BOOK NEWS
Spoken World
When wordsmiths and musicians hit the stage for Spoken World, get ready for an evening of sensory overload. The Literary Cabaret’s Sal Ferreras and his band Poetic License, and VJ Candelario Andrade make the magic happen with Ivan E. Coyote, Shane Koyczan, Ariana Waynes and Skeena Reece. Details and ticket information here.
YouthWrites
The winner of the Vancouver International Writers Festival’s 2009 YouthWrites contest for secondary school students is Alyson Kissner, a grade 11 student from West Vancouver Secondary School. Read her winning submission, The City.
Writer-In-Residence
Check out the blog about 2009 Festival author Rukhsana Khan’s week-long residency in Prince Rupert, http://writology.wordpress.com/.
Guess the Giller!
The VIWF is pleased to partner with Scotiabank Giller Prize in the Guess the Giller contest. Select the finalist you think will win the prize to win a VIP trip for two to the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize Gala in Toronto. Deadline is November 10, 2009. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/community/guessthegiller.
AWARDS
Congratulations to Lee Henderson who has won the 2009 Vancouver Book Award for his novel The Man Game.
http://www.straight.com/article-268451/lee-hendersons-man-game-wins-vancouver-book-award
Dany Laferrière, who won the Blue Metropolis Literary Grand Prix last week, has this week been named recipient of France’s illustrious Prix Medicis literary award. Laferrière is only the second Canadian novelist to win the Medicis. The first was Marie-Claire Blais, who won in 1966 for Une saison dans la vie d’Emmanuel.
http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/04/laferriere-wins-medicis/
Marie NDiaye has won France’s top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, for her novel Three Strong Women.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/03/books/03ndiaye.html?_r=3&ref=books
Nam Le, who appeared at the 2008 Festival, has won Australia’s Prime Minister’s Literary Award for his debut collection of stories The Boat.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/books/exrefugees-boat-book-wins-pm-gong/2009/11/03/1257010156520.html
The longlist for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has been announced.
http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/2010/longlist.htm
BOOKS & WRITERS
William Deverell is often dubbed a crime writer, but this reviewer thinks of him more as “a writer of hilarious political and judicial satire.” Read a review of Snow Job in the Globe & Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-snow-job-by-william-deverell/article1345322/
Candice Fertile writes that Cary Fagan’s new novel Valentine’s Fall is “gently humorous, even though it deals with serious issues such as love and loss.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-valentines-fall-by-cary-fagan/article1350064/
The Guardian reviews Carol Ann Duffy’s New and Collected Poems for Children, the poems in which are populated by real and invented people, among them the Loch Ness Monster’s husband and Elvis.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/31/poems-children-duffy-rosen
Dave Eggers reviews Look at the Birdie, a selection of unpublished short fiction by Kurt Vonnegut.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Eggers-t.html?ref=books
In his introduction to The Paris Review Interviews, featuring authors from Ernest Hemingway to Marilynne Robinson, Salman Rushdie writes that these interviews “satisfy our…deep and abiding inquisitiveness about the writing life.”
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/non-fiction/article6894249.ece
Jane Smiley reviews Presence: The Collected Stories of Arthur Miller, which the author wrote between 1959 and 1992, and which Smiley calls “an arresting self-portrait, unmediated by directors, actors, gossip columnists or biographers.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/31/presence-arthur-miller-review
Orhan Pamuk’s “enchanting new novel” The Museum of Innocence is about “first love painfully sustained over a lifetime.” Read a review in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Howard-t.html?ref=books
Ian Jack writes in the Guardian on the life and work of Diana Athill.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/oct/31/diana-athill-books-ian-jack
Colson Whitehead’s latest novel Sag Harbor came out last year. Now he’s pondering what to write next: “a flashy and experimental brain-bender, or a pointillist examination of the dissolution of a typical American family-Generation-spanning door-stopper or claustrophobic psychological sketch?” Read his essay in the NY Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/books/review/Whitehead-t.html?ref=books
A.L. Kennedy, trapped on a train, reflects on her recent trip to Canada and finds herself alternately angry and depressed about the current trends in publishing.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2009/nov/03/al-kennedy-fiction-writing
The French anthropologist and philosopher Claude Lévi-Strauss died at the age of 100 last Friday. This article in the NY Times offers an appraisal of Strauss’ most celebrated work, Tristes Tropiques.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/books/05strauss.html?ref=books
EVENTS
VANCOWRIMO
Ever wanted to write a novel? Want to have a lot of fun writing with other people from the Lower Mainland? VancoWrimo is the Vancouver chapter of a writing challenge that takes place across the world every year in November. Thursday, November 5 at 6:30pm, free. For more information and additional dates and times, please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603. Sponsored by VancoWrimo (http://www.vancowrimo.ca).
