Great video blog review of Bottle Rocket Hearts

Interview in Maisonneuve Magazine

You can read an interview with me on Maisonneuve Magazine's blog, about writing and my short story "Oh, El" which was recently published in the print version of the magazine.

mostly I've been swimming in lakes, but also...

- I have a new short story called It's Just Not Working Out in the lastest issue of THIS magazine
- I'm reading on August 11 at Another Story Bookstore on Roncesvalles Ave in Toronto

Other than that, I'm working away on the new novel, and occasionally on the collection of short stories called We Might Be The Worst People on Earth.

For some folks who asked on Twitter, I do love attending book club meetings. If you'd be interested in booking something like that you can reach me via laura@anansi.ca for Holding Still for as Long as Possible, or m.howsam@cormorantbooks.com for Bottle Rocket Hearts.

Holding Still for as Long as Possible wins a Lambda Literary Award!!!

I just returned from an overnight trip to NYC for the Lambda Literary Awards. My most recent novel won in the best Transgender Fiction category. You can read about the night on the Entertainment Weekly blog? For real.

This is Emma Donoghue announcing my book in the best lesbian fiction category. Eileen Myles, who faithful readers will know is a friend and someone I admire very much, won the prize. So that rocks.

Me clutching my prize in a lovely state of shock.

My fellow canuck nominees and seatmates: Daniel Allen Cox, Amber Dawn and Vivek Shraya.

spring update

Hi folks,

I had an awesome reading at the Parliament street library in Toronto last week. I talked about my rapid reads novel, The Middle Ground, published by Orca Books. I haven't had such a lovely and engaged crowd in quite a while. I will find out on June 9th if it wins the Ontario Library Association's Golden Oak award.

In other news, I'm currently at work on my screenplay and the fourth novel, and I'm also trying to learn to drive. I'm pretty terrible at it so far.

There is a great review up on the Lambda Literary Awards of Holding Still for as Long as Possible. Here is an excerpt:


"The book is grounded in Josh’s EMT work, weaving cardiac arrest and twelve hour shifts among the nuances of these characters’ relationships with each other, creating a foundation of trauma that expertly juxtaposes life against death. And Josh within himself is a case study of perfect post-coming out literature: while we know he is trans, we’re following him in his life as it is, not while he struggles with identity, or patiently explains hormones to new friends. Josh is just a guy, and with these parameters we get one of the best trans man portraits fiction has yet to see.

Whittall also paints confident portraits of each character’s fluid sexuality, without getting bogged down in labels and politics: Amy is still attached to her ex-boyfriend Jason, but crushes out on the girl she sees at Starbucks; Billy doesn’t bat an eye when she morphs from mourning her girlfriend of seven years to falling for a guy. Whittall is expertly setting the tone for a whole new generation of queer fiction.
...

Whittall demonstrates her talent in the book’s crescendo, a flawlessly narrated collision of the characters’ lives. With the ending, a story that begins as interesting catapults into un-put-downable, and cements the characters of Josh and Amy and Billy in my heart. I’m still thinking about them. I can’t wait to see what queer magic Whittall pens next."

OP Mag reviews Holding Still for as Long as Possible

The wonderful Tom Leger, publisher of Topside Press in NYC has reviewed HSFALAP on the Original Plumbing magazine blog. I would encourage you to read the whole review here. But if you're in a scanning mood, here is an excerpt:

"The thing that makes this novel markedly different than almost every other novel ever written in the history of the novel, is that it is written from an insider’s perspective about young trans and queer people ... it is an immensely important book. Holding Still might be the first of a new upsurge in literature about trans people – authentic narratives, executed skillfully and received with great acclaim. I want you to read this book and I want you to write a novel, because I want to read more of these. I want trans people to realize that our lives, that our communities, that our worlds are valuable and deserve to be recorded."

That last line made me tear up a little bit. Thanks Tom!

Holding Still for as Long as Possible is nominated for two LAMBDA Literary Awards!

