BOOK NEWS
Thank you to all our Book News readers who attended the Vancouver Writers Fest last week and helped make it so great! Your support and enthusiasm for the Festival is so important.
If you're already in Festival withdrawal like us, make sure you've got your ticket for to see John Irving at the Vancouver Playhouse on December 1. Irving will be talking to Hal Wake about his new book, Avenue of Mysteries, which Booklist called, “An empathically imagined, masterfully told, and utterly transporting tale of transcendent sacrifice and perseverance, unlikely love, and profound mysteries." You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
AWARDS & LISTS
Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley have won the 2015 Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature. "The husband-and-wife duo was recognized for their novel Skraelings: Arctic Moon Magick, Book 1 (Inhabit Media), the story of a young Inuit man prejudiced against an elusive Arctic tribe for which he gains respect in the process of helping save."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/26/rachel-and-sean-qitsualik-tinsley-win-2015-burt-award/
YOUNG READERS
Frank Viva is the featured artist on the cover of this month's Quill & Quire Magazine. He's also an accomplished children's author and illustrator whose upcoming book is called Sea Change.
http://www.quillandquire.com/childrens-publishing/2015/10/22/kidlit-spotlight-qq-cover-artist-frank-viva/
The Globe and Mail has a whole new crop of Young Adult fiction reviews. Check them out here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-new-ya-fiction-from-kelley-armstrong-mikaela-everett-vicki-grant-cammie-mcgovern-steve-sheinkin-and-emil-sher/article26845569/
NEWS & FEATURES
Google's book-scanning project has been deemed legal. "Google has scanned more than 20 million books since 2004 without the permission of the authors. The company allows users to search for specific terms and provides excerpts and links to where people can buy or borrow a book."
http://goodereader.com/blog/e-book-news/google-book-scanning-project-ruled-legal-by-an-appeals-court
Man Booker Prize-winner (and Writers Fest author) Marlon James was rejected 78 times before getting published. Sadly, "his long search for recognition is not unique." Here's a quiz about great books that were initially rejected by publishers.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/15/great-books-that-publishers-rejected-quiz-marlon-james-man-booker
"In the computer age, we're all typesetters, whether composing an email or a novel. Time to get good at it." Here's an infographic primer to help you decode "the secret lives of typefaces."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/22/decoding-the-secret-lives-of-typefaces.html
How do professional readers read for pleasure? In this piece, editors, reviewers and publicists talk about the difficulties of disconnecting completely from professional habits.
http://lithub.com/how-professional-readers-read-for-pleasure/
"Old-timey" words are creeping back into the lexicon. How did "bespoke, peruse, smitten and dapper" become popular again? You'll never guess the answer...hipsters.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/four-graphs-that-show-how-hipsters-are-bringing-back-vintage-language-a6702576.html
The French city of Grenoble is installing free short story dispensers around the city. The project intends to battle cell phone addiction. "We said to ourselves that we could do the same thing with good quality popular literature to occupy these little unproductive moments," stated the project's founder.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/10/french-city-installing-free-short-story-dispensers.html
An American professor believes that he has found the earliest known draft of the King James Bible. "Experts who have reviewed Professor Miller's research called it perhaps the most significant archival find relating to the King James Bible in decades."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/15/books/earliest-known-draft-of-king-james-bible-is-found-scholar-says.html
The University of Texas has opened up its Gabriel García Márquez archive. "Sixty years' worth of the Nobel prize-winning Colombian author's manuscripts, photographs, letters and other material are now available for researchers."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/21/gabriel-garcia-marquez-archives-open-for-research-at-texas-university
JRR Tolkien's annotated map of Middle-earth has been discovered inside a copy of The Lord of the Rings. The map reveals that "Hobbiton is on the same latitude as Oxford, and implies that the Italian city of Ravenna could be the inspiration behind the fictional city of Minas Tirith."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/23/jrr-tolkien-middle-earth-annotated-map-blackwells-lord-of-the-rings
BOOKS & WRITERS
This interview, featuring none other than Canadian icon Margaret Atwood, is a "walking conversation," partially inspired by the "outdoorsy spirit of the Future Library," a project to which Atwood is contributing a book (not to be opened for 100 years!) Among other things, the interview features Atwood's favourite Toronto landmarks, discusses the important of science in her life, along with her writing.
http://lithub.com/margaret-atwood-on-vampires-gene-splicing-and-talking-turnips/
Nick Thran's Mayor Snow is "a cool and mature collection" of poetry. Another book of poetry, by the duo of Daniel Zomparelli and Dina Del Bucchia, tackles romantic comedy: "it's an in-depth exploration of a skin-deep genre that's whip-smart and extremely fun to read." Both are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-nick-thrans-mayor-snow-a-cool-and-mature-collection/article26949878/
Robertson Davies kept diaries all his life. Now, a selection of them, covering the years before he wrote his most famous novels, have been turned into a "delightful" book called A Celtic Temperament: Robertson Davies as Diarist.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-robertson-daviess-delightful-diaries-published-in-a-celtic-temperament/article26950171/
Has the internet given readers a "false sense of entitlement?" Author Joanne Harris thinks so, stating that the digital age has "blurred the line between readers and writers almost to invisibility." She's interviewed here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/media/11941486/Internet-gives-readers-false-sense-of-entitlement-Joanne-Harris-says.html
Bill Richardson's new book of poetry, The First Little Bastard to Call Me Gramps: Poems of the Late Middle Ages, began as a way to "absolve the guilt of all those wasted social-media hours." Instead, he began writing "lighthearted narrative rhymes that dealt with a topic he was beginning to know intimately: life in the golden years."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/bill-richardson-turns-social-media-guilt-into-lighthearted-poetry/article26869791/
From time to time, The Guardian newspaper publishes articles on "reading cities," giving suggestions about what books to read in order to understand a particular city. This week's city is Vancouver! If you haven't read them already, here are many books for better understanding Vancouver.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/oct/22/reading-cities-books-about-vancouver
COMMUNITY EVENTS
The Active Fiction Project on Granville Island – on until November 1
Ever wondered what it would be like to take a walk through your favourite novel? The Active Fiction Project creates short, fictional 'choose your own adventure'-style stories that take place in a Vancouver neighbourhood. This week, explore Granville Island using a short, funny story by local authors Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli as your guide. It's free and open to everyone. To begin, find the first chapter near Off the Tracks café and see where the story takes you. To learn more about the Active Fiction Project, please visit www.activefictionproject.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Ray Hsu and Wilhelmina Salmi plus open mic. Thursday, October 29th, 7-9:30pm, at The Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. Sign up for open mic at 7pm. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at
www.pandorascollective.com.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
WAYZGOOSE
Alcuin Society event features the work of local book artists, printers, bookbinders, and paper artists. Saturday, October 31 from 10am to 4pm. Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at alcuinsociety.com.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 31 at 1:00pm, free. Chapters Strawberry Hill Centre, 100-12107 72 Ave., Surrey. More information at 604-501-2877.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS FALL BOOK LAUNCH
This fall, Nightwood Editions is releasing new collections by talented poets: Joe Denham, Nick Thran, Sheryda Warrener and Rita Wong (with illustrator Cindy Mochizuki). Join the authors as they celebrate with a book launch in Vancouver on Sunday, November 1st at 7pm at the Lost + Found Cafe (33 W Hastings St). Admission is free and all are welcome.
BOOK CLUB
Inaugural event featuring The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace. Presented by Vancouver Public Library and Crime Writers of Canada. Monday, November 2 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at cathyace.com/events.
CAROL M. CRAM
Author launches her latest book A Woman of Note. Wednesday, November 4 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
LIVE SOULS
Author Serge Alternês as he presents the b&w photographs that Alec Wainman took as a medical volunteer in the Spanish Civil War (1936—1939). Thursday, November 5 at 7:00pm, free. St. Anselm's Church, 5210 University Blvd., Vancouver. More information at 604-738-4688.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Author reads from his latest book If I Fall, If I Die. Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm. Smilin' Buddha Restaurant, 109 East Hastings, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN CITY
SFU Library is pleased to announce a special event at SFU Vancouver as part of SFU's 50th anniversary celebrations. Open City: One Book, One SFU will feature author Teju Cole in conversation with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel. This free event will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 7PM in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Vancouver. For more details about this event and to book your ticket, visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/onebookonesfu.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/poetry-lovers/readers/writers bring to life the works of their favourite deceased poets. Sunday, November 8 at 3:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Harold Rhenisch and Joe Denham plus open mic. Wednesday, November 11th, 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.
Upcoming
IAN RANKIN
Cuffed, the Vancouver International Crime Fiction Festival, presents a special event with Ian Rankin. Monday, November 16 at 7:30pm. Tickets: $24 plus service charges. St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church, Burrard and Nelson, Vancouver. Tickets and more information at https://ticketstonight.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3021.
JCC JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
A week of literary events including meet-the-author opportunities, readings and panel discussions and more. November 21-26, 2015. For complete details, visit jccgv.com/content/jewish-book-fest.
CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA
Crime writers Cathy Ace. Allan J. Emerson and Don Hauka will do readings from their work, and answer questions about their experiences finding agents and publishers, online resources for writers, local writing groups, and writers’ conventions. Thursday, December 3 at 7:00pm. Poirier branch, Coquitlam Public Library. More information at coqlibrary.ca.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 30
BOOK NEWS
Festival week is fast approaching. There are still tickets available for events with acclaimed writers from Canada and around the world: Weird Fiction stars Kelly Link and Jeff VanderMeer (US), crime fiction writer Denise Mina (Scotland), bestselling authors Sarah Dunant and Paula Hawkins (UK) and Simon Winchester (US), and Canadians Patrick deWitt, Camilla Gibb, Elizabeth Hay, Lawrence Hill and Nino Ricci, among others. See writersfest.bc.ca for full details.
Tickets are also available for Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists, hosted by Bill Richardson.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving in Conversation with Hal Wake
International bestselling author John Irving reads from his highly-anticipated new novel, Avenue of Mysteries on December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets are on sale. You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
Ever wanted to know about ticket sales from the Festival side of the desk? We have open Box Office shifts, and welcome your applications! Apply here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair features nearly 100 local, national and international publishers, programs, performances and installations. Featured artists from Canada and around the globe present books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera as well as digital and other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
The Cinematheque and curator Ray Hsu presents the Visible Verse 2015 Festival, an annual celebration of video poetry, that hybrid form that marries verse with media-arts. Twenty-five exceptional works from local, national, and international artists have been selected to screen. More information at http://thecinematheque.ca/visible-verse-2015-festival.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Greg Hollingshead's new collection of short stories, Act Normal, is a "fiendishly good Schrödinger's-cat-of-a-book." What makes it interesting? Among other things, "catharsis and resolution are consistently, almost sadistically, denied!"
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/08/29/fiendishly-good-greg-hollingsheads-new-collection-of-short-stories.html
In Elisabeth de Mariaffi's The Devil You Know, terror runs through the veins of young girls in Toronto. As a psychological thriller, it's a "compelling study of the landscape of fear that de Mariaffi describes as a persistent backdrop in women's lives."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/01/15/the-devil-you-know-by-elisabeth-de-mariaffi-review.html
His Whole Life, by Elizabeth Hay, "looks at the division of loyalties shaping the existence of a 10-year-old boy." Told on the eve of the 1995 Quebec referendum, many stories are at play: "a country and a marriage that may not survive" and "sins that may or may not be forgiven."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/08/15/his-whole-life-by-elizabeth-hay-review.html
Two Writers Fest authors have been featured in The Globe and Mail's small press roundup this week. Farzana Doctor's All Inclusive and Lori Shenher's That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away, are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-new-small-press-books-by-lori-shenher-farzana-doctor-jim-bartley/article26743874/
In Gene Luen Yang's, Secret Coders, a young girl makes friends and discovers secrets about her "creepy new school" through binary numbers and computer programming software. The material is close to Yang's heart: he used to work as a computer science teacher. He's interviewed here:
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-10-12-robot-birds-comics-and-binary-numbers-gene-luen-yang-teaches-us-computer-science
Sigal Samuel's The Mystics of Mile End "tells the story of a dysfunctional family's dangerous obsession with Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. Set in Jewish Montreal, the culture and place of the story are specific, yet also "universal." As Samuel says in this interview, "I realized that the best or maybe only way to get to the universal is through the particular."
http://forward.com/culture/books/322226/talking-montreal-hasids-and-bagels-with-mystics-of-mile-end-author-sigal-sa/
AWARDS & LISTS
Festival Author Marlon James has won the Booker Prize. He's the first Jamaican writer to win the prestigious prize. His book, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is "like a Tarantino remake of the The Harder They Come, but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner...sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/13/marlon-james-wins-the-man-booker-prize-2015
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the finalists for this year's Governor General's Literary Awards. Several Writers Fest authors are among the finalists, including Susan Nielsen and Darren Groth, both nominated in the Children's literature category.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/07/helen-humphreys-susin-nielsen-among-governor-generals-literary-awards-shortlist/
Rosemary Sullivan has won the Hilary Weston Prize for Non-fiction for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva. The book was deemed an "insightful yet empathetic portrait" of the famous dictator's only daughter.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/06/rosemary-sullivan-wins-weston-prize-for-stalins-daughter/
YOUNG READERS
Author and illustrator Sandra Boynton is profiled in this week's New Yorker. "These books are written so simply, for children so young—'A cow says moo. A sheep says baa'—that it's hard to imagine that they could have hidden depths. But I have begun to realize, perhaps belatedly, that they do."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-hidden-depths-of-sandra-boyntons-board-books
NEWS & FEATURES
The Kitchener Public Library has embraced the digital age by starting a Wi-Fi hotspot loan program. "There's still a large population that don't have access, in any form, to the internet... The library is the greatest equalizer in our society."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-library-lends-portable-wifi-1.3258791
Now here's something to look forward to, come December: an advent calendar that brings literary gifts from authors like Heather O'Neill and Pasha Malla! "The 2015 Short Story Advent Calendar, also known as the perfect early Christmas present for the bibliophile in your life, comes with 24 sealed short stories - one for every day from December 1 until Christmas Eve."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/10/new-advent-calendar-offers-a-story-a-day-instead-of-chocolate.html
Feminists in the UK are sneaking into bookstores in order to leave "gender busting" bookmarks in children's stories. As one of them says, "As a parent, I do not want my children's reading choices to be restricted by their gender. Reading is an amazing way for children and adults to explore other worlds and possibilities."
http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Feminists-sneak-Cheltenham-bookshops-leave-gender/story-27923383-detail/story.html#ixzz3oPP0d177
Should art be timeless, or should it speak to something more current? In this week's New York Times' Bookends, Adam Kirsch and James Parker tackle the question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/books/review/should-art-be-timeless-or-should-it-speak-to-something-more-current.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
A new "vastly expanded edition" of Martin Garden's The Annotated Alice has been released. Amplified and amended by Carroll scholar Mark Burstein, it contains riches that "are too many to itemize."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/who-can-be-finished-with-alice
Colum McCann's latest collection, Thirteen Ways of Looking, is filled with stories "linked by unease." Their uneasiness comes from the fact that they're informed by an incident McCann experienced last year: he was attacked and knocked unconscious in New Haven, Connecticut.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/12/books/review-colum-mccanns-thirteen-ways-of-looking-stories-linked-by-unease.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ALCUIN AWARDS FOR CANADIAN BOOK DESIGN
The ceremonies for this year's presentation of the 33rd Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada will precede an informal Panel on Children's Book Publishing. Featuring Sara Gillingham, Julie Flett, Julie Morstad and Cynthia Nugent. Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm, free. Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Room SB301. More information at http://alcuinsociety.com/book-design-awards-ceremony-in-vancouver/.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Governor General's Award winner Maria Tippett discuses her book, Made in British Columbia: Eight Ways of Making Culture. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
CATHY ACE
Book launch for The Corpse with the Diamond Hand. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, Coquitlam Centre Mall, 1306-2929 Barnet Hwy., Coquitlam. More information at 604-474-3477.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
BREAKING TRADITIONS: FIGHTING FOR JOB EQUALITY THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
Authors Kate Braid and Bonnie Reilly Schmidt will join tradeswomen Mariegold Rondeau and Louisa Robinson where they will read from their latest work and discuss their experiences entering male-dominated work worlds. Monday, October 19 at 7:00 pm. Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN A MONTH
Helpful hints and tips from award-winning BC mystery author Cathy Ace to help you succeed with your NaNoWriMo Challenge. Friday, October 23. Free. Maple Ridge Public Library, 130-22470 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge. More information at 604-467-7417.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 24 at 3:00pm, free. Langley Chapters, 20015 Langley Bypass, Langley. More information at 604-514-8663.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
Upcoming
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Lucas Crawford, Amber Dawn, Shannon Rayne plus open mic. Thursday, October 29th, 7-9:30pm, at 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.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 31 at 1:00pm, free. Chapters Strawberry Hill Centre, 100-12107 72 Ave., Surrey. More information at 604-501-2877.
BOOK CLUB
Inaugural event featuring The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace. Presented by Vancouver Public Library and Crime Writers of Canada. Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at cathyace.com/events.
CAROL M. CRAM
Author launches her latest book A Woman of Note. Wednesday, November 4 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Author reads from his latest book If I Fall, If I Die. Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm. Smilin' Buddha Restaurant, 109 East Hastings, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN CITY
SFU Library is pleased to announce a special event at SFU Vancouver as part of SFU's 50th anniversary celebrations. Open City: One Book, One SFU will feature author Teju Cole in conversation with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel. This free event will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 7PM in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Vancouver. For more details about this event and to book your ticket, visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/onebookonesfu.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/poetry-lovers/readers/writers bring to life the works of their favourite deceased poets. Sunday, November 8 at 3:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
Festival week is fast approaching. There are still tickets available for events with acclaimed writers from Canada and around the world: Weird Fiction stars Kelly Link and Jeff VanderMeer (US), crime fiction writer Denise Mina (Scotland), bestselling authors Sarah Dunant and Paula Hawkins (UK) and Simon Winchester (US), and Canadians Patrick deWitt, Camilla Gibb, Elizabeth Hay, Lawrence Hill and Nino Ricci, among others. See writersfest.bc.ca for full details.
Tickets are also available for Between the Pages: An Evening with the Scotiabank Giller Prize Finalists, hosted by Bill Richardson.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving in Conversation with Hal Wake
International bestselling author John Irving reads from his highly-anticipated new novel, Avenue of Mysteries on December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets are on sale. You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
Ever wanted to know about ticket sales from the Festival side of the desk? We have open Box Office shifts, and welcome your applications! Apply here, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair features nearly 100 local, national and international publishers, programs, performances and installations. Featured artists from Canada and around the globe present books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera as well as digital and other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
The Cinematheque and curator Ray Hsu presents the Visible Verse 2015 Festival, an annual celebration of video poetry, that hybrid form that marries verse with media-arts. Twenty-five exceptional works from local, national, and international artists have been selected to screen. More information at http://thecinematheque.ca/visible-verse-2015-festival.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Greg Hollingshead's new collection of short stories, Act Normal, is a "fiendishly good Schrödinger's-cat-of-a-book." What makes it interesting? Among other things, "catharsis and resolution are consistently, almost sadistically, denied!"
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/08/29/fiendishly-good-greg-hollingsheads-new-collection-of-short-stories.html
In Elisabeth de Mariaffi's The Devil You Know, terror runs through the veins of young girls in Toronto. As a psychological thriller, it's a "compelling study of the landscape of fear that de Mariaffi describes as a persistent backdrop in women's lives."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/01/15/the-devil-you-know-by-elisabeth-de-mariaffi-review.html
His Whole Life, by Elizabeth Hay, "looks at the division of loyalties shaping the existence of a 10-year-old boy." Told on the eve of the 1995 Quebec referendum, many stories are at play: "a country and a marriage that may not survive" and "sins that may or may not be forgiven."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2015/08/15/his-whole-life-by-elizabeth-hay-review.html
Two Writers Fest authors have been featured in The Globe and Mail's small press roundup this week. Farzana Doctor's All Inclusive and Lori Shenher's That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away, are reviewed here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-new-small-press-books-by-lori-shenher-farzana-doctor-jim-bartley/article26743874/
In Gene Luen Yang's, Secret Coders, a young girl makes friends and discovers secrets about her "creepy new school" through binary numbers and computer programming software. The material is close to Yang's heart: he used to work as a computer science teacher. He's interviewed here:
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-10-12-robot-birds-comics-and-binary-numbers-gene-luen-yang-teaches-us-computer-science
Sigal Samuel's The Mystics of Mile End "tells the story of a dysfunctional family's dangerous obsession with Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. Set in Jewish Montreal, the culture and place of the story are specific, yet also "universal." As Samuel says in this interview, "I realized that the best or maybe only way to get to the universal is through the particular."
http://forward.com/culture/books/322226/talking-montreal-hasids-and-bagels-with-mystics-of-mile-end-author-sigal-sa/
AWARDS & LISTS
Festival Author Marlon James has won the Booker Prize. He's the first Jamaican writer to win the prestigious prize. His book, A Brief History of Seven Killings, is "like a Tarantino remake of the The Harder They Come, but with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone and William Faulkner...sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/13/marlon-james-wins-the-man-booker-prize-2015
The Canada Council for the Arts has announced the finalists for this year's Governor General's Literary Awards. Several Writers Fest authors are among the finalists, including Susan Nielsen and Darren Groth, both nominated in the Children's literature category.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/07/helen-humphreys-susin-nielsen-among-governor-generals-literary-awards-shortlist/
Rosemary Sullivan has won the Hilary Weston Prize for Non-fiction for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva. The book was deemed an "insightful yet empathetic portrait" of the famous dictator's only daughter.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/06/rosemary-sullivan-wins-weston-prize-for-stalins-daughter/
YOUNG READERS
Author and illustrator Sandra Boynton is profiled in this week's New Yorker. "These books are written so simply, for children so young—'A cow says moo. A sheep says baa'—that it's hard to imagine that they could have hidden depths. But I have begun to realize, perhaps belatedly, that they do."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-hidden-depths-of-sandra-boyntons-board-books
NEWS & FEATURES
The Kitchener Public Library has embraced the digital age by starting a Wi-Fi hotspot loan program. "There's still a large population that don't have access, in any form, to the internet... The library is the greatest equalizer in our society."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-library-lends-portable-wifi-1.3258791
Now here's something to look forward to, come December: an advent calendar that brings literary gifts from authors like Heather O'Neill and Pasha Malla! "The 2015 Short Story Advent Calendar, also known as the perfect early Christmas present for the bibliophile in your life, comes with 24 sealed short stories - one for every day from December 1 until Christmas Eve."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/10/new-advent-calendar-offers-a-story-a-day-instead-of-chocolate.html
Feminists in the UK are sneaking into bookstores in order to leave "gender busting" bookmarks in children's stories. As one of them says, "As a parent, I do not want my children's reading choices to be restricted by their gender. Reading is an amazing way for children and adults to explore other worlds and possibilities."
http://www.gloucestershireecho.co.uk/Feminists-sneak-Cheltenham-bookshops-leave-gender/story-27923383-detail/story.html#ixzz3oPP0d177
Should art be timeless, or should it speak to something more current? In this week's New York Times' Bookends, Adam Kirsch and James Parker tackle the question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/18/books/review/should-art-be-timeless-or-should-it-speak-to-something-more-current.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
A new "vastly expanded edition" of Martin Garden's The Annotated Alice has been released. Amplified and amended by Carroll scholar Mark Burstein, it contains riches that "are too many to itemize."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/who-can-be-finished-with-alice
Colum McCann's latest collection, Thirteen Ways of Looking, is filled with stories "linked by unease." Their uneasiness comes from the fact that they're informed by an incident McCann experienced last year: he was attacked and knocked unconscious in New Haven, Connecticut.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/12/books/review-colum-mccanns-thirteen-ways-of-looking-stories-linked-by-unease.html
COMMUNITY EVENTS
ALCUIN AWARDS FOR CANADIAN BOOK DESIGN
The ceremonies for this year's presentation of the 33rd Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada will precede an informal Panel on Children's Book Publishing. Featuring Sara Gillingham, Julie Flett, Julie Morstad and Cynthia Nugent. Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm, free. Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Room SB301. More information at http://alcuinsociety.com/book-design-awards-ceremony-in-vancouver/.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Governor General's Award winner Maria Tippett discuses her book, Made in British Columbia: Eight Ways of Making Culture. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
CATHY ACE
Book launch for The Corpse with the Diamond Hand. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, Coquitlam Centre Mall, 1306-2929 Barnet Hwy., Coquitlam. More information at 604-474-3477.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
BREAKING TRADITIONS: FIGHTING FOR JOB EQUALITY THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
Authors Kate Braid and Bonnie Reilly Schmidt will join tradeswomen Mariegold Rondeau and Louisa Robinson where they will read from their latest work and discuss their experiences entering male-dominated work worlds. Monday, October 19 at 7:00 pm. Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN A MONTH
Helpful hints and tips from award-winning BC mystery author Cathy Ace to help you succeed with your NaNoWriMo Challenge. Friday, October 23. Free. Maple Ridge Public Library, 130-22470 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge. More information at 604-467-7417.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 24 at 3:00pm, free. Langley Chapters, 20015 Langley Bypass, Langley. More information at 604-514-8663.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
Upcoming
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Lucas Crawford, Amber Dawn, Shannon Rayne plus open mic. Thursday, October 29th, 7-9:30pm, at 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.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 31 at 1:00pm, free. Chapters Strawberry Hill Centre, 100-12107 72 Ave., Surrey. More information at 604-501-2877.
BOOK CLUB
Inaugural event featuring The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace. Presented by Vancouver Public Library and Crime Writers of Canada. Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at cathyace.com/events.
CAROL M. CRAM
Author launches her latest book A Woman of Note. Wednesday, November 4 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
MICHAEL CHRISTIE
Author reads from his latest book If I Fall, If I Die. Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm. Smilin' Buddha Restaurant, 109 East Hastings, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
OPEN CITY
SFU Library is pleased to announce a special event at SFU Vancouver as part of SFU's 50th anniversary celebrations. Open City: One Book, One SFU will feature author Teju Cole in conversation with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel. This free event will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 7PM in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Vancouver. For more details about this event and to book your ticket, visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/onebookonesfu.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
Five poets/poetry-lovers/readers/writers bring to life the works of their favourite deceased poets. Sunday, November 8 at 3:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at deadpoetslive.com.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 29
BOOK NEWS
The Vancouver Writers Fest presents acclaimed authors from around the world: Vancouver-based author Anakana Schofield (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/anakana-schofield) was shortlisted for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize this week for her novel, Martin John. This past week, VIFF screened 45 Years, a film adaptation of British writer David Constantine’s short story In Another Country. (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/david-constantine). Ensaf Haidar (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/ensaf-haidar)—whose own memoir was just published in German—has accepted the PEN Pinter Prize on behalf of her husband, Raif Badawi. And Freeman’s, a literary anthology with an all-star line-up of writers edited by John Freeman (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/john-freeman) was published last week to rave reviews (http://www.startribune.com/review-freeman-s-arrival-edited-by-john-freeman/330413131/).
To learn more about these authors and more than 100 others, visit our website, writersfest.bc.ca.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving in Conversation with Hal Wake
International bestselling author John Irving reads from his highly-anticipated new novel, Avenue of Mysteries on December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets are on sale. You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
See events from the inside out! Volunteer on Food & Beverage for our early evening events Wed the 21st and Thursday the 22nd. More vols with daytime availability also needed on Production and for the Festival Kitchen! Apply now, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair features nearly 100 local, national and international publishers, programs, performances and installations. Featured artists from Canada and around the globe present books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera as well as digital and other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
The Cinematheque and curator Ray Hsu presents the Visible Verse 2015 Festival, an annual celebration of video poetry, that hybrid form that marries verse with media-arts. Twenty-five exceptional works from local, national, and international artists have been selected to screen. More information at http://thecinematheque.ca/visible-verse-2015-festival.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
In The Reason You Walk, Wab Kinew reveals the "joy and pain of reconciliation." In his words, "we only live once. We're only going to get this one chance to make things right, so let's do it. On a personal level-put all the baggage out on display-but let's also do it for the culture and the language." He's interviewed by the CBC here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/buffy-sainte-marie-wab-kinew-and-how-dna-remembers-trauma-1.3242375/wab-kinew-reveals-joy-and-pain-of-reconciliation-in-the-reason-you-walk-1.3243687
The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, takes place in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. In it, a South Vietnamese Army captain and Communist informant flees to America, and then is subsequently captured. "It's a novel much concerned with doubleness (double-agent, doubly minded, doubly raced)."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/the-sympathizer-by-viet-thanh-nguyen.html
Tracey Lindberg's Birdie is "both idiosyncratic and relatable, and very, very Canadian." Its protagonist is a Cree-Métis woman who moves from northern Alberta to the Sunshine Coast, thanks to a "girlhood obsession" with Pat John from the Beachcombers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-tracey-lindbergs-debut-novel-birdie-introduces-an-important-new-voice-in-canadian-fiction/article24940197/
In Sarah Winman's A Year of Marvellous Ways, the "grounded reality" of her fictional characters unfolds "among the very real events of recent history." Set in 1947 Cornwall, a young traumatized soldier meets the novel's title character, an 87-year-old woman, who coaxes him "back to the land of the living."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-year-of-marvellous-ways-by-sarah-winman-book-review-fanciful-imagery-and-beautiful-prose-that-ebbs-10300982.html
Known primarily for his books for young people, A Superior Man marks Paul Yee’s first novel for adults. The book focuses on Chinese-Canadian history, a protagonist who arrives in Victoria from China in 1881 to work as a coolie on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-new-fiction-from-pauline-holdstock-paul-yee-and-daniel-allen-cox/article26332822/
Patti LaBoucane-Benson recently appeared on The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers. Listen to her discuss The Outside Circle here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/lori-lansens-patti-laboucane-benson-1.3090837
I Saw a Man, by Owen Sheers, is "a compelling journey" into "male bereavement, grief and guilt." It's the story of a young writer struggling to cope with the death of his wife, and the subsequent friendship he develops with a neighbour.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/i-saw-a-man-owen-sheers-review
In Nino Ricci's "grim and compelling new novel," Sleep, a narcoleptic academic who engages in "moral depravity and self-sabotage" takes centre stage. His own mental breakdown mirrors the physical world, and by the end of the novel, is an extension of it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-a-mans-life-falls-apart-in-nino-riccis-grim-and-compelling-new-novel-sleep/article26541553/
The first reviews for John Freeman's new anthology are out. Called Freeman's, it's a "first-rate anthology of bold, searching and personal writing by emerging and established writers on the theme of arrival."
http://www.startribune.com/review-freeman-s-arrival-edited-by-john-freeman/330413131/
AWARDS & LISTS
Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/nobel-prize-literature-svetlana-alexievich-1.3262060
The Giller Prize has announced its highly anticipated shortlist. Vancouver's own Anakana Schofield is on the list.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/giller-prize-announces-shortlist-which-includes-short-fiction-and-a-work-in-translation/article26652449/
Rosemary Sullivan has won this year's Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-Fiction for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva. The biography has been described as an "insightful yet empathetic portrait" of Alliluyeva, whose life was defined by an "attempt to escape her father's shadow."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/biography-of-stalins-daughter-wins-hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize/article26686237/
Thomas King and Cecil Castellucci have been awarded the 2015 Sunburst Awards. King won in the Fiction category for The Back of the Turtle. Castellucci won in the YA category for Tin Star.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/05/thomas-king-and-cecil-castellucci-win-2015-sunburst-awards/
YOUNG READERS
"When teen author James Dawson was growing up he dreaded poetry lessons, but the fuzzy line between songwriting and poetry slowly changed all that-and now he's finally out of the poetry closet." James Dawson discusses the relationship between his YA novels and his life in poetry, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/oct/06/james-dawson-poetry-all-of-the-above
NEWS & FEATURES
Iran has threatened to boycott the world's largest book fair, due to the planned appearance of Salman Rushdie at the event. "A decision to boycott Frankfurt would be a blow to Iranian publishers, 282 of which were represented at the book fair last year, displaying more than 1,200 titles."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/06/iran-threatens-frankfurt-book-fair-boycott-over-rushdie-speech
What would be a dream assignment for a novelist? For Jeannette Winterson, it was to "choose any Shakespeare play she wanted, and adapt it into a novel." As it turns out, it's a real project with numerous authors involved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/books/novelists-reimagine-and-update-shakespeares-plays.html
Here's the map of literary genres that every book nerd needs! "I was always interested in maps and infographics," states its author, "and the elegant, multilayered way they can portray large amounts of information about the world we live in."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/map-of-literary-genres-martin-vargic_56047c70e4b08820d91c5af3
How does an author's reputation shape your response to a book? That's the question for this week's New York Times' Bookends. Zoë Heller and Siddhartha Deb discuss, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/books/review/how-does-an-authorsreputation-shape-your-response-to-a-book.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In this piece for The Globe and Mail, the finalists for the Hilary Weston Prize "reveal the stories behind the stories." Elliott Behar, Douglas Coupland and Rosemary Sullivan (among others) are featured.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/hilary-weston-prize-finalists-reveal-the-stories-behind-the-stories/article26660172/
Claire Vaye Watkins' "enthralling" debut novel, Gold Fame Citrus, takes place in a California that has turned to endless desert. As the writer of this review states, it's "the death of the California dream."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/10/claire_vaye_watkins_gold_fame_citrus_reviewed.2.html
Author and SFU Chancellor Anne Giardini has a new feather in her cap.
http://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/lifetime-achievement-award-caps-anne-giardinis-amazing-career
COMMUNITY EVENTS
POETRY PARTY
Readings by Christine Stewart and Ted Byrne. Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr., Vancouver.
PAUL YEE
Author reads from his new adult novel A Superior Man. Conducted in Cantonese and English. Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
PATRICK NESS
Presentation, Q&A, and book signing by the author of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway. Tickets and more information at kidsbooks.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Susan McCaslin, LeslieTimmins, Jennifer Zilm plus open mic. Wednesday, Oct. 14th , 7-9:30pm, at 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.
ALCUIN AWARDS FOR CANADIAN BOOK DESIGN
The ceremonies for this year's presentation of the 33rd Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada will precede an informal Panel on Children's Book Publishing. Featuring Sara Gillingham, Julie Flett, Julie Morstad and Cynthia Nugent. Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm, free. Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Room SB301. More information at http://alcuinsociety.com/book-design-awards-ceremony-in-vancouver/.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Governor General's Award winner Maria Tippett discuses her book, Made in British Columbia: Eight Ways of Making Culture. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
CATHY ACE
Book launch for The Corpse with the Diamond Hand. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, Coquitlam Centre Mall, 1306-2929 Barnet Hwy., Coquitlam. More information at 604-474-3477.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
BREAKING TRADITIONS: FIGHTING FOR JOB EQUALITY THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
Authors Kate Braid and Bonnie Reilly Schmidt will join tradeswomen Mariegold Rondeau and Louisa Robinson where they will read from their latest work and discuss their experiences entering male-dominated work worlds, the changes in these fields over the last forty years and the challenges that remain. Monday, October 19 at 7:00 pm. Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' FEST
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN A MONTH
Helpful hints and tips from award-winning BC mystery author Cathy Ace to help you succeed with your NaNoWriMo Challenge. Friday, October 23. Free. Maple Ridge Public Library, 130-22470 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge. More information at 604-467-7417.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 24 at 3:00pm, free. Langley Chapters, 20015 Langley Bypass, Langley. More information at 604-514-8663.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Lucas Crawford, Amber Dawn, Shannon Rayne plus open mic. Thursday, October 29th, 7-9:30pm, at 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.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 31 at 1:00pm, free. Chapters Strawberry Hill Centre, 100-12107 72 Ave., Surrey. More information at 604-501-2877.
BOOK CLUB
Inaugural event featuring The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace. Presented by Vancouver Public Library and Crime Writers of Canada. Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at cathyace.com/events.
OPEN CITY
SFU Library is pleased to announce a special event at SFU Vancouver as part of SFU's 50th anniversary celebrations. Open City: One Book, One SFU will feature author Teju Cole in conversation with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel. This free event will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 7PM in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Vancouver. For more details about this event and to book your ticket, visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/onebookonesfu.
air india [redacted]
World premiere of music, theatre, poetry and projections experience based on the book, children of air india, by Renée Sarojini Saklikar. November 6-11, 2015. SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings, Vancouver. For tickets and information, visit turningpointensemble.ca.
The Vancouver Writers Fest presents acclaimed authors from around the world: Vancouver-based author Anakana Schofield (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/anakana-schofield) was shortlisted for the 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize this week for her novel, Martin John. This past week, VIFF screened 45 Years, a film adaptation of British writer David Constantine’s short story In Another Country. (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/david-constantine). Ensaf Haidar (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/ensaf-haidar)—whose own memoir was just published in German—has accepted the PEN Pinter Prize on behalf of her husband, Raif Badawi. And Freeman’s, a literary anthology with an all-star line-up of writers edited by John Freeman (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/authors/john-freeman) was published last week to rave reviews (http://www.startribune.com/review-freeman-s-arrival-edited-by-john-freeman/330413131/).
To learn more about these authors and more than 100 others, visit our website, writersfest.bc.ca.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving in Conversation with Hal Wake
International bestselling author John Irving reads from his highly-anticipated new novel, Avenue of Mysteries on December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse. Tickets are on sale. You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
See events from the inside out! Volunteer on Food & Beverage for our early evening events Wed the 21st and Thursday the 22nd. More vols with daytime availability also needed on Production and for the Festival Kitchen! Apply now, https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair features nearly 100 local, national and international publishers, programs, performances and installations. Featured artists from Canada and around the globe present books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera as well as digital and other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
The Cinematheque and curator Ray Hsu presents the Visible Verse 2015 Festival, an annual celebration of video poetry, that hybrid form that marries verse with media-arts. Twenty-five exceptional works from local, national, and international artists have been selected to screen. More information at http://thecinematheque.ca/visible-verse-2015-festival.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
In The Reason You Walk, Wab Kinew reveals the "joy and pain of reconciliation." In his words, "we only live once. We're only going to get this one chance to make things right, so let's do it. On a personal level-put all the baggage out on display-but let's also do it for the culture and the language." He's interviewed by the CBC here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved/buffy-sainte-marie-wab-kinew-and-how-dna-remembers-trauma-1.3242375/wab-kinew-reveals-joy-and-pain-of-reconciliation-in-the-reason-you-walk-1.3243687
The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, takes place in the aftermath of the Vietnam war. In it, a South Vietnamese Army captain and Communist informant flees to America, and then is subsequently captured. "It's a novel much concerned with doubleness (double-agent, doubly minded, doubly raced)."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/05/books/review/the-sympathizer-by-viet-thanh-nguyen.html
Tracey Lindberg's Birdie is "both idiosyncratic and relatable, and very, very Canadian." Its protagonist is a Cree-Métis woman who moves from northern Alberta to the Sunshine Coast, thanks to a "girlhood obsession" with Pat John from the Beachcombers.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-tracey-lindbergs-debut-novel-birdie-introduces-an-important-new-voice-in-canadian-fiction/article24940197/
In Sarah Winman's A Year of Marvellous Ways, the "grounded reality" of her fictional characters unfolds "among the very real events of recent history." Set in 1947 Cornwall, a young traumatized soldier meets the novel's title character, an 87-year-old woman, who coaxes him "back to the land of the living."
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-year-of-marvellous-ways-by-sarah-winman-book-review-fanciful-imagery-and-beautiful-prose-that-ebbs-10300982.html
Known primarily for his books for young people, A Superior Man marks Paul Yee’s first novel for adults. The book focuses on Chinese-Canadian history, a protagonist who arrives in Victoria from China in 1881 to work as a coolie on the Canadian Pacific Railway.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-new-fiction-from-pauline-holdstock-paul-yee-and-daniel-allen-cox/article26332822/
Patti LaBoucane-Benson recently appeared on The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers. Listen to her discuss The Outside Circle here:
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/lori-lansens-patti-laboucane-benson-1.3090837
I Saw a Man, by Owen Sheers, is "a compelling journey" into "male bereavement, grief and guilt." It's the story of a young writer struggling to cope with the death of his wife, and the subsequent friendship he develops with a neighbour.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jun/27/i-saw-a-man-owen-sheers-review
In Nino Ricci's "grim and compelling new novel," Sleep, a narcoleptic academic who engages in "moral depravity and self-sabotage" takes centre stage. His own mental breakdown mirrors the physical world, and by the end of the novel, is an extension of it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/review-a-mans-life-falls-apart-in-nino-riccis-grim-and-compelling-new-novel-sleep/article26541553/
The first reviews for John Freeman's new anthology are out. Called Freeman's, it's a "first-rate anthology of bold, searching and personal writing by emerging and established writers on the theme of arrival."
http://www.startribune.com/review-freeman-s-arrival-edited-by-john-freeman/330413131/
AWARDS & LISTS
Belarusian writer Svetlana Alexievich won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/nobel-prize-literature-svetlana-alexievich-1.3262060
The Giller Prize has announced its highly anticipated shortlist. Vancouver's own Anakana Schofield is on the list.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/giller-prize-announces-shortlist-which-includes-short-fiction-and-a-work-in-translation/article26652449/
Rosemary Sullivan has won this year's Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Non-Fiction for Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva. The biography has been described as an "insightful yet empathetic portrait" of Alliluyeva, whose life was defined by an "attempt to escape her father's shadow."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/biography-of-stalins-daughter-wins-hilary-weston-writers-trust-prize/article26686237/
Thomas King and Cecil Castellucci have been awarded the 2015 Sunburst Awards. King won in the Fiction category for The Back of the Turtle. Castellucci won in the YA category for Tin Star.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/10/05/thomas-king-and-cecil-castellucci-win-2015-sunburst-awards/
YOUNG READERS
"When teen author James Dawson was growing up he dreaded poetry lessons, but the fuzzy line between songwriting and poetry slowly changed all that-and now he's finally out of the poetry closet." James Dawson discusses the relationship between his YA novels and his life in poetry, here:
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/oct/06/james-dawson-poetry-all-of-the-above
NEWS & FEATURES
Iran has threatened to boycott the world's largest book fair, due to the planned appearance of Salman Rushdie at the event. "A decision to boycott Frankfurt would be a blow to Iranian publishers, 282 of which were represented at the book fair last year, displaying more than 1,200 titles."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/oct/06/iran-threatens-frankfurt-book-fair-boycott-over-rushdie-speech
What would be a dream assignment for a novelist? For Jeannette Winterson, it was to "choose any Shakespeare play she wanted, and adapt it into a novel." As it turns out, it's a real project with numerous authors involved.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/books/novelists-reimagine-and-update-shakespeares-plays.html
Here's the map of literary genres that every book nerd needs! "I was always interested in maps and infographics," states its author, "and the elegant, multilayered way they can portray large amounts of information about the world we live in."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/map-of-literary-genres-martin-vargic_56047c70e4b08820d91c5af3
How does an author's reputation shape your response to a book? That's the question for this week's New York Times' Bookends. Zoë Heller and Siddhartha Deb discuss, here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/books/review/how-does-an-authorsreputation-shape-your-response-to-a-book.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
In this piece for The Globe and Mail, the finalists for the Hilary Weston Prize "reveal the stories behind the stories." Elliott Behar, Douglas Coupland and Rosemary Sullivan (among others) are featured.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/hilary-weston-prize-finalists-reveal-the-stories-behind-the-stories/article26660172/
Claire Vaye Watkins' "enthralling" debut novel, Gold Fame Citrus, takes place in a California that has turned to endless desert. As the writer of this review states, it's "the death of the California dream."
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2015/10/claire_vaye_watkins_gold_fame_citrus_reviewed.2.html
Author and SFU Chancellor Anne Giardini has a new feather in her cap.
http://business.financialpost.com/legal-post/lifetime-achievement-award-caps-anne-giardinis-amazing-career
COMMUNITY EVENTS
POETRY PARTY
Readings by Christine Stewart and Ted Byrne. Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr., Vancouver.
PAUL YEE
Author reads from his new adult novel A Superior Man. Conducted in Cantonese and English. Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
PATRICK NESS
Presentation, Q&A, and book signing by the author of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway. Tickets and more information at kidsbooks.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Susan McCaslin, LeslieTimmins, Jennifer Zilm plus open mic. Wednesday, Oct. 14th , 7-9:30pm, at 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.
ALCUIN AWARDS FOR CANADIAN BOOK DESIGN
The ceremonies for this year's presentation of the 33rd Alcuin Society Awards for Excellence in Book Design in Canada will precede an informal Panel on Children's Book Publishing. Featuring Sara Gillingham, Julie Flett, Julie Morstad and Cynthia Nugent. Thursday, October 15 at 6:30pm, free. Emily Carr University, 1399 Johnston Street, Granville Island, Room SB301. More information at http://alcuinsociety.com/book-design-awards-ceremony-in-vancouver/.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Governor General's Award winner Maria Tippett discuses her book, Made in British Columbia: Eight Ways of Making Culture. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00 PM. Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. $22 (includes refreshments). To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
CATHY ACE
Book launch for The Corpse with the Diamond Hand. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Black Bond Books, Coquitlam Centre Mall, 1306-2929 Barnet Hwy., Coquitlam. More information at 604-474-3477.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
BREAKING TRADITIONS: FIGHTING FOR JOB EQUALITY THROUGH THE GENERATIONS
Authors Kate Braid and Bonnie Reilly Schmidt will join tradeswomen Mariegold Rondeau and Louisa Robinson where they will read from their latest work and discuss their experiences entering male-dominated work worlds, the changes in these fields over the last forty years and the challenges that remain. Monday, October 19 at 7:00 pm. Vancouver Public Library Central Branch, 350 West Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
Upcoming
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' FEST
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN A MONTH
Helpful hints and tips from award-winning BC mystery author Cathy Ace to help you succeed with your NaNoWriMo Challenge. Friday, October 23. Free. Maple Ridge Public Library, 130-22470 Dewdney Trunk Rd., Maple Ridge. More information at 604-467-7417.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 24 at 3:00pm, free. Langley Chapters, 20015 Langley Bypass, Langley. More information at 604-514-8663.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Lucas Crawford, Amber Dawn, Shannon Rayne plus open mic. Thursday, October 29th, 7-9:30pm, at 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.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
TRIPLE THREAT
Crime Writers of Canada presents three BC mystery authors: Cathy Ace, Allan J. Emerson, Debra Purdy Kong. Saturday, October 31 at 1:00pm, free. Chapters Strawberry Hill Centre, 100-12107 72 Ave., Surrey. More information at 604-501-2877.
