A Wordsmith and a Worldsmith: Traymore Rooms reviewed by Akashic

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Our friends at Akashic Books in Brooklyn, just posted a wonderful, appreciative review of Norm Sibum’s sprawling 700-pager The Traymore Rooms on their weekly “In Good Company” online review. Intern Alex Whelan’s astute take and fine stylings —”At times, Traymore smacks of an exceptionally erudite episode of Cheers where everybody knows both everybody’s name and the full text of Virgil’s Eclogues.” C’mon!— show that he’s got quite a future ahead of him. He sees in Sibum’s “screwball genre-hopping and erratic plotting” echoes of “Restoration sex comedy” and “the paranoid conspiratorial satire of Thomas Pynchon,” not to mention a “Hemingway-like elegy for younger and better days.” But ultimately, Whelan sees at the core of this ambitious novel a heartfelt peon to friendship:
“None of Traymore’s zeal would land, however, if not for the truth at the center of the novel: Calhoun’s—and Sibum’s—genuine, unashamed love for his friends. In the great tradition of Nick Carraways marveling quietly upon their Gatsbys, Calhoun seems well aware that he’s no match for the company that he keeps…For Traymore’s protagonist, there is no prospect more horrifying than not occupying himself with fellow Traymoreans from sun-up to sundown.”
Thanks Akashic and Alex!

Cynical, Duplicitous, and Vulnerable: ‘Confidence’ by Russell Smith Reviewed in Quill & Quire’s 80th Anniversary Issue

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We were all excited to get the 80th Anniversary issue of Quill & Quire in the mail — and thrilled to see that it had reviews of three Biblioasis authors: Russell Smith, Zach Wells, and Robyn Sarah.

All of the reviews were exceptional, but Carla Gillis‘ full page guest review of Russell Smith’s Confidence (May 1st CAN | June 1st US) was especially smart and thoughtful. At the start of the piece, Gillis focused on the trademark cynicism and biting humor that Smith, the Governor General Award-nominated author of How Insensitive, and provocative arts columnist for The Globe and Mail is known for. “In the world of these stories,” she writes, “love is a game, secrets pile up, needs go unmet, compromises and negotiations are constantly being made.” In the last stories in the collection, however, Russell delves into deeper waters:

Just as the cynicism starts to rankle rather than amuse, something shifts. Relationships remain negotiations, but also appear more broken in and nuanced. Love based on something beyond the physical and convenient creeps in. Two stories at the end, featuring the collection’s oldest and most magnanimous characters, soften the book’s unflinching tone and deliver, finally, emotional resonance by hinting at the vulnerable humanity and the truest, simplest desires beyond the exhaustive chase of pleasure.

To launch the book, Russell and Biblioasis are hosting a party at The Garrison (1197 Dundas Street West) in Toronto on April 21, starting at 7:00 p.m. Also featured: the world premiere of “Boys Underwear Girls,” a short film by Gunilla Josephson, and dancing to the rhythms of DJs Deadline and Shawn Benjamin. Anyone who knows Russell will understand why this is destined to be the launch party of the spring. You can check out its Facebook event page here.

Also! If you live in Toronto and can’t wait to hear Russell read from his new collection (who wouldn’t?), he’ll be appearing at Toronto Public Library’s venerable “eh List Author Series,” at the Readymede Branch next Tuesday, March 24, at 7:00 p.m. Special, early copies of Confidence will be on sale. More info here.

Check back soon for posts about Zach Wells and Robyn Sarah! Both are coming shortly.

K.D Miller Next Chapter Interview Online

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For those of you who didn’t get a chance to tune in, K.D. Miller was on The Next Chapter earlier this week talking to Shelagh Rogers about All Saints. Good news is the episode is now online for you to stream at your convenience. And for those of you who prefer the warm analog buzz of the radio, it was also be aired this Saturday, March 14th, at 4PM.

“He who speaks of collage speaks of the irrational” – Max Ernst

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Rain Taxi, one of our favourite American journals, has just run a thoughtful review of Diane Schoemperlen’s By The Book in their new Spring 2015 issue. Featuring original reviews of the best in underground poetry, fiction, non-fiction, art and comics, it is definitely a journal to check out and consider subscribing to. Thanks to the talented Benjamin Woodard for the review. Here’s a small taste:

“In By The Book, Schoemperlen has created an admirable, daring collection, one willing to drive its experimental nature to extremes. It is a book suitable to bookstores and galleries alike. The lyricism contained on each page is marvelous, and the combination of text and imagery make the collection a truly distinctive title in the big, wise sea of literary convention.”

Paradise and Elsewhere

Kathy Page announced as BC Book Prize fiction finalist

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We’re thrilled to announce that Kathy Page’s Paradise & Elsewhere, already boasting a 2014 Giller nod, is now a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize. Other finalists include Michael Springate, Caroline Adderson, Brian Payton, and Aislinn Hunter. Adderson’s upcoming novel, A History of Forgetting, will be released by Biblioasis this spring. Congratulations to all the finalists!

New York Times Review of Diane Schoemperlen By the Book

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Bit of overdue, but noteworthy news: The New York Times Sunday Book Review featured By the Book: Stories and Pictures by Diane Schoemperlen in their December Holiday Issue. Dan wrote a great post about the enthusiastic coverage her book’s been getting over the past month, and how we all feel about its success. Very gratifying to see that others in the media understand and appreciate this beautiful, brave, risk-taking collection, too.

If you’re interested in learning more about Diane’s process, and how she collected, chose, and assembled the collages that run with the stories in By the Book, you’re in luck: not only did Diane write an essay about the subject for The Story Prize blog, she was also featured on a recent episode of CBC’s Definitely Not the Opera with Sook-Yin Lee. You can listen to her interview here. (It starts around 39:15.)