Book News Vol. 9 No. 46

BOOK NEWS

Waking from the American Dream Podcast
Exciting voices from a new generation of American writers. Joshua Ferris, Cristina Henríquez and Matthew Thomas talk with John Freeman about the meaning of life, love and truth, and the demise of the American Dream. Details here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/audio-archives/waking-american-dream.

Incite 2015
New fiction from John Vaillant (The Jaguar's Children), Marianne Apostolides (Sophrosyne) and Alix Halwey (All True Not a Lie in It). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.

FREE!
7:30pm, February 11
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite

AWARDS & LISTS

The American Library Association has announced the winners of its 2015 Book and Media awards, including the prestigious Ralph Caldecott Medals. Two Canadian artists earned Caldecott Honors: Jillian Tamaki for This One Summer (created with Writers Fest author Mariko Tamaki), and Jon Klassen for Sam and Dave Dig a Hole.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/02/03/jillian-tamaki-jon-klassen-receive-2015-caldecott-honors/

Man Booker Prize winner Anne Enright has been named Ireland's first Laureate for Fiction. Enright is known for her family saga called The Gathering.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11379773/anne-enright-ireland-first-fiction-laureate.html

The Crossover, a novel-in-verse about twin brothers who are basketball stars, has won the Newbery medal. The Newbery is the highest honour for children's literature in the United States.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/03/kwame-alexander-newbery-medal-dan-santat-caldecott

YOUNG READERS

Gordon Korman wrote his first book when he was twelve, "kicking off a career as a popular author of more than 60 books for middle-grade and young-adult readers." His newest is called Masterminds, and he's interviewed here,
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/author-gordon-korman-always-hears-you-were-my-dads-favourite-author-when-he-was-my-age/article22720761/

NEWS & FEATURES

Award-winning Vancouver poet Elise Partridge has died of cancer. "The spectre of illness hangs over The Exiles' Gallery," her third collection, which is set to be published in April.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/award-winning-bc-poet-elisa-partridge-dies/article22752206/

The Thorn Birds author Colleen McCullough died last week at the age of 77. Her obituary in The Australian, which focused on her physical appearance, has spawned a social media backlash and a wave of parodies.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/11379636/myozobituary-fans-mock-sexist-obituary-for-novelist-Colleen-McCullough.html

Roger Hargreaves' iconic Mr. Men and Little Miss books are coming to the big screen. "Hargreaves first introduced the world to his colourful characters in 1971 with his first book Mr. Tickle. He created new characters up until his death in 1988, including Mr. Sneeze, Mr. Mean, Mr. Dizzy, Little Miss Bossy, Little Miss Sunshine and Little Miss Trouble."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/01/mr-men-and-little-miss-books-coming-to-big-screen.html

Who are your favourite "baddies" in books? "From Charles Dickens to Stephen King, fiction offers plenty of troubled children–but Anthony Burgess's teenage narrator is in a league of his own." Here's The Guardian's profile of Alex from A Clockwork Orange.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/feb/03/baddies-in-books-alex-a-clockwork-orange-anthony-burgess

Speaking of bad boys, this week marks the 101st birthday of William S. Burroughs. To celebrate, here's a list of things you might not know about the Beat Generation renegade.
http://www.dazeddigital.com/artsandculture/article/23472/1/things-you-might-not-know-about-william-s-burroughs

How does a typeface get lost? "Between August 1916 and January 1917 Cobden-Sanderson, a printer and bookbinder, dropped more than a tonne of metal printing type" into the Thames River. Now, almost 100 years later, the typeface has been revived digitally.
http://www.casualoptimist.com/blog/2015/01/28/the-doves-type-revival/

"Being a playwright in Canada is like being an ice sculptor: you are a practitioner of an obscure art form that is ephemeral, impractical as a career choice, misunderstood, romantic." In this piece for Quill and Quire, playwright Hanna Moscovitch discusses the necessity of publishing theatre works.
http://www.quillandquire.com/opinion/2015/01/30/playwright-hannah-moscovitch-on-the-necessity-to-publish-theatre-works/

Michael Bourne recently used a single sentence from Anthony Doerr's bestselling novel, All the Light You Cannot See, to demonstrate Doerr's mastery of narrative. The exercise got him wondering: "If I looked at the same line—the first sentence of the fifth paragraph on page 40—in other books, would it offer the same window onto the author's style?"
http://www.themillions.com/2015/01/the-page-40-test.html

Is book reviewing a public service or an art? In this week's edition of the New York Times' Bookends, James Parker and Anna Holmes take on the book review.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/books/review/is-book-reviewing-a-public-service-or-an-art.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

Harper Lee is set to publish a new novel in July. Called Go Set a Watchman, it's a follow-up to her iconic 1960 novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The manuscript was written in the mid-1950s, and thought lost.
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/02/03/harper-lee-to-publish-new-novel-in-july/

Milan Kundera's first novel in more than a decade is also set to be published in English this year. Faber will release Kundera's The Festival of Insignificance, translated from the original French by Linda Asher, on June 18th. The short work was first published in Italy in 2013, and has since topped charts in Italy, Spain and France.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/03/milan-kundera-new-novel-the-festival-of-insignificance

Penguin Canada has acquired Canadian rights to the next book in Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium series. "Written by Swedish crime writer David Lagercrantz, What Doesn't Kill Us will receive a different title for North America, as was the case with the first and third books in the series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest)."
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/01/28/penguin-canada-to-publish-continuation-of-stieg-larssons-millenium-trilogy/

"My curiosity has always leaned to the north," states Steve Himmer in this interview. His new book is called Fram, "part spy thriller, part Arctic exploration story, part meditation on work, and mostly something completely new—as Will Wiles calls it, ‘a miniature bureaucratic epic somewhere between David Foster Wallace and Jules Verne.'"
http://electricliterature.com/my-curiosity-has-always-leaned-to-the-north-a-conversation-with-steve-himmer-author-of-fram/

Here are two short story collections that converge on the themes of crime and punishment: The Martini Shot by George Pelecanos, and Cover Before Striking, by Priscila Uppal. "Pelecanos restricts his formal canvas to the crime genre, whereas Uppal is much more profligate, preferring to range among different styles and approaches." Both authors have appeared at the Vancouver Writers Fest!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/crime-and-punishment-two-short-story-collections-converge-on-a-theme/article22721356/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

INTO THE MYSTIC
Susan McCaslin will be launching her new mixed-genre memoir, Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga, at The Fort Gallery's First Thursday Arts Evening, 9048 Glover Rd., Fort Langley, Thursday, February 5, 7-9 pm, with local visual artists in the Full Circle Alumni Show (Susan J. Falk, Suzanne Northcott, Donna Usher, Myrna Pfeifer, Nancy Crawford, Betty Spackman and others). Contact: Emma Pavey at fortgallery@hotmail.com.

THE WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Readings by Candie Tanaka, Graham J. Darling, Kelly Ryan, Yaana Dancer, Alyson Quinn, Meharoona Ghani, Joanne Betzler, and Carleigh Baker. Thursday, February 5 at 8:00pm, admission by donation. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 778-782-8000.

RED BRICK READINGS
Features Lorna Crozier and Patrick Lane. Friday, February 13 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $10. Red Brick Cafe, Sidney. More information at sidneyliteraryfestival.ca.

PAINFUL JOURNEY
The remarkable story of Burnaby resident Jerry Gbardy, author of Painful Journey-A Story of Escape and Survival. Tuesday, February 17 at 7:00pm. Free but register at 604-522-3971. Tommy Douglas branch, Burnaby Public Library.

SPOKEN INK
Reading by mystery writer Debra Purdy Kong. Tuesday, February 17 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings, Burnaby. More information at bwscafe@gmail.com.

LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Alex Leslie and Roy Miki are the featured poets. Wednesday, February 18 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

TIMOTHY TAYLOR
Timothy Taylor in discussion of his novel Stanley Park. Wednesday, February 18 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street. Details at Book Warehouse Main Street, 604-879-7737.

JEAN BARMAN
Author presents an illustrated talk of her book French Canadians, Furs, and Indigenous Women in the Making of the Pacific Northwest. Wednesday, February 18 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL. More information at 604-331-3603.

Upcoming

RUTH DERKSEN SIEMENS
Reading by the author of Daughters in the City, about the lives of young Mennonite women working as domestic servants in Vancouver from 1930 to 1960. Saturday, February 21 at 2:00pm. Registration required. Clearbrook Library, Abbotsford. More information at 604-859-7814.

JOSEPH BOYDEN
Author of Three Day Road, Through Black Spruce, and The Orenda discusses writing and approaching First Nation issues in Canada. Saturday, February 21 at 8:15pm. Lecture Hall No. 2, Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, 2194 Health Sciences Mall, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.

GALIANO LITERARY FESTIVAL
Sixth annual festival featuring Theodora Armstrong, George Bowering, Bill Gaston, Elizabeth May, Spider Robinson and others. February 20-22, 2015. Complete details at galianoliteraryfestival.com.

ELSIE PAUL
Author talks about her book Written as I Remember It. Tuesday, February 24 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL. More information at vpl.com.

MICHAEL HETHERINGTON
Michael Hetherington's latest novel Hooked tells the story of Adrian, an innocent schoolteacher whose life becomes a nightmare after a chance encounter with a woman and a fish hook. Wednesday, February 25 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library. More information at 604-925-7403.

ANN ERIKSSON
Author reads from her novel High Clear Bell of Morning. Thursday, February 26 at 7:00pm. Christianne's Lyceum, 3696 8th Ave. W.

CEA SUNRISE PERSON
Author talks about her memoir, North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Counterculture Family, and How I Survived Both. Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL. More information at vpl.ca.

JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her book love will burst into a thousand shapes. Thursday, March 5 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-876-6138.

SERENDIPITY 2015
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable invites you to an Edgy, Eerie, Exceptional Serendipity 2015 with Holly Black, Andrew Smith, Mariko Tamaki, Molly Idle, and Kelli Chipponeri. March 7, 2015 at the University of British Columbia, 8:00am to 3:30pm, breakfast and lunch included. Register now to take advantage of the early bird rates. More information at www.vclr.ca.

MISSION WRITERS & READERS FESTIVAL
Features Evelyn Lau, Daniel Elza, Lois Peterson, Chris Gilpin, and John Carroll. Saturday, March 7 at Heritage Park Centre, 33700 Prentis Avenue, Mission. Details at http://www.lifetimelearningcentre.org/uncategorized/8th-annual-mission-writers-and-readers-festival-linking-generations/.

MYSTERY AND CRIME
Hear Canadian writers share their experience on writing mystery and crime stories. Featuring E.R. Brown, Robin Spano, Dietrich Kalteis, and Sam Wiebe. Saturday, March 7 at 11:45am. Fleetwood Library, Surrey.

HEART OF A HOOFBEAT
Margaret Evans will take you on a journey that begins 35,000 years ago in southern France to tell the fascinating story of the evolution of the horse. Saturday, March 7 at 1:00pm. Yarrow Library, Chilliwack. More information at 604-823-4664.

MIRIAM TOEWS
Vancouver Institute lecture featuring Governor General's Award for Fiction winner Miriam Toews. Saturday, March 7 at 8:15pm. Lecture Hall No. 2, Woodward Instructional Resources Centre, 2194 Health Sciences Mall, UBC. More information at greencollege.ubc.ca.

A CELEBRATION OF GAIA AS A MUSE
North Vancouver based poet, librettist and non-fiction writer Elaine Woo reads from her debut poetry collection Cycling With The Dragon. Saturday, March 14 at 1:00pm. Brittania branch, VPL, 1661 Napier Street, Vancouver. More information at nightwoodeditions.com.

PEN AND SWORD
Authors C.C. Humphreys, Sebastien de Castell and Kris Sayer will discuss their personal journeys studying swordplay to enrich their writing, characters and stories. Monday, March 23 at 7:00pm. Central Branch, VPL. More information at 604-331-3603.