CanadianContent discussion

A section to discuss authors from BC

Oooh, fun! I'm trying to think of authors from BC that I like. All I can come up with is Patrick deWitt, Ruth Ozeki (who is really an American but spends half of her time in Vancouver), and Eden Robinson

David Bergen and Wayson Choy and Richard Wagamese. I loved all of their books!

Jack Hodgins and Chris Bathory (I'm pretty sure she's from BC)

Petra wrote: "Jack Hodgins and Chris Bathory (I'm pretty sure she's from BC)"

I've never heard of these two. More Canadian novelists to discover! Thanks Petra.

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2016/03/anaka...

Some other BC authors - i have not read them but my kids enjoyed Susan Nielsen.

As for the comments above - I really enjoyed Ozeki's A Tale for the Time being (although my book club gave it mixed reviews) and recently read Monkey Beach which I enjoyed - there is a FB page lobbying for Monkey Beach to become a movie.

Random info: I've taken Monkey Beach out of the library twice and returned it unread. Third time will be a charm. I swear I'll read that book one day. :D

I never cracked the cover. Things always got in the way when I took the book out. It's a curse. :D

I also got Monkey Beach out from the library. I read about a page and had to return it. *next time*. ha!

The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son, and a Suit is high up on my TBR list.

A couple more BC authors that I've enjoyed:

Chevy Stevens
Douglas Coupland

Oh yes, Douglas Coupland!!
If you are in Vancouver, I love his pixilated orca on the coal harbour side of the sea wall. :)

just finished reading Medicine Walk and since this author now calls BC his home am adding it here. I have never read his novels before and could not put this book down!! It was very interesting to learn a little bit more about the author and how his own life impacted his writing:

https://ayearofbooksblog.com/2016/06/...

I'm so glad you liked this book, Susan! I thought it was a great story. I listened to the audio version and thought it was very well done.
I didn't realize that the author now resides in BC.

Thanks Petra! Did the author read it himself? I can't help but thinking about the book now that I have finished it. I think it would be another one that would be excellent for students to read/listen too. I am just about done my commuting book and will look to see if the library has any audio books of his other novels.

It was narrated by Tom Stechschulte. He did a wonderful job of it. Very atmospheric.
I often think of the story as well. I originally gave it 4-stars but it truly is a 5-star read. I should change that. It's a wonderful story.

I agree - it reminded me of Three Day Road which is another amazing book! i could not find any of his other audio books on my library website :(

I loved Medicine Walk as well, which according to Wagamese is a companion to his 2003 memoir, For Joshua: An Ojibway Father Teaches His Son. I highly recommend both books and his interview on the Next Chapter which you can listen to here:

http://www.cbc.ca/books/2014/08/richa...

The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph, and the Vietnam War by Denise Chong was worth reading.

Jim, I was just going to suggest Denise Chong! I was going to mention her book The Concubine's Children, which is a really intriguing look into the Chinese immigrant experience in Vancouver in the early 1900s. Definitely a worthwhile BC read!

Allison wrote: "Jim, I was just going to suggest Denise Chong! I was going to mention her book The Concubine's Children, which is a really intriguing look into the Chinese immigrant e..."

Thanks, Allison....I've read (and enjoyed) The Concubine's Children as well; I don't know how I forgot to add it! Truly a fascinating bit of Canadiana!

I love BC literature! Since I've been living in Ottawa I've been trying to read more books from BC to transport me home.

Brian Brett is a wonderful poet who lives on Salt Spring Island. His book of poems The Colour of Bones in a Stream, which is sadly out of print now I believe, is what drew me into his writing. Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life is a mesmerizing read, part memoir, part history of farming. His latest book Tuco: The Parrot, the Others, and A Scattershot World came out last September.

Amber Dawn is another amazing poet who based in Vancouver. Her memoir How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir was a beautiful and heartbreaking collection of poetry and short stories. I loved her book of poems Where the words end and my body begins which is entirely written in the glosa poem format. Her novel Sub Rosa won the Lambda Literary Award for debut novel and is highly acclaimed.

Ivan E. Coyote was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, but has been living in BC for many years now. They're best known for their collections of short stories that beautifully capture the realities of everyday life. Missed Her is my favourite collection of their short stories although I also recommend all the others. Their first (and currently only novel) Bow Grip has short-listed for the Ferro-Grumley Award for Fiction in 2006. Their latest work is Gender Failure, a collaboration with Rae Spoon. Their next book Tomboy Survival Guide will be published October 1, 2016.

Sebastien de Castell lives in Vancouver and is the author of The Greatcoats series, Traitor's Blade (2014), Knight's Shadow (2014), Saint's Blood (2016) and Tyrant's Throne (expected publication 2017). Greatcoats is a great fantasy series with a wonderful and unique world that I highly recommend.

June Hutton lives in Vancouver and is the author of Underground and Two-Sun & Gun, which I have not read but is part of my bingo challenge.

Gary Gottfriedson is a poet from the Secwepemc first nation (Shuswap), and was born, raised and lives in Kamloops. His books Skin Like Mine and Whiskey Bullets: Cowboy and Indian Heritage Poems are beautiful and visceral.

Going local now to the Shuswap.

Gail Anderson-Dargatz lives in Salmon Arm and is the acclaimed author of The Cure for Death by Lightning, A Recipe for Bees and Turtle Valley.

Scott Fitzgerald Gray lives in Salmon Arm and has worked in film and editing in addition to his fantasy and fantasy writing. For the fantasy fans A Prayer for Dead Kings and Other Tales is an excellent anthology of short stories and Clearwater Dawn is the first novel in The Exile's Blade series. For those more into sci-fi, Sidnye (Queen of the Universe) is an excellent coming of age novel about a young girl and We Can Be Heros follows a group of small town teenagers caught up in a sci-fi military scenario.

