The Hot Sheet
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Cancellation: Justin Trudeau in conversation with Stephen Quinn
Due to yesterday’s tragic events in Ottawa, Justin Trudeau’s appearance in Vancouver as part of the Vancouver Writers Fest has been cancelled.
We were informed this morning by his publisher, HarperCollinsCanada, that Trudeau will no longer be able to travel to Vancouver this week and that all efforts would be made to reschedule the event in future.
Trudeau was to talk with the CBC host Stephen Quinn at St. Andrew’s-Wesley United Church on Friday, October 24, about his new memoir, which was released Monday.
We have taken the event off sale and are notifying patrons about refunding their ticket purchases.
#Discovery Contest
Tweet or instagram your Festival discovery with hashtags #vwf2014 and #discovery for a chance to win tickets to our events with Bruce Cockburn (November 10) and Alan Doyle (November 13)! Click here for complete contest details, http://writersfest.bc.ca/prefaces/tavia/discovery-contest.
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Event 45: Odd Jobs | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/58-familiar-haunts
Ian Hamilton | Lee Henderson | Anne Kennedy
Through fiction, we get a chance to meet characters who wouldn’t normally cross our paths. Ian Hamilton’s Ava Lee series stars a stylish, young forensic accountant, Lee Henderson’s protagonist is a cartoonist who lives in the brash optimism of the 1980s and Anne Kennedy’s novel features a seamstress who repairs torn garments, and becomes entangled in the truths and lies behind each rip.
Event 46: The Hook | Performance Works | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/46-hook
Aislinn Hunter | Eric McCormack | Sarah Waters | Ian Weir
Suspense, rollicking action and magic realism—hooking the reader is the focus of tonight’s discussion. Join Aislinn Hunter, who brings the past to life, Eric McCormack, “a spellbinder,” Sarah Waters, master of psychological tension, and Ian Weir, with his “uncanny ear for the earthy slang of Regency London.”
Event 47: Truth and Fiction | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/47-truth-and-fiction
Jacqueline Baker | Damon Galgut | Steven Galloway
The complexities of fictionalizing the lives of real people are up for discussion this evening. Steven Galloway’s The Confabulist is based on the life of Houdini. Damon Galgut based his novel on the life of E.M. Forster over the 12 years that he was writing A Passage to India. And Jacqueline Baker’s novel is a haunting portrait of America’s first horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft.
Friday, October 24
Event 51: Pure Poetry | Waterfront Theatre | 10:00 am
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/51-pure-poetry
Kris Demeanor | Eve Joseph | Anne Kennedy | Christopher Levenson | Sina Queyras | Katherena Vermette
Confessional, lyric, lavish and spare, the poets reading this morning are as varied as the tools of expression at their disposal. This is an occasion to sit back and savour every perfectly place word, as well as revel in its delivery.
Event 58: Familiar Haunts | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/58-familiar-haunts
Jacqueline Baker | Eric McCormack | Russell Wangersky
Ready for some hair-raising tales from three frightfully good Canadian writers? Jacqueline Baker, whose compelling, creepy novel features the frightening H.P. Lovecraft. Eric McCormack’s masterpiece of literary Gothicism stars a man haunted by his past. And Russell Wangersky’s dark psychological thriller spotlights a grocery store cleaner who collects the shopping lists people leave behind.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Thursday, October 23, 2014
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Hot Sheet #3 - Wednesday, October 22
The Hot Sheet
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Event 46: The Hook | Performance Works | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/46-hook
Aislinn Hunter | Eric McCormack | Sarah Waters | Ian Weir
Suspense, rollicking action and magic realism—hooking the reader is the focus of tonight’s discussion. Join Aislinn Hunter, who brings the past to life, Eric McCormack, “a spellbinder,” Sarah Waters, master of psychological tension, and Ian Weir, with his “uncanny ear for the earthy slang of Regency London.”
Event 47: Truth and Fiction | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/47-truth-and-fiction
Jacqueline Baker | Damon Galgut | Steven Galloway
The complexities of fictionalizing the lives of real people are up for discussion this evening. Steven Galloway’s The Confabulist is based on the life of Houdini. Damon Galgut based his novel on the life of E.M. Forster over the 12 years that he was writing A Passage to India. And Jacqueline Baker’s novel is a haunting portrait of America’s first horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Event 46: The Hook | Performance Works | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/46-hook
Aislinn Hunter | Eric McCormack | Sarah Waters | Ian Weir
Suspense, rollicking action and magic realism—hooking the reader is the focus of tonight’s discussion. Join Aislinn Hunter, who brings the past to life, Eric McCormack, “a spellbinder,” Sarah Waters, master of psychological tension, and Ian Weir, with his “uncanny ear for the earthy slang of Regency London.”
Event 47: Truth and Fiction | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/47-truth-and-fiction
Jacqueline Baker | Damon Galgut | Steven Galloway
The complexities of fictionalizing the lives of real people are up for discussion this evening. Steven Galloway’s The Confabulist is based on the life of Houdini. Damon Galgut based his novel on the life of E.M. Forster over the 12 years that he was writing A Passage to India. And Jacqueline Baker’s novel is a haunting portrait of America’s first horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Hot Sheet #2 - Tuesday, October 21
The Hot Sheet
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Tuesday, October 21
Event 9: China: The Challenge of Democracy | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/9-china-challenge-democracy
Paul Evans | Charles Foran | Madeleine Thien
A roundtable of articulate and insightful authors will touch on the significant ideas in Evan Osnos’ Age of Ambition, as well as the tumultuous events taking place in Hong Kong. Join novelists Charles Foran and Madeleine Thien, and Dr. Paul Evans, Director of the Institute for Asian Research at UBC.
Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride
Meet one of Ireland’s newest and most innovative voices. Eimear McBride’s debut novel A Girl is a Half Formed Thing won the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and has been dubbed “a future classic” by The New York Times.
Event 11: Waking from the American Dream | Improv Centre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/11-waking-american-dream
Joshua Ferris | Cristina Henríquez | Matthew Thomas
Three exciting voices from a new generation of American writers: Joshua Ferris, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Cristina Henríquez, “one of fiction’s new luminaries,” and Matthew Thomas, whose debut novel sparked a bidding war and sold for $1 million. The three talk to Granta editor John Freeman.
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Tuesday, October 21
Event 9: China: The Challenge of Democracy | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/9-china-challenge-democracy
Paul Evans | Charles Foran | Madeleine Thien
A roundtable of articulate and insightful authors will touch on the significant ideas in Evan Osnos’ Age of Ambition, as well as the tumultuous events taking place in Hong Kong. Join novelists Charles Foran and Madeleine Thien, and Dr. Paul Evans, Director of the Institute for Asian Research at UBC.
Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride
Meet one of Ireland’s newest and most innovative voices. Eimear McBride’s debut novel A Girl is a Half Formed Thing won the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and has been dubbed “a future classic” by The New York Times.
Event 11: Waking from the American Dream | Improv Centre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/11-waking-american-dream
Joshua Ferris | Cristina Henríquez | Matthew Thomas
Three exciting voices from a new generation of American writers: Joshua Ferris, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Cristina Henríquez, “one of fiction’s new luminaries,” and Matthew Thomas, whose debut novel sparked a bidding war and sold for $1 million. The three talk to Granta editor John Freeman.
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Monday, October 20, 2014
The Hot Sheet - Monday, October 20
The Hot Sheet
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Monday, October 20
Event 87: Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake | Waterfront Theatre | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/87-tim-winton-conversation-hal-wake
A rare but very welcome return to the Writers Fest by one of Australia’s most beloved novelists. Tim Winton has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize twice and won the Miles Franklin Award four times. He’ll talk to Artistic Director Hal Wake about his latest, Eyrie, “a novel for which our culture has been in urgent need.”
Tuesday, October 21
Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride
Meet one of Ireland’s newest and most innovative voices. Eimear McBride’s debut novel A Girl is a Half Formed Thing won the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and has been dubbed “a future classic” by The New York Times.
Event 11: Waking from the American Dream | Improv Centre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/11-waking-american-dream
Joshua Ferris | Cristina Henríquez | Matthew Thomas
Three exciting voices from a new generation of American writers: Joshua Ferris, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Cristina Henríquez, “one of fiction’s new luminaries,” and Matthew Thomas, whose debut novel sparked a bidding war and sold for $1 million. The three talk to Granta editor John Freeman.
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Fantastic Festival events with tickets still available!
Monday, October 20
Event 87: Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake | Waterfront Theatre | 8:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/87-tim-winton-conversation-hal-wake
A rare but very welcome return to the Writers Fest by one of Australia’s most beloved novelists. Tim Winton has been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize twice and won the Miles Franklin Award four times. He’ll talk to Artistic Director Hal Wake about his latest, Eyrie, “a novel for which our culture has been in urgent need.”
Tuesday, October 21
Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride
Meet one of Ireland’s newest and most innovative voices. Eimear McBride’s debut novel A Girl is a Half Formed Thing won the 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and has been dubbed “a future classic” by The New York Times.
Event 11: Waking from the American Dream | Improv Centre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/11-waking-american-dream
Joshua Ferris | Cristina Henríquez | Matthew Thomas
Three exciting voices from a new generation of American writers: Joshua Ferris, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, Cristina Henríquez, “one of fiction’s new luminaries,” and Matthew Thomas, whose debut novel sparked a bidding war and sold for $1 million. The three talk to Granta editor John Freeman.
Wednesday, October 22
Event 25: A Community of Characters | Waterfront Theatre | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters
Maylis de Kerangal | Cristina Henríquez | Kate Pullinger
Cristina Henríquez portrays a family of Hispanic immigrants struggling with life in America. The lives of Maylis de Kerangal’s 12 characters become interconnected as they work to build a bridge, and Kate Pullinger’s novel reveals a family that is growing apart, until an incredible event pulls them back together.
Event 26: The Real Deal | Studio 1398 | 6:00 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/26-real-deal
Marie Lu | Robert Paul Weston
Young, talented and brimming with creativity, Marie Lu and Robert Paul Weston have made buzz-worthy debuts. The bestselling author of the Legend series, Lu is back with The Young Elites. And Weston mixes music and mystery to tell the age old story of growing up.
Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy | Waterfront Theatre | 8:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/29-evening-james-ellroy
Best known for his LA Quartet series, which includes The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, James Ellroy has returned to the lives of some of his best-known characters with his new novel Perfidia. Spend an evening with this master of noir, who writes crime fiction on an “epic, transcendental scale.”
