Well, folks, tonight's the night! Winners of the 24th Annual BC Book Prizes will be announced tonight, Saturday April 26, at the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Book Prize Gala at The Fairmont Waterfront Hotel, in Vancouver.

All five authors on the short-list for the prestigious Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize visited our forum Gail's Kitchen earlier this month. Shaena Lambert (Radiance), Mary Novik (Conceit), David Chariandy (Soucouyant), Heather Burt (Adam's Peak), and Claire Mulligan (The Reckoning of Boston Jim) talked about being on the short-list for this prize, about the writing life, books, and life in general. All five writers are on this list with their first novels so I asked them how they were handling all the attention. Here's part of our chat.

Gail Anderson-Dargatz: Receiving success with a first book can be exciting, but overwhelming as well. As I was telling my students at UBC this past week, when my first novel, The Cure for Death by Lightning, came out, I went from farm wife milking cows to international literary star. It was really, really fun. And really, really weird and very often frightening. I told my students, “If I could wish anything on you, it would be only moderate success. At least at first.” I gained more weight than I care to mention overeating chocolate in an attempt to cope...It was very hard indeed to suddenly find myself in front of cameras. A CBC crew followed me all over the UK, even into dressing rooms, as I was such a "Cindarella story"; I remember the makeup artist shooing the camera crew out as she covered up my zits saying, "That's just not nice!" Terry David Mulligan came to our very humble farm home to interview me and threw open the door to our very messy junk room and invited the cameraman in there! To say I felt exposed was an understatement! This is an issue that we often don’t talk about as writers, how overwhelming being thrust into the media can be. I wonder how it’s been for each of you, and how you cope? Have you come up with a public persona of sorts?

Claire Mulligan: This tour will be the first time I've really been on show. I'm looking forward to the dressing up, and such. I think if this sort of thing happened when I was younger it might have been harder. I do know that I can't listen to any of my recent radio interviews. I thought I could, but it just makes me cringe. I did an TV interview way back with Terry D for a short story prize and I can't watch that either. Terry is my cousin by the way! He's living in Pentiction now and will be sure to come to at least one of our Okanagan events if he's in town. Gail, I can just see him throwing open the door for the cameraman!

Gail: Ha! That's funny! You'll have to give him heck for me! Boy that guy has energy! Has he slowed down any?

Claire: Yes, Gail, Terry is still so full of energy. He always got three or four things on the go at once. He's very much into wine now and doing shows about that, which is one of the reasons he's now in the Okanagan.

David Chariandy: That's certainly something I'm wrestling with right now. I'd have to admit that I'm very (very!) far from anything like stardom, but I'm normally a very private person, and so the publicity I've been lucky enough to receive has been both thrilling and a bit alarming. My novel is about a son who, at one point, abandons his mother who is suffering from dementia. There's a little note on the first page of the novel that says, outright, that this is a novel, a work of fiction, etc. Then, a couple weeks ago, my mother visits me for supper and says that she saw a promotional poster for a reading from Soucouyant. The poster read: "David Chariandy abandoned his mother who was suffering from dementia, and he wrote a novel about it." A somewhat distressing collapse of author and fiction, of course... Anyway, my mother has a good sense of humour about these sorts of things. But I guess that's another part of the "public persona" issue -- suddenly, not only me, but my parents -- ordinary, loving, and rather intensely private working-class folk -- have public identities that we can't quite control. To google or not to google -- that is the question...

Shaena Lambert: That's really awful, David. Your book is beautiful, and I never once thought it happened to you! I struggled a great deal with the issue of exposure after I published my first book, The Falling Woman. The stories, I see in retrospect, weren't particularly exposing, but I still felt alarmed and turned inside out -- so that my deeper self was on display. I both loved the feeling of publishing, and felt really WEIRD about it. And also felt that there wasn't much point kvetching as, really, the alternative -- let's face it -- is obscurity. I found it easier with Radiance -- perhaps because nobody mistakes the book for autobiography (thank god).

