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By Richard, March 9, 2010 1:13 pm

Von Allan will be launching his graphic novel “the road to god knows…” at Perfect Books (258A Elgin Street) this Sunday, March 14th, starting around 4:00pm.

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By Richard, February 8, 2010 10:44 am

I found out about a month ago that Ottawa’s best stop for mysteries and crime fiction would we closing its doors Friday March 13th, but remained hopeful (hence no post at the time) that current owner Linda Wiken would be able to find a buyer.  Unfortunately it looks as though there have been no takers for Prime Crime and the little 300-square-foot will be closing its doors for good after being a mystery lovers haven for nearly 25 years.  Be sure to head down there to enjoy one of Ottawa’s finest independent bookstores before the aptly chosen last day on Friday 13th next month.

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By Richard, February 4, 2010 3:06 pm

Lawrence Hill will be reading from his The Book of Negroes at the Museum of Civilization this coming Wednesday (Feb 10th) as part of Black History Month at the museum.  Details below and on the Museum of Civilization website.

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By Richard, December 2, 2009 6:29 pm

There seemed to have been a groundswell of poetry wandering into the shop over the past week.  We recieved late last week the fourth volume in the Porcupine’s Quill Essential Poets Series which provides an excellent selection of James Reaney’s work (review to come shortly).  Then the weekend saw two great poetry events take place in town, the first being a performance by poet Bill Bissett at the Mercury Lounge and the second being the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair.  Unfortunately, I missed out on both while busily working in the shop, but lived them vicariously through our regulars who attended.

Just in time for the Ottawa Small Press Fair, Apt.9 Press released two new offerings, Argossey by Ben Ladouceur and Two Boys by Michael Blouin.  We nabbed a few copies (for ourselves and the shop) and greatly enjoyed reading them over the last couple of days.  The Blouin chapbook, also Apt.9’s first foray into fiction, is exceptionally good and I looked foreward to Blouin’s upcoming second novel from which the chapbook provides us an advanced taste.

Cameron Anstee, proprietor of Apt.9 Press, also recently just had his own first book of poetry, Water Upsets Stone, released from The Emergency Response Unit Press and was kind enough to give me a copy while in the shop on Sunday. 

It is a wonderful debut book, structured around Newton’s three laws of motion, with finely crafted sequences that provide glimpses into memory, emotion and life within a few short sentences.  I’ve read it three times already and thought I’d share a little bookish excerpt from the Second Law until you get your own copy

 

I remember moving my father’s books

I remember never remove an object you find inside a book

I remember the problem becoming
how, when shelves are full, to insert new titles

& learning new ways to arrange the words
we choose to keep

 

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By Richard, November 14, 2009 10:42 am

Our friend Larry Thompson at the Greyweathers Press did a wonderful interview with Nigel Beale a couple months ago and is now available on Nigel’s site here.

I did an interview with Nigel as well about a month ago discussing the history of private presses and those who collect their works.  This interview should be available in the next few weeks.

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By Richard, October 21, 2009 4:03 pm

Good news for all you book hunters, one of Ottawa biggest book sales kicks off tomorrow at Carleton University and will run until Monday with over 50,000 books to dig through……. Good Luck!!!

The Book Sale takes place in the Galleria of the Unicentre (University Centre) on Carleton University campus. Maps are posted at the entrance to the campus.  NOTE: this is a new location from that of past years.  Books are priced at $3 for hardcovers and $2 for trade paperbacks. Pocket book fiction is 50¢ (3 for $1).  Specialty books are individually priced.  All proceeds go to the Library Endowment Fund and student bursaries.

The Book Sale is open as follows:

Thursday, Oct. 22: noon-9PM
(Opening day is reserved for students, donors to Carleton University Library and members of the Circle of Firends)

Friday-Sunday, Oct. 23-25: 9AM-5PM

Monday, Oct. 26: 9AM-1PM

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By Richard, October 1, 2009 2:57 pm

Just a quick reminder that the Ottawa Antiquarian Book Fair is coming up this Sunday and we’ve been busy packing boxes in preparation.  Should hopefully be a good show!  Detail below:

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By Richard, September 1, 2009 7:38 pm

The 29th Ottawa Antiquarian Bookfair is on again this year with a few changes.  It will now just be held on one day, Sunday October 4th, and at a new location – Tudor Hall (Riverside & Uplands).  We’ll be there again this year with a booth full of fresh stock and interesting acquisitions from the past few months, so be sure to check it out.  Flyers (as seen below) can be found in most bookstores across town.

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By Richard, August 23, 2009 11:03 am

We just received copies of the 3 inaugural books from Cameron Anstee’s Apt.9 Press which were launched just last week.  The chapbooks contain wonderful work by three very talented poets and were printed in a limited edition of 50.  The sharply designed and handbound covers also make a very distinctive impression when reading.  Congrats to Cameron on the successful launch of his small press and best of luck with your new venture!

The chapbooks can be found in our shop for $10.00 each or from the Apt.9 Press site here.

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By Richard, August 17, 2009 11:45 am

Apartment613 (the best site for what’s happening in Ottawa), is holding a Fall Fiction Contest.  Even better, yours truly will be on the panel of judges for the contest along with Angela Putz from CBC Radio and Barbara Clubb, Ottawa’s Head Librarian.

The contest is looking for entries of original fiction of 1000 words or less with no restriction on topic (but a local Ottawa hook is encouraged) with a deadline of September 25th for submissions.   The Winner will receive plenty of kudos, pats on the back, and other forms of esteemed acclaimation (a free subscription to the Walrus is also included).

So what are you waiting for, start sending your entries to editors@apt613.ca with Fall Fiction Contest in the subject line.