Do you love fantasy? Sci-fi? YA Literature?
You're invited to another trivia night at Shelf Life Books, this time a themed edition! Each round will feature a different genre.
Show off your literary knowledge, and you could win some prizes!

P.S: We promise the questions will be easier than last time!

A book club for conservatives and liberals who want to get out of their echo chambers and bridge the great divide. Buy the book, read it, and come join us for a lively discussion.

We’ve all felt it: Whether we’ve argued pointlessly with someone on social media, felt our blood pressure rise as we’ve fought over politics with family members, or simply veered delicately away from certain topics, it’s hard to ignore the chasm between those who hold opposing political views. And it feels like it’s getting worse, that politics are getting uglier, and that reasonable discussion is falling by the wayside.

What can ordinary people do to bridge the great divide? We can read books that smart and reasonable people have written in defense of their views and we can talk about these books with others who may or may not wear the political stripes we do.

Come to Shelf Life Books for a monthly book club that does just that. Ideally, participants will have read the book assigned for that day, and will come prepared to discuss it. All of the books on our list will be made available by Shelf Life. We will meet from 10 am to noon on the last Saturday of every month.

August 31st:
The Nationalist Revival by John B. Judis

Join us for the launch of Vistas of the West at Shelf Life Books. Vistas of the West is a collection of poetry and visual art that celebrates the beauty and spirit of the Rocky Mountains, Western foothills, prairie landscapes, and the natural inhabitants of these beautiful environments.

Poets in the book are: Reneltta Arluk, Nancy Bell, Cori Brewster, Jan Burney, Neall Calvert, Doris Daley, RJJ Dallas, Kris Demeanor, Della Dickie, Steve Foote, Patricia Frolander, Karen Gimbel, DW Groethe, Trudy Grienauer, Rayanne Haines, Jonathan Locke Hart, Barbara Janusz, Lawrence Kapustka, Susan Kristoferson, Chief R. Stacey Laforme, Neil Liske, Phil Lister, Alice Major, Janice McCrum, Pamela Medland, Doc Mehl, Chad Okrusch, BJ Smith, Eugene Stickland, Lorene Shyba, Ferdinando Spina, Neal Whitman, Erica Witbeck, and Elizabeth Yakeleya.

Artists in the book are: Anna Burger-Martindale, Billie Rae Busby, Dawn Candy, Steve Coffey, Linda Cote, Cindy Delpart, Jim Etzkorn, Ken Froese, Helena Hadala, John Heerema, Brad Keys, Eveline Kolijn, Susan Kristoferson, Chester Lees, Neil Liske, Deborah Lougheed Sinclair, Jennifer Mack, Bruce Park, Julia Reimer, Tyler Rock, Erin Ross, Cindy Skrukwa, Justina Smith, Mady Thiel-Kopstein, Karin Thorsteinson, Verna Vogal, Sharon Lynn Williams, and Simon Wroot. Calligraphy is by Thea Lynn Paul.
 

Join us at Shelf Life Books for the launch of Stuart Ian McKay's latest book of poetry, even the idea of maya is maya (Frog Hollow Press 2019). Stuart will perform with longtime collaborator and fellow calibre poet/noise, sound artist Matt Smith. The evening will be hosted by Vivian Hansen.

Stuart Ian McKay is a Calgary poet. His poetry and nonfiction have been published in many Canadian literary journals and anthologies, most recently Calgary Through the Eyes of Writers (Rocky Mountain Books, Victoria),The Waiting Anthology (University of Alberta Press) and filling station. He has poetry forthcoming in the Prairie Journal of Canadian Literature and Hamilton Arts and Letters. Stuart’s second book of poetry, a cognate of prayer ,was published in 2013 by Passwords Enterprises of Calgary. He sits on the editorial collective of filling Station. even the idea of maya is maya is part of Frog Hollow Press’ Dis/Ability series.

Matt Smith studied Theatre at the University of Calgary. His writing has appeared in many publications and his poem "Callagorie" was a finalist in the Single Onion 100 Calgary Poetry Contest. He often collaborates with poet Stuart Ian McKay, to create soundscapes to accompany McKay's work. To listen to Matt's sounds visit: soundcloud.com/vetopower 

 

Maybe you have a great idea for a movie, and you’re thinking to yourself, “Man, if I only knew how to write a screenplay.” Maybe you’ve started your screenplay already, but you get to a certain point where you feel stuck.
Join us on Sunday, September 8th at 2 PM for the launch of Josh Miller's Stuck! Learn to Love Your Screenplay Again.

Event details TBA.

Over the course of his successful career as a writer and producer, Josh Miller has learned plenty about the craft and art of screenwriting. There are no fancy tricks or shortcuts to making a great screenplay, just time-honored techniques, fundamental story elements, and one secret ingredient: you. Josh will show you how to create a compelling story and deploy advanced screenwriting techniques, but most importantly, he’ll teach you how to harness your unique voice, experience, and perspective to emotionally connect with audiences and give your screenplay real substance.

Josh Miller is an award-winning writer/producer who has penned or produced television programs for Paramount, Lifetime, Hallmark, Dick Clark Productions, Viacom, Disney Channel, PBS, Showtime, Family Channel, The Movie Network, Movie Central, Super Channel, Discovery Kids, YTV, CBC, APTN, Bravo, TVO, Omni 1, SCN, Knowledge Network and Access as well as feature films released by Universal, Warner Bros., Momentum, eOne, Equinoxe, First Look, DARO and Vision Films.

Join authors Laura Swart and Pratap Reddy for the launch of Asylum/ Ransomed: Breaking the Fourth Wall and a reading from Ramya’s Treasure. Through a bifocal lens, the authors will address topics of displacement, immigration, multiculturalism, and being “the other”.

Asylum/Ransomed by local author Laura Swart features interviews with sixteen Canadian refugees from around the world. The interviews are shaped into a five-act play in the likeness of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to address poignant questions about what is true, what is real. Philosophers, artists, and politicians take the stage alongside the refugees to highlight stories of war, displacement, and being other. The script adaptation of Ransomed was staged at Calgary's Common Ground Festival in May. 

Ramya’s Treasure by Indian-Canadian writer Pratap Reddy follows Ramya, a Canadian immigrant from India who, finding herself out of work, separated from her husband, childless and nearly friendless as she nears her 50th birthday; sets out to find the strength to reconstruct her future, and to rediscover meaning and purpose.
 

INFO TO COME

featuring 

 

Josh Smith, Clara Joseph, Stuart Ian McKay, and Peter Midgley