BOOK NEWS
INCITE
Join us on April 2 for new work from short story writers Doretta Lau (How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?), Kathy Page (Paradise & Elsewhere), and novelist Eva Stachniak (Empress of the Night). Details on this and other upcoming Incite events here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
SPECIAL EVENTS
A Dram Come True
Spring is here and that can only mean one thing–A Dram Come True! Our wildly popular scotch tasting fundraiser returns on May 30 and tickets are now on sale. Join us at the legendary Hycroft—a magnificent Edwardian mansion in the heart of Shaughnessy—and enjoy the superb, complex flavours of a variety of rare and distinguished single malts, while supporting the Festival. We've added a VIP reception this year for scotch fans or anyone who is interested learning more about uisce beatha—the water of life.
Friday, May 30, 2014
7:30–9:30pm
Earlybird tickets $110; after April 15: $120
VIP Tasting 6:30–7:30pm; Tickets: $75 (limited quantities, only available with a main event ticket)
Hycroft
1489 McRae Avenue, Vancouver
Click here for details and to purchase tickets, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway
Tickets are going fast for our April 24 event with Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway. They'll read from and talk about their new books: Miriam Toews' All My Puny Sorrows is her most passionate novel yet, the riveting story of two sisters, and a love that illuminates life. Steven Galloway's The Confabulist is a brilliant novel about fame and ambition, reality and illusion, and the ways that love, grief and imagination can alter what we perceive and believe. 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 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world's biggest children's book prize, has just been announced. The winner is Swedish children's author Barbro Lindgren, who despite sharing the same surname as the writer of the Pippi Longstocking books, is not a relation!
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/mar/25/find-out-the-winner-of-the-astrid-lindgren-prize-now
Another huge award for young people's literature has also just been announced: the Hans Christian Andersen Award. Japanese writer Nahoko Uehashi and Brazilan illustrator Roger Mello are the winners.
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/03/24/the-little-bookroom/
La Pasteque, a Montreal book publisher, has been awarded the Bologna Prize for the North American region. The prize honours the best international publishers of the year for their "editorial projects, professional skills, and intellectual qualities of work." They also received the Bologna Ragazzi Award in the fiction category for the picture book Le Noël de Marguerite.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/la-pasteque-named-publisher-of-the-year-in-bologna/
After an amazing year of literary achievement, Alice Munro is now being bestowed with an honour of a completely different kind: a special edition coin, thanks to the Royal Canadian Mint. To celebrate the occasion, the Mint is also donating $10,000 to the Writers' Trust of Canada, which supports writers across the country.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/alice-munro-honoured-with-royal-canadian-mint-coin-1.2584305
YOUNG READERS
Here are three great new picture books for "your little bookworm." Don't be skeptical about the promise of "glitter on every page"!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/books/review/how-would-a-book-like-harold-blooms-western-canon-be-received-today.html
Should children's books be targeted at one gender? For The Globe and Mail's Russell Smith, it's not always a bad thing. He makes the case for The Dangerous Book for Boys, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-i-feel-sad-for-boys-in-the-literary-domain/article17613853/
NEWS & FEATURES
In celebration of World Poetry Day, PEN International has compiled a list of dissident poets whose voices deserve to be heard, despite the repression in their own countries. Here's a chance to read about them (and read some of their poems).
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/21/national-poetry-day-dissident-poets-pen
Are you a constant advocate for underrated books? Which ones do you believe deserve a higher reputation? For this writer, it's Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/mar/20/underrated-books-reputation-raised-which-titles
What are some fictional places that attract real-life tourists? From Tolkien Tourism to the headquarters of a James Bond villain, here's a list of places to visit that are featured in your favourite books and films.
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/the-fictional-places-that-attract-real-life-tourists/284540/
Travel and writing have always been interrelated. For Mark Twain, no route was more important the "magnificent Mississippi, rolling its mile-wide tide". Learn how the Mississippi River made Mark Twain, here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-mississippi-river-made-mark-twain-and-vice-versa-180950193/
A Japanese tech company has begun a massive project to digitize the Vatican Library, in hopes of opening up thousands of precious documents to readers around the world. "The manuscripts that will be digitized extend from pre-Columbian America to China and Japan in the Far East, passing through all the languages and cultures that have marked the culture of Europe."
http://gawker.com/japanese-tech-company-to-digitize-vatican-library-archi-1549353437
Dalhousie University Library has begun a revolutionary project of its own! At their agriculture campus in Truro, you can now check out eighty-five different varieties of plant seeds. In exchange, "patrons are asked to collect new seeds from their plants and return them to the library."
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/libraries/dalhousie-university-library-launches-seed-collection/
Are audiobooks a form of literary "cheating"? In this piece, Bruce Golisnger, author of A Burnable Book, interviews Simon Vance (who narrated his audiobook), discussing "sound, voice, and sense in historical fiction, as well as the unique role of audiobooks in bringing fiction to life."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/03/audiobook_narrator_simon_vance_and_author_bruce_holsinger_discuss_audio.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
Dinaw Mengestu may be Ethiopian-American, but it would be a huge mistake "to call him a novelist of "the immigrant experience" or a chronicler of "life on the hyphen"...for while questions of race, ethnicity and point of origin do crop up repeatedly in Mengestu's fiction, they are merely his raw materials." His new novel is called All Our Names.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/books/review/all-our-names-by-dinaw-mengestu.html
Harlan Coben doesn't believe in guilty pleasures when it comes to reading. As the author of mystery novels, thrillers, and now YA books, he says that "If I'm reading the back of a cereal box, all is O.K. with the world. Guilt? Please." Check out The New York Times' interview with him, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/books/review/harlan-coben-by-the-book.html
In 1961, Michael C. Rockefeller (the 23-year-old banking heir and son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller) died while on his mission to collect art from a remote tribe in New Guinea. Now, travel writer Carl Hoffman has set out to solve the mystery of his disappearance, chronicling both the young man's journey and the author's own attempts to retrace his steps.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/savage-harvest-the-cold-case-of-the-rockefeller-and-the-cannibals/article17615902/
A father-and-son team have compiled a new poetry anthology called Poems That Make Grown Men Cry. The book "is winning praise for introducing male readers to unfamiliar works–and emotions." According to The Guardian, "If you have tears, prepare to shed them now."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/23/poetry-book-men-choose-favourite-tear-jerkers
The long-awaited JRR Tolkien translation of Beowulf is set to be published in May. While some have described this as "an act of barrel-scraping", "Tolkien's expertise on Beowulf and his own literary powers give us every reason to take it seriously."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/22/jrr-tolkien-translation-beowulf-monsters
Astra Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, Occupy activist and the author of The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, which takes aim at our "Technological reality". "Her book is a bracing expression of intelligent outrage–with the manifesto vibe of No Logo and the prescience of Silent Spring."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/author-astra-taylor-pens-a-no-logo-for-the-digital-natives/article17501979/
Claire Cameron's two novels, The Line Painter and The Bear, "ask us to consider the limits of human ingenuity and our ability to survive." She discusses why she wrote her new book, her favourite sentences, the best advice she's ever received and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-best-advice-author-claire-cameron-ever-got-always-chat-up-the-locals/article17615473/
How would a book like Harold Bloom's Western Canon, famous for criticizing the "Balkanization of literary studies", be received today? That's the topic of this week's New York Times Bookends.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/books/review/how-would-a-book-like-harold-blooms-western-canon-be-received-today.html
Last year, Nadifa Mohamed was named one of Granta's Best of Young British novelists. Her new novel, The Orchard of Lost Souls tells the story of three women who are alone "at the heart of the Somali civil conflict – in other words, in the very eyes of the sun."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/books/review/nadifa-mohameds-orchard-of-lost-souls.html
In this month's New Yorker Poetry Podcast, Sharon Olds reads Hubris at Zunzal, by Rodney Jones. The poem "explores the correlation between an experience of loss" and the "impossibility of return." Olds also reads her own poem, Still Falling For Her.
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/poetry-podcast-sharon-olds-reads-rodney-jones.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour-de-force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Underbelly runs at The Cultch from now to March 30, 2014 at 8pm in the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. Tickets are from $31 and can be purchased by calling The Cultch box office at 604-251-1363 or online at http://tickets.thecultch.com/show_events_list.asp?shcode=323.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams and Vancouver poet Linda King plus open mic. Thursday, March 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
ARUNDHATI ROY
The Indian Summer Arts Society presents a special event with Arundhati Roy, who will talk about her journey in writing, from The God of Small Things to Capitalism: A Ghost Story. Tuesday, April 1 at 8:00pm. St Andrew's-Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson St (at Burrard), Vancouver. Tickets: $25/$20 students. More information at
http://indiansummerfestival.ca/events/arundhati-roy/.
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/.
CANADIAN WRITERS SERIES AT UFV
Features Evelyn Lau, Robert Martens, Helene Littmann, Elsie Neufeld, Rajnish Dhawan, and Daniela Elza , April 2nd, 2014, 12:30-2pm, UHouse (Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies), University of the Fraser Valley, 33488 King Road, Abbotsford Campus. All are welcome.
BC BOOK PRIZES SOIREE 2014
Mix and mingle with the nominees, BC's vibrant literary community, and support the BC Book Prizes On Tour program. Thursday, April 3 at 6:00pm, free. Joe's Apartment, 919 Granville St., Vancouver. More information at www.bcbookprizes.ca.
CHINESE CANADIAN AUTHORS' BOOK LAUNCH
This book launch features four new works in Chinese: William Haoquan Chan's Maplescapes: Selected Works of Chinese Canadian Prose, Shou-fang Hu-Moore's Who Is Calling My Name? Liang Zhaoyuan's Decoding Cao Xueqin's Crytograms, Tommy Tao and Ming Sun Poon's Book of Three Arts, and Wang Wenqin's Slow Heart Beat. Saturday, April 5 at 2:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
VERSES VANCOUVER
4th annual festival celebrating the transformative power of words. Featuring Billeh Nickerson, Daniel Zomparelli, Evelyn Lau, Janice Lee and many more. April 5-12, 2014. For complete details, visit versesfestival.ca.
