Book News Vol. 8 No. 27

BOOK NEWS

2013 Vancouver Writers Fest
Details of the 2013 Vancouver Writers Fest programming will be available at www.writersfest.bc.ca on August 16. In the meantime the Festival reading list can be found online now at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/membership.

The 2013 Vancouver Writers Fest program guides have arrived in our office (they look beautiful, thanks to our design team at Hangar 18) and will be available later this month at libraries, bookstore and cafés around town (or in your mailbox if you are a member). Tickets sales for VWF members start September 3, general public sales start September 9.

Check out Flickr for Festival photographer Chris Cameron's photos from our recent sold out event with Neil Gaiman.

VWF Poetry and Short Fiction Contest
Submit your finest prose and poetry to the 15th annual Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry & Short Story Contest. The top entries in poetry and fiction will be published in subTerrain magazine and receive cash prizes. Details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest

FESTIVALS
The Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts Thursday night event with Alistair MacLeod is sold out but the Festival continues this Friday to Sunday in Sechelt. Canada's longest running summer gathering of Canadian writers and readers features established literary stars and exciting new voices including Jackson Davies, C.C. Humphreys, Lee Maracle, Donna Morrisey, Linda Spalding and Susan Swan, with a finale event featuring singer/songwriter David Essig. www.writersfestival.ca.

SPECIAL EVENTS

J.B. MacKinnon
The independent journalist and award-winning author of The 100-Mile Diet talks about his new book, The Once and Future World, providing an eye-opening account of nature as it was, as it is and as it could be. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/jbmackinnon.

Thursday, October 3 at 7:30pm
Frederic Wood Theatre
6354 Crescent Road, UBC

David Sedaris
The renowned NPR humorist comes to Vancouver's Chan Centre for an evening of cutting wit, social satire, riveting conversation and post-event book signing with his recent New York Times' bestseller release Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls. Event details: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/davidsedaris.

SPECIAL WRITERS FEST OFFER! Use the code "VWF" to get $5 off your ticket.

Tuesday, November 12 at 7:30pm
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts
6265 Crescent Road, UBC

AWARDS & LISTS

British playwright Tom Stoppard has won the 2013 PEN/Pinter prize, established in memory of the late Nobel Laureate and fellow dramatist Harold Pinter, celebrating a lifetime of literary achievement and his campaigning work in the field of human rights.
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/jul/31/tom-stoppard-winner-pen-pinter

Renowned author Lawrence Hill (The Book of Negroes) is this year's Massey Lecturer. Beginning October 15 in Montreal, Hill will present individual lectures in five cities across Canada around the theme of Blood: The Stuff of Life. The lectures will air on Ideas from November 11–15 at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT).
http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/index.html

The Kentucky-based author, essayist and poet Wendell Berry was named winner Monday of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's lifetime achievement award for his steadfast promotion of the need for people to live at peace with their environment.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/daytona-literary-peace-prize-_n_3742826.html

PEN announces winners of its 2013 awards.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-pen-announces-winners-of-its-2013-awards-20130814,0,5632674.story

YOUNG READERS

Life lessons come in various guises and sizes in The Meanest Birthday Girl, writes Bernie Goedhart. Ages 6 to 9.
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/Kids+Meanest+Birthday+Girl/8653160/story.html

Meg Tilly's A Taste of Heaven features Madison, a Grade 5 student who lives in Oregon, where life is ordinary and uncomplicated. Until Alyssa Hawkins, a reticent, skinny blonde girl, moves to town from Malibu. Ages 8 to 12.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books_young/review.cfm?review_id=7954

NEWS & FEATURES

In addition to the Jane Austen ten-pound note, there is now a Jane Austen board game.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/09/books/on-austen-new-books-banknotes-and-board-games.html

A few weeks before he publishes Solo, his top-secret James Bond novel, William Boyd is under fire. Letters in the New York Times's books section last week criticized him for giving away too much in a review of Henning Mankell's A Treacherous Paradise. "I feel no need to [read it], since Boyd has revealed the entire plot," fumed a reader.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2013/aug/09/william-boyd-spoiled-henning-mankell

Phillip Lopate writes about how authors deal with recognition. John Steinbeck accepted his Nobel Prize in 1962, with a self-effacing note. Jean-Paul Sartre declined to accept his Nobel Prize in 1964, saying he didn't want to be "transformed into an institution." Austrian novelist Thomas Bernhard's My Prizes recounts the honors bestowed upon him, finding the prizes problematic, the rituals surrounding them even worse.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/books/review/thanks-but-no-thanks.html

