Daily book biz round-up, March 25

Here’s today’s book news:

• Publishers Weekly takes temperature of Bologna Children’s Book Fair
• Will Random House ever be on the iPad?
• More conjecture on Apple’s book pricing plans
• Newbery-winner Sid Fleischman dies
• Harold W. McGraw Jr. (of McGraw-Hill fame) dies, too
• British spy novel geek to auction off private library
• Shane Koyczan performs “Swiftly” for the National Post

Ian Weir doles out writing advice at the Afterword Reading Society wrap-up

Last night, book lovers gathered at Ben McNally Books in Toronto for the National Post’s inaugural Afterword Reading Society wrap-up. Brad Frenette, Afterword co-editor, hosted a Q&A with Ian Weir, whose novel Daniel O’Thunder (Douglas & McIntyre) has been discussed on the Post book blog for the past two months or so (and was one of Q&Q’s “Overlooked Books” of 2009). The novel has also been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize and the Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

Weir, a successful playwright and screenwriter, spoke frequently of how his background influenced the writing process of his first novel, and offered up some writing advice.

“I find it really useful to think of myself as an actor playing the role of the character,” he said. “If I were an actor, what would I be doing with this moment? What would I be doing with this character? So often as a writer you stay outside the character and discover that you’ve written characters who make a certain intellectual sense to you, but don’t actually have life.”

Weir also said that he appreciated the creative freedom that comes with writing a novel – the usual budget constraints associated with writing for the screen or stage did not apply.

“That’s the wonderful thing about being a writer,” he said. “It costs just the same to set a story with a bazillion characters in the streets of London in Victorian England as it does to write a novel with one character in the streets of London in 2011.”

This week in quotes: rules for writers edition

A number of rules for writers pieces have popped up online recently, most notably in The Guardian and the National Post. On Salon, meanwhile, Laura Miller turns it around, offering a reader’s advice to writers. Here are some highlights from all three:

“Kafka wrote a perfectly fine beginning to The Castle, then threw it out for a better one.  So can you. Revise.” – Leon Rooke

“In the planning stage of a book, don’t plan the ending. It has to be earned by all that will go before it.” – Rose Tremain

“Writing fiction is not ‘self-­expression’ or ‘therapy’. Novels are for readers, and writing them means the crafty, patient, selfless construction of effects. I think of my novels as being something like fairground rides: my job is to strap the reader into their car at the start of chapter one, then trundle and whizz them through scenes and surprises, on a carefully planned route, and at a finely engineered pace.” – Sarah Waters

“Don’t confuse honours with achievement.” – Zadie Smith

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But ‘said’ is far less intrusive than ‘grumbled’, ‘gasped’, ‘cautioned’, ‘lied’. I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with ‘she asseverated’ and had to stop reading and go to the dictionary.” – Elmore Leonard

“No sex unless it’s funny.” – Steve Zipp

“Read. I don’t know many great writers who aren’t also great readers. Although I do know lots of readers who aren’t writers. What was my point again? Oh yes. Reading is professional development for writers. In other careers, people go to conferences and take courses. Writers read.” – Terry Fallis

“Make your main character want something. Writers tend to be introverted observers who equate reflection with insight and depth, yet a fictional character who does nothing but witness and contemplate is at best annoying and at worst, dull. There’s a reason why Nick Carraway is the narrator of ‘The Great Gatsby’ while Gatsby himself is the protagonist. Desire is the engine that drives both life and narrative.” – Laura Miller

Bookmarks: tax advice from a poet, writing advice from Neil Gaiman, and more

Here is today’s crop of literary links:

• Vancouver poet laureate Brad Cran (who also happens to be an accountant) is offering a money-handling workshop for writers and freelancers
• The National Post profiles Andrew Kaufman, whose book The Waterproof Bible launches at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel tonight
• Charles Pellegrino weaves a tangled web – the primary source for his book The Last Train from Hiroshima turns out to be a complete liar
• Neil Gaiman’s rules for writing: “1. Write. 2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down.”
• 100 Stories for Haiti – the book that originated on Twitter and spans multiple continents

A new twist on the Canada Reads spin-off trend

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the CBC must be feeling pretty good right now. Just in case you can’t get enough of the various spin-offs of the CBC’s Canada Reads competition – including the National Post’s Canada Also Reads and literary blog Pickle Me This’ Canada Reads Independently – the Keepin’ It Real Book Club has just announced their very own adaptation, called Civilians Read.