GILLIAN WIGMORE
Author launches her debut novella, Grayling. Saturday, April 5 at 5:00pm, free. Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
UNHOLY RITES
Mystery authors Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock present an illustrated talk about Unholy Rites, their latest novel. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm, free. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DAVID MASON
Author of The Pope's Bookbinder in conversation with Paul Whitney. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:30pm, free. Room 1315, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings. For more information and to reserve your seat, call 778-782-4668 or email library@sfu.ca.
Upcoming
GENDER FAILURE
Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon's show and book launch. Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00pm. The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC. More information at t.co/sRrG1UA9uF.
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. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Jane Munro and Jan Conn plus open mic. Wednesday, April 9, 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.
DIALOGUES IN CRITICAL INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Audra Simpson, Glen Coulthard and Chris Andersen will present on their upcoming books at the UBC Longhouse. Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information at www.ligi.ubc.ca.
NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
15th annual literary weekend. Featuring Vincent Lam, Douglas Gibson, Jen Sookfong Lee, Sandra Gulland and others. April 11 and 12, 2014. North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th St. W., North Vancouver. More information at northshorewritersfestival.com.
CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
The Vancouver poet and co-organizer of the Dead Poets Reading Series will launch his eleventh book, Night Vision, at 3 p.m. on Saturday 12th April in the Alice MacKay Room of the Central Library, 350, West Georgia Street. As well as reading from the new book he will be interviewed about his poetry by local short fiction writer Ken Klonsky. More information at vpl.ca.
DARD HUNTER: THE GRAPHIC WORKS
Lawrence Kreisman will give a talk on Hunter's evolution as an artist, and on what identifies and distinguishes his work from others. Monday, April 14 at 7:00pm, free. Emily Carr Auditorium, Granville Island. More information at blog.alcuinsociety.com.
EVENT NON-FICTION CONTEST
Writers are invited to submit manuscripts exploring the creative non-fiction form. $1500 in prizes available, plus publication. Contest Judge Deborah Campbell. Maximum entry length is 5000 words. $34.95 entry fee. Deadline April 15, 2014. Entrants will receive a one-year subscription to EVENT (or extension). Complete contest guidelines can be found at www.eventmagazine.ca/contest-2014/.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Reading by Susan McCaslin. Wednesday, April 16 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W. Hastings St. More information at sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
text bites & textual vishyuns: a reeding & dialog with bill bissett
Reading by renowned Canadian poet bill bissett, followed by a discussion of his work by publisher Karl Siegler, author Carl Peters and artist/writer/educator Jerry Zaslove. Organized in conjunction with the exhibition textual vishyuns: image and text in the work of bill bissett at The Reach Art Gallery and Museum in Abbotsford, on April 17–June 30. Friday, April 18 at 8:00pm. The Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver.
AUTHORS IN OUR MIDST
Author of American Exodus: Climate Change and the Coming Flight for Survival, Giles Slade, discusses the environmental impact of climate change. Tuesday, April 22 ar 7:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library, 100-7700 Minoru Gate, Richmond. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
2014 LITFEST NEW WEST
April 26, 2014. A day of free workshops at LitFest New West. To see the list of workshops and to register go to: http://artscouncilnewwest.org/litfest/program/workshops/.
DIANE TUCKER BOOK LAUNCH
Join Diane Tucker for the Vancouver launch of her fourth book, Bonsai Love, a collection of poems about the sensual delicacy of love. Sunday, April 27 at 7:00pm, free. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St. Will also feature a musical performance by Vancouver-based sing/songwriter Rodney DeCroo. For more information, visit
www.harbourpublishing.com.
THE PEN AND THE PALETTES
A three day weekend for the cultural and culinary arts enthusiast on Haida Gwaii. Includes the launch of Rachel McMillen's new novel Dark Moon Walking. June 27-30, 2014. More information at haidahouse.com or by email at info@haidahouse.com.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 3
BOOK NEWS
INCITE
Join us on March 26 for poetry night with Jen Currin (School), Jane Munro (Blue Sonoma) and Adam Sol (Complicity). Details on this and other upcoming Incite events here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
SPECIAL EVENTs
Announcing! - A Dram Come True
Spring is here and that can only mean one thing–A Dram Come True! Our wildly popular scotch tasting fundraiser returns on May 30 and tickets are now on sale. Join us at the legendary Hycroft—a magnificent Edwardian mansion in the heart of Shaughnessy—and enjoy the superb, complex flavours of a variety of rare and distinguished single malts, while supporting the Festival. We've added a VIP reception this year for scotch fans or anyone who is interested learning more about uisce beatha—the water of life.
Friday, May 30, 2014
7:30–9:30pm
Early bird tickets $110; after April 15: $120
VIP Tasting 6:30–7:30pm; Tickets: $75 (limited quantities, only available with a main event ticket)
Hycroft
1489 McRae Avenue, Vancouver
Click here for details and to purchase tickets, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway
Tickets are going fast for our April 24 event with Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway. They'll read from and talk about their new books: Miriam Toews' All My Puny Sorrows is her most passionate novel yet, the riveting story of two sisters, and a love that illuminates life. Steven Galloway's The Confabulist is a brilliant novel about fame and ambition, reality and illusion, and the ways that love, grief and imagination can alter what we perceive and believe. 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
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Sheri Fink have been named among the winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards. The annual awards are chosen by a group of almost 600 critics and editors in the publishing industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/business/media/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-and-sheri-fink-win-book-awards.html
The shortlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals have also been announced. Among those nominated for the venerated children's book prizes is Anne Fine, who is trying to become the first person to win three times!http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/mar/17/cilip-carnegie-medal-kate-greenaway-medal-shortlist
YOUNG READERS
James McMullan is most famous for his signature watercolour posters for the Lincoln Center Theater in New York. Now he has created a new work, aimed at children, called Leaving China. The book is a memoir of his own childhood growing up in China, India, Canada and the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/books/leaving-china-by-james-mcmullan.html
Where are the People of Colour in Children's literature? "Of 3,200 children's books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people, according to a study by the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html
NEWS & FEATURES
In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, The Guardian has created an Irish fiction quiz. If you can match the ten featured quotes with their book titles, you're obviously a master of the Irish yarn!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/mar/17/irish-fiction-st-patricks-day-quiz
Last week George Saunders won the inaugural Folio Fiction prize, inciting the ire of many a Brit who were hoping UK talent would be recognized (it's a British award). "But if some sense a crisis for British fiction, that sense is far from universal...British writers have "nothing to fear."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/14/british-literary-prizes-george-saunders-american-authors
Famous Beat poet and City Lights Bookstore-owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti is set to publish his travel journals. Covering the period between 1950 and 2013, they will shed light on his political passions and relationships.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/17/lawrence-ferlinghetti-publish-travel-journals-beat
"Upon graduating from college with a degree in English, there are only several career options that one is faced with: flip burgers, teach the literary canon to bored high school students, write press releases for pharmaceutical companies, or (if you're lucky), work in radio." Read a defense of the English Major, here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/how-english-majors-are-ch_n_4943792.html
The Oxford English dictionary has made its latest updates. New words to be inserted include "bestie", "bookaholic" and "wackadoodle"!
http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/march-2014-update/new-words-list-march-2014/
Original drawings and writing from John Lennon's books In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works are to be auctioned at Sotheby's in June. The portfolio is available online.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2014/mar/17/john-lennons-drawings-poems-and-prose
"Eudora Welty once explained her popularity as a public speaker: "Colleges keep inviting me because I'm so well behaved...I'm always on time, and I don't get drunk or hole up in a hotel with my lover." Danny Heitman discusses the "Quiet Greatness of Eudora Welty", here:
http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/marchapril/feature/the-quiet-greatness-eudora-welty
A bestselling Canadian author has become the focus of a copyright suit. Filmmakers are claiming that J.L Witterick, the author of the Holocaust novel My Mother's Secret, took the books plot and all its central characters from their film No. 4 Street Of Our Lady.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/holocaust-novel-focus-of-copyright-suit/article17494819/
UBC's Creative Writing Program was revolutionary when it began, the first in the country to operate separately from an English department. To mark their 50th birthday, The Globe and Mail has asked one of the program's current students to interview one of their star graduates.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/an-authors-tips-write-as-much-as-possible-have-fun-be-patient-with-your-prose/article17493876/
"In an age of DIY publishing, why have a Writers' Union?" Russell Smith addresses that question, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/russell-smith-in-an-age-of-diy-publishing-why-have-a-writers-union/article17480781/
What happens when no one cares about your novel? "MFA programs struggle to teach writers the most important lesson of all: You are not owed readers."
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/12/no_one_cares_about_your_novel_so_writers_dont_be_boring/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Alice Hoffman's new novel, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, "creates a sweeping narrative that keeps the reader interested—paying homage to the darkness that can motivate the creative process." Set in New York City in the early part of the 20th century, it features mermaids (of all things!) to tell a coming of age story.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/02/25/the_museum_of_extraordinary_things_by_alice_hoffman_review.html
Simon Schama, the prolific professor, TV presenter and non-fiction author has written a new book called The Story of the Jews. Actually it's a whole multimedia event: two books and a five-part television documentary that will be broadcast on both the BBC and PBS!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/books/simon-schamas-the-story-of-the-jews.html
Tessa Hadley's story Under the Sign of the Moon has been featured in this week's New Yorker. She answers questions about the story, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/this-week-in-fiction-tessa-hadley.html
Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie is often associated with the word "political", but should this actually be the case? According to the author, "When you're not a white male writing about white male things then somehow your work has to mean something."
