Vol. 5 No. 14
BOOK NEWS
Join us!
Since we started campaigning a few weeks ago, more than 100 new members have signed on. Thank you for your support! Now that it's clear we're losing substantial funding from the Provincial government, contributions from our audiences are increasingly important. If you haven't already become a member we urge you to join us and show your support for great literary programming and our Spreading the Word education program for BC schools. And the benefits of membership are great...discounts, earlybird tickets, we could go on...
Click for more information, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/supportus/joinus.
Every two weeks we will draw the name of a new member to win an exciting prize. The prize for March 19: Ian McEwan's new book Solar, published by Knopf Canada. The prize for April 1: two tickets to see Peter Carey in conversation with Hal Wake on May 7.
Special Events
Ian McEwan
It’s time for Canadian papers—the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette—to weigh in on Ian McEwan’s Solar.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-solar-by-ian-mcewan/article1...
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/payback+time+around+c...
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/779090--p...
Ian McEwan will be interviewed by Jerry Wasserman. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/community/specialevents. VIWF members: Receive a $2 member discount for Ian McEwan event tickets! Join us: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/supportus/joinus.
Peter Carey
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House of Canada present the Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner and the author of Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang in conversation with Hal Wake. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/community/specialevents.
AWARDS & LISTS
Breaking news! The winners of the 2009 CBC Literary Awards have been announced.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/18/cbc-literary-awards.html
The winner of Canada Reads 2010 is Nikolski by Quebec writer Nicolas Dickner. Originally published in French, it was released in English in 2009 and won the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/12/canada-reads-winner.html#i...
Michael Crummey and Shandi Mitchell, both of whom were at the Festival last year, have advanced to the finals of the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/11/commonwealth-regional-priz...
Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has now picked up the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Winners in all categories can be found here.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/wolf-hall-win...
Mantel also appears on the long list for the Orange Prize, along with two other 2009 Festival guests Lorrie Moore, Sarah Waters, and others.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/114665-mantel-waters-kingsolver-make-o...
NEWS & FEATURES
Shane Koyczan talks with the Straight about the opportunities that have arisen since his performance at the opening ceremonies.
http://www.straight.com/article-298217/vancouver/stuffs-store-koyczan
The NY Times writes that with joblessness in the United States at around 10 percent, it’s times for “writers to get up from behind their laptops and get back to work, real work — or at least to start writing about it again.” The latest issue of Granta, too, is dedicated to the theme of work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/books/review/Schuessler-t.html?ref=books
http://www.granta.com/Magazine/Granta-109-Work
The film release of Swedish author Steig Larsson’s thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has added fuel to a debate that has been raging since the novel’s publication in 2005, a year after the author’s death. Put simply, is it a feminist work or not? Find out what the critics are saying.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/15/girl-with-the-drag...
Listen to Carol Ann Duffy read a new poem inspired by David Beckham's Achilles injury.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8570282.stm
And printed here is a selection of poems on aging commissioned by the poet laureate of the UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/13/carol-ann-duffy-poems-ageing
Scholars are ready to add a new play to Shakespeare’s canon, Double Falsehood, believed to have been written in collaboration with dramatist John Fletcher.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/16/shakespeare-new-play.html
The man with one of the most prestigious jobs in publishing in the UK, Dan Franklin, the boss of Jonathan Cape, attributes luck to much of his success.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/14/dan-franklin-jonathan-cape
BOOKS & WRITERS
The NY Times writes that the title of Paolo Giardano’s novel, The Solitude of Prime Numbers, “conveys not only the novel’s gist but also its style and heart.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/books/12eder.html?ref=books
In her latest blog post for the Guardian, and in her usual humorous way, A.L. Kennedy dissects the process of writing fiction, of putting one word after another.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/10/al-kennedy-writing...
And The Toronto Star offers a favourable review of Kennedy’s What Becomes, her latest story collection.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/779079--w...
The Guardian writes that the best meditations in Manhood for Amateurs, Michael Chabon’s collection of essays, are those most removed from his role as devoted husband and father of four.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/14/manhood-for-amateurs-michael...
Margaret Atwood reviews preeminent naturalist and biologist E.O Wilson’s first novel, Anthill.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23763
Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, whose first book Heart-Shaped Box was a great success, says that starting out anonymously “was the smartest thing [he’s] ever done professionally.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/joe-hill-a-new-king-of-horror/artic...
COMMUNITY EVENTS
GENERAL RICK HILLIER
Book signing with General Rick Hillier as he signs copies of his book, A Soldier First. Thursday, March 18 at 6:00pm. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by poets Rachel Zolf (Human Resources) and Richard Lemm (Four Ways of Dealing with Bullies). Thursday, March 18 at 7:00pm. SB406, Emily Carr University, Granville Island.
