American readers and others don’t really know much about Canadian crime fiction and its writers. So a new series beginning today in Janet Rudolph’s blog, Mystery Fanfare, could prove educational. It finds David Cole, author of the Laura Winslow series, interviewing several prominent crime writers from north of the 49th parallel. “Some of the authors have won or been shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Mystery Novel,” Rudolph explains. First up: Mary Jane Maffini, who pens the Charlotte Adams and Camilla MacPhee books. You’ll find the all-too-brief interview here.
Meanwhile, Jedidiah Ayres has put up a much more extensive interview with Anthony Neil Smith (Hogdoggin’)--“one of the most persistently subversive writers doing genre stuff today”--in his own blog, Hard-boiled Wonderland.
And finally, Double O Section’s Tanner looks back at the use of technological gadgetry and gimmickry in the 1965-1969 western mystery series, The Wild Wild West.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
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6 comments:
I am an "other" as you call us, and I am quite well up to speed on Canadian fiction (including crime fiction), thanks.
Also, Canadians ARE Americans - North Americans, that is. Are you trying to say that US readers don't know much about Canadian books?
I was a bit surprised to read the opinions expressed in your post, applied to "the world at large". Also, a bit strange to be referred to as "others" in that rather offhand way.....there are plenty of blog discussions about Canadian writing going on, by US-based blogs and "others" if you care to have a look.
Thanks.
Maxine is certainly correct that Canadians are technically “Americans,” since they live in North America. But Canadians--and my paternal grandfather was one--are not commonly referred to as Americans; that’s a label traditionally applied to residents of the United States.
I don’t think that Canadian crime fiction has received its due recognition. That’s especially true among U.S. residents--and I’m one of those--most of whom tend to read American (and again, I mean U.S.) crime fiction first and British novels next, with Canadian works being thought of in the same exotic way as non-British European novels. As The Calgary Herald pointed out a few years ago (http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/
news/booksandthearts/story.html?id=dbe1f491-76ac-
4892-90f0-6fbda79ec0e7), there are hundreds of Canadian crime fictionists, yet few receive widespread recognition beyond the borders of maple leaf country.
If, Maxine, you would care to suggest some Web resources having specifically to do with the breadth of Canadian crime fiction, I think we could all learn something.
Cheers,
Jeff
I think Americans (U.S.) do not know enough about Canadian mystery authors. Many of their books are not published or reviewed outside of Canada. Hope that the following interviews--that will be spaced-- will enlighten and encourage new readership.
Re: North American/U.S./Canada
I spent time in Brazil, and it was clear that the people there considered themselves Brazilian, not South American. I think the same is true in a different way--U.S.=American. Most Canadians consider themselves, just that.. Canadians, not North Americans.
Thanks for picking up on the interview.
Don't know how you know about this so quick, Maxine, but yes, it's the first part of a long series of interviews with Canadian mystery writers, some of whom are friends, or new friends after the wonderful recent Bloody Words conference in Ottawa. Mary Jane Maffini, gracious and so kind, is a stitch, i'll have some of her humor another time. Barbara Fradkin, next up, is the only back-to-back winner of the Arthur Ellis award, and as wonderful in person as she is talented and creative. Finally, Louise Penny, recent winner of the Anthony, is absolutely kind, enjoyable, sweet and - in her conference speech - entirely humorous.
Expect more, and longer, interviews in the next weeks. Special thanks to Janet Rudolph for hosting these blog interviews, and to Cheryl Freedman, recent executive director of Crime Writers of Canada.
cheers,
David Cole
Hello again - I don't know of any specific Canadian crime-fiction resource, which sounds like a great idea. What I did not like was the attitude of the post that people did not know about Canadian crime fiction. I and other crime-fiction blogs regularly read and discuss Canadian crime fiction along with crime fiction written by authors from other countries, too. We discuss books at the Friend Feed crime and mystery fiction room, which anyone is welcome to join, and on our own blogs, eg Petrona (mine), Crime Scraps, Mysteries in Paradise, Reactions to Reading, Sunnie's Book Blog, It's Criminal and many others. Also, at Friend Feed, we add links to reviews and articles about crime fiction on general blogs and publications, and discuss those (Canadian and other).
Links to all these are provided at my blog Petrona http://petrona.typepad.com - all are welcome to join for great discussion of crime fiction wherever it is published!
Via Barbara Fister, here's a website devoted to Canadian crime fiction:
http://www.brocku.ca/crimefictioncanada/
I hope it's useful!
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