Book News Vol. 10 No. 14

BOOK NEWS

Win a romantic oceanside Getaway!

Warm hospitality. World class spa. Exceptional service. Be yourself. Be pampered. We'll take care of the rest." - The Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa

There are only 6 days left to enter our Romantic Weekend Getaway raffle! This is a fabulous weekend vacation package and we are so excited to be able to give it away. The package includes a roundtrip flight on Pacific Coastal Airlines and a two night stay in the Romance Suite at the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort & Spa, so it will be the perfect opportunity to relax and take in the beauty of the BC coast.

Tickets are only $25.00 each. The winner will be drawn at 12pm on June 30, 2015. Details (http://writersfest.bc.ca/support-us/kingfisher-raffle) and to purchase tickets:
https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/secure/secure_raffle_requests.php

Special Event

Louise Penny in conversation with Hal Wake

Join us on August 24, 2015 as Louise Penny and our very own Hal Wake discuss the 11th book in Penny's wildly popular Inspector Gamache Series, The Nature of the Beast.

"Three Pines again proves no refuge in Penny's stellar [The Nature of the Beast]...fans will delight in [her] continued complex fleshing out of characters they have come to love."—Publisher's Weekly, starred review.

Copies of The Nature of the Beast as well as previous Inspector Gamache novels will be available for purchase at the event. Bookstores won't have The Nature of the Beast on their shelves until August 25, so this is your chance to get your copy early and to have it signed by the author herself!

Monday, August 24 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse
600 Hamilton Street
Details and to purchase tickets, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/louise-penny.

FESTIVALS

The TD Vancouver International Jazz Festival continues with more great music including Pink Martini, Chris Botti, The Roots and The Waifs, free shows at David Lam Park/Roundhouse this weekend and on Granville Island (plus Canada Day, July 1), and much more. More information at http://www.coastaljazz.ca.

AWARDS & LISTS

Nick Cutter, Thomas King and Emily St. John Mandel are just a few of the authors who have been shortlisted for the Sunburst Awards, which recognize "excellent works of Canadian fantasy and speculative fiction published the previous year." The winners will be revealed in the fall.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/06/22/nick-cutter-thomas-king-emily-st-john-mandel-among-authors-shortlisted-for-sunburst-awards/

Tanya Landman and William Grill have won the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals, the oldest awards for children's fiction. Both of their stories were inspired by historical events.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookprizes/11691240/Real-life-stories-win-Carnegie-and-Kate-Greenaway-medals.html

YOUNG READERS

Here's Quill and Quire's "Books for Young People" fall preview. Among the anticipated titles is a book on Canadian musical legend Oscar Peterson, who gets the picture-book treatment in Oscar Lives Next Door.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2015/06/22/fall-books-for-young-people-preview-titles-for-exploring/

"Show-stopping butterflies and fireflies" are the stars of these picture books set in "the loveliest corners of the insect world." Four different children's titles are reviewed, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/06/23/books/review/23childrens.html

NEWS & FEATURES

"Cult" author James Salter has died. "The novelist Richard Ford, one of many fellow writers who appreciated Salter's work long before it won general public acclaim, once declared that he 'writes American sentences better than anyone.'"
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/22/james-salter

Where are English bookstores thriving? You might not guess it: China!
http://goodereader.com/blog/bea/english-bookstores-are-thriving-in-china

As it turns out, the love for English literature in China extends far beyond our language's most accessible authors. Here's a piece on James Joyce's growing popularity in China.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/james-joyces-growing-popularity-in-china/

Penguin Random House is now selling books on Twitter. "When you click on book related branding by Penguin Random House, such as a Tweet about a latest bestseller it will take you to a dedicated product page."
http://goodereader.com/blog/electronic-readers/penguin-random-house-now-selling-books-on-twitter

Does a true artist care what his audience thinks? That's the question being asked on this week's edition of The New York Times' Bookends. Adam Kirsch and Ayana Mathis discuss "the relationship between writers and readership," here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/books/review/does-a-true-artist-care-what-his-audience-thinks.html

Have you ever wondered what it's like to have dyslexia? This font can show you.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/19/dyslexia-font-daniel-britton_n_7615156.html

Simon Armitage has been voted Oxford's new Professor of Poetry, and not everyone is happy about it. The post was established in the early 18th century, and previous holders include Robert Graves, Cecil Day-Lewis and WH Auden.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11687586/simon-armitage-oxford-professor-of-poetry.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

In Amy Bloom's new novel, Lucky Us, "the sexual secrets of the 1930s film industry mix with untold stories of her own ancestors." She explains the novel, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/jun/23/amy-bloom-novelist-bringing-hollywood-and-family-out-of-closet

Graham Swift's England and Other Stories, is a collection of tales that "tend to be short, dense narratives that unfold, origami-style, into complex meditations on characters' lives, tales with vistas as panoramic as those in the stories of Alice Munro." Mortality is a main theme, looming large.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/books/review-graham-swifts-england-and-other-stories-a-darkness-across-time-and-fates.html

Vendela Vida's fourth book, The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty, is about "a shifty American whose terrible decisions keep the narrative moving at a taut and suspenseful clip." It's Vida's finest book yet, "a taut, suspenseful story that ticks along with marvelous efficiency, like a little bomb."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/books/review-vendela-vidas-the-divers-clothes-lie-empty-offers-freedom-to-escape.html

Saint Mazie, by Jami Attenberg details a fascinating period of New York history that "transcends its mid-20th-century Manhattan setting." The novel is a fictionalised account of the life of the Big Apple's "Queen of the Bowery."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/21/saint-mazie-review-jami-attenberg

Melody: Story of a Nude Dancer has cemented Sylvie Rancourt's legacy as "one of Canada's first, and most important, graphic memoirists... Read Melody, and see what love and life look like, freed from all spite."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-melody-cements-sylvie-rancourts-legacy-as-one-of-canadas-first-and-most-important-graphic-memoirists/article25038651/

The Vancouver Sun's book club is currently discussing Boo, a new novel by Neil Smith. Feedback and mini reviews can be found here. On June 26th, Neil Smith will also be chatting online with readers.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/book+club+year+protagonist+quest+meaning/11151629/story.html

COMMUNITY EVENTS

KATHERINE FAWCETT
Author reads from her new book of dark comedy, satire and twisted fables, The Little Washer of Sorrows. Thursday, June 25 at 7:00pm. Pulpfiction Books, Main Street, Vancouver.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Adrienne Gruber and Raoul Fernandes with open mic. Thursday, June 25 at 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.

A GATHERING OF POETS
An evening of poetry by B.C.'s finest wordsmiths featuring Jane Munro, Cecily Nicholson, Rob Budde, Kayla Czaga, Patrick Lane and Russell Thornton. Moderated by Vancouver's Poet Laureate Rachel Rose. Friday, June 26 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.

DEBRA KOMAR
Author discusses her new book Murder at Fort Stikine: Solving a Centuries Old Crime in the Hudson's Bay Company. Sunday, June 28 at 2:30pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.

CARELLIN BROOKS AND MICHAEL V. SMITH
Authors read from their latest works: One Hundred Days of Rain (Brooks) and My Body Is Yours (Smith). Tuesday, June 30 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.

Upcoming

MICHAEL KUSUGAK
Storytelling sessions with Inuit storyteller and children's author Michael Kusugak. Wednesday, July 1 at 11am and 1pm, free. Vancouver Maritime Museum, 1905 Ogden Ave., Vancouver. More information at vancouvermaritimemuseum.com.

TWS READING SERIES
The Writer's Studio at SFU presents celebrated crime writer E.R. Brown, author of the Edgar nominated novel Almost Criminal. Also on the playbill, a diverse line-up of talented writers in all genres. Thursday, July 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver.

TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Kevin Spenst and Jennifer Zlim plus open mic. Wednesday, July 8 at 7pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7 pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.

CHEVY STEVENS
Author presents her latest work, Those Girls. Wednesday, July 8 at 7:00pm. Central library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at 604-331-3603.

DEAD POETS READING SERIES
On Sunday July 12th from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Alice MacKay room of the VPL Central Branch, the Dead Poets Reading Series will present the following program: ee cumming read by DN Simmers, Lauris Edmond, read by Christine Hayvice, John Keats, read by Matthew Henley, Robert Lowell, read by Christopher Levenson and P.K. Page read by Ruth Daniell.
Admission is free and readings start on time. For further information visit www.deadpoetslive.com.