MovingStories.TV Ep 21: Performers "Rally for Culture" A Moving Stories Report Oct 8, 2008

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www.movingstories.tv --  A countrys culture defines its national identity. But Stephen Harper says that ordinary Canadians dont care about the arts, and that government must avoid "funding things that people actually don't want." Over the last three years, the Harper government has attempted to muzzle our culture industry. But Canadas fiercely talented artists have come back swinging. If anything, Harpers comments have reminded ordinary Canadians just how much culture does matter.  Top artists in Canada's arts and culture industry undertook a rally today, October 8, to ensure that federal politicians continue to realize the necessity of supporting Canada's cultural sector. High profile artists from every creative discipline called on political leaders to commit to proper funding of the arts and encourage Canadians to consider where the various parties stand on culture when casting their vote on Election Day.

These committed artists and organizations appeared on stage and in the crowd:

Ted Dykstra (Actor)
Melanie Doane (Juno Award winning singer/songwriter)
Suzette Couture (screenwriter, Conspiracy of Silence)
Linda Griffiths (playwright)
Tabby Johnson (singer)
Richard Hardacre (performer/ACTRA National President)
John MacMaster (opera singer)
Denis McGrath (screenwriter, The Border)
Mark McKinney (performer/writer, Kids in the Hall, Slings and Arrows)
Eric Peterson (performer, Corner Gas)
Karl Pruner (performer, ACTRA Toronto President)
Noah Richler (author)
Rebecca Schechter(screenwriter, Writers Guild of Canada President)
Johnny Wright (performer, Dirty Dancing the Musical)
many more performers, as well as these organizations...
ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists
Arts Hamilton
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
Toronto Musicians Association
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC)
The Writers' Union of Canada

For more information on what the Harper government has done to arts funding visit: departmentofculture.ca/ . Our thanks to Deborah Windsor, Executive Director of The Writers' Union of Canada for alerting us to the event.  Get out and get counted! 

(c) BookShorts for MovingStories.TV

Performers "Rally for Culture" October 8 - Get out and get counted

http://www.movingstories.tv/ -- A country’s culture defines its national identity. But Stephen Harper says that ordinary Canadians don’t care about the arts, and that government must avoid "funding things that people actually don't want." Over the last three years, the Harper government has attempted to muzzle our culture industry. But Canada’s fiercely talented artists have come back swinging. If anything, Harper’s comments have reminded “ordinary Canadians” just how much culture does matter. Top artists in Canada's arts and culture industry undertook a rally today, October 8, to ensure that federal politicians continue to realize the necessity of supporting Canada's cultural sector. High profile artists from every creative discipline called on political leaders to commit to proper funding of the arts and encourage Canadians to consider where the various parties stand on culture when casting their vote on Election Day.

These committed artists and organizations appeared on stage and in the crowd:

Ted Dykstra (Actor)
Melanie Doane (Juno Award winning singer/songwriter)
Suzette Couture (screenwriter, Conspiracy of Silence)
Linda Griffiths (playwright)
Tabby Johnson (singer)
Richard Hardacre (performer/ACTRA National President)
John MacMaster (opera singer)
Denis McGrath (screenwriter, The Border)
Mark McKinney (performer/writer, Kids in the Hall, Slings and Arrows)
Eric Peterson (performer, Corner Gas)
Karl Pruner (performer, ACTRA Toronto President)
Noah Richler (author)
Rebecca Schechter(screenwriter, Writers Guild of Canada President)
Johnny Wright (performer, Dirty Dancing the Musical)
many more performers, as well as these organizations...
ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists
Arts Hamilton
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada
Toronto Musicians Association
The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC)
The Writers' Union of Canada

For more information on what the Harper government has done to arts funding visit: departmentofculture.ca/ . Our thanks to Deborah Windsor, Executive Director of The Writers' Union of Canada for alerting us to the event. Get out and get counted!

(c) BookShorts for MovingStories.TV

Scotiabank Giller Prize Shortlist Announcement

The Scotiabank Giller Prize announced its 2008 shortlist selected by the a jury comprised of award-winning author and previous Giller Prize winner Margaret Atwood; Liberal MP, Foreign Affairs critic and author Bob Rae, and, international journalist, professor and author Colm Toibin. The shortlist was chosen from 95 books submitted for consideration by 38 publishing houses from every region of the country.

