Renown writer Dany Laferriere is up for the Scotiabank Giller Prize
Picas and Prose: Scotiabank Giller Prize nominees and D&M celebrate 40 years of independent publishing
- by Zoe Grams
Fall is a healthy, hectic time for words in Vancouver. The next few weeks will see some of the biggest literary festivals of the city, including The Word on the Street and Vancouver International Writers Festival, plus a number of fall readings from sterling names in Canadian fiction, from the internationally renowned Michael Ondaatje to one of the coolest new kids on the block of short fiction, Matthew J. Trafford.
Use this week, then, to prepare yourself for the upcoming barrage of talent. Now’s the time to start your intellectual workout. The first weekly installment of Picas and Prose will help you to bulk up on entertaining literary nourishment before the season begins.
- The 17-strong long list of nominations for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and its $50,000 winnings, was announced last week. The shortlist will be announced on Oct 4. Big names such as Dany Laferriere, and David Bezmozgis are recognized beside lesser-known writers including Zsuzsi Gartner. Despite having won awards for her magazine writing throughout the last decade, Gartner has received newfound attention for her literary works, including her second short-story collection, the Giller-nominated Better Living Through Plastic Explosives. Myrna Dey’s Extensions entered the list as the “People’s Choice” nomination – the first vote of its kind in the history of the prize, and a controversial addition.
David Bezmozgis has made it to the Scotiabank Giller Prize 17-strong long list of nominees
- Publishing is no stranger to controversy, especially when the industry now faces more changes than ever. “Are Books Dead?” by Ewan Morrison, a recent article in the Guardian, provided an in-depth, albeit rather morose, overview of the current challenges faced by the publishing industry. It should be compulsory reading for all book lovers. Morrison explains how the profit model has changed to the “long tail”, which is worrying for small fish; compares publishing to other industries transformed by the demand of free online content; and leaves us with a serious challenge: “I ask you to leave this place troubled, and to ask yourself and as many others as you can, what you can do if you truly value the work of the people formerly known as writers.” It’s through awareness of these changes, concern for writers (and their publishers), and corresponding consumer behaviour, that the industry can survive.
- On a cheerier note, the 40th birthday of independent Canadian publisher, D&M Publishers, is a good example of an organization in the literary world keeping on top of change and prospering as a result. Their official birthday party – with cake – kicks off at The Word on the Street (more on that next week), but in the run up to the main event they’re giving away a number of prizes including a chance to win one of two Kobo Touches loaded with 10 D&M Ebooks. You also have the chance to “sample” each of the books they’re giving away with digital copies, available from the site www.fortyyears.ca.
- When Carmen Aguirre was 18, she joined the Chilean resistance against General Pinochet. Now a Vancouver-based writer and theatre artist, she survived through war-ridden Peru, dictatorship-run Bolivia, post-Malvinas Argentina and, of course, Pinochet’s Chile. The Vancouver International Writers Festival presents an on-stage interview with her, to discuss her memoir Something Fierce, alongside Chilean-Canadian activist and Retribution author, Carmen Rodriguez. It’s free, in the Alice MacKay Room of the Vancouver Public Library, Sept 14, at 7.30pm.
- If you’re interested in fighting your own just cause, or writing about your experiences to date, start by attending the upcoming workshop on memoir writing, run by the Canadian Authors Association with freelance writer and editor Sylvia Taylor, on Tuesday, Sept 14 from 7-9pm, at the Alliance for Arts and Culture, Suite 100, 938 Howe St., Vancouver. Free for CAA members, $10 otherwise ($5 for students with ID).
Next week we’ll bring you news of three readings (and one workshop) you won’t want to miss, plus an inside look at The Word on the Street.
