illustrator of The New Baby Calf, Fox Walked Alone, and Picture a Tree. Tuesday, May 7. Semiahmoo Library at 10:00am; Ocean Park Library at 1:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
MARGUERITE PIGEON AND TERESA MCWHIRTER
Launch of Pigeon's first novel, Open Pit, and the re-issue of McWhirter's first novel, Some Girls Do. Tuesday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Brickhouse Bistro & Bar, 730 Main Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Jacob Scheier, Sean McGarragle, and Ray Hsu. Wednesday, May 8 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 MainStreet, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
FASHION AND FICTION
Readings by Barbara Lambert and Caroline Adderson. Thursday, May 9 at 5:00pm. Eileen Fisher, 2721 Granville Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-733-5225.
MURDER TIMES THREE
Readings and discussion by three local mystery writers: Cathy Ace, Elizabeth Elwood, and Debra Purdy Kong. Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm, free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
WRITTEN IN THE FOREST
Poetry reading by Han Shan Poets opening Susan Falk's Art Exhibition. Sat. May 11, 12-3 pm. Poetry Readings between 1 and 2 pm, at The Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Road, Fort Langley. Wine and cheese; silent auction of 12 new paintings by Susan Falk based on 12 poems by the Han Shan Poets. Contact: 604-888-7411.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 14. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
JEREMY TANKARD
Meet the award-winning author and illustrator of Grumpy Bird, Me Hungry!, and Boo Hoo Bird. Tuesday, May 14. Cloverdale Library at 10:30am; Port Kells Library at 1:15pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
LEAF PRESS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Celebrate Leaf Press' spring poetry collections: Surge Narrows by Emilia Nielsen, milk tooth bane bone by Daniela Elza and Dark Matter by Leanne McIntosh, May 14th, 7pm, at Rowan's Roof Top Restaurant, 2340 W 4th Ave, Vancouver. Readings. Books for sale. Free event with appetisers and mingling. For more information: www.leafpress.ca.
EVE ENSLER
Author of The Vagina Monologues speaks at Capilano University as part of the Pacific Arbour Speaker Series. Her talk will focus on her new release In the Body of the World. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $20 and includes a copy of In the Body of the World. For more info: www.capilanou.ca/nscucentre.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Calvin Wharton and Wanda John-Kehewin will be featured. Wednesday, May 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Join the best selling author as she reads from the sequel to her smash hit The Midwife of Venice. Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
Incite: An Exploration of Books and Ideas
Join us on Monday, May 6 for an evening with theoretical physicist Lee Smolin who offers a radical new view of the nature of time and the cosmos. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite. Register here: http://incitemay6.eventbrite.ca/.
Theoretical physicist Lee Smolin asserts that "not only is time real, but nothing we know or experience gets closer to the heart of nature than the reality of time." An interview with Dr. Smolin about his new book Time Reborn (reviewed here http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-547-51172-6) has been broadcast on Quirks and Quarks, and can be heard here: http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/.
And on Wednesday, May 8, award-winning author Colin McAdam reads from A Beautiful Truth, paulo de costa reads from The Green and Purple Skin of the World and Shyam Selvadurai reads from his latest, The Hungry Ghosts. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incitemay8. 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 EVENTS
Whet your whistle at A Dram Come True!
Our five whisky tasting bars will entice first-time tasters and seasoned scotch drinkers alike. You'll get the most out of your tipple with teachings from knowledgeable tasting experts from two of the best private liquor stores in town, Edgemont Liquor and Legacy Liquor. All of your favourites will be on offer, including Glenlivet, Amrut, Tullibardine and Glenfiddich, as well as rare releases and special surprises that will be revealed at the event. Tickets are selling fast, so click here to get yours today. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Jeannette Walls
The Vancouver Writers Fest and Simon & Schuster Canada present the bestselling author of The Glass Castle. Details:
http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jeannettewalls.
AWARDS & LISTS
Colm Toibin is the recipient of this year's Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Blue+Metropolis+testament+Colm+Toibin/8269259/story.html
Vancouver writer Stephen Miller and Victoria writer Yasuko Thanh are among the finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards, which celebrate the best Canadian crime writing of the previous years. Other nominees are Linwood Barclay, Giles Blunt, Sean Chercover and Carsten Stroud.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/authors+earn+nods+mystery+writing/8271602/story.html
Philippe Béha is one of two Canadian nominees for the 2014 Hans Christian Andersen Award (author Kenneth Oppel, from Toronto, is the other)—touted as the highest international distinction given to authors and illustrators of children's books.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/Kids+Philippe+B%c3%a9ha+stands+apart/8269173/story.html#ixzz2R4iPJsrB
Toronto writer Sheila Heti is on the short list for Time Magazine's 100 most influential people in the world. Others on the list include Barack Obama, Quentin Tarantino, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, American skier Lindsay Vonn and Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/17/toronto_writer_sheila_heti_on_short_list_for_time_magazines_100_most_influential_people_in_the_world.html
The Canadian Library Association/Association canadienne des bibliotheques (CLA/ACB) has selected Susin Nielsen's The Reluctant Journal of Henry K. Larsen as its winning title for the 2013 Book of the Year for Children Award.
