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Adria Vasil's Ecoholic Body sparks intense media interest May, 2012: Great coverage for Adria’s latest book
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Ryan Knighton and the Brainport Vision Device Ryan with Lynda Barry, University of Wisconsin February 29, 2012: We do not see with our eyes, we see with our brains. The Brainport Vision Device is a revolutionary new technology enabling a blind person to see with his tongue. (See the photos below.) Mounted on Ryan’s head is a small video camera that translates visual information onto a credit-card-size tongue display. Four hundred tiny pixels present electrical patterns on his tongue, which his brain then interprets as a visual picture in three-dimensional space, so he can “see.” He used the device for the first time with cartoonist Lynda Barry last week in her class at the University of Wisconsin. Lynda Barry is Arts Institute's Artist-in-Residence during Spring Semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She's teaching a writing and picture- making class called "What It Is" to 26 students twice a week. Linda’s only textbook in the class is Knighton’s Cockeyed. The website for the class is “The Nearsighted Monkey”. Ryan and Linda are thinking of taking their show on the road.
In other news: Ira Glass of NPR’s This American Life is commissioning a piece from Ryan based on his travel articles. They will turn it into an animated film that will be shown in theatres across the USA.
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On the Evergreen shortlist February 9, 2012: In last week’s Ontario Library Association Super Conference announcement, Shelter was included on the 10-book shortlist for the 2012 Evergreen Awards. This is the adult portion of the “Tree Awards” program that takes place throughout Ontario schools. In the case of the Evergreen, these books will be promoted at Ontario public libraries and the library patrons will vote for their favourite with the winner announced at next year’s OLA conference.
Selected as one of 11 debut novels of 2012 in the UK by Waterstones January 19, 2012: At a gala launch in London this evening, Waterstones, the UK’s largest book chain, announced the 11 first novels published in Britain in 2012 that will be featured in a year-long promotion touting them as the best debuts of the year. Among them is the lone Canadian novel, Shelter, by Frances Greenslade (Knopf Canada, Free Press in the US). Greenslade was in attendance at the London announcement. Eight of the selected writers were women.
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The controversy over Zhang Ling’s Gold Mountain Blues December, 2011: The Jade Peony author Wayson Choy is among several writers questioning plot similarities in Toronto writer Zhang Ling's work
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Alan Bradley at the Krakow Book Fair November, 2011: Alan Bradley, creator of the inimitable Flavia de Luce, was a guest author at the Krakow Book Fair.
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A very busy Alan meets Flavia fans at the Krakow Book Fair
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The Golden Mean in Belgrade, Amsterdam and Paris October, 2011: Annabel Lyon’s award-winning work is being widely promoted in Europe. |
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The opening night of the Belgrade Book Fair:
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In Amsterdam:
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Huge window display in Boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris:
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Abigail Carter and the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks September 7, 2011: The Alchemy of Loss author Abigail Carter, who lost her husband, father-of-two Arron Dack, in the September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, is among those reflecting on their experiences of grief and living with loss.
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Lori Lansens Rush Home Road is No. 1 bestseller in Norway June 3, 2011: Juritzen Forlag, Norwegian publisher of Lori Lansens's Rush Home Road, has announced that the title has reached number one, after only nine days on bookstore shelves. Lori was recently interviewed by Norwegian journalist Kari Hovde: read more here.
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Midnight at the Dragon Café is Toronto's One Book Community Read for 2011 February 11, 2011: At the Toronto Public Library fundraiser, The Book Lover’s Ball, it was announced that Judy Fong Bates’ novel Midnight at the Dragon Café has been selected as the 2011 One Book Community Read for the city of Toronto.
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Delacorte Press create game of Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce February, 2011: Murder Mystery Tea Party at Buckshaw
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Ryan Knighton at circus school January 7, 2011: See Ryan taking trapeze lessons on The Mercer Report.