This is a photo from Xtra's article about the awards

HSFALAP is on the shortlist for Transgender fiction and Lesbian fiction. I am beyond thrilled!

Xtra! wrote an article about all the Canadians on the 2011 list.

I'm pleased to see fellow Canadian femme Amber Dawn's book Sub Rosa nominated for Debut Lesbian Fiction. I just interviewed her for Queeries. Also happy to see Gender Outlaws: The Next Generation on the list. I just finished reading it, and it rocked.

In other news, I'll be working with writer Lisa Foad on the film version of HSFLAP this year. And I just found out that Bottle Rocket Hearts the film is going to receive funding from Telefilm. All in all, a tremendous week. Plus, it's warm enough to ride my bike. Woot!

Featured in Elle Magazine!

This is the issue here on the right, and Biggie Smalls is only pretending not to be interested.

In other news, I'll be on CBC Radio's Day 6 show tomorrow with a silly rant I wrote about my anxiety around the boomers aging.

2011!

A lovely surprise when I returned home from vacation: I made the cover of Xtra! magazine in December. I had to post this photo taken by lovely performance artist Jess Dobkin. It features a great sticker from the 2010 Take Back the Dyke march - the highlight of my 2010 pride week. Thanks to Alice Lawlor for the fantastic article, of which I will excerpt here:

It’s been quite a year for Zoe Whittall. In the spring, her critically acclaimed second novel — a vivid depiction of Toronto’s Queen West community entitled Holding Still for as Long as Possible — was published in paperback. Then it was nominated for a ReLit Award, an honour that recognizes the best new work from independent publishers.

And in the fall, Canada Reads came calling.

In other news, I will be appearing in Winnipeg on March 7th with Chandra Mayor and Ivan Coyote, and in Ottawa at Algonquin College some time this spring. Algonquin chose Holding Still for as Long as Possible for their One School One Book campaign.

!! How could I forget - I'm appearing in the anthology Persistence: All Things Butch and Femme edited by Ivan E. Coyote and Zena Sharman.

If you're in Toronto, you might see me trying my hand at stand-up comedy. I'm not quite brave enough to advertise my gigs yet...but perhaps I will in the future.

Bottle Rocket Hearts makes the Canada Reads Top Ten!

Thanks so much to Cormorant Books for the stellar campaign, everyone who voted, and Dance Yourself to Death! I just screamed so loud the cats ran under the couch! Happy Tuesday indeed, Jian.

*dorky CBC retro t-shirt in photo is completely nerd-tentional.

Bottle Rocket Hearts for Canada Reads

Bryan Ibeas and Carolyn McNeillie at Cormorant Books made this film to promote my novel for Canada Reads. I know my book is a bit of a long shot, so we thought it wouldn't hurt to find a creative way to get the word out. The film features original music by my favourite Toronto band, Dance Yourself to Death.



What do you think? I'm sorry I don't know how to make the screen fit - I'm not exactly a tech whiz.:)

Positive review of Holding Still for as Long as Possible in Booklist

Holding Still for as Long as Possible.
Whittall, Zoe (author).
Sept. 2010. 300p. Anansi, paperback, $14.95 (9780887849640).
REVIEW. 
First published September 15, 2010 (Booklist).

This captivating glimpse into the lives of three twentysomethings showcases Whittall’s ability to create complex characters. Connected through social circles in their Toronto neighborhood, they struggle to accept the past while mapping out the future: Josh, a female-to-male transgender works strenuous shifts as a paramedic and tries to erase from his mind the atrocities he witnesses daily; Amy, his ex-girlfriend and an amateur filmmaker, lives off of her wealthy parents; and Billy, a former child pop star, now endures extreme anxiety attacks. As the three become wrapped up in each others’ lives, the emotional roller coaster dips and rises. Haunted by memories of the tragedy of 9/11 and of the rampant fear of a SARS epidemic, which served as the scenery of their youth, this new generation’s members proclaim their true feelings through text messages and drown their excess emotion in booze. A poignant climax seems almost like a dream as the characters drift toward the shattering conclusion. An unforgettable depiction of growing up in the new millennium.