http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/the_reluctant_journal_henry_k_larsen_wins_2013_cla_book_year_children_award
IBBY Canada (International Board on Books for Young People, Canadian section) has announced that illustrator Isabelle Arsenault is the winner of the 2012 IBBY Canada Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award for Virginia Wolf, written by Kyo Maclear.
http://www.bookcentre.ca/news/ibby_canada_cleaver_picture_book_award_illustrator_isabelle_arsenault
YOUNG READERS
From The Toronto Star, mini reviews of four books set in Canada's far north, for ages 0 to 14. Plus, Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys, a novel for teens set in 1950's New Orleans.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/12/small_print_mini_reviews_of_books_for_tots_to_teens.html
NEWS & FEATURES
The Last Bookshop is a short film that will appeal to book lovers, imagining a future where physical books have died out. One day, a small boy's holographic entertainment fails, so he heads out to explore abandoned shops outside. Down a forgotten alley, he discovers the last ever bookshop. Inside, an ancient shopkeeper has been waiting over 25 years for a customer...
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/2013/04/sunday-short-the-last-bookshop/
David Mamet joins the DIY trend as self-published ebooks top charts. The playwright's decision to do it himself comes as Rachel Van Dyken's homemade ebook heads UK and US charts.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/18/self-publishing-davidmamet
Seven years ago Katherine Morton and Polly Dunbar co-founded the children's theatre company, Long Nose Puppets and have adapted four picture books into stage shows, including Arthur's Dream Boat. Their intent is to help the books come to life for children. All the productions have music written by Tom Gray of the band Gomez.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/childrens-books-site/2013/apr/18/top-10-books-good-puppet-shows
Aminatta Forna, known for The Devil That Danced on the Water, documented the hanging of her father, a Sierra Leonean politician, on charges of treason. In The Hired Man, she returns to the psychology of civil conflict in the small, aptly named, Croatian town of Gost. Beneath the surface, life in Gost is anything but the simple pastoral idyll Laura had anticipated.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/apr/21/aminatta-forna-hired-man-review
Critics have raised concerns about the proposed sale of two major libraries and the New York Public Library's plan to sell two other branches. A founder of the Citizens group, said: "We are opposing the sale of libraries, the shrinking of the library system and the deliberate under funding of the libraries as an excuse to push real estate deals out to developers."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/city-hall-protestors-rally-against-sale-of-libraries/?partner=rss&emc=rss
To a small contingent of readers, the 88 year-old American postmodernist William H. Gass is one of the great under-appreciated experimenters of the 20th century. Middle C, his third novel, comes 18 years after 1995's The Tunnel, which appeared 29 years after his 1966 debut. In between, Gass has published odd, self-referential novellas and occasional short story collections.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/04/12/middle_c_by_william_h_gass_review.html
Call it poetic justice. The distinguished Canadian poet David Wevill, who recently expressed dismay over the scheduled sale of hundreds of pages of his own early manuscripts by Bonhams next month, has prompted the British auction house to pull the vast collection off the block and arrange for it to be given to the man who created it a half-century ago.
http://www.canada.com/entertainment/British+collector+auction+house+give+Canadian+poet+gift+manuscripts/8245790/story.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In How Poetry Saved My Life, Amber Dawn asks, "Why do we so seldom hear the voices of those whose experience is so widespread?" While positing a few sobering answers, Dawn's slim memoir—comprising 18 poems and several essays that reflect 15 years of writing—begin to repair a problem her own question identifies. Her memoir categorically refuses silence, writes Brett Josef Grubisic.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Poetic+reflection+exposes+dark+side/8271581/story.html
"I had hoped that the book would appear with a blank cover and title page, so that only after the last page would the reader meet the title. In the publishing industry, that is not allowed," said J.M. Coetzee. The Childhood of Jesus is the story of an exceptional young boy and his caregivers, and a profound meditation, writes John Goldbach.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/the-gospel-according-to-jm-coetzee/article11421011/
"It took me a long time to be able to write about the Canada I came to," Shyam Selvadurai says, almost 30 years after the traumatic dislocation that brought his family here. He had no words to depict "the greyness of Scarborough" or render that "in its own sensual way," he says. The Hungry Ghosts is a refreshingly original hybrid, writes John Barber.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/with-third-novel-shyam-selvadurai-struggled-to-write-about-canada/article11417119/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LIVE IN A POST-COLONIAL SOCIETY?
