SUMMARY :
Shortlisted for the acclaimed 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize, the Frank O’Connor Short Story Award, and the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize Best First Book Award, This Cake Is for the Party has received consistent rave reviews praising debut writer Sarah Selecky.
In these ten stories, linked frequently by the sharing of food, Sarah Selecky reaffirms the life of everyday situations with startling significance. For upmarket women’s fiction readers that love stories which reflect the joys and pitfalls of marriage, fidelity, fertility, and relationship woes, this collection is a conversation starter. This Cake Is for the Party reminds us that the best parts of our lives are often the least flashy. Reminiscent of early Margaret Atwood, with echoes of Lisa Moore and Ali Smith, these absorbing stories are about love and longing, that touch us in a myriad of subtle and affecting ways.
With more than 10,000 copies sold in Canada, where she was named the CBC Book Award's Best New Writer, Sarah Selecky proves she is an exciting new voice with a promising future.
PARTICULARS OF THIS BOOK :
Published by: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press
Pages: 240
Genre: Fiction/Short Stories
Other: Finalist/Scotiabank Giller Prize
More about the author: http://www.sarahselecky.com
May be purchased: Barnes & Noble and Amazon
SOMETHING ABOUT SARAH :
I believe that good writing needs heart, consciousness, and super-practiced skills. I love short fiction – writing it, reading it, and teaching it. For part of the year, I work on my own writing. For the other part of the year, I work closely with writers to bring insight and innovation to their work. I help people write the kinds of sentences and stories that they want to read.
I’ve been teaching people how to write mindfully since 2001, when I ran my first creative writing workshop out of my living room in Victoria, BC. I started teaching because I wanted to talk about writing as a contemplative craft, and I couldn’t find a writing workshop anywhere that taught me everything that I wanted to learn.
Now I live in Toronto, and I teach locally and abroad. My classes are a unique hybrid of craft and process: not soulful journalling, not pointy criticism. Because I believe that good writing needs much more than that.
I’ve studied with exceptional teachers, including Natalie Goldberg, Lynda Barry and Zsuzsi Gartner, and I work under their influence. I am an alumna of the Humber School for Writers, the Banff Wired Writing Program, and I graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Optional-Residency program with an MFA in Creative Writing.
I wrote a book of stories called This Cake Is for the Party. The book was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Book in Canada and the Carribean, and it was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize. You can find my stories in The Walrus, Elle Canada, Geist, and The Journey Prize Anthology.
THE BOOKISH DAME REVIEWS :
"This Cake Is For The Party" is an addictive little book of short stories that are magical. I first started reading thinking I would find them mundane and ordinary. Sarah Selecky was an unknown author to me. Having mostly recognition from Canada and not a well-known writer thus far in the US, I was skeptical about her book. But, I soon found her stories addictive, and found myself returning again and again to the book when I really wanted to start reading another novel every day!
What's so captivating about Sarah's stories is her characterizations of everyday people and their depth of feelings and purpose. She has a grip on the ups and downs of the ordinary person and her/his surrounding and how that plays upon the emotions and psyche. I was as perplexed in some cases as I would be if my best friend told me about her experience in a situation, or as touched as I would be in another case, or as horrified in another. Then, I realized this was the genius of these little vignettes. They made me keep coming back for more.
Ms Selecky is a powerful writer of the everyday person in everyday situations. Her voice rings true to life and the situations she chooses to portray are eccentric enough to magically draw you in, but familiar enough to make you nod your head in agreement or recognition. She's a wonder of an author.
I loved her stories and look forward to reading more in the future.
5 stars Deborah/TheBookishDame
GIVEAWAY!!! GIVEAWAY!!!!!
THE PUBLISHER AND SARAH SELECKY IS OFFERING
A COPY OF HER BOOK FOR A GIVEAWAY THIS MONTH
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Open to US and Canada Only
Giveaway Ends January 31st
GOOD LUCK!!! AWESOME BOOK!!!
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