Book News Vol. 10 No. 6

BOOK NEWS

A Dram Come True
Join us for our signature fundraising event, A Dram Come True

This celebration of whisky from around the world features a variety of rare and distinguished single malts curated by the President of the West Coast Whisky Society. We've just lined up six additional drams, including the GlenDronach Single Cask and Tullibardine Sovereign, bringing us to a grand total of 20-with more to come! Your ticket gets you access to all the bars-where you can taste as much as you please-plus meats, cheeses and more from Emelle's catering.

Tickets: $120
Preview Tasting Tickets (access to bars 45 minutes early): Add $40
7:30pm, June 5 at Hycroft
Details and to purchase tickets here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true.

Incite 2015
An evening of dark humour with a hint of the supernatural: Russell Smith (Confidence), Adam Lewis Schroeder (All Day Breakfast), and Kristi Charish (Owl and the Japanese Circus). Details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite.

FREE!
7:30pm, May 6
Alice MacKay room, VPL Central Library
Click here for details: https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/incite

Festival
The 14th annual DOXA documentary film festival features the Canadian premiere of Even Though the Whole World is Burning, a portrait of leading American writer W. S. Merwin, and City Centre, Vancouver poet Evelyn Lau’s ode to an elderly lady and her little green house. Details at doxafestival.ca.

AWARDS & LISTS

The B.C. Book Prizes for 2015 were awarded at a gala ceremony last Saturday evening in Vancouver. Each winner took home $2,000 while Betty Keller, winner of the Lieutenant Governor’s Award, received $5,000.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/27/2015-b-c-book-prizes-announced/

The finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards, which recognize excellence in Canadian crime writing, have been announced. The awards include Best Novel, Best First Novel, Best Book in French and Best Juvenile/YA Book.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/24/arthur-ellis-awards-finalists-announced-for-best-canadian-crime-writing/

The Canadian Library Association has announced the winners of its 2015 awards, aimed at Children's and Young Adult books. This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (who came to last year's Writers Fest) earned top honours in the Young Adult Book category.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html

It's a big week for children's and YA fiction! The shortlists for the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Awards have also been revealed. "The two annual awards, in the categories of Children's Picture Book and Young Adult/Middle Reader, each comes with a $6,000 purse and are presented in recognition of excellence in Canadian English-language writing and illustration in books for children."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/04/22/2015-ruth-and-sylvia-schwartz-awards-shortlists-announced/

YOUNG READERS

Neil Gaiman has written a new children's book. Here's a review by one young reader, who rates it "five stars out of five because it had such a brilliant atmosphere and it was devised so cleverly. I would recommend it to children 10 + for a truly petrifying read. You have been warned."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/apr/26/review-coraline-neil-gaiman

Random House has announced that it will increase the printing for What Pet Should I Get, a previously undiscovered Dr. Seuss title, to 1 million copies. In the first 24 hours following the news, "there were 122.5 million impressions on Twitter, and in the 24 hours following that, the number increased to over 200 million."
http://publishingperspectives.com/2015/04/random-house-raises-first-printing-of-new-dr-seuss-to-1-million/

NEWS & FEATURES

"We manage to ignore poetry in our daily routines, but when life seems bewildering, we're desperate to attack a poetry anthology or gripped by website frenzy. But which poem?" It's National Poetry Month! Here's a guide to finding some quintessentially Canadian poetry.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/words-that-capture-the-big-things-in-life-for-national-poetry-month/article24108431/

Speaking of all things Canadian, many readers were saddened this week to hear about the death of Jonathan Crombie, who played Gilbert Blythe in the landmark Anne of Green Gables miniseries. Was Gilbert Blythe the "perfect man?" Here's one devoted reader's ode to the literary heartthrob.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-culture/2015/04/23/jonathan-crombie-gilbert-blythe-and-the-perfect-man-archetype/

The Magna Carta has just turned 800. To celebrate, Britain is donating a souvenir copy of the text to every primary school in the country. Here's a Q&A about the famous document.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/11383687/The-Magna-Carta-explained.html