However, instead of offering yet another new booklist for readers to take on, Civilians Read uses the original CBC Canada Reads list, with lesser-known book lovers defending each title. The “civilian” panelists include:

• Erin Balser, senior editor for Books@Torontoist, defending Wayson Choy’s The Jade Peony
• Nic Boshart, digital projects co-ordinator for the Association of Canadian Publishers, defending Nicholas Dickner’s Nikolski
• Sarah Labrie, project co-ordinator for the Association of Canadian Publishers, defending Marina Endicott’s Good to a Fault
• Ashleigh Gardner, manager of digital development for Dundurn Press, defending Douglas Coupland’s Generation X
• Natalie St. Pierre, freelance editor and assistant to a literary agent, defending Ann-Marie Macdonald’s Fall On Your Knees

From the Keepin’ It Real Book Club:

We don’t have any training on the radio. We don’t have professional equipment. It’s going to be a little rough and tumble — it’ll likely lack finesse, basic courtesy, and a catchy theme song. But hopefully we’ll also say some smart things, spark some interesting discussion, and determine how weighty the panelist-X factor is.

All discussions will be hosted by Jen Knoch, associate editor at ECW Press and the main blogger at the KIRBC website. The Civilians Read panelists will release one podcast per day starting March 1, leading up to the official Canada Reads debate itself, which runs March 8-12.

National Post reveals finalists for Canada Also Reads competition

The eight books and panelists for the National Post’s Canada Also Reads book competition – created to put a spotlight on lesser-known books ignored by CBC’s Canada Reads – were announced today. Two Q&Q staffers, Zoe Whittall and Steven W. Beattie, will be defending their choices on the panel, alongside six other authors, poets, and even one singer/songwriter.

The Post’s Mark Medley created anticipation for the event by live-tweeting in the moments leading up to the reveal, offering hints such as “one of the books is set near some famous falls” and “one of the finalists had two of her novels long-listed.” After announcing that the final post was being spell-checked, and admitting that they were milking this build-up for all it was worth, the results were finally posted on the Post’s Afterword book blog. Here’s the full list:

• Steven W. Beattie defends My White Planet by Mark Anthony Jarman (Thomas Allen Publishers)
• Author Tish Cohen (Inside Out Girl, Town House) defends The Day The Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan (HarperCollins Canada)
• Singer/songwriter Andy Maize (Skydiggers) defends Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis (McClelland & Stewart)
• Poet Jacob McArthur Mooney (The New Layman’s Almanac) defends The Last Shot by Leon Rooke (Thomas Allen Publishers)
• Blogger John Mutford defends Yellowknife by Steve Zipp (Res Telluris)
• Author Lisa Pasold (Rats of Las Vegas) defends You and The Pirates by Jocelyne Allens (The Workhorsery)
• Author Neil Smith (Bang Crunch) defends Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant (Knopf Canada)
• Zoe Whittall (Holding Still for as Long as Possible) defends Fear of Fighting by Stacey May Fowles (Invisible Publishing)

According to the Afterword, while the blog is “a fan of what Canada Reads has done to promote CanLit, we figured this would be a great opportunity to help shine a light on some of the books sitting in the shadows.” Starting March 1, the Afterword will post two panelists’ defences of their chosen novels each day. On March 8, it will host a live chat with all the panelists and authors. The winner will be chosen via a public poll.

Readers salivate over Salinger’s unpublished manuscripts

J.D. Salinger has been dead a scant five days, but already people are clamouring for his unpublished work to be made available. In a 1974 interview (one of the few the famously reclusive author ever gave), Salinger said, “Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure.” And the prospect that the author was writing – and not publishing – has fans all a-twitter at the notion that there may be new work forthcoming once the vaults are thrown open.

Writing on the National Post‘s Afterword blog, novelist Andrew Kaufman suggests (with tongue firmly in cheek) that he and a group of “co-conspirators” are going to descend on New Hampshire for the purpose of “stealing J.D. Salinger’s filing cabinet.”

We just can’t wait any longer. Mr. Salinger may have only [just] passed on … but it’s been 16,296 days since he’s published anything. We’ve received no new family dramas from the Glasses, nothing about Holden dropping out of college or backpacking through India, not even a chuckle from the Laughing Man. But Salinger, so the legend goes, turned his back not on writing but publishing. Joyce Maynard who lived with Salinger after his self-imposed literary exile claims he’s completed at least two full novels. Margaret Salinger, his sister, stated that Salinger kept a detailed filing system, one that’s even colour coded to let future editors know what to publish and how to publish it.