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by spoken word performer Al Hunter. Thursday, November 5 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Granville Island.
YARN BOMBING
Arsenal Pulp Press and the Book Warehouse present demonstrations by Mandy Moore and Leanne Prain and signings of their new book Yarn Bombing: The Art of Crochet and Knit Graffiti. Thursday, November 5 at 7:00pm, free. Book Warehouse (1051 Davie Street).
DAL RICHARDS AND JIM TAYLOR
Dal Richards and author Jim Taylor lovingly look back on seven decades of keeping the music alive. Their new book, One More Time: The Dal Richards Story recounts the fascinating life story of the legendary bandleader. Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
KASPOIT!
Anvil Press presents a book launch of Kaspoit! by Dennis E. Bolen with a special guest reading by Jenn Farrell from her upcoming book The Devil You Know. Thursday, November 5 at 7:30pm, free. Montmartre Café (4362 Main). More information at in**@an********.com.
VANCOUVER: THE IMAGINED AND THE PROSPECTED
Green College writer-in-residence Oana Avasilichioaei hosts a discussion on writing about Vancouver with poets Roger Farr and Sachiko Murakami and novelist and short-story writer Lee Henderson. Thursday, November 5 at 8:00pm, free. Coach House, Green College (6201 Cecil Green Park Rd., UBC). More information at www.greencollege.ubc.ca.
MEMEWAR
Release of the 10th issue with readings by Maria Lenart and Neil Rayner, with a media presentation of Thor Polukoshko’s Cereal Junkies. Thursday, November 5 at 8:30pm. Admission: $10 and includes a copy of the magazine.The Railway Club, 579 Dunsmuir). More information at www.memewaronline.com.
POET AND PAINTER: A NORTH COAST COLLABORATION
Event featuring writer Leanne Boschman and illustrator Edward Epp who collaborated on the book Precipitous Signs: A Rain Journal. Saturday, November 7 at 3:00pm. The Marion Scott Gallery, 308 Water Street.
AISLINN HUNTER AND MIRANDA PEARSON
Oolichan Books and Palimpsest Press invite you to the launch of new books by Aislinn Hunter (A Peepshow with Views of the Interior: Paratexts) and Miranda Pearson (Harbour). Sunday, November 8 at 7:00pm. Chivanna Restaurant and Lounge, 2340 West 4th Avenue.
AN EVENING WITH S. BEAR BERGMAN
Reading from The Nearest Exit May Be Behind You. A discussion with the author will follow. Monday, November 9 at 4:30pm. Lillooet Room (301), Chapman Learning Commons, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC. For more information, visit www.sbearbergman.com.
ANNE MURRAY
Meet Canada’s first lady of song as she signs copies of her memoir, All of Me. In this revealing autobiography, Anne Murray tells the whole story of her 40-year career in show biz. Monday, November 9 at 7:00pm. Chapters Langley (20015 Langley By-Pass, unit 115). For more information, phone 604.514.8663.
JUNE HUTTON
Author presents her debut novel, Underground, in a unique reading for Remembrance Day that recognizes Canada’s forgotten veterans of the Spanish Civil War. Monday, November 9 at 7:30pm, free. Alma VanDusen Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
HAIKU DEATH MATCH
Part of the Vancouver Poetry Slam series. Costumes encouraged. Featuring David Silverberg. Monday, November 9 at 8:00pm. Cost: $5-$10 at the door. Café Deux Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive. Sign up at va************@gm***.com.
