Book News Vol. 9 No. 37

BOOK NEWS

David Mitchell Podcast
If you missed our September 27 special event with Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell, an audio podcast is now on our website. David chats with VWF Artistic Director Hal Wake about the recurring themes and characters in his
books, and how his new novel The Bone Clocks continues his obsession with interconnectedness. Listen here:
http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/evening-david-mitchell

Festival
The JCC Jewish Book Festival (Nov 22-27) presents events with writers from across Canada, the US and Israel. Festival Highlights include the Opening Night Gala featuring Israel's bestselling author Zeruya Shalev (The Remains of Love); Steven Galloway (The Confabulist) headlining the Festival's annual book club event; CBC Radio host, Dr. Brian Goldman (White Coat, Black Art), and appearances from a host of local writers including Bob Bossin and Mark Leiren-Young. The Festival includes meet-the-author opportunities, readings and panel discussions, writing and self-publishing workshops, children's authors and film-screenings. For more information and tickets, visit jewishbookfestival.ca.

AWARDS & LISTS

The winners of the 2014 Governor General's Literary Awards have been named. Thomas King won the English language fiction prize for his novel The Back of the Turtle. Other winners included Michael Harris for non-Fiction, Arleen Paré for poetry, Jordan Tannahill for drama, Raziel Reid for children's literature (text), Jillian Tamaki for children's literature (illustration) and Peter Feldstein for translation (French to English).
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/11/the-2014-governor-generals-literary-award-winners.html

Winners of the 2014 National Book Awards were announced last night and include Phil Klay for Redeployment, Evan Osnos for Age of Ambition, Louise Gluck for Faithful and Virtuous Night, and Jacqueline Woodson for Brown Girl Dreaming.
http://www.nationalbook.org/nba2014.html

YOUNG READERS

Here are three young adult books worth a read: Blue Mountain by Martine Leavitt, Throwaway Girl by Kristine Scarrow, and Ship of Dolls by Shirtley Parenteau. Check out their reviews, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/three-young-adult-books-worth-a-read/article21592002/

NEWS & FEATURES

It's Margaret Atwood's 75th birthday! "She shows no sign of slowing down as an artist–are you up to speed?" Take a quiz and find out, here.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/quiz/2014/nov/18/margaret-atwood-75-quiz

And if you don't believe that she's still in the game, here's a hilarious reason why: Margaret Atwood responds to some common tweets about Canadians!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tanyachen/margaret-atwood-responds-questions-about-canadians

What do libraries mean to you? According to Neil Gaiman, they are "seed corn," safe spaces that were vital to him as a child.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/17/neil-gaiman-libraries-are-cultural-seed-corn

Energy giant Kinder Morgan has served Vancouver poet and professor Stephen Collis a 5.6 million dollar lawsuit for opposing the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline. A petition is being gathered to raise support from the literary community.
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2014/11/energy-giant-serves-vancouver-poet-professor-stephen-collis-5-6-million-lawsuit-for-opposing-pipeline-expansion/

Speaking of corporate giants, Amazon and Hachette have finally announced a settlement. Amazon spokesperson David Naggar said that the digital retailer is "pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike."
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/11/13/amazon-and-hachette-announce-settlement/

A sad day for the humanities: the U.K.'s secretary of education has declared that arts subjects "will hold [students] back for the rest of their lives." Speaking at the launch of a campaign to promote science, technology, math and engineering, Morgan stated that the notion of arts or humanities subjects keeping pupils' career choices open "couldn't be further from the truth".
http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/2014/11/education-secretary-nicky-morgan-arts-subjects-limit-career-choices/

How has the social role of poetry changed since Shelley? That's the question in this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Leslie Jamison discuss.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/books/review/how-has-the-social-role-of-poetry-changed-since-shelley.html

Women are dominating self-publishing! Ironically, the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy that has led to a surge in middle-aged women producing e-books.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/09/fifty-shades-of-grey-women-dominate-self-publishing?et_mid=702494&rid=241005533

And if they're not publishing, they're probably rewriting (or questioning their literary worth!) Here's Chuck Wendig's aptly named "On the detestation of your manuscript: an expedition into the dark, tumultuous heart of authorial self-hatred".
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2014/11/10/on-the-detestation-of-your-manuscript-an-expedition-into-the-dark-tumultuous-heart-of-authorial-self-hatred/

It's easy to rag on big screen adaptations of books. But what about small screen ones? In this piece, Maddie Crum makes the case for television.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/madeleine-crum/are-tv-adaptations-better_b_6117442.html

On that note, Philip Roth's novel Indignation is set to be adapted for film. James Schamus, the former head of Focus Features, will make his directorial debut with the project.
http://flavorwire.com/newswire/philip-roth-novel-indignation-to-be-adapted-into-film-directed-by-james-schamus

BOOKS & WRITERS

Wayde Compton is a man of many hats: poet, essayist, co-founding member of the Hogan's Alley Memorial Project, and director of the Creative Writing Program at SFU Continuing Studies. Now he's branched out into short fiction, with a work called The Outer Harbour. He's interviewed, here.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/id-rather-be-happy-now/article21591608/

Diane Schoemperlen's By The Book was written as a follow-up to her Governor General Award-winning book Forms of Devotion. It is a "virtuoso performance in found text and visual poetry," "a poetic journey lead by a skilled craftsperson."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/diane-schoemperlens-by-the-book-is-a-poetic-journey-lead-by-a-skilled-craftsperson/article21591328/

In Where I'm Reading From, Tim Parks tackles translation. Nineteen Eighty-Four begins: "'It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen'...the earliest Italian translation of Orwell's novel 'has the clocks striking one, not thirteen'. The (unnamed) translator, alert to the 24-hour clock, was apparently 'unaware of how interesting a clock striking thirteen would be.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/nov/14/where-im-reading-from-changing-world-of-books-tim-parks-review

Anthony Powell's first novel, Afternoon Men, just might be "the funniest novel you've never read...It's a good thing Afternoon Men is so funny because otherwise it might well be one of the bleakest novels in the English language."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/afternoon_men_by_anthony_powell_is_the_funniest_novel_you_ve_never_read.2.html

Denis Johnson's The Laughing Monsters is a "sinewy spy thriller that roams throughout West Africa." Written in the spirit of Graham Greene, it's a "testimonial of Western hubris and deceit, profiteering and naivety, yet less a crisis of selfhood than a tale of self-preservation."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/denis-johnsons-the-laughing-monsters-is-a-sinewy-spy-thriller-that-roams-throughout-west-africa/article21590759/

Laura Ingalls Wilder is famous for her Little House on the Prairie Books. She was never, however, able to get her autobiography published. Now, 80 years later, the book, which includes Wilder's complete first draft as well as "scrupulous and wide-ranging new research," is finally seeing the light of day.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/11/little_house_nonfiction_laura_ingalls_wilder_s_memoir_pioneer_girl_reviewed.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

MEET THE AUTHOR
Steven Galloway discuses his latest novel, The Confabulist. Thursday, November 20 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.

HOOKED
Author Michael Heatherington launches his new book. Wednesday, November 26 at 6:00pm, free. The Paper Hound, 344 West Pender Street, Vancouver.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Christopher Levenson, Sean Wiebe, and Fionncara MacEoin plus open mic. Thursday, November 27th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.

THE SEA AMONG US
Join BC-based researchers, Richard Beamish and Gordon McFarlane, as well as several other Vancouver contributors, as they celebrate the release of their new book, The Sea Among Us: The Amazing Strait of Georgia. The presentation and book signing will take place at Book Warehouse (Main Street) on Thursday, November 27 at 7pm, and admission is free. For more information, email mainstreet@bookwarehouse.ca.

OH MY DARLING
WVML 2014 Writer in Residence Shaena Lambert will speak about the fiction writing process, and explore some of the techniques and mysteries involved in 'getting the words right.' Thursday, November 27 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.

Upcoming

AN EVENING WITH SOME OF VANCOUVER'S FAVOURITE QUEER WRITERS
Join Rachel Rose, Nat Marshik, Alan Woo, Esther McPhee and Brett Josef Grubisic as they read from their latest work. Hosted by Amber Dawn. Amber Dawn also leads the largest queer free-writing group exercise of all time! Tweet your #queerpoem to @PlenitudeMag and it will be read on stage. Saturday, November 29th. Doors at 8pm, starts at 8:30pm, at Cafe Deux Soleils. $10 at the door includes two print issues of Plenitude Magazine. For details, join the event on Facebook, facebook.com/events/742453355843036/.

MOSS-HAIRED GIRL
3-Day novel winning manuscript Moss-Haired Girl: The Confessions of a Circus Performer, A Novella by R.H. Slansky, will be launched in book form as will new issues of Geist and subTerrain. Saturday, November 29 at 8:00pm, free. The Brickhouse, 730 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at info@anvilpress.com.

TURBULENT TALES
Award-winning journalist and author, Carol Shaben joins Edmonton’s Historian Laureate, Danielle Metcalfe-Chenail to launch her new book, Polar Winds: A Century of Flying the North. Tuesday, December 2 at 7:00pm. Billy Bishop Legion, 1407 Laburnum St., Vancouver.

CRIME WRITERS PANEL
Three local authors explain what goes into writing believable murder mysteries and thrillers, and answer all the questions that you're just dying to ask. Saturday, December 6 at 2:00pm, registration appreciated. Terry Fox Library.

A WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION WITH POETRY AND MUSIC
Celebrate the solstice with local poets and musicians at a fundraiser for kids in need. Features Evelyn Lau, Christopher Levenson, Bonnie Nish, Rob Taylor, Diane Tucker, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and musical performers Fraser Union, Christina Kent, Samuel Louis, and Bob Walker. Wednesday, December 10, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver.