Book News Vol. 10 No. 33

BOOK NEWS

There are still a few tickets left for our December 1 event with John Irving in conversation with Hal Wake.

"Sex, drugs, and mariachi: Irving's latest ventures south of the border and then back again, tracing the long road and unforeseeable turns that we travel in this world." - Kirkus Review

Tuesday December 1 at 7:30pm
Vancouver Playhouse

Details and to purchase tickets, www.writersfest.bc.ca/events/john-irving.

AWARDS & LISTS

André Alexis's novel Fifteen Dogs wins 2015 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/andre-alexiss-novel-fifteen-dogs-wins-scotiabank-giller-prize/article27202787/

Roxane Gay has won the PEN Center USA Freedom to Write Award. Gay is "the author of Bad Feminist and An Untamed State, a prolific essayist, an editor, a Twitter goddess, and...perhaps above all else, an advocate—for women, people of colour, the LGBT community, victims of sexual assault, and 'anyone else who's disenfranchised, who's made to feel weak or small.'"
http://electricliterature.com/roxane-gay-wins-pen-center-usa-freedom-to-write-award/

The Prix Femina for translated fiction has been awarded to Kerry Hudson. The Scottish author's second novel, Thirst, secured the prestigious French award by beating Martin Amis by one vote. Judges called Thirst "a very moving history, which hangs on the fates of two marginalised people."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/06/kerry-hudson-wins-prix-femina-for-translated-fiction

YOUNG READERS

A new picture book for children that depicts slavery has "ignited controversy, with some critics charging that it unwittingly perpetuates a rosy vision of that institution." The book, A Fine Dessert, shows four children at different points in history making a blackberry dessert with a parent.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/07/books/a-fine-dessert-judging-a-book-by-the-smile-of-a-slave.html

NEWS & FEATURES

Chile has admitted that the poet Pablo Neruda might have been murdered by the Pinochet regime. "The government has acknowledged that the Nobel-prize winning poet may not have died from cancer but said experts were still examining the claims."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/06/chile-admits-pablo-neruda-might-have-been-murdered-by-pinochet-regime

Move over Kim Kardashian! "The illuminated Klaidungsbüchlein, or 'book of clothes,' compiled by the Augsburg accountant Matthäus Schwarz between 1520 and 1560 is a proto-Kardashian book of selfies," a series of hand-drawn portraits that meticulously catalogues of the author's "extensive and flamboyant wardrobe."
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/first-book-fashion-selfie-king/413047/

"Binge-watching" has been declared the word of 2015. "The mushrooming popularity of watching TV serials in concentrated bouts has seen the new verb's usage explode, according to Collins's annual survey."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/05/binge-watch-2015-word-of-the-year-collins

How do you translate an "untranslatable book?" Lisa Hayden explains her "intuitive journey to Eugene Vodolazkin's medieval Russia."
http://lithub.com/on-translating-an-untranslatable-book/

Who is the "mysterious" Stetson in TS Eliot's Waste Land? One scholar believes he might have the answer.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/08/ts-eliot-waste-land-stetson-anagram-riddle

Do audiobooks help or harm literature? The scholar Harold Bloom has claimed that text is necessary, while this piece's author thinks otherwise. Among other things, it was only upon hearing Tóibín's novel, Nora Webster, that she fully understood it.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/07/reading-with-your-ears-do-audiobooks-harm-or-help-literature

Poetry is going viral, thanks to the Web Poets' Society. "Three of the 10 current top-selling poetry books in the country are collections by young writers who have built followings on Tumblr and Instagram."
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/08/business/media/web-poets-society-new-breed-succeeds-in-taking-verse-viral.html

BOOKS & WRITERS

In his new book, The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson "returns to his beloved 'small island.'" Bryson visits the far corners of Britain, from Lyme Regis to Wales, looking for two things: "curious historical footnotes and droll observations about the idiosyncrasies of modern British life."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/review-in-the-road-to-little-dribbling-bill-bryson-returns-to-his-beloved-small-island/article27146332/

Kevin Barry wants to go "as wild as I can within my stories." In this interview, the City of Bohane author discusses "Ireland's radicals, escaping the internet, and why he chose to write about John Lennon."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/08/kevin-barry-interview-beatlebone-john-lennon-city-of-bohane

The Globe and Mail's Mark Medley and Kate Taylor have read the entire Giller shortlist. "Now it's time to argue!" Read their feedback here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/the-great-debate-over-the-merits-of-the-scotiabank-giller-prize-finalists/article27145264/

Speaking of the Giller, nominee Anakana Schofield's "incredible rise" is profiled in this piece about the writing of Martin John. It also tackles Schofield's upbringing, and her happiness to finally hear herself described as "Canadian."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/disturbed-protagonist-in-giller-prize-finalist-took-a-toll-on-author/article27148119/

In the 1920s, Vladimir Nabokov was "the only Russian émigré in Berlin who [wrote] to his wife every day." His letters have been published in a book called Letters to Véra, reviewed alongside Nabokov in America: On the Road to Lolita, here:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/nov/19/nabokov-his-joy-his-life/

Karen Solie's poem, Man Is a Rational Animal, is featured in this week's Globe and Mail. Karen Solie is this year's winner of the Latner Writers' Trust Poetry Prize, a $25,000 award "presented to a mid-career poet in recognition of a remarkable body of work and in anticipation of future contributions to Canadian poetry."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/globe-poetry-man-is-a-rational-animal/article27152382/

The English poet Stephen Spender wanted his son, Matthew, to be a "part of his bohemian circle." In this interview, Matthew Spender discusses "the sexual complexities of his family life." Spender's A House in St John's Wood: In Search of My Parents is the "first brutally honest biography of Stephen," but also a family memoir.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/08/matthew-spender-son-of-stephen-spender-on-sexuality

What led to Ian Rankin's success as a fiction crime writer? According to him, it only took five good habits!
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/five-habits-that-led-to-ian-rankins-success-as-a-fiction-crime-writer/article27154658/

COMMUNITY EVENTS

SPOKEN INK
Featuring poet Bonnie Nish and her daughter Ali Denno on Thursday Nov. 12th at 8:00 p.m. at a new location, Wings Pub & Grill, 6879 Kingsway, Burnaby.

MIJI CAMPBELL
Miji Campbell author of Separation Anxiety A Coming Of Middle Age Story. Book signing Saturday November 14th 2.00 pm Book Warehouse 4118 Main St. More Info. 604 879-7737.

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 ticketstonight.ticketforce.com/eventperformances.asp?evt=3021.

JUNE HUTTON
June Hutton in conversation in discussion of her new novel Two-Gun and Sun Wednesday November 18th 7.00 pm. Book Warehouse Main Street Novel Nights Series. Book Warehouse 4118 Main Street More Info: 604 879-7737.

ANN WALMSLEY
Ann Walmsley author of The Prison Book Club. Reading and Book Signing. Thursday November 19th 7.00 pm Book Warehouse 4118 Main Street More Info. 604 879-7737.

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 jewishbookfestival.ca.

VANCOUVER VANISHES
Book Launch of Vancouver Vanishes Narratives of Demolition and Revival featuring Caroline Adderson, Eve Lazarus, Kerry Gold, John Atkin and Michael Kluckner Monday November 23rd 7.00 pm Book Warehouse 4118 Main Street More Info. 604-879-7737.

ELIZABETH MCLEAN
Elizabeth McLean author of The Swallows Uncaged. Discussion and Book Signing. Tuesday November 24th 7.00 pm Book Warehouse 4118 Main Street More Info 604 879-7737.

Upcoming

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.