Book News Vol. 8 No. 18

BOOK NEWS

SPECIAL EVENT

Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls' childhood memoir, The Glass Castle, became a No. 1 New York Times best-seller in 2005. Now, she's written her first novel, The Silver Star, about sisters who look after themselves after their mother leaves. Join us on June 26 for a special event with Jeannette Walls in conversation with Vancouver Sun journalist Denise Ryan.

You can view a CBS interview with Jeannette Walls here:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505270_162-57588703/glass-castle-author-jeannette-walls-on-her-childhood-pretty-wicked/

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

Cormorant has won the Libris Award for Small Publisher of the Year, which it has won twice before.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/06/04/cormorant_wins_libris_award_for_small_press_publisher_of_the_year.html

Pyro, Monique Polak's latest novel for young adults, recently made the 2013 Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books List.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/Review+Lauren+Davis+gives+despairing+look+addiction/8463738/story.html#ixzz2VTQjvxJA

Geist contributors Steven Heighton and Emily Schultz, have been nominated for the 2013 Trillium Book Award. Heighton's The Dead Are More Visible and Schultz's The Blondes are both finalists.
http://www.geist.com/blogs/news/trillium-award-nominations/

Kevin Barry is the winner of the 2013 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his novel City of Bohane.
http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/

Twelve books by Canadian authors were nominated for the 2013 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/news/12-canadian-books-nominated-for-the-2013-award/

YOUNG READERS

Caldecott Medalist Allen Say's The Favorite Daughter offers both biography and autobiography. Say's young daughter explains how kids at school make fun of her Japanese name and blond hair. Say patiently builds Yuriko up with a quick heritage tour of San Francisco. His restrained and realistic watercolors capture lovely cityscapes as well as an inner journey from confusion to pride. For ages 4 to 8.
http://www.sfgate.com/books/article/Roundup-of-children-s-books-4547287.php#ixzz2V7Mq44u1

Jennifer Berne‘s On a Beam of Light: A Story of Albert Einstein; illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky. Albert Einstein was no ordinary man. He loved ice cream, didn't wear socks, and was fascinated by sugar dissolving in tea-leading to amazing discoveries about the universe. Wondrous compositions in naive art style capture the ferment of Einstein's mind and the mysteries that drove him. For ages 6 to 9.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/on-a-beam-of-light-a-story-of-albert-einstein-by-jennifer-berne-and-vladimir-radunsky/2013/06/04/6f8401be-c796-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html

It's 1944, Florence is under Nazi occupation and thirteen-year-old Paolo longs to join his father, presumably in hiding with the Resistance. In Shirley Hughes's Hero on a Bicycle and in the dark of night, war forces impossible life-and-death choices in this page-turner that powerfully juxtaposes daring and danger, loyalty and betrayal, evil and human goodness. For ages 10 to 14.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/may/04/hero-on-bicycle-hughes-review

NEWS & FEATURES

Jeanette Winterson interviews AM Homes, whose satirical novel May We Be Forgiven beat stiff competition to take home the women's prize for fiction. The US author talks about her attempt at the Great American Novel, the significance of an award for women writers and the meaning of 'forgiveness'. Video of the interview is here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/video/2013/jun/07/am-homes-jeanette-winterson-video-interview

Khaled Hosseini says, about writers: "Alice Munro is the classic underappreciated writer among readers. It is almost a cliché now to wonder why this living legend is not more widely read." He also says that he keeps a handy copy of "I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski: Life, 'The Big Lebowski,' and What Have You" on his bookshelf.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/books/review/khaled-hosseini-by-the-book.html?nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130607&_r=1&

Many different outlets are trying to project the size of the U.S. ebook market and how fast it's growing. In its annual "Entertainment & Media Outlook", PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that trade ebooks (consumer, not educational or academic) will drive $8.2 billion in sales by 2017, surpassing projected print book sales, which it thinks will shrink by more than half during that period.
http://paidcontent.org/2013/06/04/pwc-the-u-s-consumer-ebook-market-will-be-bigger-than-the-print-book-market-by-2017/

Australian writers are making a name for themselves worldwide as purveyors of exciting new science fiction and fantasy. Two major Australian author acquisitions were announced by Macmillan's UK speculative fiction imprint Tor. Sydney-born Ben Peek's Children trilogy was signed in a six-figure world-rights deal, and Tor bought two novels by Rjurik Davidson, from Melbourne, in a pre-emptive deal.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/06/science-fiction-australian-writers

In an impassioned speech, John Green, author of Looking for Alaska, explains why he'll never self-publish, he says. He'd be nowhere without the 'tireless collaboration' of publishers. Green is a social-media sensation with over a million followers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/06/john-green-never-self-publish

Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman talks to Susanna Rustin about comics, cliffhangers and why she's banging the drum for diversity in literature. "I'm looking forward to redressing the balance for teenagers", says Blackman. http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/05/malorie-blackman-childrens-laureate-interview

The long-awaited screen adaptation of Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes begins filming this fall.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/06/11/miniseries-book-of-negroes-filming.html

Scottish author Iain Banks has died at age 59.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2013/06/10/obit-banks-iain-author.html

NSA surveillance puts George Orwell's '1984' on bestseller lists.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-nsa-surveillance-puts-george-orwells-1984-on-bestseller-lists-20130611,0,5672562.story

BOOKS & WRITERS

The Globe & Mail writes that Lisa Moore's Caught is a "leaner, more linear creature than the earlier novels."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/summer-entertainment/caught-by-lisa-moore-house-of-anansi-320-pages-2995/article12417210/

