“A new generation of Canadian writers took centre stage on Tuesday with the announcement of six finalists for the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize, led by two largely unknown young writers from the West Coast who have become world-leading nominees due to the impact of their current novels.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
Russell Banks On Writing Novels Vs. Short Stories
“You really can’t live inside the head of another human being long enough in the short story. … When you start a novel, part of the point is to forget where it began. A novel imitates the flow of time. So, 75 pages into a novel, you can’t remember where it began. And that’s the point: Just like in your life, you can’t remember where it began.”
Vancouver Opera Runs $1.4M Deficit
“The Vancouver Opera posted a significant budget shortfall this past season, joining two other Vancouver major arts organizations facing financial difficulties. The 53-year-old organization had a $1.4-million loss on its $9.2-million operating budget for the fiscal year that ended in June.”
Copyright And The Return Of The Literary Patron (Blame The Web)
“We’re so accustomed to thinking of copyright as the foundation of a writer’s livelihood that it’s difficult to imagine how authors could survive without it.” But back before copyright was invented, authors “made nothing from the sale of their books; their profits derived from the wealthy patron to whom the work was dedicated.” Are we headed to that model, modified for the digital age, again?
Adapting Julia Child For E-Readers
“[C]ookbooks have been late bloomers in the e-book revolution … Yet cookbooks have recently begun to show signs of strength in the digital book market.” The genre’s new poster child: Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, out in digital form next week.
Gideon Obarzanek’s Last Dance With Chunky Move
“Assembly is the final piece he will create before he steps down as artistic director of Chunky Move, the [Melbourne-based] contemporary dance company he founded in 1995.” The piece, involving 60 performers, is also one of his largest.
Fox Having A Cow As Shutdown Of The Simpsons Looms
“A money dispute between Fox and the actors who voice the characters on The Simpsons may force the long-running hit series to shut down next spring.”
Miami’s Arsht Center Finally Begins Living Up To Its Potential
“Five years to the day after first opening its halls, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is drawing crowds young and old to musicals, flamenco and opera, finally becoming the cultural town square envisioned by its early supporters. It’s also making its budget” – four years running.
Willem De Kooning’s Maligned Late Work, Now Vindicated
“The late abstractions, painted when de Kooning suffered from dementia … [have] been denigrated for years because of his diminished mental and physical state during the 1980s. Many wondered how an artist who had lost his short-term memory, had difficulty writing, and could no longer sign his name could complete 26 paintings in 1987. See for yourself.”
A.C. Nielsen, Jr., 92, Leader Of Media Ratings Firm
“[He] transformed the company his father founded in 1923 into an international leader in market research, helping to make its name synonymous with television ratings.”