Book News Vol. 8 No. 50

BOOK NEWS

INCITE

Join us on February 19 for an evening of new fiction and non-fiction with Catherine Bush, Adrianne Harun and Andrew Steinmetz. Details on this and other upcoming Incite events here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.

SPECIAL EVENT

Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway
An evening with two acclaimed Canadian authors. Steven Galloway, the bestselling author of The Cellist of Sarajevo, is back with his brilliant new novel, The Confabulist. And Miriam Toews, the award-winning author of A Complicated Kindness, brings her irresistible voice and heart wrenching poignancy to her new novel All My Puny Sorrows. Click here for event details and to find out more about our special offer for bookclubs: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/gallowaytoews.

AWARDS & LISTS

The shortlist for the Folio Prize has been announced. Among the eight contenders is Canada's own Anne Carson, who appeared at the Vancouver Writers Fest last year. This brand new award is being given to an English language book of fiction published in the UK by an author from any country.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2014/feb/11/folio-prize-shortlist-in-pictures

Vancouver Writers Fest author Eric Schlosser has been named a finalist for this year's Lionel Gelber Prize. Founded in 1989 by the Canadian diplomat of the same name, the $15,000 prize honours a "non-fiction book in English on foreign affairs that seeks to deepen public debate on significant international issues."
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/celebrity/Eric+Schlosser+among+finalists+Canadian+founded/9491202/story.html

YOUNG READERS

If you know any children who are currently enjoying watching the Winter Olympics, you might want to direct them to this list. The Guardian's 'Book Doctor' has prescribed the best sports books for children over the age of 11, stories "which capture the thrill of competitive sport."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/feb/10/childrens-books-about-sport-ice-skating

NEWS & FEATURES

The Writers' Trust of Canada has announced its upcoming Berton House writers-in-residence. The residency welcomes writers to spend three months at the childhood home of Pierre Berton, in Dawson City, Yukon.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/book-news/the-writers-trust-of-canada-announces-next-berton-house-writers-in-residence/

A German college student named Gregor Weichbrodt has created a 45-page manual (driving directions, thanks to Google Maps) for all the spots mentioned in Jack Kerouac's On the Road. Called On the Road for 17,527 Miles, you can download it for free as an ebook.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/jack-kerouacs-on-the-road-turned-into-google-driving-directions.html

Before Haruki Murakami was a writer, he was a jazz head–first an appreciator, and then the owner of a Jazz club, called Peter Cat, in Tokyo. In this article for Harper's Magazine, Aaron Gilbreath goes in search of Murakami's club, as well as the jazz that influenced his development as a writer.
http://harpers.org/blog/2014/02/nothing-is-strange/

A new program to improve children's reading skills (and help animals at the same time) has made headlines around the world, thanks to a recent (viral) photo of a young boy reading Robert Munsch's Love You Forever to a cat. According to the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, the program helps kids improve their reading skills and "cats find the rhythmic sound of a voice very comforting and soothing."
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/book-culture/photo-of-kid-reading-robert-munsch-to-shelter-cat-goes-viral/

Despite the fact that he was famously economical with his words, Ernest Hemingway was apparently also a hoarder. A trove of some 2,500 documents from his Cuban villa (including diaries, letters, tickets to bullfights and every Christmas card he ever received) has now been digitized and made available online.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/books/batch-of-hemingway-ephemera-from-cuba-is-digitized.html

It's easy to blame television and film for the decline of reading. Sometimes, however, they have the exact opposite effect! The Library of America ("a nonprofit publisher dedicated to publishing, and keeping in print, authoritative editions of America's best and most significant writing") has seen a rise in the sales of many classics this year, including The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (thanks to a Ben Stiller film), and On the Road, whose sales have jumped more than 30%!
http://publishingperspectives.com/2014/02/tv-and-film-boost-sales-of-library-of-america-classics/

2013 Festival Writer George Packer takes a provocative look at the changes in publishing and book retailing.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2014/02/17/140217fa_fact_packer?currentPage=all

