Twenty poets from across Canada have been chosen to participate in Open Stage Night at Harbourfront Centre on March 25th. Open Stage Night is a showcase of young poetic talent, with all of the authors falling below the age of 35. The event, put on by the group Authors At Harbourfront Centre (also known as AUTHORS), will feature writers who have a complete work currently in print with a trade publisher.
For one week every February, authors, intellectuals and people generally that love the written word come together to commemorate Freedom to Read Week. For 25 years now, this yearly event put on by Canada's Freedom of Expression Committee serves as a reminder that freedom of speech, thought, expression and opinion aren’t always necessarily an absolute. So this week, librarians, educators and publishers across the country will rally events to commemorate the struggles to preserve free speech, and celebrate the works that test the limits of that freedom.
The 2008 Canadian Federal Election is officially over, and though the results remained relatively the same, with Stephen Harper’s Conservative government gaining another minority government, there were a number of interesting issues that were raised throughout the thirty-eight day campaign. Up until the U.S. economy started to spin out of control mere weeks ago, the issue of arts funding in Canada seemed to take on a new prominence. The cutting of $45 million dollars from the arts budget mainly affected programs which allowed Canadian artists to travel and promote their work abroad, though there were also cuts to programs that fostered development in the film and digital realms as well.
Keep your eye on those small Canadian presses. They may lack the marketing budget of big leaguers like HarperCollins and Random House but each year they publish some of the best emerging writers anywhere. A case in point is Samantha Warwick and her debut novel Sage Island, released in September by Victoria’s Brindle & Glass. Set against the exciting backdrop of 1920s New York, Sage Island chronicles the coming of age of its young heroine Savanna Mason as she deals with relationships and personal flaws while seeking fame as one of the best competitive swimmers of her generation.
Book Expo Canada’s 2008 Conference and Trade Show took place from June 13 to June 18 at the Toronto Convention Centre. It is Canada’s premier book event. Its thrust is to bring publishers, booksellers and authors together in order to:
Keep your eye on those small Canadian presses. They may lack the marketing budget of big leaguers like HarperCollins and Random House but each year they publish some of the best emerging writers anywhere. A case in point is Samantha Warwick and her debut novel Sage Island, released in September by Victoria’s Brindle & Glass. Set against the exciting backdrop of 1920s New York, Sage Island chronicles the coming of age of its young heroine Savanna Mason as she deals with relationships and personal flaws while seeking fame as one of the best competitive swimmers of her generation. 