Wild Rose Anthology.

Another great Anthology of short stories written by Alberta writers. The collection is edited by George Melnyk and Tamara Palmer Seiler both academics and authors based at the University of Calgary. Nice to see the U of C get noticed for something other than pro-war think thanks.

The contributing authors include: Ninoxkyaio, Mary Schaffer, Fred Stenson, Monica Hopkins,Georges Bugnet, Illia Kiriak, Christine van der Mark, Kerry Wood, Henry Kriesal, George Ryga, W.P. Kinsella, Andy Russell, Howard O'Hagan, Sheila Watson, Sid Marty, Thomas Wharton, Rudy Wiebe, Katherine Govier, Cherly Foggo, Sam Selvon, Joy Kogawa, Robert Kroetsch, Aritha van Herk, Myrna Kostash, Hiromi Goto, Hugh Dempsey, W.O. Mitchell, Emma Lee Warrior, and Thomas King.

There's a few authors here that are new to me. Thomas Wharton and Christin van der Mark are authors whose novels I now want to read. van der Mark wrote her first novel Due Season in the late 1940's and was probably overshadowed by W.O. Mitchell who wrote Who Has Seen the Wind around the same time.

I like Alberta and Canadian fiction. They usually hit a sweet spot when they are well written and are set in your own back yard.

ISBN 1-55238-079-3 Published by University of Calgary Press.

Possible maybe related posts. Please recommend this post

Robert Saviano: The New Salman Rushdie

From the Telegraph...

Italy's notorious Camorra mafia plans to assassinate an investigative journalist who wrote a best-selling book about the criminal organisation's murderous activities, police have been told.

The Naples-based mafia has allegedly ordered a hit on Roberto Saviano and his 24-hour police protection squad "by Christmas", according to the testimony of a former mafia member turned police collaborator.

I get so tired of reading about yet another writer or artist who has a death threat over his or her head because some violence based group can't handle what they wrote.

Robert Saviano, an Italian author wrote a book called Gomorrah in 2006 that became a best seller in Italy, and was translated into many languages. It has now been made into a film which may well win an Oscar.

One wonders why they want him dead before Christmas. Probably the boys want some time off so they can bond with their families and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

PEN is an organization that advocates on behalf of authors all over the world who are persecuted or threatened because of their peaceful freedom of expression. Thankfully, PEN is taking an interest in the Saviano case. The more eyes that are on this the better. The Canadian division of Pen is here.

Aside: I noticed many of the sillier news outlets places this story in their novelty or odd news section. You would think that editors would know better than to regard the life of a fellow journalist in such low esteem. Please recommend this post