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We hope to see you in Vancouver, British Columbia for the 2015 American Philosophical Association – Pacific meeting! OUP staff members have gathered together to discuss what we’re interested in seeing at the upcoming conference, as well as fun sights around Vancouver. Take time to visit the Oxford University Press Booth. Browse new and featured books which will include an exclusive 30% conference discount. Pick up complimentary copies of our philosophy journals which include Mind, Monist, Philosophical Quarterly, and more.

The post APA Pacific 2015: A conference guide appeared first on OUPblog.

BC Ferries has banned the sale of The Golden Mean by Canadian author Annabel Lyon in their gift shops. While most books are challenged over content, The Golden Mean is being kept off of BC Ferries because of the cover which depicts a naked male figure whose buttocks are exposed. The ban has gained the attention of papers around the world who have picked up the story, including The Guardian in the UK and The New Yorker.

According to the Vancouver Sun, "BC Ferries has a habit of banning books that feature nudity of any kind. Stephen Vogler's Only in Whistler was banned in 2009 because it featured a historical photo of four naked female skiers viewed from the rear. Two years ago, Wreck Beach, a history of Vancouver's nude beach, was banned for similar reasons."

Deborah Marshall, a spokesperson for B.C. Ferries defended the policy, explaining that there are children in the gift shops and that they are a "family show." The suggestion that BC Ferries carry the book if there was a "belly band" hiding the photo was rejected by Random House. Books for the bookstore are chosen by a committee and according to Mitchell, "We choose to select non-controversial books in our gift shop."

Craig Spence, president of the Federation of British Columbia Writers expressed his concern, saying the ban was "an overreaction to a photo that's artistic ... are you going to stop kids from seeing Michelangelo's David? The kinds of graphic material that kids are exposed to, through advertising and other media all the time, go much farther than that, and they're not in a context that would give it the justification."

The Golden Mean is a fictional account of a young Alexander the Great during the time when Aristotle was his tutor. It has received wide acclaim and has been considered for numerous awards.

WINNER 2009 - Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize
FINALIST 2009 - Scotiabank Giller Prize
FINALIST 2009 - Governor General's Literary Awards - Fiction
FINALIST 2010 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (Canada & Caribbean)
FINALIST 2010 - Amazon.ca/Books in Canada First Novel Award
FINALIST 2010 - BC Book Prize's Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize
FINALIST 2010 - Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award - Fiction Book of the Year
FINALIST 2010 - Canadian Booksellers Association Libris Award - Author of the Year

Annabel Lyon is a BC writer.

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As promised, I've gathered a sample of Canadian covers that have successfully avoided hockey & canoe stereotypes. Two old favorites include Red Is Best by Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis (Annick Press, 1988),

and the Mole Sisters series by Roslyn Schwartz (Annick Press). Her books offer sweet covers that are little works of art.
But not all great Canadian book covers come from decades past. Here are some from not so long ago that highlight the variety of styles you can find in Canadian children's books.

Dragonfly Kites

by Tomson Highway and illustrated by Brian Deines (2002).

In middle grade reading, Ange Zhang uses computer graphic design techniques to create an animation style cover for his novel Red Land Yellow River (Groundwood 2004).

A simple yet thought provoking cover appears on Sarah N. Harvey's YA novel Plastic (Orca Book Publishers, 2010).

I'll continue to share interesting covers from Canadian authors, although I'm having a tough time finding a good Canadian book cover featuring the Queen. I did find one to meet the request for a British Columbian style salmon run. It's by well respected Canadian scientist David Suzuki and talented author Sarah Ellis, with beautiful illustrations by Sheena Lott (Greystone Books, 2003).

1 Comments on The Canadian Variety, last added: 7/12/2010

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Carol Brendler said, on 7/12/2010 11:57:00 AM

OMG, I am in love with RED LAND YELLOW RIVER. And PLASTIC. And really, all of these. It's true what they say, "The world needs more Canada."

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4. Books at Bedtime: More Stories of Winter

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By: Aline Pereira, on 1/3/2009
Blog: PaperTigers (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:  Children's Books, Authors, Books at Bedtime, B Authors, M Title, Canada, Mary of Mile 18, Mennonites, Mile 18, Picture Books, winter, homesteading, British Columbia, Alaska Highway, Anne Blades, Add a tag

A few postings ago, I wrote about books about winter in Canada.  Today’s featured book is considered a Canadian classic.  It depicts the life of a family of homesteading Mennonites in northern British Columbia.   Mary of Mile 18 is set in the remote community of Mile 18, so named because of its location, eighteen miles off of a turn-off on the Alaska Highway.  Author Anne Blades worked as a teacher for the children of this community a few years before the book’s publication in 1971.  The beginning of the book sets the tone of the story:

It is a cold winter in northern British Columbia.  At the Fehr farm snow has covered the ground since early November and it will not melt until May.

Little Mary Fehr is the oldest of five.  It is through her eyes that the reader gets a glimpse of the harsh realities of homesteading in such a severe climate.  There is no running water nor electricity in the Fehr house.  Snow is brought in by pailfuls by the children to be melted for household water needs.  The house is heated by a wood-burning stove and a barrel heater; both of which consume a lot of wood and keep the house just barely warm enough.  The truck engine must be heated with a propane torch for an hour before it will start.

Despite these conditions, Mary is cheerful and sees beauty in her surroundings.  One day she discovers an abandoned half-wolf pup near her house and wants to keep it.  Her father however, is stern.  “You know the rules.  Our animals must work for us or give us food.”  Mary is devastated.  How could such a pitiful creature prove useful to the household?  The rest of the story is about how Mary and her father come to terms about his rules and her desire.  And it is the outcome that has made this story the classic that it is.

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