Archive for the ‘Canada’ Category

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AbeBooks: One of BC’s Top Employers for 2012

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

It’s a good day around AbeBooks. It’s Friday, the sun is out, and we’ve just learned that we have been named one of BC’s Top Employers for 2012.

Want to know what exactly that entails? From the award web site:

Now entering its eighth year, BC’s Top Employers is an annual competition organized by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. This special designation recognizes the British Columbia employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.

Employers are evaluated by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers using the same eight criteria as the national competition: (1) Physical Workplace; (2) Work Atmosphere & Social; (3) Health, Financial & Family Benefits; (4) Vacation & Time Off; (5) Employee Communications; (6) Performance Management; (7) Training & Skills Development; and (8) Community Involvement. Employers are compared to other organizations in their field to determine which offers the most progressive and forward-thinking programs.

Scanning the other winners, we are definitely in good company – there are some excellent, innovative businesses on the list. And we’re already so lucky even to live in British Columbia. We’re honored to be included. If you’d like to work here and see why we landed on the list, Peruse Our Job Listings and we’d love to hear from you.

Posted in AbeBooks, awards, business, Canada, celebration, media coverage | No Comments »

Uvic Collectors Talk – “The Accidental Collector”

Friday, February 3rd, 2012


The University of Victoria, here on Vancouver Island, just a hop, skip and jump away from AbeBooks HQ is a wonderful resource for educational and antiquarian book collections. They also do much for the bookish and literary community, including annual collector’s talks, which always prove fascinating – and this next one sounds to be no exception. The speaker will be Victoria’s own Ron Greene, talking about the joy of being an accidental collector, as well as discussing and displaying much of his large selection of collectible postcards, many of which relate to early Victoria.

In downtown Victoria, there is a one-of-a-kind store called Capital Iron. The building itself is a beautiful, huge Tudor-style structure built in 1863. Begun as a scrap and ship-breaking business in 1934, Capital Iron has expanded over the years into a unique shopping experience. From outdoor supplies and hardware, to kitchen goods and a garden shop, and the world’s most weird and wonderful basement of antiques and oddities (which used to feature a genuine iron ball and chain), it is a Victoria institution and still going strong.

Ron Greene ran Capital Iron until 1997, and it was his father, Morris, who began it back in 1934. Ron was awarded the Heritage Canada Regional Award of Honour in 1982 for the restoration of the Capital Iron facades, and was the recipient of the Royal Canadian Mint Medal for Numismatic Education in 1991. In 2010 he was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni for the Faculty of Humanities.

For those interested in collecting, the history of Victoria or postcards, this is sure to be a great afternoon not to be missed.

Ron Greene “The Accidental Collector”
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Room A003, Archives and Special Collections Classroom – Lower Level
William C. Mearns Centre for Learning/McPherson Library
Refreshments follow lecture. Free admission but limited seating

Posted in antiquarian, Canada, celebration, collecting | No Comments »

2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30

Thursday, January 26th, 2012

Attention Canada’s young book collectors – there is still time left to enter the 2011-2012 National Book Collecting Contest for Young Canadians Under 30.

We are one of the contest’s sponsors and this is a great opportunity for young bibliophiles to show their passion for rare books.

The winner takes home $1,000 (CAD) with the second and third place collectors receiving $500 and $250 respectively. Entrants are required to write a 1,500 to 2,000-word essay about their collection describing important features such as binding, decoration, illustrations and key bibliographical aspects such as format, printing and publication data.

More details.

Posted in AbeBooks, Canada, collecting, contest | No Comments »

Sarah Polley to Tackle Adaptation of Atwood’s “Alias Grace”

Wednesday, January 4th, 2012

This is a Canadian dream come true – (Canadian) director and actress Sarah Polley has signed on to direct a film adaptation of legendary (Canadian) author Margaret Atwood’s historical novel about a true double murder (in Canada).

Alias Grace is historical fiction. Based on the real-life double murder of farmer Thomas Kinnear and his housekeeper Nancy Montgomery in 1943, in Richmond Hill, Ontario. At the heart of the story is Simon Jordan, a fictional doctor charged with researching the murders and investigating the two servants convicted of the crime.

Sarah Polley, best known for her acting work in Canadian television show Road to Avonlea and in feature films such as Go, eXistenZ, Splice and Dawn of the Dead, is also no stranger to directing – the ever-talented and surprising Polley also directed the beautiful film Away From Her, adapted from a short story by Alice Munro. The adaptation resulted in an Oscar nomination for Polley for best adapted screenplay.

I look forward to this one.

