It’s been a quiet summer, literary-wise, but book season is upon us,
heavier than last weekend’s lame hurricane. Next Thursday, September 3,
is Shandi Mitchell‘s book launch at Pier 21 (6:30pm, reading at
7pm) for Under This Unbroken Sky. This is the first novel for
the film producer-director (Baba’s House), which has attracted
Canadian, American and British publishers; a dream for anyone who’s
imagined their name in a fancy font on a dust jacket.
Perhaps one of these authors will follow in Mitchell’s shoes: the
Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia announced the winners of its
annual Atlantic Writing Competition. Scott Fotheringham,
who left a career in Manhattan creating genetically engineered
organisms, for life in Nova Scotia, made a wise choice leaving the
fruit flies behind: he took the HR (Bill) Percy Prize for unpublished
novel. Multi-talented animator extraordinaire James MacSwain won
the poetry prize for a lovely collection called Ancestors.
All the winners will receive their awards at a WFNS-hosted ceremony
and fundraiser on September 26. If you go, you’ll notice a few
differences. Longtime WFNS director and champion of authors Jane
Buss has stepped down, and program officer Susan Mercereau will be stepping in for eight months. Looks like change is already
underway: the Atlantic Book Awards announced on Friday that WFNS
has joined the board and will be jointly presenting their awards at
Alderney Landing on April 14, 2010. –SCF
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2, 2009.