Filed under: Uncategorized
An Open Letter to Andrew Steeves, publisher of Johanna Skibsrud’s The Sentimentalists, Gaspereau Press.
Good morning, Mr Steeves!
Congratulations to you, Gaspereau Press and Johanna Skibsbrud for the deserving win at the Giller Prize ceremonies last night in glorious downtown Toronto.
Few of us can imagine what you must be feeling right now. Some mixture of dread and elation, perhaps.
I honestly hope that it’s neither because you didn’t just win Canada’s ‘most prestigious literary prize’ last night – while simultaneously throwing the entire book distribution chain into apoplexy – you actually won and shared the win with some very deserving books and writers.
No matter how insistent the cries become from the manifold voices in the book publishing ether to ‘get these books onto the display tables of big box bookstores from coast to coast (and maybe a few of the remaining independents while you’re at it) regardless of what it does to the quality of the book object’ – please ignore them.
While the voices of those imbued with the patience enough to wait, and a sufficient list of books to read in the meantime, may not be quite as loud as some of the others, we are here.
Go back to work today like any other day and embrace the process that you have built for your books and your writers.
Gaspereau Press has a reputation for creating beautifully designed and crafted books full of great writing. The Giller Prize does not change that.
The craft that your shop brings to bookstores, reader’s bookshelves and to the legacy of reading in Canada cannot be replicated.
The readers will be here when the books are ready. I will be very excited to open the package from Gaspereau that contains my copy of the Sentimentalists. Whenever that is.
In fact, I think that we can look at this as a victory for all the books in this year’s Giller Prize list because now we can enjoy all the books that made the short list as we await the arrival of their own handmade copy of the winner. Crafted by none other than Gaspereau Press.
That actually sounds like a win for everybody involved.
So take your time with the reprints, but not too much time. Get them to us when they’re ready.
Until then we’ve got a few other books to read.
Sincerely
Fans of the Book.
Filed under: Enthusiasms, Imagination, Industry Change | Tags: Abe Advent Book Elf, Advent Book Blog, Book Madam
Last December our friends at Open Book Toronto interviewed Julie, ABE and myself about the Advent Book Blog. It was a fun interview and it gave us a chance to explain ourselves and our project but ABE’s part of the Q&A is the most memorable. I’ve posted it below.
For the full interview check out Open Book Toronto.
I’m looking forward to unleashing more of ABE’s crazy story later this year!
Filed under: Enthusiasms, Events, Imagination | Tags: Advent Book Blog, Book Madam
Remember the Advent Book Blog? Remember how much fun it was?
Remember the look on your mother’s face when she opened her gift on Christmas morning and saw that you’d followed the advice of Dan Wagstaff and got her a copy of Asterios Polyp? That, my friend, is the magic of giving books as gifts.
And so, in hopes of creating even more looks bemused perplexion if not surprise and joy, we’re planning to launch a renewed version of the ABB in one month from now.
If you didn’t participate in the project last year or were sleeping under a rock or perhaps lost in a Stephanie Meyer Coma here’s a breakdown of what the Advent Book Blog is all about:
Filed under: Events | Tags: Camilla Gibb, Granville Island, Hal Wake, Robert Wiersema, Sarah Selecky, Vancouver, Vancouver International Writers Festival, VIWF, William Gibson
- VIWF #23: Bringing 100 Writers from all over the World to Vancouver this week!
Click here to listen to the Hal Wake Interview for VIWF #23.
Here’s the official word on the festival from the people on the inside:
Festival bringing 100 international and Canadian authors to Vancouver tomorrow
(October 18, 2010, Vancouver, BC)—The Vancouver International Writers & Readers Festival opens tomorrow (Tuesday, October 19), and brings to Vancouver some of the biggest names in writing in the world. Over six days, from October 19 to 24, 100 authors from Canada, the US, the UK, Italy, France, Ireland, Israel, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines will join thousands of readers at the annual festival on Granville Island in Vancouver.
Among the featured authors are four who have been nominated for this year’s Governor-General’s award – Sandra Birdsell, Emma Donoghue, Drew Hayden Taylor and Kathleen Winter – and two who have been shortlisted for this year’s Giller Prize – Sarah Selecky and Kathleen Winter.
Also attending are this year’s Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Harding, the most read French author in the world, Marc Levy, and past nominees for the Booker Prize Ali Smith, Andrea Levy, David Mitchell, Andrew O’Hagan and Yann Martel, who won the Booker Prize in 2002.
