Book News Vol. 10 No. 10

BOOK NEWS

The Board of Directors of the Vancouver Writers Fest is pleased to announce the appointment of Nicole Nozick as Executive Director, effective June 22. Nozick, who was most recently Director of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival, takes over from current VWF Executive Director Camilla Tibbs, who has accepted a position as Executive Director of the Richmond Gateway Theatre.

A Dram Come True

Dust off your kilt! Tickets are still available for A Dram Come True, the VWF's scotch tasting fundraiser on June 5.

Reasons to attend:
Where else can you sample 40+ amazing scotches plus select spirits and Tinhorn Creek wine, with a jazz pianist tickling the ivories in the background?
Supports the Vancouver Writers Fest and Spreading the Word programs for students
Hycroft makes a great date night destination!

For a preview of what to expect check out A Dram Come True whisky expert Dave Mason on Global TV's Morning News BC:
http://globalnews.ca/video/2023038/a-dram-come-true-scotch-tasting

Details and tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/dram-come-true

AWARDS & LISTS

The shortlist for Kobo's $10,000 Emerging Writer Prize, which "recognizes excellent debut titles published the year prior and available on the digital platform," has been made public. Kim Fu, Elizabeth Renzetti and Plum Johnson are among the chosen few.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/20/kim-fu-plum-johnson-among-those-shortlisted-for-inaugural-kobo-emerging-writer-prize/

Alix Hawley has won Amazon.ca's First Novel Award for All True Not a Lie In It. The prize recognizes "an exceptional English-language title by a Canadian debut novelist."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/22/alix-hawley-wins-amazon-ca-first-novel-award/

The winners of the 2015 Alberta Literary Awards have been announced. Rudy Wiebe took the fiction prize for his novel, Come Back.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/05/25/winners-of-the-2015-alberta-literary-awards-announced/

The 2015 O. Henry Prize stories, which will appear in an anthology in September, have been revealed. Russell Banks' A Permanent Member of the Family was selected.
http://lithub.com/the-o-henry-prize-stories-for-2015/

YOUNG READERS

Here are some new children's books for young music-lovers! The first features an animal orchestra; the second, the real-life story of a Cuban girlswho longs to play the drums; the third, a story of young Doc Watson; the fourth about music in New Orleans; and the last, an innovative tribute to the partnership of Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie!
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/books/review/20childrens.html

NEWS & FEATURES

How does the Vancouver Public Library remain relevant in an increasingly diverse city? "It's not easy to do in the wake of the Conservative government's cancellation of the mandatory long-form census."
http://www.straight.com/life/456406/how-vancouver-public-library-remains-relevant-increasingly-diverse-city

It looks like we might soon be finding poetry in our parks! One Vancouver Park Board commissioner has put forth a motion to "work with staff from the Vancouver Public Library on a pilot program to bring poetry to Vancouver's parks in 2015 and to explore longer term options for a broader Poetry in Parks program to be launched in 2016".
http://www.straight.com/blogra/456266/poetry-coming-vancouver-parks

The brutal murder of three Bangladeshi bloggers has led to an outcry from the international writing community. Margaret Atwood, Rohinton Mistry and Yann Martel are just three of the more than 150 writers who are urging the Bangladeshi government to take action.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/05/margaret-atwood-yann-martel-and-other-writers-speak-out-against-bangladesh-blogger-murders.html

Speaking of Margaret Atwood, she has been chosen as the inaugural author to commit a manuscript to Scottish conceptual artist Katie Paterson's Future Library project. Last year, a forest of 1,000 trees was planted "to be cut down in one century to provide paper to publish never-before-read manuscripts by renowned authors."
http://www.quillandquire.com/authors/2015/05/21/margaret-atwood-to-add-manuscript-to-future-library-on-may-26/

And Margaret Atwood becomes the first author to add a secret story to the Future Library.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/margaret-atwood-becomes-1st-author-to-add-secret-story-to-future-library-1.3087724

The "true face of Shakespeare" has appeared in a botany book, or so claims botanist and historian Mark Griffiths. Whether it's actually "the literary discovery of the century" appears to be up for debate!
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-32782267

Scrabble has "come crashing into the 21st century," thanks to the addition of a whole legion of new words, many of which cannot be found in the dictionary. "People use slang in social media posts, tweets, blogs, comments, text messages – you name it–so there's a host of evidence for informal varieties of English that simply didn't exist before."
http://radio.com/2015/05/21/scrabble-adds-words-hashtag-vape-obvs/

A nonprofit organization is crowdfunding for its "eGranary Pocket Library," a "library on a chip" that provides information for people without internet access. "Each library is customized to a particular audience. For example, the nonprofit recently created an ebola pocket library with the CDC, World Health Organization and other charitable groups."
http://www.fastcoexist.com/3045289/fund-this/this-library-on-a-chip-gives-people-without-internet-access-all-the-information-th