Thursday, October 23
Event 43: My Life in Middlemarch | Performance Works | 6:30 pm
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/43-my-life-middlemarch
The New Yorker staff writer Rebecca Mead first read Middlemarch at the age of 17 and, since then, has read it every five years or so. Join Mead as she explores “the way a book can insert itself into a reader’s own life story” and reflect on the impact of your favourite novel.
Purchase Festival Tickets
http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/tickets
Festival Box Office, 1398 Cartwright Street, Granville Island
Vancouvertix.com | 604-629-8849
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 33
BOOK NEWS
The Vancouver Writers Fest starts next week, with 88 events for readers of all interests. Discover your new favourite author Starting next week we’ll be sending out a daily hot sheet with up-to-the-minute event information.
Join us for some great conversations with writers from around the world:
Due to popular demand: an added event with Australian literary star Tim Winton (Event 87: Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake)
Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Eimear McBride–one of Ireland’s most innovative voices (Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride)
Maylis de Kerangal, Cristina Henriques and Kate Pullinger on our interconnectedness (Event 25: A Community of Characters)
National Book Award short-listed author Rabih Alameddine (Event 55: Books Beget Books)
Saturday morning in a strange new world-with Sebastien de Castell, A.M. Dellamonica and William Gibson (Event 64: Probables and Impossibles)
Dionne Brand, Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Christos Tsiolkas on social and political engagement (Event 73: Rules of Engagement
Emma Donoghue, David Homel and Jane Smiley talk about cultural change, history and personal stories (Event 80: The Life and Times)
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors (Michael Crummey, Charles Foran, Steven Galloway, Anne Kennedy, Thomas King, Heather O'Neill, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky) and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Jane Smiley owes much of her courageousness to her absent father. "A girl who is overlooked has a good chance of not learning what it is she is supposed to do...Sometimes, from the outside, my work and my life look daring, but I am not a daring person. I am just a person who was never taught what not to try."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/absent-father
Dionne Brand recently dropped by the Winnipeg News Café to discuss her newest book, Love Enough. If you missed the interview, you can stream it here:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/278658241.html
According to Marthine Satris in this enlightening review of Eimear McBride's A Girl is a Half Formed Thing, the book is "not about the girl becoming a woman on her own, but about the family and her reaction to them."
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing-by-eimear-mcbride/
Karl Ove Knausgaard's vast autobiographic novel, My Struggle, "turns inner life into literature on a grand scale." It is also, in part, "a challenge to old notions about what is worthy of being recorded, a test of prose's power not just to describe the mundane, but to fill it with significance."
http://www.straight.com/life/744871/karl-ove-knausgaard-turns-inner-life-literature-grand-scale
In Kim Thúy's new novel, Mãn, the eponymous heroine, a Vietnamese chef in Montreal, has an affair with a married chef in Paris. For Thúy, food and love are often intermingled, since "in Asian culture, we don't necessarily verbalize our love or our affection for the people around...and so our best way to do it is through food."
http://www.straight.com/life/744876/kim-thuy-reflects-love-and-language-food
Ann-Marie MacDonald once declared that everything she writes is autobiographical. In Adult Onset, the protagonist could almost be herself, a woman with three names, "born on a German military base to a Cape Breton-born father and mother of Lebanese extraction," as well as a bestselling author, married to a theatre director, who "endured an agonizing coming out process."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/10/10/adult_onset_by_annmarie_macdonald_review.html
Johanna Skibsrud is interested in "connecting history's dots." Even more specifically, it was her search for connections between the experience of veterans and society that led her to explore a piece of music, Messaien's Quatuor pour la fin du temps, which inspired the title of her newest work.
http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/books/johann-skibsrud
According to the CBC, there are five things to learn from reading Kathleen Winter's new work Boundless: "1. Say yes to adventure. 2. Embrace the unknown. 3. Appreciate beauty. 4. Everyone has something to learn–and to teach. 5. All land is sacred." That list is explained here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/10/5-things-you-learn-from-boundless-by-kathleen-winter.html
AWARDS & LISTS
Australian novelist Richard Flanagan has won the Man Booker prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, a "magnificent novel of love and war" that tells the harrowing stories of prisoners and captors on the Burma railway.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/14/richard-flanagan-wins-man-booker-prize-2014
Festival author Rabih Alameddine has been shortlisted for the National Book Award for his novel An Unnecessary Woman.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/15/national-book-awards-shortlist-cartoonist-roz-chast
Naomi Klein is the winner of the Hilary Weston Prize for This Changes Everything.
http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/2014/10/15/naomi-klein-hilary-weston-prize/
November 1 is the deadline for the CBC Short Story Competition. Send your original, unpublished work for a chance to win $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency at the Banff Centre and publication in Air Canada's enRoute Magazine.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/shortstory/
Want to experience a real world 'choose your own adventure' story that you can stroll through? The Active Fiction Project's newest walking story will launch shortly.
http://activefictionproject.com/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best culturally diverse children's books? Here's a list of the fifty best children's books published from 1950 to the present day that celebrate ethnic and cultural diversity.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/13/50-best-culturally-diverse-childrens-books
NEWS & FEATURES
Do we read differently at different ages? Daniel Mendelsohn and Pankaj Mishra discuss how we interpret The Catcher in the Rye, Antigone, The Red and the Black and Kierkegaard at different stages of life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/books/review/do-we-read-differently-at-different-ages.html
What would have happened if Kafka's books had been burned? "'Kafkaesque' would have a very different definition if Max Brod had consigned his friend's unpublished manuscripts to the flames as requested."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/oct/14/reading-group-what-if-kafkas-books-had-been-burned
Censorship in China has become a boon to book sales. "Having a book banned in China is often a marketing coup for publishers selling copies abroad...'Smothering someone is as good as crowning that person... A 'smothering' order is a reading list.'"
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/10/13/rumors-of-book-ban-boosts-authors-in-china/
Is there such a thing as "office literature?" "If there is a politics of the white-collar novel in the United States, it is this: office fiction is deliberately and narrowly construed as being about manners, sociability, gossip, the micro-struggles for rank and status—in other words, 'office politics'—rather than about the work that is done in offices."
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/bartlebys-all
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ordinary Sins is the name of this week's New Yorker story. Written by Kirstin Valdez Quade, it's the tale of a young pregnant woman who works in the parish office of a Catholic church.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-this-week-kirstin-valdez-quade-2014-10-20
Brian Gilmore is a poet, public interest attorney and columnist whose newest collection of poetry, We Didn't Know Any Gangsters, is a counterpoint to the recent atrocity in Ferguson, Missouri. He discusses why it acts like a "companion text" to Michael Brown's murder and the resulting protests, and yet is also "his most personal collection," here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-rumpus-interview-with-brian-gilmore/
Last week the French writer Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In this piece, we learn about his "postwar world."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/patrick-modianos-postwar
"Biographies, when they matter, can act as a kind of corrective to the subject's boorishness. All that the star could not achieve in life—tenderness, care, responsibility toward others—doesn't get vanquished in great studies so much as explained and folded into the grand story of the complicated, arresting self. " On that note, a new biography of Tennessee Williams has emerged.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/man-queered-broadway
COMMUNITY EVENTS
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
POETRY READING
Susan McCaslin and Jane Munro will be reading from their recent volumes of poetry at the On Edge Reading Series, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, South Building 406, Granville Island, Thurs. Oct. 16, 2014, 7 pm. Jane reads from Blue Sonoma (Brick Books, 2014) and Susan from The Disarmed Heart (The St. Thomas Poetry Series, 2014).
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
EILEEN KERNAGHAN
Author reads from her new book Sophie, In Shadow. Sunday, October 19 at 1:00pm. Renaissance Books, 43-6th Street, New Westminster. More information at renaissancebookstore.com.
THE OUTER HARBOUR
Poet and writer Wayde Compton reads from his debut short-story collection The Outer Harbour, which explores themes of race, migration, home, colonialism, and gentrification. Sunday, October 19 at 2:00pm, Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Also features Susan Paddon. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
The 21st annual writers' weekend features over 70 workshops and chances for one-on-one meetings with well-known authors, agents, and editors. October 24-26, 2014. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, 15269 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at siwc.ca.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
CANADIAN SPACEWALKERS
Join CBC Quirks & Quarks' Bob McDonald for an astonishing journey into the stars to celebrate Canadian Spacewalkers: Hadfield, MacLean and Williams Remember the Ultimate High Adventure. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut, Vancouver. Register by calling 604-738-7827.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Reading by Robert "Lucky" Budd from his new book Echoes of British Columbia. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
SECOND GROWTH
Author Fabienne Calvert Filteau's launches debut collection of poetry. Also featuring local poets Jen Currin, Surya Govender and Daniela Elza. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr Vancouver. For
more information: Co-op Books: (604) 253-6442 or daniela@livingcode.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
Upcoming
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at :00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writerers with extensive public reading experience will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov on Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
The Vancouver Writers Fest starts next week, with 88 events for readers of all interests. Discover your new favourite author Starting next week we’ll be sending out a daily hot sheet with up-to-the-minute event information.
Join us for some great conversations with writers from around the world:
Due to popular demand: an added event with Australian literary star Tim Winton (Event 87: Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake)
Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction winner Eimear McBride–one of Ireland’s most innovative voices (Event 10: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride)
Maylis de Kerangal, Cristina Henriques and Kate Pullinger on our interconnectedness (Event 25: A Community of Characters)
National Book Award short-listed author Rabih Alameddine (Event 55: Books Beget Books)
Saturday morning in a strange new world-with Sebastien de Castell, A.M. Dellamonica and William Gibson (Event 64: Probables and Impossibles)
Dionne Brand, Thomas King, Lee Maracle and Christos Tsiolkas on social and political engagement (Event 73: Rules of Engagement
Emma Donoghue, David Homel and Jane Smiley talk about cultural change, history and personal stories (Event 80: The Life and Times)
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors (Michael Crummey, Charles Foran, Steven Galloway, Anne Kennedy, Thomas King, Heather O'Neill, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky) and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Jane Smiley owes much of her courageousness to her absent father. "A girl who is overlooked has a good chance of not learning what it is she is supposed to do...Sometimes, from the outside, my work and my life look daring, but I am not a daring person. I am just a person who was never taught what not to try."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/absent-father
Dionne Brand recently dropped by the Winnipeg News Café to discuss her newest book, Love Enough. If you missed the interview, you can stream it here:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/books/278658241.html
According to Marthine Satris in this enlightening review of Eimear McBride's A Girl is a Half Formed Thing, the book is "not about the girl becoming a woman on her own, but about the family and her reaction to them."