In a more serious vein, entertainment lawyer Michael Levine tells the Toronto Star that Salinger’s unpublished work represents a potential “gold mine”:

“The interest and enthusiasm in the academic community and in the trade community remains profound. Sixty-five million copies of The Catcher in the Rye have sold. Whatever the quality of the subsequent manuscripts, there would be interest,” Levine said.

All of which may be true, but Quillblog would like to caution Salinger’s many fans about the dangers of being overly enthusiastic. Posthumously published work by renowned authors is not always everything it’s cracked up to be.

Daniel O’Thunder to kick off National Post’s online book club

Earlier today, the folks at the National Post‘s books blog unveiled the inaugural selection for their newly launched virtual book club, known as The Afterword Reading Society. The chosen work is first-time B.C. novelist Ian Weir’s Daniel O’Thunder (Douglas & McIntyre), an off-kilter historical novel set in Victorian London about an evangelical boxer who challenges the devil to a round of bare-knuckle boxing (see Q&Q‘s review of Daniel O’Thunder).

Beginning on Feb. 2, a panel comprising Post staffers, as well as novelist Craig Davidson (author of the boxing novel The Fighter) and books blogger Erin Balser, will host weekly online discussions and live chats with the author. These virtual discussions will culminate on March 9 with a Q&A session with Weir at Ben McNally books in Toronto.

Eye Weekly launches new book club

When Oprah announced last November that she is calling it quits in 2011, publishers blessed by the mojo of the daytime television doyenne’s eponymous book club started biting their collective nails, wondering where they would get such valuable free publicity in the future.

While it likely won’t boast Oprahesque numbers, the Toronto-based alternative newspaper eye Weekly announced today that it is inaugurating a monthly book club, called Pop Fiction.

Each month, on Mondays, the club will debate a single title, with the book’s author taking part in the final week to respond to our praises, or our criticisms. Over the first few months of the year, expect visits from Canadian greats like Yann Martel and Andrew Kaufman as well as new voices on the international scene, like Eleanor Catton and Kathleen Winter.

(Quillblog is puzzled about the “international” nature of Newfoundland-based writer Winter, but never mind.)

The book club is hosted by author and eye Weekly book columnist Brian Joseph Davis, and features poet and Toronto bookstore staffer Kyle Buckley, blogger and Penguin Canada publicity assistant Bronwyn Kienapple, eye Weekly staff writer Chandler Levack, and editor of the National Post‘s Afterword blog Mark Medley.

The first book on the club’s agenda is Gil Adamson’s Help Me, Jacques Cousteau. Discussion of this title kicks off one week from today.

The publishing industry – this week in quotes

“We are not going to be stripped of our heritage for the benefit of a big company, no matter how friendly, big or American it is. We are not going to be deprived of what generations and generations have produced in the French language just because we weren’t capable of funding our own digitisation project.” – Nikolas Sarkozy, on France vs. Google, in The London Telegraph

“Poets always react to one another’s work. One generator of great poetry is the response of one poet to a provocative poem by another. That’s how the conversation with the past and tradition occurs, but it’s also how the conversation with the present occurs.” – poet A.F. Moritz, on editing The Best Canadian Poetry (Tightrope Books) in the National Post

“Numerous books, which aren’t available electronically, end up pirated. Attempting to prevent piracy by not making a book electronically available won’t stop the book from showing up as a pirated material, but it will show a lack of willingness to meet the demands of a hungry audience.” – P. Bradley Robb, responding to Sherman Alexie’s appearance on the Colbert Report, on Fiction Matters

“Doug may not recall this, but I remember him strolling into our art department at St. Martin’s Press in New York, looking (aside from the preppy sweater) like any of the other young, jeans-clad designers there. He was quiet spoken and it was the most casual of exchanges, but seeing him added a slight electrical charge to the project: he was our age. One of us. Books quite like this – about, conceived and designed by twentysomethings – hadn’t come around very often. Let’s face it, ever. There was a moment of glee as I realized the possibilities. I could go to town with the design or deliberately underplay, knowing that the team would’”get’ whatever cultural references I toyed with.” – Book designer Judith Stagnitto Abbate on designing Generation X, from the CBC Canada Reads blog