Posted in author, books, Canada, film, movies | 1 Comment »

Fred Wah: Canada’s New Poet Laureate

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Congratulations to Vancouver resident Fred Wah, the latest Canada’s Parliamentary Poet Laureate. Wah is the 5th poet to be appointed to the position. He has been publishing poetry since the sixties, and during his career has won the Governor General’s Award, Alberta’s Stephanson Award, and the Dorothy Livesay Prize for his poetry, the Howard O’Hagan Award for his short fiction, and the Gabrielle Roy Prize for Literary Criticism for an essay collection.

Born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan (fun fact: the small city has a population of only 15,000, but gave us another of my favourite Canadian poets, Lorna Crozier), Wah will remain in the laureate position until 2013. My colleague Richard and I met Mr. Wah when we attended the BC Book Prizes two years ago, and he was great company.

Posted in Canada, poetry | No Comments »

Douglas Coupland’s Digital Orca

Tuesday, November 1st, 2011


I was sitting at my daughter’s dance class, messing around with my phone, when I came across this photograph that I had forgotten about. It’s Douglas Coupland’s Digital Orca sculpture found on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver. Coupland, famous for books like Generation X and Girlfriend in a Coma, does as much art as writing.

The Digital Orca looks like its made from black and white Lego, and the kids really enjoyed looking at it. On one side is the water and the mountains, and the other is the tall offices of Vancouver’s business district.

Posted in art, author, Canada, design | No Comments »

2011 Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

After a 15-year hiatus, we’re pleased to report that last year, the Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair was back in business, and a definite success, with nearly 1500 visitors in attendance to enjoy perusing rare and collectible books, prints, maps, manuscripts and much more.

This year’s fair is sure to be a magnificent affair, with nearly 50 exhibitors, all members of their national antiquarian book associations and of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) in attendance.

The event is mere days away and AbeBooks will be there to enjoy it all. We won’t have a booth at the fair, but we are proud sponsors, and AbeBooks material will be available at the registration desk. As well, Maria Hutchison and Lindsay Thompson from our Sales and Account Management team will be in attendance walking the floor, so be sure to seek them out to say hello.

Over 30 of the exhibitors in attendance are AbeBooks booksellers, including Alexandre Antique Prints, Maps & Books, Peter Harrington, Bauman Rare Books, William Reese Company and many more.

Maria and Lindsay will also host a bookseller breakfast on the morning of Saturday, October 29th. If you’d like to attend the breakfast, or make arrangements to meet with Maria or Lindsay, they can be reached at mhutchison@abebooks.com and lthompson@abebooks.com respectively.

The fair takes place over three days:

Friday, October 28th, 5pm – 9pm
Saturday, October 29th, 11am – 6:30pm
Sunday, October 30th, 12 noon – 5pm

at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre
North Building
100 (Lower) Level
Constitution Hall – Room 105
255 Front Street West

Cost is $15.00 for a 3 day pass (pre-order for $5.00 coupon towards admission).

For more information, visit the Toronto International Antiquarian Book Fair official web site.

We hope to see you there!

Posted in AbeBooks, antiquarian, Canada, collecting, fairs & festivals | No Comments »

Video review of Posters of the Canadian Pacific

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

This video review showcases some beautiful, beautiful posters. I found Posters of the Canadian Pacific by Marc H. Choko & David L. Jones to be hard to put down.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company was hailed as one of the wonders of modern travel. The Canadian Pacific railroad spanned North America from the Atlantic to Pacific. The company also operated luxury hotels, passenger ocean liners, cargo ships, and an airline. To promote the company and also Canada as a destination, the Canadian Pacific produced more than 2,500 lithographic and silkscreen posters – 1,000 of which were created in its own design studio.

Posters of the Canadian Pacific showcases 300 of the best posters from this company. These posters were displayed in Canadian Pacific offices and travel agencies worldwide from the 1880s until the 1970s. They enticed millions to visit and perhaps even settle in Canada. The imagery is often about travel and leisure and the great outdoors – skiing, golf, hunting and beach life. There is a stunning array of Art Deco style work of the 1920s and ’30s.

Posted in AbeBooks, art, Canada, design, review, travel | No Comments »

Ondaatje stepped aside for Governor General’s shortlist

Wednesday, October 12th, 2011

Author Michael Ondaatje asked for his latest novel, The Cat’s Table, to not considered for this year’s Governor General’s Award – Canada’s big literary prize – because he’s won it three times already and has no more room in his downstairs toilet to house any more trophies, reports the Quill & Quire blog.

He’s not the first famous Canadian author to give other writers a chance to win a major award – the two grand ladies of Canuck literature Alice Munro and Margaret Atwood have both ruled themselves out of the running for the Giller Prize in the past.

