BOOK NEWS
Miriam Toews Podcast
Miriam Toews's appearance at the 2014 Festival was a highlight and received rave reviews. Listen to a recording of her sold out solo event here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/intimate-evening-miriam-toews.
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
Festivals Around Town
PuSh Festival January 20-February 8
PuSh presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts, featuring artists from around the world. Local theatre innovators Alex Lazaridis Ferguson and Steven Hill have formed a new company, Fight with a Stick, which makes its debut at PuSh with Steppenwolf. Inspired by Herman Hesse's 1927 novel of self-reflection and transformation, Steppenwolf has been specially staged for the Russian Hall. The audience is seated before a bank of mirrors: somewhere within the reflection, a story begins.
Steppenwolf
February 4–8
Russian Hall
Tickets/info: http://pushfestival.ca/shows/steppenwolf/
AWARDS & LISTS
The nominations for this year's Folio Prize are in. The prize is given to an English-language book of fiction published in the UK, though the authors can be from any country. Among the 80 chosen are David Mitchell's The Bone Clocks and The Zone of Interest by Martin Amis.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/15/folio-prize-2015-80-titles
YOUNG READERS
Are your teenagers looking for something to read in the New Year? Here are the 13 most anticipated YA novels of 2015.
http://www.bustle.com/articles/52695-13-of-the-most-anticipated-ya-novels-of-2015-aka-what-you-need-to-be-reading
NEWS & FEATURES
Should writers respond to their critics? According to James Parker, "No, no, a thousand times no."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/books/review/should-writers-respond-to-their-critics.html?_r=0
The book business has a "diversity problem." How do we address this? Here are six ways to improve diversity in book publishing.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/65043-got-diversity-six-hacks-that-address-book-industry-diversity-21st-century-style.html
"Culture" is Mirriam-Webster's word of the year. "Merriam-Webster based its pick and nine runners-up on significant increases in lookups this year over last on Merriam-Webster.com, along with notable, often culture-driven—if you will—spikes of concentrated interest."
http://news.yahoo.com/merriam-webster-names-culture-word-082532788.html
"One cannot have too large a party." That's just one of many quotes "to live life by" assembled by The Guardian for Jane Austen Day.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/dec/16/jane-austen-in-quotes-30-tips-for-a-successful-life
"You'd think teenagers would shun traditional print books for e-readers. But the latest survey says that's not true." As it turns out, teens prefer the printed page to ebooks.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/dec/16/teens-ebooks-ereaders-survey
CBC is set to adapt Ian Hamilton's Ava Lee series. Hamilton, who appeared at this year's Writers Fest, based the series on his experience as a businessman in Asia.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/12/cbc-to-adapt-ian-hamiltons-ava-lee-mystery-series.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Are you looking for last minute gift ideas? Here's the CBC's roundup of "our favourite Canadian books of the year."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/bestbooks2014/index.html
There are also many great books this year that haven't been as publicized in the press. Here are "27 great books you never heard about—but should've."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/12/underrated_books_overlooked_fiction_nonfiction_and_comics_of_2014.html
Over a long career, Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare has "canvassed the historical and linguistic territory" of his language through essays, poetry and more than forty novels. His 1978 novel, Twilight of the Eastern Gods, has finally been translated into English, an autobiographical bildungroman set in "the procrustean warp of a Soviet communism that is international, polyglot, industrialized, but artistically inert."
http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/albania-prophet-surveillance-state
"I think most metaphors divert you from what it is you ought to be looking at," states Richard Ford in this interview with the LA Review of Books. He discusses his newest book, Let Me Be Frank With You, along with his own life, hurricanes, the old South and more, here:
http://lareviewofbooks.org/interview/decommissioned-words-interview-richard-ford
Is "confessional" writing self-indulgent? Afaa Michael Weaver doesn't think so. "He has been exploring the intersection of the personal and the public for 30 years in poetry, and in his most recent work, shows the possibilities for spiritual growth and healing in the very subjects that are often considered 'shameful.'" His newest book is called City of Eternal Spring.
http://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/convergence-personal-political-spiritual-poetry-afaa-michael-weavers-plum-flower-trilogy
Fifty writers, artists and thinkers have come together to create a new anthology in support of First Nations women. Called Kwe: Standing With Our Sisters, it is edited by Joseph Boyden.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/12/joseph-boyden-edits-new-anthology-highlighting-plight-of-first-nations-women.html
"Are you there, readers?" Judy Blume has written a new book for grown-ups. Called In the Unlikely Event, it's her first book for adults in 15 years.
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-new-judy-blume-novel-for-adults-coming-in-june-20141215-story.html
Ashley Little's new book, Anatomy of a Girl Gang, was inspired by discoveries she made about "the fascinating world of all-girl gangs—the rarest alliance in all of gang culture." Set in Vancouver, it's a multiple-perspective story of five teenage girls "who seek solace in each other while terrorizing the city." Little is interviewed, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2014/12/ashley-little-how-i-wrote-anatomy-of-a-girl-gang.html
Andrew Steeves, the editor and print master at Nova Scotia's Gaspereau Press has written a book. Smoke Proofs: Essays on Liteary Publishing, Printing and Typography "offers an introductory lesson on the history of print publishing that doubles as a CanLit call to arms, urging both publishers and readers to expect the best from each other."
http://www.quillandquire.com/digital-publishing-and-technology/2014/12/16/gaspereau-presss-andrew-steeves-on-publishing-and-typography/
In her new book, How Not to Write, Lisa Carver gives writers an important piece of advice: get rejected! Check out an excerpt, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/12/the-sunday-rumpus-essay-get-rejected/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DYLAN THOMAS: RETURN JOURNEY
starring Bob Kingdom and directed by Anthony Hopkins. The Cultch presents the farewell tour of this legendary hit production, specially conceived as one of the flagship performances for the centenary celebrations of Dylan Thomas. Playing now until December 21. Information at http://thecultch.com/events/dylan-thomas-return-journey/. Tickets from $19.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday event-all open mic with host, Candice James, Poet Laureate of New Westminster. Sunday, December 21 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Another qualifying slam to make the youth slam playoffs in March or 2015. Monday, December 22 at 8:00pm. Cost: $4/$6-$10. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday all open mic session with host, Sho Wiley. Sunday, December 28 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Phinder Dulai and Nilofar Shidmehr with open mic. Wednesday, January 14 at 7:00pm at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
KRISTI CHARISH
local debut author Kristi Charish launches her new book Owl and the Japanese Circus. Monday, January 19 at 7:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
A CELEBRATION OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Featuring award winning B.C. authors and illustrators with guest speaker Kit Pearson winner of the 2014 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. A wine and cheese event on January 21 from 7-9pm at Creekside Community Centre. Free to Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable members and students. More information at www.vclr.ca.
SOME SORT OF LIFE
Naomi Waken, Nanaimo's first Poet Laureate, shares her latest novel, Some Sort of Life. Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall, West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 40
BOOK NEWS
Thomas King Podcast
Thomas King's appearance at the 2014 Festival was a highlight and received rave reviews. Listen to a recording of his sold out solo event here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/thomas-king.
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
Festivals Around Town
PuSh Festival January 20-February 8
PuSh presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts, featuring artists from around the world. Local theatre innovators Alex Lazaridis Ferguson and Steven Hill have formed a new company, Fight with a Stick, which makes its debut at PuSh with Steppenwolf. Inspired by Herman Hesse's 1927 novel of self-reflection and transformation, Steppenwolf has been specially staged for the Russian Hall. The audience is seated before a bank of mirrors: somewhere within the reflection, a story begins.
Steppenwolf
February 4–8
Russian Hall
Tickets/info: http://pushfestival.ca/shows/steppenwolf/
AWARDS & LISTS
Richard Flanagan, winner of this year's Booker Prize, has also been awarded Australia's Prime Minister's Literary Award for The Narrow Road to the Deep North. What's even more interesting, however, is what he's doing with his $40,000 prize money: donating it to an Indigenous literacy charity.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/richard-flanagan-donating-40000-prize-indigenous-literacy
The longlist for the $25,000 RBC Taylor Prize, recognizing excellence in Canadian literary non-fiction, has been announced.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/12/10/2015-rbc-taylor-prize-longlist-revealed/
YOUNG READERS
What were the best books of 2014 for children? Jillian and Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer makes the top of Quill and Quire's list. Mariko appeared at this year's Vancouver Writers Fest.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books-year/2014/12/02/kidlit-books-of-the-year-2014/
NEWS & FEATURES
This week, Patrick Modiano accepted the Nobel Prize in literature. You can read a summary of his speech, and click on a link to the full text, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/patrick-modiano-nobel-prize-literature-future-acceptance-speech
A long-lost Dylan Thomas notebook is heading home to Wales. Swansea University bought the book, containing "drafts of some of Thomas's most challenging poems," in a recent auction.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/dylan-thomas-notebook-auction-swansea-university-wales
Many of this year's most exciting novels have been "distinctly un-novelistic, featuring protagonists who share many biographical details (and sometime names) with the authors, and substituting the messiness of experience for conventional plots. Such ‘novels from life'…reflect the authors' exasperation with fictional artifice." What does this mean for the future of fiction?
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/novels-detractors
The New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books list is an end-of-year favourite for readers and book professionals alike. Laura Miller recently went through two decades' worth of the list and discovered "how the most anxiety-inducing of year-end books lists has reflected the changing publishing landscape."
http://www.salon.com/2014/12/05/from_hefty_histories_to_chick_lit_what_i_learned_from_reading_two_decades_worth_of_nyt_notable_books_lists/
George Orwell may have died 65 years ago, but interest in the man "is accelerating and expanding practically daily". "His phrases are on our lips, his ideas are in our heads, his warnings have come true. How did this happen?"
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/robert-butler/orwells-world?page=full
Writers in the UK are rejoicing! A high court judge has ruled against the embargo that prevents books from being sent to prisoners. The ruling as been hailed as "the halting of an iniquitous and draconian ban" and a "rare victory for common sense."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/05/writers-ruling-prison-books-ban-jk-rowling-ian-mcewan-philip-pullman
An unpublished work by Raymond Chandler has been discovered in the Library of Congress. The Princess and the Pedlar, a comic opera, was found almost 100 years after it was initially registered!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/02/raymond-chandler-libretto-library-congress
What does it mean to "find your voice" as a writer? Sometimes being original isn't as great as it sounds. "For most folks, if you're going to be successful, it's best to find that your own voice is similar to the voice of someone on the prescribed list of folks who found a good voice before you."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/finding-your-voice-as-a-writer-overrated/382946/
Should bookstore and libraries be integrated? "Integrating bookstores into libraries would help both survive, particularly in underserved communities."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/12/deborah-emin-integrating-libraries-bookstores-theory/
#Readwomen2014 was the year's most talked-about literary hashtag, introducing many readers to great writing by women. But where do we go from here?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/dec/08/readwomen2014-year-discoveries-writing-campaign
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Holiday Season is upon us, and so, best-of-2014 book lists proliferate! In this one, five designers pick their favourite covers of the year.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books-year/2014/12/04/five-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-the-year/
If you're asking Saint Nick for books this year, look no further than this list for great ideas! Here they are, the best stocking-filler books of 2014!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/04/best-stocking-filler-books-2014
And one more: The Globe and Mail's "75 book ideas for Christmas, for everyone on your list (and we mean everyone)." That includes explorers, aspiring chefs, kids, shutterbugs, art lovers, design junkies, green thumbs, fashionistas and more!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/holiday-guide/gift-guides-shopping/75-book-ideas-for-christmas-for-everyone-on-your-list-and-we-mean-everyone/article21973347/
John Ralston Saul's latest book, The Comeback, is "a must-read for all Canadians." It is an examination of Canada's relationship with its aboriginal peoples, and the justice that must be restored to them.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/the-comeback-despite-shortcomings-john-ralston-sauls-latest-is-a-must-read-for-all-canadians/article21971090/
Marcello Di Cintio's Song of the Caged Bird: Words as Resistance in Palestine is a book that examines the role of literature in Palestinian society. It chronicles a month in which the author served as a creative non-fiction instructor in a Palestinian village near Ramallah.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/marcello-di-cintios-new-journey/
Emily St. John Mandel wrote her fourth novel, Station Eleven, as "a love letter in the form of a requiem." She's interviewed here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-emily-st-john-mandels-wrote-her-new-book-i-think-of-it-as-a-love-letter-in-the-form-of-a-requiem/article21971241/
If you didn't get a chance to check out Bruce Cockburn at his special event for this year's Writers Fest, here's the Globe and Mail's review. "This is not your standard rock and roll memoir," Cockburn writes in the opening. His words are "the accumulations of an intricate and self-aware man."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/rumours-of-glory-bruce-cockburns-memoir-proves-hes-as-fierce-in-print-as-on-stage/article21971629/
Sarah Waters also attended this year's Writers Fest. Her novel, The Paying Guests, is "an exploration of illicit love, marriage and class in post-First World War London." In this interview, she takes us on a tour of the London Library in St. James Square (and her own life!)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/reinventing-well-worn-periods-of-history-with-paying-guests/article21971566/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DYLAN THOMAS: RETURN JOURNEY
starring Bob Kingdom and directed by Anthony Hopkins. The Cultch presents the farewell tour of this legendary hit production, specially conceived as one of the flagship performances for the centenary celebrations of Dylan Thomas. Playing now until December 21. Information at http://thecultch.com/events/dylan-thomas-return-journey/. Tickets from $19.
A ROCK FELL ON THE MOON
Join author and environmental commentator Ben Parfitt as he celebrates his wife and fellow author Alicia Priest's first book. Thursday, December 11 at 7:00pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street.
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
WORLD POETRY INTERCULTURAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
Hosts Ariadne Sawyer MA and Russell Dior Benederio. Features Rosario Arias, Jaz Gill, Marzeah Wahidi, Anita Aguirre Nieveras, Una Bruhns. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Britannia branch, VPL, 1661 Napier.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Sonja Grgar and Franci Louann. Host: Renee Saklikar. Sunday, December 14 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
SAY WHA?! NO LIMITS EDITION
A literary/comedy show where funny people read from the worst books they can find. Hosted by Sara Bynoe, featuring: Travis Dudfield, Jeff Gladstone, David C. Jones, and Tara Travis. Sunday, December 14 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Author Melia McClure reads from her novel The Delphi Room. Tuesday, December 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan are the featured poets. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday event-all open mic with host, Candice James, Poet Laureate of New Westminster. Sunday, December 21 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Another qualifying slam to make the youth slam playoffs in March or 2015. Monday, December 22 at 8:00pm. Cost: $4/$6-$10. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday all open mic session with host, Sho Wiley. Sunday, December 28 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
Upcoming
KRISTI CHARISH
local debut author Kristi Charish launches her new book Owl and the Japanese Circus. Monday, January 19 at 7:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
A CELEBRATION OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Featuring award winning B.C. authors and illustrators with guest speaker Kit Pearson winner of the 2014 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. A wine and cheese event on January 21 from 7-9pm at Creekside Community Centre. Free to Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable members and students. More information at www.vclr.ca.