— Annie McCormick

Bottle Rocket Hearts made the 2011 Canada Reads Top 40!

It's my partner's birthday today, and this morning she sent me a text from work that said: "All I want for my birthday is for you to get on the Canada Reads list!" Isn't that the sweetest thing? My gf has amazing luck, so it happened! Bottle Rocket Hearts made the top 40.

You can go here to vote. You can read more about Bottle Rocket Hearts on the Cormorant Books website, which also features a handy electronic preview of the first chapter, so if you're not familiar with the book you can feel free to check it out.

Thanks so much to everyone who voted.

Canada Reads

Much to my delight, someone else has recommended my first novel, Bottle Rocket Hearts, for Canada Reads 2011. If you would like to see it become one of the 40 books the panelists will have to choose from, you can go here to vote. There are lots of fantastic books on the list so far.

Personally, I'd love to see so many books on the list - When I Was Young and In My Prime by Alayna Munce, Fauna by Alyssa York, or Cumberland by Michael V. Smith - and these are just the ones I'm thinking of off the top of my head.

I'm sitting in my hotel room in London, Ontario right now. This afternoon I'm speaking on a panel with Shelagh Rogers from the CBC. Then it's back to Toronto, and back to work on the script version of Bottle Rocket Hearts, and my short story collection in progress.

From the Chelsea Hotel

We're about to go to my reading at the McNally Jackson store. First a brief nap - we're tired from walking around the east and west villages today. Loving NYC - wish we had more time here. Had brunch with the lovely poet and novelist, Eileen Myles, and our tour mates, Emily Schultz and Brian Joseph Davis. Then we went to The Strand - epic book heaven.

ReLit Shortlist & NYC reading

Holding Still for as Long as Possible, now available in the United States, was short-listed for the ReLit Award. Poets & Writers magazine blogged about it, and included my (veerrry DIY, slightly embarrassing) book trailer.

I'm very excited about my very first spot on a shortlist and honoured to be included.

Next week I'll be in New York City, reading at the McNally Jackson store with fellow Anansi author Emily Schultz, along with Jim Hanas and Amanda Stern.

You can follow me on twitter here.

Thanks, Toronto!

Holding Still

This is a photo of my friend Jen Markowitz (rock star) and Sorrell Scrutton (also rock star) reading my first book and my most recent book, on my couch while I was at work. Don't they look cute?



I've launched a manuscript consultation service. If you would like me to read and comment on your work in progress, see my new blog.

I don't really have any news, except that the e-book version of Holding Still for As Long as Possible will be out soon with Kobo, and I will be in New York City this September to promote the American release, with fellow Anansi author, Emily Schultz.

I'm mostly working on the script adaptation of Bottle Rocket Hearts. Writing a treatment is more difficult than I anticipated, but so far so good.

I'd love to hear from you if you've read Holding Still for as Long as Possible. I'm also on Twitter if you'd like to connect that way.

Montreal, Montreal

I will be in Montreal for a reading on June 21st. It's part of the Summer Literary Seminars program. Also on the bill are Sina Queyras, Mary Jo Bang, and Erin Moure. It takes place at the deSeve Cinema at 7:30 p.m.

first day of summer

* Holding Still for as Long as Possible is now out in paper. It's pretty and now way more portable and affordable! The Globe & Mail picked it as one of the hot new paperbacks!
* I wrote the cover story for this month's Quill & Quire, a feature on author Katherine Govier.
* I wrote a review of Girl Crazy by Russell Smith for the Globe & Mail.
* I will be reading at the Trigger festival in Toronto on June 11th, with fellow femme writers Anna Camilleri and Debra Anderson.
* I will be reading in New York City on September 14th, at McNally Jackson, 52 Prince St., with Amanda Stern, Emily Schultz, Jim Hanas, and Brian Joseph Davis.
* Sad about the death of artist Will Munro, who is memorialized by friends in Eye Weekly.