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing-by-eimear-mcbride/
Karl Ove Knausgaard's vast autobiographic novel, My Struggle, "turns inner life into literature on a grand scale." It is also, in part, "a challenge to old notions about what is worthy of being recorded, a test of prose's power not just to describe the mundane, but to fill it with significance."
http://www.straight.com/life/744871/karl-ove-knausgaard-turns-inner-life-literature-grand-scale
In Kim Thúy's new novel, Mãn, the eponymous heroine, a Vietnamese chef in Montreal, has an affair with a married chef in Paris. For Thúy, food and love are often intermingled, since "in Asian culture, we don't necessarily verbalize our love or our affection for the people around...and so our best way to do it is through food."
http://www.straight.com/life/744876/kim-thuy-reflects-love-and-language-food
Ann-Marie MacDonald once declared that everything she writes is autobiographical. In Adult Onset, the protagonist could almost be herself, a woman with three names, "born on a German military base to a Cape Breton-born father and mother of Lebanese extraction," as well as a bestselling author, married to a theatre director, who "endured an agonizing coming out process."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/10/10/adult_onset_by_annmarie_macdonald_review.html
Johanna Skibsrud is interested in "connecting history's dots." Even more specifically, it was her search for connections between the experience of veterans and society that led her to explore a piece of music, Messaien's Quatuor pour la fin du temps, which inspired the title of her newest work.
http://ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/books/johann-skibsrud
According to the CBC, there are five things to learn from reading Kathleen Winter's new work Boundless: "1. Say yes to adventure. 2. Embrace the unknown. 3. Appreciate beauty. 4. Everyone has something to learn–and to teach. 5. All land is sacred." That list is explained here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/10/5-things-you-learn-from-boundless-by-kathleen-winter.html
AWARDS & LISTS
Australian novelist Richard Flanagan has won the Man Booker prize for The Narrow Road to the Deep North, a "magnificent novel of love and war" that tells the harrowing stories of prisoners and captors on the Burma railway.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/14/richard-flanagan-wins-man-booker-prize-2014
Festival author Rabih Alameddine has been shortlisted for the National Book Award for his novel An Unnecessary Woman.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/15/national-book-awards-shortlist-cartoonist-roz-chast
Naomi Klein is the winner of the Hilary Weston Prize for This Changes Everything.
http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/2014/10/15/naomi-klein-hilary-weston-prize/
November 1 is the deadline for the CBC Short Story Competition. Send your original, unpublished work for a chance to win $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a writing residency at the Banff Centre and publication in Air Canada's enRoute Magazine.
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/literaryprizes/shortstory/
Want to experience a real world 'choose your own adventure' story that you can stroll through? The Active Fiction Project's newest walking story will launch shortly.
http://activefictionproject.com/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best culturally diverse children's books? Here's a list of the fifty best children's books published from 1950 to the present day that celebrate ethnic and cultural diversity.
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/13/50-best-culturally-diverse-childrens-books
NEWS & FEATURES
Do we read differently at different ages? Daniel Mendelsohn and Pankaj Mishra discuss how we interpret The Catcher in the Rye, Antigone, The Red and the Black and Kierkegaard at different stages of life.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/books/review/do-we-read-differently-at-different-ages.html
What would have happened if Kafka's books had been burned? "'Kafkaesque' would have a very different definition if Max Brod had consigned his friend's unpublished manuscripts to the flames as requested."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2014/oct/14/reading-group-what-if-kafkas-books-had-been-burned
Censorship in China has become a boon to book sales. "Having a book banned in China is often a marketing coup for publishers selling copies abroad...'Smothering someone is as good as crowning that person... A 'smothering' order is a reading list.'"
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2014/10/13/rumors-of-book-ban-boosts-authors-in-china/
Is there such a thing as "office literature?" "If there is a politics of the white-collar novel in the United States, it is this: office fiction is deliberately and narrowly construed as being about manners, sociability, gossip, the micro-struggles for rank and status—in other words, 'office politics'—rather than about the work that is done in offices."
http://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/bartlebys-all
BOOKS & WRITERS
Ordinary Sins is the name of this week's New Yorker story. Written by Kirstin Valdez Quade, it's the tale of a young pregnant woman who works in the parish office of a Catholic church.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/fiction-this-week-kirstin-valdez-quade-2014-10-20
Brian Gilmore is a poet, public interest attorney and columnist whose newest collection of poetry, We Didn't Know Any Gangsters, is a counterpoint to the recent atrocity in Ferguson, Missouri. He discusses why it acts like a "companion text" to Michael Brown's murder and the resulting protests, and yet is also "his most personal collection," here:
http://therumpus.net/2014/10/the-rumpus-interview-with-brian-gilmore/
Last week the French writer Patrick Modiano won the Nobel Prize for Literature. In this piece, we learn about his "postwar world."
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/patrick-modianos-postwar
"Biographies, when they matter, can act as a kind of corrective to the subject's boorishness. All that the star could not achieve in life—tenderness, care, responsibility toward others—doesn't get vanquished in great studies so much as explained and folded into the grand story of the complicated, arresting self. " On that note, a new biography of Tennessee Williams has emerged.
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/man-queered-broadway
COMMUNITY EVENTS
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
POETRY READING
Susan McCaslin and Jane Munro will be reading from their recent volumes of poetry at the On Edge Reading Series, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, South Building 406, Granville Island, Thurs. Oct. 16, 2014, 7 pm. Jane reads from Blue Sonoma (Brick Books, 2014) and Susan from The Disarmed Heart (The St. Thomas Poetry Series, 2014).
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
EILEEN KERNAGHAN
Author reads from her new book Sophie, In Shadow. Sunday, October 19 at 1:00pm. Renaissance Books, 43-6th Street, New Westminster. More information at renaissancebookstore.com.
THE OUTER HARBOUR
Poet and writer Wayde Compton reads from his debut short-story collection The Outer Harbour, which explores themes of race, migration, home, colonialism, and gentrification. Sunday, October 19 at 2:00pm, Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Also features Susan Paddon. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
The 21st annual writers' weekend features over 70 workshops and chances for one-on-one meetings with well-known authors, agents, and editors. October 24-26, 2014. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, 15269 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at siwc.ca.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
CANADIAN SPACEWALKERS
Join CBC Quirks & Quarks' Bob McDonald for an astonishing journey into the stars to celebrate Canadian Spacewalkers: Hadfield, MacLean and Williams Remember the Ultimate High Adventure. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut, Vancouver. Register by calling 604-738-7827.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Reading by Robert "Lucky" Budd from his new book Echoes of British Columbia. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
SECOND GROWTH
Author Fabienne Calvert Filteau's launches debut collection of poetry. Also featuring local poets Jen Currin, Surya Govender and Daniela Elza. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr Vancouver. For
more information: Co-op Books: (604) 253-6442 or daniela@livingcode.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
Upcoming
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at :00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writerers with extensive public reading experience will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov on Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 32
BOOK NEWS
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and the Festival is just around the corner. Still looking for Festival tickets? Check out these events:
Event 11: Waking From the American Dream - Joshua Ferris, Cristina Henriquez, Matthew Thomas; Event 13: My Way – Charles, Foran, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Eimear McBride; Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy; Event 45: Odd Jobs – Ian Hamilton, Lee Henderson, Anne Kennedy; Event 46: The Hook – Aislinn Hunter, Eric McCormack, Sarah Waters, Ian Weir; Event 47: Truth and Fiction – Jacquiline Baker, Damon Galgut, Steven Galloway; Event 49: Not a Mystery – Herman Koch, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky, Ian Weir.
Due to popular demand we have moved event 65 (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/65-ann-marie-macdonald-conversation-jerry-wasserman), Ann-Marie MacDonald in conversation with Jerry Wasserman and there are additional tickets available. For information on other event and venue changes see the Festival website here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/2014/updates.
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors (Michael Crummey, Charles Foran, Steven Galloway, Anne Kennedy, Thomas King, Heather O'Neill, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky) and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
A Literary Arts Centre for Vancouver? Yes. Indeed.
As Book News readers, we know you are interested in the literary arts. You may not know, however, that a group of publishers, and other interested parties are working on creating a public space to showcase the city's extraordinary practitioners in the written and spoken arts. This initiative will be the first of its kind in the city: a dynamic home for the city's vibrant publishing and writing communities, and a lively public venue for readings, launches, and other literary-related activities. They want to hear from you and for you to learn more about their ideas. If you would like to participate in the development of this unique literary space, please help by filling in the survey here, http://www.books.bc.ca/literary-arts-centre-vancouver.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Jane Smiley is "the sort of writer who secretly drives other writers a little bit crazy. She's prolific and successful, untroubled by neuroses or blockages, with no messy blots of drinking or drug-taking on her résumé." Her latest novel is called Some Luck, and she discusses it here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/books/jane-smileys-some-luck-is-the-first-in-a-trilogy.html
Colm Tóibín's new novel, Nora Webster, belongs to a long tradition—the literature of grief. It "draws on his memories of his father's death–in doing so, it joins a rich tradition of writing about loss, from Sophocles to Joan Didion."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/02/colm-toibin-literature-of-grief
The notion of the writer sitting in a café and watching the world go by doesn't mean much to Dionne Brand. Instead, she prefers to walk the streets of the city, in her case, Toronto, in order to find its pulse "and imprint it in the pages of her books."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2014/09/25/dionne_brands_new_novel_set_in_toronto_is_about_love.html
Michael Cho's graphic novel, Shoplifter, is "that rare thing, a graphic novel debut in which text and illustrations fit together like two halves of the same mind." It's the tale of a woman's journey from malaise to health, depression to hope, and from arrested development to the beginnings of adulthood.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/10/01/book-review-shoplifter-michael-cho/lVDPWcs7RNL1EOK424reeK/story.html
Why novelize a novelist's life? Arctic Summer, Damon Galgut's novel about E.M. Forster, "is the first great flowering of the post-Moffatt Forster [Moffat is one of his most important biographers], an image of the novelist that wouldn't have been nearly as credible a decade ago. What better homage can a novelist pay to a biographer than that?"