By analyzing the handwriting of the "Additional Passages" in Thomas Kyd's play The Spanish Tragedy, a University of Texas professor claims to have proof William Shakespeare authored some 325 lines.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/arts/further-proof-of-shakespeares-hand-in-the-spanish-tragedy.html

Punk singer Patti Smith will pay tribute to poems of Robert Louis Stevenson on stage by reading some of her favourite verses—The Land of Nod, My Bed is a Boat, and Whole Duty of Children.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/13/patti-smith-robert-louis-stevenson-poetry

Adelle Waldman's The Love Affairs of Nathanial P. and Gabriel Roth's The Unknowns, two debut novels about dating, are winning rave reviews. But what makes them literary and similar books "chick lit"?
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/07/jennifer_weiner_was_right_whats_the_difference_between_chick_lit_and_literary_fiction/

The 3rd Annual Geist Erasure Poetry Contest is now underway! Information re: entries can be found here:
http://www.geist.com/contests/erasure/erasure/

There's only one month left to enter the Aesthetica Creative Writing Competition, which offers both existing and aspiring writers the chance to showcase their work to a wider, international audience. For more information, visit www.aestheticamagazine.com/creativewriting.

BOOKS & WRITERS

Brain Power, a short story by Stieg Larsson, the creator of the best-selling Millennium crime fiction trilogy, will be published in English for the first time next year, promising to transport its readers into a fictional future.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/07/stieg-larsson-short-story-published-2014

Sequels are everywhere. Stephen King, Roddy Doyle, Neil Gaiman and Chuck Palahniuk are all in some way revisiting the works that helped them break out. Stephen King's Doctor Sleep, on Sept. 24, tells the story of Danny Torrance, last seen as a child in The Shining. The Guts by Irish writer Roddy Doyle comes out next week.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/roddy-doyle-meditates-on-middle-age-in-sequel-to-the-commitments/article13692156/

Linwood Barclay's latest novel A Tap on The Window prompts the question: Suppose the hitchhiker you picked up wasn't the same hitchhiker you dropped off? In her interview with Barclay, Tracy Sherlock asks about the impact of his work as a Toronto Star columnist on his fiction.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Novel+taps+into+people+ordinary+fears/8773286/story.html

Neil Gaiman is on the bestseller list with his latest novel, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. In September, he returns to comics with his most famous character in the series The Sandman: Overture. The Guts.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/08/02/sequels_in_store_for_best_selling_authors_of_the_commitments_the_shining_and_more.html

When Wayne Grady discovered his great-grandfather was black, he researched and wrote his first novel Emancipation Day to explore his discovery.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2013/08/09/emancipation_day_by_wayne_grady_review.html

Karen Joy Fowler's novel, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, explores the relationships in a family that for many years includes a chimp.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Rosemary+baby+sister/8773285/story.html

The ghost of J.D. Salinger hovers over David Gilbert's new novel, & Sons. Set amid the wealth and privilege of Manhattan's toniest neighbourhood, the novel centres on A.N. Dyer, a reclusive author best known for his coming-of-age story set in a boys' prep school.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Inventive+family+saga+explores+joys+sorrows+writer+father+life/8773288/story.html

Championship round in the Canada's most iconic book covers has begun! Choose between L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and Robert Munsch's Love You Forever. Voting ends Sunday, August 18 at 11:59pm EDT.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2013/08/the-search-for-canadas-most-iconic-book-cover-championship-round.html

The Circle, a previously unannounced Dave Eggers novel, will be published in October.
http://www.latimes.com/features/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-surprise-dave-eggers-novel-coming-in-oct-20130814,0,196768.story

COMMUNITY EVENTS

REDACTED READINGS
Join Sex Talk in the City exhibition research contributor Amber Dawn, Vancouver poet Liz Bachinsky, writer/performer Billeh Nickerson as they share readings from published works that explore sexuality, sex, and eroticism. Thursday, August 15 at 6:00pm. Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut. Tickets and information at http://redactedreadings.eventbrite.com/.

2 CITIES/5 POETS
Seattle poets Don Mee Choi and Melanie Noel mix it up with local talent: Rachel Rose, Renee Saklikar and Raoul Fernandes. Saturday, August 17 at 8:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.

