Category: News: Arts & Entertainment (Page 1 of 25)

Hey it’s Banned Books Week and 99% Invisible has an awesome podcast that is 100% worth listening to. It’s about the Griftschrank, or “poison cabinet”, in the Bavarian State Library in Munich, and other “poison cabinets” or rooms that have been used over the years for banned or controlled substances (like pharmaceuticals, or Mein Kampf) and other works considered dangerous.

The Giftschrank

Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read. I enjoy the yearly reminder of the censorship and hardship that books can endure. And every year there is some new tip or piece of advice about how to deal with censorship, how to embrace diversity and how to cope with challenges. This year I discovered that NCAC has a censorship toolkit to help parents, teachers and schools deal with challenges and requests to ban books:

NCAC’s Book Censorship Action Kit

Onca is a brave new publisher of speculative fiction with a passion for the printed book. Based in BC, Onca Publishing was founded by Shed Simas, a former Master of Publishing student of mine who has worked for several BC presses, doing editing, production, design and marketing. Now he’s launched his own publishing house and is doing a crowdfunding campaign to get his first title on the printing press.

As a lover of speculative fiction–science fiction, fantasy, dystopian–and literary fiction, the first book, and focus of the campaign, is a limited edition of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with original art from comic artist/illustrator Asher J. Klassen, and painter Marissa Brown.

Help Shed raise $11,000 to print the project:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/onca-classics-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde

More at OncaPublishing.com

From the Winnipeg Free Press Friends to honour late author Wayne Tefs

Quote: The launch of the last novel by the late Wayne Tefs will be a gathering of some of the many people whose lives were touched by the prolific writer, editor and teacher.

Barker (Turnstone Press) is the story of a carnival barker travelling the Prairies during the Depression. The book launch, starting at 3pm on Saturday, October 4 at McNally Robinson Booksellers, will include readings from friends and colleagues, including David Arnason and Dennis Cooley.

Tefs, who died this month after living many years with cancer, wrote novels, short stories, memoirs and hybrid fact-based novels during a career in which he also edited several anthologies of short stories and helped many of Turnstone’s writers get their manuscripts ready for publication.

James Sherrett was one of those writers who worked with Wayne to get his manuscript ready for publication by Turnstone.

What started as a chapbook published by Jesse James Press (founded by Jesse Simon, James Sherrett and Scott James Montgomery, with me acting as the Press), Up in Ontario won the Heaven Chapbook of the Year in 1996, one of the Manitoba Literary Awards, and later became a full-length novel of the same name.

Wayne Tefs was instrumental in mentoring James as a writer and later editing Up in Ontario. I remember Wayne as a kind, funny and friendly man who enjoyed Sunday morning hockey and who was very generous with his time. I’m sure he’ll be missed by literary pals David Arnason and Dennis Cooley, and I wish I could join them at McNally next weekend. I was very sad to hear a few weeks ago that Wayne wasn’t looking great and then to hear that he’d passed away at the fine age of 66.

Moon Lake and Red Rock are two of my favourite Wayne Tefs novels and I’m looking forward to reading Barker.

Farewell, Wayne.

My friend Rachael Ashe presented at Creative Mornings a month ago on making things by hand and I found her presentation really inspiring. A few of the things that stood out for me:

1. iPhone photography has taken away the hands-on, tactile aspect of shooting images. We don’t have film, slides to advance, prints to handle. So maybe we should think about all the other ways that touch screens and digital tools have made us too “hands free”.

2. Build time in your schedule to make. Think about yourself as a maker. DO Things. Especially if it’s just for play.

3. Play and practice is how you refine your skills, and that can lead to paid work (if you’re interested in that sort of thing).

4. Say YES, I don’t know exactly how to do that but I’ll give it a go.

5. The first time you do anything, it will probably suck. Hooray!

Also, I like Rachael’s quiet sense of humour and little jokes in her presentation. I’m proud of my friend. I’m pleased that she overcame the nerve-wracking experience of speaking in front of an audience, and that she did a bang up job at preparing, practicing and presenting.

Ease into your chair. The talk is 30 min then there’s 15 min of Q&A. Rachael hits her stride around the 8 min mark, but don’t skip ahead, just relax, get inspired, and then go make.

This is my favourite presentation this year. Last year it was Tori Holmes talking about being the youngest woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean. I still think about that presentation and how to turn the impossible into the possible. A theme that carries through in Rachael’s talk.

Shop for Rachael Ashe’s work on Etsy.

Follow her on Facebook, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

Third Generation Bookseller BLACK BOND BOOKS Celebrates 50 Years! (CNW Group/Black Bond Books)

Oh hooray for Black Bond Books! Canada’s largest independent bookselling group‚ based in BC‚ is celebrating their Golden Anniversary this October. Black Bond Books was founded in Brandon, Manitoba in 1963, by Madeline Neill, now retired. She moved to BC in 1972, and with the help of her children, Cathy, Vicky and Michael, the company grew to 10 locations over the years. A true, family business, Madeline’s daughter Cathy Jesson is President, granddaughter, and third generation bookseller Caitlin Jesson manages the Vancouver location, and Mel Jesson, business partner, keeps the financials in order. (Source: Press Release)

Calling All Historians & Journalists! Do you know about the Michael Fellman Award? This $1000 award was co-established by the SFU History Department and The Tyee to honour a piece of publicly accessible writing that offers a bold, erudite political analysis tied to history.

The inaugural prize honours this historian’s skill at unpacking complex issues and providing context to current day and historical events. Fellman passed away in 2012 and the Michael Fellman Award was created to reflect his spirit of public engagement, bold thought, clear analysis, and writing that rests on well-researched historical understanding.

The submission deadline is fast approaching! Entries are due before November 1.

Deadline: Nov 1
2,500 words
Email doc to editor@thetyee.ca; Subject Line: Submission for Michael Fellman Award

Full details are available here:
http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2013/09/12/Fellman-Award-Deadline/

More about Michael Fellman, professor emeritus of history at SFU and historian of the 19th Century, the Civil War, and American Violence: Michael Fellman in Memoriam: an essay by Christopher Phelps

Very excited for my friends Jesse Finkelstein and Trena White who have just launched their new publishing venture, Page Two.

Page Two is a new form of agency for non-fiction authors needing help navigating the full range of publishing options from traditional publishing routes to self-publishing and digital publishing. Jesse and Trena are publishing veterans with a ton of experience and high-level of detail so there’s no doubt in my mind that their clients will be in good hands.

PageTwoStrategies.com

Author and publisher services:
• Writing coaching and editorial support
• Career strategizing that considers the full range of publishing options, including self-publishing
• Traditional author representation to the book trade
• Sourcing printers, POD, and distribution services
• Sourcing skilled freelancers to work on your project
• Managing or expanding corporate publications programs
• Transitioning print content to digital
• Cross-format content licensing, including contract drafting and review
• Strategic planning and business development
• Editorial and acquisitions strategy