The Festival concludes after six days and 67 events with a tribute to Penguin on its 75th anniversary, publisher of pocketbook classics that brought the world’s best literature affordably to readers. In addition, the first four days of the Festival feature 34 events especially for grades K – 12 students in both French and English that will bring more than 7,000 young readers to Granville Island.
Following the Festival week, Sara Gruen, whose novel Water for Elephants was an international best-seller, will appear on Nov. 4, and on Nov. 21, the Festival presents Gary Shteyngart, a The New Yorker magazine’s pick for the best 20 under 40 luminary fiction writers.
Tickets are available through VancouverTix by calling 604-629-VTIX (604-629-8849), or at the Writers Festival box office, 1398 Cartwright Street. Complete program details are available at www.writersfest.bc.ca.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Monique Trottier with iPad.
If the joy of literature lies in the new ideas it offers readers, the interactive, curatorial nature of the web makes it a perfect place for books to flourish.
For all of the BookMadam readers who don’t get the free Vancouver weekly arts magazine, the Georgia Straight, here’s an update on what’s happening out here in Lotusland books-wise.
The ongoing death spiral is being beaten back. Books, readers, publishers and writers are finding new veins of opportunity and enthusiasm in our city.
From the arrival of Amazon and Chindigo in the mid-90’s to mass closing of local independent bookstores in the past 10 years to the closure of Raincoast’s publishing arm just after the boy prince finished with his magic in 2008 to the last Duthie store and Sophia Books shuttering earlier this year, it’s been about 15 years of bad news.
But no longer… there’s new optimism in Vancouver as a result of hard work, persistence and… what’s this?… building online communities via social media and activating them with gatherings and events IRL!
Shocking, I know.
The article is written by Jackie Wong. I met Jackie during the W2 Real Vancouver Writers’ Series that was curated during the Winter Olympics this year and we met again during the Joyland Vancouver Summit later in the spring.
Both times she was excited by the great crowds attending both events and the enthusiasm with which the audience supported the writers. It was something new to her in her experience of literary events in Vancouver.
This piece is very satisfying on many levels and I hope that people will continue to see Vancouver as a place that produces and supports some of the best creative literary talents in the world.
To read the whole piece go here: Vancouver Book Scene Reshaped by Online Communities.
Filed under: Events | Tags: Bob Kronbauer, Charles Demers, Diana Frances, Literary Death Match, Nikki Reimer, Paul Anthony, Sara Bynoe, Steve Burgess, Vancouver, Vancouver is Awesome, VIA, W2, W2 Storyeum
Literary Death Match Vancouver: W2 Storyeum. Friday Oct 8th @ 8PM.
Click here to listen to me and Todd Zuniga discuss Literary Death Match.
It’s happening!
The Canadian debut of the international performance/literary/comedic sensation Literary Death Match happens this Friday!
Hosted by Opium Magazine founder and LDM creator, Todd Zuniga, at the W2 Storyeum – 151 West Cordova between Cambie and Abbott – space and featuring the talents of writers Nikki Reimer, Charlie Demers, Steve Burgess and Sara Bynoe, it should be a hilarious good time.
Those 4 writers will be reading some of their original work to a rapt audience and will be ruthlessly scrutinized by the judges: Talent Time’s Paul Anthony, Vancouver is Awesome‘s Bob Kronbauer and Diana Frances from various CBC incarnations.
Tickets are $10 in advance AND $10 at the door and you should totally come out because it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Drinks will be served, books and magazines will be sold, good times will be had.
You should check out this excellent piece from our friends at Granville Magazine about Charlie’s book and the amazingness of Vancouver.
If you want some more info about the glory of Literary Death Match you can check out this piece published today in the Courier Newspaper and this cool little interview with Todd in the SFist.
Holler at me 778-987-8774 if you have any questions or seanATbooksontheradioDOTca.
Filed under: Events | Tags: LDM 100, LDM100, Literary Death Match, Vancouver is Awesome, W2, W2 Storyeum
Literary Death Match: Vancouver. Friday, October 8th. 8PM SHARP!
Official announcement, poster and social media campaign launch designed to drive awareness of the literary bloodsport competition happening in Vancouver in October.
