books & lit

Naughty Novelist Night: Three literary ladies get you ready for St Valentine’s

Written

on Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Suckuary (aka February) fast approaches – the dreaded month of slushy streets and minus 30 degree cold snaps that drains even the most dedicated scenester’s will to have fun. No wonder some medieval visionary decided to sex up the month with a little romance. Fortunately, this year you don’t have to wait until the 14th to get a little action… at least of the literary sort.

This Thursday, February 2, Venus Envy will be featuring a reading from three local authors – Barbara Sibbald, Jasmine Aziz and Patricia K. McCarthy - whose latest works touch on the theme of sex and romance.

Sibbald, whose full-time job is editing medical texts, will be sharing a passage from her second novel, The Book of Love. The story revolves around three friends trying to navigate the ins and outs of romantic life with the help of the eponymous self-help book. Overall, the The Book of Love seems to be a Sex in the City episode set in Ottawa, with the horny Erica, the romantic Suzanne and the creative Christina. If you ever wondered what Samantha would get up to in the Market on a Saturday night, this is your chance to find out.

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Mini-mammoth book sale

Written

saxby

on Wednesday, December 14, 2011

The next Friends of Ottawa Public Library mini-mammoth used book sale is this Saturday, December 17^th from 10am to 2pm at 100 Tallwood Drive.

· CDs and fiction will be 10 for $1

· Videos, cat and dog books, and children’s books will be 5 for $1

· Non-fiction books will be $1 each

· We will also have a selection of good-as-new gift books at special prices

Admission and parking are free, but parking is limited so visitors might need to park a block away at the Centrepoint library/Ben Franklin Place (100 Centrepointe). If they use public transportation, the OC Transpo 94 and 95 buses stop at Tallwood and Woodroffe, just outside of our big yellow building.

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Tackling Taboos: 3 Women Talk

Written

Katie

on Monday, November 28, 2011

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Open Mic Writer’s Night at AlphaSoul (Support Local)

Written

Karen

on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

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The Mechanicsville Monologues: Ottawa’s grittiest neighbourhood gets a literary tribute

Written

apartment613

on Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Photo courtesy of tcp909 from the Apt613 flickr group

Post by Della Siemens

“Never again would the neighbourhood be a lowly retarded cousin to Westboro – oh no, no, no, no, no, we would be new… what was the word I saw in the magazine… we would be the new chic.”

And never again will you mistake Mechanicsville for Westboro, or any other neighbourhood in Ottawa for that matter.

The Mechanicsville Monologues by Donnie Laflamme paints a bleak picture of a community riddled with poverty, violence, and isolation. Developed from a play by Chamber Theatre Hintonburg, the novel consists of short soliloquies by fictional residents of Mechanicsville and they tell their stories like they’re telling a secret.

Throughout the monologues, you see how events thread the characters together to construct a community. Each character gives a slightly different perspective and elaborates on a few key incidents, like the beating of a drag queen prostitute and the pregnancy of a teen dropout.

In each character’s story is a pervading sense of loneliness. The isolation is enforced by the characters, each one giving an account of violence or abandonment when they express themselves or reach out for help, or dishing it out when someone reaches out to them.

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Talk and Slideshow by Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction winner

Written

Katie

on Sunday, November 20, 2011

Date: Monday, November 21 · 7:30pm – 8:30pm
Location: Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario
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Join author and adventurer Eric Enno Tamm for a talk and slideshow on his book, “The Horse That Leaps through Clouds: A Tale of Espionage, the Silk Road and the Rise of Modern China,” which won the Ottawa Book Award for Nonfiction (2011). He’ll be presenting a slideshow about his retracing the epic journey of a Russian secret agent who trekked from
St. Petersburg to Beijing a century ago along the Silk Road. Tamm’s book chronicles two epic journeys along the Silk Road—past and present—that offer a cautionary tale about the breathtaking rise of modern China. For more information, visit
http://horsethatleaps.com/event.
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This event is hosted by the China-Canada Friendship Society and is open to the public. Signed books will be on sale by the World of Maps. The talk will begin at about 7:30 pm.
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Facebook Event link: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112873698826081

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Les Ateliers: Bookbinding Workshop

