Book News Vol. 8 No. 45

BOOK NEWS

SPECIAL EVENT

Just announced! - Oliva Chow
Member of Parliament, seasoned politician and widow of former New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton—tells her story in her candid new memoir, My Journey. Ms. Chow will be interviewed by Kathryn Gretsinger. Click here for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/oliviachow.

AWARDS & LISTS

Douglas Coupland and Louise Penny have been appointed to the Order of Canada. Coupland was honoured for "his contributions to our examination of the contemporary human condition as a novelist, cultural commentator and artist", and Penny received the honour for "her contributions to Canadian culture as an author shining a spotlight on the Eastern Townships of Quebec."
http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=15482

The five category winners of the Costa Book Awards 2013 have been announced, among them Kate Atkinson for her celebrated novel Life After Life. Now the five books battle it out for the Costa Book of the Year 2013.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/10553875/Costa-Book-Awards-2013-category-winners-announced.html

YOUNG READERS

Montreal has become a hotbed for children's illustration. In this Quill & Quire article, illustrators Isabelle Arsenault and Matthew Forsythe tell you why.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/childrens-publishing/drawing-inspiration-how-montreal-became-a-hotbed-for-childrens-illustration/

NEWS & FEATURES

Starting to keep a diary is a common New Year's Resolution, and The Guardian newspaper is celebrating that fact. Whether or not you are so diligent yourself, here is a list of the top 10 literary diarists to inspire you:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/01/travis-elboroughs-top-10-literary-diarists

Guiding a book from page to stage can be an arduous task, especially if that book is written by Hilary Mantel. Both Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies, which together total more than 1,000 pages, have recently been adapted by the Royal Shakespeare Company, and are currently running in repertory in Stratford, UK.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-features/10528584/Hilary-Mantel-interview-for-the-RSC-theatrical-adaptation-of-Wolf-Hall.html

The New York Times Book Review is a third of the length it was in its 1970s heyday. Two-thirds of public libraries reported flat or decreasing budgets in 2012. These statistics are just two signs (among many) that the decline of reading is upon us.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/opinion/sunday/the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-reader.html

The Irish Arts Council has announced that Ireland will have its own Literature Laureate in 2014. For many, "it's surprising no such title has existed up until now, Ireland having such a rich literary heritage."
http://www.mhpbooks.com/ireland-will-have-its-own-literature-laureate-in-2014x

A copyright battle that "might have amused Sherlock Holmes himself" has begun over Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's copyright protections, most of which have now expired. A federal judge in Chicago has given the green light to new mysteries featuring the famous sleuth, but the Doyle estate is calling foul.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Copyright+battle+might+have+amused+Sherlock+Holmes/9347901/story.html

"More and more often these days, authors are considered responsible for their own success—and those who were once responsible for promoting them now tout the glories of self-promotion." This article is an author's guide to how literary stardom might look like in the near future.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/12/how-to-make-your-book-a-bestseller/282630/

How does one update a literary classic? "How can an epistolary romance survive the Facebook era? Such are the challenges facing the growing ranks of writers signed up to bring literary classics to new life".
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/06/how-update-literary-classic-bond-austen-capote

BOOKS & WRITERS

Literary writers have been increasingly venturing into the realm of dystopian fantasy. In Chang-rae Lee's On Such a Full Sea, our climate change fears result in a highly original novel. Whole societies are forced to relocate, and this time, America's colonizers come from China.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/books/review/on-such-a-full-sea-by-chang-rae-lee.html

Speaking of the future, Chang-rae Lee's novel is highly original for other reasons too. A limited edition of On Such a Full Sea has been released with the first-ever 3D-printed book cover.
http://entertainment.time.com/2014/01/06/check-it-out-the-first-ever-3d-printed-book-cover/

When Russell Banks reads fiction, he takes Thomas Pynchon's advice seriously: don't read anything in which death is not present. Learn more about his reading habits, including guilty pleasures, favourite literary genres and bookstores, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/05/books/review/russell-banks-by-the-book.html

What books should we be watching out for this January? Here's The New Yorker's list:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/01/books-to-watch-out-for-january-1.html

If you're looking for empathy, courage and love in the New Year, you might be interested in one of these "self-help books for people who don't do self-help". The list was created by psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz, author of The Examined Life: How we Lose and Find Ourselves.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10547006/Self-help-books-for-people-who-dont-do-self-help.html

