Book News Vol. 9 No. 50

BOOK NEWS

A Dram Come True
A Dram Come True always features unexpected surprises and uncommon whiskies, and this year is no exception. We can't give away all our secrets, but we do have two new tipples for you to sample this year: Blackadder, which bottles only individual casks as naturally as possible, and Hepburn's Choice, a new offering from Douglas Laing which champions the lesser-known distilleries of Scotland. Early-bird tickets are close to selling out, so don't wait-purchase your 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

AWARDS & LISTS

Plum Johnson has won the $25,000 RBC Taylor Prize for her "gripping" family memoir, They Left Us Everything. The Prize commemorates Charles Taylor's pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/03/plum-johnson-wins-25k-rbc-taylor-prize.html

The CBC Bookie Awards have been announced. Three participants from last year's Writers Fest were winners: Michael Crummey, Dinaw Mengestu and Mariko Tamaki.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/02/cbc-bookie-awards-2015-the-winners.html

Madeleine Thien has been named as a finalist for the world's richest prize for a work of short fiction. She was nominated for the UK's 2015 EFG Short Story Award for her story, The Wedding Cake.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/03/03/madeleine-thien-a-finalist-for-u-k-s-2015-efg-short-story-award/

YOUNG READERS

"Can a real live bear, if treated well and trained correctly, possibly become as tame and loving toward people as—well, a teddy bear?" That's the question asked in Sally M. Walker's Winnie, a retelling of the inspiration behind A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/books/review/winnie-by-sally-m-walker.html

NEWS & FEATURES

The Writers' Trust of Canada has won $25,000 in funding from the RBC Emerging Artists Project. The decision was made based on a public poll.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/03/02/writers-trust-of-canada-wins-25000-in-funding-through-rbcs-public-vote/

The lives of authors are always interesting to pry apart, especially when we find out what they were doing when they were not writing. Here's a fun infographic about the day jobs of some famous authors.
http://goodereader.com/blog/best-of-goodereader/some-of-the-most-prolific-authors-had-day-jobs

When it comes to book advances, non-fiction writers are suffering greatly these days. According to John Vaillant, writers are rushing to finish "important, research-heavy, non-fiction" books in a matter of months–books that would normally require years of work–because "that's all they can afford to do."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-harsh-reality-of-non-fiction-writing/article23229779/

Why are there so many more aspiring writers than aspiring readers? That's just one of many questions that literary agent Chris Parris-Lamb discusses in this interview about "gatekeeping, the truth behind big advances, and why Amazon neglects the ‘humanity to good books.'"
https://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/the-art-of-agenting/

What's the matter with dystopia? "Dystopia is flourishing. In the process, it is becoming routine and losing its political power."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/25/dystopia-literature-problem_n_6598988.html

The digitalization of media is all over the news, and yet hard-copy books continue to thrive. Here are nine studies that show why.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/27/print-ebooks-studies_n_6762674.html

On that note, here's Timothy Young's take on the matter. "I've been carrying this list in my head for years, adding to it one reason at a time. In my profession, as a librarian and a curator, this list...functions as an apologia pro vita mia—rational defenses for the continued existence of the printed codex—and my involvement with them."
http://designobserver.com/feature/books-matter/38752/

What is the place of libraries in times of war? In the wake of the destruction of the Mosul Public Library, here's an article on the "unbearable ironies of libraries in wartime."
http://flavorwire.com/506536/the-unbearable-ironies-of-libraries-in-wartime

What are the seven deadly sins of dialogue? From "impossible verbing" to "on-the-nose dialogue," here's a list:
https://litreactor.com/columns/the-seven-deadly-sins-of-dialogue

March 5 is World Book Day and students across the UK are donning costumes to promote reading and books in schools.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/world-book-day-what-did-you-dress-up-as-we-round-up-the-best-costumes-10085044.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

What motivates Karl Ove Knausgaard to write? "Writing is a way of getting rid of shame," he states in this interview with The Guardian.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/01/karl-ove-knausgaard-interview-shame-dancing-in-the-dark

Paul Beatty's new novel, Sellout, is his first in seven years. "Blistering on the past and present of race in America, it spares no person or piety...the novel 'reads like the most concussive monologues and interviews of Chris Rock, Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle wrapped in a satirical yet surprisingly delicate literary and historical sensibility.'"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/03/books/paul-beatty-author-of-the-sellout-on-finding-humor-in-issues-of-race.html

Priscila Uppal's new short story collection, Cover Before Striking, tackles many traditional topics: family, love, marriage, and death. The "distinctive treatment she bestows on each illustrates the breadth of any given theme and Uppal's singular talent for exploring it."
http://www.straight.com/life/397596/humour-and-grief-flicker-through-priscila-uppals-cover-striking

Love and betrayal go hand in hand in Sofi Oksanen's novel, When Doves Disappeared, set in Estonia during World War II. "No one in these pages is predictable, because survival in this period, Oksanen so beautifully reveals, meant learning to love only from the part of the heart that knows how to betray."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/02/27/when-the-doves-disappeared-by-sofi-oksanen-review.html

Colin Barret's debut story collection, Young Skins, leaves one with a sense of "disturbed gratitude. The stories blend moments of horror with moments of hilarity, shocks of joy with shocks of despair, and no matter how grim a given scene by Barrett can get, it's a thrill to be alive to hear him."
http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2015/03/03/the-right-kind-of-damage-an-interview-with-colin-barrett/

"When the Chinese writer Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2012 and was warmly lauded by the Communist government, he became one of the most reviled winners in the history of that great honor." His newest book is called Frog, "a rich and troubling epic" about China's one-child policy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/26/books/review-in-mo-yans-frog-a-chinese-abortionist-embodies-state-power.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

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.

NORMAN NAWROCKI
The Montreal author, will read from his 12 books of poetry, short stories and his novel Cazzarola! Anarchy, Romani, Love, Italy. Wednesday, March 11 at 7:00pm, free. Hastings Branch Library, 2674 East Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.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.

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.

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.

Upcoming

LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Erin Mouré and Andrew McEwan are the featured poets. Wednesday, March 18, 2015 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information, visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.

MARILYN DUMONT
Reading by critically acclaimed Indigenous author and poet. Wednesday, March 18 at 12:00pm, free. Liu Multi-Purpose Room, Liu Institute for Global Issues, 6476 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver. More information at cwila.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.

NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Readings by Amir Ahmad Nasr and Pasha Parvaneh Hashemi. Wednesday, March 25 at 7:00pm, free. North Vancouver City Library, 120 W. 14th Street, North Vancouver. More information and registration here, nvcl.ca/calendar.

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH
Readings from Candice James, New Westminster's Poet Laureate and George Fetherling, author of many books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Tuesday, April 7 at 6:30pm. New Westminster Public Library, New Westminster. More information and registration at 604-527-4667.

UNHANGED AUTHOR
Free workshop for writers thinking of entering the 2015 Arthur Ellis Unhanged Author competition. Saturday, April 11 from 10am to 5pm. VPL Central branch, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. Complete details at crimewriterscanada.com.

NEIL MCKINNON
Author reads from his new book The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Tuesday, April 14 at 7:00pm, free. VPL Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

CASCADIA POETRY FESTIVAL
Features more than forty poets from across Cascadia, a bioregion that stretches from California to Alaska, including Sam Hamill, Brenda Hillman, Robert Bringhurst, Susan Musgrave, Sharon Thesen, Joanne Arnott, and Stephen Collis. April 30-May 3, 2015 in Nanaimo, BC. Complete details at cascadiapoetryfestival.org.