Book links: Ondaatje nominated for L.A. Times Book Prize, DeLillo and Banks up for PEN/Faulkner, and more

• Michael Ondaatje’s The Cat’s Table nominated for Los Angeles Times Book Prize
• Don DeLillo and Russell Banks among finalists for 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award
• The Order of the Stick Reprint Drive becomes first book project on Kickstarter to hit $1 million
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, and Their Friend, Gary and other retold tales
• Listen to a Harriet the Spy-inspired mixtape

Bezmozgis, Zentner shortlisted for Amazon.ca First Novel Award

Governor General’s Literary Award nominees David Bezmozgis and Alexi Zentner can now add the Amazon.ca First Novel Award shortlist, announced this morning, to their list of accolades.

Bezmozgis was also shortlisted for last year’s Scotiabank Giller Prize, and Zentner received a nomination from the Center for Fiction for its Flahery-Dunnan First Novel Prize.

The five nominees for the 2011 Amazon.ca First Novel Award, which is co-presented by Q&Q, are:

• David Bezmozgis, The Free World (HarperCollins Canada)
• Fraser Nixon, The Man Who Killed (Douglas & McIntyre)
• Sina Queyras, Autobiography of Childhood (Coach House Books)
• Olive Senior, Dancing Lessons (Cormorant Books)
• Alexi Zentner, Touch (Knopf Canada)

The winner, who receives $7,500, will be announced in April at an event in Toronto.

From the Q&Q archives: Ondaatje on a subway and other literary portraits

This week, Quillblog went back to March 1984, and discovered an article about Q&Q’s collection of literary portraits, which had been recently purchased by the National Library of Canada.

The 72 photographs, some of which were commissioned by publishers, others which were shot for an exhibition at Toronto’s Harbourfront Community Gallery, featured the work of Arnaud Maggs, Paul Orenstein, and John Reeves. Subjects included a “bare-chested, starkly direct” Irving Layton, Graeme Gibson, Northrop Frye, Mordecai Richler, Robertson Davies, Susan Musgrave, and a rather intense Michael Ondaatje riding a Toronto subway.

The collection is available for loan to libraries and other educational institutions.

(Photo: Paul Orenstein)

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Correction, Feb. 18: An earlier version of this article stated that Michael Ondaatje was riding a streetcar.

Saskatchewan Book Awards announces nominees

The shortlists for the 2011 Saskatchewan Book Awards were announced this morning at a press conference held at the University of Regina.

According to organizers, this year’s 61 nominees, selected from 233 submissions, represent a greater diversity of the province’s publishing than in previous years, with First Nations and Métis authors being recognized in almost all 13 categories.

The awards will be presented at a gala ceremony on April 28 held at Regina’s Conexus Arts Centre.

Scholarly Writing Award

• Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson, Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers (University of Manitoba Press)
• Keith Thor Carlson, The Power of Place, the Problem of Time: Aboriginal Identity and Historical Consciousness in the Cauldron of Colonialism (University of Toronto Press)
• Curtis R. McManus, Happyland: A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 (University of Calgary Press)
• Mareike Neuhaus, “That’s Raven Talk”: Holophrastic Readings of Contemporary Indigenous Literature (CPRC Press/University of Regina)
• David Sauchyn, Harry Diaz, and Suren Kulshreshtha, The New Normal: The Canadian Prairies in a Changing Climate (CPRC/University of Regina)

First People’s Writing Award

• Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson, Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers (University of Manitoba Press)
• Margaret Cote; Saulteaux elders, trans., Nēnapohš Legends: Memoir 2 (CPRC/University of Regina)
• Leah M. Dorion; Rita Flamand, trans., Relatives with Roots: A Story about Métis Women’s Connection to the Land (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Harold Johnson, The Cast Stone (Thistledown Press)

Saskatoon Book Award

• Beverly Brenna, Waiting for No One (Red Deer Press)
• Jeff Park, The Cellophane Sky: Jazz Poems (Hagios Press)
• Darren R. Préfontaine, Gabriel Dumont: Li Chef Michif in Images and in Words (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Jefferson Smith, Strange Places (Indie Ink Publishing)