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/novelize-novelist
The protagonist of Ann-Marie MacDonald's new book, Adult Onset, is also a struggling writer, albeit a completely fictional one (with some echoes of MacDonald herself, of course). The Globe and Mail has hailed it "a masterpiece."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/with-adult-onset-ann-marie-macdonald-has-yet-again-delivered-a-masterpiece/article20913210/
Did William Gibson's Neuromancer blueprint our reality? "It's difficult to tell whether Gibson foresaw the future or whether the future, designed by technologists who idolized Gibson's novels, self-consciously imitated his novel."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/05/american-dreams-did-william-gibson-s-neuromancer-blueprint-our-reality.html
Eimear McBride's A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing has been translated "perfectly to the stage in Corn Exchange's startling and upsetting Dublin theatre festival show about the impact of sexual abuse." The production is "courageously feminist," linking McBride to other undaunted explorers of female sexuality: Marina Abramovic and Sarah Kane.
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/30/a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing-review-eimear-mcbride-dublin-theatre-festival
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists for the Rogers Writers' Trust fiction prize have been announced, with four of the five appearing at this year's Vancouver Writers Fest. Congratulations to Miriam Toews, K.D. Miller, Carrie Snyder, and Steven Galloway.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/10/01/miriam_toews_steven_galloway_among_finalists_for_rogers_writers_trust_fiction_prize.html
The Giller Prize finalists have also been named. Heather O'Neill and Miriam Toews, both coming to 2014 Writers Fest, were among the six authors to be considered for the $100,000 prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/scotiabank-giller-prize-toews-bezmozgis-among-six-finalists-for-100000-fiction-award/article20943614/
Last but not least, the finalists for the Governor-General Literary Awards have been unveiled. Michael Crummey, Christopher Levenson, and Thomas King, also appearing at this year's Writers Fest, were among the chosen few.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/governor-general-finalists-unveiled/article20959928/
France's Patrick Modiano wins the Nobel for literature.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/french-author-patrick-modiano-wins-the-nobel-for-literature/article21002192/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best art books for children? Here are some "inspiring books to help older children feel more confident about creating their own art."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/06/the-best-art-books-for-children
NEWS & FEATURES
The e-book is a medium that's unstable in its very nature, as technology is upgraded constantly, content is modified, advertisements are swapped in and out, and access is rescinded. Taking all this into account, how do libraries, therefore, preserve them?
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/64271-check-it-out-with-michael-kelley-how-libraries-preserve-e-books.html
Every year Book Riot compiles a list of the ten best literary TED talks of the year. This year's includes Isabel Allende on "how to live passionately," literary critic Stephen Burt's take on "why people need poetry," and designer Matthew Carter's "life in typefaces."
http://bookriot.com/2014/10/06/10-best-literary-ted-talks-year/
Speaking of design, the city of Calgary has revealed pans for a stunning new library. "If these 3D renderings are any indication, Calgarians can expect to have one of the world's most ambitious, modern and beautifully designed downtown libraries in the near future."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/09/see-designs-for-calgarys-incredibly-beautiful-new-library.html
Meanwhile, at the library in Westport, Connecticut, two new creatures are set to appear: robots who walk, dance and talk in nineteen different languages...and will help you find your books.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/coming-soon-to-the-library-humanoid-robots-1412015687
But why ask your friendly neighbourhood robot for help when you could just mine the literature of your Gchat history instead? In this Salon piece, we learn about "our Gchats, ourselves: Why chat excerpts make good literature."
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/01/our_gchats_ourselves_how_the_g_transcript_became_the_closest_chronicle_of_modern_life/
BOOKS & WRITERS
"You have to live with your mind your whole life. You build your mind, so make it into something you want to live with" says Marilynn Robinson in this interview with The New York Times. Lila is her first novel since 2008, one of two sequels (of sorts) to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/magazine/the-revelations-of-marilynne-robinson.html
"A book can be an inspiration or a murder weapon," says Lyudmila Ulitskaya, whose new novel, The Big Green Tent, will be appearing in English-language markets next year. It was written as a challenge to the Russian state, addressing subjects that just might make many readers uncomfortable.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/weight-words
Scheherazade, by Haruki Murakami, is the name of this week's New Yorker story. It's a tale of a man being held in a house that he cannot leave, visited twice weekly by a woman who "has been hired to bring him food and supplies, and perhaps also to attend to his sexual needs."
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/13/scheherazade-3
Famed film director David Cronenberg has written his first novel, Consumed, called "one of the strangest books you'll encounter all year." He discusses the book, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/david-cronenbergs-debut-novel-consumed-is-one-of-the-strangest-books-youll-encounter-all-year/article20915200/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
literASIAN 2014
Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writing. Featuring Doretta Lau, Elaine Woo, Fred Wah, Louise Bak, Lily Chow, Yasuko Nguyen Thanh, and many more. October 9-12, 2014. Details and more information at literasian.ricepapermagazine.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
Readings by Alex Leslie, Rita Wong and lee williams boudakian. Thursday, October 9 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring new poetry by Janet Rogers and Chris Bose. Thursday, October 9 at 7:00pm, free. Grunt Gallery, 116-350 2nd Ave. E., Vancouver.
WORLD POETRY VANCOUVER
Celebrate World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival with an evening with poets Ariadne Sawyer, Angelica Pohveherskie, Anita Aguirre Nieveras, Yilin Wang, Bong Ja Ahn, Peter Lojewski, Selene Bertelsen, Una Bruhns, and Jemma Downes. Saturday, October 11 at 1:00pm, free. Britannia branch, VPL, 1661 Napier Street.
DIVERSE VOICES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE
Authors will introduce their latest work: Nilofar Shidmehr (Iran) Between LiveS, Phinder Dulai (South Asia) dream/arteries, and Julia Lin (Taiwan) Miah. Emcee: Narges Govahi (Iran). Sunday, October 12 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
LLAMA LLAMA PYJAMA PARTY
Dress up and meet author-illustrator Anna Dewdney as she introduces both Llama Llama and her latest creation, Nelly Gnu. Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm. Kidsbooks South Surrey, 15033-32nd Ave., Surrey. More information and to purchase tickets here, kidsbooks.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Tim Bowling and Donato Mancini are the featured poets. Wednesday, October 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Former lawyer and author of the popular historical novel The Midwife of Venice reads from the sequel The Harem Midwife. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm. White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
TIM BOWLING
Tim Bowling reads from his new book, Circa Nineteen Hundred and Grief (Gaspereau Press). Sponsored by The Alcuin Society, Gaspereau Press and VPL. Wednesday, October 15, at 7:00 pm, free. Peter Kaye Room, Central Library, 350 West Georgia, Vancouver. More info at alcuinsociety.com/blog.
DAN NEIL
Launch of the author's new novel My June. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free and refreshments will be provided. Delta Town and Country Inn. More information at ronsdalepress.com.
PEDAL
Chelsea Rooney launches her debut novel, Pedal. Readings and discussion also with Jen Neale, Erika Thorkelson, Tracy Stefanucci and Elizabeth Hand. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Fore more information, visit http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-chelsea-rooney-pedal/.
EXTRAORDINARY PRESENCES
A workshop/performance of The Muted Note, a song-cycle of settings of poems by the Canadian poet P.K. Page, composed and performed by Scott Thomson and Susanna Hood. Thursday, October 16 at 2:00pm. Dodson room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
EILEEN KERNAGHAN
Author reads from her new book Sophie, In Shadow. Sunday, October 19 at 1:00pm. Renaissance Books, 43-6th Street, New Westminster. More information at renaissancebookstore.com.
THE OUTER HARBOUR
Poet and writer Wayde Compton reads from his debut short-story collection The Outer Harbour, which explores themes of race, migration, home, colonialism, and gentrification. Sunday, October 19 at 2:00pm, Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
Upcoming
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Also features Susan Paddon. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
The 21st annual writers' weekend features over 70 workshops and chances for one-on-one meetings with well-known authors, agents, and editors. October 24-26, 2014. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, 15269 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at siwc.ca.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
CANADIAN SPACEWALKERS
Join CBC Quirks & Quarks' Bob McDonald for an astonishing journey into the stars to celebrate Canadian Spacewalkers: Hadfield, MacLean and Williams Remember the Ultimate High Adventure. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut, Vancouver. Register by calling 604-738-7827.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Reading by Robert "Lucky" Budd from his new book Echoes of British Columbia. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
SECOND GROWTH
Author Fabienne Calvert Filteau’s launches debut collection of poetry. Also featuring local poets Jen Currin, Surya Govender and Daniela Elza. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr Vancouver. For
more information: Co-op Books: (604) 253-6442 or daniela@livingcode.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at :00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writerers with extensive public reading experience will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov on Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
The days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and the Festival is just around the corner. Still looking for Festival tickets? Check out these events:
Event 11: Waking From the American Dream - Joshua Ferris, Cristina Henriquez, Matthew Thomas; Event 13: My Way – Charles, Foran, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Eimear McBride; Event 29: An Evening with James Ellroy; Event 45: Odd Jobs – Ian Hamilton, Lee Henderson, Anne Kennedy; Event 46: The Hook – Aislinn Hunter, Eric McCormack, Sarah Waters, Ian Weir; Event 47: Truth and Fiction – Jacquiline Baker, Damon Galgut, Steven Galloway; Event 49: Not a Mystery – Herman Koch, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky, Ian Weir.
Due to popular demand we have moved event 65 (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/65-ann-marie-macdonald-conversation-jerry-wasserman), Ann-Marie MacDonald in conversation with Jerry Wasserman and there are additional tickets available. For information on other event and venue changes see the Festival website here, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/2014/updates.
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors (Michael Crummey, Charles Foran, Steven Galloway, Anne Kennedy, Thomas King, Heather O'Neill, Carrie Snyder, Russell Wangersky) and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
A Literary Arts Centre for Vancouver? Yes. Indeed.