Vancouver’s W2 Storyeum location – also host to the W2 Real Vancouver Writers’ Series during the 2010 Winter Olympics – will host the event as part of the worldwide literary/performance/comedy phenomenon that is Literary Death Match.
Here’s the verbatim from the LDM website:
We’ve been eyeballing our northern neighbor for Literary Death Match purposes since this whole shindig began — but now, finally, we are beyond eager to (finally) make our LDM debut in Canada, with LDM100: Vancouver!
Boasting a kneecap-tingling assortment of literary and humorous dextrousness, the flair-fueied evening will feature eclectic judges like Talent Time host Paul Anthony, the dazzling comedian/actor Diana Frances, and street artist/Vancouver is Awesome creator Bob Kronbauer. Amazing!
But wait, there’s more! They’ll preside over four bring-down-the-house scribes including the hilarious Sara Bynoe, journalist and Tyee wordsmith Steve Burgess, master of comedy and writer, Charles Demers (Vancouver Special), and the amazing Nikki Reimer (author of [sic]). Plus! A full bar; awesome public art installations; worldclass DJs; and, of course, literary bloodsport!
Hosted by LDM creator Todd Zuniga. Produced by Sean Cranbury.
Where: W2 Storyeum, 151 West Cordova Street, Vancouver (map)
When: Doors open at 7 pm, show starts at 8:05 (sharp) — after party after 9:40
Cost: $10 pre-order, $15 at the door.All guests get free entry to the DJ event at W2 after LDM!
Filed under: Enthusiasms | Tags: Fuck Me Ray Bradbury, NSFW, Rachel Bloom, Ray Bradbury, Science Fiction
Comedienne Rachel Bloom brings some 90’s power pop sensibility to this video homage to Ray Bradbury.
You remember Ray Bradbury, right? The author of Fahrenheit 69?
Good lascivious literary fun!
“Something wicked this way comes… and by ‘comes‘ I mean ejaculates on a book.”
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: BookMadam Posts
We’ve all been there. A family member or friend has become possessed by some malevolent force from beyond this realm and we need some help.
Traditional store-bought solutions prove fruitless and even personalized phone messages from the likes of John Tesh aren’t helping.
Luckily, there’s a recent street poster campaign in Vancouver that offers some alternatives:
Adverts for Exorcists: Only on Commercial Drive.
Oh, alright, I’m kidding about the whole demonic possession* thing, but this ad pasted to a telephone pole on Commercial Drive caught my attention earlier today.
I took the photo and uploaded it to Facebook right away. That started a conversation as people wondered WTF was going on with this.
A savvy telegenic exorcist with a street team and a twitter account?
Does that even make any sense? What dimension are we in again?
Some research into the website that’s mentioned on the poster – ChurchofStMarks.com – reveals that it’s all a part of a clever online/social media campign in support of a brand new Lionsgate horror film called The Last Exorcism.
Thanks to my nefarious friend, Katie Kruger for doing some eldritch online research and digging up this amazing Chatroulette sequence.
I don’t know if the movie is any good but the social media campaign built around it certainly shows some imagination.
(I should probably go see the movie and write something more in-depth about it.)
* If you or someone you know is actually possessed by a demon or the ghost of Martin Short please contact @NicBoshart for a book deal.
(cross-posted from the BookMadam site)
Filed under: Events | Tags: Mark Neale, No Maps for These Territories, Pattern Recognition, Post-Geographic, William Gibson, Zero History
As the publication of William Gibson’s Zero History creeps ever closer – and the possibility of an interview with the author on BOTR arises – I’ve been performing some informal research.
Above, I’ve posted a short video excerpt from a movie made in the late nineties by Mark Neale called No Maps for These Territories.
Here’s how the movie is described on wikipedia:
On an overcast morning in 1999, William Gibson, father of cyberpunk and author of the cult-classic novel Neuromancer, stepped into a limousine and set off on a road trip around North America. The limo was rigged with digital cameras, a computer, a television, a stereo, and a cell phone. Generated entirely by this four-wheeled media machine, No Maps for These Territories is both an account of Gibson’s life and work and a commentary on the world outside the car windows. Here, the man who coined the word “cyberspace” offers a unique perspective on Western culture at the edge of the new millennium, and in the throes of convulsive, tech – driven change.
That’s just too amazing. I cannot wait to get my hands on this movie.
I think that we should host a post-geographic screening in Vancouver at W2 Storyeum some time very soon.
books on the radio 