Innehållsförteckning för March 2022 från Quill & Quire

AT THE END OF JULY 2021, with extraordinary speed and marked by controversy, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled on two appeals in the long-standing York University v.Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright) case. The ruling was a disaster for Canada’s books sector. Seemingly unwilling to set precedent on the question of educational copying and infringement, the SCC declared that, as written into current law, tariffs set by the Copyright Board of Canada are not mandatory – releasing York from any responsibility to pay up. Given that analysis, the court also concluded that “there is no live dispute” between York and this country’s writers and publishers (who were represented by Access Copyright in the case). Did York’s extensive copying infringe our copyright on a massive scale, as two lower courts…

BACK IN JULY OF 2021, I was looking at the Toronto Star’s Canadian bestseller list, noting the fine books that were on it, when a title I didn’t recognize caught my eye. While it’s an old industry truism that no one remembers the publisher of a book, they just remember the author, that’s not true for me. When I’m in a bookstore, I have a terrible tendency to check spines and copyright pages to see who published the books that catch my attention even before reading the back cover copy. I’m always interested in who has released which books and the publishing choices they have made in doing so, and I think most people who work in publishing are the same. Wondering who had published this new title, I looked…

Moonwalking Zetta Elliott and Lyn Miller-Lachmann Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Ages 10-14 SET IN BROOKLYN at the height of the Reagan era, Moonwalking follows two boys, JJ and Pie, as they navigate a world entrenched in the political and racial mire of a deeply divided America. Pie is a visionary Black and Latino boy; he’s academically gifted and always has spray paint in tow to light Brooklyn’s walls on fire with graffiti, just like his hero Jean-Michel Basquiat. But like the concrete walls, his life too is hardened with layers - of a mom living with untreated mental illness, and of injustice at the hands of every person that sees skin colour as a predictor of worth. JJ is new to Brooklyn, and readies himself for the inevitable loneliness that…

1 in 10 Number of Canadians who read a print book on a daily basis, according to a survey conducted by BookNet Canada 135 Appointments made to the Order of Canada at the end of 2021, including authors Yann Martel, Tomson Highway, J. Roger Léveillé, and Max Eisen 2 Canadian titles – Jon Klassen’s The Rock from the Sky and Julie Flett’s We All Play - named among the 25 best children’s books for 2021 by the New York Times 1984 The estate of George Orwell approves a feminist retelling of the dystopian novel from the perspective of Winston Smith’s lover, Julia 350 Age of The Book of Common Prayer, the oldest book in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick $490,000 The amount a rare copy of Incredible Hulk #1,…

A History of Canadian Fiction David Staines Cambridge University Press PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING you need to know about the new single-volume history of Canadian fiction in English, by noted academic and editor David Staines, can be gleaned from the book’s cover. The image – an oil sketch of birch trees in the winter, resplendent in pale yellow and sepia tones – is by Tom Thomson, one of this country’s most iconic and revered artists. Though many critics note Thomson’s unique brush style and suggest this locates him in the avant-garde of early 20th-century landscape painters, what is abundantly clear about his enduring influence is the degree to which he has entered the Canadian establishment: his nature paintings continue to serve as shorthand for the rugged majesty of the Canadian outdoors.…

★ The Red Palace June Hur Feiwel & Friends, Ages 13-18 JUNE HUR PENS A TAUT, engrossing historical mystery in The Red P. Four women are murdered, and the main suspect is the beloved mentor of 18-year-old Hyeon, a palace nurse. Hyeon teams up with Inspector Seo Eojin to track down the killer. In the course of the investigation, Hyeon learns to navigate the complex tensions between the expectations that her parents and society have placed on her and her own ambitions. Hur steeps the mystery in the tense political climate of 1758 Joseon. Anonymous flyers begin to circulate, accusing the crown prince of the murders. If he is guilty, the palace will likely cover up the crimes. Yet if he is innocent, someone powerful is behind the frame-up, and…

Dear Agony Editor, I was recently on Goodreads, checking out the ratings for my latest novel, and saw that a good friend had reviewed the book. While the review was positive, she only gave the book three out of five stars! Given our friendship, I think she should have given me five stars as a show of support. This has left me with some lingering resentment. How do I bring this up with her? Signed,Five-Star Friend Dear Five-Star, You don’t bring it up. Your friend is entitled to her opinion and can rate any book however she wants. What she thinks of your work isn’t any of your business. I also think you’re being petty. Would you rather someone give you five stars out of a sense of loyalty that…

★ STARRED REVIEWS indicate books of exceptional merit FINE PRINT: All information was supplied by publishers and may have been tentative at press time. Reviews Angus, Charlie, Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of Mining Superpower (House of Anansi Press) $24.99 paper 978-1-48700-949-6, 336 pp. Feb.PAGE 17 Clermont, Stéfanie, and J.C. Sutcliffe, trans., The Music Game (Biblioasis) $22.95 paper 978-1-77196-378-7, 288 pp. Feb.PAGE 14 Daniel, Danielle, Daughters of the Deer (Random House Canada) $24.00 paper 978-0-73528-208-7, 344 pp. MarchPAGE 12 Kwan, Cheuk, Have You Eaten Yet?: Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World (Douglas & McIntyre) $24.95 paper 978-1-77162-315-5, 272 pp. Jan.PAGE 17 Nasrallah, Dimitri, Hotline (Esplanade Books/Véhicule Press) $21.95 paper 978-1-55065-594-0, 280 pp. MarchPAGE 13 Reid, Eliza, Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland’s Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World (Simon & Schuster)…