BOOK CLUB
Inaugural event featuring The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace. Presented by Vancouver Public Library and Crime Writers of Canada. Tuesday, November 3 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at cathyace.com/events.
OPEN CITY
SFU Library is pleased to announce a special event at SFU Vancouver as part of SFU's 50th anniversary celebrations. Open City: One Book, One SFU will feature author Teju Cole in conversation with CBC Radio's Eleanor Wachtel. This free event will be held on Thursday, November 5th at 7PM in the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Vancouver. For more details about this event and to book your ticket, visit: http://www.lib.sfu.ca/onebookonesfu.
air india [redacted]
World premiere of music, theatre, poetry and projections experience based on the book, children of air india, by Renée Sarojini Saklikar. November 6-11, 2015. SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings, Vancouver. For tickets and information, visit turningpointensemble.ca.
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Book News Vol. 10 No. 28
BOOK NEWS
This Festival, discover your new favourite writer! In "Shock and Awful," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/27-shock-and-awful) Samuel Archibald will speak about his collection of stories, Arvida, which is longlisted for the 2015 Giller Prize. TJ Dawe is a dynamic storyteller who will captivate you in "This Really Happened," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/33-really-happened). In "Trigger Warning," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/44-trigger-warning) Tracey Lindberg will discuss Birdie her darkly funny and moving first novel. Irina Kovalyova is a Professor of Microbiology at SFU whose short fiction is infused with the ethical dilemmas of science. Hear her story in "True to Form" (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/52-true-form).
To learn more about these events and more than 80 others, visit our website, writersfest.bc.ca.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving Special Event
Tickets for John Irving (December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse) are on sale.
You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers still needed for day-time events on Production, Box Office and Food & Beverage. French-speakers and those who are comfortable handling cash are especially welcome! For more information and to register, go to our website https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The 34th annual Vancouver International Film Festival will once again welcome some of the world's finest films to one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. VIFF will present over 375 films from 70 countries and host many international guests from September 24th-October 9th, 2015. Click here, http://www.viff.org/festival/series to browse this year's films and purchase tickets.
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair is the only international art book fair in Canada and one of only two on the West Coast, attracting nearly 5,000 visitors. Presented by Project Space, VA/BF is a free multi-day festival of artists' publishing, open to the public and featuring nearly one hundred local, national and international publishers, as well as a diverse line-up of programs, performances and installations. Featured artists travel to Vancouver from across Canada and the globe, and produce everything from books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera to digital, performative or other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Last week, Beth Powning's A Measure of Light was featured on CBC's The Next Chapter. In this interview with Shelagh Rogers, Shakura S'Aida, a blues singer who is "usually a fan of science fiction and fantasy" explains her attraction to Powning's historical novel about a 17th-century religious martyr.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/elizabeth-hay-joy-fielding-and-andr%C3%A9-alexis-1.3231018/shakura-s-aida-reviews-a-measure-of-light-1.3231903
Speaking of historical fiction, Jim Shepard "has always been preoccupied by history." His newest novel, The Book of Aron, is set in the Warsaw ghetto on the brink of World War II. Told through the voice of a young boy, "Shepard turns hell into a testament of love and sacrifice."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/01/the-book-of-aron-jim-shepard-review-janusz-korczak-holocaust
Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy was recently optioned by Paramount Pictures for adaptation to the big screen. In this interview with Esquire, he talks to musician Vernon Reid about the line between music and writing, podcasts, his early influences and more.
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/interviews/a35224/living-colour-vernon-reid-area-x-jeff-vandermeer-chat/
Lawrence Hill's new novel, The Illegal, was "inspired by refugee survival stories." He discusses the novel, and Canada's role in the refugee crisis, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/lawrence-hill-s-the-illegal-inspired-by-refugee-survival-stories-1.3219277
Denise Mina's Blood, Salt, Water is an "intricately plotted literary thriller [that] is more whydunnit then whodunit," writes Allan Massie in this review for The Scotsman. It's a novel that "invites us, even compels us, both to think and feel; which is the mark of the best imaginative fiction."
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/book-review-blood-salt-water-by-denise-mina-1-3853149
Gene Luen Yang is a coder, teacher and "kick-ass graphic novelist," whose book, American Born Chinese, became the first graphic novel ever named as a National Book Award finalist. In this interview, he discusses writing, growing up, teaching, and diversity in publishing!
http://m.motherjones.com/media/2015/07/gene-luen-yang-american-born-chinese-boxers-saints-secret-coders-comics
In Greg Hollingshead's The Amazing Insult, Greta (his protagonist) has a boat accident, and then "experiences a shift in her sexual orientation that upends her marriage and transforms her identity." Hollingshead's inspiration came from real life: a newspaper article he read about a woman whose sexuality changed following a car accident.
http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/arts-and-entertainment/greg-hollingshead%E2%80%99s-amazing-insult-152309
Are you a fan of apocalyptic fiction? Then you might be interested in this piece on the best apocalyptic fiction by women, which includes a mini-review of Laura van den Berg's Find Me. It's "the end of the world as she knows it!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/books/review/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-she-knows-it.html
Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies is "a vivid and engrossing portrait of a marriage, in which a couple's electric attachment hides a thicket of lies and secrets." One of the book's "most dazzling sequences" takes place at arts colony, where the "bona fide risks of creation and collaboration" lie centre stage.
http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/lauren-groffs-fates-and-furies-portrait-of-a-marriage/
Lori Shenher's writing comes from real-life experience. Her book, That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away, is based on her former work as a Vancouver Police detective, and even more specifically on the case-work she did for the Robert Pickton trial. Here's an excerpt.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/that-lonely-section-of-hell/article26233121/
Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings is a "vivid and powerful" novel inspired by Jamaica's violent past. It resembles, in many ways, James Ellroy's La Quartet, in its "determination to re-do history ‘from the gutter to the star', to borrow a phrase used by Ellroy."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11213049/A-Brief-History-of-Seven-Killings-by-Marlon-James.html
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists for the Rogers Trust Fiction Prize as well as the Journey Prize have been announced. Several Vancouver Writers Fest authors made the cut, including John Vaillant, and Elizabeth Hay.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/29/andre-alexis-john-vaillant-among-rogers-writers-trust-fiction-prize-finalists/
The shortlist for the annual HarperCollins Publishers/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction has been announced. The prize is awarded to alumni and students of UBC's creative writing program, and the winner will be announced at the Writers Fest in October.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/28/harpercollinsubc-fiction-prize-shortlist-announced/
Lynn Thomson has won the 2015 Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction for Birding With Yeats. The book is her debut title, chronicling Thomson's relationship with her son during family bird-watching expeditions.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/23/lynn-thomson-wins-2015-edna-staebler-award/
Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine, has won the Forward Poetry Prize. Described by the jury as a "powerful book for our time," its subject matter is "America and a racism that has never gone away."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/28/claudia-rankine-citizen-wins-forward-poetry-prize
YOUNG READERS
"I felt like fairy tales had been hijacked so thoroughly by Disney," states Soman Chainani" in this interview with The Guardian. As the author of the "twisted fairytale" trilogy, The School for Good and Evil, he's always wanted to write "an epic story that moved beyond all the old heroes and villains and instead spoke to the anxieties of modern readers."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/sep/29/soman-chainani-inteview-school-of-good-and-evil
NEWS & FEATURES
A mystery punter who "claims he can pick a Booker winner by studying the judges' Wikipedia pages" has made his prediction for this year's prize. His money is staked on British author Sunjeev Sahota.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/Man-booker-prize-2015-mystery-punter/
"What if Macbeth had wanted to be the prince of Bel-Air, instead of the king of Scotland?" A trend has erupted on Twitter: actors, nominated by their peers, are performing modern music in the form of Shakespeare soliloquies. Called #15secondshakespeare, it's sending "people down an Elizabethan rabbit hole!"
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/09/15secondsshakespeare-breathes-old-life-into-modern-lyrics.html
Canada is set to host IBBY Italia's International exhibit of wordless picture books. The exhibit supports the first children's library in Lampedusa, Italy (one of the centres of the European refugee crisis), and will be coming to Vancouver in October.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/09/23/canada-hosts-ibby-italias-international-exhibit-of-wordless-picture-books/
"Five years ago, the book world was seized by collective panic over the uncertain future of print." Now, e-book sales are slipping. "There are signs that some e-book adopters are returning to print, or becoming hybrid readers, who juggle devices and paper."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/media/the-plot-twist-e-book-sales-slip-and-print-is-far-from-dead.html
Fall has finally arrived. If your fingers are getting chilly, you might enjoy these twenty-two patterns for literary mittens.
http://bookriot.com/2015/09/24/litknits-22-literary-mittens-patterns/
BOOKS & WRITERS
In this piece, Margaret Atwood has annotated an excerpt from her forthcoming novel, The Heart Goes Last. You can read the excerpt, and click the yellow highlights to read her annotations, here:
http://lithub.com/in-which-margaret-atwood-annotates-her-new-book/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SHUSWAP BOOKFEST
Featuring Eleanor Wachtel and Elizabeth Hay. October 1-2, 2015. Tickets: $20. Complete details at okanagan.bc.ca.
