Category: News: Arts & Entertainment (Page 9 of 25)

I was speaking to Nicola Furlong the other day about her new mystery novel which is newly published as a Quillr. A Quillr is a multimedia version of a book that uses actors to portray certain scenes, audio effects, text and images.

Then I saw mention of it in the Globe & Mail yesterday. Nice coincidence!

Nicola and I were talking about other works that experiment with multimedia, in particular two of my favourites:

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
WorldWithoutUs.com/multimedia.html

This book is a study in what what world would look like without humans. The book is one of James’ favorites. It stimulates a lot of thoughts and questions about the world. The website is a multimedia experience that extends your ability to explore the ideas in the book. There are podcasts, interactive google maps (which are pretty cool–and my favourite part of the site), flash-based book trailer, an interactive slideshow, and audio clips.

Hot Springs by Steve Zio
HotSpringsNovel.com

Zio calls his work an iNovel. The physical book references the website and you can move back and forth between the two to listen to the music referenced in the book or other elements.

Einstein’s Dreams by Alan Lightman, produced by DNA Media
This is the closest I’ve seen to what Nicola is doing and unfortunately DNA has gone bankrupt and you can no longer access the site. There was a website, DVD and book. The website moved you through the novel in a fascinating way, it was all done in Flash I believe and it was a really integrated story experience. You were able to “choose your own adventure” which was part of reading and understanding the work. I loved the music in it and am very sad that it’s lost.

Now about Nicola …

Here Ends the Beginning by Nicola Furlong
HereEndsTheBeginning.com
Nicola’s latest novel, a supernatural thriller entitled Here Ends the Beginning, is available online in a multi-media storytelling format that she calls a Quillr.

Nicola says:
Quote: Much more than a conventional e-book, a Quillr is an innovative and interactive fusion of book, movie and soundtrack. The text of Here Ends the Beginning is punctuated throughout with video clips and photographs of actors recreating the characters and scenes. Music and sound effects further enhance this novel experience …

Here Ends the Beginning is a dramatic, compelling story about the devastating consequences of manipulating science and desecrating the laws of God and nature.

The first five sensory-enhanced chapters are offered for free online at http://www.hereendsthebeginning.com, with the full 43-chapter entertainment package available for $12.95 Canadian.

What do you think of the site? Feedback for Nicola?

Post your comments here.

I’ll be training with Crane.

Julie Wilson adds audio to Seen Reading, and it makes this blog perfect.

Good move Julie. The audio is a huge value and your voice is perfect, perfect. I love it.

According to the Vancouver Sun today (Vito Pilieci), the federal government is secretly negotiating an agreement to revamp international copyright laws, laws that could allow border guards to check private gadgets for material that infringes copyright.

I’d like to know how a border guard is going to determine if I’ve ripped a movie or not. If that’s all my music or not. Did I buy that ebook?

The article also says that the deal could “impose strict regulations on Internet service providers, forcing those companies to hand over customer information without a court order.”

What kind of police state is this? Aren’t their drugs and other things they should be paying attention to?

The agreement is called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) and federal trade agreements do not require parliamentary approval.

Quote: The deal would create a international regulator that could turn border guards and other public security personnel into copyright police. The security officials would be charged with checking laptops, iPods and even cellular phones for content that “infringes” on copyright laws, such as ripped CDs and movies.

The guards would also be responsible for determining what is infringing content and what is not.

The agreement proposes any content that may have been copied from a DVD or digital video recorder would be open for scrutiny by officials — even if the content was copied legally.

Apparently anyone with infringing content in their possession, or content that could be acquired illegally, regardless of whether it was acquired legally, will be questioned and open to a fine.

The leaked document also says that “they may also have their device confiscated or destroyed, according to the four-page document.”

Where do we live, again?

1. Some Mondays are just about the embed code.

2. Brand and message is out of your control.

Your brand is what people say it is. Check out Brand Tags.

3. Young at Heart

Young Me Old Me photo submissions. Recreate a photo of you taken as a child. This is worth checking out.

In my never-ending quest to find a good use for book trailers, I’ve discovered Johnny Bunko.

Johnny Bunko trailer from Daniel Pink on Vimeo.

Does this work?

Here’s what happened for me.

I like books and am always on the lookout for new books.

I subscribe to a bunch of email newsletters, in particular business newsletters and technology newsletters.

GrokDotCom is one of the newsletters and last week they wrote about the Johnny Bunko video.

I clicked on the link and watched the video, which is pretty cool.

Here’s what hooked me. I read and loved What Colour Is My Parachute? I religiously avoided Who Moved My Cheese? because it was the career book of business books for a time. The video nicely positions Johnny Bunko as THE career book of its time–the book for the new generation of employees entering the workforce.

Now I’m curious and want to read the book.

So mission accomplished. Effective video.

(Plus, I’m interested enough to write about the book and video here.)