ALL THINGS SPOKEN
An evening of storytelling with Ivan E. Coyote and special guest Rodney Decroo. Thursday, March 18, doors at 7:00pm, show at 8:30pm. Tickets $10. Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club, 3611 W. Broadway.
NORMAN D. WATT
Author signs copies of his new book Off The Beaten Path: A Hiking Guide to Vancouver's North Shore. First appearance: Saturday, March 20 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at Black Bond Books (1199 Lynn Valley Road, N. Vancouver). Second appearance: Sunday, March 21 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at Save-On-Foods (Park & Tilford, 333 Brooksbank Avenue, N. Vancouver).
SPRING'S NEW WORK
A poetry reading with David Zieroth, Russell Thornton, Allan Briesmaster and Richard Lemm. Sunday, March 21 at 2:00pm. The Café for Contemporary Art, 140 East Esplanade, North Vancouver.
LIGHT AND SHADOW
Celebration of World Storytelling Day with Helen May and Kris Paulson. Sunday, March 21 at 7:00pm. Tickets $7. St. Mark's Anglican Church, 1805 Larch Street). More information at www.vancouverstorytellers.vcn.bc.ca.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The next CBC Radio Studio One Book Club features The Smart Cookies' Guide to Couples and Money, their follow up book to the hugely successful Smart Cookies' Guide to Making More Dough and Getting Out of Debt. No matter what your age, your marital status or your bank account, this Studio One Book Club will be fun, inspiring and timely - these ladies lost their debt and gained a wealth of financial wisdom. Monday, March 22 at 6:30 pm in the CBC Broadcast Centre. To win free tickets, go to www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
SYLVIA HOTEL BOOK LAUNCH
George Fetherling reads from his new collection The Sylvia Hotel Poems. Tuesday, March 23 at 6:00pm, free. The Sylvia Hotel, 1154 Gilford.
CANADA AND ISRAEL: BUILDING APARTHEID
Book launch for Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid , an account of Canadian complicity in 20th- and 21st-century colonialism, dispossession, and war crimes. Wednesday, March 24 at 7:00pm. W2 Perel Gallery (112 W. Hastings).
EVELYN C. WHITE AND JOANNE BEALY
In celebration of the diversity of British Columbia, Vancouver Public Library presents Evelyn C. White and Joanne Bealy reading from Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island. Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.
PBS KIDS GO! WRITERS CONTEST
KCTS 9 is sponsoring a competition encourages British Columbia and Washington children in kindergarten through third grades to create their own original picture books. Deadline is March 24, 2010. For complete details, email kids@KCTS9.org, call 1.800.930.6060 or visit http://kcts9.org/kids/kids/young-writers-contest.
LEE HENDERSON
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize winning author reads from the Man Game. Thursday, March 25 at 2:00pm. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver.
PRINTING IN THE SHADOW OF ALDUS
The Alcuin Society presents an illustrated talk by Peter Rutledge Koch on the making, in Venice, of his fine press edition of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky's Watermark: a Memoir of Venice. Introduced by Robert Bringhurst. Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm, free. Fletcher Challenge Room, Harbour Centre, SFU Downtown Campus, 2300 - 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver. More information at www.alcuinsociety.com.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Women Take on the Words featuring Narine Holtz and Lisa Robertson. Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Library, Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Readings by Pamela Mordecai and Salimah Valiani (Letter In: Letter Out). Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm. SB406, Emily Carr University, Granville Island.
BERYL YOUNG
Launch of the author's new book, Follow the Elephant with book draws and East Indian appetizers. Friday, March 26 at 6:30pm. Tilley Endurables Western, 2401 Granville Street.
FINE PRINTING AND IMAGINATION
UBC Library and the Alcuin Society present a lecture by Peter Rutledge Koch on his major work. Friday, March 26 at 1:30pm. The Dodson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.alcuinsociety.com.
THRUST
Robson Reading Series presents the launch of Thrust, a single edition literary magazine featuring the work of students from UBC's MFA in Creative Writing program. Friday, March 26 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Library, Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.
Join us!
Since we started campaigning a few weeks ago, more than 100 new members have signed on. Thank you for your support! Now that it's clear we're losing substantial funding from the Provincial government, contributions from our audiences are increasingly important. If you haven't already become a member we urge you to join us and show your support for great literary programming and our Spreading the Word education program for BC schools. And the benefits of membership are great...discounts, earlybird tickets, we could go on...
Click for more information, http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/supportus/joinus.
