March 24, 2011
BC writers fared well in the 2011 CBC Literary Awards, taking three top places.
Salt Spring Island writer, Brian Brett finished atop the poetry category with his work, To Your Scattered Bodies Go. Vancouver writer Gina Leola Woolsey‘s My Best Friend took first place in the creative nonfiction category. Placing second was another Vancouver author, Leslie Beckmann, for her debut novel, The Sum of All Evils.
The CBC Literary Awards recognize unpublished Canadian writing. The full list of winners and excerpts can be found on the CBC Literary Awards website. All 12 winners (English and French) will be celebrated at a Montreal gala Thursday night and their entries published in enRoute magazine, a presenting partner of the CBC Literary Awards along with the Canada Council for the Arts.
Posted by Monica Miller | Filed under: Press Releases | Permalink
January 06, 2011
Sitka Books & Art Ltd. announced today that the name of its flagship store, Sitka Books & Art , has changed to Ardea Books & Art effective immediately.
Ardea Books & Art opened its doors on West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano in early October 2010. The Vancouver reading community has welcomed the new bookstore with open arms and strong sales during the holiday season. Ria Bleumer, manager of the store and company’s president, stated that the name change was in response to concerns about a similarly-named local retail store and decided to change the store’s name at this early stage to foster good relations in the local business community.
The name “Ardea” is derived from the genus of the majestic Great Blue Heron, a featured resident of the Vancouver community and a beautiful reminder of nature’s grace and dignity.
Bleumer and her knowledgeable staff are committed to supporting Vancouver’s rich literary and cultural community by providing Vancouver’s readers a warm, welcoming place to explore books and meet authors.
The store’s events so far include book launches and readings by such noted authors as Annabel Lyon and Grant Lawrence. With its extensive catalogue of local authors and a unique offering of local art and crafts, Ardea Books & Art has begun what it set out to do — be a central hub of literary, artistic and intellectual exploration.
Bleumer praised her staff and gave thanks to the strong support she sees in the community, “We receive calls daily from customers who have waited for this store to open asking us to order their backlog of books.” said Bleumer. “We are grateful for the strong support from the community and know that we are bringing in new customers every day with our events, our excellent staff and our deep commitment to unparalleled customer service,” Bleumer added.
Ardea Books & Art is Vancouver’s largest independent full-service bookstore and fills the void created by the closing of Duthie Books. Ardea Books & Art carries a full complement of books and local arts & crafts and is located at 2025 West 4th Ave. in Kitsilano between Arbutus and Maple.
Posted by Karen Green | Filed under: Press Releases | Permalink