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/13/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_when_you%E2%80%99re_not_a_white_male_writing_about_white_male_things_then_somehow_your_work_has_to_mean_something/
Yiyun Li's new novel, Kinder Than Solitude, has been described by The Toronto Star as "haunting beyond its final words." "With only two novels and short story collections under her belt, Yiyun Li is well on her way to mastering the fine art of storytelling."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/02/26/kinder_than_solitude_by_yiyun_li_review.html
The innovative storyteller Teju Cole recently penned a four-thousand word essay entirely on Twitter. He speaks about his essay, the benefits of Twitter as a platform, and the injustice of immigration systems, here:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aaronc13/author-teju-cole-talks-his-new-essay-on-immigration-twitter
Teju Cole's novel Open City has also been chosen as The Atlantic's March Twitter Book Club read. Open City features a half-Nigerian, half-German psychiatry grad student who walks around New York City meeting interesting people, and has been described as "a beautifully modulated description of a certain kind of solitary liberalism common to thousands, if not millions, of bookish types."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/1book140s-march-read-em-open-city-em-by-teju-cole/284211/
For writer Alexai Galiviz-Budziszewski, the fear of the blank page was so paralyzing that he waited fifteen years before making a concerted effort to publish. In this piece, he discusses how a passage from Steinbeck helped him write "towards uncertainty".
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/i-dont-believe-in-writers-block/284354/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour-de-force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Underbelly runs at The Cultch from now to March 30, 2014 at 8pm in the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. Tickets are from $31 and can be purchased by calling The Cultch box office at 604-251-1363 or online at http://tickets.thecultch.com/show_events_list.asp?shcode=323.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. Thursday, March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN TEXT READING SERIES
Reading by Vancouver writer Alex Leslie, author of a short story collection, People Who Disappear. Monday, March 24 at 1:00pm. Lib321, Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
A QUIET COMING OF LIGHT BOOK LAUNCH
Jude Neale will be launching her new book A Quiet Coming of Light with song and music. Book signing to follow. Teun Schut on guitar. Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street. Presented by Pandora's Collective and hosted by Bonnie Nish. More information: blnish@pandorascollective.com.
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams and Vancouver poet Linda King plus open mic. Thursday, March 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Upcoming
ARUNDHATI ROY
The Indian Summer Arts Society presents a special event with Arundhati Roy, who will talk about her journey in writing, from The God of Small Things to Capitalism: A Ghost Story. Tuesday, April 1 at 8:00pm. St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson St (at Burrard), Vancouver. Tickets: $25/$20 students. More information at
http://indiansummerfestival.ca/events/arundhati-roy/.
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/.
CANADIAN WRITERS SERIES AT UFV
Features Evelyn Lau, Robert Martens, Helene Littmann, Elsie Neufeld, Rajnish Dhawan, and Daniela Elza , April 2nd, 2014, 12:30-2pm, UHouse (Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies), University of the Fraser Valley, 33488 King Road, Abbotsford Campus. All are welcome.
CHINESE CANADIAN AUTHORS' BOOK LAUNCH
This book launch features four new works in Chinese: William Haoquan Chan's Maplescapes: Selected Works of Chinese Canadian Prose, Shou-fang Hu-Moore's Who Is Calling My Name? Liang Zhaoyuan's Decoding Cao Xueqin's Crytograms, Tommy Tao and Ming Sun Poon's Book of Three Arts, and Wang Wenqin's Slow Heart Beat. Saturday, April 5 at 2:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
VERSES VANCOUVER
4th annual festival celebrating the transformative power of words. Featuring Billeh Nickerson, Daniel Zomparelli, Evelyn Lau, Janice Lee and many more. April 5-12, 2014. For complete details, visit versesfestival.ca.
GILLIAN WIGMORE
Author launches her debut novella, Grayling. Saturday, April 5 at 5:00pm, free. Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
UNHOLY RITES
Mystery authors Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock present an illustrated talk about Unholy Rites, their latest novel. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm, free. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
GENDER FAILURE
Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon's show and book launch. Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00pm. The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC. More information at t.co/sRrG1UA9uF.
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. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Jane Munro and Jan Conn plus open mic. Wednesday, April 9, 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.
DIALOGUES IN CRITICAL INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Audra Simpson, Glen Coulthard and Chris Andersen will present on their upcoming books at the UBC Longhouse. Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information at www.ligi.ubc.ca.
NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
15th annual literary weekend. Featuring Vincent Lam, Douglas Gibson, Jen Sookfong Lee, Sandra Gulland and others. April 11 and 12, 2014. North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th St. W., North Vancouver. More information at northshorewritersfestival.com.
CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
The Vancouver poet and co-organizer of the Dead Poets Reading Series will launch his eleventh book, Night Vision, at 3 p.m. on Saturday 12th April in the Alice MacKay Room of the Central Library, 350, West Georgia Street. As well as reading from the new book he will be interviewed about his poetry by local short fiction writer Ken Klonsky. More information at vpl.ca.
INCITE
Join us on March 26 for poetry night with Jen Currin (School), Jane Munro (Blue Sonoma) and Adam Sol (Complicity). Details on this and other upcoming Incite events here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.
SPECIAL EVENTs
Announcing! - A Dram Come True
Spring is here and that can only mean one thing–A Dram Come True! Our wildly popular scotch tasting fundraiser returns on May 30 and tickets are now on sale. Join us at the legendary Hycroft—a magnificent Edwardian mansion in the heart of Shaughnessy—and enjoy the superb, complex flavours of a variety of rare and distinguished single malts, while supporting the Festival. We've added a VIP reception this year for scotch fans or anyone who is interested learning more about uisce beatha—the water of life.
Friday, May 30, 2014
7:30–9:30pm
Early bird tickets $110; after April 15: $120
VIP Tasting 6:30–7:30pm; Tickets: $75 (limited quantities, only available with a main event ticket)
Hycroft
1489 McRae Avenue, Vancouver
Click here for details and to purchase tickets, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.
Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway
Tickets are going fast for our April 24 event with Miriam Toews and Steven Galloway. They'll read from and talk about their new books: Miriam Toews' All My Puny Sorrows is her most passionate novel yet, the riveting story of two sisters, and a love that illuminates life. Steven Galloway's The Confabulist is a brilliant novel about fame and ambition, reality and illusion, and the ways that love, grief and imagination can alter what we perceive and believe. 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
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Sheri Fink have been named among the winners of the National Book Critics Circle Awards. The annual awards are chosen by a group of almost 600 critics and editors in the publishing industry.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/15/business/media/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie-and-sheri-fink-win-book-awards.html
The shortlists for the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals have also been announced. Among those nominated for the venerated children's book prizes is Anne Fine, who is trying to become the first person to win three times!http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/mar/17/cilip-carnegie-medal-kate-greenaway-medal-shortlist
YOUNG READERS
James McMullan is most famous for his signature watercolour posters for the Lincoln Center Theater in New York. Now he has created a new work, aimed at children, called Leaving China. The book is a memoir of his own childhood growing up in China, India, Canada and the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/12/books/leaving-china-by-james-mcmullan.html
Where are the People of Colour in Children's literature? "Of 3,200 children's books published in 2013, just 93 were about black people, according to a study by the Cooperative Children's Book Center at the University of Wisconsin."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/16/opinion/sunday/where-are-the-people-of-color-in-childrens-books.html
NEWS & FEATURES
In celebration of Saint Patrick's Day, The Guardian has created an Irish fiction quiz. If you can match the ten featured quotes with their book titles, you're obviously a master of the Irish yarn!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/mar/17/irish-fiction-st-patricks-day-quiz
Last week George Saunders won the inaugural Folio Fiction prize, inciting the ire of many a Brit who were hoping UK talent would be recognized (it's a British award). "But if some sense a crisis for British fiction, that sense is far from universal...British writers have "nothing to fear."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/14/british-literary-prizes-george-saunders-american-authors
Famous Beat poet and City Lights Bookstore-owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti is set to publish his travel journals. Covering the period between 1950 and 2013, they will shed light on his political passions and relationships.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/17/lawrence-ferlinghetti-publish-travel-journals-beat
"Upon graduating from college with a degree in English, there are only several career options that one is faced with: flip burgers, teach the literary canon to bored high school students, write press releases for pharmaceutical companies, or (if you're lucky), work in radio." Read a defense of the English Major, here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/how-english-majors-are-ch_n_4943792.html
The Oxford English dictionary has made its latest updates. New words to be inserted include "bestie", "bookaholic" and "wackadoodle"!
http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/march-2014-update/new-words-list-march-2014/
Original drawings and writing from John Lennon's books In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works are to be auctioned at Sotheby's in June. The portfolio is available online.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2014/mar/17/john-lennons-drawings-poems-and-prose
"Eudora Welty once explained her popularity as a public speaker: "Colleges keep inviting me because I'm so well behaved...I'm always on time, and I don't get drunk or hole up in a hotel with my lover." Danny Heitman discusses the "Quiet Greatness of Eudora Welty", here:
http://www.neh.gov/humanities/2014/marchapril/feature/the-quiet-greatness-eudora-welty
A bestselling Canadian author has become the focus of a copyright suit. Filmmakers are claiming that J.L Witterick, the author of the Holocaust novel My Mother's Secret, took the books plot and all its central characters from their film No. 4 Street Of Our Lady.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/holocaust-novel-focus-of-copyright-suit/article17494819/
UBC's Creative Writing Program was revolutionary when it began, the first in the country to operate separately from an English department. To mark their 50th birthday, The Globe and Mail has asked one of the program's current students to interview one of their star graduates.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/an-authors-tips-write-as-much-as-possible-have-fun-be-patient-with-your-prose/article17493876/
"In an age of DIY publishing, why have a Writers' Union?" Russell Smith addresses that question, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/russell-smith-in-an-age-of-diy-publishing-why-have-a-writers-union/article17480781/
What happens when no one cares about your novel? "MFA programs struggle to teach writers the most important lesson of all: You are not owed readers."
