BC Book Prizes Tour Blog

[Tour] Welcome to The Southern Tour

2012-05-11T05:19:06+00:00

What a long, arduous, exhilarating, inspiring first two days of the Southern Leg Tour of the BC Book Prizes! I couldn’t blog last night due to “technical difficulties” so I will try and catch you up on what has been going on with us up here in Kamloops.

We left Vancouver Wednesday morning with bright blue sunny skies and the highway laid out in front of us beckoning us forward. It was the perfect day for a road trip. I was so excited to have Dan Bar-el and Susan McCaslin in my car, I had a million questions to ask of them about their novels and writing, but I thought I would wait, at least until we got beyond Hope…

Did I mention it was a bright and beautiful day? We took our first pit stop in Merritt. It was very windy…

[Tour] Only one school left

2012-05-10T22:30:02+00:00

Six days on the road and 7 elementary schools. And everyone darn one of them as different as can be. An A/V presentation adds an additional level of complication as not every teacher is conversant with the technology and I’m a hopeless klutz. So most presentations come down to the wire. Is there a disaster about to happen and up pops a 9 yr old and takes over?. Whew. Back at the ranch my contact with 9 yr olds is rare and mostly distant but for the past week I have been the focus of attention of up to 60 at a time and everyone one of them touched just a wee bit by the ‘cult of celebrity.’ Once the stampede for autographs begins there is not stopping it and just about every one of them is insistent upon having at least one signature.
The Koonenays afford some spectacular scenery but more interesting to me is, for want of a better expression, the culture. The eastern Kootenays have several communities totally dependent on the coal industry and massive operations in the Elk Valley (Sparwood, Elkwood)) afford a close up view of an industry that many folks, including myself, would rather be somewhere else, say Kazakhstan or Patagonia. But there is a fairly large population of people in the valley who have lived and breathed the financial, and community, benefits of this somewhat unholy operation. The ‘operations’ as they call them are a sight to behold and Bryan has posted some amazing photos of two of the mine sites. An ugliness that very slowly shifts into a certain beauty perhaps. And fairly close to these open pit mines we witnessed an array of wildlife: large herds of elk and deer and a small group of mountain goats that were close enough to us that I was tempted to hop on one and go for a ride. In fact the valley is so abundant in wild life that I was almost yearning for a few more glimpses of domestic herds.
A library event this evening in Fernie, a school tomorrow in Creston and then home. Sure hope I can do this again next year.

Gary

[Tour] Okanagan and Kootenays - no dromedaries but close

2012-05-10T07:02:14+00:00

Today, BC Book Prizes CEO and official driver Bryan Pike, children’s author Gary Kent, and I saw on the roadside deer, elk, and big horn sheep. A trifecta. As I bought a copy of The Travels of Marco Polo in Nelson’s Booksmyth, it would have been apropos to see a dromedary - but no such luck.

It made for a fine reward for a long trip road trip through the Okanagan and Kootenays.

Better yet, these last few days, I have met incredible students, teachers, librarians, booksellers and readers.

The work with students at schools such as LV Rogers Secondary in Nelson, Sparwood Secondary in Sparwood, and many more has been gratifying. I can’t thank the students and teachers enough for their hospitality and enthusiasm.

And I’ve found great road/car mates in Bryan and Gary. Gary’s stories of giving up a life as an ethnologist and becoming a fisherman have delighted. And his short graphic novel, Fishing with Gubby, is a beautiful graphic novel.

Plus, did I mention we saw the world’s largest truck. Monster. Note: the mileage is not so good.

[Tour] Gubby and JJ take wine country by storm

2012-05-07T22:38:14+00:00

I had the great pleasure of being with Bryan on the northern leg last year and it was an experience I’m not likely to forget, thanks to my wonderful companions Gina McMurchy-Barber and Stephen Collis. The opportunity to travel with Bryan again, this time in the Okanagan was something I could not pass up and the brilliant, funny and indefatigable JJ Lee is my author companion. For goodness sakes I get to travel with someone who ties his own bow ties each morning and will no doubt alter forever my miserable take on things sartorial! I plan to visit a tailor as soon as I get home.
The gigs, especially the elementary schools are always full of surprises. Cawston, tiny little farm community Cawston, was a wonderful surprise nestled in the stunning Similkameen Valley a stone’s throw from Keromeos. Morning class so had their full attention unlike the lovely little darlings at the Osoyoos Elementary in the afternoon who itched and yawned much of their way through my brilliant offering. A ‘nice’ little touch was the laptop falling from its perch on the desk and knocking over a large container of marbles that spewed forth in every direction. All quite normal and acceptable of course.
And on to Nelson tomorrow morning. Three hours or so through more lovely country and expectations of good music, laughs and fashion tips.
More later,
Gary Kent

[Tour] JJ Lee: Getting ready for Vernon

2012-05-04T16:57:28+00:00

As a fashion writer, these things matter - I’ve decided to rely on stripe shirts for my road trip through the Okanagan and the Kootenays. Can’t wait.

[Tour] Spirit Bears & Tree Climbing

2012-05-04T01:12:02+00:00

On May 2nd I began a tour of schools in the Lower Mainland. We started at Chief Maquinna Elementary in East Vancouver. I grew up in East Van and it felt like I was coming home, entering a school not far from my old neighbourhood. I was pleased to be there, to share stories and photos and talk about my book Nowhere Else on Earth: Standing Tall for the Great Bear Rainforest. The highlight of school visits, for me, is always the questions from students. To witness the imagination, the unexpected tangents, the creativity, the interest in this planet that we all call home. I hope with my book to inspire and spark curiosity in the Great Bear Rainforest and in our own backyards, to encourage readers to pay attention to what is happening around them and to get involved, to know that they can make a difference. I love to see the looks on students faces when I tell them that barnacles are stuck to the rock with their heads and eat with their feet, or when I tell the story of how a 12 year old mobilized his entire community to protect a forest, or when I ask them to imagine being able to jump 5 times their own height like some microscopic soil creatures are able to do. Truly this coast is full of wonder, and there are so many things to be amazed by when we stop to look around. At this particular school, we talked a lot about spirit bears and climbing trees.

In the afternoon I was scheduled to talk with students at Westview Elementary in North Vancouver. Unfortunately, just as I had set up my presentation in the library, the fire alarm went off! This was no fire drill, there was actually a fire. All the children filed out to the gravel playing field and sat down in rows, thankful that the rain had temporarily stopped. We spent an hour waiting outside, surrounded by no less than 4 firetrucks, 2 ambulances, and 4 police cars. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The fire was put out and all the kids safe. While I was disappointed to not speak with the students, I was left with a sense of huge respect for all the teachers around this province who look after our children with such responsibility and caring. They do more than just teach curriculum, they are mentors and caregivers and so much more. Looking back, I can still name the teachers who most touched my life and I am so grateful for all that they offered me.

We left a copy of my book at the school, and let them know that a curriculum-linked resource guide has been developed, with activities that teachers can use to bring my book into the classroom. The resource guide can be downloaded for free from the book’s website at http://www.GreatBearRainforest.ca.

[Tour] Northern Tour Comes to a Close

2012-05-03T16:08:44+00:00

Charlotte, Pamela, and I head home today after another amazing tour in Northern BC. We had a wonderful time, as always, and really enjoyed visiting a few new communities including Burns Lake, Fort St. James, Fort Fraser, and Fraser Lake. Thank you to all the communities for welcoming us so warmly! Here are some pictures from our adventure:

On the Way to Prince Rupert

Pamela with Conrad Elementary Students in Prince Rupert

Charlotte and Pamela at Books & Company in Prince George

Integris Credit Union Adopt-a-Library Presentation at Voyageur Elementary in Quesnel

[Tour] Northern Leg Has Begun

2012-04-26T23:51:08+00:00

It’s currently day 2 of the Northern Leg of the tour. Yesterday we enjoyed a wonderful flight up with long-time sponsor Hawkair, and the folks at the Terrace Public Library were excellent hosts for our evening event. Here is Charlotte Gill and Pamela Porter at the event:

[Tour] Things I didn’t know about BC

2012-04-21T03:16:14+00:00

- that Fort Nelson is the only place among much bigger northern places that appears on globes a few years old (I checked—it’s true)
- that natural gas and dinosaurs go together (ask Bryan Pike; he has a theory)
- that the Cree people live this far west
- that there’s such a thing as an albino moose
- that a cafe in Dawson Creek called Faking Sanity has the best buttermillk biscuits in the world (I tried them and I defy you to find better!)
- that Dawson Creek is mile zero of the Alaska Highway
- that two boys discovered dinosaur footprints in 2000 when they were out hiking near Hudson’s Hope. (I wish I was one of them)
- that the Alaska Highway was built by Americans in response to the bombing of Pearl Harbour
- that the Tumbler Ridge area was once home to over 21 kinds of dinosaurs
- the difference between black spruce and white spruce

[Tour] Last Day: Peace Country

2012-04-20T17:19:24+00:00

We’re wrapping up the Peace Country Leg today with school readings in Fort St. John. Here is Frances with some students at North Peace Secondary:

Thank you to all the communities for welcoming us so warmly and to our new Peace Region sponsors for making this trip possible!

[Tour] Day three in Peace River country

2012-04-20T01:33:08+00:00

We’ve been amazed by the landscape on this roadtrip. The drive from Fort St. John to Fort Nelson yesterday (4 hours on the northwest Alaska Highway) took us past huge ridges, snow-topped mountains and spruce forests. Bryan, our driver and executive director of the BC Book Prizes, acted also as deejay. Our Peace soundtrack includes songs from the Magnetic Fields, Pink Martini, Jamie Cullum and k.d. lang’s Hymns from the 49th Parallel, fitting for a northern road trip. In Fort Nelson, we wandered around outside the museum, when two men drove in and invited us in to see the car shed. Our guide was Marl Brown, who turned out to be the founder of the museum. And what a guide. He showed us his collection of antique cars, most of which he’d restored himself. Then he opened up the museum for us and gave us a tour of the collection. It’s the kind of place you could spend hours; it’s crammed with interesting objects and stories, so many stories. I was struck by the collection of local animals: an owl found dead on the highway with the female watching over her dead mate. Marl said he went back a month later and she was still there. And there was an albino moose that a local First Nations man shot; he regretted it instantly, according to Marl, and brought it in to the museum. Today we’re doing the Hudson’s Hope- Chetwynd-Dawson Creek circle tour—an unbelievably beautiful valley. Glad I got to see it.

[Tour] Back to Dawson Creek

2012-04-19T22:40:38+00:00

Rae and Frances enjoyed meeting the staff and students in the communities of Hudson’s Hope and Chetwynd today. Here is Frances with some of the students at Chetwynd Secondary:

We have now visited two of today’s three communities and are on the way back to Dawson Creek where we will visit the nice folks at the Dawson Creek Municipal Library tonight.

[Tour] On the road to Fort Nelson

2012-04-18T22:36:45+00:00

Because Shelter is set in the Chilcotin-Cariboo, far, but not a world away from Dawson Creek, or any other rural Canadian place for that matter, I asked the students at Dawson Creek High School to write the opening line for a novel set in their community. Some of them said, “Nothing ever happens here. It’s so boring.”
But no place is ever as boring as it might first seem on the surface. The real interest, for writers, is what goes on beneath the surface, the human relationships, what we long for, hate for, cry over; the promises we make and break; or in the things we dream in the miles we cover, passing rolling golden hills and coulees, patches of snow caught in dun-coloured grass and poplars fuzzed with new buds. As soon as someone says “Nothing ever happens here,” I think of novels like Catcher in the Rye, A Complicated Kindness and Monkey Beach where the narrators say the same thing, and then go on to tell complex stories, as rich as anything set in places where everything happens.
And living in a rural place, you tend to forget what it’s like to see it for the first time, like an outsider. Driving just out of town, we crested a hill and a sprawling vista took our breath away. Out came our cameras, madly clicking away. Some students obviously do feel the breadth of the place they live. One starts her novel on a warm summer night, one at the edge of the bush, with the crack of a rifle shot. One boys turns to another and says, “There would have to be zombies.” They both nod.

[Tour] Off to a Great Start!

2012-04-18T21:32:09+00:00

BC Book Prizes On Tour 2012 is now well under way! The flight up to Dawson Creek with new tour sponsor Central Mountain Air was awesome.

After arriving, we enjoyed visiting schools in Dawson Creek in the afternoon:

Then we headed to the Fort St. John Public Library for an evening event where we met Jay Morrison of Spectra Energy. Thank you to Spectra Energy for making this Peace Country Leg possible!

We’re in Fort Nelson today, with school visits this afternoon and a public event hosted by the Fort Nelson Public Library. If you’re in the Fort Nelson area, stop by and say hi!

[Tour] 2012 Tour Begins Tomorrow!

2012-04-16T22:04:03+00:00

The 9th annual BC Book Prizes On Tour kicks of tomorrow in Peace Country! This will be our first time visiting Peace Country, and I couldn’t be more excited about visiting a number of communities up there, including Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, and Dawson Creek. After Peace Country, we will visit our friends, both old and new, in Northern BC, Southern BC, the Okanagan, and Kootenays. With a total of 35 communities and 11 authors this year, we’re in for a fantastic tour! Check out this year’s schedule for a public event near you.

[Tour] Tour Schedule 2012

2012-04-04T21:39:09+00:00

From April 17–May 11, a selection of finalist authors will hit the road On Tour, with FREE readings at bookstores, libraries, and schools throughout BC. We will be visiting communities in Peace Country, Northern BC, Okanagan, Kootenays and the Lower Mainland.

Stay tuned for more information on the confirmed communities. Once the tour is underway, we’ll be posting blog updates, photos and more as the Tour visits a town near you, so make sure to Follow the On Tour Blog.

Peace Country Leg

April 17–20, 2012
Frances Greenslade | Rae Maté
View the full Peace Country tour schedule here

Chetwynd
Dawson Creek
Fort Nelson
Fort St. John
Hudson’s Hope

Northern BC Leg

April 25–May 2, 2012
Charlotte Gill | Pamela Porter
View the full Northern BC tour schedule here

Burns Lake
Fort Fraser
Fort St. James
Fraser Lake
Kitimat
Prince George
Prince Rupert
Quesnel
Smithers
Terrace

Southern BC Leg

May 2–11, 2012
Dan Bar-el | Robert Heidbreder | JJ Lee | Susan McCaslin | Caitlyn Vernon
View the full Southern BC tour schedule here

Abbotsford
Canoe
Kamloops
New Westminster
North Vancouver
Salmon Arm
Vancouver

Okanagan Leg

May 5–7, 2012
Gary Kent | JJ Lee
View the full Okanagan tour schedule here

Cawston
Keremeos
Oliver
Osoyoos
Penticton
Vernon

Kootenays Leg

May 8–11, 2012
Gary Kent | JJ Lee
View the full Kootenays tour schedule here

Canyon
Cranbrook
Creston
Elkford
Fernie
Nelson
Sparwood

[Tour] Lower Mainland Tour

2011-04-22T07:44:33+00:00

Sorry I haven’t been able to post along the way. I’m having trouble getting onto the blog. I visited many parts for the lower mainland as if for the first time because of the interesting people I met and the wonderful eating places we visited. Kristie was a great driver, host, planner, introducer (didn’t need notes after the first time), and booster for the book prizes.

We braved Vancouver Canucks territory during the playoffs and had some good turnouts. It was wonderful to meet Cowichan knitting enthusiasts carrying their old treasured sweaters and to hear their stories.

Thanks to Meredith and Grant for their readings—what could be better? I got to spend four evenings listening to the best story tellers in the province.

[Tour] Deep Cove, North Vancouver, and White Rock

2011-04-21T15:32:21+00:00

The Lower Mainland tour has now come to an end.

Our last two days were spent in Deep Cove, North Van, and White Rock. We had wonderful receptions in all of these communities, and our public events were very well-attended. The audiences certainly enjoyed both author presentations and chatting with Sylvia and Grant about their books.

Thanks everyone for coming out!

Sylvia and Grant had a great time visiting the schools in these communities as well. The kids at Dorothy Lynas Elementary were certainly excited when Sylvia handed out a piece of wool to everyone:

Meanwhile, the secondary students were captivated by Grant’s hilarious anecdotes:

You can read about Grant’s experience here.

This tour has been amazing. In addition to meeting a number of wonderful people, we also explored some new places that some of us had never been to. We definitely discovered some great places to eat, including Uli’s Restaurant in White Rock. Here’s Sylvia enjoying the Uli’s experience:

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so our tour has. You can check out all our tour photos on our Flickr Photostream.

[Tour] Last Post

2011-04-21T13:50:21+00:00

And it’s over. We had School and public library events yesterday in Oliver, south of Penticton, and all had good turnouts. It has been an excellent tour. And what could be better than making three new and good friends? The day’s highlight was a stop at Ticklebury’s ice cream joint near Oliver where a “Double” ice cream cone consists of four big scoops stacked up like myocardial-infarction bombs. (Then there’s the “Large.”) George was unusually restrained and ordered a “Children’s,” which has only two such scoops. We haven’t been able to help but notice his proclivity for prodigious food consumption - pretty much anything will do if it isn’t actually moving. George is from Oliver, of course, and, as we walked around, it was truly heartwarming to see so many people come up to him and ask him to repay the loans. Bryan the Boss fell asleep at the wheel only a couple of times, which was a huge improvement. We all feel that Bryan has real potential if he applies himself. Julie’s evening meal included both spaghetti and mashed potatoes, a combination this writer, wise in the ways of the world, has never seen before. And in a final bizarre development, Bryan dropped me off at the Oliver library, where a suspicious librarian wouldn’t hand over the washroom key, and implied that I was a vagrant. I spent two hours there in some discomfort from urinary urgency working on my next book. In the meantime, the Boss and Julie drove down to Osoyoos, visited famous Spotted Lake and other tourist sights and had a helluva good time. Today, as I said before, but it bears repeating, we head back to Vancouver to pick up our winning prizes. So long.

[Tour] Day ... whatever

2011-04-19T22:46:19+00:00

Dear Blog,

A sign that we’re nearing the end of the tour: can’t remember where we were when I blogged last, or where we were the day before yesterday for that matter.

Yesterday we were in Vernon at the Vernon Secondary School where no kids got thrown out—a first—and then at Gallery Vertigo for, once again, a small but enthusiastic crowd.

Today, we’re paying for our relaxed weekend with schools in Kelowna and Penticton (the name of which George insists on mispronouncing) as well as an evening event at Hooked On Books.

George continues to amaze me (we appear together) with his jazzy improvisations and funny-as-hell riffs. I’m his warm-up act. Bryan the Boss must be tour-drunk because his mental state appears to be deteriorating quite badly to the point where we’ve noticed people on the street staring at him in alarm. Julie continues to be the stable and sensible centre—holding for now.

Tomorrow we go to Oliver (the “wine capital of BC” which George insists is actually an official part of the town’s name). No doubt, he will make hay of this accidental connection in his irresponsible attempts to claim to rooms full of impressionable young people that poets make lots of money. Then, dear Blog, it’s back to Vancouver so we can collect our winning prizes.