As Book News readers, we know you are interested in the literary arts. You may not know, however, that a group of publishers, and other interested parties are working on creating a public space to showcase the city's extraordinary practitioners in the written and spoken arts. This initiative will be the first of its kind in the city: a dynamic home for the city's vibrant publishing and writing communities, and a lively public venue for readings, launches, and other literary-related activities. They want to hear from you and for you to learn more about their ideas. If you would like to participate in the development of this unique literary space, please help by filling in the survey here, http://www.books.bc.ca/literary-arts-centre-vancouver.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Jane Smiley is "the sort of writer who secretly drives other writers a little bit crazy. She's prolific and successful, untroubled by neuroses or blockages, with no messy blots of drinking or drug-taking on her résumé." Her latest novel is called Some Luck, and she discusses it here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/07/books/jane-smileys-some-luck-is-the-first-in-a-trilogy.html
Colm Tóibín's new novel, Nora Webster, belongs to a long tradition—the literature of grief. It "draws on his memories of his father's death–in doing so, it joins a rich tradition of writing about loss, from Sophocles to Joan Didion."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/02/colm-toibin-literature-of-grief
The notion of the writer sitting in a café and watching the world go by doesn't mean much to Dionne Brand. Instead, she prefers to walk the streets of the city, in her case, Toronto, in order to find its pulse "and imprint it in the pages of her books."
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/2014/09/25/dionne_brands_new_novel_set_in_toronto_is_about_love.html
Michael Cho's graphic novel, Shoplifter, is "that rare thing, a graphic novel debut in which text and illustrations fit together like two halves of the same mind." It's the tale of a woman's journey from malaise to health, depression to hope, and from arrested development to the beginnings of adulthood.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/10/01/book-review-shoplifter-michael-cho/lVDPWcs7RNL1EOK424reeK/story.html
Why novelize a novelist's life? Arctic Summer, Damon Galgut's novel about E.M. Forster, "is the first great flowering of the post-Moffatt Forster [Moffat is one of his most important biographers], an image of the novelist that wouldn't have been nearly as credible a decade ago. What better homage can a novelist pay to a biographer than that?"
http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/novelize-novelist
The protagonist of Ann-Marie MacDonald's new book, Adult Onset, is also a struggling writer, albeit a completely fictional one (with some echoes of MacDonald herself, of course). The Globe and Mail has hailed it "a masterpiece."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/with-adult-onset-ann-marie-macdonald-has-yet-again-delivered-a-masterpiece/article20913210/
Did William Gibson's Neuromancer blueprint our reality? "It's difficult to tell whether Gibson foresaw the future or whether the future, designed by technologists who idolized Gibson's novels, self-consciously imitated his novel."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/05/american-dreams-did-william-gibson-s-neuromancer-blueprint-our-reality.html
Eimear McBride's A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing has been translated "perfectly to the stage in Corn Exchange's startling and upsetting Dublin theatre festival show about the impact of sexual abuse." The production is "courageously feminist," linking McBride to other undaunted explorers of female sexuality: Marina Abramovic and Sarah Kane.
http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/sep/30/a-girl-is-a-half-formed-thing-review-eimear-mcbride-dublin-theatre-festival
AWARDS & LISTS
The finalists for the Rogers Writers' Trust fiction prize have been announced, with four of the five appearing at this year's Vancouver Writers Fest. Congratulations to Miriam Toews, K.D. Miller, Carrie Snyder, and Steven Galloway.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2014/10/01/miriam_toews_steven_galloway_among_finalists_for_rogers_writers_trust_fiction_prize.html
The Giller Prize finalists have also been named. Heather O'Neill and Miriam Toews, both coming to 2014 Writers Fest, were among the six authors to be considered for the $100,000 prize.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/scotiabank-giller-prize-toews-bezmozgis-among-six-finalists-for-100000-fiction-award/article20943614/
Last but not least, the finalists for the Governor-General Literary Awards have been unveiled. Michael Crummey, Christopher Levenson, and Thomas King, also appearing at this year's Writers Fest, were among the chosen few.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/governor-general-finalists-unveiled/article20959928/
France's Patrick Modiano wins the Nobel for literature.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/french-author-patrick-modiano-wins-the-nobel-for-literature/article21002192/
YOUNG READERS
What are the best art books for children? Here are some "inspiring books to help older children feel more confident about creating their own art."
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2014/oct/06/the-best-art-books-for-children
NEWS & FEATURES
The e-book is a medium that's unstable in its very nature, as technology is upgraded constantly, content is modified, advertisements are swapped in and out, and access is rescinded. Taking all this into account, how do libraries, therefore, preserve them?
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/64271-check-it-out-with-michael-kelley-how-libraries-preserve-e-books.html
Every year Book Riot compiles a list of the ten best literary TED talks of the year. This year's includes Isabel Allende on "how to live passionately," literary critic Stephen Burt's take on "why people need poetry," and designer Matthew Carter's "life in typefaces."
http://bookriot.com/2014/10/06/10-best-literary-ted-talks-year/
Speaking of design, the city of Calgary has revealed pans for a stunning new library. "If these 3D renderings are any indication, Calgarians can expect to have one of the world's most ambitious, modern and beautifully designed downtown libraries in the near future."
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/09/see-designs-for-calgarys-incredibly-beautiful-new-library.html
Meanwhile, at the library in Westport, Connecticut, two new creatures are set to appear: robots who walk, dance and talk in nineteen different languages...and will help you find your books.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/coming-soon-to-the-library-humanoid-robots-1412015687
But why ask your friendly neighbourhood robot for help when you could just mine the literature of your Gchat history instead? In this Salon piece, we learn about "our Gchats, ourselves: Why chat excerpts make good literature."
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/01/our_gchats_ourselves_how_the_g_transcript_became_the_closest_chronicle_of_modern_life/
BOOKS & WRITERS
"You have to live with your mind your whole life. You build your mind, so make it into something you want to live with" says Marilynn Robinson in this interview with The New York Times. Lila is her first novel since 2008, one of two sequels (of sorts) to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Gilead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/magazine/the-revelations-of-marilynne-robinson.html
"A book can be an inspiration or a murder weapon," says Lyudmila Ulitskaya, whose new novel, The Big Green Tent, will be appearing in English-language markets next year. It was written as a challenge to the Russian state, addressing subjects that just might make many readers uncomfortable.
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/weight-words
Scheherazade, by Haruki Murakami, is the name of this week's New Yorker story. It's a tale of a man being held in a house that he cannot leave, visited twice weekly by a woman who "has been hired to bring him food and supplies, and perhaps also to attend to his sexual needs."
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/13/scheherazade-3
Famed film director David Cronenberg has written his first novel, Consumed, called "one of the strangest books you'll encounter all year." He discusses the book, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/david-cronenbergs-debut-novel-consumed-is-one-of-the-strangest-books-youll-encounter-all-year/article20915200/
COMMUNITY EVENTS
literASIAN 2014
Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writing. Featuring Doretta Lau, Elaine Woo, Fred Wah, Louise Bak, Lily Chow, Yasuko Nguyen Thanh, and many more. October 9-12, 2014. Details and more information at literasian.ricepapermagazine.ca.
BOOK LAUNCH
Readings by Alex Leslie, Rita Wong and lee williams boudakian. Thursday, October 9 at 7:00pm, free. Pulp Fiction Books, 2422 Main Street, Vancouver.
DOUBLE BOOK LAUNCH
Featuring new poetry by Janet Rogers and Chris Bose. Thursday, October 9 at 7:00pm, free. Grunt Gallery, 116-350 2nd Ave. E., Vancouver.
WORLD POETRY VANCOUVER
Celebrate World Poetry Canada International Peace Festival with an evening with poets Ariadne Sawyer, Angelica Pohveherskie, Anita Aguirre Nieveras, Yilin Wang, Bong Ja Ahn, Peter Lojewski, Selene Bertelsen, Una Bruhns, and Jemma Downes. Saturday, October 11 at 1:00pm, free. Britannia branch, VPL, 1661 Napier Street.
DIVERSE VOICES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE
Authors will introduce their latest work: Nilofar Shidmehr (Iran) Between LiveS, Phinder Dulai (South Asia) dream/arteries, and Julia Lin (Taiwan) Miah. Emcee: Narges Govahi (Iran). Sunday, October 12 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
LLAMA LLAMA PYJAMA PARTY
Dress up and meet author-illustrator Anna Dewdney as she introduces both Llama Llama and her latest creation, Nelly Gnu. Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm. Kidsbooks South Surrey, 15033-32nd Ave., Surrey. More information and to purchase tickets here, kidsbooks.ca.
LUNCH POEMS AT SFU
Tim Bowling and Donato Mancini are the featured poets. Wednesday, October 15 at 12:00 noon, free. SFU Harbour Centre's Teck Gallery, 515 W Hastings St. For more information visit www.sfu.ca/publicsquare/lunchpoems.
ROBERTA RICH
Former lawyer and author of the popular historical novel The Midwife of Venice reads from the sequel The Harem Midwife. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm. White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
TIM BOWLING
Tim Bowling reads from his new book, Circa Nineteen Hundred and Grief (Gaspereau Press). Sponsored by The Alcuin Society, Gaspereau Press and VPL. Wednesday, October 15, at 7:00 pm, free. Peter Kaye Room, Central Library, 350 West Georgia, Vancouver. More info at alcuinsociety.com/blog.
DAN NEIL
Launch of the author's new novel My June. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free and refreshments will be provided. Delta Town and Country Inn. More information at ronsdalepress.com.
PEDAL
Chelsea Rooney launches her debut novel, Pedal. Readings and discussion also with Jen Neale, Erika Thorkelson, Tracy Stefanucci and Elizabeth Hand. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Fore more information, visit http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-chelsea-rooney-pedal/.
EXTRAORDINARY PRESENCES
A workshop/performance of The Muted Note, a song-cycle of settings of poems by the Canadian poet P.K. Page, composed and performed by Scott Thomson and Susanna Hood. Thursday, October 16 at 2:00pm. Dodson room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
EILEEN KERNAGHAN
Author reads from her new book Sophie, In Shadow. Sunday, October 19 at 1:00pm. Renaissance Books, 43-6th Street, New Westminster. More information at renaissancebookstore.com.
THE OUTER HARBOUR
Poet and writer Wayde Compton reads from his debut short-story collection The Outer Harbour, which explores themes of race, migration, home, colonialism, and gentrification. Sunday, October 19 at 2:00pm, Alice MacKay room, VPL, 350 W. Georgia.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
Upcoming
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Also features Susan Paddon. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
SURREY INTERNATIONAL WRITERS' CONFERENCE
The 21st annual writers' weekend features over 70 workshops and chances for one-on-one meetings with well-known authors, agents, and editors. October 24-26, 2014. Sheraton Guildford Hotel, 15269 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at siwc.ca.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
CANADIAN SPACEWALKERS
Join CBC Quirks & Quarks' Bob McDonald for an astonishing journey into the stars to celebrate Canadian Spacewalkers: Hadfield, MacLean and Williams Remember the Ultimate High Adventure. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm. H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, 1100 Chestnut, Vancouver. Register by calling 604-738-7827.
