QWF Awards: 2012

The QWF does such excellent awards banquets: last night they proved the rule with their 2012 awards banquet, held at Lion d'Or on Ontario (which host Josh Freed had couldn't help noting as a sign of how far Anglophones are willing to extend into Francophone territory to exert our waning influence). A few highlights:

Rawi Hage won for Carnival which wasn't a surprise. His books balance urban grit with his idiosyncratic humor and quirkiness. No doubt his books will stand the test of time (his book DeNiro's Game from 2006 continues to loom large over our city as a literary capital). I am glad that Hage took home the prize (and his speech was charming and adorable) but I was also disappointed that I didn't get a chance to see Anita Rau Badami up on stage, an author I adore. Also, I haven't read Hage's Carnival yet so I didn't have a connection to the work in a way I should have.

Taras Grescoe won for Straphanger, a book that I found absolutely riveting. Full disclosure: I was on the jury for this prize, so I am hardly objective (and there will several excellent and worthy books on our long list)  but Grescoe's book has altered the way I look at cars and cities. When certain journalists or writers in Montreal gripe about this road construction project impeding traffic or that new freeway exit ramp, I can just shrug and be thrilled that they're problems I never have to deal with (and I pay absolutely no attention to the price of gas). More than that, the book traces the history of the car on various cities around the world and makes one SEE cities in a new light. I suspect that in 25 years we will look back and know that Grescoe's book was the beginning of the end for the dominant role that the car has played in city life (though that said: even Grescoe admits that cars are important in certain places and at certain times).

Alice Petersen won the Concordia First Book Prize for her short-story collection All the Voices Cry, an excellent collection which contains several lovely little gems. Oana Avasilichioaei won the AM Klein Poetry Prize for her collection We, Beasts.

But the most heart-warming moment all night was when Eric Fontaine won the Cole Translation Prize for his translation of Doug Harris's (excellent) You Comma Idiot (titled T'es con, point). Fontaine's eyes were teary as he got on stage and his list of thank yous was funny, moving and entertaining. He is an excellent storyteller himself, it seems...

And a great evening was had by all!

QWF 2012 Awards: Readings

QWF awards event was last night and I saw some excellent readers feature their own work: 

Taras Grescoe read from Straphanger which is a fascinating book on the role that the automobile has played in our cities for far too long. In the book, Grescoe travels to 14 cities around the world and explores what they are doing right and how they could make their cities better, more egalitarian and more people-friendly. It's a hard sell, particularly to North Americans who are so largely attached to their cars and driving. But for those of us who don't own a car (I haven't had a car since I was 20 years old and at the time I sold it because I never drove it), Grescoe's thesis is so intuitive: the car has its place but cities would be better if the car had a diminished role in them.  More than the above, Grescoe is just an engaging and intelligent writer and the book was one I had a hard time putting down.

Also heard Julija Sukys reading from her book Epistophilia, a biography in letters of a librarian who saved countless Jews from extermination while quietly working at a library in the Lithuanian capital, smuggling food and supplies in and out of the Jewish Ghetto. I really enjoyed reading this book, not only because I think the city of Vilnius, Lithuania is one of the most fascinating cities in the world (small, not much happens there, but a rich history and incredibly beautiful) but also because I am all for books which bring an unknown person's story to light, show us someone who should be remembered.  

Tom Abray read from his book of short stories, Pollen, several of which I still recall though I read the book last year (or very early this year). His characters are engaging and find themselves in situations that we can almost all relate to (trying to find a daycare for their kid, doing some half-ass renovation project while spending the weekend alone at home). He's a good reader, too, and I wish writers of short stories generally could make a living at their craft because Abray, though young, seems to have a real gift for the short story.

I heard Alice Petersen read from her collection, All the Voices Cry, though I'd heard her read maybe 18 months ago from her book before it was published. Her stories are simply amazing: Petersen comes from New Zealand originally and she has this exotic distance in her language that is quite distinct and unique from other Canadian writers. Her stories are rich with humour and wit. I see a bright future for Petersen.

There were several writers there whose readings I missed because I came late (TD Children's Literary Award Banquet) but the entire roster of 2012 QWF awards can be found here (PDF). Some excellent work being done by our local Quebec Anglophone writers and very happy to be a part of the booming and successful community of creative and intelligent writers.

We start our planning...

Yes, it's time to start thinking about 2013 already. Actually, we have four writers confirmed already so that helps.

I am considering novelists, poets, memoirists, essayists and even those who haven't published a book recently (or, in fact, at all). Books are a key part of what we do but they certainly aren't the only reason to bring a guest who has something interesting to say if it fits in line with our programming tracks.

That's all so vague but I have to be careful at this point not to give away too much. We are still very early in the process, naturally, and our planning goes through several revolutions before it starts taking shape in mid to late October.

In the meantime, I am reading and planning a few upcoming trips:

Been reading Taras Grescoe's latest, an excellent book about the damage the automobile has done to cities and our quality of life generally. Also recently read Nelly Arcan's Exit (which was highly readable though I wasn't in love with the narrator's whiny persona), a book about common daily life history called Hoping for the Best, Preparing for the Worst about early life in Canada, Against God by Patrick Senécal, The Sweet Sixteen by Concordia prof Linda Kay (about the founding of the Canadian Women's Press Club - sounds dry but it's actually quite compelling), and of course finding time for reading for fun, naturally. Also was captivated by Gods and Soldiers, an anthology of contemporary African writing, edited by Rob Spillman (of Tin House fame). Read a lot more besides...

And I've got a huge stack of additional books to get through as well in the next several months. Never a shortage of things to read around here!

In terms of traveling, headed to Berlin in a few weeks for The Berlin International Literary Festival, then to NYC for the New Yorker Festival and wrapping it all up in Portland for Wordstock. Busy fall!