Toews to launch new novel virtually

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This article was published 14/08/2021 (1753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A series of online conversations with Canadian and international writers, available to patrons of independent bookstores, kicks off Thursday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. with Miriam Toews launching her new novel Fight Night, in conversation with CBC Radio’s Shelagh Rogers.

Fight Night is the story of nine-year-old Swiv, her pregnant mother and her wise and irrepressible grandmother, who steps in as teacher when Swiv is expelled from school. As part of her homeschooling, Swiv writes letters to her absent father.

The event is organized by Toews’ publisher, Penguin Random House Canada, on behalf of independent bookstores. People who buy a copy of the book from a participating indie bookstore, such as McNally Robinson Booksellers or Whodunit, can get tickets to watch the discussion online.

The conversation with Toews is part of Penguin Random House Canada’s #IndieEventsWith series, which will continue through the fall and feature Canadian and international authors, including Winnipeg’s David A. Robertson and Katherena Vermette, and American literary superstars Jonathan Franzen and Colson Whitehead.

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Canadian writers are outraged that an eight-year legal battle to defend Canadian copyright ended in defeat recently at the Supreme Court of Canada.

Access Copyright, an agency created to protect the intellectual property rights of creators, was suing York University for copying works without paying a licence fee to the agency (York previously had an agreement with Access and made the payments, but chose not to renew it). After lower courts ruled against York’s definition of “fair dealing” under which its copying was permissible, the case was ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that Access Copyright’s licence fees are not mandatory for organizations, such as York, that haven’t signed agreements with the agency. The court decision leaves it up to individual copyright holders to challenge unauthorized users of their intellectual property.

John Degen, executive director of the Writers’ Union of Canada, says the decision “ignored crushing damage to one of Canada’s most vulnerable economic sectors. It leaves writers with no workable legal remedy and, in fact, endangers regulatory structure for all professional creators.”

The writers’ organization calls on the federal government to amend the Copyright Act to protect creators.

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Just as in-person events were becoming more regular, a writers’ conference that had been planned for New Orleans from Aug. 25 to 29 has been cancelled as a result of the surging Delta variant, which is especially rampant in southern states such as Louisiana.

Bouchercon is an annual crime writers’ conference which this year was to feature in-person events with such luminaries as Michael Connelly, author of the Bosch novels, and Craig Johnson, author of the Longmire series.

The conference is scheduled to take place in Minneapolis next year.

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Three Manitoba school libraries have received funds through the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation to enhance programs and collections for students and for community users.

Supported this year are Glenwood School (Winnipeg), with a $30,000 grant; John M. King School (Winnipeg), with a $40,000 grant; and Otetiskewin Kiskinwamahtowekamik (Nelson House), with an $80,000 grant.

The foundation states that it has tried to respond to the challenges the pandemic created for children and schools, and has taken action to support underfunded elementary schools across the country and ensure students had books in school and at home.

The three Manitoba schools supported through this year’s program serve large populations of Indigenous and newcomer students. Among the programs supported at the three schools are library support for home-schooled children, a reading recovery program and an after-school reading club.

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