The finalists are:Joseph Boyden for his novel Through Black Spruce, published by Viking Canada; Anthony De Sa for his collection of short stories Barnacle Love, published by Doubleday Canada; Marina Endicott for her novel Good to A Fault, published by Freehand Books/Broadview Press; Rawi Hage for his novel Cockroach, published by House of Anansi Press; Mary Swan for her novel The Boys in the Trees, published by Henry Holt/HB Fenn.

Seamus O’Regan, co-anchor of CTV’s Canada A.M. hosted the press conference. Jack Rabinovitch, founder of the Giller Prize, spoke at the event as did Rick White, Vice-President, Brand and Marketing Programs, Scotiabank, and Susanne Boyce, President, Creative, Content and Channels, CTV. CTV will once again support the broadcast with a dedicated website, giller.ctv.ca. Harbourfront Reading Series host the shortlist authors in an event on the closing night of the IFOA, November 1.

(c) Produced by BookShorts for MovingStories.TV

Lynn Rosen interviews John Hodgman

http://www.lynnrosen.com/ -- Sometimes we can lure Lynn away from her prestigious professorial duties at various Philly universities in order to get pithy sound bites from interesting authors. We managed to do just that in Los Angeles earlier this summer when we hit BookExpo America. We popped in on John Hodgman, author of MORE INFORMATION THAN YOU REQUIRE, as he entertained the booth crowds with his particularly quirky sense of humour. Drop us a line and we'll show you the hilarious outtakes -- meantime here's a bit of our one-on-one.

(c) MovingStories.TV courtesy of Dutton Publishers/ Penguin, Reed Exhibitions/BookExpo America, and Lynn Rosen, Open Book.

Paul Quarrington's film PAVANE to Premiere with Moving Stories Films

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www.movingstoriesfilmfest.com --  In Paul Quarrington's short film, PAVANE, Phil and Jay share more than a family bond - failed careers, failed relationships, bottomless drinks, and a debilitating memory of a shocking encounter in a ravine one childhood day.  The pretext of being strangers, the darkly comic ritual that the broken, non-functioning brothers perform in an attempt to get at their pain, cant cover the palpable connection between them, nor their deeply felt desire to find redemption.  Cutting between live action performed by an award-winning cast and ingenuous animation whose simplicity belies the impact of the incident it reveals, Pavane portrays both the loss of innocence and a subtle hint at the boys fragile potential for a new beginning. 

MovingStories.TV Ep 15: Hard Liquor & Porn with Paul Quarrington

www.movingstories.tv -- Jill Rosenberg (Executive Producer) has built this fest from humble beginnings in some guys bachelor pad apartment. Jill has always been a genius. Since the time she was little she could turn a piece of string into a backyard carnival. It's amazing how she has grown this film festival into the success it is today. Oh... that friend of hers, Darryl someone, seems like a nice young man too.    - Minnie Fanny Katz (Jill's grandmother)In a serious effort to scout talent for a new line of sexy funny films, BookShorts sponsored the first ever Hot Type Award at Darryls Hard Liquor and Porn Film Festival.  Like Minnie, we have long admired the dedication Jill and Darryl have shown in developing this excellent brand. The Hot Type Award as bestowed upon the filmmaker who most cleverly integrated a book or its written word into their film. Each eligible film was made during the 69 Hour Film Challenge. Congrats to the winner, Darryl Gold (hey it WAS a good film!) who wins $500 towards his next screenplay for a BookShorts film.To join our filmmaking team in a new line of sexy films, visit http://www.bookshorts.com/author.htm .

Tags: darryls hard liqour and porn, moving stories tv, jill rosenberg, darryl gold, 69 hour film challenge, sprout this, brian smith, june morrow, tony marrone, tony culverwell

MovingStories.TV Ep14: Rawi Hage Interview w/ James McCreath

www.movingstories.tv . Author / Interviewer James McCreath found a Cockroach at BookExpo Canada! Thats the title of Rawi Hages highly anticipated second novel published by House of Anansi, hot off the press in July 2008.

Cockroach is a story of love and nostalgia alongside the cold reality of culture shock and mental illness. It reveals the intricate psychological experience of a new immigrant in modern day Montreal, up against a harsh climate in more ways than one.