One of Malorie Blackman's strengths as a writer for young adults is her directness and conviction, writes Linda Buckley-Archer. Conspiracy lies at the heart of Noble Conflict, a hard-hitting dystopian novel.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/05/noble-conflict-malorie-blackman-review

From the moment we meet Colleen Kerrigan, it's apparent she is sinking into a vortex of self-destruction, writes Jennifer Hunter. In Lauren B. Davis's The Empty Room, we shadow Colleen's descent into alcoholism, a bit like accompanying Dante into the Inferno, says Hunter. Davis appears to appreciate what Colleen is going through because she may have been there herself, writes Hunter.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/05/31/the_empty_room_by_lauren_b_davis_review.html

Bough Down, artist Karen Green's collection of poems and collages of her grief after the suicide of her husband David Foster Wallace, is being hailed as a classic.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/05/david-foster-wallace-widow-bough-down

Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves occurs at a time when Skinnerian dogmatists were fighting with proponents of a more nuanced, evolutionary grasp of animal behavior. The daughter of a university psychology professor, Rosemary has lived an observed life, with an adopted chimpanzee for a twin sister. There's something not-quite-human about Rosemary, and she knows it, writes Barbara Kingsolver.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/09/books/review/karen-joy-fowlers-we-are-all-completely-beside-ourselves.html?nl=books&emc=edit_bk_20130607&_r=0&pagewanted=all

COMMUNITY EVENTS

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.

AUTHORS IN OUR MIDST
Readings by mystery writers E.R. Brown and Robin Spano from their new novels. Friday, June 14 at 7:00pm, free. Kwok-Chu Lee Living Room, Brighouse Branch, Richmond Public Library, 100-7700 Minoru Gate. More information at yourlibrary.ca.

TOM CHO AND ALEX LESLIE
Readings by the author of People Who Disappear (Leslie) and Look Who's Morphing (Cho). Thursday, June 13 at 7:30pm, free. Project Space, 222 E. Georgia Street, Vancouver.

SUNSHINE SKETCHES OF A LITTLE TOWN
Reading from Stephen Leacock's 1912 classic book. Sunday, June 16 at 2:00pm. Suggested donation: $10. Burnaby Village Museum, 6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby.

LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Meredith Quartermain and Miranda Pearson featured at June 19 Lunch Poems at SFU. Presented by SFU Public Square, 12-1pm in SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). Free admission, no registration required. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

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.

THE STANZA PROJECT
Book launch and reading. Wednesday, June 19 at 8:00pm, free. Brickhouse Bar, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.thursdayswritingcollective.ca.

CRAZY RICH ASIANS
Book launch of Kevin Kwan's latest book. Thursday, June 20 at 7:00pm, free. Project Space, 222 East Georgia Street, Vancouver. RSVP to rsvpcanada@randomhouse.com.

WAYDE COMPTON AND RACHEL LEBOWITZ
Readings from the authors of Cottonopolis (Lebowitz) and The Post-Spatial Option (Compton). Thursday, June 20 at 7:30pm. Rhizome Cafe, 317 East Broadway.

AUTHORS IN OUR MIDST
Author P.W. Bridgman will read from his new collection of short stories, Standing at an Angle to My Age, and discuss the creative process. Friday, June 21 at 7:00pm, free. Kwok-Chu Lee Living Room, Brighouse Branch, Richmond Public Library, 100-7700 Minoru Gate. More information at yourlibrary.ca.

SEA SALT
Join the Malone family team of authors, Lorna Malone, Hilary Malone, and Alison Malone-Eathorne, as they sign copies of their new nautically-themed cookbook Sea Salt: Recipes from the West Coast Galley at Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks (1740 West 2nd Avenue, Vancouver) on Saturday, June 22 from 2pm to 4pm. For more information or to reserve your copy, call Barbara-Jo's Books to Cooks at (604) 688-6755 or go to www.seasaltcookbook.com.

CHEVY STEVENS
Susan Juby in conversation with bestselling author Chevy Stevens to celebrate the release of Stevens' newest thriller, Always Watching. Wednesday, June 22 at 2:00pm. Chapters Nanaimo, 6670 Mary Ellen Drive, Nanaimo. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.

ANVIL GROUP LAUNCH PARTY
Celebrating the launch of selected spring titles from Anvil Press! Featuring spring authors Jane Silcott, Marita Dachsel, Mari-Lou Rowley, and Teresa McWhirter. Saturday, June 22 at 6:30pm, free. The Railway Club (back room), Vancouver. Information at info@anvilpress.com.

JAY RUZESKY
Join Jay Ruzesky as he gives a slideshow presentation, talk and book signing for his new memoir about following Amundsen's footsteps to Antarctica. In Antarctica: An Amundsen Pilgrimage, at the Vancouver Maritime Museum (1905 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver) on Sunday, June 23 at 2pm. Doors open at 1:30pm. Admission to the presentation is free. For more information, contact the Vancouver Maritime Museum at 604-257-8300 or go to www.nightwoodeditions.com.

Upcoming

GEORGE WOODCOCK LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Presenting 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 27th, 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.

MOHAMMED JAWARA
Local author reads from his new book The Tears of the Innocent and the Bloodshed, an account of his family's flight across three war torn countries. Tuesday, July 2 at 6:30pm, free. Tommy Douglas Library, 7311 Kingsway, Burnaby. To register or for more information, call 604-522-3971.