SOME SORT OF LIFE
Naomi Waken, Nanaimo's first Poet Laureate, shares her latest novel, Some Sort of Life. Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall, West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Thomas King Podcast
Thomas King's appearance at the 2014 Festival was a highlight and received rave reviews. Listen to a recording of his sold out solo event here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/thomas-king.
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
Festivals Around Town
PuSh Festival January 20-February 8
PuSh presents groundbreaking work in the live performing arts, featuring artists from around the world. Local theatre innovators Alex Lazaridis Ferguson and Steven Hill have formed a new company, Fight with a Stick, which makes its debut at PuSh with Steppenwolf. Inspired by Herman Hesse's 1927 novel of self-reflection and transformation, Steppenwolf has been specially staged for the Russian Hall. The audience is seated before a bank of mirrors: somewhere within the reflection, a story begins.
Steppenwolf
February 4–8
Russian Hall
Tickets/info: http://pushfestival.ca/shows/steppenwolf/
AWARDS & LISTS
Richard Flanagan, winner of this year's Booker Prize, has also been awarded Australia's Prime Minister's Literary Award for The Narrow Road to the Deep North. What's even more interesting, however, is what he's doing with his $40,000 prize money: donating it to an Indigenous literacy charity.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/richard-flanagan-donating-40000-prize-indigenous-literacy
The longlist for the $25,000 RBC Taylor Prize, recognizing excellence in Canadian literary non-fiction, has been announced.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/12/10/2015-rbc-taylor-prize-longlist-revealed/
YOUNG READERS
What were the best books of 2014 for children? Jillian and Mariko Tamaki's This One Summer makes the top of Quill and Quire's list. Mariko appeared at this year's Vancouver Writers Fest.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books-year/2014/12/02/kidlit-books-of-the-year-2014/
NEWS & FEATURES
This week, Patrick Modiano accepted the Nobel Prize in literature. You can read a summary of his speech, and click on a link to the full text, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/patrick-modiano-nobel-prize-literature-future-acceptance-speech
A long-lost Dylan Thomas notebook is heading home to Wales. Swansea University bought the book, containing "drafts of some of Thomas's most challenging poems," in a recent auction.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/09/dylan-thomas-notebook-auction-swansea-university-wales
Many of this year's most exciting novels have been "distinctly un-novelistic, featuring protagonists who share many biographical details (and sometime names) with the authors, and substituting the messiness of experience for conventional plots. Such ‘novels from life'…reflect the authors' exasperation with fictional artifice." What does this mean for the future of fiction?
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/novels-detractors
The New York Times Book Review's 100 Notable Books list is an end-of-year favourite for readers and book professionals alike. Laura Miller recently went through two decades' worth of the list and discovered "how the most anxiety-inducing of year-end books lists has reflected the changing publishing landscape."
http://www.salon.com/2014/12/05/from_hefty_histories_to_chick_lit_what_i_learned_from_reading_two_decades_worth_of_nyt_notable_books_lists/
George Orwell may have died 65 years ago, but interest in the man "is accelerating and expanding practically daily". "His phrases are on our lips, his ideas are in our heads, his warnings have come true. How did this happen?"
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/robert-butler/orwells-world?page=full
Writers in the UK are rejoicing! A high court judge has ruled against the embargo that prevents books from being sent to prisoners. The ruling as been hailed as "the halting of an iniquitous and draconian ban" and a "rare victory for common sense."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/05/writers-ruling-prison-books-ban-jk-rowling-ian-mcewan-philip-pullman
An unpublished work by Raymond Chandler has been discovered in the Library of Congress. The Princess and the Pedlar, a comic opera, was found almost 100 years after it was initially registered!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/02/raymond-chandler-libretto-library-congress
What does it mean to "find your voice" as a writer? Sometimes being original isn't as great as it sounds. "For most folks, if you're going to be successful, it's best to find that your own voice is similar to the voice of someone on the prescribed list of folks who found a good voice before you."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/finding-your-voice-as-a-writer-overrated/382946/
Should bookstore and libraries be integrated? "Integrating bookstores into libraries would help both survive, particularly in underserved communities."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/12/deborah-emin-integrating-libraries-bookstores-theory/
#Readwomen2014 was the year's most talked-about literary hashtag, introducing many readers to great writing by women. But where do we go from here?
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/dec/08/readwomen2014-year-discoveries-writing-campaign
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Holiday Season is upon us, and so, best-of-2014 book lists proliferate! In this one, five designers pick their favourite covers of the year.
http://www.quillandquire.com/books-year/2014/12/04/five-designers-pick-their-favourite-covers-of-the-year/
If you're asking Saint Nick for books this year, look no further than this list for great ideas! Here they are, the best stocking-filler books of 2014!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/04/best-stocking-filler-books-2014
And one more: The Globe and Mail's "75 book ideas for Christmas, for everyone on your list (and we mean everyone)." That includes explorers, aspiring chefs, kids, shutterbugs, art lovers, design junkies, green thumbs, fashionistas and more!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/holiday-guide/gift-guides-shopping/75-book-ideas-for-christmas-for-everyone-on-your-list-and-we-mean-everyone/article21973347/
John Ralston Saul's latest book, The Comeback, is "a must-read for all Canadians." It is an examination of Canada's relationship with its aboriginal peoples, and the justice that must be restored to them.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/the-comeback-despite-shortcomings-john-ralston-sauls-latest-is-a-must-read-for-all-canadians/article21971090/
Marcello Di Cintio's Song of the Caged Bird: Words as Resistance in Palestine is a book that examines the role of literature in Palestinian society. It chronicles a month in which the author served as a creative non-fiction instructor in a Palestinian village near Ramallah.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/marcello-di-cintios-new-journey/
Emily St. John Mandel wrote her fourth novel, Station Eleven, as "a love letter in the form of a requiem." She's interviewed here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-emily-st-john-mandels-wrote-her-new-book-i-think-of-it-as-a-love-letter-in-the-form-of-a-requiem/article21971241/
If you didn't get a chance to check out Bruce Cockburn at his special event for this year's Writers Fest, here's the Globe and Mail's review. "This is not your standard rock and roll memoir," Cockburn writes in the opening. His words are "the accumulations of an intricate and self-aware man."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/rumours-of-glory-bruce-cockburns-memoir-proves-hes-as-fierce-in-print-as-on-stage/article21971629/
Sarah Waters also attended this year's Writers Fest. Her novel, The Paying Guests, is "an exploration of illicit love, marriage and class in post-First World War London." In this interview, she takes us on a tour of the London Library in St. James Square (and her own life!)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/reinventing-well-worn-periods-of-history-with-paying-guests/article21971566/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DYLAN THOMAS: RETURN JOURNEY
starring Bob Kingdom and directed by Anthony Hopkins. The Cultch presents the farewell tour of this legendary hit production, specially conceived as one of the flagship performances for the centenary celebrations of Dylan Thomas. Playing now until December 21. Information at http://thecultch.com/events/dylan-thomas-return-journey/. Tickets from $19.
A ROCK FELL ON THE MOON
Join author and environmental commentator Ben Parfitt as he celebrates his wife and fellow author Alicia Priest's first book. Thursday, December 11 at 7:00pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street.
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
WORLD POETRY INTERCULTURAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL
Hosts Ariadne Sawyer MA and Russell Dior Benederio. Features Rosario Arias, Jaz Gill, Marzeah Wahidi, Anita Aguirre Nieveras, Una Bruhns. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Britannia branch, VPL, 1661 Napier.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Sonja Grgar and Franci Louann. Host: Renee Saklikar. Sunday, December 14 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
SAY WHA?! NO LIMITS EDITION
A literary/comedy show where funny people read from the worst books they can find. Hosted by Sara Bynoe, featuring: Travis Dudfield, Jeff Gladstone, David C. Jones, and Tara Travis. Sunday, December 14 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK
Author Melia McClure reads from her novel The Delphi Room. Tuesday, December 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan are the featured poets. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday event-all open mic with host, Candice James, Poet Laureate of New Westminster. Sunday, December 21 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
YOUTH POETRY SLAM
Another qualifying slam to make the youth slam playoffs in March or 2015. Monday, December 22 at 8:00pm. Cost: $4/$6-$10. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial.
POETIC JUSTICE
Poetic Justice special holiday all open mic session with host, Sho Wiley. Sunday, December 28 at 3:00pm. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster.
Upcoming
KRISTI CHARISH
local debut author Kristi Charish launches her new book Owl and the Japanese Circus. Monday, January 19 at 7:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
A CELEBRATION OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Featuring award winning B.C. authors and illustrators with guest speaker Kit Pearson winner of the 2014 Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence. A wine and cheese event on January 21 from 7-9pm at Creekside Community Centre. Free to Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable members and students. More information at www.vclr.ca.
SOME SORT OF LIFE
Naomi Waken, Nanaimo's first Poet Laureate, shares her latest novel, Some Sort of Life. Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall, West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 39
BOOK NEWS
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
AWARDS & LISTS
The 2015 International Impac Dublin literary award's 142-book longlist has been announced. JK Rowling's alter ego made the cut, as did 49 novels in translation, nominated by libraries in 114 cities and 39 countries. But some think the prize is still not as international as it should be.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/27/impac-prize-global-literature-parochial-africa-south-america
YOUNG READERS
Which famous literary character "stands up for things" and is "not afraid of going to the top and giving them a hard stare?" You'll never guess who it is...Paddington Bear! Michael Bond, author of the Paddington stories is interviewed, here,
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/28/michael-bond-author-paddington-bear-interview-books-television-film
Sarah Ellis' Outside In is "a wonderful, unique story about love and beauty." She recently appeared at the Writers Fest to discuss her new book, but if you didn't get the chance to see her, here's The Globe and Mail's review.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/three-young-adult-fiction-reads-worth-checking-out/article21704035/
NEWS & FEATURES
Mark Strand, former US Poet Laureate, died this week. "Death was arguably Strand's great theme—few poets have written more acutely or more movingly about the chasm at the end of life."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/29/mark-strand-1934-2014/
While he may have been known for works that plumbed the depths of America, Mark Strand's background was actually very international. In fact, he was born in Canada.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/nyregion/mark-strand-80-dies-pulitzer-winning-poet-laureate.html
Speaking of all things international, China has banned wordplay in an "attempt at pun control." Chinese officials claim that "casual alteration of idioms risks nothing less than ‘cultural and linguistic chaos', despite their common usage."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/28/china-media-watchdog-bans-wordplay-puns
A Christmas campaign to boycott Amazon is underway. A group called Amazon Anonymous is claiming that Amazon doesn't pay their workers a living wage, takes money from local businesses, and avoids taxes. They have worked with Ethical Consumer magazine to provide a guide to alternative retailers for those pledging to boycott Amazon.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/amazon-christmas-boycott-campaign-amazon-anonymous
Are book publishers blockbustering themselves into oblivion? "Several recent acquisitions by big American publishing houses, mostly for debut novels, [have] involved payouts of more than $1-million. That's right–debut novels."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/are-book-publishers-blockbustering-themselves-into-oblivion/article21834263/
Here's a new way to look at the Russian literary canon: through an infographic of misery! As Tolstoy wrote, "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/25/books/review/30infographic.html
A new survey claims that readers prefer authors of their own sex. Despite 2014 being dubbed as "the year of reading women," male authors still accounted for 90% of men's 50 most-read titles this year.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/25/readers-prefer-authors-own-sex-goodreads-survey
And on that note, can you actually distinguish between prose written by a man or woman? Here's a quiz to find out.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11255397/Quiz-Did-a-man-or-a-woman-write-this-book.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
What were the best books of 2014? Here are recommendations from many different writers, including Margaret Atwood, Naomi Klein and the Writers Fest's own Eimear McBride.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/29/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014
Another group of writers set out to answer that question too! This particular batch includes suggestions by Writers Fest author Colm Tóibín and Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014-part-2
Slate has also released its best-of list. Columnists, editors and bloggers pick their favourite books of 2014.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/best_books_2014_slate_staff_recommendations.html
Last but not least, here's President Obama's indie bookstore haul! "To celebrate Small Business Saturday, President Obama and his daughters went to Politics & Prose and bought 17 books."
http://electricliterature.com/president-obamas-bookstore-haul/
What's the greatest advice author Sarah Waters ever received? "It's the re-writing that counts."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-best-advice-author-sarah-waters-ever-got-its-the-re-writing-that-counts/article21833871/
Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist, has been lauded for writing a book that contains "strong women." "I was not conscious of having a strong female lead, it just came naturally," she says. "Very few male novelists get asked: 'You've put some really strong males in your book, why is that?' Or: 'You've got a lot of men in your book'."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/jessie-burton-frustrated-strong-women-still-considered-novelty-fiction
Fairy tales might be "tales as old as time," but they have a history too! Maria Warner's Once Upon a Time explains just that.
http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/once-upon-a-time-a-short-history-of-fairy-tale-by-marina-warner-1.2010599
Claudia Rankin's new book of poetry, Citizen: An American Lyric, "has achieved something that eludes much modern poetry: urgency," featuring references to Trayvon Martin and stop-and-frisk policies, among other things. It was also a finalist for this year's National Book Award in poetry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/books/claudia-rankine-on-citizen-and-racial-politics.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
THE ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
A real life "choose your own adventure" walking tour, where public space meets literary fiction with (very) short stories that are 'hidden' in public spaces for readers to discover as they walk through the neighborhood. Starting point: Go to Main & 28th and look around the planters outside the art shop. On now through December 7. More information at the following: web: activefictionproject.com; twitter: @activefic; facebook: facebook.com/activefictionproject.
POETRY O'CLOCK
Readings featuring Helen Guri, visiting from Toronto, and great local poets Gillian Jerome, Alex Leslie and Cecily Nicholson. Thursday, December 4 at 7:00pm. People's Co-Op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Readings by Margreet Dietz, Nilofar Shidmehr, Laura Cuthbert, Bruce Rice, Nikki Hillman, Karen J Lee, Patrik Sampler, and George K. Ilsley. Thursday, December 4 a 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at learn@sfu.ca.
USED BOOK CHRISTMAS SALE
Looking for a special gift for someone on your holiday shopping list? Browse a great selection of gently used children's and adult books, CDs and DVDs. December 4-6, 2014 from 10am to 5pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ALCUIN SOCIETY
An exhibition showcasing some of the finest book designs in Canada in appreciation of beautifully produced books. December 5 to January 21. Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC.
SHEILA NICKOLS
Author signs her new book Looking Back at Maple Ridge. Friday, December 5 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Author will be reading from The Disarmed Heart at the Planet Earth Poetry Series with Dvora Levin, Hillside Coffee and Tea, 1633 Hillside, Victoria, B.C., Friday Dec. 5, 2014, 7:30-9 pm.
MIKE MCCARDELL
Author will sign copies of his newest book Cardboard Ocean. Saturday, December 6 at 11:00am. Coles Bookstore, Seven Oaks Mall, Abbotsford.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Debut poets Elaine Woo and Kayla Czaga present their new books. Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
EVE LAZARUS
Author of Sensational Vancouver will be in store promoting this gorgeous local history book. Monday, December 8 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
ROSEMARY GEORGESON
Coast Salish and Dene storyteller Rosemary Georgeson explores cross-cultural connections between First Nation and non-First Nation cultures. Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00pm. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W. More information at 604-665-3982.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan are the featured poets. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
KRISTI CHARISH
local debut author Kristi Charish launches her new book Owl and the Japanese Circus. Monday, January 19 at 7:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
SOME SORT OF LIFE
Naomi Waken, Nanaimo's first Poet Laureate, shares her latest novel, Some Sort of Life. Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall, West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
AWARDS & LISTS
The 2015 International Impac Dublin literary award's 142-book longlist has been announced. JK Rowling's alter ego made the cut, as did 49 novels in translation, nominated by libraries in 114 cities and 39 countries. But some think the prize is still not as international as it should be.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/27/impac-prize-global-literature-parochial-africa-south-america
YOUNG READERS
Which famous literary character "stands up for things" and is "not afraid of going to the top and giving them a hard stare?" You'll never guess who it is...Paddington Bear! Michael Bond, author of the Paddington stories is interviewed, here,
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/28/michael-bond-author-paddington-bear-interview-books-television-film
Sarah Ellis' Outside In is "a wonderful, unique story about love and beauty." She recently appeared at the Writers Fest to discuss her new book, but if you didn't get the chance to see her, here's The Globe and Mail's review.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/three-young-adult-fiction-reads-worth-checking-out/article21704035/
NEWS & FEATURES
Mark Strand, former US Poet Laureate, died this week. "Death was arguably Strand's great theme—few poets have written more acutely or more movingly about the chasm at the end of life."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/29/mark-strand-1934-2014/
While he may have been known for works that plumbed the depths of America, Mark Strand's background was actually very international. In fact, he was born in Canada.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/30/nyregion/mark-strand-80-dies-pulitzer-winning-poet-laureate.html
Speaking of all things international, China has banned wordplay in an "attempt at pun control." Chinese officials claim that "casual alteration of idioms risks nothing less than ‘cultural and linguistic chaos', despite their common usage."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/28/china-media-watchdog-bans-wordplay-puns
A Christmas campaign to boycott Amazon is underway. A group called Amazon Anonymous is claiming that Amazon doesn't pay their workers a living wage, takes money from local businesses, and avoids taxes. They have worked with Ethical Consumer magazine to provide a guide to alternative retailers for those pledging to boycott Amazon.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/amazon-christmas-boycott-campaign-amazon-anonymous
Are book publishers blockbustering themselves into oblivion? "Several recent acquisitions by big American publishing houses, mostly for debut novels, [have] involved payouts of more than $1-million. That's right–debut novels."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/are-book-publishers-blockbustering-themselves-into-oblivion/article21834263/
Here's a new way to look at the Russian literary canon: through an infographic of misery! As Tolstoy wrote, "every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/11/25/books/review/30infographic.html
A new survey claims that readers prefer authors of their own sex. Despite 2014 being dubbed as "the year of reading women," male authors still accounted for 90% of men's 50 most-read titles this year.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/25/readers-prefer-authors-own-sex-goodreads-survey
And on that note, can you actually distinguish between prose written by a man or woman? Here's a quiz to find out.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11255397/Quiz-Did-a-man-or-a-woman-write-this-book.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
What were the best books of 2014? Here are recommendations from many different writers, including Margaret Atwood, Naomi Klein and the Writers Fest's own Eimear McBride.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/29/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014
Another group of writers set out to answer that question too! This particular batch includes suggestions by Writers Fest author Colm Tóibín and Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/-sp-writers-pick-best-books-2014-part-2
Slate has also released its best-of list. Columnists, editors and bloggers pick their favourite books of 2014.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/best_books_2014_slate_staff_recommendations.html
Last but not least, here's President Obama's indie bookstore haul! "To celebrate Small Business Saturday, President Obama and his daughters went to Politics & Prose and bought 17 books."
http://electricliterature.com/president-obamas-bookstore-haul/
What's the greatest advice author Sarah Waters ever received? "It's the re-writing that counts."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-best-advice-author-sarah-waters-ever-got-its-the-re-writing-that-counts/article21833871/
Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist, has been lauded for writing a book that contains "strong women." "I was not conscious of having a strong female lead, it just came naturally," she says. "Very few male novelists get asked: 'You've put some really strong males in your book, why is that?' Or: 'You've got a lot of men in your book'."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/01/jessie-burton-frustrated-strong-women-still-considered-novelty-fiction
Fairy tales might be "tales as old as time," but they have a history too! Maria Warner's Once Upon a Time explains just that.
http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/once-upon-a-time-a-short-history-of-fairy-tale-by-marina-warner-1.2010599
Claudia Rankin's new book of poetry, Citizen: An American Lyric, "has achieved something that eludes much modern poetry: urgency," featuring references to Trayvon Martin and stop-and-frisk policies, among other things. It was also a finalist for this year's National Book Award in poetry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/29/books/claudia-rankine-on-citizen-and-racial-politics.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
THE ACTIVE FICTION PROJECT
A real life "choose your own adventure" walking tour, where public space meets literary fiction with (very) short stories that are 'hidden' in public spaces for readers to discover as they walk through the neighborhood. Starting point: Go to Main & 28th and look around the planters outside the art shop. On now through December 7. More information at the following: web: activefictionproject.com; twitter: @activefic; facebook: facebook.com/activefictionproject.
POETRY O'CLOCK
Readings featuring Helen Guri, visiting from Toronto, and great local poets Gillian Jerome, Alex Leslie and Cecily Nicholson. Thursday, December 4 at 7:00pm. People's Co-Op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Readings by Margreet Dietz, Nilofar Shidmehr, Laura Cuthbert, Bruce Rice, Nikki Hillman, Karen J Lee, Patrik Sampler, and George K. Ilsley. Thursday, December 4 a 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at learn@sfu.ca.
USED BOOK CHRISTMAS SALE
Looking for a special gift for someone on your holiday shopping list? Browse a great selection of gently used children's and adult books, CDs and DVDs. December 4-6, 2014 from 10am to 5pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ALCUIN SOCIETY
An exhibition showcasing some of the finest book designs in Canada in appreciation of beautifully produced books. December 5 to January 21. Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC.
SHEILA NICKOLS
Author signs her new book Looking Back at Maple Ridge. Friday, December 5 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Author will be reading from The Disarmed Heart at the Planet Earth Poetry Series with Dvora Levin, Hillside Coffee and Tea, 1633 Hillside, Victoria, B.C., Friday Dec. 5, 2014, 7:30-9 pm.
MIKE MCCARDELL
Author will sign copies of his newest book Cardboard Ocean. Saturday, December 6 at 11:00am. Coles Bookstore, Seven Oaks Mall, Abbotsford.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Debut poets Elaine Woo and Kayla Czaga present their new books. Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
EVE LAZARUS
Author of Sensational Vancouver will be in store promoting this gorgeous local history book. Monday, December 8 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
ROSEMARY GEORGESON
Coast Salish and Dene storyteller Rosemary Georgeson explores cross-cultural connections between First Nation and non-First Nation cultures. Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00pm. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W. More information at 604-665-3982.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan are the featured poets. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
KRISTI CHARISH
local debut author Kristi Charish launches her new book Owl and the Japanese Circus. Monday, January 19 at 7:00pm. Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.
SOME SORT OF LIFE
Naomi Waken, Nanaimo's first Poet Laureate, shares her latest novel, Some Sort of Life. Wednesday, January 28 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall, West Vancouver Memorial Library.
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 38
BOOK NEWS
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
AWARDS & LISTS
The longlist has been announced for the 19th International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, a prize worth €100,000. Eleven Canadian titles made the cut!
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/24/2015-dublin-literary-award-longlist-includes-11-canadian-titles/
Vancouver writer Christine Leclerc has won the bpNichol Chapbook Award for Oilywood. The $4,000 prize recognizes the best poetry chapbook published in Canada the previous year.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/24/christine-leclerc-wins-2014-bpnichol-chapbook-award/
Gary Bass has won the seventh annual Cundill Prize in Historical Literature for The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. "The $75,000 U.S. award is the world's richest international prize for a non-fiction work, recognizing a book that has 'a profound literary, social, and academic impact in the area of history.'"
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/21/gary-bass-wins-2014-cundill-prize-in-historical-literature/
YOUNG READERS
Last week, Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. In this interview, she discusses the racist gaffe which marred her appearance at the awards, "swimming against the tide in a white industry and how her own story is entwined with that of America."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/25/jacqueline-woodson-national-book-awards-invisible
NEWS & FEATURES
The writer PD James, who charted the transformations of British life through bestselling crime fiction starring the detective Adam Dalgliesh, has died aged 94.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-detective-fiction-dies-aged-94-detective-adam-dalgliesh
Literary tourism is on the rise, including in Canada! Here's a guide to Toronto's stores, sites and events for the literary-minded.
http://bookriot.com/2014/11/23/literary-tourism-toronto/
Winnie the Pooh has been barred from a Polish playground because of his "dubious sexuality" and "inappropriate" clothing. According to one local council member, Pooh "is half naked which is wholly inappropriate for children. [Poland's fictional bear] is dressed from head to toe, unlike Pooh who is only dressed from the waist up."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/winnie-the-pooh-banned-from-polish-playground-for-being-an-inappropriate-hermaphrodite-9872278.html
There's a young adult fiction boom going on in the Arab world. "The boom in young adult fiction has left the Arab publishing world playing catch-up, as authors try to compete with Twilight and The Hunger Games without breaking cultural taboos."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/21/ya-fiction-arab-world-young-adu
A shooting at Florida State University has resulted in unusual publicity for books: they saved one student's life, literally. "His backpack full of books stopped a bullet...he only realized hours later the gunman had tried to shoot him when he found a bullet among the now-shredded books he had checked out of the library. The Oxford Context of Wyclif's Thought caught the slug."
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fsu-student-jason-derfuss-saved-book-bag-campus-shooting-n252536
It's a tough time to be an anti-heroine! "Monstrous men are more than welcome in serious fiction, but create an unlikeable female character and you're in for trouble."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/17/readers-anti-hero-anti-heroines-fiction
What's an "authorism?" They're words coined by authors that have entered the wider language. Here are top ten words invented by writers.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/19/top-10-words-invented-writers-authorisms
The rhythms of overheard speech vary from language to language. What's English's rhythm? "English is a great language for writing headlines, and tweets, but also for hearing haiku."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/18/overheard-haiku/
Why do people write on bathroom walls? It's been a human pattern for centuries. "The Roman poet Martial, who lived in the first century AD, totally zinged a rival writer with the suggestion that if he wanted to get published, he should go find a bathroom wall."
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/behind-the-writing-on-the-stalls/383016/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Let Me Be Frank With You is Richard Ford's fourth work of fiction chronicling the life of Frank Bascombe, hero of his novels The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land. He's interviewed by Deborah Treisman, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/living-frank-bascombe-interview-richard-ford
The protagonists of Julie Lawson Timmer's debut novel, Five Days Left, make up two very different families. One consists of a single mother recently diagnosed with Huntington's disease, and the other is a pair of foster parents who must make a difficult decision when their charge's biological mother suddenly dies. Timmer is interviewed here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-julie-lawson-timmer/
This year marks the 30th year anniversary of Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater. Now, Carrier's interest in the history of Canada's French-English divide has resulted in a new book: Montcalm and Wolfe: Two Men Who Forever Changed the Course of History.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/roch-carrier-revisits-history-closer-to-home/article21734237/
The Guardian newspaper recently hosted a webchat with Vancouver writer William Gibson. The author of Neuromancer and a new novel, called The Peripheral, answered readers' questions– "from AI to the influence of Blade Runner in our belief in the future to why he didn't predict cellphones."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/live/2014/nov/21/william-gibson-webchat-post-your-questions-now
Speaking of webchats, the Rumpus Poetry Book Club also recently organized a discussion online. You can see their chat with Michael Bazzett, author of You Must Remember This, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-poetry-book-club-chat-with-michael-bazzett/
Are you a fan of Spoken Word? Here's an interesting collection of readings put together by the National Park Service.
http://www.nps.gov/safr/photosmultimedia/spoken-word.htm
Published authors are being invited to apply for the 2015-2016 Haig-Brown House Writer in Residence position. Complete details here:
http://www.haig-brown.bc.ca/writer-residence.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DAVID ZIEROTH
Book launch of the authors new collection of poems, Albrecht Durer and Me. Thursday, November 27 at 7:00pm, free. Capilano Library, 3045 Highland Blvd., North Vancouver. For more information and to register, call 604-987-4471.
GRAHAM GOOD
Author reads from his forthcoming translated poetry collection Goethe's Poems. Also reading, Jim Christie from his new poetry collection The Big Thirst. Friday, November 28 at 6:00pm. Cottage Bistro.
TOFINO & CLAYOQUOT SOUND: A HISTORY
Authors Margaret Horsfield and Ian Kennedy sign copies of their new book. Saturday, November 29 at 2:00pm. Russell Books, 734 Fort Street, Victoria.
SHORE TO SHORE
Author Suzanne Fournier launches her new book. Saturday, November 29 at 2:00pm. Bill Reid Gallery for Northwest Coast Art, 639 Hornby St., Vancouver.
AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Join Rachel Rose, Nat Marshik, Alan Woo, Esther McPhee and Brett Josef Grubisic as they read from their latest work. Hosted by Amber Dawn. Amber Dawn also leads the largest queer free-writing group exercise of all time! Tweet your #queerpoem to @PlenitudeMag and it will be read on stage. Saturday, November 29th. Doors at 8pm, starts at 8:30pm, at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10 at the door includes two print issues of Plenitude Magazine. For details, join the event on Facebook, facebook.com/events/742453355843036/.
MOSS-HAIRED GIRL
3-Day novel winning manuscript Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer, A Novella by R.H. Slansky, will be launched in book form as will new issues of Geist and subTerrain. Saturday, November 29 at 8:00pm, free. The Brickhouse, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at info@anvilpress.com.
TURBULENT TALES
Award-winning journalist and author Carol Shaben joins Edmonton's Historian Laureate, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail to launch her new book, Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Billy Bishop Legion, 1407 Laburnum St., Vancouver.
ON MALICE
Author Ken Babstock launches his new collection. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, Main Street, Vancouver.
FIONNCARA MACEOIN
Author reads from her new collection of poetry, Not the First Thing I've Missed. Tuesday, December 2 at 12:00 noon. The Paperhound Bookshop, 344 West Pender Street, Vancouver.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Join author and historian Robert "Lucky" Budd and CBC's Sheryl MacKay to celebrate the release of his latest book. Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, Main Street, Vancouver.
POETRY O'CLOCK
Readings featuring Helen Guri, visiting from Toronto, and great local poets Gillian Jerome, Alex Leslie and Cecily Nicholson. Thursday, December 4 at 7:00pm. People's Co-Op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
USED BOOK CHRISTMAS SALE
Looking for a special gift for someone on your holiday shopping list? Browse a great selection of gently used children's and adult books, CDs and DVDs. December 4-6, 2014 from 10am to 5pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
SHEILA NICKOLS
Author signs her new book Looking Back at Maple Ridge. Friday, December 5 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Author will be reading from The Disarmed Heart at the Planet Earth Poetry Series with Dvora Levin, Hillside Coffee and Tea, 1633 Hillside, Victoria, B.C., Friday Dec. 5, 2014, 7:30-9 pm.
