Book News Vol. 9 No. 49

BOOK NEWS

A Dram Come True
Join us for an evening of good fun and great spirits at our annual Scotch tasting fundraiser, A Dram Come True. We've only got 18 earlybird tickets left, and you don't want to miss the surprises and single malts we've got in
store for you this year, so purchase you tickets today!

7:30pm, June 5
Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

Incite 2015
Two Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominees: Fred Stenson (Who By Fire) and Kim Echlin (Under the Visible Life), plus Chelsea Rooney (Pedal). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.

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

In the Community
Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Montreal): Canada's Reigning Queen of dance returns to the DanceHouse stage with two works; Gymnopédies–set to the music of Eric Satie, and Henri Michaux: Mouvements–inspired by the 1951 book of abstract illustrations by the French artist Michaux. February 27 and 28. Details (http://dancehouse.ca/event/compagnie-marie-chouinard/) and tickets (https://tickets.dancehouse.ca/TheatreManager/1/login&event=53). Use this code to access a special $10-off rate on premium and regular tickets: WRITER.

AWARDS & LISTS

Ayelet Tsabari has won the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature. She appeared at the 2013 Writers Fest, and was awarded the prize for her collection, The Best Place on Earth: Stories.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/02/23/ayelet-tsabari-wins-100000-sami-rohr-prize-for-jewish-literature/

UBC announces 2015 Basil Stuart-Stubbs Book Prize shortlist for outstanding scholarly book on British Columbia.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/02/25/ubc-announces-2015-basil-stuart-stubbs-book-prize-shortlist/

YOUNG READERS

Macbeth "doesn't feature classically adolescent themes... Yet with its simple, linear plot, its witches and its ghosts, its clear-cut moral questions about the lure of evil and whether and how we control our own fates, it is well suited for teenagers." Gareth Hinds' "stellar" graphic-novel is an excellent adaptation of the Shakespeare's classic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/books/review/macbeth-adapted-by-gareth-hinds.html

NEWS & FEATURES

The Oscars are over, with several winning films being based on books. Here are 10 books that just might vie for Academy Awards next year.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/overdrive/10-books-that-will-vie-fo_b_6723178.html

It's Freedom to Read Week in Canada. To mark the occasion, the CBC has "brought together some past features that explore censorship, intellectual freedom, and the power of reading."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/02/freedom-to-read-week.html

The U.S. Postal Service has announced that it will be honouring Maya Angelou with a "forever" postage stamp. Angelou, whose many jobs included poet, professor, Tony-nominated performer, calypso singer and streetcar conductor, passed away last year.
http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-maya-angelou-stamp-usps-20150223-story.html

A Polish ebookstore that sells self-published works is trying out a new sale model: read first, pay later. Based in Warsaw, OpenBooks.com is also offering writers a 70% share of net revenue from any payment.
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/02/openbooks-a-self-publishing-bookstore-where-you-read-first-pay-later/

On a more corporate note, Kindle Unlimited has expanded into Canada. In exchange for a membership fee, subscribers have unlimited access to the Kindle library, which contains more that 750,000 eBooks.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/kindle-unlimited-hits-canada-mexico/99443

Cory Doctorow is heading up a campaign to ban digital locks on ebooks, movies and music. According to Doctorow "Any time someone puts a lock on something you own, against your wishes, and doesn't give you the key, they're not doing it for your benefit."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/22/whose-digital-content-is-it-anyway-cory-doctorow

Is there a place for 50 Shades of Grey within the realm of literary theory? Here's one person's try at it.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/50-shades-of-literary-theory-how-the-novel-and-the-film-reflect-and-destroy-three-centuries-of-theory/

A Thai publisher has crowdfunded a translation of Moby Dick. "The true aim of the project isn't about physical copies of the book, but instead the free sharing of knowledge and literature. The translated text of Moby Dick will be made public, meaning that any publisher willing to print it—commercial, educational or otherwise—is welcome to do so under a Creative Commons license."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/02/thai-publisher-crowdfunds-a-translation-of-moby-dick/

Speaking of literary classics, a lost Sherlock Holmes story has been discovered. "It is believed the story-about Holmes deducing Watson is going on a trip to Selkirk-is the first unseen Holmes story by Doyle since the last was published over 80 years ago."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11424549/Lost-Sherlock-Holmes-story-discovered-in-mans-attic.html

Are you a social media aficionado? If so, you might enjoy this roundup of 15 great literary Instagram accounts to follow.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/20/miranda-july-instagrams_n_6715910.html

Is your favourite novel highbrow? How about experimental, empirical or political? Adventure, mystery or comic? Find out here, in this hilarious and expansive infographic about book genres.
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0211/4926/files/P-LitGenres_Zoom2.jpg?17388068195940225238

The New Yorker is turning 90 this month. To celebrate, the magazine has teamed up with Amazon to produce a series of videos featuring "top-notch" filmmakers and writers.
http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/amazon-creates-video-series-for-the-new-yorkers-90th-birthday/99448

BOOKS & WRITERS

Emma Hooper's debut novel Etta and Otto and Russell and James follows the story of an 82-year-old woman who leaves Saskatchewan on foot, bound for the Atlantic Ocean. It's loosely based on the lives of her grandparents, and has already been published in 18 languages. Hooper is interviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/how-a-move-to-england-helped-emma-hooper-write-about-saskatchewan/article23125586/

"The unnamed narrator of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club is back, dragging a dependence on prescription drugs, a bored wife and a destructive son along with him." Palahniuk has unveiled six pages of Fight Club 2, a follow-up to the 1996 cult classic.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/23/chuck-palahniuk-fight-club-2-comic-book

Did you enjoy seeing Mariko Tamaki at last year's Writers Fest? If so, you might enjoy her sister's work as well. Jillian Tamaki is an illustrator who has just revealed her new cover for a new translation of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables.
http://jilliantamaki.tumblr.com/post/111495899060/received-some-nice-mail-today-the-les-miserables

Helen Macdonald's H is For Hawk "reminds us that excellent nature writing can lay bare some of the intimacies of the wild world as well. Her book is so good that, at times, it hurt me to read it. It draws blood, in ways that seem curative." It's about trying to train one of nature's "most vicious predators" and overcome grief.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/18/books/review-helen-macdonalds-h-is-for-hawk-a-memoir-on-grief-and-falconry.html

Amit Chaudhuri's new novel, Odysseus Abroad, takes its structure from Ulysses, following a 22-year-old student through one day in 1985. "Borrowing the structure of 'Ulysses' may seem like a risk, but Amit Chaudhuri takes it well."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11422425/Odysseus-Abroad-by-Amit-Chaudhuri.html

"It's a good thing writer Susan Juby is all in on the whole writing thing—because her backup career plan could use a little work." Find out more about Susan Juby and her new novel, Republic of Dirt, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2015/02/susan-juby-magic-8.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

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.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Rob Taylor and Ruth Kozak with open mic. Thursday, February 26, 7:00pm. 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.

RAZIEL REID AND STEVEN GALLOWAY
Freedom to Read Week event bringing together Raziel Reid, author of When Everything Feels Like the Movies, as well as Steven Galloway, a prominent local writer who has publicly defended Reid’s work and denounced the critics who are actively engaged in having the award rescinded on moral grounds. Friday, February 27 at 12:30pm. Room 3008, WAC Bennet Library, SFU Burnaby. More information at www.lib.sfu.ca.

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.

INTO THE MYSTIC
Susan McCaslin will be a special guest reading from her new poetic memoir at the opening reception of Semiahmoo Arts' Into the Mystic, an Exhibition of Visual Art. Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00pm. Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601-20 Ave., Surrey. More information at semiahmooarts.com.

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 writers E.R. Brown, Robin Spano, Dietrich Kalteis and Sam Wiebe share their experience on writing mystery and crime stories. Featuring. 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.

Upcoming

WORDS ON THE WATER
Featuring David Carpenter, Ivan Coyote, Steven Galloway, Sarah Leavitt, Bernice Lever, Derek Lundy, Richard Wagamese, and Kathleen Winter. March 13-14, 2015. Maritime Heritage Centre, 621 Island Highway, Campbell River, BC. Details at wordsonthewater.ca.

SOUTHBANKS WRITERS' PROGRAM READING SERIES
Featured poets Pam Galloway & Susan McCaslin will read from their new works. Thursday, March 12 at 6:30m. Surrey City Centre Library, 10350 University Dr., Surrey. More information at surreylibraries.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.

NOIR AT THE BAR
Drink, mingle and hear talented local authors read. Featuring Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano, Owen Laukkanen, Sam Weibe, Glynis Whiting, E.R. Brown, Charlotte Morganti, and Dietrich Kalteis. Tuesday, March 24 at 7:00pm. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, 210 Carrall St., Vancouver.

WRITING THE SPIRITUAL LIFE
Susan McCaslin will be offering a reading and short writing workshop based on her new spiritual autobiography Into the Mystic: My Years with Olga. Wednesday, March 25 at 6:30pm, free. Banyen Books and Sound, 3608 4th Ave. W., Vancouver. More information at banyen.com.