ECHOES OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Reading by Robert "Lucky" Budd from his new book Echoes of British Columbia. Tuesday, October 28 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
SECOND GROWTH
Author Fabienne Calvert Filteau’s launches debut collection of poetry. Also featuring local poets Jen Currin, Surya Govender and Daniela Elza. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. People's Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Dr Vancouver. For
more information: Co-op Books: (604) 253-6442 or daniela@livingcode.org.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Saturday, November 1 at :00pm. Chapters, Strawberry Hill.
NOIR AT THE BAR
A night of crime fiction. Drink, mingle and hear eight talented mystery writers read: E.R. Brown, D.B. Carew, Dietrich Kalteis, Owen Laukkanen, Charlotte Morganti, Linda L. Richards, Robin Spano and Sam Wiebe. Tuesday, November 4 at 7:00pm, free. Shebeen Whisk(e)y House, behind 212 Carrall, Vancouver.
DEAD POETS READING SERIES
To mark Remembrance Day, five local writerers with extensive public reading experience will read from the work of Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon, Isaac Rosenberg, Keith Douglas and Denise Levertov on Sunday 9th November at 3 p.m. in the Alice Mackay Room, lower level, Vancouver Public Library., 350 West Georgia Street. Free.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Features Elaine Woo with Jen Currin and Christine Leclerc. Wednesday, November 12, 7:00pm. The Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Suggested donation at the door: $5. More information at www.pandorascollective.com.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS: A GALA FUNDRAISER
In support Pandora's Collective's Poetry Outreach Program at the BC Children's Hospital's Eating Disorder
Clinic for Youth under the age of 18. This 1920s themed event hosted by RC Weslowski features music by local songstress Sharon Bryson and visits from literary greats. Saturday, November 15 from 7-10pm at Vinci's Caffe and Gallery, 194 West 3rd Avenue. Tickets are only $45 (or $35 if you're a member of Pandora's Collective) and includes a glass of wine and canapes. Details and to purchase tickets: bit.ly/1qr0TLw.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Book News Vol. 9 No. 31
BOOK NEWS
We've moved into October and cooler weather, but things are heating up at the VWF box office. Tickets are selling briskly but there's still plenty of great interviews, readings and panel discussions to choose from, with 104
writers from around the world.
Check out Festival events including: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride), Community of Characters (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters), Turning the Page (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/53-turning-page), The Ventriloquists (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/74-ventriloquists), Familiar Haunts (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/58-familiar-haunts), A Conversation with Dinaw Mengestu (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/79-conversation-dinaw-mengestu), and Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/87-tim-winton-conversation-hal-wake).
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
A Literary Arts Centre for Vancouver? Yes. Indeed.
As Book News readers, we know you are interested in the literary arts. You may not know, however, that a group of publishers, and other interested parties are working on creating a public space to showcase the city's extraordinary practitioners in the written and spoken arts. This initiative will be the first of its kind in the city: a dynamic home for the city's vibrant publishing and writing communities, and a lively public venue for readings, launches, and other literary-related activities. They want to hear from you and for you to learn more about their ideas. If you would like to participate in the development of this unique literary space, please help by filling in the survey here, http://www.books.bc.ca/literary-arts-centre-vancouver.
Volunteer
Volunteers with daytime and early evening availability still needed! Shifts open on Food & Beverage, Box Office and Production. For information and to register, go here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteer.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Between is a "searing new book" by Angie Abdou. "Darkly funny and elegantly written", it tackles sexism, racism, substance abuse, class and the politics of child care without being polemic.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Angie+Abdou+Stuck+Between+domestic+sorrows+Drama/10238854/story.html
Caroline Adderson has some important literary advice for you: "character is more important than plot!" She discusses this, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/caroline-adderson-literary-advice-character-is-more-important-than-plot/article20805698/
Sense of place is also important to Colm Tóibín, whose new novel, Nora Webster, is set in the coastal Irish town where he grew up. In this interview, he discusses his new book, teaching, America, and why he gave up poetry.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/colm-toibin-explores-his-irish-hometown-in-nora-webster-1412007935
Dionne Brand, though best known for her poetry, has written a new novel. It's called Love Enough, to which she "brings an exquisite mastery of language and crystalline precision to her prose."
http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/episode/2014/09/29/shelaghs-feature-interview-with-dionne-brand/
Sarah Waters' newest novel, The Paying Guests, "is its own perfect deception: What seems to be a quiet, domestic novel set in suburban London in 1922 gives way to a shocking and moving page-turner about an illicit love affair, murder, and sensational trial." Waters is interviewed by the Daily Beast, here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/30/sarah-waters-queen-of-the-tortured-lesbian-romance.html
What's the book that changed your life? For Sarah Ellis, it was Dodi Smith's I Capture The Castle.
http://www.straight.com/life/734701/book-changed-your-life-sarah-ellis
Esther Freud also has some opinions on books. What is she reading now? Which would she take to a desert island? She answers these questions, and more, here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-2769868/WHAT-BOOK-did-Esther-Freud-think-sexy-terrifying.html
The Guardian newspaper recently organized a webchat with Joshua Ferris. Even if you missed it, the questions and answers are still available online.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/live/2014/sep/26/joshua-ferris-webchat-to-rise-again-at-a-decent-hour
Aislinn Hunter's The World Before Us is the story of a London archivist with a dark past. When she was 15, the child she was babysitting disappeared—" a split second event that shapes Jane's life and the course of the novel." Hunter is interviewed by Shelagh Rogers here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/09/aislinn-hunter-on-her-novel.html
Kim Thuy's new novel, Mãn, is "a story of realism told like a fable." But unlike most fairy stories, the title character is "a woman who was raised with the awareness of how harsh the world could be, and always chose to ignore the battles not worth fighting."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/kim-thuys-man-is-a-story-of-realism-told-like-a-fable/article20804546/
Will Starling is Ian Weir's second novel. It's "a rollicking thrill-ride, a 19th-century-style potboiler in both form and content. It's also a remarkably subversive novel, a dense inner heart of darkness lurking under the surface hijinks and thrills."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/ian-weirs-will-starling-is-a-rollicking-thrill-ride/article20805909/
Rudy Wiebe's latest novel explores "a parent's anguish," drawn from his own experiences with life and death. Most specifically, Come Back, features a son who commits suicide at 24, just as Wiebe's did.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Rudy+Wiebe+latest+drawn+from+real+life+death/10239870/story.html
AWARDS & LISTS
An unlikely institution has created its first literary prize: Amtrak! The rail operator has chosen twenty-four writers for its very first literary residency program, which provides a free long distance train trip, complete with a "sleeping compartment, free meals and access to the observation car!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/business/media/the-little-writing-prize-that-could.html
The finalists have been chosen for the first-ever Kirkus Prize. There are six writers each in fiction, nonfiction and young readers' literature. 2014 Writers Fest authors Dinaw Mengestu and Sarah Waters are among the chosen few.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/09/30/352696150/book-news-first-ever-kirkus-prize-picks-18-finalists
Lionel Shriver's Kilifi Creek has won the BBC national short story award. Her story about a gap-year traveller's near-death experience is inspired by her own life.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/30/lionel-shriver-wins-bbc-national-short-story-award-kilifi-creek
Kei Miller has won the £10,000 Forward poetry prize. The Jamaican poet's collection, The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way To Zion, is based on "dialogue between a mapmaker striving to impose order on an unfamiliar land and a 'Rasta-man' who queries his project."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/30/kei-miller-wins-forward-poetry-prize
The shortlist for the HarperCollins Canada/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction has been announced. The prize recognizes the best "unpublished manuscripts by students and graduates of the University of British Columbia's creative-writing program."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/09/30/best-new-fiction-shortlist-announced/
Monique Gray Smith has won CODE's Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature for her Young Adult novel Tilly, a Story of Hope and Resilience. 2014 Writers Fest author Thomas King came in second place for The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/09/29/monique-gray-smith-wins-burt-award-for-first-nations-metis-and-inuit-literature/
YOUNG READERS
A new picture book says goodnight in a blissful, rustic setting. In Mary Lyn Rays's Go to Sleep, Little Farm, "rhyming couplets work their way around a farm, its surrounding countryside and its white clapboard farmhouse." The book is reminiscent of Goodnight Moon, an "idyllic, lulling bedtime story."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/books/go-to-sleep-little-farm-by-mary-lyn-ray.html
NEWS & FEATURES
It's another week for literary top ten lists. First up, the top ten walks in books!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/25/top-10-book-walks-duncan-minshull
Up next, the top ten stories of mothers and daughters (whether going on walks or not). Interestingly, Pride and Prejudice has made it onto both lists.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/17/top-10-stories-mothers-daughters-meike-ziervogel
Parody copyright laws are set to come into effect in the UK. What does that mean? People will now be allowed to parody copyright works, "so long as it is fair and does not compete with the original version."
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29408121
It's an unfortunate truth that a startlingly small percentage of fiction in translation is written by women. A soon-to-be-real prize dedicated to "great women's writing from the non-Anglophone world" hopes to tackle this problem.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/a-new-prize-for-women-in-translation/
Literary lions have united to protest Amazon's e-book tactics. So far, the group known as Authors United includes Philip Roth, Orhan Pamuk, Milan Kundera, Salman Rushide and V.S. Naipaul.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/business/literary-lions-unite-in-protest-over-amazons-e-book-tactics.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher is Hilary Mantel's newest collection of short stories. Despite the title, "these stories are much more like Ms. Mantel's description of herself ["passive, illness-plagued and spooked"] than like the ironclad Machiavellians who dominate her Thomas Cromwell trilogy-in-progress."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/books/the-assassination-of-margaret-thatcher-by-hilary-mantel.html
David Bezmozgis' The Betrayers is a "poignant, funny and elegant" novel about a Soviet "refusenik," a man whose past as a Russian dissident allows him to build a career as an Israeli politician. It's part of a greater project of Bezmozgis' to tell the story of Soviet Jews. He discusses this, and more, in this interview with The Rumpus.
http://therumpus.net/2014/09/the-rumpus-interview-with-david-bezmozgis/
Us, by David Nicholls, is a "poignant tale of a marriage in crisis." In it, a mismatched couple take a European vacation, with the verdict of whether they should stay together or break up to be decided at the end.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/01/us-david-nicholls-review-fiction
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MEET THE AUTHOR: MARY NOVIK
Mary Novik discuses her sweeping work of historical fiction, Muse. Thursday, October 2 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $22 (includes refreshments). Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
THE TOWN SLUT'S DAUGHTER
Canadian poet Heather Haley launches her debut novel. Thursday, October 2 at 7:30pm. Slickity Jim's, 3469 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at howesoundpublishing@gmail.com.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writing Studio at SFU presents Doretta Lau, author of the short story collection How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?. Thursday, October 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street Vancouver.