MIKE MCCARDELL
Author will sign copies of his newest book Cardboard Ocean. Saturday, December 6 at 11:00am. Coles Bookstore, Seven Oaks Mall, Abbotsford.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Debut poets Elaine Woo and Kayla Czaga present their new books. Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
Upcoming
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Readings by Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre Campus, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at https://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/lunch-poems/readings/2014/17Dec2014.html.
Holiday Giving
Looking for a special gift for the book-lovers on your list? Look no further! The VWF has gift ideas to bring joy to readers of all persuasions, from gift certificates to memberships.
http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/perfect-gifts-book-lovers
AWARDS & LISTS
The longlist has been announced for the 19th International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, a prize worth €100,000. Eleven Canadian titles made the cut!
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/24/2015-dublin-literary-award-longlist-includes-11-canadian-titles/
Vancouver writer Christine Leclerc has won the bpNichol Chapbook Award for Oilywood. The $4,000 prize recognizes the best poetry chapbook published in Canada the previous year.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/24/christine-leclerc-wins-2014-bpnichol-chapbook-award/
Gary Bass has won the seventh annual Cundill Prize in Historical Literature for The Blood Telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a Forgotten Genocide. "The $75,000 U.S. award is the world's richest international prize for a non-fiction work, recognizing a book that has 'a profound literary, social, and academic impact in the area of history.'"
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/21/gary-bass-wins-2014-cundill-prize-in-historical-literature/
YOUNG READERS
Last week, Jacqueline Woodson's Brown Girl Dreaming won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. In this interview, she discusses the racist gaffe which marred her appearance at the awards, "swimming against the tide in a white industry and how her own story is entwined with that of America."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/25/jacqueline-woodson-national-book-awards-invisible
NEWS & FEATURES
The writer PD James, who charted the transformations of British life through bestselling crime fiction starring the detective Adam Dalgliesh, has died aged 94.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/27/pd-james-detective-fiction-dies-aged-94-detective-adam-dalgliesh
Literary tourism is on the rise, including in Canada! Here's a guide to Toronto's stores, sites and events for the literary-minded.
http://bookriot.com/2014/11/23/literary-tourism-toronto/
Winnie the Pooh has been barred from a Polish playground because of his "dubious sexuality" and "inappropriate" clothing. According to one local council member, Pooh "is half naked which is wholly inappropriate for children. [Poland's fictional bear] is dressed from head to toe, unlike Pooh who is only dressed from the waist up."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/winnie-the-pooh-banned-from-polish-playground-for-being-an-inappropriate-hermaphrodite-9872278.html
There's a young adult fiction boom going on in the Arab world. "The boom in young adult fiction has left the Arab publishing world playing catch-up, as authors try to compete with Twilight and The Hunger Games without breaking cultural taboos."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/21/ya-fiction-arab-world-young-adu
A shooting at Florida State University has resulted in unusual publicity for books: they saved one student's life, literally. "His backpack full of books stopped a bullet...he only realized hours later the gunman had tried to shoot him when he found a bullet among the now-shredded books he had checked out of the library. The Oxford Context of Wyclif's Thought caught the slug."
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fsu-student-jason-derfuss-saved-book-bag-campus-shooting-n252536
It's a tough time to be an anti-heroine! "Monstrous men are more than welcome in serious fiction, but create an unlikeable female character and you're in for trouble."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/nov/17/readers-anti-hero-anti-heroines-fiction
What's an "authorism?" They're words coined by authors that have entered the wider language. Here are top ten words invented by writers.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/19/top-10-words-invented-writers-authorisms
The rhythms of overheard speech vary from language to language. What's English's rhythm? "English is a great language for writing headlines, and tweets, but also for hearing haiku."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/11/18/overheard-haiku/
Why do people write on bathroom walls? It's been a human pattern for centuries. "The Roman poet Martial, who lived in the first century AD, totally zinged a rival writer with the suggestion that if he wanted to get published, he should go find a bathroom wall."
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/11/behind-the-writing-on-the-stalls/383016/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Let Me Be Frank With You is Richard Ford's fourth work of fiction chronicling the life of Frank Bascombe, hero of his novels The Sportswriter, Independence Day, and The Lay of the Land. He's interviewed by Deborah Treisman, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/living-frank-bascombe-interview-richard-ford
The protagonists of Julie Lawson Timmer's debut novel, Five Days Left, make up two very different families. One consists of a single mother recently diagnosed with Huntington's disease, and the other is a pair of foster parents who must make a difficult decision when their charge's biological mother suddenly dies. Timmer is interviewed here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-julie-lawson-timmer/
This year marks the 30th year anniversary of Roch Carrier's The Hockey Sweater. Now, Carrier's interest in the history of Canada's French-English divide has resulted in a new book: Montcalm and Wolfe: Two Men Who Forever Changed the Course of History.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/roch-carrier-revisits-history-closer-to-home/article21734237/
The Guardian newspaper recently hosted a webchat with Vancouver writer William Gibson. The author of Neuromancer and a new novel, called The Peripheral, answered readers' questions– "from AI to the influence of Blade Runner in our belief in the future to why he didn't predict cellphones."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/live/2014/nov/21/william-gibson-webchat-post-your-questions-now
Speaking of webchats, the Rumpus Poetry Book Club also recently organized a discussion online. You can see their chat with Michael Bazzett, author of You Must Remember This, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-poetry-book-club-chat-with-michael-bazzett/
Are you a fan of Spoken Word? Here's an interesting collection of readings put together by the National Park Service.
http://www.nps.gov/safr/photosmultimedia/spoken-word.htm
Published authors are being invited to apply for the 2015-2016 Haig-Brown House Writer in Residence position. Complete details here:
http://www.haig-brown.bc.ca/writer-residence.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
DAVID ZIEROTH
Book launch of the authors new collection of poems, Albrecht Durer and Me. Thursday, November 27 at 7:00pm, free. Capilano Library, 3045 Highland Blvd., North Vancouver. For more information and to register, call 604-987-4471.
GRAHAM GOOD
Author reads from his forthcoming translated poetry collection Goethe's Poems. Also reading, Jim Christie from his new poetry collection The Big Thirst. Friday, November 28 at 6:00pm. Cottage Bistro.
TOFINO & CLAYOQUOT SOUND: A HISTORY
Authors Margaret Horsfield and Ian Kennedy sign copies of their new book. Saturday, November 29 at 2:00pm. Russell Books, 734 Fort Street, Victoria.
SHORE TO SHORE
Author Suzanne Fournier launches her new book. Saturday, November 29 at 2:00pm. Bill Reid Gallery for Northwest Coast Art, 639 Hornby St., Vancouver.
AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Join Rachel Rose, Nat Marshik, Alan Woo, Esther McPhee and Brett Josef Grubisic as they read from their latest work. Hosted by Amber Dawn. Amber Dawn also leads the largest queer free-writing group exercise of all time! Tweet your #queerpoem to @PlenitudeMag and it will be read on stage. Saturday, November 29th. Doors at 8pm, starts at 8:30pm, at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10 at the door includes two print issues of Plenitude Magazine. For details, join the event on Facebook, facebook.com/events/742453355843036/.
MOSS-HAIRED GIRL
3-Day novel winning manuscript Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer, A Novella by R.H. Slansky, will be launched in book form as will new issues of Geist and subTerrain. Saturday, November 29 at 8:00pm, free. The Brickhouse, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at info@anvilpress.com.
TURBULENT TALES
Award-winning journalist and author Carol Shaben joins Edmonton's Historian Laureate, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail to launch her new book, Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Billy Bishop Legion, 1407 Laburnum St., Vancouver.
ON MALICE
Author Ken Babstock launches his new collection. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, Main Street, Vancouver.
FIONNCARA MACEOIN
Author reads from her new collection of poetry, Not the First Thing I've Missed. Tuesday, December 2 at 12:00 noon. The Paperhound Bookshop, 344 West Pender Street, Vancouver.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Join author and historian Robert "Lucky" Budd and CBC's Sheryl MacKay to celebrate the release of his latest book. Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, Main Street, Vancouver.
POETRY O'CLOCK
Readings featuring Helen Guri, visiting from Toronto, and great local poets Gillian Jerome, Alex Leslie and Cecily Nicholson. Thursday, December 4 at 7:00pm. People's Co-Op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver.
USED BOOK CHRISTMAS SALE
Looking for a special gift for someone on your holiday shopping list? Browse a great selection of gently used children's and adult books, CDs and DVDs. December 4-6, 2014 from 10am to 5pm. Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
SHEILA NICKOLS
Author signs her new book Looking Back at Maple Ridge. Friday, December 5 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
SUSAN MCCASLIN
Author will be reading from The Disarmed Heart at the Planet Earth Poetry Series with Dvora Levin, Hillside Coffee and Tea, 1633 Hillside, Victoria, B.C., Friday Dec. 5, 2014, 7:30-9 pm.
MIKE MCCARDELL
Author will sign copies of his newest book Cardboard Ocean. Saturday, December 6 at 11:00am. Coles Bookstore, Seven Oaks Mall, Abbotsford.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Debut poets Elaine Woo and Kayla Czaga present their new books. Sunday, December 7 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
Upcoming
THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR
Author Cathy Ace signs her latest mystery novel. Saturday, December 13 at 1:00pm. Black Bond Books, Haney Place Mall, Maple Ridge. More information at 604-463-8624.
JILL BARBER
Join singer-songwriter as she reads from her newest children's book, Music is for Everyone! Sunday, December 14 at 2:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More informatin at emackinnon@nimbus.ca.
WINNING THE WAR
Author Mark Zuehlke offers an insightful, informative journey back to February and March 1945 when our nation's soldiers launched one of the Second World War's most important offensives in his new book Forgotten Victory: First
Canadian Army and the Cruel Winter of 1944-45. Tuesday, December 16 at 7:00pm. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Readings by Jacqueline Turner and Changming Yuan. Wednesday, December 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre Campus, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at https://www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/upcoming-events/lunch-poems/readings/2014/17Dec2014.html.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 37
BOOK NEWS
David Mitchell Podcast
If you missed our September 27 special event with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, an audio podcast is now on our website. David chats with VWF Artistic Director Hal Wake about the recurring themes and characters in his
books, and how his new novel The Bone Clocks continues his obsession with interconnectedness. Listen here:
http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/evening-david-mitchell
Festival
The JCC Jewish Book Festival (Nov 22-27) presents events with writers from across Canada, the US and Israel. Festival Highlights include the Opening Night Gala featuring Israel's bestselling author Zeruya Shalev (The Remains of Love); Steven Galloway (The Confabulist) headlining the Festival's annual book club event; CBC Radio host, Dr. Brian Goldman (White Coat, Black Art), and appearances from a host of local writers including Bob Bossin and Mark Leiren-Young. The Festival includes meet-the-author opportunities, readings and panel discussions, writing and self-publishing workshops, children's authors and film-screenings. For more information and tickets, visit jewishbookfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The winners of the 2014 Governor General's Literary Awards have been named. Thomas King won the English language fiction prize for his novel The Back of the Turtle. Other winners included Michael Harris for non-Fiction, Arleen Paré for poetry, Jordan Tannahill for drama, Raziel Reid for children's literature (text), Jillian Tamaki for children's literature (illustration) and Peter Feldstein for translation (French to English).
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/11/the-2014-governor-generals-literary-award-winners.html
Winners of the 2014 National Book Awards were announced last night and include Phil Klay for Redeployment, Evan Osnos for Age of Ambition, Louise Gluck for Faithful and Virtuous Night, and Jacqueline Woodson for Brown Girl Dreaming.
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2014.html
YOUNG READERS
Here are three young adult books worth a read: Blue Mountain by Martine Leavitt, Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow, and Ship of Dolls by Shirtley Parenteau. Check out their reviews, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/three-young-adult-books-worth-a-read/article21592002/
NEWS & FEATURES
It's Margaret Atwood's 75th birthday! "She shows no sign of slowing down as an artist–are you up to speed?" Take a quiz and find out, here.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/nov/18/margaret-atwood-75-quiz
And if you don't believe that she's still in the game, here's a hilarious reason why: Margaret Atwood responds to some common tweets about Canadians!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/margaret-atwood-responds-questions-about-canadians
What do libraries mean to you? According to Neil Gaiman, they are "seed corn," safe spaces that were vital to him as a child.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/17/neil-gaiman-libraries-are-cultural-seed-corn
Energy giant Kinder Morgan has served Vancouver poet and professor Stephen Collis a 5.6 million dollar lawsuit for opposing the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. A petition is being gathered to raise support from the literary community.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2014/11/energy-giant-serves-vancouver-poet-professor-stephen-collis-5-6-million-lawsuit-for-opposing-pipeline-expansion/
Speaking of corporate giants, Amazon and Hachette have finally announced a settlement. Amazon spokesperson David Naggar said that the digital retailer is "pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike."
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/11/13/amazon-and-hachette-announce-settlement/
A sad day for the humanities: the U.K.'s secretary of education has declared that arts subjects "will hold [students] back for the rest of their lives." Speaking at the launch of a campaign to promote science, technology, math and engineering, Morgan stated that the notion of arts or humanities subjects keeping pupils' career choices open "couldn't be further from the truth".
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/11/education-secretary-nicky-morgan-arts-subjects-limit-career-choices/
How has the social role of poetry changed since Shelley? That's the question in this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Leslie Jamison discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/books/review/how-has-the-social-role-of-poetry-changed-since-shelley.html
Women are dominating self-publishing! Ironically, the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy that has led to a surge in middle-aged women producing e-books.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/09/fifty-shades-of-grey-women-dominate-self-publishing?et_mid=702494&rid=241005533
And if they're not publishing, they're probably rewriting (or questioning their literary worth!) Here's Chuck Wendig's aptly named "On the detestation of your manuscript: an expedition into the dark, tumultuous heart of authorial self-hatred".
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/11/10/on-the-detestation-of-your-manuscript-an-expedition-into-the-dark-tumultuous-heart-of-authorial-self-hatred/
It's easy to rag on big screen adaptations of books. But what about small screen ones? In this piece, Maddie Crum makes the case for television.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeleine-crum/are-tv-adaptations-better_b_6117442.html
On that note, Philip Roth's novel Indignation is set to be adapted for film. James Schamus, the former head of Focus Features, will make his directorial debut with the project.
