March Newsletter
In like a lion, out like Fifteen Dogs?
Read the full version of our March newsletter here.
March, or as our Finnish friends call it, maaliskuu is finally upon us. While the Finnish word refers to the earth finally being visible under a winter's worth of snow, we instead think of these 31 days as a flurry of activity. We're busy turning over our final edits, laying out the books like seeds into rows, and most importantly, squirrel proofing our gardens against our lovely but pesky little friends.
It's also the month where our events calendar kicks back off in earnest. We have a double drama launch in Toronto on March 8th featuring Jill Connell and Karen Hines reading from plays about abortions and Virginia Woolf on International Women's Day. We have Lisa Robertson returning to town to dazzle us with her feminist poetry and incredible wit at knife|fork|book. We also have to get busy working on our spring launch on April 27th because, oh dear, oh dear, look at the time!
The 2017 Windham-Campbell Prize
Adding to his mountain of awards and accolades, André Alexis is now one of eight proud recipients of the 2017 Windham Campbell prize. Celebrating its fifth year, the prize (and its $165,000 purse) was created to ‘call attention to literary achievement and provide writers with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns.’ The prizes will be handed out at a festival in September at Yale University, and feature a reading by Karl Ove Knausgård. Congratulations, André!
Reviews
‘The cultish followers of Robertson — a widespread, loyal, and vibrant tribe — know her well, and don’t need me to urge them to pick up this book. But it is new readers whom I particularly want to encourage, partly because I like to share the joy of encountering Robertson for the first time, but more importantly because I believe her insistence on thinking entirely on her own terms makes her an essential poet for our time, one that should have a wider audience.’
– Sina Queryas, Los Angeles Review of Books
‘All big dreams and knitted brows,Shot-Blue is a serious and demanding book, contemplating widely in wandering prose.’ – National Post
‘[Shot-Blue] rewards devotees of lyrical description and modernist wordplay.’ – The Toronto Star
‘Ruddock exquisitely breathes life into feelings we all know too well.’ – This Magazine
‘Writing fiction … has to feel wild, a little out of hand, or I’m not interested.’ – CNQ Interview
Canada Reads
Canada's favourite literary reality show returns later this month, and among the contenders is André Alexis's Fifteen Dogs. Defended by the ultra cool Humble the Poet, we're sure that we'll come out ahead of the pack and chomp down on the best-in-show prize.
As if visions of dogs dancing through your head wasn't cute enough, check out this video of André and Humble getting to know – and then professing their adoration for – one another.
More Good News & Reviews
- Mike Hoolboom received a GG Award for his long and prolific film career
- Sina Queryas announced the return of her online literary journal Lemon Hound. Poets and readers everywhere rejoice!
- Flare magazine profiled Subdivided co-editor Jay Pitter
- Reviewer Bardia Sinaee raved about Baloney for CNQ
- Broken Pencil unlocked their love for The Hidden Keys
- ARC Poetry Magazine gave Andy McGuire's Country Club the review of a century calling it a ‘balls-out, tits-up, what-the-fuck-are-we-all-doing-here romp through thirty-something ennui.’
Upcoming Events
March 8 / Toronto, ON / Karen Hines (Animals) & Jill Connell (The Supine Cobbler) /Double Launch @ Handlebar
March 8 / Vancouver, BC / Jen Currin (School) / Growing Room Festival
March 9 / Peterborough, ON / Jeramy Dodds (Poetic Edda) /
Trillium Book Award 30th Anniversary Reading
March 15 / Vancouver, BC / Gail Scott (The Obituary) / Reading at Artscape Vancouver
March 16 / Vancouver, BC / Gail Scott (The Obituary) /
Reading with Jordan Abel at Vancouver Island University
March 18 / New York, NY / Lisa Robertson (3 Summers) / Segue Reading
March 20 / Toronto, ON / Lisa Robertson (3 Summers) / Reading at knife|fork|book
March 25-26 / Ottawa, ON / Lisa Robertson (3 Summers) / VERSeFest
March 28–April 8 / Toronto, ON / Karen Hines (Animals) /
Crawlspace @ Soulpepper Theatre
April 8 / Guelph, ON / Jesse Ruddock (Shot-Blue) / Kazoo! Fest
April 10 / Seattle, WA / Jordan Scott (Night & Ox) / Ask the Oracle at Hugo House
April 15 / San Francisco, CA / Jordan Scott (Night & Ox) / Reading at Alley Cat Books
April 27 / Toronto, ON/ Coach House Spring launch at The Garrison
