McClelland and Stewart’s first titles: Diplomacy in the Digital Age, edited by Janice Gross Stein; In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood; Arguably: Selected Essays by Christopher Hitchens; Damned Nations: Greed, Guns and Aid by War Child North America founder Samantha Nutt; and The Anatomy of Israel's Survival by Hirsh Goodman (Image: Angela Hickman)
McClelland and Stewart launched its new nonfiction imprint, Signal, on Wednesday night at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto to a collection of bookish personalities and dignitaries, including Sun TV’s Ezra Levant, Janice Gross Stein, Canadian ambassador to France Mark Lortie, Canada World Youth vice chairman of the board Colin Robertson, ambassador and inspiration for Diplomacy in the Digital Age Allan Gotlieb, M&S publisher and president Doug Pepper, authors Margaret MacMillan and Samantha Nutt and chairman of the Charles Taylor Foundation Noreen Taylor. Guests listened attentively as Pepper noted how the imprint will publish books that “tell both sides of the story and then give you the middle ground too.” He likened the books to a great dinner conversation: they’ll offer an argument and a counter-argument, inciting the reader to think and respond. Such a description only made it more appropriate for there to be food and drink—Sun TV’s Levant agreed, joking he was going to turn the evening into a wine tasting, since the outlook was so positive, with so much optimism about the future of book publishing. See who was rubbing elbows with who in our gallery after the jump.
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“The Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami was a big deal back in the ‘90s and early 2000s, and this is an exciting return for him. An English man and a French womanin sun-drenched Tuscany are mistaken for a couple and decide to keep up the pretense. There are beautiful, subdued moments looking at relationships, before the film turns into more of a mystery.”
“At first glance, Sofia Coppola’s latest film seems to be about the excesses of Hollywood, but it’s really more of a father-daughter story. Stephen Dorff plays a pampered star who suddenly has to care for his 11-year-old kid, and Elle Fanning is wonderful in the role of a girl who idolizes her dad despite his many shortcomings. Somewhere moves at a languid pace, but has some great comedic flourishes. Two-lead films are tricky to pull off, and this one is seamless.”
Fans of James Frey—or those who are still getting angry (or crying) about the fact that their money was wasted purchasing dishonest non-fiction eight years ago—will be excited to know that the author will be discussing his new book, The Final Testament of the Holy Bible, at the Manulife Centre’s Indigo tonight at 7 p.m. Heather Reisman, Indigo’s “chief book-lover,” will be in conversation with the author who made Oprah cry (not that this is unusual), and Frey will be on hand afterward to sign his book and talk to his fans and critics. Despite the graphic cover of his latest novel, we hope there won’t be blood.