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/12/no_one_cares_about_your_novel_so_writers_dont_be_boring/
BOOKS & WRITERS
Alice Hoffman's new novel, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, "creates a sweeping narrative that keeps the reader interested—paying homage to the darkness that can motivate the creative process." Set in New York City in the early part of the 20th century, it features mermaids (of all things!) to tell a coming of age story.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/02/25/the_museum_of_extraordinary_things_by_alice_hoffman_review.html
Simon Schama, the prolific professor, TV presenter and non-fiction author has written a new book called The Story of the Jews. Actually it's a whole multimedia event: two books and a five-part television documentary that will be broadcast on both the BBC and PBS!
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/11/books/simon-schamas-the-story-of-the-jews.html
Tessa Hadley's story Under the Sign of the Moon has been featured in this week's New Yorker. She answers questions about the story, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/this-week-in-fiction-tessa-hadley.html
Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie is often associated with the word "political", but should this actually be the case? According to the author, "When you're not a white male writing about white male things then somehow your work has to mean something."
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/13/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_when_you%E2%80%99re_not_a_white_male_writing_about_white_male_things_then_somehow_your_work_has_to_mean_something/
Yiyun Li's new novel, Kinder Than Solitude, has been described by The Toronto Star as "haunting beyond its final words." "With only two novels and short story collections under her belt, Yiyun Li is well on her way to mastering the fine art of storytelling."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/02/26/kinder_than_solitude_by_yiyun_li_review.html
The innovative storyteller Teju Cole recently penned a four-thousand word essay entirely on Twitter. He speaks about his essay, the benefits of Twitter as a platform, and the injustice of immigration systems, here:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/aaronc13/author-teju-cole-talks-his-new-essay-on-immigration-twitter
Teju Cole's novel Open City has also been chosen as The Atlantic's March Twitter Book Club read. Open City features a half-Nigerian, half-German psychiatry grad student who walks around New York City meeting interesting people, and has been described as "a beautifully modulated description of a certain kind of solitary liberalism common to thousands, if not millions, of bookish types."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/1book140s-march-read-em-open-city-em-by-teju-cole/284211/
For writer Alexai Galiviz-Budziszewski, the fear of the blank page was so paralyzing that he waited fifteen years before making a concerted effort to publish. In this piece, he discusses how a passage from Steinbeck helped him write "towards uncertainty".
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/03/i-dont-believe-in-writers-block/284354/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour-de-force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Underbelly runs at The Cultch from now to March 30, 2014 at 8pm in the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. Tickets are from $31 and can be purchased by calling The Cultch box office at 604-251-1363 or online at http://tickets.thecultch.com/show_events_list.asp?shcode=323.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. Thursday, March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN TEXT READING SERIES
Reading by Vancouver writer Alex Leslie, author of a short story collection, People Who Disappear. Monday, March 24 at 1:00pm. Lib321, Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
A QUIET COMING OF LIGHT BOOK LAUNCH
Jude Neale will be launching her new book A Quiet Coming of Light with song and music. Book signing to follow. Teun Schut on guitar. Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street. Presented by Pandora's Collective and hosted by Bonnie Nish. More information: blnish@pandorascollective.com.
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams and Vancouver poet Linda King plus open mic. Thursday, March 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Upcoming
ARUNDHATI ROY
The Indian Summer Arts Society presents a special event with Arundhati Roy, who will talk about her journey in writing, from The God of Small Things to Capitalism: A Ghost Story. Tuesday, April 1 at 8:00pm. St Andrew’s-Wesley United Church, 1022 Nelson St (at Burrard), Vancouver. Tickets: $25/$20 students. More information at
http://indiansummerfestival.ca/events/arundhati-roy/.
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/.
CANADIAN WRITERS SERIES AT UFV
Features Evelyn Lau, Robert Martens, Helene Littmann, Elsie Neufeld, Rajnish Dhawan, and Daniela Elza , April 2nd, 2014, 12:30-2pm, UHouse (Centre for Indo-Canadian Studies), University of the Fraser Valley, 33488 King Road, Abbotsford Campus. All are welcome.
CHINESE CANADIAN AUTHORS' BOOK LAUNCH
This book launch features four new works in Chinese: William Haoquan Chan's Maplescapes: Selected Works of Chinese Canadian Prose, Shou-fang Hu-Moore's Who Is Calling My Name? Liang Zhaoyuan's Decoding Cao Xueqin's Crytograms, Tommy Tao and Ming Sun Poon's Book of Three Arts, and Wang Wenqin's Slow Heart Beat. Saturday, April 5 at 2:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
VERSES VANCOUVER
4th annual festival celebrating the transformative power of words. Featuring Billeh Nickerson, Daniel Zomparelli, Evelyn Lau, Janice Lee and many more. April 5-12, 2014. For complete details, visit versesfestival.ca.
GILLIAN WIGMORE
Author launches her debut novella, Grayling. Saturday, April 5 at 5:00pm, free. Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
UNHOLY RITES
Mystery authors Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock present an illustrated talk about Unholy Rites, their latest novel. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm, free. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
GENDER FAILURE
Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon's show and book launch. Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00pm. The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC. More information at t.co/sRrG1UA9uF.
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. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Jane Munro and Jan Conn plus open mic. Wednesday, April 9, 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.
DIALOGUES IN CRITICAL INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Audra Simpson, Glen Coulthard and Chris Andersen will present on their upcoming books at the UBC Longhouse. Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information at www.ligi.ubc.ca.
NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
15th annual literary weekend. Featuring Vincent Lam, Douglas Gibson, Jen Sookfong Lee, Sandra Gulland and others. April 11 and 12, 2014. North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th St. W., North Vancouver. More information at northshorewritersfestival.com.
CHRISTOPHER LEVENSON
The Vancouver poet and co-organizer of the Dead Poets Reading Series will launch his eleventh book, Night Vision, at 3 p.m. on Saturday 12th April in the Alice MacKay Room of the Central Library, 350, West Georgia Street. As well as reading from the new book he will be interviewed about his poetry by local short fiction writer Ken Klonsky. More information at vpl.ca.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 2
BOOK NEWS
INCITE
Join us on March 19 for an evening with mystery and thriller writers! Deryn Collier (Open Secret), Craig Davidson aka Nick Cutter (The Troop), Andrew Pyper (The Demonologist), and Sean Slater (The Guilty). 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
Thomas King has won the RBC Taylor prize, one of Canada's most storied awards for non-fiction, for The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America. This is his second literary prize in less than a month.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/thomas-king-gets-second-big-win-for-the-inconvenient-indian-with-rbc-taylor-prize
George Saunders has been awarded the inaugural Folio Prize for his "darkly playful" short story collection Tenth of December. The £40,000 prize was created by members of the books industry who felt frustrated by what they saw as the shortcomings of the Man Booker.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/10/george-saunders-tenth-of-december-first-winner-folio-prize
The $150,000 Windham Campbell book prizes are judged in confidence, and the awardees only learn of their lucrative honours as they are publicly announced. This year's batch of eight winners includes Vancouver's own John Vaillant.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/07/windham-campbell-books-prizes-150000
The Canadian Library Association has announced the finalists for their kids' book awards. The awards include prizes for children's books, illustration, and young adult works.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/canadian-library-association-announces-kids-book-award-finalists/
Three Canadian women have made the longlist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, the U.K.'s only annual book award for fiction written by women. Margaret Atwood, Eleanor Catton and Claire Cameron made the cut.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/claire-cameron-joins-atwood-catton-on-baileys-womens-prize-for-fiction-longlist/
Authors J.B. MacKinnon, Théodora Armstrong, and Ashley Little are among the latest nominees for the annual B.C. Book Prizes.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/grant-lawrence-j-b-mackinnon-up-for-b-c-book-prizes-1.2569951
Afaa Michael Weaver is the recipient of the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his collection The Government of Nature.
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-kingsley-tufts-poetry-award-afaa-michael-weaver-20140311,0,6434393.story
YOUNG READERS
In celebration of the upcoming World Book Day, two much-loved children's authors have compiled advice for children on "how to conceive, plot and structure a page-turning story." Read Cressida Cowell and Charlie Higson's tips here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10675446/Cressida-Cowell-Charlie-Higson-World-Book-Day-Storycraft-books-writing-creative-writing-storytelling.html
Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton are commonly recognized as the two great heroines of 19th century nursing. Now, two books aimed at children have emerged to tell their stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/books/florence-nightingale-and-clara-and-davie.html
There are also three new young-adult novels that young people (and their parents) should pay attention to: The ACB with Honora Lee, by Kate de Goldi; Hollow City (The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children), by Ransom Riggs; and No One Else Can Have You, by Kathleen Hale.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/three-young-adult-novels-that-the-kids-should-know-about/article17378848/
NEWS & FEATURES
What happens when characters outlive their authors? The phenomenon has become more and more popular, thanks to novels like Wide Sargasso Sea and the BBC's Sherlock series.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/when-characters-outlive-their-authors-how-we-breathe-new-life-into-old-books/article17378520/
Why might a book end mid-sentence? In Kafka's case, it was because he died. For Gogol, it was a cliffhanger for a trilogy that never materialized. For David Foster Wallace, it may simply have been because he wanted to do the opposite of what was expected. Read more about 12 books that end mid-sentence, here:
http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2014/03/04/12-books-that-end-mid-sentence/
If you're interested in how writing can affect society, you will be amused to discover this little nugget of whimsy: 'How the New York Times Resurrected the Monocle, Over and Over Again, for the Last 112 Years'.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/history-new-york-times-monocle.html
This week's Guardian's poem of the week is 'The Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Fawn' by Andrew Marvell. Check out the discussion here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/mar/10/poem-of-the-week-andrew-marvell-nymph-fawn
Is the London Review of Books the best literary magazine in the world? It is certainly the "most successful–and controversial–literary publication in Europe. Just what is Mary-Kay Wilmers, its 75-year-old editor, getting so right?"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/09/london-review-books-lrb-best-magazines-world-mary-kay-wilmers
Software developer Spritz has created a new technology "that might change reading forever." Their new app promises readers the amazing speed-reading ability of 1,000 words per minute!
http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/63838/spritz-speed-reading
BOOKS & WRITERS
J.P. Donleavy is alive and well and living in Ireland...contrary to popular belief! "Indeed, at 87, the author of the best-selling cult novel The Ginger Man merrily lives as a semi-reclusive gentleman farmer in shabby Grey Gardens-style splendor on his Irish estate. Meet America's pre-eminent literary bohemian."