Shawn L. Bird lives in Salmon Arm and is the author of Grace Awakening Dreams and Power which is a young adult novel.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head but I'll post more when it comes to me.

Wow, @Shvaugn, what an interesting set of authors! Some names there I haven't heard of and want to check out. Loved Gender Failure!

Last year I read and enjoyed Everything Was Good-bye by Gurjinder Basran, which was set in Vancouver.

Can't say enough good things about Monkey Beach!

Emmkay wrote: "Wow, @Shvaugn, what an interesting set of authors! Some names there I haven't heard of and want to check out. Loved Gender Failure!

Gender failure is such a good book! If you ever get a chance to, go see Ivan Coyote perform a reading. They do such an excellent job bringing their stories to life when spoken.

so interesting the many different responses to monkey beach. I'm afraid I fall into the tried hard, couldn't get in

@shvaugn glad to see you here! that list was off the top of your head!? on impressed

I have a few more front neck of the woods, will post as soon as I'm home to consult my list!

@shvaugn glad to see you here! that list was off the top of your head!? on impre..."

I'm super glad to be here! I'd read books by all the authors listed recently or liked them enough to remember them. Plus going through my Canadian shelf on Goodreads helped :P

Another BC author (who I have not read but is on my ever expanding to-read list) is Gerry William who is a member of the Splatsin Indian band in Enderby. His novel The Woman in the Trees looks like a really interesting read that blends history and myth together. I was first introduced to his work in Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction which is a really good anthology of short stories if anyone is interested.

Charlotte Gill is another great BC author who is from the Sunshine Coast. her short story collection Ladykiller: Stories and her memoir Eating Dirt are both critically acclaimed. Ladykiller is an amazingly powerful collection that just sucks you in and I highly recommend it.

I just finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel who is originally from BC. It is another post-apocalypse type novel but feels different than the others out there somehow. More sophisticated? I like her writing.

Just added The Girl in the Picture: The Story of Kim Phuc, the Photograph, and the Vietnam War to my to-read list. Sounds like a great book.

One of my favourite authors is John Vaillant, American-born, but he has been living in Vancouver for a number of years. He wrote The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed, The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival, and The Jaguar's Children. The Golden Spruce is set on Haida Gwaii.

TrudyAn, I've read Tiger and really enjoyed it. The Golden Spruce is also on my TBR list. I didn't realize that he lived in Vancouver.

@Shvaugn: I've recently read Eating Dirt and enjoyed it. It was an interesting look into that sort of lifestyle and the descriptions of the land were superb. I enjoy hiking through the mountains & forests, so these parts resonated with me.

@Shvaugn: I've recently read Eating Dirt and enjoyed it."

I've actually got this on my tbr list and currently out from the library. Guess it's time to bump it up the queue.

Petra wrote: "TrudyAn, I've read Tiger and really enjoyed it. The Golden Spruce is also on my TBR list. I didn't realize that he lived in Vancouver. ..."

Petra, The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greedis a wonderful book. It's hard to believe a book about a tree can be hard to out down. Vaillant weaves so much into the story (as he did in Tiger). I will be interested to know what you think of it.

The Jaguar's Children is the only fiction I have read by this author. It has received somewhat mixed reviews, but I highly recommend it.

Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien was just nominated for the Booker longlist.

Another BC author is William Deverell who I believe lives in BC on one of the gulf islands. He is a crime/mystery writer that I enjoy. Some of his books are better than others, but I do enjoy his "Arthur Beauchamp" series. The first one in the series, I believe, is Trial of Passion.

the writers festival starts in Sechelt tomorrow eve.
I have a ticket to attend a poetry session, and its possible to hear from the lawn so whether I get a ticket or not, I'll attend Madeleine Thien and possibly a bit anakana Schofield

Please find below links to the books I've written while living on Vancouver Island, in BC.

Lost Ark Found


Lost Ark Found


Angelic Army Conquests: Full Trilogy

Stanley Evans author of Seaweed on the Street series, that feature Coast Salish investigator Silas Seaweed lives in Victoria, BC.

Here's a link to the BC Book Awards for 2017 announced at the end of April 2017. It includes winners and the shortlisted books as well. Once the link is open, you'll be able to move around and find winners and the shortlisted books from previous years.

http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/winners/2017

More BC reads:

https://www.straight.com/life/1004721...

Thanks to all for the great list as I will be starting in BC on my cross-Canada reading challenge. And I’m so happy some of you mentioned mysteries because that will be a fun add to the mix.
Others I have come upon are Bill Gaston highly acclaimed short story writer and perhaps Giller finalist, Timothy Taylor another Giller finalist and multiple inclusion in the Journey Prize anthology, novelist and short story writer Audrey Thomas I’m not sure if she writes anymore and Jane Rule,pioneering lesbian writer who wrote the much beloved Desert Hearts that was turned into a very successful movie.

Oh yes not to forget Ethel Wilson for a more Canadian classic work and Zuzsi Gartner who has written at least one collection of short fiction set in Vancouver.

And Cynthia Flood,maybe I should just devote all of 2018 only reading writers from BC!

Okay, here are two good books set in BC by a BC author and the second one won a Stephen Leacock award:

Home to Woefield (that might be the American title)

and the Leacock award winner: Republic of Dirt: A Return to Woefield Farm

both by Susan Juby.

With a character based on a woman I used to know (so I was more skeptical because my mother was one of the people the author interviewed, but it's still a good story):

The Goat Lady's Daughter by Rosella M. Leslie

I'll be back :). I grew up on the Sunshine Coast where, after I left, they started that big arts festival my parents used to go to every year.