Posted in author, awards, Canada, news | No Comments »

Margaret Atwood’s new book lays down the straw

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Margaret Atwood’s new book comes out this week and there’s a signed limited edition (300 copies) of In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination printed on straw, “without any harmful impact on forests and their fragile ecosystems,” according to the author. The Globe and Mail has the full story.

It’s the brainchild of Vancouver-based environmental group Canopy, the limited edition is designed to showcase the viability of wheat and flax straw as alternative sources of fibre for fine paper. “I just find it shocking that in 2011 we still cut down 400- to 800-year-old trees to make bank statements and junk mail,” Canopy executive director Nicole Rycroft said in an interview. “We want to demonstrate that in fact you can produce paper without using forest fibre at all.

I think this is a fine idea but the whole print run should have been made from straw. This book explores Margaret’s relationship with science fiction – lots of essays and literary criticism of key authors and narrative tools.

Posted in author, Canada, publishers, science fiction | No Comments »

Edugyan, deWitt & Ondaatje on 2011 Giller shortlist

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

The shortlist for 2011 Giller Prize has been announced today. The winner takes home $50,000. Michael Ondaatje is the 400-lb gorilla on the list while Esi Edugyan and Patrick deWitt continue to appear on every single award shortlist going.

David Bezmozgis for The Free World
Lynn Coady for The Antagonist
Patrick deWitt for The Sisters Brothers
Esi Edugyan for Half Blood Blues
Zsuzsi Gartner for Better Living through Plastic Explosives
Michael Ondaatje for The Cat’s Table

The winner is announced on 8 November.

Posted in author, awards, Canada, news | No Comments »

Booker Prize Prediction: Esi Edugyan’s Half-Blood Blues

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Despite what the puppy says, when it comes to who will win the 2011 Man Booker Prize, here at AbeBooks headquarters we’re rooting for local author Esi Edugyan, whose nominated Half Blood Blues is her second novel and a heck of a good read.

Longlisted for the Giller Prize, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, and with a new daughter born just over a month ago, Edugyan’s life must be a whirlwind of everything under the sun (except sleep) these days. Still, we managed to catch up with her to talk about her book and more.

Read our interview with Esi Edugyan, check out our review of Half Blood Blues, and if you haven’t had a chance to read it- it’s highly recommended.

Posted in author, awards, blog, books, Canada, interview, review | No Comments »

Video review of Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Half-Blood Blues is Esi Edugyan’s second novel and it’s in the news right now because it has been shortlisted for the 2011 Man Booker Prize. Esi is also from our neck of the woods, here in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Her story is set partially in World War II and partially in the 1990s, and takes place in Paris, Berlin, Baltimore and Poland. Primarily detailing the lives and friendships of three musicans – Sid Griffiths (our narrator), Chip Jones and Hieronymous Falk, much of the scenarios take place in jazz alleys, rehearsal spaces, and makeshift recording studios.

While war and the persecution of both jazz musicians and black Germans provide the catalyst for much of the book’s action, and there is a pervasive sense of unease and fear throughout the book, the Nazis are not the primary focus of the story. Richly detailed and laced throughout with music and humor, this book was a delight to read.

Posted in AbeBooks, awards, Canada, review | No Comments »

Video review of White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights photo-book

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

My colleague Julie loves the White Stripes, and Jack and Meg and all that. I only know one song by them but then again the Beatles were still together when I was born.

This photo-book documents the White Stripes’ Under Great White Northern Lights tour across Canada. Photographer Autumn de Wilde travelled with the band and was able to capture the country, the band and backstage life. There are nearly 300 photos in The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights. It’s a must-have for fans of the band.

Posted in AbeBooks, Canada, music, photography, review, video | 2 Comments »

2011 Man Booker shortlist

Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

The shortlist for the 2011 Man Booker Prize has been announced. The line-up is:

Julian Barnes for The Sense of an Ending
Carol Birch for Jamrach’s Menagerie
Patrick deWitt for The Sisters Brothers
Esi Edugyan for Half Blood Blues
Stephen Kelman for Pigeon English
A.D. Miller for Snowdrops

Obviously, Barnes is the hot favorite. Kelman and Miller are first-time novelists. Two Canadian writers are there – Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan. We’re willing Esi to win as she’s a local girl for us at AbeBooks.com. She lives in Victoria, our hometown, and studied at the University of Victoria. We will have an interview with Esi soon.

Find signed copies of these books at AbeBooks.

The Guardian has some early comment on the list, mainly how Alan Hollinghurst has been dropped in favor of some rookie novelists.

Posted in author, awards, Canada, lists, literature, news | No Comments »

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