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/j-p-donleavy-is-still-standing/
What makes an author feel "free"? According to Anna Hope, "I felt free when I realized I didn't have to be brilliant." Her first novel, Wake, has just been released.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/author-anna-hope-on-writing-i-felt-free-when-i-realized-i-didnt-have-to-be-brilliant/article17379003/
Under the Wide and Starry Sky, a new novel by Nancy Horan, is based on the premise that "marriage is a mystery, even to those who are in one. Magic when it's great, a nightmare when it's not."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/under-the-wide-and-starry-sky-author-explores-the-art-of-wedlock/article17171373/
Amidst the chaos of the current Ukrainian political crisis, one literary voice has stood out: that of Serhiy Zhadan, a counterculture writer, and the country's best-known poet. "Americans need to understand, in Eastern Europe, writers still have a huge influence on society."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/the-abuse-of-ukraines-best-known-poet.html
"In 1915, a mother makes a sketch of her one-year-old daughter's hands. "Look what beautiful hands, one flat, with outstretched fingers, one with a clenched fist," she notes. The hands were to be key, as they belonged to Tove Jansson." Learn more about the author of the famous Moomin books, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/tove-jansson-moomin-creator-biography-review.html
The New Yorker publishes a fiction podcast every month. March's episode features Jennifer Egan reading Mary Gaitskill's story 'The Other Place', "which explores the consciousness of a man who fantasizes about hurting women and worries that his son has inherited his obsession."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/fiction-podcast-jennifer-egan-reads-mary-gaitskill.html
Kent Haruf's Benediction was recently nominated for the inaugural Folio prize. According to Ursula K. Le Guin, it is an "intimate portrayal of everyday lives" that "gets the story just right."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/05/benediction-review-small-town-kent-haruf-holt
Thanks to the success of the film 12 Years a Slave, many people have been revisiting the original Solomon Northup text and asking what it might tell us, especially in the context of other slave narratives. The Guardian delves into its history, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/10/12-years-slave-uncle-toms-cabin
Working in Delhi, Arundhati Roy has been described as a "not-so reluctant renegade." "I've always been slightly short with people who say, 'You haven't written anything again,' as if all the nonfiction I've written is not writing". She has recently returned to fiction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/arundhati-roy-the-not-so-reluctant-renegade.html
Jack Kerouac wrote The Haunted Life when he was 22. Then it disappeared, supposedly in a New York cab. Now it has resurfaced, and has just been published. Check out an extract, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/11/the-haunted-life-jack-kerouac-extract
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FINDING HOME
Storytelling by adults for adults, presented by newcomer storytellers and professional storyteller Philomena Jordan. Friday, March 14 at 7:00pm. Free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert St. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Ronica Prasad, Ariadne Sawyer, Sho Wiley and hosted by Lilija Valis. Sunday, March 16 at 3:00pm, free. Renaissance Bookstore, 43 Sixth St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
AUTHORS NISH & NEALE
A reading of Pandora's Collective Outreach Society works pertaining to autobiographical material. Monday, March 17 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Reading by poet Candice James, author of Exphrasticism-Painted Words. Tuesday March 18 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffee, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour-de-force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Underbelly runs at The Cultch from March 18-30, 2014 at 8pm in the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. Tickets are from $31 and can be purchased by calling The Cultch box office at 604-251-1363 or online at http://tickets.thecultch.com/show_events_list.asp?shcode=323.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Peter Culley and Maxine Gadd featured at March 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.
POST-PHOTOGRAPHY
Join photographer Evan Lee and novelist Healther Jessup for a conversation about Evan's work and influences, as well as beauty, strangeness, and what it's like to manipulate the flames of a forest fire. Wednesday, March 19 at 4:00pm, free. Student Engagement Centre, C Building, Langara. More information at langara.bc.ca/english-forum.
PLAY CHTHONICS: NEW CANADIAN READINGS
Readings by Natalie Simpson and Jonathan Ball. Wednesday, March 19 at 5:00pm. Piano Lounge, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.
POETRY READING
Lisa Robertson returns to Vancouver briefly and gives a reading of new work with her friend and fellow poet Cole Swensen, The Capilano Review's 2014 Writer-in-Residence. Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30pm. Cost: $5. Grand Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at www.thecapilanoreview.ca/poetry-reading-lisa-robertson--cole-swensen/.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. Thursday, March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN TEXT READING SERIES
Reading by Vancouver writer Alex Leslie, author of a short story collection, People Who Disappear. Monday, March 24 at 1:00pm. Lib321, Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
A QUIET COMING OF LIGHT BOOK LAUNCH
Jude Neale will be launching her new book A Quiet Coming of Light with song and music. Book signing to follow. Teun Schut on guitar. Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street. Presented by Pandora's Collective and hosted by Bonnie Nish. More information: blnish@pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams and Vancouver poet Linda King plus open mic. Thursday, March 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.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/.
CHINESE CANADIAN AUTHORS' BOOK LAUNCH
This book launch features four new works in Chinese: William Haoquan Chan's Maplescapes: Selected Works of Chinese Canadian Prose, Shou-fang Hu-Moore's Who Is Calling My Name? Liang Zhaoyuan's Decoding Cao Xueqin's Crytograms, Tommy Tao and Ming Sun Poon's Book of Three Arts, and Wang Wenqin's Slow Heart Beat. Saturday, April 5 at 2:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
GILLIAN WIGMORE
Author launches her debut novella, Grayling. Saturday, April 5 at 5:00pm, free. Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
UNHOLY RITES
Mystery authors Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock present an illustrated talk about Unholy Rites, their latest novel. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm, free. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
GENDER FAILURE
Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon's show and book launch. Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00pm. The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC. More information at t.co/sRrG1UA9uF.
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. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.
DIALOGUES IN CRITICAL INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Audra Simpson, Glen Coulthard and Chris Andersen will present on their upcoming books at the UBC Longhouse. Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information at www.ligi.ubc.ca.
NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
15th annual literary weekend. Featuring Vincent Lam, Douglas Gibson, Jen Sookfong Lee, Sandra Gulland and others. April 11 and 12, 2014. North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th St. W., North Vancouver. More information at northshorewritersfestival.com.
INCITE
Join us on March 19 for an evening with mystery and thriller writers! Deryn Collier (Open Secret), Craig Davidson aka Nick Cutter (The Troop), Andrew Pyper (The Demonologist), and Sean Slater (The Guilty). 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
Thomas King has won the RBC Taylor prize, one of Canada's most storied awards for non-fiction, for The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America. This is his second literary prize in less than a month.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/thomas-king-gets-second-big-win-for-the-inconvenient-indian-with-rbc-taylor-prize
George Saunders has been awarded the inaugural Folio Prize for his "darkly playful" short story collection Tenth of December. The £40,000 prize was created by members of the books industry who felt frustrated by what they saw as the shortcomings of the Man Booker.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/10/george-saunders-tenth-of-december-first-winner-folio-prize
The $150,000 Windham Campbell book prizes are judged in confidence, and the awardees only learn of their lucrative honours as they are publicly announced. This year's batch of eight winners includes Vancouver's own John Vaillant.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/07/windham-campbell-books-prizes-150000
The Canadian Library Association has announced the finalists for their kids' book awards. The awards include prizes for children's books, illustration, and young adult works.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/canadian-library-association-announces-kids-book-award-finalists/
Three Canadian women have made the longlist for the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction, the U.K.'s only annual book award for fiction written by women. Margaret Atwood, Eleanor Catton and Claire Cameron made the cut.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/claire-cameron-joins-atwood-catton-on-baileys-womens-prize-for-fiction-longlist/
Authors J.B. MacKinnon, Théodora Armstrong, and Ashley Little are among the latest nominees for the annual B.C. Book Prizes.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/grant-lawrence-j-b-mackinnon-up-for-b-c-book-prizes-1.2569951
Afaa Michael Weaver is the recipient of the $100,000 Kingsley Tufts Poetry Award for his collection The Government of Nature.
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-kingsley-tufts-poetry-award-afaa-michael-weaver-20140311,0,6434393.story
YOUNG READERS
In celebration of the upcoming World Book Day, two much-loved children's authors have compiled advice for children on "how to conceive, plot and structure a page-turning story." Read Cressida Cowell and Charlie Higson's tips here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10675446/Cressida-Cowell-Charlie-Higson-World-Book-Day-Storycraft-books-writing-creative-writing-storytelling.html
Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton are commonly recognized as the two great heroines of 19th century nursing. Now, two books aimed at children have emerged to tell their stories.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/05/books/florence-nightingale-and-clara-and-davie.html
There are also three new young-adult novels that young people (and their parents) should pay attention to: The ACB with Honora Lee, by Kate de Goldi; Hollow City (The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children), by Ransom Riggs; and No One Else Can Have You, by Kathleen Hale.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/three-young-adult-novels-that-the-kids-should-know-about/article17378848/
NEWS & FEATURES
What happens when characters outlive their authors? The phenomenon has become more and more popular, thanks to novels like Wide Sargasso Sea and the BBC's Sherlock series.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/when-characters-outlive-their-authors-how-we-breathe-new-life-into-old-books/article17378520/
Why might a book end mid-sentence? In Kafka's case, it was because he died. For Gogol, it was a cliffhanger for a trilogy that never materialized. For David Foster Wallace, it may simply have been because he wanted to do the opposite of what was expected. Read more about 12 books that end mid-sentence, here:
http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/PWxyz/2014/03/04/12-books-that-end-mid-sentence/
If you're interested in how writing can affect society, you will be amused to discover this little nugget of whimsy: 'How the New York Times Resurrected the Monocle, Over and Over Again, for the Last 112 Years'.
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/history-new-york-times-monocle.html
This week's Guardian's poem of the week is 'The Nymph Complaining for the Death of Her Fawn' by Andrew Marvell. Check out the discussion here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/mar/10/poem-of-the-week-andrew-marvell-nymph-fawn
Is the London Review of Books the best literary magazine in the world? It is certainly the "most successful–and controversial–literary publication in Europe. Just what is Mary-Kay Wilmers, its 75-year-old editor, getting so right?"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/09/london-review-books-lrb-best-magazines-world-mary-kay-wilmers
Software developer Spritz has created a new technology "that might change reading forever." Their new app promises readers the amazing speed-reading ability of 1,000 words per minute!
http://www.refinery29.com/2014/03/63838/spritz-speed-reading
BOOKS & WRITERS
J.P. Donleavy is alive and well and living in Ireland...contrary to popular belief! "Indeed, at 87, the author of the best-selling cult novel The Ginger Man merrily lives as a semi-reclusive gentleman farmer in shabby Grey Gardens-style splendor on his Irish estate. Meet America's pre-eminent literary bohemian."
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/j-p-donleavy-is-still-standing/
What makes an author feel "free"? According to Anna Hope, "I felt free when I realized I didn't have to be brilliant." Her first novel, Wake, has just been released.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/author-anna-hope-on-writing-i-felt-free-when-i-realized-i-didnt-have-to-be-brilliant/article17379003/
Under the Wide and Starry Sky, a new novel by Nancy Horan, is based on the premise that "marriage is a mystery, even to those who are in one. Magic when it's great, a nightmare when it's not."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/under-the-wide-and-starry-sky-author-explores-the-art-of-wedlock/article17171373/
Amidst the chaos of the current Ukrainian political crisis, one literary voice has stood out: that of Serhiy Zhadan, a counterculture writer, and the country's best-known poet. "Americans need to understand, in Eastern Europe, writers still have a huge influence on society."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/the-abuse-of-ukraines-best-known-poet.html
"In 1915, a mother makes a sketch of her one-year-old daughter's hands. "Look what beautiful hands, one flat, with outstretched fingers, one with a clenched fist," she notes. The hands were to be key, as they belonged to Tove Jansson." Learn more about the author of the famous Moomin books, here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/tove-jansson-moomin-creator-biography-review.html
The New Yorker publishes a fiction podcast every month. March's episode features Jennifer Egan reading Mary Gaitskill's story 'The Other Place', "which explores the consciousness of a man who fantasizes about hurting women and worries that his son has inherited his obsession."
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/fiction-podcast-jennifer-egan-reads-mary-gaitskill.html
Kent Haruf's Benediction was recently nominated for the inaugural Folio prize. According to Ursula K. Le Guin, it is an "intimate portrayal of everyday lives" that "gets the story just right."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/05/benediction-review-small-town-kent-haruf-holt
Thanks to the success of the film 12 Years a Slave, many people have been revisiting the original Solomon Northup text and asking what it might tell us, especially in the context of other slave narratives. The Guardian delves into its history, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jan/10/12-years-slave-uncle-toms-cabin
Working in Delhi, Arundhati Roy has been described as a "not-so reluctant renegade." "I've always been slightly short with people who say, 'You haven't written anything again,' as if all the nonfiction I've written is not writing". She has recently returned to fiction.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/09/magazine/arundhati-roy-the-not-so-reluctant-renegade.html
Jack Kerouac wrote The Haunted Life when he was 22. Then it disappeared, supposedly in a New York cab. Now it has resurfaced, and has just been published. Check out an extract, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/11/the-haunted-life-jack-kerouac-extract
COMMUNITY EVENTS
FINDING HOME
Storytelling by adults for adults, presented by newcomer storytellers and professional storyteller Philomena Jordan. Friday, March 14 at 7:00pm. Free but register at 604-299-8955. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library, 4595 Albert St. More information at bpl.bc.ca.
POETIC JUSTICE
Featuring Ronica Prasad, Ariadne Sawyer, Sho Wiley and hosted by Lilija Valis. Sunday, March 16 at 3:00pm, free. Renaissance Bookstore, 43 Sixth St., New Westminster. More information at poeticjustice.ca.
AUTHORS NISH & NEALE
A reading of Pandora's Collective Outreach Society works pertaining to autobiographical material. Monday, March 17 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
SPOKEN INK READING SERIES
Reading by poet Candice James, author of Exphrasticism-Painted Words. Tuesday March 18 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffee, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour-de-force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Underbelly runs at The Cultch from March 18-30, 2014 at 8pm in the Vancity Culture Lab, 1895 Venables Street. Tickets are from $31 and can be purchased by calling The Cultch box office at 604-251-1363 or online at http://tickets.thecultch.com/show_events_list.asp?shcode=323.
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Peter Culley and Maxine Gadd featured at March 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.
POST-PHOTOGRAPHY
Join photographer Evan Lee and novelist Healther Jessup for a conversation about Evan's work and influences, as well as beauty, strangeness, and what it's like to manipulate the flames of a forest fire. Wednesday, March 19 at 4:00pm, free. Student Engagement Centre, C Building, Langara. More information at langara.bc.ca/english-forum.
PLAY CHTHONICS: NEW CANADIAN READINGS
Readings by Natalie Simpson and Jonathan Ball. Wednesday, March 19 at 5:00pm. Piano Lounge, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.
POETRY READING
Lisa Robertson returns to Vancouver briefly and gives a reading of new work with her friend and fellow poet Cole Swensen, The Capilano Review's 2014 Writer-in-Residence. Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30pm. Cost: $5. Grand Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at www.thecapilanoreview.ca/poetry-reading-lisa-robertson--cole-swensen/.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. Thursday, March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN TEXT READING SERIES
Reading by Vancouver writer Alex Leslie, author of a short story collection, People Who Disappear. Monday, March 24 at 1:00pm. Lib321, Capilano University, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
A QUIET COMING OF LIGHT BOOK LAUNCH
Jude Neale will be launching her new book A Quiet Coming of Light with song and music. Book signing to follow. Teun Schut on guitar. Tuesday, March 25 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street. Presented by Pandora's Collective and hosted by Bonnie Nish. More information: blnish@pandorascollective.com.
Upcoming
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams and Vancouver poet Linda King plus open mic. Thursday, March 27, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.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/.
CHINESE CANADIAN AUTHORS' BOOK LAUNCH
This book launch features four new works in Chinese: William Haoquan Chan's Maplescapes: Selected Works of Chinese Canadian Prose, Shou-fang Hu-Moore's Who Is Calling My Name? Liang Zhaoyuan's Decoding Cao Xueqin's Crytograms, Tommy Tao and Ming Sun Poon's Book of Three Arts, and Wang Wenqin's Slow Heart Beat. Saturday, April 5 at 2:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
GILLIAN WIGMORE
Author launches her debut novella, Grayling. Saturday, April 5 at 5:00pm, free. Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
UNHOLY RITES
Mystery authors Kay Stewart and Chris Bullock present an illustrated talk about Unholy Rites, their latest novel. Tuesday, April 8 at 7:00pm, free. West Point Grey branch, 4480 10th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
GENDER FAILURE
Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon's show and book launch. Wednesday, April 9 at 8:00pm. The Rio Theatre, Vancouver, BC. More information at t.co/sRrG1UA9uF.
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. More information at www.IcelandWritersRetreat.com.
DIALOGUES IN CRITICAL INDIGENOUS STUDIES
Audra Simpson, Glen Coulthard and Chris Andersen will present on their upcoming books at the UBC Longhouse. Thursday, April 10 at 9:30am. First Nations Longhouse, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information at www.ligi.ubc.ca.
NORTH SHORE WRITERS FESTIVAL
15th annual literary weekend. Featuring Vincent Lam, Douglas Gibson, Jen Sookfong Lee, Sandra Gulland and others. April 11 and 12, 2014. North Vancouver City Library, 120 14th St. W., North Vancouver. More information at northshorewritersfestival.com.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 1
BOOK NEWS
INCITE
Join us on March 19 for an evening with mystery and thriller writers! Deryn Collier (Open Secret), Craig Davidson aka Nick Cutter (The Troop), Andrew Pyper (The Demonologist), and Sean Slater (The Guilty). 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
After a week of vigorous debate, Joseph Boyden's The Orenda has triumphed in CBC's annual Canada Reads. The novel was defended by First Nations journalist Wab Kinew.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/canada-reads-crowns-joseph-boyden-s-the-orenda-2014-winner-1.2562292
The shortlist for the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG short story award has been announced. The current frontrunners include a British unknown, and two former Pulitzer Prize winners, Elizabeth Strout and Adam Johnson.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/03/anna-metcalfe-sunday-times-short-story-award
Book awards are changing, and perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the brand new Booktrust Best Book Awards with Amazon Kindle, which not only seek to unearth the very best children's books, but also to reflect how reading has embraced the digital era. Among the awards will be one devoted to technology, celebrating the best innovations in online literature.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10664891/Judges-announced-for-the-Booktrust-Best-Book-Awards.html
Otto Dov Kulka's Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death has been hailed as "the greatest book on Auschwitz since Primo Levi". It also just won the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/otto-duv-kulka-holocaust-book-wins-jewish-quarterly-wingate-prize
The finalists for the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award were announced Wednesday.