VAN SLAM
Poetry open mic with featured poet Scott Thompson. Monday, August 19 at 7:45pm. Cost: $6-$10 sliding scale. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.

JULIE EMERSON
Vancouver Island painter and author will be reading from her latest novel A Hundred Days: a Botanical Novel. Wednesday, August 21 at 12:00 noon. Chilcotin room (rm 256), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.

PERSONAL TALES
How a country boy became a poet featuring George Bowering in conversation with Wayde Compton. Wednesday, August 21 at 7:00pm, free but reservations required. SFU Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca/continuing-studies.

JANI KRULC, GILLIAN SAVIGNY, AND RAY HSU
An evening of hot literature and cool company in Vancouver. Hosted by Dina del Bucchia. Thursday, August 22 at 7:30pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street.

PANDORA'S LITERARY AWARDS
Sean Cranbury hosts an awards gala with a musical performance by M'Girl and harpist Amanda Hartley, as well as award presenters Wayde Compton, Evelyn Lau, Steven R. Duncan, Dennis E. Bolen, and Jillian Christmas. This event kicks off the 10th annual Summer Dreams Literary Arts Festival. Friday, August 23 at 7:30pm, free. CBC Studio 700, 700 Hamilton Street, Vancouver.

KELLEY ARMSTRONG
Author launches a new adult series set in Cainsville with the first book in the series, Omens. Followed by a talk, Q&A and book signing. Monday, August 26 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby. Complete information at 604-431-0463.

VANCOUVER POETRY SLAM
Youth poetry slam featuring Cathy Petch from Toronto. Monday, August 26 at 8:00pm. Cost: $4/$6. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverpoetryhouse.com.

Upcoming

TO TIMBUKTU FOR A HAIRCUT
President and CEO of Tourism Vancouver Rick Antonson will regale you with tales of his epic journey by train, boat, four-wheel drive, camel and on foot. Monday, September 16 at 7:00pm. West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.

SMALLPOX AND THE TSILHQOT'IN WAR
Author Tom Swanky shows who, where, when, why and how smallpox featured in the Tsilhqot'in War, a pivotal event in B.C.'s history. Wednesday, September 18 at 7:00pm. West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.

THE MAYAN MYSTERIES
Sharon MacGougan will talk about her novel, The Mayan Mysteries. The real-life ancient mystery of the disappearance of the Mayan people converges with the inner transformation of a fifteen-year-old girl in this adventure story. Wednesday, September 25 at 7:30pm. West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.

VANCOUVER BOOK FAIR
The Vancouver Book Fair is the only antiquarian, collectible and rare book fair in Western Canada. A wide selection of exciting & unusual books, ephemera, maps, photographs & much more will be on offer at the fair. September 28-29, 2013. UBC Robson Square, 800 Robson Street, Vancouver. Complete information at www.vancouverbookfair.com.

NICHOLAS SPARKS
The bestselling author of blockbuster books and films such as Safe Haven, The Lucky One and The Notebook signs his new novel, The Longest Ride. Wednesday, October 2 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby. More information at 604-431-0463.

SIDNEY LITERARY FESTIVAL
Sidney will host 14 award-winning local authors whose genres cover mystery, war, children’s literature, poetry, short story whimsy and local life. October 4-6, 2013. Sidney, BC. Complete information at www.sidneyliteraryfestival.com.

SO WHERE DO YOU GO AT NIGHT?
Author, sailor and adventurer Patrick Hill will share adventure stories from his 14 month family sailing trip through the exotic islands of the South Seas, Hawaii and Glacier Bay. Wednesday, October 30 at 7:30pm. West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.

DAVID ZIEROTH
The Governor General Award-winning poet and author will read from The November Optimist and talk about working with Gaspereau Press and about his own initiative, The Alfred Gustav Press. Wednesday, November 20 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. More information at www.vpl.ca.

F.G. BRESSANI LITERARY PRIZE
IL CENTRO Italian Cultural Centre is thrilled to announce the publication of the Rules & Regulations for the 2014 Edition of the F.G. Bressani Literary Prize. The literary prize honours and promotes the work of Canadian writers of Italian origin or Italian descent. Deadline: April 2, 2014. Complete details can be found here: http://italianculturalcentre.ca/blog/bressani-literary-prize/.