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/philip-roth-novel-indignation-to-be-adapted-into-film-directed-by-james-schamus
BOOKS & WRITERS
Wayde Compton is a man of many hats: poet, essayist, co-founding member of the Hogan's Alley Memorial Project, and director of the Creative Writing Program at SFU Continuing Studies. Now he's branched out into short fiction, with a work called The Outer Harbour. He's interviewed, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/id-rather-be-happy-now/article21591608/
Diane Schoemperlen's By The Book was written as a follow-up to her Governor General Award-winning book Forms of Devotion. It is a "virtuoso performance in found text and visual poetry," "a poetic journey lead by a skilled craftsperson."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/diane-schoemperlens-by-the-book-is-a-poetic-journey-lead-by-a-skilled-craftsperson/article21591328/
In Where I'm Reading From, Tim Parks tackles translation. Nineteen Eighty-Four begins: "'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen'...the earliest Italian translation of Orwell's novel 'has the clocks striking one, not thirteen'. The (unnamed) translator, alert to the 24-hour clock, was apparently 'unaware of how interesting a clock striking thirteen would be.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/14/where-im-reading-from-changing-world-of-books-tim-parks-review
Anthony Powell's first novel, Afternoon Men, just might be "the funniest novel you've never read...It's a good thing Afternoon Men is so funny because otherwise it might well be one of the bleakest novels in the English language."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/afternoon_men_by_anthony_powell_is_the_funniest_novel_you_ve_never_read.2.html
Denis Johnson's The Laughing Monsters is a "sinewy spy thriller that roams throughout West Africa." Written in the spirit of Graham Greene, it's a "testimonial of Western hubris and deceit, profiteering and naivety, yet less a crisis of selfhood than a tale of self-preservation."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/denis-johnsons-the-laughing-monsters-is-a-sinewy-spy-thriller-that-roams-throughout-west-africa/article21590759/
Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous for her Little House on the Prairie Books. She was never, however, able to get her autobiography published. Now, 80 years later, the book, which includes Wilder's complete first draft as well as "scrupulous and wide-ranging new research," is finally seeing the light of day.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/little_house_nonfiction_laura_ingalls_wilder_s_memoir_pioneer_girl_reviewed.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MEET THE AUTHOR
Steven Galloway discuses his latest novel, The Confabulist. Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
HOOKED
Author Michael Heatherington launches his new book. Wednesday, November 26 at 6:00pm, free. The Paper Hound, 344 West Pender Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
OH MY DARLING
WVML 2014 Writer in Residence Shaena Lambert will speak about the fiction writing process, and explore some of the techniques and mysteries involved in 'getting the words right.' Thursday, November 27 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
Upcoming
AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Join Rachel Rose, Nat Marshik, Alan Woo, Esther McPhee and Brett Josef Grubisic as they read from their latest work. Hosted by Amber Dawn. Amber Dawn also leads the largest queer free-writing group exercise of all time! Tweet your #queerpoem to @PlenitudeMag and it will be read on stage. Saturday, November 29th. Doors at 8pm, starts at 8:30pm, at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10 at the door includes two print issues of Plenitude Magazine. For details, join the event on Facebook, facebook.com/events/742453355843036/.
MOSS-HAIRED GIRL
3-Day novel winning manuscript Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer, A Novella by R.H. Slansky, will be launched in book form as will new issues of Geist and subTerrain. Saturday, November 29 at 8:00pm, free. The Brickhouse, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at info@anvilpress.com.
TURBULENT TALES
Award-winning journalist and author, Carol Shaben joins Edmonton’s Historian Laureate, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail to launch her new book, Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Billy Bishop Legion, 1407 Laburnum St., Vancouver.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
David Mitchell Podcast
If you missed our September 27 special event with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, an audio podcast is now on our website. David chats with VWF Artistic Director Hal Wake about the recurring themes and characters in his
books, and how his new novel The Bone Clocks continues his obsession with interconnectedness. Listen here:
http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/evening-david-mitchell
Festival
The JCC Jewish Book Festival (Nov 22-27) presents events with writers from across Canada, the US and Israel. Festival Highlights include the Opening Night Gala featuring Israel's bestselling author Zeruya Shalev (The Remains of Love); Steven Galloway (The Confabulist) headlining the Festival's annual book club event; CBC Radio host, Dr. Brian Goldman (White Coat, Black Art), and appearances from a host of local writers including Bob Bossin and Mark Leiren-Young. The Festival includes meet-the-author opportunities, readings and panel discussions, writing and self-publishing workshops, children's authors and film-screenings. For more information and tickets, visit jewishbookfestival.ca.
AWARDS & LISTS
The winners of the 2014 Governor General's Literary Awards have been named. Thomas King won the English language fiction prize for his novel The Back of the Turtle. Other winners included Michael Harris for non-Fiction, Arleen Paré for poetry, Jordan Tannahill for drama, Raziel Reid for children's literature (text), Jillian Tamaki for children's literature (illustration) and Peter Feldstein for translation (French to English).
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/11/the-2014-governor-generals-literary-award-winners.html
Winners of the 2014 National Book Awards were announced last night and include Phil Klay for Redeployment, Evan Osnos for Age of Ambition, Louise Gluck for Faithful and Virtuous Night, and Jacqueline Woodson for Brown Girl Dreaming.
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2014.html
YOUNG READERS
Here are three young adult books worth a read: Blue Mountain by Martine Leavitt, Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow, and Ship of Dolls by Shirtley Parenteau. Check out their reviews, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/three-young-adult-books-worth-a-read/article21592002/
NEWS & FEATURES
It's Margaret Atwood's 75th birthday! "She shows no sign of slowing down as an artist–are you up to speed?" Take a quiz and find out, here.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/nov/18/margaret-atwood-75-quiz
And if you don't believe that she's still in the game, here's a hilarious reason why: Margaret Atwood responds to some common tweets about Canadians!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/margaret-atwood-responds-questions-about-canadians
What do libraries mean to you? According to Neil Gaiman, they are "seed corn," safe spaces that were vital to him as a child.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/17/neil-gaiman-libraries-are-cultural-seed-corn
Energy giant Kinder Morgan has served Vancouver poet and professor Stephen Collis a 5.6 million dollar lawsuit for opposing the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. A petition is being gathered to raise support from the literary community.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2014/11/energy-giant-serves-vancouver-poet-professor-stephen-collis-5-6-million-lawsuit-for-opposing-pipeline-expansion/
Speaking of corporate giants, Amazon and Hachette have finally announced a settlement. Amazon spokesperson David Naggar said that the digital retailer is "pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike."
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/11/13/amazon-and-hachette-announce-settlement/
A sad day for the humanities: the U.K.'s secretary of education has declared that arts subjects "will hold [students] back for the rest of their lives." Speaking at the launch of a campaign to promote science, technology, math and engineering, Morgan stated that the notion of arts or humanities subjects keeping pupils' career choices open "couldn't be further from the truth".
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/11/education-secretary-nicky-morgan-arts-subjects-limit-career-choices/
How has the social role of poetry changed since Shelley? That's the question in this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Leslie Jamison discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/books/review/how-has-the-social-role-of-poetry-changed-since-shelley.html
Women are dominating self-publishing! Ironically, the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy that has led to a surge in middle-aged women producing e-books.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/09/fifty-shades-of-grey-women-dominate-self-publishing?et_mid=702494&rid=241005533
And if they're not publishing, they're probably rewriting (or questioning their literary worth!) Here's Chuck Wendig's aptly named "On the detestation of your manuscript: an expedition into the dark, tumultuous heart of authorial self-hatred".
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/11/10/on-the-detestation-of-your-manuscript-an-expedition-into-the-dark-tumultuous-heart-of-authorial-self-hatred/
It's easy to rag on big screen adaptations of books. But what about small screen ones? In this piece, Maddie Crum makes the case for television.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeleine-crum/are-tv-adaptations-better_b_6117442.html
On that note, Philip Roth's novel Indignation is set to be adapted for film. James Schamus, the former head of Focus Features, will make his directorial debut with the project.
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/philip-roth-novel-indignation-to-be-adapted-into-film-directed-by-james-schamus
BOOKS & WRITERS
Wayde Compton is a man of many hats: poet, essayist, co-founding member of the Hogan's Alley Memorial Project, and director of the Creative Writing Program at SFU Continuing Studies. Now he's branched out into short fiction, with a work called The Outer Harbour. He's interviewed, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/id-rather-be-happy-now/article21591608/
Diane Schoemperlen's By The Book was written as a follow-up to her Governor General Award-winning book Forms of Devotion. It is a "virtuoso performance in found text and visual poetry," "a poetic journey lead by a skilled craftsperson."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/diane-schoemperlens-by-the-book-is-a-poetic-journey-lead-by-a-skilled-craftsperson/article21591328/
In Where I'm Reading From, Tim Parks tackles translation. Nineteen Eighty-Four begins: "'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen'...the earliest Italian translation of Orwell's novel 'has the clocks striking one, not thirteen'. The (unnamed) translator, alert to the 24-hour clock, was apparently 'unaware of how interesting a clock striking thirteen would be.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/14/where-im-reading-from-changing-world-of-books-tim-parks-review
Anthony Powell's first novel, Afternoon Men, just might be "the funniest novel you've never read...It's a good thing Afternoon Men is so funny because otherwise it might well be one of the bleakest novels in the English language."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/afternoon_men_by_anthony_powell_is_the_funniest_novel_you_ve_never_read.2.html
Denis Johnson's The Laughing Monsters is a "sinewy spy thriller that roams throughout West Africa." Written in the spirit of Graham Greene, it's a "testimonial of Western hubris and deceit, profiteering and naivety, yet less a crisis of selfhood than a tale of self-preservation."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/denis-johnsons-the-laughing-monsters-is-a-sinewy-spy-thriller-that-roams-throughout-west-africa/article21590759/
Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous for her Little House on the Prairie Books. She was never, however, able to get her autobiography published. Now, 80 years later, the book, which includes Wilder's complete first draft as well as "scrupulous and wide-ranging new research," is finally seeing the light of day.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/little_house_nonfiction_laura_ingalls_wilder_s_memoir_pioneer_girl_reviewed.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MEET THE AUTHOR
Steven Galloway discuses his latest novel, The Confabulist. Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
HOOKED
Author Michael Heatherington launches his new book. Wednesday, November 26 at 6:00pm, free. The Paper Hound, 344 West Pender Street, Vancouver.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
OH MY DARLING
WVML 2014 Writer in Residence Shaena Lambert will speak about the fiction writing process, and explore some of the techniques and mysteries involved in 'getting the words right.' Thursday, November 27 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
Upcoming
AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Join Rachel Rose, Nat Marshik, Alan Woo, Esther McPhee and Brett Josef Grubisic as they read from their latest work. Hosted by Amber Dawn. Amber Dawn also leads the largest queer free-writing group exercise of all time! Tweet your #queerpoem to @PlenitudeMag and it will be read on stage. Saturday, November 29th. Doors at 8pm, starts at 8:30pm, at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10 at the door includes two print issues of Plenitude Magazine. For details, join the event on Facebook, facebook.com/events/742453355843036/.
MOSS-HAIRED GIRL
3-Day novel winning manuscript Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer, A Novella by R.H. Slansky, will be launched in book form as will new issues of Geist and subTerrain. Saturday, November 29 at 8:00pm, free. The Brickhouse, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at info@anvilpress.com.
TURBULENT TALES
Award-winning journalist and author, Carol Shaben joins Edmonton’s Historian Laureate, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail to launch her new book, Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Billy Bishop Legion, 1407 Laburnum St., Vancouver.
CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.
A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 36
BOOK NEWS
Tonight!
Tickets will be available at the door for our special event with Conrad Black this evening, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack.
AWARDS & LISTS
Sean Michaels has been awarded the $100,000 Giller Prize for his debut novel, Us Conductors. Only one other first-timer has ever won the prize.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/11/sean-michaels-a-surprise-winner-at-last-nights-scotiabank-giller-prize-gala/
Kathy Stinson and illustrator Dusan Petricic have won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Their book is called The Man with the Violin.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/11/photos-td-canadian-childrens-literature-awards/
Cathy Marie Buchanan has won this year's Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for her book The Painted Girls. The award is part of a reading program initiated by the Ontario Library Association, and aims to recognize the best titles in Canadian adult fiction and non-fiction.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/11/07/cathy-marie-buchanan-wins-2014-forest-of-reading-evergreen-award/
YOUNG READERS
Maxwell Neely-Cohen is a YA writer who likes to play with tropes. In this interview, he discusses "smart teens, furious parents, YA tropes, the intersection of video games and literature, messy early drafts, how our screens change how we see the world, and the apocalypse."
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-maxwell-neely-cohen/
NEWS & FEATURES
What makes a good or bad editor? "An editor whose taste is unique to himself is a bad editor. The only person who discovers a writer is the writer himself." Here's an interview with Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review.
http://alainelkanninterviews.com/lorin-stein/
Should books be declared an "essential good?" The French government recently declared them so. Daniel Mendelsohn and Mohsin Hamid discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/books/review/should-the-united-states-declare-books-an-essential-good.html
Between the fifth and the thirteenth centuries, most books were made of calf, sheep or goatskin. In this article, Erik Kwakkel explores a few of those books, and discusses why looking at imperfect skin is "far more interesting than studying its perfect counterpart."
http://medievalbooks.nl/2014/10/24/feeling-good-about-bad-skin/
Flannery O'Connor has been inducted into the American Poets Corner at New York's St. John the Divine Cathedral. It is the "only shrine to American literature in the country."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/flannery-oconnors-manhattan-memorial
John le Carré's A Most Wanted Man has been banned at Guantánamo Bay. "The fact that le Carré's book is banned at least certifies that the censors at Guantánamo Bay can read-and take offence. Few novels have been more critical of America's post-2001 "security" apparatus than A Most Wanted Man."
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/a-most-wanted-man-by-john-le-carre-964
Translator Greg Spence is currently in the process of translating Joseph Boyden's critically acclaimed first novel, Three Day Road, into Cree. Many problems have arisen, especially from the opposing worldviews inherent within the languages themselves.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-culture/2014/11/11/spotlight-translating-joseph-boydens-three-day-road
Seven Munsch titles, including Love You Forever, Thomas' Snowsuit, Mud Puddle, and I Have to Go have all been translated by a committee of Mi'kmaq educators.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2014/11/11/spotlight-robert-munsch-in-mikmaq/
Last but not least, there has been an recent effort to create indigenous graphic novels for the YA set, spearheaded by David Alexander, who writes books that draw on Cree mythology and history. His books are just some of many that can be found in the Mazinbiige Indigenous Graphic Novel Collection at the University of Manitoba.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2014/11/11/spotlight-david-alexanders-graphic-novels-draw-on-cree-mythology/
BOOKS & WRITERS
As the audience at this week's VWF event with Bruce Cockburn discovered, his book Rumours of Glory is "not your standard rock 'n' roll memoir." A Globe and Mail interview with Cockburn can be found here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/from-bruce-cockburn-not-your-standard-rocknroll-memoir/article21538901/
A new book, Writers: Literary Lives in Focus, is a collection of two hundred and fifty portraits of literary greats. "From Henri Cartier-Bresson's 1947 photograph of William Faulkner at his home in Oxford, Mississippi, to Philippe Halsman's portrait of a leaping Aldous Huxley, the book is a testament to the expressive power of portrait photography."