The first bookstore dedicated to self-published authors has opened in Florida. "Frustrated by a lack of opportunity to display and sell their work, self-published children's author and illustrator Patti Brassard Jefferson and history author Timothy Jacobs decided to create a bookstore of their own, Gulf Coast Bookstore, and to only sell books by indie authors."
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/66254-first-bookstore-dedicated-to-self-published-authors-opens-in-florida.html

A few weeks ago we reported that Miguel de Cervantes' bones had been found. What should the world do with them? Leave them alone, says Spain's new literary laureate.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/11556160/Leave-Don-Quixote-author-Miguel-de-Cervantes-bones-alone-says-Spains-new-literary-laureate.html

How does the internet help or hinder a writer's life? In this piece, three Vancouver authors discuss their lives online, with Zsuszi Gartner and Evelyn Lau falling into one camp (limiting access), and Andrew Gray (UBC creative writing program coordinator) into the other.
http://www.straight.com/life/435366/vancouver-authors-debate-merits-limiting-online-lives

"Novels about troubled unions are nothing new...But in an era when so many of us feel increasingly disconnected, novels of struggling marriages are having a happy (if dysfunctional) new golden era." Leah McLaren outlines our "new, dysfunctional relationship with literature," here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/leah-mclaren-our-new-dysfunctional-relationship-with-literature/article24106796/

BOOKS & WRITERS

Bren Simmer's short story collection, Hasting-Sunrise, is "is a long poem that spans a year of living in the East Vancouver residential neighbourhood. The book came out of a long effort "to find home and a sense of belonging in a city where so many people struggle with the cost of living." Simmer is interviewed by Quills & Quire here:
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/04/21/poetry-month-qa-bren-simmers-on-writing-from-and-to-her-neighbourhood/

Lori Lansens' new novel, The Mountain Story, is "a master class in fiction." Told from a male point of view, the book hooks the reader from the very beginning. Five days, four lost hikers, three survivors—that's all you need to know!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/lori-lansenss-new-novel-the-mountain-story-is-a-master-class-in-fiction/article24104069/

Two new collections by Guy Vanderhaeghe and Heather O'Neill "reside at opposite ends of the spectrum." Vanderhaeghe's Daddy Lenin and Other Stories is "a collection of stories in a naturalist vein," while O'Neill's Daydreams of Angels "operates most often in a fabulist mode."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/new-collections-by-guy-vanderhaeghe-and-heather-oneill-reside-at-opposite-ends-of-the-spectrum/article24106957/

This week's Guardian Books podcast is all about nature writing, featuring Sarah Hall and John Lewis-Stempel. The discussion explores the "current boom in nature writing," as well as the authors' two books, Meadowland and The Wolf Border.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/audio/2015/apr/24/nature-writing-sarah-hall-john-lewis-stempel-podcast

Toni Morrison's new book, God Help the Child, is all about "the danger of beauty." That's just one of many things that she discusses in this interview with The Guardian, along with her support for Hillary, and how she's earned the right to say "shut up!"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/25/toni-morrison-books-interview-god-help-the-child

More than 500 Canadian writers will volunteer as guest booksellers at 130 independent bookstores across the country for the first Authors for Indies on Saturday.
http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2015/04/10/authors-to-support-local-bookstores-may-2/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

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.

PAUL YEE
Meet the author of Dead Man's Gold and Ghost Train. April 30 at 10:00am. Newton Library meeting room, Newton Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7408.

DISRUPTIVE POWER
Launch of Taylor Owen's new book, Disruptive Power: The Crisis of the State in the Digital Age. Thursday, April 30 at 6:30pm, free. Make Studios, 257 7th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information here, journalism.ubc.ca.

BOOKFEST 2015
29th annual festival presented by Vancouver Island Children's Book Festival. Saturday, May 2, 2015 in downtown Nanaimo, BC. For complete details and ticket information, visit bookfest.ca.

AUTHORS FOR INDIES
Book Warehouse, Hager Books and Kidsbooks are among the nine independent bookstores participating in Saturday's Authors for Indies. You can plan your itinerary with help from Book Net Canada: http://www.booknetcanada.ca/blog/2015/4/27/an-authors-for-indies-itinerary-v
ancouver.html#.VUEnTU05C70.