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International book trailers for Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce For The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie
For The Weed That Strings the Hangman’s Bag
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Twenty-Six in Canada Reads Top 40 October 28, 2010: Congratulations to Leo McKay on the nomination of his novel Twenty-Six to the 2011 Canada Reads Top 40. |
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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie wins two of the world's top mystery prizes October 15, 2010: Last night in San Francisco, Alan Bradley’s The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie won two prizes for the best first mystery novel in the world. The prizes were part of the opening ceremonies at the annual Bouchercon World Mystery Convention, taking place October 14-17. In the author’s absence the awards were accepted on his behalf by Kate Miciak, Vice President and Editorial Director of Bantam Books and Delacorte Press in New York. (See www.bcon2010.com.) The two awards are:
The novel is also nominated for one more prize at Bouchercon, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, to be awarded on Sunday. www.bcon2010.com/awards.php This brings to nine the number of awards won to date by The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. The others include:
Alan Bradley has just returned home from a four-city tour of Germany, where he appeared at the Frankfurt Book Fair. His entourage on the tour included: his publicist; a famous German actress who performed dramatic readings from the book, and an MC/translator. Sweetness is #19 on the Der Spiegel bestseller list and is currently selling 1,000 copies a day in Germany. |
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Publishing professionals from around the globe gather in Toronto this October July 6, 2010: International Visitors Programme announces 2010 participants and increased funding. The International Visitors (IV) Programme, in association with Authors at Harbourfront Centre, is delighted to announce details of its third annual programme. Inaugurated in 2008, the IV Programme invites publishing professionals from around the world to participate in five days of inter-industry dialogue with the goal of increasing opportunities for Canadian authors and publishers abroad. IV Programme participants benefit from a full schedule of publisher-hosted events and receptions, a mini rights-fair and an industry-focus panel, and attending a number of IFOA onstage events. This year’s IV Programme runs from October 24–28 as part of the International Festival of Authors (IFOA) (October 20–30, 2010). |
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The World is a Ball is a bestseller July 5, 2010: The World is a Ball holds its own at #6 on the Maclean’s list. June 17, 2010: The World is a Ball is #1 on Maclean’s bestseller list - congratulations, John! June 4, 2010: The World is a Ball rises to #8 on the Globe and Mail’s besteller list. May 22, 2010: The World is a Ball debuts #11 on the Globe and Mail’s Canadian non-fiction bestseller list its first week out. Author John Doyle joins old-timers Lori Lansens (#4 in fiction), Alan Bradley (#6), and Annabel Lyon (#10). Congratulations, all! |
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Alan Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie wins 2009 Agatha Award for Best First Novel May 1, 2010: Malice Domestic's Agatha Awards, named in honour of Agatha Christie, honour the "traditional mystery," that is to say, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie as well as others. The genre is loosely defined as mysteries that contain no explicit sex, and no excessive gore or gratuitous violence. A ballot listing each category's nominees was given to all attendees of Malice Domestic 22, which was held April 30-May 2, 2010. Attendees voted by secret ballot and the winners were announced at the 2009 Agatha Awards banquet on Saturday, May 1, 2010. |
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Alan Bradley contributes to Definitely Not the Opera March 27, 2010: The author of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie and The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag guested on CBC Radio's Definitely Not the Opera, which was examining the theme of touch. Sometimes a simple touch can transport you to a far away time. For Alan, holding an old camera took him back to the day the father he didn't even remember came home from the war. He told DNTO the story – listen here. |
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Lansens promotional video shoot for The Girls March 29, 2010: Arve Juritzen of Juritzen Forlag travelled to California last week to shoot a video of Lori to promote the Norwegian edition of The Girls, to be released in Norway April 19.
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The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie wins the 2009 Dilys Award March 15, 2010: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley has won the 2009 Dilys Award, given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association (IMBA) to the book their members most enjoyed hand-selling. The Award is named for Dilys Winn, the founder of America's first specialty mystery bookstore. For further information, see www.mysterybooksellers.com/dilys-award. Congratulations, Alan! |
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Spark author Frank Koller a hit at Lincoln Electric
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February 25, 2010: Frank Koller launched Spark at an event in Cleveland, where enthusiatic employees happily lined up for 90 minutes for the opportunity to talk with the author and have their copies signed. In his book, Koller, an economic news veteran, takes a comprehensive, timely look at Lincoln Electric, a successful international company that promised that it will never lay off employees, regardless of the economic climate. |
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Canada Council for the Arts: Grants for Translation and Travel
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The Globe and Mail Best Books of 2009 The 20 Canadian novels on the list included Jeanette Lynes’ The Factory Voice and Annabel Lyon’s The Golden Mean. The dozen international memoirs and biographies included Wayson Choy’s Not Yet. Congratulations to the authors! Also selected were the top 5 first fiction books of the year, including Deborah Willis’ Vanishing, which was shortlisted for a Governor-General's Award. The newspaper’s web site also includes a short list of 9 novels that almost made the cut, including works by Mavis Gallant, Audrey Niffenegger, and our own Lori Lansens. Selection was based on reviews run in the newspaper in 2009. See the complete lists:
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