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/capturing-literary-lives
The curator of the Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario, has compiled a poetry anthology dedicated to Gordon Lightfoot. Stephen Leacock is "probably the person of largest significance in our town, but he's been dead since 1944. We thought we would look forward."
http://www.quillandquire.com/bookselling-2/2014/11/11/leacock-museum-curator-compiles-poetry-anthology-dedicated-to-gordon-lightfoot/
What was the last poem you loved? For Brian Spears, it was Let Me Tell You, by Miller Williams, "a terrific poem to start beginning students off with, because it illustrates the importance of image when writing a narrative poem, among other things."
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-last-poem-i-loved-let-me-tell-you-by-miller-williams/
Two years ago, fans of John Darnielle's band, the Mountain Goats, led a campaign to see him named US Poet Laureate. Now his debut novel, Wolf in White Van, has been named to the 2014 National Book Award longlist. He's interviewed here.
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-john-darnielle/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SOUTHBANK READING SERIES
Features Kate Braid, with Cristina Viviani, Daniela Elza, Tanveer Sohal, Laurel Albina, Joan Boxall, and Bernice Lever. Nov 13, doors open at 6pm, readings begin at 6:30pm. Location: Surrey Central City Library.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder Clinic for Youth. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by singer Sharon Bryson and appearnces from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are $45 ($35 for member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
WHY MUSEUMS MATTER
Random House of Canada and The Beaty Biodiversity Museum invite you to a special event on why museums matter to the arts. Friday, November 14th 7:00-8:30pm. Featuring the award-winning author Aislinn Hunter, the award-winning singer-songwriter Veda Hille, and the Museum of Vancouver's Jillian Povarchook. Join us for live music, a short reading, and a passionate discussion about museums and artistry in one of the most haunting museums in Vancouver. Free.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
MIRANDA PEARSON and CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
Poets Miranda Pearson, (Prime, The Aviary and Harbour) and Christopher Levenson, whose recent collection, Night Vision, was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General's award for poetry, will read at 7p.m. Wednesday 19th
November at People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391, Commercial Drive. For more information call Christopher Levenson at 604 739-9565.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Heidi Greco and Mariner Janes are the featured poets. Wednesday, November 19 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
Tonight!
Tickets will be available at the door for our special event with Conrad Black this evening, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack.
AWARDS & LISTS
Sean Michaels has been awarded the $100,000 Giller Prize for his debut novel, Us Conductors. Only one other first-timer has ever won the prize.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/11/sean-michaels-a-surprise-winner-at-last-nights-scotiabank-giller-prize-gala/
Kathy Stinson and illustrator Dusan Petricic have won the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award. Their book is called The Man with the Violin.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/11/11/photos-td-canadian-childrens-literature-awards/
Cathy Marie Buchanan has won this year's Forest of Reading Evergreen Award for her book The Painted Girls. The award is part of a reading program initiated by the Ontario Library Association, and aims to recognize the best titles in Canadian adult fiction and non-fiction.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/11/07/cathy-marie-buchanan-wins-2014-forest-of-reading-evergreen-award/
YOUNG READERS
Maxwell Neely-Cohen is a YA writer who likes to play with tropes. In this interview, he discusses "smart teens, furious parents, YA tropes, the intersection of video games and literature, messy early drafts, how our screens change how we see the world, and the apocalypse."
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-maxwell-neely-cohen/
NEWS & FEATURES
What makes a good or bad editor? "An editor whose taste is unique to himself is a bad editor. The only person who discovers a writer is the writer himself." Here's an interview with Lorin Stein, editor of The Paris Review.
http://alainelkanninterviews.com/lorin-stein/
Should books be declared an "essential good?" The French government recently declared them so. Daniel Mendelsohn and Mohsin Hamid discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/books/review/should-the-united-states-declare-books-an-essential-good.html
Between the fifth and the thirteenth centuries, most books were made of calf, sheep or goatskin. In this article, Erik Kwakkel explores a few of those books, and discusses why looking at imperfect skin is "far more interesting than studying its perfect counterpart."
http://medievalbooks.nl/2014/10/24/feeling-good-about-bad-skin/
Flannery O'Connor has been inducted into the American Poets Corner at New York's St. John the Divine Cathedral. It is the "only shrine to American literature in the country."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/flannery-oconnors-manhattan-memorial
John le Carré's A Most Wanted Man has been banned at Guantánamo Bay. "The fact that le Carré's book is banned at least certifies that the censors at Guantánamo Bay can read-and take offence. Few novels have been more critical of America's post-2001 "security" apparatus than A Most Wanted Man."
http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/a-most-wanted-man-by-john-le-carre-964
Translator Greg Spence is currently in the process of translating Joseph Boyden's critically acclaimed first novel, Three Day Road, into Cree. Many problems have arisen, especially from the opposing worldviews inherent within the languages themselves.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-culture/2014/11/11/spotlight-translating-joseph-boydens-three-day-road
Seven Munsch titles, including Love You Forever, Thomas' Snowsuit, Mud Puddle, and I Have to Go have all been translated by a committee of Mi'kmaq educators.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2014/11/11/spotlight-robert-munsch-in-mikmaq/
Last but not least, there has been an recent effort to create indigenous graphic novels for the YA set, spearheaded by David Alexander, who writes books that draw on Cree mythology and history. His books are just some of many that can be found in the Mazinbiige Indigenous Graphic Novel Collection at the University of Manitoba.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2014/11/11/spotlight-david-alexanders-graphic-novels-draw-on-cree-mythology/
BOOKS & WRITERS
As the audience at this week's VWF event with Bruce Cockburn discovered, his book Rumours of Glory is "not your standard rock 'n' roll memoir." A Globe and Mail interview with Cockburn can be found here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/from-bruce-cockburn-not-your-standard-rocknroll-memoir/article21538901/
A new book, Writers: Literary Lives in Focus, is a collection of two hundred and fifty portraits of literary greats. "From Henri Cartier-Bresson's 1947 photograph of William Faulkner at his home in Oxford, Mississippi, to Philippe Halsman's portrait of a leaping Aldous Huxley, the book is a testament to the expressive power of portrait photography."
http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/capturing-literary-lives
The curator of the Stephen Leacock Museum in Orillia, Ontario, has compiled a poetry anthology dedicated to Gordon Lightfoot. Stephen Leacock is "probably the person of largest significance in our town, but he's been dead since 1944. We thought we would look forward."
http://www.quillandquire.com/bookselling-2/2014/11/11/leacock-museum-curator-compiles-poetry-anthology-dedicated-to-gordon-lightfoot/
What was the last poem you loved? For Brian Spears, it was Let Me Tell You, by Miller Williams, "a terrific poem to start beginning students off with, because it illustrates the importance of image when writing a narrative poem, among other things."
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-last-poem-i-loved-let-me-tell-you-by-miller-williams/
Two years ago, fans of John Darnielle's band, the Mountain Goats, led a campaign to see him named US Poet Laureate. Now his debut novel, Wolf in White Van, has been named to the 2014 National Book Award longlist. He's interviewed here.
http://therumpus.net/2014/11/the-rumpus-interview-with-john-darnielle/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SOUTHBANK READING SERIES
Features Kate Braid, with Cristina Viviani, Daniela Elza, Tanveer Sohal, Laurel Albina, Joan Boxall, and Bernice Lever. Nov 13, doors open at 6pm, readings begin at 6:30pm. Location: Surrey Central City Library.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder Clinic for Youth. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by singer Sharon Bryson and appearnces from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are $45 ($35 for member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
WHY MUSEUMS MATTER
Random House of Canada and The Beaty Biodiversity Museum invite you to a special event on why museums matter to the arts. Friday, November 14th 7:00-8:30pm. Featuring the award-winning author Aislinn Hunter, the award-winning singer-songwriter Veda Hille, and the Museum of Vancouver's Jillian Povarchook. Join us for live music, a short reading, and a passionate discussion about museums and artistry in one of the most haunting museums in Vancouver. Free.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
MIRANDA PEARSON and CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
Poets Miranda Pearson, (Prime, The Aviary and Harbour) and Christopher Levenson, whose recent collection, Night Vision, was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General's award for poetry, will read at 7p.m. Wednesday 19th
November at People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391, Commercial Drive. For more information call Christopher Levenson at 604 739-9565.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Heidi Greco and Mariner Janes are the featured poets. Wednesday, November 19 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Upcoming
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 35
BOOK NEWS
Special Events
Special event tickets are on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13). More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists
The Scotiabank Giller Prize celebration reaches Vancouver on November 6. The event features appearances by Giller Prize short-listed authors David Bezmozgis, Frances Itani, Sean Michaels, Heather O'Neill, Miriam Toews and Padma Viswanathan, as well as special guest appearances and entertainment. Special offer! Use the promo code discount code AUTHOR and receive the special discount price of $20. Event information and ticket sales details, http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004D427A357D04.
AWARDS & LISTS
Miriam Toews has won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for her "heart-wrenching" novel All My Puny Sorrows. Winners of the four body-of-work awards were Ken Babstock, Joan Thomas, Cary Fagan and Susan Musgrave. The $10,000 Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, for best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary journal or magazine, went to Tyler Keevil.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Writers+Trust+awards+including+25000+fiction+prize+handed/10351739/story.html
The Banff Centre has announced the winners of its Banff Mountain Book Competition, which includes such categories as Mountain Fiction and Poetry, Adventure Travel, and Mountaineering History.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/10/31/banff-mountain-book-competition-winners-announced/
Helen Macdonald's H is For Hawk has won the Samuel Johnson Prize, Britain's most prestigious non-fiction award. This "extraordinary" memoir documents her attempts to win the trust of a wild hawk as she struggled to deal with the death of her father.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/04/samuel-johnson-prize-helen-macdonald-h-is-for-hawk
The BC Francophone Federation (Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique) is offering a $1,000 prize to an author in British Columbia, in recognition of the excellence of a literary or scientific work written in French. The deadline is December 30, 2014.
http://www.ffcb.ca/prix-et-bourse/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best books on animals for children? Here's a roundup of some of the best new books on the subject, as well as some older classics.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/childrens-books-site/2014/nov/03/best-books-on-animals-and-children
NEWS & FEATURES
The Man Booker Prize has always had an eclectic panel of judges. "There have been many non-literary types amongst the judges: a former spy, a former dancer, a Downton Abbey actor–but science, apparently, was a step too far." This year, that changed.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/11/year-i-became-first-scientist-judge-man-booker
Do you want some quick and easy advice for reading poetry? Here's a "guide for the perplexed," 20 strategies that will help you rethink the act of reading a poem.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/how-to-read-poetry-a-step-by-step-guide/380657/
A new exhibit is opening in Toronto, celebrating the life of one of Canada's most important literary figures: Winnie the Pooh!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/remembering-the-real-winnie-the-pooh/article21442185/
Halloween might be over, but it's never too late to enjoy a little of the macabre (of the literary variety, of course.) Here's a glimpse into the mind of William Makepeace Thackeray when was "at his most imaginatively unhinged."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/27/thackeray-gets-grotesque/
Are you a writer in search of inspiration? You can now find all the solitude, beauty, natural sublimity, global travel, and extended stretches of time that you've been looking for in this strangest of artist residencies: a container ship.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artists-search-inspiration-can-now-find-thier-muse-cargo-ship-180953189/
What influences writers (other than books)? Thomas Mallon and James Parker discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/books/review/as-a-writer-what-influences-you-other-than-books.html
An "immortality auction" is currently underway. "To raise money for the charity Freedom from Torture, seventeen authors—including Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Ken Follett, Hanif Kureishi, Will Self, Alan Hollinghurst, and Zadie Smith—are offering the rights to name characters in their new novels."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/authors-auction-off-novelistic-naming-rights/
Which books are going to end up in your stocking this Christmas? The booksellers are already making their predictions!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/04/christmas-reads-what-books-are-going-to-end-up-in-your-stocking-this-year
HarperCollinsCanada president and CEO David Kent has resigned and the company is closing its Toronto warehouse.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/harpercollins-canada-closes-toronto-warehouse/article21450745/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Richard Ford's Let Me Be Frank With You is his fourth book featuring the protagonist Frank Bascombe, who was introduced in 1986's The Sportswriter. It's a quartet of overlapping stories, a "portrait of a man in the closing chapters of his life, looking back at the receding vistas of his life."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/arts/richard-fords-hero-returns-in-let-me-be-frank-with-you.html
Clive James' pen never rests, even when facing death. Despite a leukemia diagnosis, James has continued to "publish poetry and work on other projects in a career that has defied definition."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/01/world/europe/prolific-writer-clive-james-facing-death-reflects-on-getting-a-few-things-done.html
You can read one of James' newest poems here, in the online version of The Times Literary Supplement. It's called Rounded with a Sleep.
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1443087.ece
In this month's New Yorker fiction podcast, David Gilbert (author of the novel And Sons) reads the story Leg, by Steven Polansky. "You know how you can have songs that get stuck in your head—those earworms. There are also storyworms that get stuck in your head. And this is one of those stories."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-podcast-david-gilbert-reads-steven-polansky
M.G. Vassanji's new memoir, And Home Was Kariakoo, is "a complex exploration of the concept of home." It follows up where his first memoir, A Place Within: Rediscovering India, left off: his birth in Kenya, and Tanzania, the place where he grew up.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/mg-vassanjis-and-home-was-kariakoo-is-a-complex-exploration-of-the-concept-of-home/article21406448/
What's the best advice Russell Wangersky has ever got? "Read everything you write out loud."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-best-advice-writer-russell-wangersky-has-ever-gotten-read-everything-you-write-out-loud/article21408281/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Presented by UBC Continuing Studies and the Laurier Institution in partnership with UBC First Nations House of Learning and the Vancouver Writers Fest. Thursday, November 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 – all proceeds donated to the First Nations House of Learning Bursary. Register by phoning 604-822-1444, or online at cstudies.ubc.ca/comeback. Sty-Wet-Tan Hall, First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC Point Grey.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writers will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov. Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
MICHAEL WINTER
Author reads from his new book, Walking the Fields of the Newfoundland Dead: A history and enquiry into The Royal Newfoundland Regiment and their service in WW1. Monday, November 10 at 6:00pm. Main Street Legion, 3917 Main Street.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
SOUTHBANK READING SERIES
Features Kate Braid, with Cristina Viviani, Daniela Elza, Tanveer Sohal, Laurel Albina, Joan Boxall, and Bernice Lever. Nov 13, doors open at 6pm, readings begin at 6:30pm. Location: Surrey Central City Library.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
Upcoming
MIRANDA PEARSON and CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
Poets Miranda Pearson, (Prime, The Aviary and Harbour) and Christopher Levenson, whose recent collection, Night Vision, was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General's award for poetry, will read at 7p.m. Wednesday 19th
November at People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391, Commercial Drive. For more information call Christopher Levenson at 604 739-9565.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
Special Events
Special event tickets are on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13). More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists
The Scotiabank Giller Prize celebration reaches Vancouver on November 6. The event features appearances by Giller Prize short-listed authors David Bezmozgis, Frances Itani, Sean Michaels, Heather O'Neill, Miriam Toews and Padma Viswanathan, as well as special guest appearances and entertainment. Special offer! Use the promo code discount code AUTHOR and receive the special discount price of $20. Event information and ticket sales details, http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004D427A357D04.