Written

Katie

on Sunday, November 20, 2011

This month, Les Ateliers will introduce you to the satisfaction of bookbinding.
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The history of the book reflects the history of civilization, so if you’ve always yearned to make books from scratch, join in and make some history of your own!
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This workshop will acquaint you with a variety of tools, materials, sewings and constructions fundamental to hand bookbinding. We’ll take you step-by-step through the process of hand sewing signatures to form a textblock and the making of a hardcover “case binding.” By the workshop’s end, you will have made for yourself (or a lucky friend or family member) a lovely, durable bound volume to use as a diary, sketchbook, photo album, or whatever else you like!
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Please bring your own ruler (metal preferred) and bone folder (available for purchase at your local craft supply store). All other materials will be provided. You are also welcome to bring your own decorative paper to use for the cover and back of your book (although we’ll also have some snazzy ones on hand). There will be a vegetarian potluck, so bring a delish dish to share!
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The workshop will take place on Sunday, November 27th from 1 – 4:30 pm and costs $10. The location is secret (but in Centretown!) – we recommend purchasing your ticket stat to ensure you’ll snag a spot. RSVP to this email (or lesateliersottawa@gmail.com) to reserve space.

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Mot Dit launch party

Written

Katie

on Wednesday, November 9, 2011

La revue Mot Dit lance son sixième numéro à Raw Sugar Café, 692 rue Somerset, O., lundi 28 novembre, de 17h à 20h. Mot Dit est une revue de création et de critique littéraire internationale, publiée à Ottawa. Nous publions de la poésie et de la prose, des récits de fiction et de non-fiction, des compte-rendus critiques, ainsi que de la photographie et de l’art visuel. Venez rencontrer les éditeurs, les écrivains et les photographes qui ont contribué au dernier numéro. ENTRÉE LIBRE. Des copies de la revue seront en vente.
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Ottawa-based literary magazine Mot Dit celebrates the launch it’s sixth issue at Raw Sugar Cafe, 692 Somerset St., W., on Monday November 28th, from 5 pm to 8 pm. Mot Dit publishes French-language and bilingual poetry, short fiction, essays and critical reviews, along with photography and visual art from local, national and international writers, poets and artists. Meet with editors, writers and photographers that contributed to the latest issue. FREE ADMISSION. Copies of the magazine will be available for purchase.
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START: Monday, November 28, 2011 5:00 pm
END: Monday, November 28, 2011 8:00 pm
VENUE: Raw Sugar Café
ADDRESS: 692 Somerset St., W., Ottawa, Canada

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Ottawa Authors & Artisans 2011 Fall Fair

Written

Katie

on Sunday, November 6, 2011

Ottawa Authors & Artisans 2011 Fall Fair
10:00 am – 4:30 pm
Jack Purcell Centre Room 203
320 Jack Purcell Lane (Elgin & Lewis intersection)
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Ottawa Independent Writers will be hosting their annual 2011 Authors & Artisans Fall Fair. Books and art will be on sale–perfect for Christmas gifts and supports your local community too! Free admission and parking, wheelchair accessible.

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An intimate reading with local author Nerys Par

Written

Katie

on Sunday, November 6, 2011

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10th201
7:00 – 9:00 pm
Collected Works
1242 Wellington Street West (at Holland), Ottaw
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What if you had a secret you couldn’t tell anyone—not even yourself? This is the question local author Nerys Parry explores in her debut novel, Man & Other Natural Disasters, which chronicles one man’s journey to face a past even his own nation wishes it could forget. Based on real events, Man & Other Natural Disasters is a testament to the power of story in a world too often shaken by forces outside our control: nature, terrorism, death—even love. Of all the planet has yet to throw at us, the question remains: can we recover from the worst natural disaster yet—ourselves?
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Nerys will be at Collected Works to sign books and read from her novel. She will talk about the pleasures and pitfalls she experienced during her 11-year journey to bring her novel to print, and what surprising lessons her characters taught her along the way. Nerys’ novel was a finalist for the 2011 Colophon Prize. Her writing has aired on CBC radio and been shortlisted for FreeFall’s Fall Fiction Contest, and the Event Non-Fiction Award.
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Join Nerys for an intimate evening of good coffee and personal stories at one of Ottawa’s best independent bookstores! For more info, check out Collected Works events page.