A soon-to-be-auctioned letter of J.R.R. Tolkien's has revealed a fascinating literary argument: apparently W.H. Auden tried very hard to persuade the famous fantasist to drop the romance between Aragorn and Arwen from the storyline of The Lord of the Rings. "This letter, which has never been published before, sheds a fascinating light on Tolkien's working methods and the devotion to detail which he lavished on the imaginary worlds of his books."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/11/jrr-tolkien-advised-wh-auden-lord-of-the-rings

BOOKS & WRITERS

Ivan Coyote has been a Vancouver Writers Fest fixture for many years. She discusses her beginnings as an artist, her work in schools, and her new book (and multi-media production), Gender Failure, here:
http://cwila.com/wordpress/an-interview-with-ivan-coyote/

"Aside from the poetry of Russell Thornton, it's seldom—too seldom—that we see literature that stakes out North Vancouver as its inspiration and terrain. This fact alone makes The November Optimist, David Zieroth's story (or novella, or whatever it should be called) all the more remarkable." Check out the Georgia Straight's review here:
http://www.straight.com/life/579676/david-zieroths-november-optimist-bravura-performance

If the "dynamics of sociopolitical and domestic toxicity and inebriation" and "the soul-crushing emptiness of the unexamined suburban life (and yet the inspirations of love and natural beauty within the same landscape)" intrigue you, you might be curious to read this review of Dennis E. Bolen's Black Liquor, set in 1970s Vancouver Island.
http://www.straight.com/life/579671/dennis-e-bolens-black-liquor-captures-west-coast-working-class-life

David Grossman has written a new book, Falling Out of Time, as a slender companion piece to his extraordinary novel To the End of the Land. "But while To the End of the Land describes tormented hope, Falling Out of Time permits itself the freedom of despair...It reads like a postscript but that, after all, is what an elegy is."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/10/falling-time-david-grossman-review

In 2010, American poet Tarfia Faizullah went to Bangladesh to interview survivors of rape, a military tactic used during the 1971 Liberation War. Her collection Seam, based upon these interviews, has already won the Crab Orchard Series in Poetry First Book Award, and will be published on March 6th. Check out her interview with the Paris Review, here:
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/02/10/everything-is-near-and-unforgotten-an-interview-with-tarfia-faizullah/

Who's your favourite memoirist? According to Dan Kois (writing for Slate), it's "an ordinary middle-class Quebecer who draws comics." That man is Michel Ragabliati, who, despite not leading an extraordinary life, does something very few other memoirists achieve: makes you look inside your own experiences to find the emotional congruencies between your life and his.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/02/michel_rabagliati_s_cartoon_memoirs_paul_joins_the_scouts_and_the_paul_books.html

A passage from Alice Munro's Friend of My Youth has been featured in this month's 'By Heart' section of The Atlantic (formerly Atlantic Monthly) magazine. In his essay for the series, Kyle Minor contests Munro's popular reputation as a mere chronicler of bounded, fiercely quiet lives.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/02/alice-munros-writerly-wisdom-short-stories-arent-small-stories/283744

COMMUNITY EVENTS

AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Featuring Amber Dawn, Brett Josef Grubisic, Leah Horlick, Lydia Kwa, Alex Leslie, Emilia Nielsen and Andrea Routley with MC Carellin Brooks. Friday, February 14 at 9:00pm. Cost: $10. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at vancouverobserver.com.

WORLD POETRY VANCOUVER
Celebration of Black History Month with Roger Blenman, Rosario Aria Naranjo, Diane Laloge and many more. Hosted by Ariadne Sawyer and Kagan Goh. Saturday, February 15 at 3:00pm, free. Britannia Community Centre, 1661 Napier St. More information at worldpoetry.ca.

