A big splash on the other side of the pond

A series of articles recently released have revealed that Canadian literature is receiving a great deal of admiration and attention overseas. Industry mag, the Quill and Quire has reported that poet Ken Babstock, (whose most recent book of poems Airstream Land Yacht was featured at The Word On The Street in 2006,) has been invited to a poetry festival in Berlin. Invited as well are eleven other poets including Paul Vermeersch, Tim Lilburn, Suzanne Buffam, Karen Solie, and six francophone poets. The delegates will participate in a workshop with 12 German poets, in which they will do translations of each other’s poems with the help of prepared word-for-word literal translations and interpreters. The translations will later be published in a trilingual anthology.

Reported recently in the Toronto Star, for the first time in its history, the Budapest Book Festival has shone a spotlight on Canada and Canadian literature. No non-European country has been featured previously in the event's 14-year history. Six Canadian authors, among them Anna Porter, Joseph Boyden and Sharon Pollock, travelled across the Atlantic to be present for the launch of Hungarian translations of their work. Alice Munro, was also invited but declined the invitation to visit Hungary for the launch of Csend, vetkek, szenvedely, the Hungarian version of her story collection Runaway.

Now is as great a time as ever to visit your local bookstore and pick up something one of your fellow Canadians has written recently. Every year, hundreds of Canadian works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and plays go into print adding more and more volume to the voice of Canadian literature. Make this year yours to celebrate Canadian literature.

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Raw Shark is Delicious!

Following up on a post from a few weeks ago, here's more on the Raw Shark Texts.

Last night a couple of us from the office decided to head down to the Raw Shark Texts launch at the SPIN Gallery -- what a show! The gallery is a really great space, big and bright, very malleable, and had enough room for the HarperCollins team to assemble a mock-up of the boat 'The Orpheus' featured briefly in the book.

HarperCollins also treated the assembled booklovers to a special book-bonus: 'In every country except Canada," said author Steven Hall, "the book starts on page 3. However, in Canada the story begins on page -22." The publisher created only 100 copies of a special Chapter 0 only available in Canada that starts the story even earlier than Hall had originally anticipated.

Hall was a lovely man to speak with, in turns both proud of his books success and flattered by the out-pouring of admiration by the books' (and the publicity campaigns') fans. All in all, a fantastic evening, supported by Pages This Is Not a Reading Series.

You Can Make it BIG!

Great news for all those Torontonians who typically burst at the seams with ideas: there's a new event in Toronto perfect for spilling your idea guts out to. Except instead of getting the rolled eyes and you-must-be-nuts stares from your fellow TTC riders, creative folks can all convene in a single time and place to pitch their ideas to real, actual industry professionals.

iCan Pitch invites well-respected members of the film and television community to participate in this unique event, designed to offer writers and ‘creative types' the chance to pitch their fresh ideas in a fast paced, exciting environment. It's an ideal opportunity for the power brokers in the film and television industry to find a “diamond in the rough”, and to help shape the lives and careers of many talented, aspiring Canadian writers.

Word from event organizers is that last year's debut event sold-out uber-quickly and was incredibly successful. Aside from pitching your ideas to industry professionals, the event gives you a chance to network with other folks just like you and attend useful and inspiring workshops to refine your craft and your pitch.