THE WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Featuring George K. Ilsley, Annette LeBox, Taryn Thomson, Valerie Chalker Whitfield, A.J. Lin, Trace Wilson, Lynn Easton and Janet Fretter. Thursday, October 1 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St., Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
AUTHOR FEST
Meet Fraser Valley writers and learn first-hand about their work, the experience of writing, publishing, and marketing. Saturday, October 3 at 1:00pm. Clearbrook Library.
DAVID E. BURNELL
Author launches his latest book In Moonlight's Shadow. Saturday, October 3 at 2:00pm. The Gallery at Queens Park, New Westminster.
E.R. BROWN
Author reads from his Edgar Award and Arthur Ellis Award-nominated novel Almost Criminal. Monday, October 5 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
LORI SHENHER - THAT LONELY SECTION OF HELL
Panel featuring author Lori Shenher, Senator Larry Campbell and Vancouver Observer editor-in-chief Sandy Garossino. Monday, October 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TOM WAYMAN
Canadian poet will be visiting the Dunbar Branch library to read from his new short fiction collection The Shadows We Mistake for Love. Tuesday, October 6 at 1:30pm. Dunbar branch, VPL, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
POETIC PAIRINGS 3
Featuring host Jami Macarty, Alan Hill, Lilija Valis, Alan Girling, Rosemary Nowicki, Celeste Snowber, Sherry Duggal, Ashok K. Bjargava, Janet Kvammen, Nasreen Pejvack, Adian Chafe. Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30pm. Britannia branch, 1661 Napier St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ANAKANA SCHOFIELD
Book launch for authors latest book, Martin John. Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at bookwarehouse.ca.
THE DARK SIDE
Meet authors who delve into the dark side to create their fictionalized worlds featuring Marty Allen, Mauro Azano and Bryan Clegg. Wednesday, October 7 at 6:30pm. Guildford Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7366.
POETRY PARTY
Readings by Christine Stewart and Ted Byrne. Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr., Vancouver.
PAUL YEE
Author reads from his new adult novel A Superior Man. Conducted in Cantonese and English. Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DONNA MILNER
Reading by the author from her new novel A Place Called Sorry. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main St., Vancouver. More information at bookwarehouse.ca.
PATRICK NESS
Presentation, Q&A, and book signing by the author of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway. Tickets and more information at kidsbooks.ca.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
Upcoming
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' FEST
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
This Festival, discover your new favourite writer! In "Shock and Awful," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/27-shock-and-awful) Samuel Archibald will speak about his collection of stories, Arvida, which is longlisted for the 2015 Giller Prize. TJ Dawe is a dynamic storyteller who will captivate you in "This Really Happened," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/33-really-happened). In "Trigger Warning," (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/44-trigger-warning) Tracey Lindberg will discuss Birdie her darkly funny and moving first novel. Irina Kovalyova is a Professor of Microbiology at SFU whose short fiction is infused with the ethical dilemmas of science. Hear her story in "True to Form" (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2015/events/52-true-form).
To learn more about these events and more than 80 others, visit our website, writersfest.bc.ca.
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Join us for a very special evening with Joseph Boyden and friends. Expect the unexpected at this intimate evening celebrating great Canadian writing! Enjoy cocktails, hearty appetizers and fireside chats with the authors.
Saturday, October 24th, 2015
7:00-10:00 pm
Bridges Restaurant, Upper Dining Room, Granville Island
Tickets: http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden. A fundraiser for the Vancouver Writers Fest
John Irving Special Event
Tickets for John Irving (December 1 at the Vancouver Playhouse) are on sale.
You can find more details here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.
Volunteers Needed!
Volunteers still needed for day-time events on Production, Box Office and Food & Beverage. French-speakers and those who are comfortable handling cash are especially welcome! For more information and to register, go to our website https://www.writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteers.
Poetry and Short Story Contest
The 17th Vancouver Writers Fest Poetry and Short Story Contest is now open! Entries will be accepted until October 25th, so get writing or start polishing up your best work. The contest is open to all writers, so this could be the perfect opportunity for you to get published for the first time, kick start your writing career or add to your already impressive resume. First place winners will receive $500 and be published in subTERRAIN Magazine. Details and to enter: http://writersfest.bc.ca/writingcontest
Know a young writer? Tell them about our writing contest for BC grades 8-12 students, http://writersfest.bc.ca/youthwritingcontest.
FESTIVALS
The 34th annual Vancouver International Film Festival will once again welcome some of the world's finest films to one of the most beautiful cities on the planet. VIFF will present over 375 films from 70 countries and host many international guests from September 24th-October 9th, 2015. Click here, http://www.viff.org/festival/series to browse this year's films and purchase tickets.
The Vancouver Art/Book Fair is the only international art book fair in Canada and one of only two on the West Coast, attracting nearly 5,000 visitors. Presented by Project Space, VA/BF is a free multi-day festival of artists' publishing, open to the public and featuring nearly one hundred local, national and international publishers, as well as a diverse line-up of programs, performances and installations. Featured artists travel to Vancouver from across Canada and the globe, and produce everything from books, magazines, zines and printed ephemera to digital, performative or other experimental forms of publication. More information at vancouverartbookfair.com.
2015 FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Last week, Beth Powning's A Measure of Light was featured on CBC's The Next Chapter. In this interview with Shelagh Rogers, Shakura S'Aida, a blues singer who is "usually a fan of science fiction and fantasy" explains her attraction to Powning's historical novel about a 17th-century religious martyr.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/elizabeth-hay-joy-fielding-and-andr%C3%A9-alexis-1.3231018/shakura-s-aida-reviews-a-measure-of-light-1.3231903
Speaking of historical fiction, Jim Shepard "has always been preoccupied by history." His newest novel, The Book of Aron, is set in the Warsaw ghetto on the brink of World War II. Told through the voice of a young boy, "Shepard turns hell into a testament of love and sacrifice."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/01/the-book-of-aron-jim-shepard-review-janusz-korczak-holocaust
Jeff VanderMeer's Southern Reach Trilogy was recently optioned by Paramount Pictures for adaptation to the big screen. In this interview with Esquire, he talks to musician Vernon Reid about the line between music and writing, podcasts, his early influences and more.
http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/interviews/a35224/living-colour-vernon-reid-area-x-jeff-vandermeer-chat/
Lawrence Hill's new novel, The Illegal, was "inspired by refugee survival stories." He discusses the novel, and Canada's role in the refugee crisis, here:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/lawrence-hill-s-the-illegal-inspired-by-refugee-survival-stories-1.3219277
Denise Mina's Blood, Salt, Water is an "intricately plotted literary thriller [that] is more whydunnit then whodunit," writes Allan Massie in this review for The Scotsman. It's a novel that "invites us, even compels us, both to think and feel; which is the mark of the best imaginative fiction."
http://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/books/book-review-blood-salt-water-by-denise-mina-1-3853149
Gene Luen Yang is a coder, teacher and "kick-ass graphic novelist," whose book, American Born Chinese, became the first graphic novel ever named as a National Book Award finalist. In this interview, he discusses writing, growing up, teaching, and diversity in publishing!
http://m.motherjones.com/media/2015/07/gene-luen-yang-american-born-chinese-boxers-saints-secret-coders-comics
In Greg Hollingshead's The Amazing Insult, Greta (his protagonist) has a boat accident, and then "experiences a shift in her sexual orientation that upends her marriage and transforms her identity." Hollingshead's inspiration came from real life: a newspaper article he read about a woman whose sexuality changed following a car accident.
http://www.dailyxtra.com/toronto/arts-and-entertainment/greg-hollingshead%E2%80%99s-amazing-insult-152309
Are you a fan of apocalyptic fiction? Then you might be interested in this piece on the best apocalyptic fiction by women, which includes a mini-review of Laura van den Berg's Find Me. It's "the end of the world as she knows it!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/books/review/its-the-end-of-the-world-as-she-knows-it.html
Lauren Groff's Fates and Furies is "a vivid and engrossing portrait of a marriage, in which a couple's electric attachment hides a thicket of lies and secrets." One of the book's "most dazzling sequences" takes place at arts colony, where the "bona fide risks of creation and collaboration" lie centre stage.
