Inconvenient Indian Recognized With a $40,000 Prize

February 21/14:  Thomas King was the recipient of the BC National Award for Canadian Non-fiction.  He was presented the $40,000 prize at a ceremony in Vancouver, BC.  

"The Inconvenient Indian is at once a 'history' and the complete subversion of a history—in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. 

 

Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other. In the process, King refashions old stories about historical events and figures, takes a sideways look at film and pop culture, relates his own complex experiences with activism, and articulates a deep and revolutionary understanding of the cumulative effects of ever-shifting laws and treaties on Native peoples and lands. 

 

This is a book both timeless and timely, burnished with anger but tempered by wit, and ultimately a hard-won offering of hope – a sometimes inconvenient, but nonetheless indispensable account for all of us, Indian and non-Indian alike, seeking to understand how we might tell a new story for the future." (Random House)

The finalists were awarded $2500 each.  They are as follows:  Carolyn Abraham for The Juggler's Children: A Journey Into Family, Legend and the Genes That Bind Us; J.B. MacKinnon for The Once and Future World: Nature As it Was, As it Is, As it Could Be; Graeme Smith for The Dogs Are Eating Them Now: Our War in Afghanistan; and Margaret MacMillan for The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914.

 http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/awards/thomas-king-wins-the-40000-b-c-national-award-for-canadian-non-fiction/#sthash.ZJFLcHmO.dpuf

What's the Buzz - Robin Esrock Shares a Bucket List for Travelling Canada

Robin Esrock signing his book,
The Great Canadian Bucket List - One of a Kind Travel Experiences.

http://www.wordtravels.tv

http://www.canadianbucketlist.com

October 20th was a bucket list day for me as I was able to cross off an item on my bucket list. (yes, I have one.  Don't you?) I was thrilled to do so because in agreeing to go to a book launch with a friend, I really didn't know who I was going to see.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered the author doing the presentation not only looked familiar but is the co-host of one of my very favourite television travel programs, Word Travels!

ROBIN ESROCK!!!

Robin has released two books:  Word Travels and The Great Canadian Bucket List - One of a Kind Travel Experiences.  It is the latter book that Robin is promoting during his cross-country tour from BC to Ontario.  He plans to continue the book tour next year in the east including the Maritime provinces.  Both books are available at any of the venues during his speaking tour when you attend in person at the event.  Major bookstores carry The Great Canadian Bucket List while Word Travels may be purchased at Amazon.com or in person while on his tour.  If the opportunity to attend one of Robin's book launch stops comes your way, you must attend.  It was the best book launches I've attended!

"Full of adventure, humour, photos and fun facts, The Great Canadian Bucket List is the definitive list of things to do in Canada before you die." (www.canadianbucketlist.com)

Robin Esrock is a renowned travel writer who spun a successful tv series idea to a network and became a popular co-host on Word Travels along with Julia Dimon with whom he co-hosted.

Robin travelled every province and territory, gleaning experiences that you'd never have known existed in this country.  From culture, food, adventures for the adrenaline junkies, hidden gems and well-known destinations; Robin Esrock has compiled a travel guide unlike any other and the whole bucket list travel idea seems to be catching on.  Just check with your local book store and you'll find bucket list adventure ideas abound.  Few, if any though, include the humour and the personal touch that Robin infuses this must-have guide with.

What's the Buzz? Did you know JK Rowling published a mystery under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith? Check it out!!

A brilliant debut mystery in a classic vein: Detective Cormoran Strike investigates a supermodel's suicide. After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

The Cuckoo's Calling was published April 30, 2013 by Little, Brown and Company.

J.K. Rowling's statement regarding The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith: 

"I hoped to keep this secret a little longer, because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience! It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation and pure pleasure to get feedback from publishers and readers under a different name. 

The upside of being rumbled is that I can publicly thank my editor David Shelley, who has been a true partner in crime, all those people at Little, Brown who have been working so hard on The Cuckoo’s Calling without realising that I wrote it, and the writers and reviewers, both in the newspapers and online, who have been so generous to the novel. And to those who have asked for a sequel, Robert fully intends to keep writing the series, although he will probably continue to turn down personal appearances."

After her success with the Harry Potter series and a somewhat disappointing foray into general fiction with Casual Vacancy (depending upon whose review you read), J.K. Rowling has revealed she is the mystery writer behind Robert Galbraith's mystery novel "The Cuckoo's Calling."

It sold incredibly well on its own merits, proving that JK Rowling's writing bears respect even without her famous name attached.

Now this inquiring mind wants to know who of you plan to read it now that you know JK Rowling wrote it?  Do you think she needed to write under a pseudonym?  Does this book's success prove her talent to you?

What's the Buzz? Pittacus Lore's New Novel Cover Reveal: The Fall of Five

The fourth novel in the I Am Number Four series....

The Fall of Five

Coming August 27!!

What's the Buzz?

Just announced....

Goodreads is joining Amazon!  What does this mean for you, the reader?  

“Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. “Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”

“Books – and the stories and ideas captured inside them – are part of our social fabric,” said Otis Chandler, Goodreads CEO and co-founder. “People love to talk about ideas and share their passion for the stories they read. I’m incredibly excited about the opportunity to partner with Amazon and Kindle. We’re now going to be able to move faster in bringing the Goodreads experience to millions of readers around the world. We’re looking forward to inspiring greater literary discussion and helping more readers find great books, whether they read in print or digitally.”  (from the press release)

Check out the statement made on Goodreads by the founder:  Goodreads Joins Amazon Family.

Read the official press release here.

News & Updates in Books and Publishing

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/23/books/barnes-noble-simon-schuster-dispute-said-to-hurt-sales.html?_r=1&

Is Barnes & Noble playing tough at the cost of business and at a loss for authors?

Barnes & Noble has laid down the gauntlet, so to speak.  Reducing orders from Simon & Schuster, denying primary sales locations in store, and demanding a larger cut of the sale may be costing a lot more than they bargained for.  Famous authors, Picoult and Genova, are feeling the weight of the situation and have had to step up their game to compensate for the lack of support from this retailer.  Despite all this, Picoult's newest novel, The Storyteller, is number one on the New York Times Bestseller list.  How?  Ms. Picoult has increased her personal appearances, among other measures, to compensate for the lack of support with Barnes & Noble.  But how is this affecting the lesser known authors?  How do customers feel about this turn of events?

Does Barnes & Noble really have that much monopoly in the States?  

Read the article above and share your opinion here.  I really want to know what the general public, customers and fellow bloggers have to say about Barnes & Noble's stand.  Do you agree with it?  Does it ultimately hurt more than help?  You be the judge.