E.D BLODGETT AND RAY NURSE
A concert of poetry and lute music in which poetry is read throught the filter of music. Saturday, May 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets: $15. Visualspace Gallery, 3352 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. For more information and tickets, email yukiko@yukikoonley.com.

JAN COATES
Readings for children and teens by the author of The Power of Harmony and Rocket Man. Part of TD Canadian Children's Book Week, bookweek.ca. Monday, May 4 and Tuesday, May 5. For times and locations, visit surreylibraries.ca.

JUDY YUNG AND EDDIE FUNG
Readings by the authors of Island: Poetry and History of Chinese Immigrants on Angel Island and The Adventures of Eddie Fung. Tuesday, May 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central Branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

JOHN VAILLANT
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with award-winning author, John Vaillant as he introduces his latest book, The Jaguar's Children. Presented by Semiahmoo Arts in partnership with Black Bond Books, May 5, 7:30 pm at the Turnbull Gallery, South Surrey Recreation & Arts Centre, 14601 20th Avenue, Surrey. $10. Pre-registration recommended: info@semiahmooarts.com or 604-536-8333.

CATHIE BORRIE
Author reads from her memoir, The Long Hello: Memory, My Mother and Me. Thursday, May 7 at 7:00pm. McGill branch, Burnaby Public Library.

TWS READING SERIES
Celebrate 15 years of The Writer's Studio! Special reading event with a line-up of TWS alumni authors, featuring Betsy Warland, founder and first director of TWS and author of Breathing the Page–Reading the Act of Writing. Thursday, May 7 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.

JACQUELINE WOODSON
An evening with Jacqueline Woodson, 2014 National Book Award Winner for her memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. Friday, May 8 at 7:00pm. Cost: $25. Robson Square Auditorium. Registration and information at vclr.ca.

AUTHORS AMONG US
Meet authors who use historical events to create fictional worlds or share narrative experiences. Featuring Sumi Kinoshita, Robert W. Mackay, Roger R. Blenman, and Sabina Khan. Saturday, May 9 at 2:00pm. Readability Lounge, City Centre Library, Surrey. For information and registration, call 604-598-7426.

THIS PLACE A STRANGER
Caitlin Press and Room magazine celebrate women's literature with the launch of This Place A Stranger: Canadian Women Travelling Along. Take a trip around the world with readings from Karen J Lee, Nadine Pedersen and others. Saturday, May 9 at 7:00pm. Artspeak, 233 Carrall St. Vancouver.

MUSLIM WOMEN BETWEEN FICTION AND REALITY
Author Monia Mazigh leads a presentation and discussion of her novel Mirrors and Mirages. Monday, May 11 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia Street. More information at vpl.ca.

IAN WEIR
Award-winning local author Ian Weir presents his critically acclaimed recent work, Will Starling. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

CUFFED!
Readings by William Deverell (Sing a Worried Song) and Owen Laukkanen (The Stolen Ones). Hosted by Sheryl McKay. Tuesday, May 12 at 7:30pm, by donation. Studio 1398, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island, Vancouver. More info at cuffedfestival.com.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Patrick Friesen, Kayla Czaga, and Jillian Christmas plus open mic. May 13 at 7:00pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.

Upcoming

EE COOPER
Book signing and launch party for the author's latest YA book, Vanished. Sunday, May 17 at 2:00pm. Chapters/Indigo, 1025 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.

SPOKEN INK
Kayla Czaga reads from her first poetry collection For Your Safety Please Hold On. Tuesday, May 19 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.

LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Featuring Chelene Knight and Dina Del Bucchia. Wednesday, May 20 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.

NVCL LOCAL AUTHOR SERIES
Featuring Janie Chang, Carol M. Cram and Marie Sadro. Wednesday, May 20 at 7:00pm. 3rd floor program room, North Van City Library, 120 14th Street W., North Vancouver.

NEIL MCKINNON
Award winning author and Stephen Leacock Medal finalist will read from his latest novel, The Greatest Lover of Last Tuesday. Saturday, May 30 at 3:00pm. New Westminster Public Library, 716 6th Ave., New Westminster. Register at 604-527-4667 or listener@nwpl.ca.