AWARDS & LISTS
Miriam Toews has won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize for her "heart-wrenching" novel All My Puny Sorrows. Winners of the four body-of-work awards were Ken Babstock, Joan Thomas, Cary Fagan and Susan Musgrave. The $10,000 Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize, for best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary journal or magazine, went to Tyler Keevil.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Writers+Trust+awards+including+25000+fiction+prize+handed/10351739/story.html
The Banff Centre has announced the winners of its Banff Mountain Book Competition, which includes such categories as Mountain Fiction and Poetry, Adventure Travel, and Mountaineering History.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/10/31/banff-mountain-book-competition-winners-announced/
Helen Macdonald's H is For Hawk has won the Samuel Johnson Prize, Britain's most prestigious non-fiction award. This "extraordinary" memoir documents her attempts to win the trust of a wild hawk as she struggled to deal with the death of her father.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/04/samuel-johnson-prize-helen-macdonald-h-is-for-hawk
The BC Francophone Federation (Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique) is offering a $1,000 prize to an author in British Columbia, in recognition of the excellence of a literary or scientific work written in French. The deadline is December 30, 2014.
http://www.ffcb.ca/prix-et-bourse/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best books on animals for children? Here's a roundup of some of the best new books on the subject, as well as some older classics.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/childrens-books-site/2014/nov/03/best-books-on-animals-and-children
NEWS & FEATURES
The Man Booker Prize has always had an eclectic panel of judges. "There have been many non-literary types amongst the judges: a former spy, a former dancer, a Downton Abbey actor–but science, apparently, was a step too far." This year, that changed.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/11/year-i-became-first-scientist-judge-man-booker
Do you want some quick and easy advice for reading poetry? Here's a "guide for the perplexed," 20 strategies that will help you rethink the act of reading a poem.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/how-to-read-poetry-a-step-by-step-guide/380657/
A new exhibit is opening in Toronto, celebrating the life of one of Canada's most important literary figures: Winnie the Pooh!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/remembering-the-real-winnie-the-pooh/article21442185/
Halloween might be over, but it's never too late to enjoy a little of the macabre (of the literary variety, of course.) Here's a glimpse into the mind of William Makepeace Thackeray when was "at his most imaginatively unhinged."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/27/thackeray-gets-grotesque/
Are you a writer in search of inspiration? You can now find all the solitude, beauty, natural sublimity, global travel, and extended stretches of time that you've been looking for in this strangest of artist residencies: a container ship.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/artists-search-inspiration-can-now-find-thier-muse-cargo-ship-180953189/
What influences writers (other than books)? Thomas Mallon and James Parker discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/books/review/as-a-writer-what-influences-you-other-than-books.html
An "immortality auction" is currently underway. "To raise money for the charity Freedom from Torture, seventeen authors—including Margaret Atwood, Julian Barnes, Ken Follett, Hanif Kureishi, Will Self, Alan Hollinghurst, and Zadie Smith—are offering the rights to name characters in their new novels."
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/authors-auction-off-novelistic-naming-rights/
Which books are going to end up in your stocking this Christmas? The booksellers are already making their predictions!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/04/christmas-reads-what-books-are-going-to-end-up-in-your-stocking-this-year
HarperCollinsCanada president and CEO David Kent has resigned and the company is closing its Toronto warehouse.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/harpercollins-canada-closes-toronto-warehouse/article21450745/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Richard Ford's Let Me Be Frank With You is his fourth book featuring the protagonist Frank Bascombe, who was introduced in 1986's The Sportswriter. It's a quartet of overlapping stories, a "portrait of a man in the closing chapters of his life, looking back at the receding vistas of his life."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/03/arts/richard-fords-hero-returns-in-let-me-be-frank-with-you.html
Clive James' pen never rests, even when facing death. Despite a leukemia diagnosis, James has continued to "publish poetry and work on other projects in a career that has defied definition."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/01/world/europe/prolific-writer-clive-james-facing-death-reflects-on-getting-a-few-things-done.html
You can read one of James' newest poems here, in the online version of The Times Literary Supplement. It's called Rounded with a Sleep.
http://www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article1443087.ece
In this month's New Yorker fiction podcast, David Gilbert (author of the novel And Sons) reads the story Leg, by Steven Polansky. "You know how you can have songs that get stuck in your head—those earworms. There are also storyworms that get stuck in your head. And this is one of those stories."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-podcast-david-gilbert-reads-steven-polansky
M.G. Vassanji's new memoir, And Home Was Kariakoo, is "a complex exploration of the concept of home." It follows up where his first memoir, A Place Within: Rediscovering India, left off: his birth in Kenya, and Tanzania, the place where he grew up.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/mg-vassanjis-and-home-was-kariakoo-is-a-complex-exploration-of-the-concept-of-home/article21406448/
What's the best advice Russell Wangersky has ever got? "Read everything you write out loud."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-best-advice-writer-russell-wangersky-has-ever-gotten-read-everything-you-write-out-loud/article21408281/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Presented by UBC Continuing Studies and the Laurier Institution in partnership with UBC First Nations House of Learning and the Vancouver Writers Fest. Thursday, November 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 – all proceeds donated to the First Nations House of Learning Bursary. Register by phoning 604-822-1444, or online at cstudies.ubc.ca/comeback. Sty-Wet-Tan Hall, First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC Point Grey.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writers will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov. Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
MICHAEL WINTER
Author reads from his new book, Walking the Fields of the Newfoundland Dead: A history and enquiry into The Royal Newfoundland Regiment and their service in WW1. Monday, November 10 at 6:00pm. Main Street Legion, 3917 Main Street.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
SOUTHBANK READING SERIES
Features Kate Braid, with Cristina Viviani, Daniela Elza, Tanveer Sohal, Laurel Albina, Joan Boxall, and Bernice Lever. Nov 13, doors open at 6pm, readings begin at 6:30pm. Location: Surrey Central City Library.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
Upcoming
MIRANDA PEARSON and CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
Poets Miranda Pearson, (Prime, The Aviary and Harbour) and Christopher Levenson, whose recent collection, Night Vision, was shortlisted for the 2014 Governor General's award for poetry, will read at 7p.m. Wednesday 19th
November at People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391, Commercial Drive. For more information call Christopher Levenson at 604 739-9565.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 34
BOOK NEWS
Special Events
Special event tickets are on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13). More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists
The Scotiabank Giller Prize celebration is heading across Canada and will reach Vancouver on November 6. Readers will get a chance to peer inside the minds and creative lives of the writers who’ve made it onto the 2014 shortlist: David Bezmozgis, Frances Itani, Sean Michaels, Heather O'Neill, Miriam Toews and Padma Viswanathan.
The event also features special guest appearances and entertainment. Book News subscribers - use the promo code discount code AUTHOR and receive the special discount price of $20. Event information and ticket sales details: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004D427A357D04
AWARDS & LISTS
The 2015 Carnegie Medal nominations have been announced. Leading authors on the list include Roddy Doyle, Patrick Ness and Sally Green.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/11173801/Carnegie-Medal-2015-nominations-announced.html
YOUNG READERS
Vivian versus America is the "perfect book to curl up with and read in one sitting, not too long or too short and with characters you fall in love with." It also tackles that favourite theme of YA fiction: dystopia.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/27/review-vivian-versus-america-katie-coyle
NEWS & FEATURES
It's Dylan Thomas' 100th birthday! In Wales, a toast is being made.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/world/europe/a-toast-to-dylan-thomas-on-his-100th-birthday.html
You can also take a quiz about the famous Welsh Poet. Celebrate his birthday by testing your knowledge of his life and work.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/oct/27/quiz-dylan-thomas-centenary-100-birthday
What's the "lavender ceiling?" It is the representation of the fact that gay authors who "write honestly about contemporary gay life are rarely published to wide acclaim by mainstream publishers in Canada, and are often relegated to the sidelines and the small presses."
http://thewalrus.ca/queerer-than-fiction/
A new documentary has been made about Joan Didion. A preview is available online, here.
http://www.vogue.com/3243661/joan-didion-documentary-trailer-we-tell-ourselves-stories-in-order-to-live/
Can technology enhance print books? Here are 10 projects that aim to do so.
http://ebookfriendly.com/print-books-technology-projects/
"Superficially, women who write fiction today seem to get equal billing with their male counterparts. Yet their work will never get the kind of avid coverage given to men." Many years after Virginia Woolf, women are still fighting for a room of their own.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/10/women-writers-after-woolf-still-fighting-room-one-s-own
What are the top 10 "modernisers" in literature? "From the architects who built the postwar world to the writers who predicted its horrors" here are the books that best evoke the pioneering spirit of the postwar era.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/15/top-10-architect-modernisers-in-literature
What's the best word processor for writers? For Edward Mendelson, the choice is clear. "When I write in WordPerfect, with all its scruffy, low-tech simplicity, the world seems more open, a place where endings can't be predicted, where freedom might be real."
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/oct/21/escape-microsoft-word/
In Ballast to the White Sea, a lost novel by Malcolm Lowry, is set to be published. Its manuscript was thought to have been burned in a fire at Lowry's Vancouver home seventy years ago.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29757370
Who are your favourite villains in literature? In the first of a new series for The Guardian, Sarah Crown argues that "Tolkien's unseen Sauron from The Lord of the Rings is the most frightening and enduring."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/oct/27/baddies-in-books-sauron-literatures-ultimate-source-of-evil
Halloween is right around the corner. Even famous authors like to get into the fun! Here's an "infographic" featuring costumes of famous authors like Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote and Anne Rice.
http://electricliterature.com/infographic-halloween-costumes-of-famous-authors/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ian McEwan has "a weak spot for characters who have a weak spot for words." In his new book, a novella called The Children Act, the protagonist is "yet another writerly figure: a high court judge whose obsession with producing lucid prose for her judgments reflects the deadened state of her emotions."
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-children-act-by-ian-mcewan/
Susan Minot's new book, Thirty Girls, touches on a difficult and very contemporary subject: the abduction of thirty girls in Africa. She's interviewed by The Rumpus, here.
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/thr-rumpus-interview-with-susan-minot/
What's the last book you loved? For Richard Kramer, it was I Sang to Survive, a "harrowing, powerful, thrilling tale" written by an Auschwitz survivor.
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-last-book-i-loved-i-sang-to-survive/
David Gordon is a writer whose fiction "doesn't fall comfortably into one category. Depending on what you're reading and who you're talking to, he might be a mystery writer, a postmodernist, a satirist, or a hybrid." In this interview, he discusses his new collection and his formative writing years.
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/27/desperate-measures-an-interview-with-david-gordon
The Empties, by Jess Row, is this week's New Yorker story. It takes place three years in the future, after a nationwide blackout.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/empties
Jesse Row is interviewed about the story, here.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-this-week-jess-row-2014-11-03
Rudy Wiebe has written his last book. Why? "Life is short, there is not enough time to forget everything."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-author-rudy-wiebe-wrote-his-latest-book-life-is-short-there-is-not-enough-time-to-forget-everything/article21288358/
Michael Faber has also announced that his most recent novel, The Book of Strange New Things, is to be his last. "I felt that I had one more book in me that could be special and sincere and extraordinary, and that that would be enough," said Mr. Faber.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/arts/michel-faber-plans-to-stop-writing-novels.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ALCUIN SOCIETY BOOK AUCTION
November 1, from 11 am at UBC Golf Club (5185 University Blvd.) Free admission. Come, enjoy beautiful books at reduced prices starting at 1/2 cover price and support next year's Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design. This is Canada's only national competition for book design.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at 1:00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
RAWI HAGE
Opening reception and reading. Wednesday November 5 at 7:00pm, free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Woodwards, SFU, 149 W Hastings St. Vancouver. Please RSVP to https://www.facebook.com/events/871860279491340/.
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Presented by UBC Continuing Studies and the Laurier Institution in partnership with UBC First Nations House of Learning and the Vancouver Writers Fest. Thursday, November 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 – all proceeds donated to the First Nations House of Learning Bursary. Register by phoning 604-822-1444, or online at cstudies.ubc.ca/comeback. Sty-Wet-Tan Hall, First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC Point Grey.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writers will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov. Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
Upcoming
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Special Events
Special event tickets are on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13). More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists
The Scotiabank Giller Prize celebration is heading across Canada and will reach Vancouver on November 6. Readers will get a chance to peer inside the minds and creative lives of the writers who’ve made it onto the 2014 shortlist: David Bezmozgis, Frances Itani, Sean Michaels, Heather O'Neill, Miriam Toews and Padma Viswanathan.
The event also features special guest appearances and entertainment. Book News subscribers - use the promo code discount code AUTHOR and receive the special discount price of $20. Event information and ticket sales details: http://www.ticketmaster.ca/event/11004D427A357D04
AWARDS & LISTS
The 2015 Carnegie Medal nominations have been announced. Leading authors on the list include Roddy Doyle, Patrick Ness and Sally Green.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/children_sbookreviews/11173801/Carnegie-Medal-2015-nominations-announced.html
YOUNG READERS
Vivian versus America is the "perfect book to curl up with and read in one sitting, not too long or too short and with characters you fall in love with." It also tackles that favourite theme of YA fiction: dystopia.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/27/review-vivian-versus-america-katie-coyle
NEWS & FEATURES
It's Dylan Thomas' 100th birthday! In Wales, a toast is being made.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/world/europe/a-toast-to-dylan-thomas-on-his-100th-birthday.html
You can also take a quiz about the famous Welsh Poet. Celebrate his birthday by testing your knowledge of his life and work.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/oct/27/quiz-dylan-thomas-centenary-100-birthday
What's the "lavender ceiling?" It is the representation of the fact that gay authors who "write honestly about contemporary gay life are rarely published to wide acclaim by mainstream publishers in Canada, and are often relegated to the sidelines and the small presses."
http://thewalrus.ca/queerer-than-fiction/
A new documentary has been made about Joan Didion. A preview is available online, here.
http://www.vogue.com/3243661/joan-didion-documentary-trailer-we-tell-ourselves-stories-in-order-to-live/
Can technology enhance print books? Here are 10 projects that aim to do so.
http://ebookfriendly.com/print-books-technology-projects/
"Superficially, women who write fiction today seem to get equal billing with their male counterparts. Yet their work will never get the kind of avid coverage given to men." Many years after Virginia Woolf, women are still fighting for a room of their own.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/10/women-writers-after-woolf-still-fighting-room-one-s-own
What are the top 10 "modernisers" in literature? "From the architects who built the postwar world to the writers who predicted its horrors" here are the books that best evoke the pioneering spirit of the postwar era.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/15/top-10-architect-modernisers-in-literature
What's the best word processor for writers? For Edward Mendelson, the choice is clear. "When I write in WordPerfect, with all its scruffy, low-tech simplicity, the world seems more open, a place where endings can't be predicted, where freedom might be real."
http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/oct/21/escape-microsoft-word/
In Ballast to the White Sea, a lost novel by Malcolm Lowry, is set to be published. Its manuscript was thought to have been burned in a fire at Lowry's Vancouver home seventy years ago.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29757370
Who are your favourite villains in literature? In the first of a new series for The Guardian, Sarah Crown argues that "Tolkien's unseen Sauron from The Lord of the Rings is the most frightening and enduring."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/oct/27/baddies-in-books-sauron-literatures-ultimate-source-of-evil
Halloween is right around the corner. Even famous authors like to get into the fun! Here's an "infographic" featuring costumes of famous authors like Oscar Wilde, Truman Capote and Anne Rice.
http://electricliterature.com/infographic-halloween-costumes-of-famous-authors/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ian McEwan has "a weak spot for characters who have a weak spot for words." In his new book, a novella called The Children Act, the protagonist is "yet another writerly figure: a high court judge whose obsession with producing lucid prose for her judgments reflects the deadened state of her emotions."
