Lochhead Book Launch (Sackville)

Sackville's poet laureate, Douglas Lochhead, will be launching his latest book, Love on the Marsh, at Tidewater Books, 4 Bridge Street, Sackville on Saturday March 15th at 4pm. For more about the author, or to view a video clip of Lochhead reading from Love on the Marsh, visit http://www.sybertooth.ca/publishing/loveonthemarsh.htm
Contact: webmaster@sybertooth.ca for more information.

Frye Festival Authors Announced

9th annual Frye Festival brings award-winning authors to Moncton
April 23-27, 2008

The Frye Festival will honour its proud tradition of bringing some of the best authors in the world to Moncton when the 9th edition of this annual celebration of words takes over Hub City cafes, schools, theatres and libraries, April 23-27, 2008.

Canada's only bilingual international literary festival, the Frye Festival promotes the pleasure and discovery of reading through a wide range of activities for book lovers and aspiring writers of all ages, including dialogues, workshops, readings and round tables. Named in honour of Northrop Frye, a renowned thinker who spent his formative years in Moncton, the five-day event has presented more than 300 authors, from every continent, to date.

Recently celebrated Canadian authors on the 2008 marquee include Ami McKay, whose debut novel The Birth House was a number one bestseller in Canada and Heather O'Neill, who enjoyed similar critical acclaim for her first novel Lullabies for Little Criminals. Both books are long-listed for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

In addition to McKay and O'Neill, this year's showcase includes Russell Banks, author of the highly acclaimed The Sweet Hereafter and Affliction (both of which have been made into films); Alberto Manguel, novelist and distinguished thinker; Nancy Huston, a Calgary-born, Paris-based writer who is best known for her work Plainsong and Don Hannah, the Shediac-born award-winning playwright and novelist.

Other Festival headliners include Pulitzer Prize-winner Richard Ford, author of five novels including The Sportswriter and Independence Day and Rachel Leclerc, a major literary figure in Quebec and in Europe.

Over 13,000 people took part in last year's Festival, setting a new attendance high for the non-profit, volunteer-driven event. One of the Festival's objectives is to give youth from Kindergarten through to Grade 12 venues to present their original creations and opportunities to experience the fun and power of words.

This is achieved through the highly successful and growing School-Youth Program, which includes the popular Great-West Life — London Life Writing Contest, Aliant Budding Writers, Aliant Café Underground, KidsFest and TD's Writers in the Schools events.

In 2007, Frye Festival authors visited schools all over New Brunswick to promote the discovery and enjoyment of reading and writing to thousands of French and English students. The Frye Festival also donated $6,000 in new books to the Province’s schools and presented over $4,000 in prize money to the writing contest winners.

The Festival receives funding from all levels of government and generous corporate sponsors and is managed by two employees and supported by more than 100 volunteers.

New LitMag Seeks Submissions

Call for submissions to Riddle Fence: (NEW) Deadline: March 31. Riddle Fence, a St. John's-based journal of arts and culture, is looking to fill its second issue with nothing short of literary genius – though we'll settle for the merely exemplary. Payment? How mercenary of you to ask. We pay $30 a page for prose and poetry.

We are currently considering submissions of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction. Send us your best and keep the rest for yourselves. Please send no more than 3-4 poems or one piece of prose, maximum 5,000 words in length.

What are we looking for? What is anyone looking for: brilliance, innovation, that certain je ne sais quoi de sage-like insight that will blow away the doldrums and give our lives greater meaning.

We accept submissions by snail mail (please include a self-addressed stamped envelope): Riddle Fence, P.O. Box 7092, St. John's, NL, A1E 3Y3. Or, send your submission by e-mail (as an attachment in MS Word or Rich Text Format) to riddlefence@gmail.com.

M. Travis Lane Reading (Fredericton)

M. Travis Lane reading at Westminster Books Feb 21

Thursday February 21 at 7 PM at Westminster Books, meet well-known local poet M. Travis Lane reading and discussing her latest book of poetry.

The Crisp Day Closing on My Hand: The Poetry of M. Travis Lane is a collection of thirty-five of her best poems, selected with an introduction by Jeanette Lynes. An environmentalist, feminist, and peace activist, M. Travis Lane is known for witty and meticulously crafted poems that explore the elusive nature of "home" in both historical and present contexts and reflect on the identity of the woman poet and what it means to be a writer. Lane's poems exhibit impressive range and variety--long poems, short lyrics, serial poems, poems inspired by visual art--and are richly attentive to the landscapes, both urban and wild, of her New Brunswick home. They voice a sense of urgency with respect to ecological crises and war; her poetic attention fixes unwaveringly on the smallest pebble on the coast of Fundy but is equally attuned to global patterns of destructive domination.

In her introduction As Opportunity for Grace, This Life May Serve, editor Jeanette Lynes discusses how Lane's poetry integrates an ecopoetic vision with explorations of the artist's task of mapping her world.

Lane's afterword reinforces her sense of the poet's project as a form of mystical play, a search for patterns in the "unified disunities" of all things.

About the Author
M. Travis Lane is Honorary President of the Writers' Federation of New Brunswick and a Life Member of the League of Canadian Poets. She has published eleven books of poetry (including the forthcoming The Safety Net) and received numerous awards, including the Bliss Carman Poetry Prize, the Atlantic Poetry Prize, the Pat Lowther Memorial Award, and the Alden Nowlan Award for Excellence in English Language Literary Arts.

Michael Winter Reading (Fredericton)

The Canada Council for the Arts, The University of New Brunswick English Department, and the UNB Bookstore are proud to present acclaimed author Michael Winter.

When: Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 @ 8PM
Where: Alumni Memorial Lounge (UNB)

Michael Winter's latest novel "The Architects are Here", marks the return of Gabriel English, the rugged narrator who has coloured Winter's last three novels and secured the author's place among the most original prose stylists in Canadian Literature.

"Architects" hits the ground running as a near-death experience drives Gabriel to confront the disappearance of his girlfriend, Nell, and spurs his return to his childhood home of Corner Brook, Newfoundland, where a recent accident involving a friend's father suggests Nell has beaten Gabriel back to the Rock. The novel is a break-neck romp through lives past and present, punched-up by cameos from the squirrelly world of Canadian Letters. A Giller Prize Nominee, and the recipient of numerous literary awards, Michael Winter is one of those unique literary talents who manage to out do themselves with each new effort. This reading is not to be missed.

The UNB Bookstore will have copies of "Architects" on hand to purchase, and Michael will be available after the reading to answer questions and personalize your edition.

In recognition of our continued success, the UNB Reading Series is pleased to offer free admission to this event. Don't miss your chance to hear one of Canada's most groundbreaking writers read from a soon-to-be Classic.

Join us for a great evening of literature!

David Adams Richards (Moncton)

Frye Festival presents book launch by David Adams Richards
Spend Thursday, February 14 with the Province’s best known literary export - David Adams Richards. The award-winning author will be in Moncton for the launch of his new book Playing the Inside Out, joined by special guest and acclaimed Acadian author Antonine Maillet.
The launch begins at 5 p.m. at the Université de Moncton’s Galerie d’art Louise-et-Reuben Cohen. Books will be sold on site by the Librairie acadienne.

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David Adams Richards at Moncton Library
Critcally acclaimed author David Adams Richards will read from his new novel The Lost Highway and sign books at the Moncton Public Library on Friday, February 15. The event starts at noon and books will be sold at the library by Tidewater Books. It's part of a three-day visit to the region, organized by the Frye Festival.