Aug 15 2010
[Lori Gallagher, The Daily Gleaner, August 14th 2010]:
The longlist is out for the 2010 ReLit Awards and its good news for Goose Lane Editions.
The ReLit awards are based in Newfoundland and were founded to acknowledge the best new work released by independent publishers.
Aug 13 2010
[from the blog 'What's The Idea?', August 11th 2010]:
I was in Dominica this weekend past to attend the Dominica Literary Festival. It is an event put on by a handful of bibliophiles and patriots led by Alwin Bully, a Caribbean treasure, like Lennox Honeychurch, people with a sensibility and sensitivity directed towards the soul of this region. It was quite an intimate affair, expected to grow as the festival builds visibility and a following.
Aug 11 2010
[from Susan Zettell's blog, August 9th 2010]:
For the curious, here is my slightly rambling one-sentence synopsis.
“To be written in five sections, each section based on a part of Charles Bukowski’s poem, “The Laughing Heart”, The Lazarus Maple is a novel set in full summer on Cape Breton Island, where Keith Crossman, who has a surprising and perhaps complete remission in his terminal cancer, and his wife, Lori, are learning to live with Keith’s new and as yet not entirely understood lease on life.”
Aug 04 2010
[Roberta, from her blog 'What's the idea?', August 2nd 2010]:
We have agreed in that time that understanding and remembering Caribbean experiences of extreme exploitation is important for building a civilization of the opposite values- one of social justice. And so we refresh our memory and keep focus on the collective aspiration through teaching West Indian history from primary to secondary school. We commemorate Emancipation Day and in Trinidad Indian Arrival Day. Our children are fed a steady diet of Caribbean history and yes, literature in which the central theme is slavery and indentured labour. We learn and celebrate the struggle of our ancestors for freedom and development.
Aug 02 2010
[Arifa Akbar, The Independent, July 28th 2010]:
Lisa Moore’s February is also based on real world events, namely a disaster on an oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland, on Valentine’s Day 1982. Three authors on the list have been shortlisted before: Mitchell for number9dream and the bestseller Cloud Atlas, Damon Galgut for The Good Doctor, and Rose Tremain for Restoration. The winner of the £50,000 prize will be announced on 12 October.
Jul 31 2010
[from the blog 'Salty Ink', July 30th 2010]:
So, all the publishers and agents are in Toronto, sure, but we all know where all the talent is. The joke is that “Take a picture in St. John’s and there’ll be a writer in the background.” Jacked it up. “Take a picture in St. John’s and there’ll be four or five writers in the background.”
Jul 31 2010
[from 'Rattling Books Blog', July 29th 2010]:
Newfoundland writer Lisa Moore has been long-listed for the Man Booker Prize for her second novel, February, a fictional account of the emotional aftermath of the Ocean Ranger disaster. A short-list of nominees will be announced in September of this year.
Jul 28 2010
[Al Creighton, Stabroek News, July 28th 2010]:
The work of celebrated Guyanese author Wilson Harris was once again brought into focus recently when the British decided to show recognition for his contribution to English literature by honouring him with a knighthood. The relevance, importance and impact of his work once more became issues and there was reason to reassert why he is considered such an important writer. The reasons include the novelty of his approach to writing, the originality of his styles and form, the relevance of his preoccupations and the intellectual depth with which he treats them. Very prominent among these are his attitudes to Europe and the revolutionary fashion with which he engages Europe in the context of the West Indian writers’ engagements with that continent.
Jul 27 2010
[Iceland Review Online, July 25th 2010]:
French literary magazine Lire named the thriller Skipid (“The Ship”) by Icelandic author Stefán Máni the best crime novel to appear in France this year. The book is called Noir Océan in the French translation by Eric Boury.
Jul 27 2010
[Iceland Review Online, July 25th 2010]:
Reykjavík City Library is inviting foreign tourists and other non-Icelandic speakers to participate in literary walks in English around the capital every Thursday in July and August.