VCON BOOK LAUNCH RECEPTION
Mingle and chat with a variety of science fiction and fantasy authors, editors and publishers from throughout BC, Canada and the US. Friday, October 3 at 7:00pm. Open to the public. Sheraton Vancouver Guildford, 15269 - 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at vcon.ca.
ALEX LESLIE
Alex Leslie reads from her forthcoming poetry collection, 'The things I heard about you', as part of the launch for Adrienne Gruber's new chapbook, Intertidal Zones. Friday, October 3 at 7:30pm. Heartwood Community Cafe, 317 E. Broadway, Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
Cathy Ford and Julia Leggett launch their new fall books. Sunday, October 5 at 4:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
literASIAN 2014
Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writing. Featuring Fred Wah, Louise Bak, Lily Chow, Yasuko Nguyen Thanh, and many more. October 9-12, 2014. Details and more information at literasian.ricepapermagazine.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Diane Tucker reads from her poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Wednesday, October 8 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
POETRY READING
Reading by poets Phinder Dulai and Renee Saklikar. Thursday, October 9 at 12:30pm, free. Room 7100, Special Collections, W.A.C. Bennett Library, SFU, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby. More information at lib.sfu.ca/special.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 10 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
DIVERSE VOICES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE
Authors will introduce their latest work: Nilofar Shidmehr (Iran) Between LiveS, Phinder Dulai (South Asia) dream/arteries, and Julia Lin (Taiwan) Miah. Emcee: Narges Govahi (Iran). Sunday, October 12 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
LLAMA LLAMA PYJAMA PARTY
Dress up and meet author-illustrator Anna Dewdney as she introduces both Llama Llama and her latest creation, Nelly Gnu. Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm. Kidsbooks South Surrey, 15033-32nd Ave., Surrey. More information and to purchase tickets here, kidsbooks.ca.
ROBERTA RICH
Former lawyer and author of the popular historical novel The Midwife of Venice reads from the sequel The Harem Midwife. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm. White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
TIM BOWLING
Poet reads from this new work of poems exploring the challenges and joys of midlife, as well as the natural glories of the West Coast. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
PEDAL
Chelsea Rooney launches her debut novel, Pedal. Readings and discussion also with Jen Neale, Erika Thorkelson, Tracy Stefanucci and Elizabeth Hand. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Fore more information, visit http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-chelsea-rooney-pedal/.
EXTRAORDINARY PRESENCES
A workshop/performance of The Muted Note, a song-cycle of settings of poems by the Canadian poet P.K. Page, composed and performed by Scott Thomson and Susanna Hood. Thursday, October 16 at 2:00pm. Dodson room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
Upcoming
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
We've moved into October and cooler weather, but things are heating up at the VWF box office. Tickets are selling briskly but there's still plenty of great interviews, readings and panel discussions to choose from, with 104
writers from around the world.
Check out Festival events including: An Intimate Evening with Eimear McBride (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/10-intimate-evening-eimear-mcbride), Community of Characters (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/25-community-characters), Turning the Page (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/53-turning-page), The Ventriloquists (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/74-ventriloquists), Familiar Haunts (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/58-familiar-haunts), A Conversation with Dinaw Mengestu (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/79-conversation-dinaw-mengestu), and Tim Winton in conversation with Hal Wake (http://writersfest.bc.ca/2014/events/87-tim-winton-conversation-hal-wake).
Special Events
Joseph Boyden & Friends
Spend an unforgettable evening with The Orenda author Joseph Boyden and Festival authors and support the Vancouver Writers Fest. Details at http://writersfest.bc.ca/events/boyden.
Special event tickets are also on sale for Bruce Cockburn (Nov 10), Alan Doyle (Nov 13) and Conrad Black (Nov 13).
More information at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/events.
A Literary Arts Centre for Vancouver? Yes. Indeed.
As Book News readers, we know you are interested in the literary arts. You may not know, however, that a group of publishers, and other interested parties are working on creating a public space to showcase the city's extraordinary practitioners in the written and spoken arts. This initiative will be the first of its kind in the city: a dynamic home for the city's vibrant publishing and writing communities, and a lively public venue for readings, launches, and other literary-related activities. They want to hear from you and for you to learn more about their ideas. If you would like to participate in the development of this unique literary space, please help by filling in the survey here, http://www.books.bc.ca/literary-arts-centre-vancouver.
Volunteer
Volunteers with daytime and early evening availability still needed! Shifts open on Food & Beverage, Box Office and Production. For information and to register, go here, http://writersfest.bc.ca/get-involved/volunteer.
FESTIVAL AUTHORS
Between is a "searing new book" by Angie Abdou. "Darkly funny and elegantly written", it tackles sexism, racism, substance abuse, class and the politics of child care without being polemic.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/books/Angie+Abdou+Stuck+Between+domestic+sorrows+Drama/10238854/story.html
Caroline Adderson has some important literary advice for you: "character is more important than plot!" She discusses this, and more, here:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/caroline-adderson-literary-advice-character-is-more-important-than-plot/article20805698/
Sense of place is also important to Colm Tóibín, whose new novel, Nora Webster, is set in the coastal Irish town where he grew up. In this interview, he discusses his new book, teaching, America, and why he gave up poetry.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/colm-toibin-explores-his-irish-hometown-in-nora-webster-1412007935
Dionne Brand, though best known for her poetry, has written a new novel. It's called Love Enough, to which she "brings an exquisite mastery of language and crystalline precision to her prose."
http://www.cbc.ca/thenextchapter/episode/2014/09/29/shelaghs-feature-interview-with-dionne-brand/
Sarah Waters' newest novel, The Paying Guests, "is its own perfect deception: What seems to be a quiet, domestic novel set in suburban London in 1922 gives way to a shocking and moving page-turner about an illicit love affair, murder, and sensational trial." Waters is interviewed by the Daily Beast, here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/30/sarah-waters-queen-of-the-tortured-lesbian-romance.html
What's the book that changed your life? For Sarah Ellis, it was Dodi Smith's I Capture The Castle.
http://www.straight.com/life/734701/book-changed-your-life-sarah-ellis
Esther Freud also has some opinions on books. What is she reading now? Which would she take to a desert island? She answers these questions, and more, here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/books/article-2769868/WHAT-BOOK-did-Esther-Freud-think-sexy-terrifying.html
The Guardian newspaper recently organized a webchat with Joshua Ferris. Even if you missed it, the questions and answers are still available online.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/live/2014/sep/26/joshua-ferris-webchat-to-rise-again-at-a-decent-hour
Aislinn Hunter's The World Before Us is the story of a London archivist with a dark past. When she was 15, the child she was babysitting disappeared—" a split second event that shapes Jane's life and the course of the novel." Hunter is interviewed by Shelagh Rogers here:
http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/09/aislinn-hunter-on-her-novel.html
Kim Thuy's new novel, Mãn, is "a story of realism told like a fable." But unlike most fairy stories, the title character is "a woman who was raised with the awareness of how harsh the world could be, and always chose to ignore the battles not worth fighting."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/kim-thuys-man-is-a-story-of-realism-told-like-a-fable/article20804546/
Will Starling is Ian Weir's second novel. It's "a rollicking thrill-ride, a 19th-century-style potboiler in both form and content. It's also a remarkably subversive novel, a dense inner heart of darkness lurking under the surface hijinks and thrills."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/ian-weirs-will-starling-is-a-rollicking-thrill-ride/article20805909/
Rudy Wiebe's latest novel explores "a parent's anguish," drawn from his own experiences with life and death. Most specifically, Come Back, features a son who commits suicide at 24, just as Wiebe's did.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/Rudy+Wiebe+latest+drawn+from+real+life+death/10239870/story.html
AWARDS & LISTS
An unlikely institution has created its first literary prize: Amtrak! The rail operator has chosen twenty-four writers for its very first literary residency program, which provides a free long distance train trip, complete with a "sleeping compartment, free meals and access to the observation car!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/business/media/the-little-writing-prize-that-could.html
The finalists have been chosen for the first-ever Kirkus Prize. There are six writers each in fiction, nonfiction and young readers' literature. 2014 Writers Fest authors Dinaw Mengestu and Sarah Waters are among the chosen few.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/09/30/352696150/book-news-first-ever-kirkus-prize-picks-18-finalists
Lionel Shriver's Kilifi Creek has won the BBC national short story award. Her story about a gap-year traveller's near-death experience is inspired by her own life.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/30/lionel-shriver-wins-bbc-national-short-story-award-kilifi-creek
Kei Miller has won the £10,000 Forward poetry prize. The Jamaican poet's collection, The Cartographer Tries to Map a Way To Zion, is based on "dialogue between a mapmaker striving to impose order on an unfamiliar land and a 'Rasta-man' who queries his project."
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/30/kei-miller-wins-forward-poetry-prize
The shortlist for the HarperCollins Canada/UBC Prize for Best New Fiction has been announced. The prize recognizes the best "unpublished manuscripts by students and graduates of the University of British Columbia's creative-writing program."
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/09/30/best-new-fiction-shortlist-announced/
Monique Gray Smith has won CODE's Burt Award for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Literature for her Young Adult novel Tilly, a Story of Hope and Resilience. 2014 Writers Fest author Thomas King came in second place for The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America.
http://www.quillandquire.com/awards/2014/09/29/monique-gray-smith-wins-burt-award-for-first-nations-metis-and-inuit-literature/
YOUNG READERS
A new picture book says goodnight in a blissful, rustic setting. In Mary Lyn Rays's Go to Sleep, Little Farm, "rhyming couplets work their way around a farm, its surrounding countryside and its white clapboard farmhouse." The book is reminiscent of Goodnight Moon, an "idyllic, lulling bedtime story."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/books/go-to-sleep-little-farm-by-mary-lyn-ray.html
NEWS & FEATURES
It's another week for literary top ten lists. First up, the top ten walks in books!