LOVE HANGOVER
Storytelling series featuring stories of love and heartbreak, crushes and breakups, Tinder and long-distance lovers, missed connections and cheating jerks. Saturday, February 15 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $25 plus service charges. Rickshaw Theatre, 254 E. Hastings, Vancouver. More information at liveatrickshaw.com.

POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Dennis E. Bolen, Brad Cran, Candice James with host Sho Wiley. February 16 at 3:00pm. The Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.

PLAYING WITH FIRE
Storytelling featuring spoken word champion Bryant Ross and locals Philomena Jordan, Erin Graham and Rita Taylor. Sunday, February 16 at 7:00pm. Cost: $6. 1805 Larch, Vancouver. More information at vancouverstorytellers.ca.

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.

SPOKEN INK
Poet Andrea McKenzie Raine reads from her debut novel, Turnstiles. Tuesday, February 18 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings at Boundary. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.

LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Ray Hsu and Joanne Arnott featured at Feb 19 Lunch Poems at SFU. Presented by SFU Public Square, 12-1pm in SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery (515 W Hastings St.). Free admission, no registration required. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

SAY WHA?
Funny people reading from bad books featuring Lauren McGibbon, Stacie Steadman, Megan Phillips and Jeff Gladstone. Wednesday, February 19 at 8:00pm. Cost: $5-10. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at sarabynoe.com/shows/say-wha.

CHRISTINA JOHNSON-DEAN
Local author talks about her new book The Life and Art of Edythe hembroff-Schleicher. Thursday, February 20 at 7:00pm, free but register at 250-475-6100. Emily Carr branch, Victoria Public Library, 101-3521 Blanshard St. More information at gvpl.ca.

WORDSTHAW
Second annual symposium featuring 38 poets, novelists, short story writers and journalists. Landsdowne Lecture will feature Vancouver poet, novelist and librettist Daphne Marlatt. February 20-22, 2014. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC. More information at malahatreview.ca.

FROM TALKING STICK TO MICROPHONE
A selection of Canada's best independent musicians and slam poets. Hosted by Zaccheus Jackson. Friday, February 21 at 8:00pm, pay what you can. Cafe Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive, Vancouver. More information at fullcircle.ca.

GALIANO ISLAND LITERARY FESTIVAL
5th annual festival featuring Dina Del Bucchia, Bev Sellars, George Bowering, and others. February 21-23, 2014 at the Galiano Oceanfront Inn & Spa, Galiano Island. More information at galianoliteraryfestival.com.

Upcoming

ALMOST CRIMINAL
Vancouver writer E.R. Brown reads from his first novel, Almost Criminal, a BC-based crime thriller. Wednesday, February 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. For more information, phone 604-925-7403.

REWILDING VANCOUVER
Author J.B. MacKinnon discusses his latest book The Once and Future World. Thursday, February 27 at 5:00pm (corrected time). Cecil Green Park House, 6251 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.

RECONCILIATION THROUGH POETRY
Five diverse poets will unveil newly commissioned work exploring the concept of reconciliation in honour of Chief Robert Joseph. Featuring poets Jordan Abel, Joanne Arnott, Juliane Okot Bitek, Jordan Scott and Daniel Zomparelli. Thursday, February 27 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.

RED GIRL RAT BOY
Vancouver author Cynthia Flood reads from her latest book. Thursday, February 27 at 7:00pm, free. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert Street, Burnaby. More information and registration at 604-299-8955 or bpl.bc.ca.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poet/singer/artist David Campbell. Poetry and music: A celebration. Thursday, Feb 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.

VEENA GOKHALE
Reading by Montreal-based author. Special guest poet and writer Rahat Kurd. Friday, February 28 at 12:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.

NORTHERN LIGHTS
An evening celebrating Northern writers and artists featuring readings from Sanaaq, the first novel written in Inuktituk and recently translated into English; and a screening of the short film Amaqqut Nunaat: Country of Wolves. Friday, February 28 at 7:00pm, pay what you can. Djavad Mowafaghian World Arts Centre, 149 W. Hastings St. More information at fullcircle.ca.