Renée Sarojini Saklikar has written a deeply moving debut poetry collection about the Air India bombing, called Children of Air India. According to the Vancouver Sun, "Saklikar's collection shows how poetry can heal when prose has reached its limitation."
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Offering+words+unspeakable/9327722/story.html

Much news was made late last year over the resurgence of the short story. One of the benefactors of this resurgence was Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian-American author whose new book Claire of the Sea Light has been described as a "short story collection, novel-in-story, vignettes" and also "a novel". She addresses these distinctions, among many other things, in an interview, here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/01/the-rumpus-interview-with-edwidge-danticat/

It's rare that wicked stepmothers change lives in a positive ways. But for Martin Amis, he would not be the man he is today if it had not been for his own. In this piece, Martin Amis pays tribute to his stepmother Elizabeth Jane Howard, and reveals the profound influence she had upon his life.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2533918/I-semi-literate-truant-read-Harold-Robbins-dirty-bits-Lady-Chatterly-Only-wicked-stepmother-I-today-writes-MARTIN-AMIS.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poets. Sunday, January 12 at 3:00pm, free. Meeting Room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.

SFU LUNCH POEMS
Daphne Marlatt and Jordan Scott will be featured. Presented by SFU Public Square. Wednesday, January 15 at 12 noon. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). Free admission, no registration required. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

RAILWAY ROCK GANG
Join former BC RAIL Rock Gang foreman Gary Sim for a presentation on his new book. Wednesday, January 15 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Mariner Janes & Raoul Fernandes plus open mic. Thursday, January 23, 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.

BURNS MARATHON 2014
Come help the SFU Centre for Scottish Studies make history as they set another world record for "The Longest Continual Recitation of Burns Poetry and Song." Be a part of the day by giving a recitation or come to cheer on the participants. Saturday, January 25 at 9:00am. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings. For more info: http://www.scottish.sfu.ca/sfus_robert_burns_marathon or contact Tricia Barker, tbarker@sfu.ca.

SHY: AN ANTHOLOGY
Contributors Sylvia Stopforth, Dhana Musil and Elaine Woo will read. Tuesday, January 28 at 7:00pm, free. McGill Branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street. More information and registration at 604-299-8955.

WORDSTORM READING SERIES
WordStorm will feature Daniela Elza, Mary Ann Moore and Jan De Grass on Tuesday, January 28th, 7pm, at Demeter's Coffee Vault, 499 Wallace Street,
Nanaimo. More information atwordstorm.ca.

ANNIE PAQUETTE
Author talks about her new memoir, Left, Right, Then Center. Wednesday, January 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7403.

THE ON EDGE READINGS SERIES
Features Gillian Jerome & Daniela Elza, 7pm, Thursday, January 30th, South Building Room 406, Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston St., Granville Island. Free and open to the public.

JACK HODGINS
Author Jack Hodgins and Chor Leon Men's Choir team up to present Cadillac Cathedral, featuring a rollicking original story read by Jack, accompanied by new and favourite works by the renowned pride of singing lions. Jan 31 (Vancouver), Feb 1 (Victoria), Feb 2 (Nanaimo). Info at http://bit.ly/CLcadillac.

Upcoming

GRAFFITI HACK BOOK LAUNCH PARTY
Launch of Elen Ghulam's new book, Graffiti Hack: A Novel. Saturday, February 8 at 7:00pm. The Landing, 375 Water Street, Vancouver. More information at ihath.com.

AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings of both brand new and established local authors in a variety of genres from poetry to short stories to novels. Monday, February 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.

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

ICELAND WRITERS RETREAT
The Iceland Writers Retreat invites published and aspiring book writers (fiction and non-fiction) to participate in a series of workshops and panels led by a team of international writers from April 9-13, 2014 including Joseph Boyden. Between intimate workshops and lectures tour the spectacular Golden Circle, sit in the cozy cafés of Reykjavik, soak in hot geothermal pools, listen to new Icelandic music, and learn about the country's rich literary tradition. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.

SKAGIT RIVER POETRY FESTIVAL
A celebration of poetry featuring readings, workshops, and storytelling. Access to internationally famous poets through intimate venues and workshop sessions. May 15-18, 2014. Various venues throughout La Conner, WA. Tickets on sale in January. More information at www.skagitriverpoetry.org.