Regina Book Award

• Mark Cronlund Anderson & Carmen L. Robertson, Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers (University of Manitoba Press)
• Wilfred Burton and Anne Patton; Sherry Farrell Racette, illus.; Norman Fleury, trans., Call of the Fiddle (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Lee Arthur Chane, Magebane (DAW Books)
• Britt Holmström, Leaving Berlin (Thistledown)
• Alison Lohans, Picturing Alyssa (Dundurn Press)

Award for Poetry

• Bill Blum, Picking Roots (self-published)
• Don Kerr, Wind Thrashing Your Heart (Hagios Press)
• Adam Pottle, beautiful mutants (Caitlin Press)
• Thelma Poirier, Rock Creek Blues (Coteau Books)

First Book Award

• Bill Blum, Picking Roots (self-published)
• Adam Pottle, beautiful mutants (Caitlin)
• Anne McDonald, To the Edge of the Sea (Thistledown)
• Curtis R. McManus, Happyland: A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 (University of Calgary Press)

Children’s Literature Award

• Adele Dueck, Racing Home (Coteau)
• Leah M. Dorion; Rita Flamand, trans., Relatives with Roots: A Story About Métis Women’s Connection to the Land (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Alison Lohans, Picturing Alyssa (Dundurn)
• Anne Patton, Full Steam to Canada: A Barr Colony Adventure (Coteau)
• Judith Silverthorne, The Secret of the Stone Circle (Coteau)
• Alison Uitti, First Days: Night Movies (Hear My Heart Books)

Fiction Award

• Britt Holmström, Leaving Berlin (Thistledown)
• Harold Johnson, The Cast Stone (Thistledown)
• Devin Krukoff, Flyways (Thistledown)
• Arthur Slade, Empire of Ruins: The Hunchback Assignments III (HarperCollins Canada)
• Larry Warwaruk, Bone Coulee (Coteau)

Non-fiction Award

• Dwayne Brenna, Our Kind of Work: The Glory Days and Difficult Times of 25th Street Theatre (Thistledown)
• Mark Cronlund Anderson & Carmen L. Robertson, Seeing Red: A History of Natives in Canadian Newspapers (University of Manitoba Press)
• Timothy Long, Huang Zhong Yang: The Shadow of Mao (Mackenzie Art Gallery)
• Curtis R. McManus, Happyland: A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 (University of Calgary Press)
• Keith Olsen, Within the Stillness: One Family’s Winter on a Northern Trapline (Your Nickel’s Worth)
• Darren R. Préfontaine, Gabriel Dumont: Li Chef Michif in Images and in Words (Gabriel Dumont Institute)

Book of the Year Award

• Leah M. Dorion; Rita Flamand, trans., Relatives with Roots: A Story about Métis Women’s Connection to the Land (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Devin Krukoff, Flyways (Thistledown)
• Curtis R. McManus, Happyland: A History of the “Dirty Thirties” in Saskatchewan, 1914–1937 (University of Calgary Press)
• Thelma Pepper, Human Touch: Portraits of Strength, Courage & Dignity (Pepper Publishing)
• Darren R. Préfontaine, Gabriel Dumont: Li Chef Michif in Images and in Words (Gabriel Dumont Institute)

First People’s Publishing Award

• Leah M. Dorion; Rita Flamand, trans., Relatives with Roots: A Story about Métis Women’s Connection to the Land (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Wilfred Burton and Anne Patton; Sherry Farrell Racette, illus.; Norman Fleury, trans., Call of the Fiddle (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Jonathan Anuik, First in Canada: An Aboriginal Book of Days (CPRC/University of Regina)

Publishing in Education Award

• Penny Draper, Ice Storm: Disaster Strikes #6 (Coteau)
• David Sauchyn, Harry Diaz, Suren Kulshreshtha, The New Normal: The Canadian Prairies in a Changing Climate (CPRC/University of Regina)
• Leah M. Dorion; Rita Flamand, trans., Relatives with Roots: A Story About Métis Women’s Connection to the Land (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Pamela D. Palmater, Beyond Blood: Rethinking Indigenous Identity (Purich Publishing)
• Nicole Gombay, Making a Living: Place, Food and Economy in an Inuit Community (Purich)