STEPHEN VOGLER
Author launches his book Only in Whistler: Tales of a Mountain Town. Tuesday, November 10 at 7:00pm, free. Aphrodite’s Organic Café (3598 West 4th Avenue, Whistler, BC). For more information, call 1-800-667-2988 or visit www.harbourpublishing.com.
ROB BUDDLE
On Edge Reading Series presents the author of declining america. Thursday, November 12 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Granville Island. More information at http://www.ecuad.ca/node/3622.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Reading of 4 Poets with Daniela Elza, Peter Mortin, Al Remple and Onjana Yawnghwe. Thursday, November 12 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Library Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.
NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY
Simon Fraser University researcher Donald Gutstein discusses his new book Not A Conspiracy Theory: How Business Propaganda Hijacks Democracy. Thursday, November 12 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
BOOK LAUNCH
Reading of The Life & Art of Frank Molnar, Jack Hardman & LeRoy Jensen, the second book in the series, The Unheralded Artists of B.C. Friday, November 13 at 7:00pm. Ferry Building Gallery (1414 Argyle Avenue, West Vancouver). RSVP to in**@mo********************.com.
ANTHONY PAGDEN
Author reads from his work, Worlds at War, which delves deep into the roots of the clash of civilizations between East and West that has always been a battle over ideas. Friday, November 13 at 7:30pm, free. Alma VanDusen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
JOYLAND
Vancouver writers from the online short fiction project, Joyland, read. Featuring Michael Turner, Rhonda Waterfall, Alex Leslie and Rachel Knudsen. Friday, November 13 at 8:00pm, free. W2 Perel Gallery, 112 West Hastings.
Upcoming
LONGHOUSE COFFEE HOUSE NIGHT
An evening of poetry, song, reading, performance and a pot luck. Monday, November 16 at 6:00pm, free. First Nations Longhouse, Sty-Wet-Tan Hall, 1985 West Mall, UBC. More information by phoning 604-822-8941 or emailing fn**************@ub*.ca.
CELEBRATING BOOKS THAT MOVE YOU
An evening of adventure, art and wild beauty and celebrate Fall books that move you. Monday, November 16 at 7:00pm, free. Alice MacKay Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street. For more information please contact Vancouver Public Library at 604-331-3603.
CYNTHIA FLOOD
Author reads from her book The English Stories. Monday, November 16 at 7:30pm, free. Peter Kaye Room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 West Georgia Street.
AMANDA NAHANEE
Join Vancouver Public Library’s inaugural First Nations Storyteller-in-Residence Amanda Nahanee for storytelling from her culture and history. Tuesday, November 17 at 6:30pm, free. Kitsilano Branch, 2425 Macdonald Street.
SONNET L’ABBE
Reading by the author of two collections of poetry, A Strange Relief and Killarnoe. Thursday, November 19 at 7:00pm, free. SB406, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Granville Island. More information at http://www.ecuad.ca/node/3623.
AFTER THE QUAKE
Pi Theatre and Rumble Productions present ‘after the quake’, based on the novel by Haruki Murakami, November 19-December 5 at Studio 16, Vancouver. Tickets available through www.vancouvertix.com. See http://pitheatre.com/quake for more info.
CBC OPEN HOUSE AND FOOD BANK DAY
On Friday December 4, writer/broadcaster Bill Richardson and other CBC personalities will welcome the public to CBC Vancouver for a tour of their newly renovated, state of the art broadcast centre at 700 Hamilton Street. Food Bank volunteers will accept donations at stations around the building. You can also donate online: CBC.ca/bc/openhouse-foodbankday, starting November 6.
Produced by the Book News Collective: Hal Wake, Clea Young, Brenda Berck, Ann McDonell and Sandra Millard.
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Hal Wake
Artistic Director
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