Random Acts of Poetry -- Saskatoon Public Library's Teen Advisory Council

Tuesday May 21 2013 6:30 pm - Main Floor, Saskatoon

Did you know that there is a youth group at Saskatoon Public Library? These young people who call themselves the Teen Advisory Council love poetry. In fact they love poetry so much that they break into “Random Acts of Poetry” every year following April’s National Poetry Month. If you missed them performing in the downtown core a few weeks ago, you are in for a treat with this repeat performance. Prepare to shake your finger at Little Rabbit Foo Foo, to “toil and trouble” with Macbeth’s Witches and to learn exactly how cruel Vegetarians really are!

Lisa Bird-Wilson -- Book Launch

Tuesday May 21 2013 7:00 pm - Travel Alcove, Saskatoon

Just Pretending (Coteau Books)

From one of Canada’s most exciting new Métis voices comes a book whose recurring themes include the complexities of identity, belonging/not belonging, Aboriginal adoption, loss and abandonment, regret and insecurity.

A deadbeat dad tries to reconnect with his daughter after 22 years away. A selfish poet has been scarred by an upbringing that leaves him emotionally distant from his children and spouse. A pot-smoking middle-aged man undertakes a modest quest for meaning following a brush with mortality. A fourteen-year-old girl struggles to come to terms with her feelings of abandonment.

The characters are often fragile, sometimes unlikeable, but ultimately can be identified or sympathized with. At the centre of the stories are notions of identity and belonging, and the complex relationships between children and parents, both those who are real and those who are just pretending.

Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Saskatchewan Métis writer whose stories have been finalists for the Journey Prize, among others. They have appeared in periodicals such as Grain, Prairie Fire, Geist, and in the anthology Best Canadian Essays. Just Pretending is her first book-length work of fiction. Lisa is the author of one other book, An Institute of Our Own: A History of the Gabriel Dumont Institute, and has also written curriculum and other materials for the Ministries of Education and Advanced Education. Saskatchewan born and raised, she works as a director of the Gabriel Dumont Institute and lives in Saskatoon with her family.

Kimmy Beach -- Book Launch

Thursday May 23 2013 7:00 pm - Travel Alcove, Saskatoon

The Last Temptation of Bond (The University of Alberta Press)

Kimmy Beach’s The Last Temptation of Bond is a frisky and erudite romp into the world of pop culture icon, James Bond. As 007 comes to terms with his own mortality, the women in his life (and there are many), circle in for the kill. For once, they will influence the narrative of his life. Parodies of pop culture have long been Beach’s trademark territory, but what sets The Last Temptation of Bond apart from her previous work is the ease with which she straddles the perceived divide between contemporary pop culture and modernist literature. Raunchy and irreverent, The Last Temptation of Bond will appeal to the rabble and the literary aesthetes.

Kimmy Beach is the author of four other collections of poetry. Her second, Alarum Within: theatre poems has twice been adapted as a stage play. Her work has appeared widely in journals across Canada and in the UK. She was the 2005 International Guest Poet for the Dead Good Poets Society in Liverpool, UK, where she launched her third book, fake Paul, onstage at the Cavern Club in Mathew Street. Kimmy has served as Writer in Residence for the Writers Guild of Alberta, the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild, and the Parkland Regional Library. She is on the faculty at Sage Hill Writing Experience in Saskatchewan where she co-facilitates with fiction writer, John Gould. She lives in Red Deer her husband, Stu. Visit her online here.

Anthony Bidulka -- Book Launch

Saturday Jun 01 2013 3:00 pm - Travel Alcove, Saskatoon

Saskatoon launch of When the Saints Go Marching In (Insomniac Press)

Join Anthony Bidulka for a come’n'go, wine’n'cheese, book signing from 3:00-5:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, Anthony will be interviewed by Brent Loucks (The Brent Loucks Show) and Penney Murphy (Penney Murphy & Associates).

When the Saints Go Marching In is the first book in the highly anticipated new series by Saskatchewan author Anthony Bidulka. The fast paced thriller features a new kind of hero, Disaster Recovery Agent Adam Saint.

Anthony Bidulka is best known as the author of the beloved long-running series featuring another unique main character. The award-winning Russell Quant mysteries tell the story of a world-travelling, wine-swilling, wise-cracking, gay, Canadian, prairie private eye. Anthony Bidulka has enjoyed time well-spent and misspent in the worlds of academia, accounting, footwear, food services, and farming. In 1999, he left a decade-long career as a chartered accountant to pursue writing. Anthony has toured extensively and spoken at conferences and literary events throughout Canada and the United States.

A great believer in community involvement, Anthony has sat on the boards of Persephone Theatre, The Saskatchewan Writer’s Guild, AIDS Saskatoon, Crime Writers of Canada, the International Association of Crime Writers, and is co-founder of Camp fYrefly-Saskatchewan (a life skills camp for LGBT youth). Anthony was inducted onto the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Education Wall of Honour in 2011. Anthony lives in Saskatoon and loves to travel the world and throw a good party. Visit Anthony online.

Arlette Kouwenhoven -- Speaking & Signing

Monday Jun 10 2013 7:00 pm - Travel Alcove, Saskatoon

Speaking & Signing The Fehrs: Four Centuries of Mennonite Migration (Winco Publishing)

This book documents the dramatic events in the lives of fifteen generations of Fehrs/DeFehrs. Their history can be traced back to the 16th-century Amsterdam grain merchant Gijsbert de Veer. The story is based on archival and secondary sources, and runs parallel to what ten thousands of their Mennonite brethren have experienced through time.

It is a story about heretics, martyrs, grain merchants and brandy distillers; about pioneers, farmers and industrialists. It is also about tradition and change, inflexibility and adaptation, sorrow and hope and above all about an endless search for salvation.

Arlette Kouwenhoven is a Dutch anthropologist working as a publisher and writer. From 2007 she made trips to Poland, Ukraine, Canada and Mexico documenting the history of the conservative line of the Fehr family. The book was published in Dutch in 2011 and is at its fourth printing.

Camp fYrefly Presents: Gay Latte 2013

Tuesday Jun 11 2013 6:30 pm - Prairie Ink Restaurant, Saskatoon

In partnership with McNally Robinson Booksellers and Prairie Ink Restaurant, Camp fYrefly presents Gay Latte, an evening of poetry and other literature!

Featuring both professional and amateur writers from all walks of life, there is sure to be something for everybody.

Prairie Ink Restaurant will once again be serving their "Gay Latte" featured drink special.

Camp fYrefly was founded in 2004 at the University of Alberta and is Canada’s largest, volunteer-based, summer leadership retreat for sexual minority and gender variant (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-identified, two-spirited, intersexed, queer, questioning) and allied youth. The camp, which was founded in 2004 by Dr. André P. Grace and Mr. Kristopher Wells, is designed to help youth develop the leadership skills and resiliency necessary for them to become change agents in their schools, families, and communities. In 2008, in partnership with the Faculty of Education, University of Regina and the College of Education, University of Saskatchewan, committees of dedicated volunteers were formed by Anthony Bidulka and Herb McFaull to bring Camp fYrefly to Saskatchewan.

The Saskatoon Pride Festival 2013 runs June 8-15

Mennonite Girls Bev Klassen and Anneliese Friesen -- Speaking and Signing

Thursday Jun 13 2013 7:30 pm - Prairie Ink Restaurant, Saskatoon

Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations (Herald Press)

Join Bev Klassen and Anneliese Friesen of Mennonite Girls Can Cook as they speak about their new cookbook. We invite you to try a special menu item inspired by the recipes and created by Chef Justin of Prairire Ink Restaurant, and enjoy a complimentary treat, too!

The bestselling authors of Mennonite Girls Can Cook return with a second course in their new Celebrations cookbook. From mouthwatering mini-muffins and succulent soufflé to campers' stew and lattice-topped grilled apples, the Mennonite Girls share recipes to honor all of life. Filled from cover to cover with devotional reflections, personal stories, and beautiful photos, this book contains much more than recipes—it will soon become your kitchen companion for life's celebrations.

"Wonderful things happen when people are given the opportunity to gather around the table—a chance to nurture and build relationships, fellowship and encourage one another and create a place of refuge for those who have had a stressful day." —Charlotte Penner, Mennonite Girls Can Cook

Mennonite Girls Can Cook started quietly as a blog among friends and acquaintances back in 2008. Today the site receives nearly 7,000 hits per day. In 2011 the Mennonite Girls took their talents beyond the blogosphere with their bestselling cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook. Now, with more than 32,000 copies sold, the girls launched their new cookbook, Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations, on May 1, 2013.

Douglas De Long -- Book Launch

Monday Jun 17 2013 7:00 pm - Travel Alcove, Saskatoon

Past Lives for Beginners: A Guide to Reincarnation & Techniques to Improve Your Present Life (Llewellyn Worldwide)

Explore your previous lifetimes, embrace your wondrous history, and recognize that you, as a human soul, are eternal. Once you discover your past lives, you can change the present in positive ways and ultimately create a better future.

Past Lives for Beginners is a detailed and approachable introduction to understanding reincarnation and how it impacts your present life. Using fascinating case studies, author Douglas De Long describes different types of past-life recall experiences and shares his favored techniques to gain access to those memories, including meditations and visualizations. This guide provides a wealth of exercises and resources for understanding past lives, allowing you to explore spiritual growth and your own immortality.

Douglas De Long is a past-life therapist, chakra master, medical intuitive, counselor, and spiritual teacher. He and his wife, Carol, operate the De Long Ancient Mystery School in Saskatchewan. They travel throughout North America and Hawaii teaching healing classes and providing services. His current works are Ancient Teachings for Beginners, Ancient Healing Techniques, and Past Lives for Beginners, published by Llewellyn Worldwide. Visit him online www.douglasdelong.com.