Author Jim McDowell explores the life of missionary Father August Brabant and the dynamics that shaped, and continue to define, the settler-colonial relationship between indigenous peoples and the state in Canada. Thursday, May 2 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
THE WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Featuring Christine Hayvice, Alison Brewin, Meharoona Ghani, Leslie Hill, Cullene Bryant, Matea Kalic, Janet Fretter, and Sandy Pool. Thursday, May 2 at 8:00pm. Admission by donation. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
VANCOUVER ISLAND CHILDREN'S BOOK FESTIVAL
27th annual festival of authors, illustrators, and storytellers from across Canada who present their work, tell stories, and/or show children how they do what they do. Featuring Roch Carrier, Kathy Beliveau, Tololwa Mollel and others. Saturday, May 4, 2013 in Nanaimo. For complete details, visit bookfest.ca.
GETTING IT INTO PRINT
Join Billeh Nickerson, author and editor extraordinaire, as he delves into the secrets of getting your work published. Saturday, May 4 at 10:00am. W Room, Woodward's Building, 5th floor, 111 East Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at geist.com.
GLEN HUSER
Award-winning author of The Runaway, Touch of the Clown and Skinnybones and the Wrinkle Queen will read from his work and take questions from the audience. Saturday, May 4 at 11:15am, free. Kerrisdale branch, 2112 42nd Ave. W. More information at vpl.ca.
RICHARD SCRIMGER
Meet the author of The Nose from Jupiter and Ink Me. Monday, May 6 and Friday, May 10. For times and complete information, visit surreylibraries.ca.
BARBARA REID
Meet the illustrator of The New Baby Calf, Fox Walked Alone, and Picture a Tree. Tuesday, May 7. Semiahmoo Library at 10:00am; Ocean Park Library at 1:30pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
MARGUERITE PIGEON AND TERESA MCWHIRTER
Launch of Pigeon's first novel, Open Pit, and the re-issue of McWhirter's first novel, Some Girls Do. Tuesday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Brickhouse Bistro & Bar, 730 Main Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Jacob Scheier, Sean McGarragle, and Ray Hsu. Wednesday, May 8 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 MainStreet, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
FASHION AND FICTION
Readings by Barbara Lambert and Caroline Adderson. Thursday, May 9 at 5:00pm. Eileen Fisher, 2721 Granville Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-733-5225.
MURDER TIMES THREE
Readings and discussion by three local mystery writers: Cathy Ace, Elizabeth Elwood, and Debra Purdy Kong. Thursday, May 9 at 7:00pm, free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
WRITTEN IN THE FOREST
Poetry reading by Han Shan Poets opening Susan Falk's Art Exhibition. Sat. May 11, 12-3 pm. Poetry Readings between 1 and 2 pm, at The Fort Gallery, 9048 Glover Road, Fort Langley. Wine and cheese; silent auction of 12 new paintings by Susan Falk based on 12 poems by the Han Shan Poets. Contact: 604-888-7411.
SHARON JENNINGS
Meet the author of more than 60 books for young people. Tuesday, May 14. Newton Library at 10:00am; Strawberry Hill Library at 1:00pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
JEREMY TANKARD
Meet the award-winning author and illustrator of Grumpy Bird, Me Hungry!, and Boo Hoo Bird. Tuesday, May 14. Cloverdale Library at 10:30am; Port Kells Library at 1:15pm. Complete details at surreylibraries.ca.
LEAF PRESS SPRING POETRY LAUNCH
Celebrate Leaf Press' spring poetry collections: Surge Narrows by Emilia Nielsen, milk tooth bane bone by Daniela Elza and Dark Matter by Leanne McIntosh, May 14th, 7pm, at Rowan's Roof Top Restaurant, 2340 W 4th Ave, Vancouver. Readings. Books for sale. Free event with appetisers and mingling. For more information: www.leafpress.ca.
EVE ENSLER
Author of The Vagina Monologues speaks at Capilano University as part of the Pacific Arbour Speaker Series. Her talk will focus on her new release In the Body of the World. Tuesday, May 14 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $20 and includes a copy of In the Body of the World. For more info: www.capilanou.ca/nscucentre.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Calvin Wharton and Wanda John-Kehewin will be featured. Wednesday, May 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Join the best selling author as she reads from the sequel to her smash hit The Midwife of Venice. Wednesday, May 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.
NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings with award-winning novelist Annabel Lyon and North Vancouver author Lynn Crymble. Wednesday, May 22 at 6:30pm, free. G. Paul Singh room, 3rd floor, North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver. More information at cnv.org.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Aislinn Hunter and Daniela Elza. Thursday, May 23 at 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. All are welcome. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE WALKING READ
CWILL BC presents a costume gala to benefit the BC Children's Hospital Foundation. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $60. Richmond Open Road Lexus dealership, 5631 Parkwood Way, Richmond. More information at thewalkingread.com.
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