Experience ‘Vancouver after dark’—vicariously

Last fall, local imprint Arsenal Pulp Press published Vancouver After Dark. The fifth book by Vancouver historian Aaron Chapman, VAD  explores the bygone days of local nightclubs, bars, and drunken reckonings. Through interviews with participants and a trove of never-before-seen images, Chapman evokes exactly the sort of thing we used to take for granted—going out for a drink with friends, new or old.

Considering none of us is going anywhere for awhile, we thought this would be a good time to talk to Chapman—whose myriad other hats include musician and live-music facilitator—about writing the B.C. bestseller, what he discovered along the way, and why every generation thinks no one ever had it so good.

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Experience ‘Vancouver after dark’—vicariously

Photos from a century of British Columbia sports collected in new book

Lui Passaglia is lifted onto his teammates’ shoulders at the 1994 Grey Cup. Arlen Redekop/Province [PNG Merlin Archive].

Over the last century, BC has been home to some of Canada’s best Olympic athletes, speed skaters, hockey and football players and more. A newly published book provides, for the first time, a pictorial history of accomplishments by the province’s most prominent athletes.

Written/collated by sports librarian/archivist Kate Bird, Magic Moments features nearly 500 photos spanning 100 years. Find out more below.

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Photos from a century of British Columbia sports collected in new book

Join William Gibson and Johnnie Christmas for a special launch of their book Alien 3!

In the mid-1980s, producers Walter Hill and David Giler commissioned Vancouver-based science fiction author William Gibson to write a sequel to Aliens. The screenplay was never produced, but last year Dark Horse Comics began publishing William Gibson’s Alien 3, a comic-book adaptation by Vancouver comic artist Johnnie Christmas.

To celebrate the release of the series in book form, both Gibson and Christmas will discuss the adaptation and sign copies of their work Aug. 15 at VFS Café (390 W. Hastings St.) from 7 – 9 p.m. Find out more about the event and the book below.

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Join William Gibson and Johnnie Christmas for a special launch of their book Alien 3!

True-crime author Lazarus on the notorious Vancouver ‘murder by milkshake’

Vancouver true-crime author Eve Lazarus. Rebecca Blisset photo.

Earlier this month, Arsenal Pulp Press published Murder by Milkshake: An Astonishing True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and a Charismatic Killer. The book, by bestselling historian-turned-true-crime-investigator Eve Lazarus, details the investigation into the death of Esther Castellani. The Vancouverite died after suffering through months of agonizing pain from arsenic poisoning. The killer was her husband, Rene Castellani, a local radio personality who was carrying on an affair with his station’s twenty-something receptionist.

We emailed Lazarus (whose other books include 2015’s Cold Case Vancouver: The City’s Most Baffling Unsolved Murders, a BC bestseller and 2016 finalist for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award) to ask about the book and the state of true-crime in general.

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True-crime author Lazarus on the notorious Vancouver ‘murder by milkshake’

2018 Writers’ Fest lineup includes Rachel Kushner, Gary Shteyngart and Jodi Picoult

Rachel Kushner comes to Vancouver with this year’s Writers Festival.

Rachel Kushner, Gary Shteyngart, and Jodi Picoult are among the boldfaced names coming to this year’s Vancouver Writers Festival (Oct. 15-21 at various locations on Granville Island).

The lineup also includes singer/songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie and author Patrick deWitt (The Sisters Brothers). All told, the festival features over 100 authors from all over the world.

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2018 Writers’ Fest lineup includes Rachel Kushner, Gary Shteyngart and Jodi Picoult

Province’s labour struggles laid bare in new book

The sisterhood at the canteen. Five shop stewards with the Marine Workers and Boilermarkers Union share a happy moment during lunch at Burrard Dry Dock, 1942. North Vancouver Museum and Archives, 8073.

On the Line is a new history of B.C’s labour movement from pre-Confederation to today.

Written by former Vancouver Sun labour reporter Rod Mickleburgh, the book offers plenty of historical analysis as well as archival photos. Find out more about On the Line (official publication date: April 28) below.

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Province’s labour struggles laid bare in new book

Four Amazing Books by Queer Vancouver Authors That Make Great Holiday Gifts

By Casey Stepaniuk

If you’re looking for the perfect gift this holiday season, why not let your loved ones delve into imaginative and heartfelt stories by Vancouver queer and/or trans authors? For unique perspectives from this coastal city, here are four great options:

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Four Amazing Books by Queer Vancouver Authors That Make Great Holiday Gifts