Award for Publishing

• Sandra Bingaman, Storm of the Century: The Regina Tornado of 1912 (CPRC/University of Regina)
• Jonathan Anuik, First in Canada: An Aboriginal Book of Days (CPRC/University of Regina)
• Sue Sorensen, A Large Harmonium (Coteau)
• Darren R. Préfontaine, Gabriel Dumont: Li Chef Michif in Images and in Words (Gabriel Dumont Institute)
• Jeff Park, The Cellophane Sky: Jazz Poems (Hagios)
• G. Hutchings and D. Halstead, Dragonflies and Damselflies in the Hand: An Identification Guide to the Boreal Forest Odonates in Saskatchewan and Adjacent Regions (Nature Saskatchewan)

Zadie Smith wants her NYU students to stay physical

According to New York magazine, U.K. author and New York University faculty member Zadie Smith is not just concerned about her students’ minds, she’s looking out for their bodies, too.

Smith is one of 23 NYU faculty who signed a letter to the university’s administration complaining about the proposed demolition of its athletic centre, scheduled for 2013 as part of the school’s aggressive expansion plans. The letter accuses NYU of misleading potential students about the gym’s closure and the proposed temporary location’s inadequate space.

Slideshow: Margaret Atwood, Lawrence Hill, and others at the Book Lover’s Ball

The sparkle quotient was high on Feb. 9 as supporters of the Toronto Public Library Foundation gathered at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel for the Book Lover’s Ball, the organization’s high-profile annual fundraiser.

One of the evening’s main events was a fashion show featuring the work of six Toronto designers, who were each paired with a book that matched their aesthetic or style.

Before the event, Quillblog spoke to designer Adrian Wu about his book, Margaret Atwood’s In Other Worlds. Click on the thumbnails to see how Wu interpreted Atwood’s essay collection, and other highlights of the evening.

Video: Interview with Anne Rice

Anne Rice is bringing gothic back (Photo: Toronto Public Library)

Anne Rice’s appearance at the Toronto Reference Library on Feb. 13 was her first in the city in a decade, and judging by the size of the sold-out crowd, she still has plenty of fans who prefer their supernatural creatures to be lusty and born of noble blood (and of legal drinking age).

Rice was interviewed by CBC’s Mary Hynes, who heralded Rice’s “returning to the gothic” with her new novel, The Wolf Gift, a reimagining of the traditional werewolf story.

If you missed out, the library has posted a three-part video of the evening:

Way to Display! Nick Bland’s The Runaway Hug at Kidsbooks

It’s been awhile since Quillblog posted a “Way to Display!” storefront photo, but this was too cute to resist.

Vancouver’s Kidsbooks has dedicated windows to The Runaway Hug, written by Nick Bland and illustrated by Freya Blackwood (Scholastic Canada). The warm and fuzzy display follows Lucy as she runs around the house, sharing bedtime hugs with everyone in her family. (Photo: Scholastic Canada)

Book links roundup: Valentine’s Day edition

• Be my Valentine, just like in Game of Thrones
• British Library curator picks the 1o best love letters
• Tabatha Southey judges the top break-up tweets for CBC Books
• Celebrating man eaters, murderers, and other vile women in fiction
• Six-word modern love stories and literary pick-up lines

OLA announces 2012 Evergreen Award shortlist

The Ontario Library Association has announced its shortlist for the 2012 Evergreen Award, which honours the best in Canadian fiction and non-fiction titles.

Selected by a committee of librarians, this year’s nominees are:

• The Accident, Linwood Barclay (Doubleday Canada)
• Bedtime Story, Robert J. Wiersema (Random House Canada)
• The Far Side of the Sky, Daniel Kalla (HarperCollins Canada)
• Mennonites Don’t Dance, Darcie Friesen Hossack (Thistledown Press)
• Natural Order, Brian Francis (Doubleday Canada)
• Requiem, Frances Itani (HarperCollins Canada)
• Shelter, Frances Greenslade (Random House Canada)
• They Fight Like Soldiers, They Die Like Children, Roméo Dallaire (Random House Canada)
• Under an Afghan Sky: A Memoir of Captivity, Mellissa Fung (HarperCollins Canada)
• Various Positions, Martha Schabas (Doubleday Canada)

During the month of October, the general public is invited to vote for their favourite shortlisted book. The winner will be announced in November and the award presented at the OLA Conference in February 2013. Last year, Emma Donoghue took the Evergreen Award for Room (HarperCollins Canada).