Holding Still For as Long as Possible has been optioned for film!

The official deals announcement:

Film rights to Holding Still for as Long as Possible by Zoe Whittall optioned by Avi Federgreen of Federgreen Entertainment Inc, arranged by Sarah Cooper of The Saint Agency in association with Samantha Haywood of the Transatlantic Literary Agency.

The unofficial announcement: Yippee! Woot! Awesome. I'm so excited to work with Avi. I've signed on to co-write the script, and will be working with a young female director from Newfoundland, Jordan Canning.

Spring update

Sorry for the lack of posting, but its spring in Toronto and I've been busy biking around my new neighbourhood and feeling pretty awesome about the end of winter.

Some new things:

My newest book is a bit of a departure for me, and I'm a little nervous about it. The Middle Ground is a short novel I wrote for Orca Books' Rapid Reads series, and is now out in stores! It's about a small town girl and one insane and oddly violent day in her otherwise normal life. I wrote it last summer while visiting my partner's family in Ruthven, a small town near Leamington, Ontario. The series is geared towards readers with low literacy skills, but the books can be read by anyone who wants a quick, engaging read. I've spent a lot of time in airports this year, and I think they'd make a great carry-on book.

Here is the requisite photo-of-me with book, and below that, a new head shot by Halifax-based photographer, Shannon Webb Campbell. Shannon is also a fabulous journalist and writer.

Bottle Rocket Hearts optioned for film

I'm very excited to announce that film rights to Bottle Rocket Hearts have been optioned to producers Michelle Mama, Stephanie Markowitz, and Sonia Hosko, and executive producers Jennifer Weiss and Simone Urdl, who co-produced Sarah Polley's Away From Her. I've been hired to co-write the script with Linsey Stewart, a writer from the CBC TV show Being Erica. The deal was arranged by Sarah Cooper of The Saint Agency, on behalf of Samantha Haywood of the Transatlantic Literary Agency.

Woot! Now...who will play Eve? Suggestions?

Best Books of the Decade

* HSFALAP made the National Post's Best Books of '09 list , the longlist for the #CanadaAlsoReads list, and Xtra's Best Queer Books of 2009.

This morning I woke up at an ungodly hour w/ my girlfriend - she had a 7am shift, and the kitten required pre-dawn play time. The plan was to write for two hours before 9am. Ah, those vacation goals! Instead I spent the last half hour creating a list of my favourite books of the decade.

The list is based entirely on my post-read reaction: 1) the overwhelming desire to buy copies for everyone I knew 2)the urge to display prominently on favourite volumes shelf 3)desire to online-stalk author 4)the urge to utter the phrase Why Didn't I Think To Write Like This?

The results:

Lullabies for Little Criminals – Heather O’Neill
When I Was Young and In My Prime – Alayna Munce
Liar – Lynn Crosbie
Stunt – Claudia Dey
Cumberland – Michael V Smith
Orphan Love – Nadia Bozak
Some of the Parts – T Cooper
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer
Mean Boy by Lynn Coady
Special Topics in Calamity Physics – Marisha Pessl
The Lichtenberg Figures by Ben Lerner

Zoe Whittall on The Next Chapter

You can click here to listen to a podcast of my interview with Shelagh Rogers on CBC Radio's The Next Chapter. Or catch it on CBC Radio 99.1 FM at 4:00p.m. this Saturday.

There is a new reprint of Bottle Rocket Hearts available and it looks beautiful, complete with review quotes on the cover.

I'll be reading tomorrow at 8:00p.m. at the Toronto Women's Bookstore for their Naughty & Nice sale - come save money and support a fantastic feminist bookstore.

& because I love you, here is a photo of my new kitten, Biggie Smalls: