There’s a new publisher in town — and it wants to shake things up. B House Publications is the brainchild of one of Calgary’s best-known playwrights, Eugene Stickland, and his friend, Michael J. Finner. “Michael had been reading about improvements in print technology,” says Stickland. “Not long ago, it was prohibitively expensive to print less than 500 copies of a book, but things have changed.” Finner came to Stickland with the idea of starting up a small press, and the playwright was immediately on board.
“It amazes me that I never thought of this before,” says Stickland. “I really think that Calgary is the heart of new play development in Canada, and a local publisher of drama could have tremendous application to the theatre community.” Not wasting any time, Stickland and Finner assembled a team, incorporated and published Stickland’s play, Writer’s Block, in time for its recent Ground Zero Theatre debut.
“Most people give up on ever getting their scripts published, because it’s so hard to do,” says Stickland. “But if your script isn’t published, it’s not out in the world. I had a production of my play, A Guide to Mourning, because the artistic director of a Toronto theatre company had an hour to kill, went browsing in a bookstore and picked a copy off the shelf.”
B House has plans to publish several local plays, including Dough and The Va-Jay-Jay Monologues by Lindsay Burns, several one-act plays by Neil Fleming, a comedy collection by Tony Binns and Drunken Fucker by Sean Bowie, the tale of Bowie’s descent into alcoholism that Stickland hopes will end up on university reading lists for addiction counsellors and social workers.
The publisher is not, however, limited to theatre — they have also planned a poetry collection by Jude Dillon, and a collection of stories, The Beano Anthology, slated for publication in July. “I go to Caffé Beano quite regularly, and I thought, ‘My God, there are a lot of writers in this place,’” says Stickland. “Wouldn’t it be interesting to take a snapshot, right now, of what’s going on in their notebooks? We’re really excited to celebrate the community of this locally owned coffee shop.”
Stickland hopes that the B House Gala will attract local authors looking for a home for their manuscripts. The Gala features readings by Josh Barsky, Tony Binns, Sean Bowie, Lindsay Burns and Sean MacAlistar, with tunes by Arlen. Join them at the Auburn Saloon (163, 115 9 Ave. S.E.) on June 14, 8 p.m.
For the work of up-and-coming writers, check out the launch of the eighth issue of NoD, the University of Calgary’s undergraduate-run magazine. The evening features readings by Christian Bök, Meghan Doraty, ryan fitzpatrick, Kim Tan-MacNeill and Michael Yip as well as music by A Chalkboard, an offshoot of Calgary’s much-loved Consonant C. The launch party starts at 7 p.m., Thursday, June 12 at Weeds Café (1903 20 Ave. N.W.).
Murder is in the air, as mystery writers Jeff Buick, Lorna Nicholson, Steve Owad and Sharon Wildwind unite for an evening of drama and suspense. They read at the W.R. Castell Central Library (616 MacLeod Tr. S.E.) on June 12, 7 p.m.
If you’re interested in the recent faith debate, check out Gretta Vosper, who will be introducing With or Without God: Why the Way We Live is More Important than What We Believe, a book labelled not only radical, but also passionate and thoughtful. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, June 12 at Hillhurst United Church (1227 Kensington Close N.W).
Two local and well-known poets, Christopher Wiseman and Richard Harrison, will be reading for the launch of Wiseman’s new book, 36 Cornelian Avenue, on Thursday, June 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Pages Books on Kensington (1135 Kensington Rd. N.W).
One Yellow Rabbit celebrates its 25th anniversary with an off-the-hook Silver Jubilee party, which will feature the One Yellow Rabbit Ensemble — Blake Brooker, Denise Clarke, Andy Curtis, Onalea Gilbertson, Michael Green and Richard McDowell — and several special guests, including award-winning authors Dave Bidini, Karen Hines and Daniel MacIvor. The Rabbits take over the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium on June 12, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.
Mob Hit Productions’ Old School Festival is back for a third year, and its opening night party features the hip hop poetry stylings of Wakefield Brewster. Brewster will be joined by local musicians Five Star Affair at the Arrata Opera Centre (1315 7 St. S.W.) on June 13, 8 p.m. $15.
Interested in environmentalism? Join the Sustainable Calgary Book Club for an afternoon of idea sharing and discussion. This month’s focus is The Death and Life of Great American Cities by influential author Jane Jacobs. The group meets at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 15 at McNally Robinson (120 8 Ave. S.W).
