| The slogan for the annual ReLit Awards is "ideas, not money." When Newfoundland's Kenneth J. Harvey founded the awards in 2000, he stipulated that only independent Canadian publishers could submit books, and that there would be no entry fee. The name ReLit may be short for several things, including Regarding Literature, Reinventing Literature or Relighting Literature. Perhaps there's also an allusion to the bonfires that get re-lit each year for the beachfront awards parties.
Yes, the ReLits are a long way from the Giller Prize and its gala. The recently released long lists of nominees for poetry, novels and short fiction reflect the world of beleaguered Canadian small presses, mostly, although the less-small Thomas Allen and Raincoast noticeably contribute several nominees. The list of publishers includes Goose Lane, Thistledown, Cormorant, Anvil and Pedlar presses, among many others including Western Canadian presses Arsenal, NeWest and Calgary's own Frontenac House. Frontenac author Kevin Irie is on the long list for his poetry collection Angel Blood: The Tess Poems. In his book, Irie audaciously adopts the voice of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles as she talks back to her accusers and abusers.
In mid-May the ReLit short lists will be announced. Winners will be dancing around beach bonfires on both coasts come the end of June.
The filling Station Flywheel lineup for Thursday, March 10 is now available. The reading features Colin Martin, Nathan Dueck, Jessica Grant and David Bateman. It's at McNally Robinson at 7 p.m.
Emma Richler is back from London, following up her short-story collection Sister Crazy with her new novel Feed My Dear Dogs. She reads at McNally Robinson on Friday, March 11 at 8 p.m.
Calgary's Judd Palmer also returns to McNally Robinson, in his case with The Giant Killer, book No. 5 in the Preposterous Fables for Unusual Children series. That's on Saturday, March 12 at 2:30 p.m. Then, on Wednesday, March 16 at 7 p.m., local performer and playwright Sandra Dempsey presents Enigmas, a drama about assisted suicide.
They're flooding into downtown Calgary from the university on the hill. U of C student writers will read on both Thursday and Friday nights, March 17 and 18. The first event comes to you courtesy of the English Literature Students' Society. Bethany Brocke, Rebecca Szulhan, William Neil Scott and Mark Hopkins will all read at McNally Robinson on the Thursday at 7 p.m. Then, on Friday, the organizers of the annual Free Exchange Conference will bring in writers from the creative writing program for a gala reading, also at 7 p.m. at McNally.
(Not so) silent partners and women wardens is the title for an evening of fireside storytelling about the history of women in the national parks, to be held on April 2 at Num-Ti-Jah Lodge just north of Lake Louise. This session of the Lodge's Heritage Fireside Chats series features Dorothy Carleton, Irene Brook, Sylvia Forest, Lisa Paulson, Angie Blake, Sharon Anderson, Cathy Elder and Vicki Wallace. Kathy Calvert will moderate and Brian Bindon will host. The talk is free, and there's also a free Parks Canada bus that leaves from (and returns to) Banff. What's more fun is to arrive early for dinner in the dining room, and then stay the night on the shore of Bow Lake. Here are the contacts for all of these possibilities: for the talk only, call Bindon at (403) 590-1608. For the bus service, it's Dennis Herman at (403) 762-1414 (call after 5 p.m. only); and for lodge accommodation, call Lee O’Donnell at (403) 522-2167.
Best-selling books for February 28 to March 6 at Pages on Kensington
Fiction and Poetry
1. Saturday
by Ian McEwan
2. How We Are Hungry
by Dave Eggers
3. The Sign of the Book
by John Dunning
4. George and Rue
by George Elliott Clarke
5. Girls in Pants
by Ann Brashares
6. Kafka on the Shore
by Haruki Murakami
7. Seduction
by Catherine Gildiner
8. The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
9. Wild About Books
by Judy Sierra
10. McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories
edited by Michael Chabon
Non-fiction
1. Collapse
by Jared Diamond
2. A Short History of Progress
by Ronald Wright
3. Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell
4. The Bow: Living With a River
edited by Gerald Conaty
5. Kingdom of Ten Thousand Things
by Gary Geddes
6. Feast
by Nigella Lawson
7. In the Feng Shui Zone
by Debra Ford
8. Eats, Shoots and Leaves
by Lynne Truss
9. The End of Faith
by Sam Harris
10. The Curious Cook at Home
by dee Hobsbawn-Smith |
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