Kathleen Molloy

Derek Weiler posted a question on the Quillblog, wondering if the entrance fees for Canadian book awards creates a barrier for tiny presses?

The plain answer is “yes” and “yes”. Small presses are hard pressed to cough up the $1,500 for Giller consideration. On the other hand, if their books do get shortlisted that means $1,500 of PR stretches a long way. Think of all the media coverage, think of the reprints (as in the Canada Reads case of Quarrington’s out-of-print winning reprint), think of the book sales!

Not every Canadian award committee requires an entrance fee. However, for those that do, it is worthwhile to consider what the fee might be used for. In most cases, the jurors are volunteers — respected book lovers loving books. The committee may or may not pay for their travel to attend selection meetings. They are usually not paid for their time in reading 20 or so books, taking notes, rehashing arguments, making recommendations, and defending favourites. With the exception of the Giller, few jurors are publically identified.

What do jurors gain from participating on selection committees? They love books. They may get a free sandwich from the sponsoring organization. They may get a little press for themselves and of course they get to be part of the excitement of picking awesome titles for readers to devour. They aren’t in it for the money.

So where else does the money go? I’d argue that a large chunk goes into developing press packages, attracting titles, attracting jurors, paying for the website, paying an executive director who manages two other non-for-profit organizations and works part-time as the committee’s unpaid secretary and liaison officer. Plainly put, the entrance fees are to sustain the contest. The award prize is drawn off that which is provided by a sponsor or from an investment account. Award committees are not in the business to make money. They are also not in the business to loose money. For this reason, they don’t buy books from publishers.

Publishers are always asked to supply a fixed number of copies with their entrance fee. These copies are distributed to the jury members and often 1 copy is kept at the committee’s archives. What do the jurors do with the copies after they have been read? Do they get to keep them? In the case of the Leacock humour award and the Quebec Writers’ Federation awards, the jurors are required to donate the books to local libraries. This means that with every award, every year, at least 20 almost-new books are being donated across the country. This means that local libraries get a piece of this bibliokarma. How bad can that be?

Sure the publisher looses a chunk of money in sending off 10 copies ($24 on each would-be sale plus shipping) at once. For a small press the $100 entrance fee plus the printed copies could equal a $400 lose. But is it a lose or a promotional expense? Your books are getting into the hands of readers that love to talk about loved books. And they are sharing these loves with all of Canada. You can’t buy that kind of love.

As always, I am please to trade Canadian authors with participants of the 2nd Canadian Book Challenge. I’ve added the following 13 books to my book crossing book shelf: 

The Honorary Patron

Jack Hodgins

Oryx and Crake: A Novel

Margaret Atwood

The Imperialist

Sara Jeannette Duncan

Glassy Sea

Marian Engel

Tattooed Woman

Marian Engel

Larry’s Party

Carol Shields

Cat’s Eye

M. Atwood

Dinner Along The Amazon

Timothy Findley

Away

Jane Urquhart

Casino & other stories

Bonnie Burnard

Whale Music

Paul Quarrington

Fifth Son

Barbara Fradkin

Gentleman Death: A Novel

Graeme Gibson

Last night I began reading Marian Engel’s last published work. After each short story I lept into the next. “This will be the LAST one before lights out” I said at page 83 and then twenty pages later. The Tattooed Woman is a beautiful collection of stories about middle-aged women coming unhinged.

Last night I began reading Marian Engel’s last published work. After each short story I lept into the next. “This will be the LAST one before lights out” I said at page 83 and then twenty pages later. The Tattooed Woman is a beautiful collection of stories about middle-aged women coming unhinged.

At what point does a writer stop waiting for readers to point out that they are a fraud?

 Do we ever get over the niggling doubt that someone will find out that we don’t know what we’re doing? Lately, I’ve been a bit antsy about a piece of work that I have to face. I know I can do it. I’m sure I can do it. I think I can do it. Can I do it? It haunts me in my sleep. 

Last night I had a dream that I was in an elevator with 1 man and two women. As they were talking about mattes of extreme importance… I was daydreaming. The man turned to me to confirm “Kathleen, are you going to be able to pull it off?” 

My answer was perfect. I looked him dead on and promised “If I keep my stick on the ice and stay out of the corners, I’ll be okay.” 

Waking up this morning I applauded myself for convincing him. It was a great line, after all, but it was a line. A bluff. And isn’t that what writer’s do  – bluff and try to convince readers that they aren’t frauds?? I understood that by staying out of the corners I won’t get beaten up … but what was the stick on the ice business all about?

The line bugged me until lunch time when I finally called my dad to ask him what the h “keep your stick on the ice means”. Days earlier, at age 69 my dad scored 2 goals during a game of pick up; I knew he’d be my best shot for deciphering the code “keep your stick on the ice”. Dad provided “Stay focused, keep your stick on the ice, and get ready for the assist.” 

My beau disagreed. He said it meant “keep your cool, don’t whack anybody.” 

