Bluestalking

Oh, yes. She went there.

Be I ever so humble, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single librarian in possession of a [bit of] good [news] must be in want of a [forum.] This, Internets, is my forum.

And there is much rejoicing.

 

Ladies and gentlemen of the Internets, I present to you my friend, amiga, peer and person knownst to me: Amy Gail Hansen.

Ms. Hansen has been knownst to me these last several years. When first we met she was a reporter for a local newspaper, for which I also wrote a "new books" column on behalf of the library, now sadly defunct. She interviewed me for something I was doing for the library:  something, I'm sure, GREAT AND INNOVATIVE, beyond fabulosity. Something which has slipped my mind, but no less IMPORTANT.

When second or third we met, she had joined the writers' group I formed at our library, for which I had very great hopes, with a fair amount of FEAR, as I was so very new and frightened, indeed. Henceforth, as they are wont to say, BUILD IT AND THEY SHALL COME. Internets, come they did.

And then the group did prosper.

Verily, it prospereth to this very day, having helped along the interests of many members, some of whom have published pieces and works of a various and sundry nature, others who have just had jolly good fun while enjoying snacks sweet and/or savory and lolling about.

So here we are, in the present day. A young woman, once reporter and writer of nonfiction, has - through times of much work and several revisions - completed and sold the manuscript of her FIRST NOVEL. To a MAJOR PUBLISHING HOUSE located in NEW YORK! CITY!

 

New York! City!

 

You may relax for a bit, loll and imbibe as you wish, over the next 365 days or so. As Ms. Amy Gail Hansen updates me, I shall update you.

BUT! The working title may not wind up being the published title. So no, I will not tell you that lest I impart faulty information.

I hope you will feel a fraction of the joy and pride I do as to Ms. Amy Gail Hansen's unqualified SUCCESS! Probably not, in which case I beg of you to simply plan now to buy her book in large quantities once it has been PUBLISHED.

Again, I shall keep you updated.

 

 

 

Book Links from 2011: A brief retrospective

I don't keep very good track of all the book and literary-related articles I read through the year, nor the videos I watch, either. Maybe that would be a good 2012 resolution, since by the end of the year I've ingested so much great stuff I wish I could share the best of the best of it with you all. It's a busy, hectic, over-informed world out there; we're all bound to have missed some outrageously good stuff when we're off doing other things.

What I've collected here is no reflection on my 2011 book-related reading. I'm at a loss as to how to go about finding it all again. I suppose I can't, though, without trolling through my "history" on all the computers I've used.

Quick answer: That isn't going to happen.

So, alas and alack, a mere shadow of highlights from the literary world in 2011 is the best I can do.  Hope you enjoy these bits.

 

One of my fave YouTube videos of 2011, from World Book Day:

 

 

Edinburgh International Book Festival, "The Book I Bought Today:"

 

 

Favorite laugh-out-loud book trailers of 2011:

 

 

 

 

Sebastian Barry, on On Canaan's Side and his nomination for the Booker:

 

 

Julian Barnes on winning the Man Booker Prize for The Sense of An Ending:

 

 

Téa Obreht on winning the Orange Prize for The Tiger's Wife:

 

 

Edna O'Brien, "I'm sorry books don't have the same cachet as a pair of jeans:"

 

 

From Mashable: 50 + Sites for Book Lovers.

Articles from The Atlantic:     A Tumultuous Year in Books

                                                            The Phenomenal New York Review of Books

 

The incredible, amazing 2011 upstart the Los Angeles Review of Books

From the Huffington Post: Stereotyping You By Your Favorite Book of 2011

If you care about serious writing and don't know The Millions, you should.

2012: Happy 200th Birthday, Charles Dickens!

 

Dickens' 200th Birthday... Well... Discussed by Sock Puppets (I am so sorry)

 

 

 

The "new" Charlotte Bronte manuscript.

 

In Memoriam: Writers Lost in 2011

(By no means a comprehensive list)

Vanity Fair: Slideshow - In Memoriam of Christopher Hitchens.

 

Vaclav Havel

Russell Hoban

Diana Wynne-Jones

Brian Jacques

Anne McCaffrey

Reynolds Price

Josephine Hart

Christa Wolf

 

So much richness, so little time. What have I missed? Anything you would add?

 

Video: Karen Essex - Dracula in Love

 

From Dracula in Love:

"In the beginning, there was the voice.

That was how it began on that first evening, with a masculine voice calling out to me in my sleep; a dis-embodied voice slithering into my dream, a voice of deep timbre and tones, of sensuous growls, and of low, hollow moans - a voice laden with promise and with love. it was as familiar to me as my own, and yet I knew now whether it came from inside my head, from outside me, or from somewhere not of this earth. Hushed like wind through a valley and smooth like velvet, it beckoned me, and I neither had, nor wanted, power against it. The voice was my master."

