| Despite entire worlds of brilliant fiction and splendid poetry and drama waiting to be read, some readers (mostly male – why is that?) just won’t let themselves read books that aren’t about "something real." At least when you’re trying to decide which books by local authors to give those people as gifts, this year you have a few appealing choices. And you can get the books signed, too, which makes it so much nicer.
Two good opportunities come up this very week. On Wednesday, December 11 at 7 p.m., Calgary’s own Andrew Nikiforuk is at McNally Robinson, reading from and signing the Governor General’s Award-winner Saboteurs: Wiebo Ludwig's War Against Big Oil. Who needs this book? Anyone interested in great investigative writing, or in Alberta, or in the volatile future of any place in the world where resource extraction industries and local populations sidle together.
The other opportunity involves historians David Bercuson and Holger Herwig, who are probably the only Calgary authors whose work has led them to climb into a submarine with the director of Titanic. (Would you do it?) Their new book, The Destruction Of The Bismarck, unearths new research on one of the most dramatic Second World War stories. They read at McNally Robinson on Monday, December 9 at 7 p.m.
"Staying up all night is the most human thing you can do. Animals don’t do it." Leonard Cohen says this, or something very similar, in that great old ’60s documentary Ladies and Gentlemen, Leonard Cohen. You can get started on your own all-nighter this Friday at Leonard Cohen Night, presented by the Society of Poets, Bards and Storytellers at Annie’s Book Company. Set your alarm for 6 p.m. because the event runs from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. After that, it’s all up to you. Pat at 403-516-0846 has more info.
Drop by Fort Calgary on December 11 at 7 p.m. for the December Tellaround event with T.A.L.E.S. Calgary. You can just listen to other storytellers, or join in with your own tale.
As the nights get longer, the nocturnal population of writers becomes more active. But what to do with all of this new writing you’re getting done? Enter it in a contest – you might get published, produced or paid. Women with plays face a December 10 deadline for Winnipeg’s FemFest: A Festival for Women Playwrights. Authors considering Prism International's 17th annual short fiction contest have until January 31, 2003. Curious? Get all the submission details and deadlines courtesy of the Writers Guild of Alberta at www.writersguild.ab.ca/resources.htm. |