Have you ever given yourself advice by way of a dream? I figure, if I keep my writing focused and don’t whack anybody, nobody will know that I’m bluffing.  

At the beginning of this year, Christine from the blog She Reads Books included Dining with Death as one of her Best Books of 2008. It was around this time last year that she enjoyed Dining with Death and with her review I happily borrowed the description:

“A blood-and-guts, bitter love-song to ageing”

She her full review on the website www.diningwithdeath.ca and her blog.
Naturally, Christine devoured a number of favourite books last year including Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov. It’s wonderful to be in such good company alongside Nabokov!

Leafing through this month’s Chatelaine, I stumbled upon an article on Slash Fiction. I expected to read about the newly popular Flash Fiction where writers cram an entire story into less than 1000 words.  

Boy was I wrong!  

Chatelaine introduced me to an entirely new form of fan fiction called Slash Fiction.  Lets step back a bit and start with fan fiction. Fan fiction, is a story written by a fan of a fictional piece, be it a book, a tv show, a cmic book, a mythology etc. With fan fiction, writers tend to stay close to the script  – using established plots and characters. The writing is posted on fan fiction blogs and shared freely, sometimes added to by other fans.  

Slash Fiction messes with this premis. It takes two wildly loved characters and puts them in bed. In the original work these characters would never have fallen in love but in Slash Fiction they are naked. And they are gay. Think Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock. 

Readers of Fan Fiction will be able to identify a newly told gay coupling of traditionally straight male characters by the / in the title: Kirk/Spock. The slash is supposed to represent their fictional liaison.

Think Ernie/Bert.  

My first question is “Who wants to imagine Kirk on Spock????” 

According to Chatelaine, it turns out PLENTY of straight women do. In fact, straight Canadian women are not only reading Slash Fiction but writing it! The article featured an eighteen-year-old blogger from Quebec who is making a name for herself in Slash Fiction circles. Charlotte Rainville is one of many young Canadian writers that are encouraging straight male characters to experiment with their gayness through Slash Fiction. 

Let me see… if I were to try my hand at fan fiction, under the Slash Fiction genre, and apply it to CanLit …  I would start with Mordecai Richler’s Duddy Kravitz. We know that Duddy idoilized tough-guy Jerry Dingleman — was it a crush? Kravitz/Dingleman.

But what if a Slash Fiction character could jump from one man in one book to another man in a different book? What if Kravitz could leap over to MacLennan’s Two Solitudes and stick it to Paul Tallard? Tallard is an honourable fuddy duddy while Duddy is, well Duddy is Duddy. Kravitz/Tallard

Our bilcultural bilingual family spars frequently during the dinner hour. Last night it was the great debate to determine if a tomato was a fruit or a vetegitable. 

Papa: Okay, Kiddo, if you’re so sure that a tomato is a veggie in English… is it a veggie in French? 

Kiddo #1 rolling eyes: A tomato is a veggie in every langauge! In German it is called a “schlumpkopflakrop” because they know it is a vegetable. 

Mommy: So if I call Tante Katrin in Germany she’ll tell me a tomato is a vegetable? 

Kiddo: No. You aren’t listening, Mommy. Katrin will tell you that  a tomato is a schlumpkopflakrop. 

Papa: But a tomato grows on a plant, not in the ground; so it must be a fruit. 

Kiddo: It can’t be a fruit. You can’t make wine from tomatos! 

Mommy: Why not? 

Kiddo: Because that’s disgusting. Mommy how do they get the juice from the fruit to make the wine? 

Mommy: They squeeze it out. 

Kiddo: How many grapes do they kill to get the juice out to fill the whole bottle? 

Mommy: Hmmm, I don’t know. Maybe 1000. Maybe a million. I really don’t know the fruitality rate. 

Kiddo: What’s a fruitality rate? 

Mommy: The fruitality rate is how many fruit they kill to get enough juice to fill the bottle. 

Papa: You’re mommy just made that up. There’s no such thing as a ‘fruitality rate’. 

Kiddo: Yes there is, Daddy.You don’t know;YOU think a tomato is a fruit. You don’t know anything about fruits.  

Papa: Yes but I know veggies. Ask your teacher tomorrow. And while you’re at it, ask her if a mushroom is a fruit or vegetable or a plant. 

Kiddo: Daddy, nobody is interested in mushrooms.

Well, to be honest, it isn’t all Manitobans and it isn’t exactly me in particular. To be clear… some Manitobans are making guests at the 2009 World Horror Convention barf their guts out.

Have you ever been so scared that you vomited? If not, you’ll need to attend this convention for no other reason than to participate in their Gross Out competition. Writers are given three minutes to tell a scary story – a story that will turn your insides out!

Winnipeg, Manitoba

World Horror Convention

April 30 ~ May 3, 2009

Theme: In the Dead of Winter, Hear the Wind Scream

For readers that were unable to stomach, er follow the 2009 Canada Reads showdown don’t miss Steven W. Beattie’s annual post-comp wrap-up on his That Shakespeherian Rag blog.