 

 
 

Karen Essex is the author of four  novels, including the international bestseller Leonardo's Swans. Her award-winning essays and articles have appeared in many periodicals, among them the L.A. Weekly, Vogue and Playboy. She lives in Los Angeles.

 

Congratulations to Amber Kennedy, Winner of Scottish Book Trust Young Writers' Award

 

Amber Kennedy, Orkney, Scotland

Please read her short story 'Cure.' It's gorgeous and wrenching, plus very assured for such a young writer. Keep an eye out for this one...

 

Stuff Simon & Schuster is happy about.

 

 

Predictably, I had the chance to buy a copy of this for 90 % off when one of my local Borders stores closed. But I thought, "Oh, that must be so depressing..."

 

Turns out, hey, it isn't!

 

Insert head banging noise here.

IMPAC Dublin AWARD FINALISTS

IMPAC Dublin Award Finalists

Posted: April 12, 2011 by thebooksthething in IMPAC Dublin Award, Library, General, Literary Events, Professional News, Public Libraries

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3 Irish Authors short listed for the
2011 International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award.

The short list will be confirmed by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Gerry Breen at 11.00am on 12th April 2011 in the Mansion House, Dublin

10 novels have been shortlisted for the International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award, from a total of 162 novels nominated by 166 public library systems in 126 cities worldwide. For the first time, the shortlist includes novels by three Irish authors; Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann, Brooklyn by Colm Toibín and Love and Summer by William Trevor. The International IMPAC DUBLIN Literary Award is worth €100,000 and is the world’s most prestigious literary prize nominated by public libraries world-wide. 
 
The Lord Mayor of Dublin Gerry Breen, Patron of the Award, officially confirmed the titles on this year’s shortlist, nominated by public libraries in Australia, Barbados, Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, Greece, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland, and the USA.

The short listed titles are:

1. Galore by Michael Crummey (Canadian). Doubleday Canada
2. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (American). Faber & Faber, HarperCollins, USA
3. The Vagrants by Yiyn Li  (Chinese / American) Random House, USA
4. Ransom by David Malouf  (Australian) Random House Australia
5. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (Irish) Bloomsbury, UK, Random House, USA
6. Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates  (American) Ecco Press, USA
7. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey  (Australian) Allen & Unwin
8. Brooklyn by Colm Toibín (Irish) Viking UK, Scribner, USA
9. Love and Summer by William Trevor (Irish) Viking, UK
10. After the Fire, a Still, Small Voice by Evie Wyld (Australian) Pantheon Books, USA

More about the shortlist

From this list, all I’ve read is Evie Wyld’s After the Fire, a Still, Small Voice. I’d be ecstatic if it won, but then again I have no others to compare it with, which makes that a trifle biased. Not that that’s ever stopped me.

I have a copy of Galore for review, haven’t heard of  The Vagrants, Jasper Jones or Love and Summer, though of course I know of William Trevor. The others I know of but have never read.

So, once again, I’m faced with having no idea  on earth who will win, only that I’ll hope it’s Evie Wyld since her book was positively brilliant.

What’s that you say? Did I hear, “Lisa, why don’t you read the shortlist, then make an informed guess?!”

Are  you trying to kill me, people?!  Yes, it’s a prize generated via the opinions of public librarians, and yes, I’m a public librarian. And, if you offer to fly me to Ireland for the awards ceremony I wouldn’t hesitate to read these novels while standing on my head. (Okay, maybe not standing on my head.)

The award date isn’t until June 15, but I’m already reviewing for two sites, plus for NetGalley at my own pace, and I have half a mind to apply to Kirkus, too. Oh, and the Orange Prize Longlist. I’ve been too eager to wait for the short, plus for whatever completely insane reason thought I should also guess the short…

Oh, hell. Maybe. But keep in mind a ticket to Ireland would positively seal the deal. Ireland in June? Yes, please!

Orange Prize News: Youth Panel Jury

Youth Panel to shadow Orange Prize for Fiction jury to celebrate 16^th anniversary

To celebrate the 16^th anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction,six teenagers, each currently 16 years old, have been chosen for the youth panel to shadow the official jury.

Three girls and three boys will read the six shortlisted books before meeting to decide upon their winner. The panel were selected from Patchway Community College in Bristol and Twyford Church of England High School in West London.  They were chosen as schools already involved in Orange’s ongoing CSR programme with local schools to educate students about online safety.

 

Kate Mosse, novelist and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize, who attends the official judging meetings, will also be present at the deliberations of the youth panel. She comments: “This is the third year we have run a youth panel, as part of our commitment to promoting outstanding international fiction by women to younger audiences and to listening to their views. I’m very much looking forward to meeting this year’s group of youth judges

 

“At our first Youth Panel in 2009, it was fascinating to see how their final selections both complemented and contrasted the choices made by the official jury. Our aim is to engage a younger audience through the work of the youth panel and also to inspire debate about contemporary teenage reading habits.”

 

Youth panel member, Martha Samano, commented “It’s a real honour to join the Orange Prize Youth Panel and I’m looking forward to finding out the shortlist and starting the judging process.”

 

The youth panel consists of:

•          Emily Conibere, trains in Sports Acrobatics Gymnastics and is part of a Sports Leadership team at school. An avid reader she is currently studying for her G.C.S.Es.

•          Sean Crocker, spends much of his spare time reading and his favourite authors include Darren Shan, Paul Hoffman and Charmian Hussey.

•          Rosie Foale, lists Stephenie Meyer, Shakespeare and J.K. Rowling as her favourite authors and is looking to study Biology, Chemistry, Psychology and English Literature at A Level.

•          Jim Phillips, studying AS levels in German, History, Religious Studies, and English Literature. Counts Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird as one of his favourite books.

 

•          Martha Samano, writing is a passion and her favourite reads include The Time Traveller’s Wife, A Clockwork Orange and Perfume.

Matthew Sparrow, enjoys sailing and fencing and is currently revising for his G.C.S.Es. One of his favourite books is The Indian in the Cupboard.

The official Orange Prize for Fiction for Fiction judges for 2011 are: broadcaster, historian and author Bettany Hughes, (Chair), founder-director of Bloomsbury Publishing and Full Circle Editions Liz Calder, novelist Tracy Chevalier, actress and writer Helen Lederer, journalist and broadcaster Susanna Reid.

This is the third consecutive year that the Orange Prize has recruited a youth panel to shadow the Prize.  In 2010, as part of the Orange Prize’s 15^th anniversary, a panel comprised of 17 and 18 year old students read the 14 winning Orange Prize books and selected Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels as their favourite novel from all of the previous winners.  In 2009, the first-ever youth panel made up of three girls and three boys, recruited via teenage website spinebreakers.co.uk, read the 20 books longlisted for the 2009 Prize before choosing a shortlist and winner.  They picked Blonde Roots by Bernardine Evaristo as their overall favourite. 

 

Previous winners of the Orange Prize for Fiction are Helen Dunmore for A Spell of Winter (1996), Anne Michaels for Fugitive Pieces (1997), Carol Shields for Larry’s Party (1998), Suzanne Berne for A Crime in the Neighbourhood (1999), Linda Grant for When I Lived in Modern Times (2000), Kate Grenville for The Idea of Perfection (2001), Ann Patchett for Bel Canto (2002) Valerie Martin for Property (2003), Andrea Levy for Small Island (2004), Lionel Shriver for We Need to Talk about Kevin (2005), Zadie Smith for On Beauty (2006), Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for Half of a Yellow Sun (2007), Rose Tremain for The Road Home (2008), Marilynne Robinson for Home (2009) and Barbara Kingsolver for The Lacuna (2010).

For the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction, novels must be published in the UK between 1st April 2010 and 31st March 2011. The prize is administered by Booktrust, the UK charity for books and reading. Orange has sponsored the prize since its inaugural year, 1996.

For more information, please visit www.orangeprize.co.uk

 

Opening March 11, 2011 - Jane Eyre

 

Release: March 11, 2011 (in select theatres)

Mia Wasikowska (“Alice in Wonderland”) and Michael Fassbender (“Inglourious Basterds”) star in the romantic drama based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel, from acclaimed director Cary Fukunaga (“Sin Nombre”). In the story, Jane Eyre flees Thornfield House, where she works as a governess for wealthy Edward Rochester. As she reflects upon the people and emotions that have defined her, it is clear that the isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned. She must now act decisively to secure her own future and come to terms with the past that haunts her – and the terrible secret that Mr. Rochester is hiding and that she has uncovered…

Also starring Dame Judi Dench, Sally Hawkins and Jamie Bell.

Director: Cary Fukunaga (“Sin Nombre”)

Writers: Moira Buffini (“Tamara Drewe”); Based on the novel by Charlotte Brontë

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Holliday Grainger, Sally Hawkins, Tamzin Merchant, Imogen Poots, Judi Dench

MPAA Rating: PG-13

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