http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/lauren-groffs-fates-and-furies-portrait-of-a-marriage/
Lori Shenher's writing comes from real-life experience. Her book, That Lonely Section of Hell: The Botched Investigation of a Serial Killer Who Almost Got Away, is based on her former work as a Vancouver Police detective, and even more specifically on the case-work she did for the Robert Pickton trial. Here's an excerpt.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/that-lonely-section-of-hell/article26233121/
Marlon James' A Brief History of Seven Killings is a "vivid and powerful" novel inspired by Jamaica's violent past. It resembles, in many ways, James Ellroy's La Quartet, in its "determination to re-do history ‘from the gutter to the star', to borrow a phrase used by Ellroy."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11213049/A-Brief-History-of-Seven-Killings-by-Marlon-James.html
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists for the Rogers Trust Fiction Prize as well as the Journey Prize have been announced. Several Vancouver Writers Fest authors made the cut, including John Vaillant, and Elizabeth Hay.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/29/andre-alexis-john-vaillant-among-rogers-writers-trust-fiction-prize-finalists/
The shortlist for the annual HarperCollins Publishers/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction has been announced. The prize is awarded to alumni and students of UBC's creative writing program, and the winner will be announced at the Writers Fest in October.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/28/harpercollinsubc-fiction-prize-shortlist-announced/
Lynn Thomson has won the 2015 Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction for Birding With Yeats. The book is her debut title, chronicling Thomson's relationship with her son during family bird-watching expeditions.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2015/09/23/lynn-thomson-wins-2015-edna-staebler-award/
Citizen: An American Lyric, by Claudia Rankine, has won the Forward Poetry Prize. Described by the jury as a "powerful book for our time," its subject matter is "America and a racism that has never gone away."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/sep/28/claudia-rankine-citizen-wins-forward-poetry-prize
YOUNG READERS
"I felt like fairy tales had been hijacked so thoroughly by Disney," states Soman Chainani" in this interview with The Guardian. As the author of the "twisted fairytale" trilogy, The School for Good and Evil, he's always wanted to write "an epic story that moved beyond all the old heroes and villains and instead spoke to the anxieties of modern readers."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/sep/29/soman-chainani-inteview-school-of-good-and-evil
NEWS & FEATURES
A mystery punter who "claims he can pick a Booker winner by studying the judges' Wikipedia pages" has made his prediction for this year's prize. His money is staked on British author Sunjeev Sahota.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/what-to-read/Man-booker-prize-2015-mystery-punter/
"What if Macbeth had wanted to be the prince of Bel-Air, instead of the king of Scotland?" A trend has erupted on Twitter: actors, nominated by their peers, are performing modern music in the form of Shakespeare soliloquies. Called #15secondshakespeare, it's sending "people down an Elizabethan rabbit hole!"
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2015/09/15secondsshakespeare-breathes-old-life-into-modern-lyrics.html
Canada is set to host IBBY Italia's International exhibit of wordless picture books. The exhibit supports the first children's library in Lampedusa, Italy (one of the centres of the European refugee crisis), and will be coming to Vancouver in October.
http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2015/09/23/canada-hosts-ibby-italias-international-exhibit-of-wordless-picture-books/
"Five years ago, the book world was seized by collective panic over the uncertain future of print." Now, e-book sales are slipping. "There are signs that some e-book adopters are returning to print, or becoming hybrid readers, who juggle devices and paper."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/business/media/the-plot-twist-e-book-sales-slip-and-print-is-far-from-dead.html
Fall has finally arrived. If your fingers are getting chilly, you might enjoy these twenty-two patterns for literary mittens.
http://bookriot.com/2015/09/24/litknits-22-literary-mittens-patterns/
BOOKS & WRITERS
In this piece, Margaret Atwood has annotated an excerpt from her forthcoming novel, The Heart Goes Last. You can read the excerpt, and click the yellow highlights to read her annotations, here:
http://lithub.com/in-which-margaret-atwood-annotates-her-new-book/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
SHUSWAP BOOKFEST
Featuring Eleanor Wachtel and Elizabeth Hay. October 1-2, 2015. Tickets: $20. Complete details at okanagan.bc.ca.
THE WRITER'S STUDIO READING SERIES
Featuring George K. Ilsley, Annette LeBox, Taryn Thomson, Valerie Chalker Whitfield, A.J. Lin, Trace Wilson, Lynn Easton and Janet Fretter. Thursday, October 1 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main St., Vancouver. More information at sfu.ca.
AUTHOR FEST
Meet Fraser Valley writers and learn first-hand about their work, the experience of writing, publishing, and marketing. Saturday, October 3 at 1:00pm. Clearbrook Library.
DAVID E. BURNELL
Author launches his latest book In Moonlight's Shadow. Saturday, October 3 at 2:00pm. The Gallery at Queens Park, New Westminster.
E.R. BROWN
Author reads from his Edgar Award and Arthur Ellis Award-nominated novel Almost Criminal. Monday, October 5 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
LORI SHENHER - THAT LONELY SECTION OF HELL
Panel featuring author Lori Shenher, Senator Larry Campbell and Vancouver Observer editor-in-chief Sandy Garossino. Monday, October 5 at 7:00pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
TOM WAYMAN
Canadian poet will be visiting the Dunbar Branch library to read from his new short fiction collection The Shadows We Mistake for Love. Tuesday, October 6 at 1:30pm. Dunbar branch, VPL, 4515 Dunbar Street, Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
POETIC PAIRINGS 3
Featuring host Jami Macarty, Alan Hill, Lilija Valis, Alan Girling, Rosemary Nowicki, Celeste Snowber, Sherry Duggal, Ashok K. Bjargava, Janet Kvammen, Nasreen Pejvack, Adian Chafe. Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30pm. Britannia branch, 1661 Napier St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
ANAKANA SCHOFIELD
Book launch for authors latest book, Martin John. Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at bookwarehouse.ca.
THE DARK SIDE
Meet authors who delve into the dark side to create their fictionalized worlds featuring Marty Allen, Mauro Azano and Bryan Clegg. Wednesday, October 7 at 6:30pm. Guildford Library, Surrey. More information at 604-598-7366.
POETRY PARTY
Readings by Christine Stewart and Ted Byrne. Thursday, October 10 at 7:30pm, free. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr., Vancouver.
PAUL YEE
Author reads from his new adult novel A Superior Man. Conducted in Cantonese and English. Wednesday, October 14 at 6:30pm, free. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
DONNA MILNER
Reading by the author from her new novel A Place Called Sorry. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main St., Vancouver. More information at bookwarehouse.ca.
PATRICK NESS
Presentation, Q&A, and book signing by the author of The Rest of Us Just Live Here. Wednesday, October 14 at 7:00pm. Vancouver Kidsbooks, 3083 West Broadway. Tickets and more information at kidsbooks.ca.
AGITATE!
Montreal anarchist author, violinist, and cabaret artist Norman Nawrocki launches a new poetry book, Agitate! Anarchist Rants, Raps, Poems. Thursday, October 15 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $5. Spartacus Books, 3378 Findlay, Vancouver.
ROM COM
Dina Del Bucchia and Daniel Zomparelli launch their co-authored collection of poetry. Thursday, October 15 at 7:30pm. Hot Art Wet City, 2206 Main St., Vancouver. More information at talonbooks.com.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual event brings together Canadian and international authors for a weekend packed with readings, workshops, speaker panels, spoken word events, and music. October 16-18, 2015. Fairmont Chateau Whistler. More information at whistlerwritersfest.com.
A GOLDEN AFTERNOON
Hosted by UBC's Language and Literacy Education Department (LLED) Alumni and sponsored by the Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable (VCLR), this Alice-in-Wonderland-themed celebration will benefit a local school library in Vancouver. Saturday, October 17 at 12:00 noon. Sage Bistro, UBC. Tickets and information at http://blogs.ubc.ca/alice150/.
THE FLOUR PEDDLER
As part of World Food Day, Chris Hergesheimer and Josh Hergesheimer present their book. Saturday, October 17 at 1:00pm. Brighouse branch, Richmond Public Library. More information at yourlibrary.ca.
Upcoming
MONIQUE POLAK
Quebec English-language writer will read from her acclaimed teen fiction books, including her latest teen novel, Learning the Ropes. Tuesday, October 20 at 9:30am. Greater Victoria Public Library. Register and information at 250-940-4875.
PATRICK TAYLOR
Local Irish-Canadian author will read from the recently released An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea: An Irish Country Novel. Wednesday, October 21 at 5:00pm, free. Library Program Room, Salt Spring Public Library. More information at 250-537-4666.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' FEST
Annual event offers professional development for writers. October 22-25, 2015. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, Surrey. Details at siwc.ca.
AUTHOR READING
Featuring B.C. authors Eileen Kernaghan and Mix Hart. Thursday, October 22 at 7:00pm. Central branch, VPL, 350 W. Georgia St., Vancouver. More information at vpl.ca.
CAITLIN PRESS POETRY LAUNCH
Join Sarah de Leeuw, Arleen Paré, Kate Braid and Beth Kope as they read from their newest work. Thursday, October 22 at 7:30pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main St. More information andrea@caitlin-press.com.
ROBERT WIERSEMA
Author reads from his latest thriller, Black Feathers. Saturday, October 24 at 2:00pm, free. Agassiz Library, 7140 Cheam Ave., Aggasiz. More information at 604-796-9510.
POETS WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE
Special Halloween event from Poetic Justice with extended open mic and costume contest. Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm, suggested donation: $5. Heritage Grill, 447 Columbia St., New Westminster. More information at 604-767-6908.
BEN MIKAELSEN
Touching Spirit Bear author talks about the inspiration for his popular novel. Individuals or small groups can enquire about seating by contacting Chris at 604-554-7339. Tuesday, October 27 at 11:00am. City Centre branch, Coquitlam Public Library.
RON MACLEAN
National bestselling co-author, co-host of Coach's Corner and host of Rogers Hometown Hockey shares brand new hockey tales from his newest book Hockey Towns: Untold Stories from the Heart of Canada. Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters-indigo.ca.
FRED WAH
Launch of authors latest book. Scree: The Collected Earlier Poems, 1962-1991. Thursday, October 29 at 8:00pm. Western Front, 303 8th Ave. E. More information at talonbooks.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