http://www.penfaulkner.org/award-for-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
What are the must-haves for your child's book collection? Here's a list of the Top 10 Children's Books, with miniature reviews and a special focus on diversity!
http://www.advocate.com/parenting/2014/03/03/top-10-childrens-books
NEWS & FEATURES
Few things have been more newsworthy this week than the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. But while our knowledge of Russian Literature is immense, much of our Ukrainian cultural vision is rather obscured. Chances are, however, that you're read more Ukrainian authors than you realize!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/ukraine-literature-writers-fiction-guide
The Oscar's also provided much to talk about these past few days, especially thanks to the success of 12 Years a Slave. Both the film and the 1853 memoir of the same name are about to become mandatory parts of the US national curriculum.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/28/12-years-a-slave-us-national-curriculum
Is there a connection between creativity and madness? Edvard Munch once famously proclaimed, "I want to keep my sufferings. They are part of me and my art". In this article, Gila Lyons discusses writing "through the drugs", surviving her demons and still being a good writer.
http://www.themillions.com/2014/02/creativity-and-madness-on-writing-through-the-drugs.html
February might be over, but there's still time to appreciate its etymological origins! Did you know that the Latin-originated name February was only a very late adaptation in the English-speaking world? Before, the most common name was Solmonath, which translates (most perfectly) as "mud month"!
http://blog.dictionary.com/february
Have you ever heard of the Beatus of Facundus? He was a monk in 8th century Spain who set out to illustrate a collection of writings he had compiled about the Book of Revelations. His amazing illustrations are some of the most unique and mysterious depictions of that "most vivid and apocalyptic of New Testament books".
http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-beatus-of-facundus/
Why do we love books by "cool" writers? Why are so many of them often men? In this Globe and Mail piece, Kate Carraway ponders why David Gilmour is far from alone in the world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-we-love-books-by-cool-writers/article17169687/
On the other side of the gender spectrum, who is the queen of English literature? Author Kate Mosse and academic John Mullan recently debated Jane Austen versus Emily Brontë, including why one of them might be "the greatest writer of dialogue in English literature".
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/jane-austen-v-emily-bronte-queen-english-literature
Many musicians are renowned for their lyrics, but how many of them are influenced by actual literature? From Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", to Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", here are seven literary tributes that can be found in popular music.
http://blog.dictionary.com/by-the-book/
What happened to the Jewish books seized by the Nazis in the Second World War? "This is a black page in the history of the Jewish book," says Eric Schrijver, curator of the Bilbilotheca Rosenthaliana (whose collection was returned to Amsterdam)". There are other black pages. But there are beautifully illuminated pages, too. They didn't destroy it".
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/what-became-of-the-jewish-books.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
What are the ten best new books to read? This up-to-date list (courtesy of the BBC) includes mini reviews, and a chance to glimpse book covers as well!
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140227-the-10-best-new-books-to-read
George Eliot's Middlemarch has followed Rebecca Mead all her life–"at 17 it spoke to her yearning for escape; in her 20s it was a warning against a bad marriage; and in middle age Eliot's experience as a stepmother echoed her own". She discusses her book, The Road to Middlemarch: My Life with George Eliot, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/george-eliot-middlemarch-me-rebecca-mead
Helen Oyeyemi was only 21 when her first book, Icarus Girl, was published. Now 29, her new book, Boy, Snow, Bird is a "cautionary tale on post-race ideology, racial limbos and the politics of passing", located in the fairy-tale comfort zone she's famous for (in this case, "Snow White").
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/boy-snow-bird-by-helen-oyeyemi.html
Alexandra Fuller once opened a book review with the following marvelous plea: "Harried reader, I'll save you precious time. Skip this review and head directly to the bookstore". According to the New York Times, you should do exactly the same thing with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor's novel, Dust.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/dust-by-yvonne-adhiambo-owuor.html
The protagonist of Jennifer Clement's new novel, Prayer for the Stolen, is a girl who grows up where "only boys were born". Set in the Mexican state of Guerrero, this is not a "tale of transgender magic realism", but one in which girls must turn into boys in order to survived the frightening world of narcotrafficking.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/prayers-for-the-stolen-by-jennifer-clement.html
What has Helen Walsh learned about writing? "All influence is good"! The author of Brass, Go to Sleep and now The Lemon Grove discusses the influences that shaped her as a writer, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/what-helen-walsh-has-learned-about-writing-all-influence-is-good/article17181897/
Inspirations are especially important when it comes to first steps. Mustafa Ahmed is a teenage poet from Regent Park, Toronto, whose debut EP, Mustafa the Poet, has just launched. In this piece in The Walrus, he explain how "he finds the words".
http://thewalrus.ca/verses-from-the-abstract/
Blake Bailey's literary biographies are "exhaustively researched, soups-to-nuts narratives". It comes as some surprise, therefore that his newest work, a memoir called The Splendid Things We Planned, is the exact opposite: "elliptical and concise–impressionistic rather than archival".
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/02/the-biographers-confessions.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ART, MUSIC AND POETRY
A night of poetry inspired by Brush and Wire, an exhibit by Karen Brumelle and Joanne Waters. Featured poets: Daniela Elza, Chelsea Comeau, Bonnie Nish, Carl Leggo, Celeste Snowber, Ali Denno, and Dennis E. Bolen. Music by Jenn Bojm. March 6, 7pm-9 pm @ the Jewish Community Centre Gallery, 950 41st Ave W, Vancouver, free.
PIERRE SAMSON
Meet with the writer Pierre Samson, author of "La maison des pluies". Friday, March 7 at 5:30pm. Alliance Francaise Auditorium, Alliance Francaise, 6161 Cambie Street, Vancouver. More information at alliancefrancaise.ca.
THEY WENT WHISTLING
In celebration of International Women's Day, authors Sylvia Taylor, Kate Braid, Jane Hall and Sue Doro read from their memoirs. Saturday, March 8 at 2:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
SERENDIPITY: CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN A DIGITAL AGE
From practical advice on using literature-based apps with children to learning how authors and illustrators are using social media and electronic publishing, Serendipity 2014 is for educators, librarians, researchers and literature lovers looking to the future of books for young people. Presenters include Paul Zelinsky, Arthur Slade, John Schumacher, Travis Jonker, Tim Federle, and Hadley Dyer. Saturday, March 8, 2014. For registration and information, go to www.vclr.ca.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poets' work. Sunday, March 9 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
FOREST & FJORD
A photographic tour of the pictographs (rock art) of Indian Arm will be conducted by author Ralph Drew who has studied these archaeological sites for his recently published book. Wednesday, March 12 at 7:00pm, free. Special collections reading room, level 7, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Judith Copithorne and Jordan Abel plus open mic. Wednesday, March 12, 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.
AUTHORS NISH & NEALE
A reading of Pandora's Collective Outreach Society works pertaining to autobiographical material. Monday, March 17 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour de force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Exclusive offer! Save 50% with promo code underbelly50 online (http://tickets.thecultch.com/loader.asp?target=show_events_list.asp?shcode=323) or by phone through The Cultch Box Office at 604-251-1363 on tickets booked by March 13. Dates: March 18-30, 2014. Culture Lab, 1895 Venables St., Vancouver. More information at thecultch.com.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Peter Culley and Maxine Gadd featured at March 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. Lunch Poems hosts well-known and up-and-coming poets on the third Wednesday of every month except July and August. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
POST-PHOTOGRAPHY
Join photographer Evan Lee and novelist Healther Jessup for a conversation about Evan's work and influences, as well as beauty, strangeness, and what it's like to manipulate the flames of a forest fire. Wednesday, March 19 at 4:00pm, free. Student Engagement Centre, C Building, Langara. More information at langara.bc.ca/english-forum.
PLAY CHTHONICS: NEW CANADIAN READINGS
Readings by Natalie Simpson and Jonathan Ball. Wednesday, March 19 at 5:00pm. Piano Lounge, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.
POETRY READING
Lisa Robertson returns to Vancouver briefly and gives a reading of new work with her friend and fellow poet Cole Swensen, The Capilano Review's 2014 Writer-in-Residence. Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30pm. Cost: $5. Grand Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at www.thecapilanoreview.ca/poetry-reading-lisa-robertson--cole-swensen/.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
INCITE
Join us on March 19 for an evening with mystery and thriller writers! Deryn Collier (Open Secret), Craig Davidson aka Nick Cutter (The Troop), Andrew Pyper (The Demonologist), and Sean Slater (The Guilty). 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
After a week of vigorous debate, Joseph Boyden's The Orenda has triumphed in CBC's annual Canada Reads. The novel was defended by First Nations journalist Wab Kinew.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/canada-reads-crowns-joseph-boyden-s-the-orenda-2014-winner-1.2562292
The shortlist for the £30,000 Sunday Times EFG short story award has been announced. The current frontrunners include a British unknown, and two former Pulitzer Prize winners, Elizabeth Strout and Adam Johnson.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/03/anna-metcalfe-sunday-times-short-story-award
Book awards are changing, and perhaps nothing illustrates this better than the brand new Booktrust Best Book Awards with Amazon Kindle, which not only seek to unearth the very best children's books, but also to reflect how reading has embraced the digital era. Among the awards will be one devoted to technology, celebrating the best innovations in online literature.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10664891/Judges-announced-for-the-Booktrust-Best-Book-Awards.html
Otto Dov Kulka's Landscapes of the Metropolis of Death has been hailed as "the greatest book on Auschwitz since Primo Levi". It also just won the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/otto-duv-kulka-holocaust-book-wins-jewish-quarterly-wingate-prize
The finalists for the 2014 PEN/Faulkner Award were announced Wednesday.
http://www.penfaulkner.org/award-for-fiction/
YOUNG READERS
What are the must-haves for your child's book collection? Here's a list of the Top 10 Children's Books, with miniature reviews and a special focus on diversity!
http://www.advocate.com/parenting/2014/03/03/top-10-childrens-books
NEWS & FEATURES
Few things have been more newsworthy this week than the conflict between Russia and the Ukraine. But while our knowledge of Russian Literature is immense, much of our Ukrainian cultural vision is rather obscured. Chances are, however, that you're read more Ukrainian authors than you realize!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/ukraine-literature-writers-fiction-guide
The Oscar's also provided much to talk about these past few days, especially thanks to the success of 12 Years a Slave. Both the film and the 1853 memoir of the same name are about to become mandatory parts of the US national curriculum.