What's the place of indulgence in writing? "Indulgent, which—along with self-indulgent—has come to represent something very, very bad where art is concerned." Here's one woman's argument otherwise.
http://flavorwire.com/519421/in-defense-of-indulgent-art

Have you ever been on a literary pilgrimage? "For those shaped by words, whose dreams are forged between the leaves of books, trips like these are how we become a part of the stories that helped to direct our own."
http://bookriot.com/2015/05/18/literary-pilgrimage/

BOOKS & WRITERS

Judy Blume has written her first novel for adults in 17 years. In the Unlikely Event, which will be published next month, takes place in 1952 and was inspired by three real-life plane crashes in Blume's own hometown.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/magazine/judy-blume-knows-all-your-secrets.html

Neil Smith's Boo is "a novel of tremendous imagination," telling the story of Oliver "Boo" Dalrymple, who goes to heaven after dying of an apparent heart defect in front of his locker. "With Boo, Neil Smith has written something valuable and important for both young readers and older ones."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-neil-smiths-boo-is-a-novel-of-tremendous-imagination/article24567457/

What's it like to be a deaf novelist? In this interview, Sara Novi Novic "explains the challenges of being a deaf author and why deafness is still used as a synonym for stupidity."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/may/23/what-its-like-to-be-a-deaf-novelist

Two debut poetry collections by Liz Howard and Madhur Anand "mix technical language with themes of identity, selfhood and race." Both collections are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/two-debut-poetry-collections-mix-technical-language-with-themes-of-identity-selfhood-and-race/article24454121/

Jim Shepard's newest novel, The Book of Aron, is a coming-of-age story set in the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two. He's interviewed about the book, the best advice he's ever received, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/look-for-the-weirdness-in-your-own-work/article24566332/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Linda King and Anatoly Molotkov (Portland) plus open mic. Thursday, May 28, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.

THE DE COSMOS ENIGMA
Local author Gordon Hawkins launches his book The De Cosmos Enigma, a study of the life of BC's second premier. Friday, May 29 at 3:30pm, free. GVPL Central Branch, 735 Broughton St., Victoria. More information at 250-940-4875.

THE FLOUR PEDDLER
Authors Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer discuss and sign on their new book, The Flour Peddler: A Global Journey into Local Food from Canada to South Sudan. Friday, May 29 at 7:00pm. Bolen Books, 11-1644 Hillside Ave., Victoria. More information at caitlin-press.com.

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.

WRITERS ADVENTURE CAMP
Join award-winning authors in Whistler, BC for a fun and immersive weekend designed for both published and emerging writers. Deadline to register is May 22, 2015. Dates are June 6-7, 2015. Complete information at thepointartists.com.

OWEN LAUKKANEN
Best-selling thriller author presents his latest work, The Stolen Ones. Tuesday, June 2 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

MELIA MCCLURE
Author reads from her book The Delphi Room. Wednesday, June 4 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents writer, filmmaker, and wilderness guide Calder Cheverie, director of The Peel Project. Thursday, June 4 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.

JANIE CHANG
Reading by the author from her new book Three Souls. Tuesday, June 9 at 7:00pm, Bob Prittie Metrotown. More information at bpl.bc.ca.

BOOKS & BISCOTTI
Features readings by British Columbia writers Diego Bastianutti, Robert Pepper Smith, and Anna Ciampolini Foschi, and the premiere of a documentary movie by Ornella Sinigaglia. Tuesday, June 8 at 7:00pm, free. Il Centro Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan St., Vancouver. More information at italianculturalcentre.ca.

JOHN VAILLANT
Local, best-selling author reads from his latest book The Jaguar's Children. Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30pm. Carnegie Reading Room, 401 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

W. RUTH KOZAK
Canadian travel journalist and local author reads from her novel Shadow of the Lion. Wednesday, June 10 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

AIR INDIA MEDITATIONS
Award winning poet Renee Saklikar and renowned composer John Oliver present the Vancouver premiere of Air India Meditations-a sequence of soundscapes interwoven with poems from Children of Air India, about the bombing of Air India Flight 182. Saturday, June 13 at 1:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

Upcoming

ELIZABETH RENZETTI
National columnist with The Globe and Mail, presents her debut novel, Based on A True Story. Monday, June 15 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

DEE HOBSBAWN-SMITH
Author reads from her first collection of short fiction, What Can't Be Undone. Tuesday, June 16 at 7:00pm, White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.

SPOKEN INK
Melia McClure reads from her debut novel, The Delphi Room. Tuesday, June 16 at 8:00pm. La Fontana Caffe, 101-3701 East Hastings Street, Burnaby. More information at burnabywritersnews.blogspot.ca.

LUNCH POEMS @ SFU
Featuring Kevin Spenst and Louis Cabri. Wednesday, June 17 at 12:00 noon. Teck Gallery, SFU Harbour Centre, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.

NOVEL NIGHTS
BC Book Prize winner Aislinn Hunter in discussion of her award-winning novel The World Before Us. Wednesday, June 17 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street. For further details please call 604 879-7737.