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/25/top-10-book-walks-duncan-minshull
Up next, the top ten stories of mothers and daughters (whether going on walks or not). Interestingly, Pride and Prejudice has made it onto both lists.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/sep/17/top-10-stories-mothers-daughters-meike-ziervogel
Parody copyright laws are set to come into effect in the UK. What does that mean? People will now be allowed to parody copyright works, "so long as it is fair and does not compete with the original version."
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29408121
It's an unfortunate truth that a startlingly small percentage of fiction in translation is written by women. A soon-to-be-real prize dedicated to "great women's writing from the non-Anglophone world" hopes to tackle this problem.
http://www.mhpbooks.com/a-new-prize-for-women-in-translation/
Literary lions have united to protest Amazon's e-book tactics. So far, the group known as Authors United includes Philip Roth, Orhan Pamuk, Milan Kundera, Salman Rushide and V.S. Naipaul.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/business/literary-lions-unite-in-protest-over-amazons-e-book-tactics.html
BOOKS & WRITERS
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher is Hilary Mantel's newest collection of short stories. Despite the title, "these stories are much more like Ms. Mantel's description of herself ["passive, illness-plagued and spooked"] than like the ironclad Machiavellians who dominate her Thomas Cromwell trilogy-in-progress."
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/25/books/the-assassination-of-margaret-thatcher-by-hilary-mantel.html
David Bezmozgis' The Betrayers is a "poignant, funny and elegant" novel about a Soviet "refusenik," a man whose past as a Russian dissident allows him to build a career as an Israeli politician. It's part of a greater project of Bezmozgis' to tell the story of Soviet Jews. He discusses this, and more, in this interview with The Rumpus.
http://therumpus.net/2014/09/the-rumpus-interview-with-david-bezmozgis/
Us, by David Nicholls, is a "poignant tale of a marriage in crisis." In it, a mismatched couple take a European vacation, with the verdict of whether they should stay together or break up to be decided at the end.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/01/us-david-nicholls-review-fiction
COMMUNITY EVENTS
MEET THE AUTHOR: MARY NOVIK
Mary Novik discuses her sweeping work of historical fiction, Muse. Thursday, October 2 at 7:00pm. Tickets: $22 (includes refreshments). Christianne's Lyceum. 3696 W. 8th Ave. To reserve your space call 604.733.1356 or email lyceum@christiannehayward.com. More information at www.christiannehayward.com.
THE TOWN SLUT'S DAUGHTER
Canadian poet Heather Haley launches her debut novel. Thursday, October 2 at 7:30pm. Slickity Jim's, 3469 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at howesoundpublishing@gmail.com.
TWS READING SERIES
The Writing Studio at SFU presents Doretta Lau, author of the short story collection How Does a Single Blade of Grass Thank the Sun?. Thursday, October 2 at 8:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street Vancouver.
VCON BOOK LAUNCH RECEPTION
Mingle and chat with a variety of science fiction and fantasy authors, editors and publishers from throughout BC, Canada and the US. Friday, October 3 at 7:00pm. Open to the public. Sheraton Vancouver Guildford, 15269 - 104th Ave., Surrey. More information at vcon.ca.
ALEX LESLIE
Alex Leslie reads from her forthcoming poetry collection, 'The things I heard about you', as part of the launch for Adrienne Gruber's new chapbook, Intertidal Zones. Friday, October 3 at 7:30pm. Heartwood Community Cafe, 317 E. Broadway, Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
BOOK LAUNCH
Cathy Ford and Julia Leggett launch their new fall books. Sunday, October 5 at 4:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at mothertonguepublishing.com.
literASIAN 2014
Festival of Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writing. Featuring Fred Wah, Louise Bak, Lily Chow, Yasuko Nguyen Thanh, and many more. October 9-12, 2014. Details and more information at literasian.ricepapermagazine.ca.
TWISTED POETS LITERARY SALON
Diane Tucker reads from her poetry collection, Bonsai Love. Wednesday, October 8 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4468 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
POETRY READING
Reading by poets Phinder Dulai and Renee Saklikar. Thursday, October 9 at 12:30pm, free. Room 7100, Special Collections, W.A.C. Bennett Library, SFU, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby. More information at lib.sfu.ca/special.
LAST OF THE INDEPENDENTS
Vancouver writer Sam Wiebe reads from his latest book. Friday, October 10 at 7:00pm. Pulp Fiction Books, Main street.
DIVERSE VOICES IN CANADIAN LITERATURE
Authors will introduce their latest work: Nilofar Shidmehr (Iran) Between LiveS, Phinder Dulai (South Asia) dream/arteries, and Julia Lin (Taiwan) Miah. Emcee: Narges Govahi (Iran). Sunday, October 12 at 3:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Branch, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
LLAMA LLAMA PYJAMA PARTY
Dress up and meet author-illustrator Anna Dewdney as she introduces both Llama Llama and her latest creation, Nelly Gnu. Tuesday, October 14 at 6:30pm. Kidsbooks South Surrey, 15033-32nd Ave., Surrey. More information and to purchase tickets here, kidsbooks.ca.
ROBERTA RICH
Former lawyer and author of the popular historical novel The Midwife of Venice reads from the sequel The Harem Midwife. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm. White Rock Library. More information at fvrl.bc.ca.
TIM BOWLING
Poet reads from this new work of poems exploring the challenges and joys of midlife, as well as the natural glories of the West Coast. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia St. More information at vpl.ca.
PEDAL
Chelsea Rooney launches her debut novel, Pedal. Readings and discussion also with Jen Neale, Erika Thorkelson, Tracy Stefanucci and Elizabeth Hand. Wednesday, October 15 at 7:30 pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. Fore more information, visit http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-chelsea-rooney-pedal/.
EXTRAORDINARY PRESENCES
A workshop/performance of The Muted Note, a song-cycle of settings of poems by the Canadian poet P.K. Page, composed and performed by Scott Thomson and Susanna Hood. Thursday, October 16 at 2:00pm. Dodson room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, UBC. More information at ikebarberlearningcentre.ubc.ca.
EMERGE 14
Emerge 14, the annual anthology from The Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University, in which thirty-five emerging writers explore love, creation, death, regret, discovery and terror, will be launched in a special gala. Thursday, October 16 at 6pm. SFU Downtown Campus, Harbour Centre. More information at cormac_oreilly@hotmail.com.
STIGMA, SHMIGMA: WRITERS ON STUFF YOU SHOULDN'T TALK ABOUT
Chelsea Rooney, Dina Del Bucchia and Leah Horlick all write audaciously on subjects that make others nervous. Hear readings from their newest works and join the conversation, facilitated by feminist writer Meghan Murphy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, Q&A, and Signing with Ian Weir, author of Will Starling and Aaron Bushkowsky, author of Curtains for Roy. Thursday, October 16 at 7:00pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
Upcoming
WHISTLER READERS AND WRITERS FESTIVAL
Annual fall event celebrating the written word with renowned Canadian authors, speakers panels and workshops, and reading events. October 17-19, 2014. Complete details at whistler.com.
THE BRIDGE GENERATION
The Queer Imaging and Riting Kollective for Elders (aka QUIRK-E) will be reading stories from their recently published anthology: The Bridge Generation. Friday, October 17 at 7:00pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
MARIE-LOUISE GAY
The Vancouver Children's Literature Roundtable's Illustrator's Breakfast with Marie-Louise Gay. Saturday October 18, 2014 at the University Golf Club 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Includes breakfast. Book sales by KidsBooks. More information at www.vclr.ca.
VERONICA ROTH & TAHEREH MAFI
Bestselling teen authors are interviewed about their books. Saturday, October 18 at 2:00pm. Chapters Metrotown, Burnaby. More information at chapters.indigo.ca.
THE FUTURE OF CREATIVITY
The Artists' Legal Outreach and Books on the Radio present The Future of Creativity: Ideas for the Digital Age on October 18. A conversation with author Astra Taylor, The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age, drawing from her recent work on the nature of the digital economy and its impact on creators and creative industries, followed by a panel with new media thinkers. http://www.eventbrite.com/e/astra-taylor-the-future-of-creativity-tickets-13140546729?aff=eorg.
NIGHTWOOD EDITIONS BOOK LAUNCH
Nightwood Editions is proud to present a Vancouver book launch with four B.C.-based authors: Kayla Czaga, Alex Leslie, Matt Rader, and Elaine Woo. Sunday, October 19 at 7:00pm. The Grande Luxe Hall, 303 8th Ave. E., Vancouver. More information at harbourpublishing.com.
JANE EATON HAMILTON
Author reads from her new book Love Will Burst Into A Thousand Shapes. Thursday, October 23 at 7:00pm. Cottage Bistro, 4470 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at http://caitlin-press.com/event/vancouver-book-reading-jane-eaton-hamilton-love-will-burst-into-a-thousand-shapes/.
AUTHORS UNBOUND
An evening of readings by five local authors/writers, who will be featuring a mix of novelists, poets, short story and non-fiction genres. Monday, October 27 at 7:00pm, free. Peter Kaye room, lower level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia. More information at vpl.ca.
BOOK READING
Reading, signing, and siscussion on Writing with Cathy Ace, author of Corpse with the Platinum Hair. Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30pm. Book Warehouse, 4118 Main Street, Vancouver. More information at 604-879-7737.
AUTHORS IN OUR COMMUNITY
Reading by the author of The Towers of Tuscany, the story of a woman who dares to follow her own path in the all-male domain of the painter's workshop. Wednesday, October 29 at 7:00pm. Welsh Hall West, West Vancouver Memorial Library, 1950 Marine Drive, West Vancouver. More information at 604-925-7403.
BOOK LAUNCH
English and Creative Writing teacher Crystal Hurdle launches her latest book of poetry, Teacher's Pets. Thursday, October 30 at 11:30am. Fir 206, Capilano University. More information at capilanocreativewriting.blogspot.ca.
JEWISH BOOK FESTIVAL
The 30th annual Jewish Book Festival featuring an exciting roster of writers from across Canada, the US, and Israel, including Yotam Ottolenghi, Zeruya Shalev, Steven Galloway, Dr. Brian Goldman, Bob Bossin, and Mark Leiren-Young. November 22-27, 2014. More information at jewishbookfestival.ca.
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