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/28/12-years-a-slave-us-national-curriculum
Is there a connection between creativity and madness? Edvard Munch once famously proclaimed, "I want to keep my sufferings. They are part of me and my art". In this article, Gila Lyons discusses writing "through the drugs", surviving her demons and still being a good writer.
http://www.themillions.com/2014/02/creativity-and-madness-on-writing-through-the-drugs.html
February might be over, but there's still time to appreciate its etymological origins! Did you know that the Latin-originated name February was only a very late adaptation in the English-speaking world? Before, the most common name was Solmonath, which translates (most perfectly) as "mud month"!
http://blog.dictionary.com/february
Have you ever heard of the Beatus of Facundus? He was a monk in 8th century Spain who set out to illustrate a collection of writings he had compiled about the Book of Revelations. His amazing illustrations are some of the most unique and mysterious depictions of that "most vivid and apocalyptic of New Testament books".
http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/the-beatus-of-facundus/
Why do we love books by "cool" writers? Why are so many of them often men? In this Globe and Mail piece, Kate Carraway ponders why David Gilmour is far from alone in the world.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/why-we-love-books-by-cool-writers/article17169687/
On the other side of the gender spectrum, who is the queen of English literature? Author Kate Mosse and academic John Mullan recently debated Jane Austen versus Emily Brontë, including why one of them might be "the greatest writer of dialogue in English literature".
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/jane-austen-v-emily-bronte-queen-english-literature
Many musicians are renowned for their lyrics, but how many of them are influenced by actual literature? From Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit", to Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", here are seven literary tributes that can be found in popular music.
http://blog.dictionary.com/by-the-book/
What happened to the Jewish books seized by the Nazis in the Second World War? "This is a black page in the history of the Jewish book," says Eric Schrijver, curator of the Bilbilotheca Rosenthaliana (whose collection was returned to Amsterdam)". There are other black pages. But there are beautifully illuminated pages, too. They didn't destroy it".
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/03/what-became-of-the-jewish-books.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
What are the ten best new books to read? This up-to-date list (courtesy of the BBC) includes mini reviews, and a chance to glimpse book covers as well!
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140227-the-10-best-new-books-to-read
George Eliot's Middlemarch has followed Rebecca Mead all her life–"at 17 it spoke to her yearning for escape; in her 20s it was a warning against a bad marriage; and in middle age Eliot's experience as a stepmother echoed her own". She discusses her book, The Road to Middlemarch: My Life with George Eliot, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/feb/28/george-eliot-middlemarch-me-rebecca-mead
Helen Oyeyemi was only 21 when her first book, Icarus Girl, was published. Now 29, her new book, Boy, Snow, Bird is a "cautionary tale on post-race ideology, racial limbos and the politics of passing", located in the fairy-tale comfort zone she's famous for (in this case, "Snow White").
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/boy-snow-bird-by-helen-oyeyemi.html
Alexandra Fuller once opened a book review with the following marvelous plea: "Harried reader, I'll save you precious time. Skip this review and head directly to the bookstore". According to the New York Times, you should do exactly the same thing with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor's novel, Dust.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/dust-by-yvonne-adhiambo-owuor.html
The protagonist of Jennifer Clement's new novel, Prayer for the Stolen, is a girl who grows up where "only boys were born". Set in the Mexican state of Guerrero, this is not a "tale of transgender magic realism", but one in which girls must turn into boys in order to survived the frightening world of narcotrafficking.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/02/books/review/prayers-for-the-stolen-by-jennifer-clement.html
What has Helen Walsh learned about writing? "All influence is good"! The author of Brass, Go to Sleep and now The Lemon Grove discusses the influences that shaped her as a writer, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/what-helen-walsh-has-learned-about-writing-all-influence-is-good/article17181897/
Inspirations are especially important when it comes to first steps. Mustafa Ahmed is a teenage poet from Regent Park, Toronto, whose debut EP, Mustafa the Poet, has just launched. In this piece in The Walrus, he explain how "he finds the words".
http://thewalrus.ca/verses-from-the-abstract/
Blake Bailey's literary biographies are "exhaustively researched, soups-to-nuts narratives". It comes as some surprise, therefore that his newest work, a memoir called The Splendid Things We Planned, is the exact opposite: "elliptical and concise–impressionistic rather than archival".
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2014/02/the-biographers-confessions.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ART, MUSIC AND POETRY
A night of poetry inspired by Brush and Wire, an exhibit by Karen Brumelle and Joanne Waters. Featured poets: Daniela Elza, Chelsea Comeau, Bonnie Nish, Carl Leggo, Celeste Snowber, Ali Denno, and Dennis E. Bolen. Music by Jenn Bojm. March 6, 7pm-9 pm @ the Jewish Community Centre Gallery, 950 41st Ave W, Vancouver, free.
PIERRE SAMSON
Meet with the writer Pierre Samson, author of "La maison des pluies". Friday, March 7 at 5:30pm. Alliance Francaise Auditorium, Alliance Francaise, 6161 Cambie Street, Vancouver. More information at alliancefrancaise.ca.
THEY WENT WHISTLING
In celebration of International Women's Day, authors Sylvia Taylor, Kate Braid, Jane Hall and Sue Doro read from their memoirs. Saturday, March 8 at 2:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
SERENDIPITY: CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN A DIGITAL AGE
From practical advice on using literature-based apps with children to learning how authors and illustrators are using social media and electronic publishing, Serendipity 2014 is for educators, librarians, researchers and literature lovers looking to the future of books for young people. Presenters include Paul Zelinsky, Arthur Slade, John Schumacher, Travis Jonker, Tim Federle, and Hadley Dyer. Saturday, March 8, 2014. For registration and information, go to www.vclr.ca.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/readers/poetry-lovers/writers with extensive public reading experience read poems from one of their favourite dead poets' work. Sunday, March 9 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
FOREST & FJORD
A photographic tour of the pictographs (rock art) of Indian Arm will be conducted by author Ralph Drew who has studied these archaeological sites for his recently published book. Wednesday, March 12 at 7:00pm, free. Special collections reading room, level 7, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features poets Judith Copithorne and Jordan Abel plus open mic. Wednesday, March 12, 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.
AUTHORS NISH & NEALE
A reading of Pandora's Collective Outreach Society works pertaining to autobiographical material. Monday, March 17 at 7:00pm, free. Meeting room, level 3, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
UNDERBELLY
Jayson McDonald's tour de force performance and poetic virtuosity based on the myth and impact of Burroughs and The Beats. Exclusive offer! Save 50% with promo code underbelly50 online (http://tickets.thecultch.com/loader.asp?target=show_events_list.asp?shcode=323) or by phone through The Cultch Box Office at 604-251-1363 on tickets booked by March 13. Dates: March 18-30, 2014. Culture Lab, 1895 Venables St., Vancouver. More information at thecultch.com.
Upcoming
LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Peter Culley and Maxine Gadd featured at March 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. Lunch Poems hosts well-known and up-and-coming poets on the third Wednesday of every month except July and August. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
POST-PHOTOGRAPHY
Join photographer Evan Lee and novelist Healther Jessup for a conversation about Evan's work and influences, as well as beauty, strangeness, and what it's like to manipulate the flames of a forest fire. Wednesday, March 19 at 4:00pm, free. Student Engagement Centre, C Building, Langara. More information at langara.bc.ca/english-forum.
PLAY CHTHONICS: NEW CANADIAN READINGS
Readings by Natalie Simpson and Jonathan Ball. Wednesday, March 19 at 5:00pm. Piano Lounge, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.
POETRY READING
Lisa Robertson returns to Vancouver briefly and gives a reading of new work with her friend and fellow poet Cole Swensen, The Capilano Review's 2014 Writer-in-Residence. Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30pm. Cost: $5. Grand Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at www.thecapilanoreview.ca/poetry-reading-lisa-robertson--cole-swensen/.
WOMEN AND WAR IN AFGHANISTAN
Ann Jones, author of Kabul in Winter and They Were Soldiers, discusses the prospects for women in Afghanistan. March 20 at 5:00 pm. Allard Hall, 1822 East Mall, UBC. More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
FIONA TINWEI LAM
An informal family-oriented reading for children and adults by author Fiona Tinwei Lam from her debut children's picture book, The Rainbow Rocket. Sunday, March 23 at 2:00pm, free. Renfrew Meeting room, Renfrew Branch, 2969 22nd Ave. E. More information at vpl.ca.
THE MAN WHO FILMED NESSIE
Angus Dinsdale's memoir discusses his unique childhood as the son of "The Man Who Filmed Nessie", experiencing his father's goal of tracking down the Loch Ness Monster. Wednesday, March 26 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.
POETIC JUSTICE READING SERIES
Features Portland poet John Sibley Williams, Daniela Elza and Deborah L. Kelly plus open mic. Sunday, March 30, 3pm-5pm. The Heritage Grill (Back Room), 447 Columbia Street, New Westminster, free.
DOV ELBAUM
Author discusses his departure from Israel's ultra-Orthodox community and his work on cultivating a secular Jewish renaissance in his book Into the Fullness of the Void. Sunday, March 30 at 6:00pm. Tickets: $14/10. Jewish Community Centre, 950 41st Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