What do you think of the video? Do you have another example of marketing unpacked?

Via TrendHunter.com: Secret Book Computers – The Future of Books Laptop

Kyle Bean is a very clever designer who has created a paper laptop to demonstrate how technology has changed the way we source information relate to books.

Quote: We are becoming a society that is more virtual. We download music rather than purchase CDs, we research on the net, rather than going to the library and reading books. According to Kyle, “Books also have personality – they have textures and smells which the internet can’t offer”. Kyle wanted to illustrate this issue by using a book turned into a laptop. The object is made from a book purchased at a discount bookstore for only £1.50, as well as a few electrical components to illuminate the screen.

Read the full TrendHunter article.

So Misguided has been awfully light on the book reviews this year. That’s because I have been quietly slaving away as a juror of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, part of the Manitoba Literary Awards. See the Manitoba Literary Awards announcement of winners.

The purpose of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award is to honour books that evoke the special character of Winnipeg and contribute to the appreciation and understanding of the City.

The Award is administered by the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers on behalf of the Winnipeg Arts Council, and carries a cash prize of $5,000 for the author of the winning book.

Congratulations to the 5 finalists, whose books I very much enjoyed. And to winner of the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award, Roland Penner.

Quote: Winner: A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner, published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.

Other finalists for the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award:
* Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press
* Holding My Breath by Sidura Ludwig, published by Key Porter Books
* The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich, introduction by Stephen Osborne, published by University of Manitoba Press
* The Winnipeg Jets: A Celebration of Professional Hockey in Winnipeg by Scott Taylor, published by Studio Publications.

A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner is a fascinating personal history of the Penner family in Winnipeg as well as a social and political history of Winnipeg, one which is not widely known. Roland’s father Jacob was a social and political activist who arrived in Winnipeg in 1904 from Southern Russia. Jacob Penner was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Canada in 1921 and later a Winnipeg City Councillor for 25 years. Roland become a litigation lawyer and academic. He grew up Red but left the Party and later became the Attorney General. The Penner family was an active part of political life in Manitoba for many, many years.

You can see more reviews of Winnipeg and Manitoba books here.

I found it hard to find this press release so I’m reposting it here.

Quote:
2008 Manitoba Book Award Winners Announcement
April 27th, 2008
Wolves prowl at Book Awards!

WINNIPEG, The Winnipeg Art Gallery was the scene of a momentous occasion last evening. For the twentieth consecutive year the Manitoba Book Awards honoured its best and brightest in the writing and publishing community. While there were no runaway winners, poet and academic, Alison Calder took home two awards for her collection of poems, Wolf Tree. With long-time author and editor Wayne Tefs winning Book of the Year for his fictionalized true-life survival tale, Be Wolf, and former Attorney General of Manitoba, Roland Penner, winning the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award for his memoir, A Glowing Dream, Manitoba has a healthy and diverse writing and publishing community that will know doubt thrive for twenty more years and beyond.

And the winners are,

McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award ($5,000)
Winner: Be Wolf by Wayne Tefs, published by Turnstone Press.

Other finalists for the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award:
So this is the world & here I am in it by Di Brandt, published by NeWest Press • The Penance Drummer and Other Stories by Lois Braun, published by Turnstone Press • The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich, introduction by Stephen Osborne, published by University of Manitoba Press.

McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award, Older Category ($2,500)
Winner: Sandbag Shuffle by Kevin Marc Fournier, published by Thistledown Press.

Other finalists for the McNally Robinson Book for Young People Award, Older Category:
Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks, published by Groundwood Books • Exploits of a Reluctant (But Extremely Goodlooking) Hero by Maureen Fergus, published by Kids Can Press • The Whirlwind by Carol Matas, published by Orca Book Publishers • Dear Canada: Not a Nickel to Spare by Perry Nodelman, published by Scholastic Canada.

John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer ($2,500)
Winner: Carolyn Gray, author of The Elmwood Visitations.

Other finalists for the John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer:
Alison Calder, Poet • Brenda Hasiuk, Novelist.

Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher ($1,000)
Winner: The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich (University of Manitoba Press), introduction by Stephen Osborne.

Other finalists for the Mary Scorer Award for Best Book by a Manitoba Publisher:
Framing Identity: Social Practices of Photography in Canada (1880-1920) by Susan Close, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing • The Land Where the Sky Begins: North America’s Endangered Tall Grass Prairie and Aspen Parkland photographs by Dennis Fast, text by Barbara Huck, published by Heartland Associates • Sunny Dreams by Alison Preston, published by Signature Editions.

Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry / Le Prix Lansdowne de poesie ($1,000)
Winner: Wolf Tree by Alison Calder, published by Coteau Books.

Other finalists for the Aqua Books Lansdowne Prize for Poetry / Le Prix Lansdowne de poesie:
heures d’ouverture by Charles Leblanc, published by Les √âditions du Ble • Exaucee by Christian Violy, published by Les √âditions des Plaines.

Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction ($3,500)
Winner: The Penance Drummer and Other Stories by Lois Braun, published by Turnstone Press.

Other finalists for the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction:
A Possible Life by Simone Chaput, published by Turnstone Press • Twenty Miles by Cara Hedley, published by Coach House Books • A Feast of Longing by Sarah Klassen, published by Coteau Books • Be Wolf by Wayne Tefs, published by Turnstone Press.

Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-fiction ($3,500)
Winner: Canada’s Wheat King: The Life and Times of Seager Wheeler by Jim Shilliday, published by the Canadian Plains Research Centre / University of Regina.

Other finalists for the Alexander Kennedy Isbister Award for Non-fiction:
Building Communities: The Changing Face of Manitoba Mennonites by John J. Friesen, published by Canadian Mennonite University Press • Take Comfort: the Career of Charles Comfort by Mary Jo Hughes et al., published by The Winnipeg Art Gallery • Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press • Paddling South: Winnipeg to New Orleans by Canoe by Rick Ranson, published by NeWest Press • Imagined Homes: Soviet German Immigrants in Two Cities by Hans Werner, published by the University of Manitoba Press.

Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award ($5,000)
Winner: A Glowing Dream: A Memoir by Roland Penner, published by J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing.

Other finalists for the Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award:
Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press • Holding My Breath by Sidura Ludwig, published by Key Porter Books • The North End: Photographs by John Paskievich, introduction by Stephen Osborne, published by University of Manitoba Press • The Winnipeg Jets: A Celebration of Professional Hockey in Winnipeg by Scott Taylor, published by Studio Publications.

The Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book by a Manitoba Author ($1,500)
Winner: Wolf Tree by Alison Calder, published by Coteau Books.

Other finalists for the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book by a Manitoba Author:
Framing Identity: Social Practices of Photography in Canada (1880-1920) by Susan Close, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing • Influenza 1918: Disease, Death and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esyllt W. Jones, published by University of Toronto Press.

Manuela Dias Book Design of the Year Award
Winner: Take Comfort: the Career of Charles Comfort, designed by Frank Reimer Design, photographs by Ernest Mayer, published by The Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Other finalists for the Manuela Dias Book Design of the Year Award:
Architecture University of Manitoba: Catalogue ’07, designed by Evan Marnoch and Zach Pauls, published by the Department of Architecture, University of Manitoba • Framing Identity: Social Practices of Photography in Canada (1880-1920), designed by Zab Design, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing • Gertrude Unmanageable, designed by Zab Design, published by Arbeiter Ring Publishing • Marconi in the Sculpture of John McEwen, designed by Lisa Friesen, photographs by Ernest Mayer, published by The Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award
Winner: Take Comfort: the Career of Charles Comfort, designed by Frank Reimer Design, photographs by Ernest Mayer, published by The Winnipeg Art Gallery.

Other finalists for the Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award:
heures d’ouverture, designed by Bernard Leveille, illustrated by Brigitte Dion, published by Les √âditions du Ble • The North End: Photo graphs by John Paskievich, designed by Steven Rosenberg (Doowah Design), photographs by John Paskievich, published by University of Manitoba Press.

The Manitoba Book Awards is co-produced by the Manitoba Writers’ Guild and the Association of Manitoba Book Publishers. Nominees and winners are selected by juries comprised of members of Canada’s literary community. The administrators gratefully acknowledge the support of The Manitoba Foundation for the Arts, The Manitoba Arts Council, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, the City of Winnipeg through the Winnipeg Arts Council, The Winnipeg Foundation and Friesens.

– 30 –

For more information, please contact:
Jamis Paulson, Programming and Outreach Director
Manitoba Writers’ Guild, 206-100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB. R3B 1H3
(204) 947-5273; toll free (888) 637-5802

I have been remiss in my duties.

SoMisguided is my external brain. I like to post things here about clever online marketing campaigns and the book business but the first part of the year has totally had it’s way with me.

If you have a clever online campaign or if you’ve seen one your really liked, please let me know what I’ve missed. In turn, I promise to pay attention.

Here are 2 big ones I failed to write about in a timely fashion.

Penguin UK, We Tell Stories, www.wetellstories.co.uk
Penguin has a fantastic story generator on their website. Fairy tales and other works are revealed based on user input. I love it, really fun idea.

Harper Collins Canada March Mystery Madness
6 weeks, 64 books, 4 conferences, tonnes of “games,” and 1 winner. Deanna from Harper says, “essentially, it’s the NCAA basketball tournament only with mystery books.” A perfect description. I’ve totally missed on this one, but I understand there are 2 books left and you can still vote for your favourites in the poll here: http://www.harpercollins.ca/marchmysterymadness/poll.html

One person wins 64 books.

Know about a clever online marketing campaign involving books? Let me know.