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-children-act-by-ian-mcewan/
Susan Minot's new book, Thirty Girls, touches on a difficult and very contemporary subject: the abduction of thirty girls in Africa. She's interviewed by The Rumpus, here.
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/thr-rumpus-interview-with-susan-minot/
What's the last book you loved? For Richard Kramer, it was I Sang to Survive, a "harrowing, powerful, thrilling tale" written by an Auschwitz survivor.
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-last-book-i-loved-i-sang-to-survive/
David Gordon is a writer whose fiction "doesn't fall comfortably into one category. Depending on what you're reading and who you're talking to, he might be a mystery writer, a postmodernist, a satirist, or a hybrid." In this interview, he discusses his new collection and his formative writing years.
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/10/27/desperate-measures-an-interview-with-david-gordon
The Empties, by Jess Row, is this week's New Yorker story. It takes place three years in the future, after a nationwide blackout.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/03/empties
Jesse Row is interviewed about the story, here.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-this-week-jess-row-2014-11-03
Rudy Wiebe has written his last book. Why? "Life is short, there is not enough time to forget everything."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-author-rudy-wiebe-wrote-his-latest-book-life-is-short-there-is-not-enough-time-to-forget-everything/article21288358/
Michael Faber has also announced that his most recent novel, The Book of Strange New Things, is to be his last. "I felt that I had one more book in me that could be special and sincere and extraordinary, and that that would be enough," said Mr. Faber.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/arts/michel-faber-plans-to-stop-writing-novels.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ALCUIN SOCIETY BOOK AUCTION
November 1, from 11 am at UBC Golf Club (5185 University Blvd.) Free admission. Come, enjoy beautiful books at reduced prices starting at 1/2 cover price and support next year's Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design. This is Canada's only national competition for book design.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at 1:00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
RAWI HAGE
Opening reception and reading. Wednesday November 5 at 7:00pm, free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, Woodwards, SFU, 149 W Hastings St. Vancouver. Please RSVP to https://www.facebook.com/events/871860279491340/.
JOHN RALSTON SAUL
Presented by UBC Continuing Studies and the Laurier Institution in partnership with UBC First Nations House of Learning and the Vancouver Writers Fest. Thursday, November 6 at 7:00pm. Cost: $5 – all proceeds donated to the First Nations House of Learning Bursary. Register by phoning 604-822-1444, or online at cstudies.ubc.ca/comeback. Sty-Wet-Tan Hall, First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC Point Grey.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writers will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov. Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
AFGHAN STORYTELLING EVENING
A diverse line-up of speakers will tell short stories to accompany images of Afghanistan: about people, places, food, family, music, culture, art, education, and more. Thursday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets include full dinner, dessert, beverages for $25 per person through Eventbrite or at Zulu Records at 1972 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver. Tickets at the door $35.00, cash or credit card. Details at cw4wafghan.ca.
Upcoming
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
AUTHORFEST
Featuring Norma Charles, Robert Heidbreder and Deborah Hodges. Sponsored by The Vancouver Children’s Literature Roundtable and the Education Library at UBC. Scarfe 100, 4:30pm-6:00pm. Free. More information at www.vclr.ca.
KAREN ARMSTRONG
The world-renowned author, founder of the international Charter for Compassion, TED Prize winner and recipient of SFU's 2012 Jack P. Blaney Award for Dialogue returns to Vancouver to launch her new book Fields of Blood: Religion and the History of Violence. Monday, November 17 at 7:00pm. Tickets $19.50/$11.50; can't afford a ticket, email dial@sfu.ca. The Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street. More information at sfu.ca.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Hot Sheet #7 - Sunday, October 26
The Hot Sheet
It may have been a rainy week down here on Granville Island, but the weather certainly didn’t dampen our spirits—our 27th annual Festival has been fantastic. It’s been a week filled with thoughtful and generous authors, insightful panel discussions and moving readings. And, as always, our Festival authors noticed our warm and engaged audiences—Vancouver’s literary community is second to none.
We have just one day left, and one last event with availability, and what better way to celebrate than with two literary titans!
Sunday, October 26
Event 86: The Fitting Finale | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/86-fitting-finale
Colm Tóibín | Jane Smiley
Two titans on the literary landscape come together in a fitting finale to this year’s Festival. IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-winner Colm Tóibín comes to the Writers Fest with his new book Nora Webster, “a masterful portrait of a grieving woman finding herself.” He’ll appear alongside Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley whose new novel Some Luck has been named one of the best books of the fall.
#Discovery Contest
Tweet or instagram your Festival discovery with hashtags #vwf2014 and #discovery for a chance to win tickets to our events with Bruce Cockburn (November 10) and Alan Doyle (November 13)! Click here for complete contest details, http://writersfest.bc.ca/prefaces/tavia/discovery-contest.
VWF Writing Contests
Today at 5:00 pm is the deadline for online submissions to the VWF Poetry & Short Story Contest for adults (http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest), and the Spreading the Word Youth Writing Contest for students in Grades 8-12 from across BC (http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest).
November Special Events
http://writersfest.bc.ca/events
Check out our upcoming special events featuring Bruce Cockburn (November 10) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn, Alan Doyle (November 13) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle, and Conrad Black (November 13) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack.
Support the Vancouver Writers Fest
If you’d like to become more involved with the Vancouver Writers Fest, consider becoming a member, http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/membership. For only $35 you be in the loop, get the first crack at 2015 Festival events (October 20–25), receive a discount on Festival tickets, and get the Festival program guide mailed to you. And if you would like to make a donation to help the Festival bring great writers to Vancouver and support Spreading the Word education programs for BC schools, you can do that online, http://writersfest.bc.ca/donate, or by mail, or by calling our office at 604-681-6330.
Festival Photos of the Day
http://writersfest.bc.ca/media/photos-of-the-day
It's been an amazing week. Writers from around the world have made Granville Island a book lovers paradise for thousands of readers of all ages. Thank you to our friends at CMHC Granville Island, the Granville Island Hotel, Kidsbooks and Granville Island Cultural Society for welcoming the writers and the audiences. Here are some photo highlights (all photos (c) Chris Cameron).
It may have been a rainy week down here on Granville Island, but the weather certainly didn’t dampen our spirits—our 27th annual Festival has been fantastic. It’s been a week filled with thoughtful and generous authors, insightful panel discussions and moving readings. And, as always, our Festival authors noticed our warm and engaged audiences—Vancouver’s literary community is second to none.
We have just one day left, and one last event with availability, and what better way to celebrate than with two literary titans!
Sunday, October 26
Event 86: The Fitting Finale | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/86-fitting-finale
Colm Tóibín | Jane Smiley
Two titans on the literary landscape come together in a fitting finale to this year’s Festival. IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-winner Colm Tóibín comes to the Writers Fest with his new book Nora Webster, “a masterful portrait of a grieving woman finding herself.” He’ll appear alongside Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley whose new novel Some Luck has been named one of the best books of the fall.
#Discovery Contest
Tweet or instagram your Festival discovery with hashtags #vwf2014 and #discovery for a chance to win tickets to our events with Bruce Cockburn (November 10) and Alan Doyle (November 13)! Click here for complete contest details, http://writersfest.bc.ca/prefaces/tavia/discovery-contest.
VWF Writing Contests
Today at 5:00 pm is the deadline for online submissions to the VWF Poetry & Short Story Contest for adults (http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest), and the Spreading the Word Youth Writing Contest for students in Grades 8-12 from across BC (http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest).
November Special Events
http://writersfest.bc.ca/events
Check out our upcoming special events featuring Bruce Cockburn (November 10) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/brucecockburn, Alan Doyle (November 13) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/alandoyle, and Conrad Black (November 13) http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/conradblack.
Support the Vancouver Writers Fest
If you’d like to become more involved with the Vancouver Writers Fest, consider becoming a member, http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/membership. For only $35 you be in the loop, get the first crack at 2015 Festival events (October 20–25), receive a discount on Festival tickets, and get the Festival program guide mailed to you. And if you would like to make a donation to help the Festival bring great writers to Vancouver and support Spreading the Word education programs for BC schools, you can do that online, http://writersfest.bc.ca/donate, or by mail, or by calling our office at 604-681-6330.
Festival Photos of the Day
http://writersfest.bc.ca/media/photos-of-the-day
It's been an amazing week. Writers from around the world have made Granville Island a book lovers paradise for thousands of readers of all ages. Thank you to our friends at CMHC Granville Island, the Granville Island Hotel, Kidsbooks and Granville Island Cultural Society for welcoming the writers and the audiences. Here are some photo highlights (all photos (c) Chris Cameron).
Saturday, October 25, 2014
Hot Sheet #6 - Saturday, October 25
The Hot Sheet
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
#Discovery Contest
Tweet or instagram your Festival discovery with hashtags #vwf2014 and #discovery for a chance to win tickets to our events with Bruce Cockburn (November 10) and Alan Doyle (November 13)! Click here for complete contest details, http://writersfest.bc.ca/prefaces/tavia/discovery-contest.
Saturday, October 25
Event 73: Rules of Engagement | Performance Works | 5:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/73-rules-engagement
Dionne Brand | Thomas King | Lee Maracle | Christos Tsiolkas
At what point does engagement with contemporary concerns enter your work and how does it affect the art that you’re producing? Dionne Brand, Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Christos Tsiolkas discuss their decision to address social and political issues in their work.
Event 76: The Poetry Bash | Performance Works | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/76-poetry-bash
Ken Babstock | George Elliott Clarke | Billeh Nickerson | Sina Queyras | Katherena Vermette | Patricia Young
This year’s Bash features poets from coast to coast, some launching careers and some who’ve been earning accolades for decades. Tonight is your cross-country checkup, proof that all is thriving in the world of Canadian poetics.
Event 77: Who I Really Am | Waterfront Theatre | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/77-who-i-really-am
Dinaw Mengestu | Shani Mootoo | Tom Rachman | Kim Thúy
The search for identity is a complicated and quintessentially human experience. Dinaw Mengestu uses love and war to powerfully explore a third, equally dramatic theme: identity. Shani Mootoo has written a brilliant metaphor for how we reexamine and reshape stories about ourselves. Tom Rachman’s novel explores how we must choose to make our own place in the world. And Kim Thúy’s novel features a young Vietnamese woman thrown into a new world.
Sunday, October 26
Event 79: A Conversation with Dinaw Mengestu | Studio 1398 | 10:00 am
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/79-conversation-dinaw-mengestu
With a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant under his belt and a spot on The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 list, Dinaw Mengestu is making a big splash in the literary world. Mengestu is a thoughtful and hard-hitting chronicler of the African diaspora, who explores “the puzzles of identity, place and human connection.”
Event 80: The Life and Times | Waterfront Theatre | 10:30 am
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/80-life-and-times
Emma Donoghue | David Homel | Jane Smiley
History comes to life with three authors whose rich narratives transform dusty dates into riveting stories. Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music brings to steamy life the unsolved 1876 murder of a pistol-packing crossdresser. David Homel’s The Fledglings careens between past and present to tell the story of three generations of family. And Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley’s Some Luck tells a multi-generational saga over three transformative decades in America.
Event 86: The Fitting Finale | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/86-fitting-finale
Colm Tóibín | Jane Smiley
Two titans on the literary landscape come together in a fitting finale to this year’s Festival. IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-winner Colm Tóibín comes to the Writers Fest with his new book Nora Webster, “a masterful portrait of a grieving woman finding herself.” He’ll appear alongside Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley whose new novel Some Luck has been named one of the best books of the fall.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
#Discovery Contest
Tweet or instagram your Festival discovery with hashtags #vwf2014 and #discovery for a chance to win tickets to our events with Bruce Cockburn (November 10) and Alan Doyle (November 13)! Click here for complete contest details, http://writersfest.bc.ca/prefaces/tavia/discovery-contest.
Saturday, October 25
Event 73: Rules of Engagement | Performance Works | 5:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/73-rules-engagement
Dionne Brand | Thomas King | Lee Maracle | Christos Tsiolkas
At what point does engagement with contemporary concerns enter your work and how does it affect the art that you’re producing? Dionne Brand, Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Christos Tsiolkas discuss their decision to address social and political issues in their work.
Event 76: The Poetry Bash | Performance Works | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/76-poetry-bash
Ken Babstock | George Elliott Clarke | Billeh Nickerson | Sina Queyras | Katherena Vermette | Patricia Young
This year’s Bash features poets from coast to coast, some launching careers and some who’ve been earning accolades for decades. Tonight is your cross-country checkup, proof that all is thriving in the world of Canadian poetics.
Event 77: Who I Really Am | Waterfront Theatre | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/77-who-i-really-am
Dinaw Mengestu | Shani Mootoo | Tom Rachman | Kim Thúy
The search for identity is a complicated and quintessentially human experience. Dinaw Mengestu uses love and war to powerfully explore a third, equally dramatic theme: identity. Shani Mootoo has written a brilliant metaphor for how we reexamine and reshape stories about ourselves. Tom Rachman’s novel explores how we must choose to make our own place in the world. And Kim Thúy’s novel features a young Vietnamese woman thrown into a new world.
Sunday, October 26
Event 79: A Conversation with Dinaw Mengestu | Studio 1398 | 10:00 am
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/79-conversation-dinaw-mengestu
With a MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant under his belt and a spot on The New Yorker’s 20 Under 40 list, Dinaw Mengestu is making a big splash in the literary world. Mengestu is a thoughtful and hard-hitting chronicler of the African diaspora, who explores “the puzzles of identity, place and human connection.”
Event 80: The Life and Times | Waterfront Theatre | 10:30 am
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/80-life-and-times
Emma Donoghue | David Homel | Jane Smiley
History comes to life with three authors whose rich narratives transform dusty dates into riveting stories. Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music brings to steamy life the unsolved 1876 murder of a pistol-packing crossdresser. David Homel’s The Fledglings careens between past and present to tell the story of three generations of family. And Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley’s Some Luck tells a multi-generational saga over three transformative decades in America.
Event 86: The Fitting Finale | Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/86-fitting-finale
Colm Tóibín | Jane Smiley
Two titans on the literary landscape come together in a fitting finale to this year’s Festival. IMPAC Dublin Literary Award-winner Colm Tóibín comes to the Writers Fest with his new book Nora Webster, “a masterful portrait of a grieving woman finding herself.” He’ll appear alongside Pulitzer Prize-winner Jane Smiley whose new novel Some Luck has been named one of the best books of the fall.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
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