Gail: This is one I run into all the time, especially since I'm upfront about my inspirations. Readers and even reviewers just assume, then, that I'm writing memoir. I think ultimately this stems from our very human need to believe the stories we're told. I see it in my kids. I see it in myself. We want to "believe" in these characters that become so real to us. In then end I suppose its a compliment of sorts...

For more of this conversation between many of BC's best writers, visit Gail's Kitchen

For more on the BC Book Prizes, go to: http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/

All five authors on the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize short-list were on our forum Gail's Kitchen earlier this month and inevitably chat turned to craft. Mary Novik, David Chariandy, Shaena Lambert, Heather Burt, and Claire Mulligan all had something to say on the subject of writing from the perspective of a culture and/or gender that is not the author's own. Other BC writers, including SPiN member June Hutton also shared their thoughts on the subject. Here's a bit of that conversation:

Heather Burt: "In many ways I had an easier time writing about the Sri Lankan characters and settings in Adam's Peak than about the Scottish-Canadian ones (I have close connections to SL, but it's not my background). I also find male characters easier than female ones ... "

Mary Novik: Did you visit Sri Lanka for an extended period of time, Heather? A fabled, torrid romance at one time?

(Heather), you have very strong male characters in Adam's Peak, but your female protagonist is a marvel also. Claire has two wonderful male characters in The Reckoning of Boston Jim. I have to tell you that Boston Jim is gonna take his place up there next to Falstaff as a literary original. Shaena, I love Walter in Radiance. He's so convincing and troubled. We should also compliment David for his gift with female characters--Soucouyant has a powerful, moving portrait of a Trinidadian woman with dementia."

Shaena Lambert: "I find it so interesting Heather, that you find it easier to write men & to write more distanced settings. I feel that way at times too. I suppose it is the objectivity - the knowledge that we are definitely shucking our skins if we're writing from the point of view of a 60 year old chainsmoking logger (male), for instance. Or at least I'd be shucking my skin if I did that. Ditto with Mary on David's female characters -- I found them tremendously convincing and involving. And Boston Jim, with his eidetic memory is a marvel -- where did he come from, Claire? I also like how your Eugene keeps picturing Dora with her clothes slipping off her body, her hair coming undone. I felt his sexuality was very particularly male."

Heather Burt: "I get this question from students, too. I try to encourage them to think about the particularities of *their* individual character, and not whether or not this character is a convincing Man or Woman -- for what, really, would a generic man or woman be like? Obviously writers need to do their research when it comes to the physiology of, and typical social forces working on, the opposite sex. But I tell students not to hesitate at all if there's a character living in their head who happens not to be the same sex (or race or culture ...) as they are.

I think someone famous (don't ask me who!) said that if writers couldn't write outside their own personal experience, then all writing would be autobiographical. Such a restriction would also mean a certain shutting down of the imagination -- perhaps the writer's most important tool."

Claire Mulligan: "In regards to the gender discussion though, I can't see why it's a worry. All characters have elements of ourselves. What did Flaubert say? "Madame Bovary, c'est moi." We'd have to nix a lot of fabulous literature if the writers could only write from their own gender and experience. I do, however, agree with Heather that male characters can be easier to write. I'm sure it's not politically correct to say but men are often more tragic. They are often in such positions of power and 'control' as Heather says, that their fall or transformation can be more dramatic."

Heather Burt: "Oh ... by "control" I was getting more at the control I feel as a writer when I'm in a more "objective" mode, far out of my own skin. But, yes, there can certainly be an appeal for women writers in taking on the traditional authority of men through their characters."

Mary Novik: "June, if you're still there, maybe you can talk about this as well since your novel is entirely from Al's point of view. In fact, I sometimes imagine you slouching about Pender St wearing men's trousers with a hat pulled down over your brow ....

