Perry Mason in our own backyard!

I recently read the book Hiding In Plain Sight, a biography of closeted gay Hollywood icon Raymond Burr, known famously for his role as Perry Mason.

Who knew that this legend was not only born in New Westminster, BC, but he is also buried in the Fraser Cemetery located in New West too!?

I had to make a pilgrimage to pay my respects to him. His grave is with his family (parents and sister) and is located footsteps from the main office of the cemetery.

It was an absolute honour to go and pay my respects to this icon.

Vancouver Art/Book Fair

This weekend is the 5th annual Vancouver Art/Book Fair happening at the Vancouver Art Gallery. I missed out on this last year, but it sounds like a great event to attend, and it's Free! It promises books, magazines, zines, ephemera, talks, performances, and artists' projects!

Literasian

It's going to be quite the literary weekend! Literasian is also kicking off tomorrow, and will also be found on Sunday at the Word Vancouver event at Library Square.

This festival celebrates Pacific Rim Asian Canadian writers! For more info, check out the literAsian website!

Word Vancouver

The Word Vancouver festival kicks off tomorrow night culminating with the big free public event on Sunday at Library Square. Word Vancouver is "Western Canada's largest celebration of literacy and reading!"

For more information, check out the Word Vancouver website!

VPL Book Sale!

Once a year, the Vancouver Public Library has its annual book sale where it offers up an entire room full of books available at low low prices. This is happening RIGHT NOW until tomorrow! Books for 75 cents, people! You can't beat that!

 Check out the VPL website for more info! 

Harry Potter and the Rain City

 "This fall, UBC Library celebrates the legacy of the Harry Potter series and Vancouver’s special relationship with “the boy who lived” with a special exhibition at three library branches, featuring first editions of the books, stories and memorabilia from local businesses and people affected by the series. Share your Harry Potter memories with the Library via #harrypotterUBC.

Curated by Rare Books and Special Collections, the Harry Potter and the rain city exhibition is on display from October 6 to December 11, 2015 at three different Library branches."

There will also be a colloquium and a costume party! 

For more information, check out the website.

literASIAN Festival - Oct 8-11 !

Just to wet your appetite before the Writer's Festival begins, LiterASIAN is a festival Pacific Rim Asian Canadian Writing that begins tomorrow Oct 8 for the entire weekend, featuring workshops and readings and book launches and even a dinner party celebration!

For more information visit: http://literasian.com/

Lunch Poems at SFU Harbour Centre

A new year and another round of lunchtime poetry awaits you down at the SFU Harbour Centre campus! It's the return of Lunch Poems! No, this is not poetry about lunches, but rather, a lunchtime event where you get to enjoy live poetry readings from some of the city's top poets.

On Wednesday, January 21, gracing the stage will be Kate Braid and Amber Dawn. Not to be missed!

For more info, check out the website.

Word Vancouver

Sept 24 - 28

"This is Word Vancouver, Western Canada’s largest celebration of literacy and reading. Held during the last week of September at various venues throughout the city, our festival promotes books and authors with free exhibits, performances, and hands-on activities for a wide range of ages and interests."

Check out WordVancouver.Ca for more!

Lunch Poems at SFU

Would you like a side of poetry with that?

Every third Wednesday of the month, Simon Fraser at Harbour Centre downtown presents "Lunch Poems" featuring readings from some of your favourite local poets. So bring your bagged lunch and take in some cadence and rhythm.

The next Lunch Poems takes place today from noon - 1pm at the Teck Gallery at SFU's Harbour Centre. For your listening pleasure will be Billeh Nickerson and Heather Haley. For more info, check their site!

Happy National Poetry Month!

Tonight at the Cottage Bistro, ome down and celebrate National Poetry Month with readings by John Barton, Andrea Bennett, Dennis E. Bolen, Sarah De Leeuw, Lawrence Feuchtwanger, Jennica Harper, Alex Leslie, and Jacqueline Turner!

Show starts at 7pm; Free admission

Cottage Bistro : 4470 Main Street

A Gathering of Poets: Readings by BC Book Prize Poetry Finalists

Drop by the Vancouver Public Library (Central Branch) this Wednesday, June 19, at 7pm for readings from celebrated BC poets - the finalists of the BC Book Prize poetry category, including Sarah de Leeuw, whose collection Geographies of a Lover won the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, as well as Evelyn Lau, Roger Farr, Patricia Young, and Colin Browne.

This free event takes place on the lower level in the Alice McKay Room from 7pm-9pm.

Maggie's Chopsticks wins BC Book Prize award!!

So I've been away for a bit! I've been on tour with the BC Book Prizes, over on Vancouver Island, reading to elementary schools as well as doing public readings. All of this in anticipation of the big BC Book Prizes gala held on May 4th.

And May the 4th was definitely with me that night, as my book Maggie's Chopsticks, won the Christie Harris Illustrated Children's Literature Prize!

Here's a photo of myself and the other winners with the Lieutenant Governor, posing for a photo at Government House in Victoria!

I will write about the Book Tour soon, as it was an experience all in itself!!

Memoirs of a Hustler

I first met Amber Dawn back in the late 90s at UBC in a Creative Writing class. I liked her immediately - her personality, and especially her writing. I then interviewed her for an article in the campus paper and was amazed by her incredible tale and life that she had lived up to that point. When was this girl gonna write a memoir already??

 

 Cut to over a decade later and one full length novel under her belt (the award winning Sub Rosa), and my wish for her memoir is finally coming to fruition. How Poetry Saved My Life - A Hustler's Memoir launches tonight at Pat's Pub (403 East Hastings) beginning at 7pm.

 "This story, told in prose and poetry, offers a frank, multifaceted portrait of the author's experiences hustling the streets of Vancouver, and the how those years took away her self-esteem and nearly destroyed her; at the crux of this autobiographical narrative is the tender celebration of poetry and literature, which―as the title suggests―acted as a lifeline during her most pivotal moments." - from the press release

 We've kept in touch over the years and our paths continued to cross. I'm excited to hear her read from her book, as well as to devour the words on the pages for myself.

 Hosted by Billeh Nickerson (Impact: The Titanic Poems, McPoems),with special guests Leah Horlick (Riot Lung) and Fiona Tinwei Lam (Enter the Chrysanthemum).

 Check out the Facebook event page here.

BC Book Prizes Soirée 2013

So my children's book  has been nominated for a BC Book Prize!! Woo hoo! I'm very excited! Here's a full list of all the finalists!

Come on down to celebrate with all the nominees on Wednesday, April 10 at the BC Book Prize Soirée 2013! It runs from 6-830pm at Joe's Apartment (919 Granville Street) and admission is free!

You can also check out the event on Facebook and RSVP there, or just show up at the door! Hope to see  you there!

Win a Children's Book!

Schema Magazine is currently giving away a copy of this children's book written by ME!

Check out the review on their website and for more information on how to enter their giveaway contest!

Dinner with Wayson Choy

Wayson Choy is the author of the acclaimed novel The Jade Peony, and also the writer who inspired me to find my voice.

"On October 15, 2012 at 11 am on the Southeast corner of the intersection of Pender and Gore, Project Bookmark Canada and Wayson Choy will unveil two plaques to highlight and commemorate the physical landscape so vividly rendered in Choy’s iconic novel, The Jade Peony. Members of the public are invited to attend the plaques’ unveiling and to hear the author read from his novel."

Tonight, there will be a special evening at Floata restaurant in Chinatown (180 Keefer St), a tribute dinner to Wayson.  Starting at 6pm, the night will feature stories and interviews from friends and family of Choy, as well as an 8 course Chinese dinner for $55.

Come and meet Wayson in person and have your books autographed by him! 

For more information, check out the webpage at RicePaper Magazine, or if you want to buy tickets, call Kristin Cheung at 778) 928-5408

The Word on the Street Festival - Sept 29/30

So, this weekend will be host to the annual Word on the Street festival here in Vancouver. It takes place all weekend long down by the Vancouver Public Library! Pray for sunshine as it's an outdoor event!





As well, I will be doing a reading there!!! Yes, that's right! Me! Why? Because I wrote a children's book that just came out last month!! It's called Maggie's Chopsticks and is available at Chapters, Book Warehouse, and online through Amazon and Barnes & Nobles, all over the world! Check it out, it's great for kids of all ages, including you! :)




You can find me on Facebook or just come visit me at The Word on the Street festival this Sunday at 1pm. I'll be in the Kids Tent! See you there!

Read Dating at the Vancouver Public Library

So back in December, I went to a speed dating event geared towards the queer community.



I've always wanted to go to a Speed Dating thing, so I figure why not? It was held in a library and we were all told to bring our favourite book that we could talk about, should conversation become stilted. There was a mixed crowd. The age limit was 19 - 35, and I'd say the average age was mid-20s. There were women as well as men, so we got to meet everybody which was nice. That took the pressure off a bit, turning what could've been a full on meat market into something more community-focused and where we all got to meet a bunch of possible new friends. At the very least, I picked up some book recommendations from others.

We were all given a temporary email address, so if anyone emails me, that'll be cool. Otherwise, I might try to email a few people, I don't know. It's all terrifying because of the whole "rejection" factor. In fact, I almost bailed at the very last moment when I saw a group of guys go in together. They looked young and they all went as a group, so that was a bit intimidating. But, I figured, I can't live life based on fear, so just go for it.

I'm glad I did it, and if anything comes of it, great!

--------

The Vancouver Public Library saw such success with this event and the heterosexual Read Dating night, that they're bringing it back for 2012!! AND this time they're changing the age ranges! On February 13, they will have the heterosexual night for women and men ages 35-55, and on February 15, they're doing another straight night for women and men aged 55 and over! Head over to the VPL to sign up or visit the website for more info!

An Afternoon with Stuart McLean

Last week I went to a reading by Canadian author and radio personality, Stuart McLean. If you listen to the CBC's Vinyl Cafe, you'll know who I'm talking about.



For those who don't know him, well he has written several "Vinyl Cafe" books that are light and fun reads. Definitely wholesome entertainment. It might be a bit too vanilla for some folks, but that's his appeal. He's no David Sedaris or Augusten Burroughs. Rather, his stories are about a family in smalltown Canada and the misadventures they go through. If you're interested, check his radio show or download the podcast.