Every two weeks we will draw the name of a new member to win an exciting prize. The prize for March 19: Ian McEwan's new book Solar, published by Knopf Canada. The prize for April 1: two tickets to see Peter Carey in conversation with Hal Wake on May 7.
Special Events
Ian McEwan
It’s time for Canadian papers—the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette—to weigh in on Ian McEwan’s Solar.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/review-solar-by-ian-mcewan/article1...
http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/books/payback+time+around+c...
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/779090--p...
Ian McEwan will be interviewed by Jerry Wasserman. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/community/specialevents. VIWF members: Receive a $2 member discount for Ian McEwan event tickets! Join us: http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/supportus/joinus.
Peter Carey
The Vancouver International Writers Festival and Random House of Canada present the Man Booker Prize for Fiction winner and the author of Oscar and Lucinda and True History of the Kelly Gang in conversation with Hal Wake. Details at http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/community/specialevents.
AWARDS & LISTS
Breaking news! The winners of the 2009 CBC Literary Awards have been announced.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/18/cbc-literary-awards.html
The winner of Canada Reads 2010 is Nikolski by Quebec writer Nicolas Dickner. Originally published in French, it was released in English in 2009 and won the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/12/canada-reads-winner.html#i...
Michael Crummey and Shandi Mitchell, both of whom were at the Festival last year, have advanced to the finals of the Commonwealth Writers Prize.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/11/commonwealth-regional-priz...
Man Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel has now picked up the 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. Winners in all categories can be found here.
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/wolf-hall-win...
Mantel also appears on the long list for the Orange Prize, along with two other 2009 Festival guests Lorrie Moore, Sarah Waters, and others.
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/114665-mantel-waters-kingsolver-make-o...
NEWS & FEATURES
Shane Koyczan talks with the Straight about the opportunities that have arisen since his performance at the opening ceremonies.
http://www.straight.com/article-298217/vancouver/stuffs-store-koyczan
The NY Times writes that with joblessness in the United States at around 10 percent, it’s times for “writers to get up from behind their laptops and get back to work, real work — or at least to start writing about it again.” The latest issue of Granta, too, is dedicated to the theme of work.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/books/review/Schuessler-t.html?ref=books
http://www.granta.com/Magazine/Granta-109-Work
The film release of Swedish author Steig Larsson’s thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has added fuel to a debate that has been raging since the novel’s publication in 2005, a year after the author’s death. Put simply, is it a feminist work or not? Find out what the critics are saying.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/15/girl-with-the-drag...
Listen to Carol Ann Duffy read a new poem inspired by David Beckham's Achilles injury.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/arts_and_culture/8570282.stm
And printed here is a selection of poems on aging commissioned by the poet laureate of the UK.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/13/carol-ann-duffy-poems-ageing
Scholars are ready to add a new play to Shakespeare’s canon, Double Falsehood, believed to have been written in collaboration with dramatist John Fletcher.
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2010/03/16/shakespeare-new-play.html
The man with one of the most prestigious jobs in publishing in the UK, Dan Franklin, the boss of Jonathan Cape, attributes luck to much of his success.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/14/dan-franklin-jonathan-cape
BOOKS & WRITERS
The NY Times writes that the title of Paolo Giardano’s novel, The Solitude of Prime Numbers, “conveys not only the novel’s gist but also its style and heart.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/12/books/12eder.html?ref=books
In her latest blog post for the Guardian, and in her usual humorous way, A.L. Kennedy dissects the process of writing fiction, of putting one word after another.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2010/mar/10/al-kennedy-writing...
And The Toronto Star offers a favourable review of Kennedy’s What Becomes, her latest story collection.
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/bookreviews/article/779079--w...
The Guardian writes that the best meditations in Manhood for Amateurs, Michael Chabon’s collection of essays, are those most removed from his role as devoted husband and father of four.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/14/manhood-for-amateurs-michael...
Margaret Atwood reviews preeminent naturalist and biologist E.O Wilson’s first novel, Anthill.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23763
Joe Hill, son of Stephen King, whose first book Heart-Shaped Box was a great success, says that starting out anonymously “was the smartest thing [he’s] ever done professionally.”
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/books/joe-hill-a-new-king-of-horror/artic...
COMMUNITY EVENTS
GENERAL RICK HILLIER
Book signing with General Rick Hillier as he signs copies of his book, A Soldier First. Thursday, March 18 at 6:00pm. Chapters Robson and Howe, 788 Robson Street.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Reading by poets Rachel Zolf (Human Resources) and Richard Lemm (Four Ways of Dealing with Bullies). Thursday, March 18 at 7:00pm. SB406, Emily Carr University, Granville Island.