Hages first novel, De Niros Game, follows the story of two young men in war-torn Lebanon and beyond. It was nominated for several awards including the Giller Prize and the Governor-Generals Award, and won a number of others including the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 2008.

Rawi Hage was born in Beirut, Lebanon and immigrated to Canada in 1992. He now lives in Montreal.

© BookShorts.com in association with Reed Exhibitions. Shot on location at BookExpo Canada 2008. Thanks to Rawi Hage, House of Anansi and James McCreath. For more behind-the-scenes videos on books and authors in the news, visit http//www.movingstories.tv

Tags: rawi hage, trailer, book video, house of anansi, books, deniros game, cockroach, book expo america, book expo canada, bec, bookexpo, james mccreath, lebenon, montreal

MovingStories.TV Ep 13: Andrew Pyper with James McCreath

www.movingstories.tv .   Author / Interviewer James McCreath found out at BookExpo Canada that The Killing Circle is definitely not your average writing circle! Its Andrew Pypers haunting new novel, about an ambitious also-ran writer struggling to spawn a compelling story. His solution is to take the gripping tale of another woman writer in his writers group and spin it for and present it to the world as his own success with chilling consequences.

 Pyper likens his literary thriller to a Russian doll, a rich layering of stories within stories dying to be discovered by protagonist and reader alike. 

 
Published by Doubleday in Canada and HarperCollins in the UK, has just The Killing Circle hit store shelves in August 2008. It will be available in the US through St. Martin's Minotaur in September 2008. Translation rights have been sold in Holland, Spain, Germany, Italy and Portugal. Watch for the upcoming film adaptation to be produced by Cowboy Films.

 

© BookShorts.com in association with Reed Exhibitions.  Shot on location at BookExpo Canada 2008.  Thanks to Andrew Pyper, (publicist), and James McCreath.  For more behind-the-scenes videos on books and authors in the news, visit http//www.movingstories.tv

Tags: andrew pyper, james maccreath, the killing circle, book, bookshorts, moving stories, literature, author profiles, book trailer, book video, st. martins minotaur, books, doubleday canada, harper collins, book expo america, book expo canada, bec, bookexpo

MovingStories.TV Ep11: James Patterson at BEA08

www.movingstories.tv -- July 21, 2008 marks the publication date of either the eighth, ninth, possibly the tenth book from JAMES PATTERSON *this year* - he can't remember. What Mr. Patterson does remember and is incredibly gracious about, is the legion of fans that consume his work, solo or collaborative. He devoted some time on the BEA show floor to our intrepid interviewer LYNN ROSEN (Open Book) to talk about his work, his experience at the show, his secret spy kit, and the bevvy of company he keeps in his writing office to stave off the loneliness of the act of writing.

Shot live at Book Expo America for MovingStories.TV, hosted by Lynn Rosen (Open Book), courtesy of Little, Brown and Company. 

For more information on editorial and commissioned Author Interviews, contact Executive Producer Judith Keenan, judith@bookshorts.com. 

MovingStories.TV is syndicated to the members of Canadian BookSellers Association with the support of the CBA. (c) BookShorts Moving Stories 2008.

Tags: james patterson, bookshorts, moving stories tv, moving stories, lynn rosen, bookexpo, book trailer, author, maxmimum ride, daniel x, little brown

David Wroblewski with Lynn Rosen (BEA) on The Story of Edgar Sawtell

http://www.movingstories.tv/ -- the first in our series of interviews from BookExpo America 2008, our BEA host LYNN ROSEN speaks with this summer's hot find, DAVID WROBLEWSKI about his first novel, ten years in the making -- THE STORY OF EDGAR SAWTELL. This an excerpt from Lynn's blog ... about the pivot from private to *way* public ...

"how arbitrary such boundaries are, between the work-in-progress and the work that is "done." It's never done. You could always do more. But nevertheless, you're finished with it, and it becomes this beautiful, foreign artifact that looks nothing like the stack of laser printer paper you've lived with for so long. Just when it becomes perfectly real to everyone else, it looks least like what you've known it to be as the writer.

Shot live at BookExpo America 2008, courtesy Michael McKenzie at Ecco/HarperCollins; published in Canada by Bond Street Books /Random House of Canada.

(c) 2008 BookShorts MovingStories.TV; for more information about our editorial and commissioned Author Interviews, contact judith@bookshorts.com