The first character that I climbed into in Conceit was John Donne. Not surprising, because the novel began from immersing myself in his poems and then moving out from there into his prose, sermons, etc. Then I began waking up at night and jotting things down in his voice! By the time I finished his chapters, I no longer knew which phrases he'd written and which I had. It was a strange feeling. I had to fight to extricate myself from him, in fact, if not for Thomas Wharton (I was in a workshop with him at the time), I'd probably still be stuck in JD. Thomas insisted it was time to move on. His actual words were, "If you don't write about Ann More, I will!" I guess this is one of the perils of writing a novel with several voices--has that happened to the rest of you? I'm glad the voices came to me in this order, though, because I ended up totally immersed in Pegge, who is the main character."

June Hutton: "I was always a tomboy, so that helped. But my protagonist is a soldier and I've never been in battle. That could have been a problem for me but it proved to be my mantra. I kept asking myself, Why do men go to war? And why this war (the Spanish Civil War) in particular? It became my reason for writing the novel. I agree with Claire that male characters have great potential to be tragic-- they take part in such risky endeavors as war, exploration, and so on."

David Chariandy: "I'm struck by the fact that you too, Shaena, take on circumstances and characters that I'm assuming (perhaps naively?) are remote from your own experience, but which you manage to bring alive so vividly and convincingly. I was struck precisely the same way when reading Mary's book (the first of the shortlisted books I had the pleasure of reading), as well as Claire and Heather's."

Here's to all the authors who step outside their own shoes to explore different cultures and lives, so we can explore it with them!

For more of our conversation, go to: Gail's Kitchen

The winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize will be announced along with the winners of all the BC Book Prizes this coming Saturday, April 26. For more on that, go to: http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/.

All five authors on the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize short-list were on our forum Gail's Kitchen in April to talk about being on the short-list for this BC Book Prize. I asked Mary Novik, David Chariandy, Shaena Lambert, Heather Burt, and Claire Mulligan what being on this short-list meant to them. Inevitably chat turned to what the authors would wear to the gala on April 26. Other BC writers, including SPiN members Jen Sookfong Lee and June Hutton piped in with their thoughts on the subject. Here's a bit of that conversation:

Gail: "You’re all on the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize short-list. This is so exciting! I won this award back in 1997 with The Cure for Death by Lightning and what I remember most, of course, was the gala, a rare chance to dress up and feel elegant (such a rarity that, as I recall, I made a point of telling the audience I had even shaved my legs for the event). Just being on the short-list was a real boost for me. This was my first novel and being on this list with so many other wonderful authors made me feel like a “real” writer. I wonder if you can tell me a little about what being on this short-list has meant to you?"

June Hutton: "I remember that shaving legs comment. You called them your gams!"

Shaena Lambert: "Yes, the chance to dress up is a thrill, requiring that amazing final effort, the shaving of the legs! I also feel so pleased it's The Ethel Wilson Award. As I mentioned to you Gail, I read Swamp Angel a while ago, while off in a cabin in Howe Sound, and was entranced by the writing. She is a cross between Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway -- she writes about fly fishing, but while tracing the flights of the mind. I also reread "Mrs Golightly and the First Convention" -- a famous short story of hers, much anthologized. I had last read it in highschool I think. And again, I was struck by how luminous and original the writing is. It really stands the test of time, better than Hemingway in fact, I think. So being nominated for her award does feel really wonderful."

Mary Novik: "I was thrilled to be on the short-list. It was a genuine surprise, since I thought that books had to be set in BC or nearabouts. Mind you, I've lived here the longest (age helps with that one!). I've read the other four novels, which are all terrific, and am humbled by the thought of being on the same list."

David Chariandy: "For me, the best thing about being on the shortlist is that it's enabled me to meet other people in BC who are passionate about literature -- other writers and readers. I'm a fairly lonely writer, perhaps by choice. But there's absolutely nothing more inspiring than to realize, in the midst of a difficult period of writing, that you're not alone, that others are going through this too, that others are interested, and that, in the end, literature matters."

Mary Novik: "I agree ... it's great to be seen as a BC writer and to connect with other writers here. Like Heather, I'm really looking forward to meeting secondary students and readers in smaller communities. It's also going to be great fun to be on the road with three other writers (Theresa Kiskkan, Kari-Lynn Winters, and Nan Gregory). We'll be driving from place to place in a van--imagine the variations on "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall"! I think the most isolating time is before you're published when you are doing the work but not being recognized as a writer. You get bushed staying at home all the time and you've got to get out. I used to attend readings by writers just to soak up the atmosphere. I'd have to say, though, that I've been extraordinarily lucky because I belong to a writing group that includes June and Jen Sookfong Lee, http://www.spinwrites.com/ We've been together almost six years and have seen one another through just about everything you can imagine."

Shaena Lambert: "I really agree, David. It is so nice to feel connected to other writers. And to realize we are a community of likeminded people, in that we are all struggling to get better at our craft, and we all love words."

Jen Sookfong Lee: "I have two questions. One, what are you going to wear (imagine that I'm Joan Rivers on the Oscars' red carpet--hee)? Two, do you feel any additional pressure for your new books because of the shortlist?"

Heather Burt: "I guess I do feel quite a bit of pressure when it comes to my next book, but I think the feeling predates the shortlist, or even any of the other public attention. It's mostly self-imposed. I worry that I won't be able to do it again -- to write something that *I* like, never mind what the reviewers etc. like. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I find myself comparing the second book to the first one in a way that's not usually helpful. In a way I'll be glad when Adam's Peak drops off my own radar for a while."

David Chariandy: "I think I'll go for an urban cowboy look, but I'm not sure..."

Jen Sookfong Lee: "Oh, you totally should! I'm thinking of the father in your novel, with his cowboy suit, but yours should be more 21st century, you know? Maybe throw in some chaps with winking LED lights."

Go for it, David. We'll be watching!

For more of this conversation, go to Gail's Kitchen.

For more comments on what to wear at the gala, see Mary Novik's blog at http://www.marynovik.com/.

For more on the gala itself, go to: http://www.bcbookprizes.ca/.

Over the next couple of weeks leading up to the announcement of the winner of the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (a BC Book Prize), I'll be blogging the conversation we had with the five authors up for this award on our forum "Gail's Kitchen." But before I get to that, I wanted to take a moment to remember Ethel Wilson, for whom the prize is named. Here's what some of the writers at our forum event had to say about this wonderful BC writer:

Gail Anderson-Dargatz: "I had read Wilson's Swamp Angel years ago, of course, but I took this as an opportunity to take another look at this novel and at Wilson’s life. Glancing through Swamp Angel now, I'm struck by the power of the writing, especially of the images of parts of the world that I’m quite familiar with (and yet have changed so much since the novel was released in the early 1950’s). I hope my own writing reads as fresh as hers fifty plus years from now!"

Shaena Lambert: "Isn't she amazing? Her language is so original. And yes, she must really speak to you, Gail, with her amazing descriptions of the interior, the lakes, fly fishing, nature. I picked up a book by Roderick Haig Brown a few months ago and read bits, and was also struck by the great magic of his writing. I feel both with RH Brown and with Ethel Wilson that I open a door and get a blast of fresh BC air, from beyond my childhood (I grew up in Horseshoe Bay); more like from my mother's childhood. And it feels so satisfying."

Heather Burt: "Swamp Angel had been on my to-read list for ages, but I just kept not getting around to it. The prize nomination made the book feel like required reading, which was great -- just the push I needed. I found it quite mysterious and moving, and I feel as if I need to read it again. The evocations of the landscape and the fishing scenes are fantastic."

David Chariandy: "I completely agree about the special beauty and freshness of Swamp Angel. I was also struck by Wilson's williness to represent risky and tender relationships between people of very different backgrounds."

Mary Novik: "I read it (Swamp Angel) years ago out of a sense of obligation to read something BC. (This was when you could take a PhD at UBC without studying a single work of Canlit.) I was very pleasantly surprised, but it's really only recently that her talent has been fully recognized. I was looking for my copy, but it's disappeared, so I tried to get one at Indigo, which didn't have any. Obviously, she still is not getting the attention that she deserves."

At least she is remembered through this prize. Here's hoping the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize continues to bring readers to Wilson's work.

For more on Ethel Wilson, check out her bio on the BC Book Prizes site: www.bcbookprizes.ca/wilson.htm

The photo above is a little of the BC landscape she wrote of. Mitch Krupp photo.

The woman behind my website is our own very talented daughter Lydia Krupp Hunter. Her website design company is www.dreamindustri.com and as you can see from my site, she has a real flare for matching design to the unique personalities of her clients. It's a given that a writer needs a good website these days, and during our Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize event on my forum on Sunday the conversation turned to websites and blogs. The question? To blog or not to blog. Here's what some of the authors at our event had to say.

Heather Burt (http://www.heatherburt.ca/): "I've been mildly tempted, but I'm quite certain that if I blogged I'd never get any fiction written. Whether or not it's a good idea depends, I suppose, on the nature of the writer. I can certainly imagine someone firing up their creative juices by blogging and then being more productive in the other stuff ... don't think that would be me, though! I guess I'm also not very interested in going public with my life. I know I could focus the blog on writing, and in a sense that's what I do on my website and on Facebook (ack! the dreaded Facebook!)."

Gail Anderson-Dargatz (http://www.gailanderson-dargatz.ca/): "This has been the case for me, that ideas for fiction and non-fiction projects come out of blogging, but I do find I really have to limit the amount of time I spend on it. Saturday is usually my web day, where I do events like this one, or write a blog. I'm with you when it comes to facebook. I like the idea of community building, but I can't imagine finding the time for it in my own life."

Mary Novik (http://www.marynovik.com/): "I have a blog integrated in my website. It begins on the home page and then continues inside. Jen, you've got a blog page that is part of your website also, http://www.sookfong.com/ I think one of the main advantages of a real blog, at blogspot or whatever, is that google etc. picks postings up instantaneously. There's a fair bit of pressure to blog regularly and it can really suck up time, shifting attention to the persona instead of the writing. What do the rest of you think? Maybe we should just spend more time writing?"


David Chariandy: "I'll have to admit I'm pretty bad when it comes to those things. I enjoy visiting the blogs or websites of other writers (I've visited SPIN's on a number of occasions, and Jen's blog always make me crack up), but I haven't set up anything like that for myself. I guess my life is pretty hectic right now, and I'm a bit intimidated about taking on another responsiblity. Still, I think these forms of electronic promotion and community are very valuable and exciting, as this very forum has certainly proven to me."

Karen X. Tulchinsky (http://www.karenxtulchinsky.com/): "I created my web site several years ago. Did it very cheaply, myself using Netscape composer, though it took a long time. A few years ago I got a friend who has HTML skills to re do it, which was great for a while. But now I find it's not professional looking enough and am in the process of having it redone by a pro. It's worth the investment. Readers are media savy. An interactive web site (such as Gail's!) is an important way to communicate with readers and keep a dialogue going."

Mary Novik: "Gail, the really fine thing about your website is that it has become a hub for other writers... Today's chat has been terrific. Just the thought that five finalists for a prize can get together and chat in such a a friendly, non-competitive way is wonderful."

Thanks for that, Mary! But as I mentioned at the opening of this blog, it's Lydia and my husband Mitch Krupp who really made these events possible with their techy skill set. Praise be for the geeks of the world!

I'll be blogging Sunday's Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize event in the weeks to come, so watch for that. In the meantime, you can see the conversation for yourself at http://www.gailanderson-dargatz.ca/ and click on forums.