ALL THINGS SPOKEN
An evening of storytelling with Ivan E. Coyote and special guest Rodney Decroo. Thursday, March 18, doors at 7:00pm, show at 8:30pm. Tickets $10. Cellar Restaurant and Jazz Club, 3611 W. Broadway.
NORMAN D. WATT
Author signs copies of his new book Off The Beaten Path: A Hiking Guide to Vancouver's North Shore. First appearance: Saturday, March 20 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at Black Bond Books (1199 Lynn Valley Road, N. Vancouver). Second appearance: Sunday, March 21 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm at Save-On-Foods (Park & Tilford, 333 Brooksbank Avenue, N. Vancouver).
SPRING'S NEW WORK
A poetry reading with David Zieroth, Russell Thornton, Allan Briesmaster and Richard Lemm. Sunday, March 21 at 2:00pm. The Café for Contemporary Art, 140 East Esplanade, North Vancouver.
LIGHT AND SHADOW
Celebration of World Storytelling Day with Helen May and Kris Paulson. Sunday, March 21 at 7:00pm. Tickets $7. St. Mark's Anglican Church, 1805 Larch Street). More information at www.vancouverstorytellers.vcn.bc.ca.
CBC RADIO STUDIO ONE BOOK CLUB
The next CBC Radio Studio One Book Club features The Smart Cookies' Guide to Couples and Money, their follow up book to the hugely successful Smart Cookies' Guide to Making More Dough and Getting Out of Debt. No matter what your age, your marital status or your bank account, this Studio One Book Club will be fun, inspiring and timely - these ladies lost their debt and gained a wealth of financial wisdom. Monday, March 22 at 6:30 pm in the CBC Broadcast Centre. To win free tickets, go to www.cbc.ca/bc/bookclub.
SYLVIA HOTEL BOOK LAUNCH
George Fetherling reads from his new collection The Sylvia Hotel Poems. Tuesday, March 23 at 6:00pm, free. The Sylvia Hotel, 1154 Gilford.
CANADA AND ISRAEL: BUILDING APARTHEID
Book launch for Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid , an account of Canadian complicity in 20th- and 21st-century colonialism, dispossession, and war crimes. Wednesday, March 24 at 7:00pm. W2 Perel Gallery (112 W. Hastings).
EVELYN C. WHITE AND JOANNE BEALY
In celebration of the diversity of British Columbia, Vancouver Public Library presents Evelyn C. White and Joanne Bealy reading from Every Goodbye Ain't Gone: A Photo Narrative of Black Heritage on Salt Spring Island. Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30pm, free. Alma VanDusen room, Lower Level, Central Library, 350 W. Georgia Street.
PBS KIDS GO! WRITERS CONTEST
KCTS 9 is sponsoring a competition encourages British Columbia and Washington children in kindergarten through third grades to create their own original picture books. Deadline is March 24, 2010. For complete details, email kids@KCTS9.org, call 1.800.930.6060 or visit http://kcts9.org/kids/kids/young-writers-contest.
LEE HENDERSON
Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize winning author reads from the Man Game. Thursday, March 25 at 2:00pm. Lillooet Room (level 3), Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver.
PRINTING IN THE SHADOW OF ALDUS
The Alcuin Society presents an illustrated talk by Peter Rutledge Koch on the making, in Venice, of his fine press edition of Nobel laureate Joseph Brodsky's Watermark: a Memoir of Venice. Introduced by Robert Bringhurst. Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm, free. Fletcher Challenge Room, Harbour Centre, SFU Downtown Campus, 2300 - 515 West Hastings St., Vancouver. More information at www.alcuinsociety.com.
ROBSON READING SERIES
Women Take on the Words featuring Narine Holtz and Lisa Robertson. Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Library, Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.
ON EDGE READING SERIES
Readings by Pamela Mordecai and Salimah Valiani (Letter In: Letter Out). Thursday, March 25 at 7:00pm. SB406, Emily Carr University, Granville Island.
BERYL YOUNG
Launch of the author's new book, Follow the Elephant with book draws and East Indian appetizers. Friday, March 26 at 6:30pm. Tilley Endurables Western, 2401 Granville Street.
FINE PRINTING AND IMAGINATION
UBC Library and the Alcuin Society present a lecture by Peter Rutledge Koch on his major work. Friday, March 26 at 1:30pm. The Dodson Room, Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, UBC, 1961 East Mall, Vancouver. More information at www.alcuinsociety.com.
THRUST
Robson Reading Series presents the launch of Thrust, a single edition literary magazine featuring the work of students from UBC's MFA in Creative Writing program. Friday, March 26 at 7:00pm, free. UBC Bookstore Library, Robson Square, 800 Robson Street.
