I see by this article in Quill & Quire that the Newfoundland publisher Breakwater Books is enjoying its 50th year in the business ..read more

My pal Steve and I meet regularly for coffee at the Commercial Street Cafe in the beautifully restored Gow Block. Back in the day this neighbourhood used to be known as Cedar Cottage and Commercial was its high street. That's it above, pre-World War One. (Photo courtesy of City of Vancouver Archives LGN504) The interurban tram connecting downtown Vancouver to New Westminster had a station nearby ..read more

Over the years I have been fortunate to be able to visit Savary Island many times. "Sunny, sandy Savary" (see above) is a small island lying at the top of the Salish Sea north of Powell River. To get there you take one ferry, drive for 90 minutes, take another ferry, drive for an hour, then conclude your journey with a 10-minute water-taxi ride. In other words, it is not an easy place to get to ..read more

I have mentioned before in this space that I am a member of the editorial board of the online book review site, the British Columbia Review, formerly the Ormsby Review. The site is devoted to reviewing books about British Columbia and/or by British Columbians ..read more

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Canada's History Society has announced the winner of its Governor General's History Award for Popular Media, better known as the Pierre Berton Award ..read more

 I braved the monsoon rains last week to attend the regular meeting of the Vancouver Historical Society where Gregory Betts was speaking about the Grateful Dead and their visits to the city back in the 1960s and '70s. You can watch the lecture yourself here on YouTube. What I remember about the music of those years was not the Dead -- I was out of town for their concerts -- but the Jefferson Airplane. For me, the Airplane's unheralded appearance at UBC in early 1966 was the beginning of the Age of Aquarius ..read more

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In case you missed it -- and it was very easy to miss, given the scarcity of book news these days -- the BC Book Prizes were awarded last week. Here are the winners. Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize -- Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness (Viking/Penguin Random House) Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize -- Jordan Abel, NISHGA (M&S/Penguin Random House) Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize -- Henry Doyle, No Shelter (Anvil Press ..read more

Now that the death of Queen Elizabeth is receding into the past, perhaps there will be an opportunity for some clear-eyed thinking about the future of the monarchy in Canada. Given the orgy of sentimentality that accompanied the funeral -- can you tell that I am not a monarchist? -- we could certainly use some sensible discussion of the options. A good place to start is this essay by Christopher Moore over at the Canada's History website ..read more