Writing Literary Nonfiction

Some thoughts on writing literary non-fiction after reading hundreds of submissions for the CBC contest.

Read the piece here.

CBC Books' Writers to Watch

Honoured to be included on this list with nine other writers - CBC Books' Writers to Watch: The 2013 Edition.

The complete list is here.

Calgary's Greatest Moment?

Some fine Calgary writers - Ian Brown, Marcello Di Cintio, Debbie Willis, Samantha Warwick and others - share their thoughts on the recent flood.

Read the article here.

Danuta Gleed Award Finalist

Congratulations to Rebecca Lee for winning the Danuta Gleed Literary Award for her collection, Bobcat and Other Stories.

Bull Head was a finalist along with Anton Piatigorsky’s The Iron Bridge.

For more information, click here.

Danuta Gleed Award Shortlist

BULL HEAD has made the shortlist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award. The Award recognizes the best first English-language collection of short fiction by a Canadian author published in 2012. 

Other nominees include Rebecca Lee, Paul Marlowe, Anton Piatigorsky, and Yasuko Thanh.

For more details on the award and each nominated book, click here.

Booklist: "Impressive Debut Collection"

Recently, Booklist reviewed BULL HEAD and had some great things to say about it: "Muscular, lyrical prose ... The characters, mostly men toughened byhardscrabble living, are drawn with understanding, insight, and brutal honesty....

"This impressive debut collection will appeal to readers of literary fiction like James Dickey's Deliverance, Larry Brown's Joe, and Annie Proulx's Wyoming stories."

The full review can be found here.

CBC Bookie Awards

It was a nice surprise to discover that BULL HEAD is up for a CBC Bookie Award in the category "The Overlookie Bookie Award for Most Underrated Canadian Book."

For more info and to vote on the book or any others, go here.

Reading on Salt Spring Island, April 6

I'm looking forward to reading and discussing BULL HEAD at the "Short, Sharp, Sweet: A Celebration of the Short Story" on Salt Spring Island. The reading takes place on Saturday, April 6, from 7-9pm at the Salt Spring Island Public Library.

Full details of the event can be found here.

Publishers Weekly Review: "Muscular Debut"

Ahead of BULL HEAD's publication in the US, Publishers Weekly gave the book a great review.

"Hard, violent lives are the common denominator, and clouded resolve speaks volumes. And while there is bravado on display, Vigna also prods the underbelly of these emotions, revealing the insecurities of man."

Read the full review here.

"A tense, vitriolic collection..."

Broken Pencil magazine recently reviewed BULL HEAD - here is a brief excerpt.

"Bull Head offers both a lamentation and a condemnation for a type of masculinity that no longer exists, fuelled by blue collar, salt-of-the-earth toughness and emotional stoicism. When forced into a corner, these men turn to violence as a solution to their problems. Whether through a fistfight between friends, shooting and killing a doe, or kicking a pit bull in the ribs, this blunt behaviour gives these characters temporary surges of strength and confidence, allowing them brief respite from their assorted emotional prisons."

Read the full review here.

"Gripping Mountain Gothic Literature"

The wise and generous Bob Ede, over at East Kootenay News Online Weekly (e-know.ca), asked me some insightful questions in a wide-ranging interview that gets to the heart of process in writing BULL HEAD.

The interview sheds light on violence, William Faulkner, Cormac McCarthy and Flannery O'Connor, the harsh beauty of the Elk Valley, curses, the changing role of men, and the importance of basketball in my life.

To read the full interview, go here.

"Sharp And Satisfying Stories..."

I was pleased to read this astute and articulate review of BULL HEAD that was recently published in the great literary magazine, Prism.

"John Vigna does for Western Canada what William Faulkner does for the American South and Alice Munro does for small town Ontario. His characters inhabit a land of “gin-clear rivers” and ancient pines, a place both enchanted and foreboding, where human fortunes rise and fall along with the indifferent vacillations of the natural world. Most of the characters in the eight stories that comprise Bull Head live in an unnamed small town, presumably somewhere in the mountains of interior British Columbia. The world of Bull Head feels like a real place, but it also feels like a place beyond time and geography, more a way of life and a state of being than a place on the map."

Read the full review here.

2012's Dozen Most Dazzling Debuts

BULL HEAD has appeared on a few lists this past Fall, including Salty Ink's 2012's Dozen Most Dazzling Debuts.

You won't find many male writers on this list, two to be exact, but it's a great list of fine new writing published this year. I'm humbled to be included on it.

The list is here.

Starred Review in Quill & Quire

BULL HEAD receives a starred review in Quill & Quire, Canada's magazine of book news and reviews. Read the review here.

Quill & Quire Books of the Year

BULL HEAD was selected by Quill & Quire review editor, Steven W. Beattie, as a book of the year along with four other titles.

For more information and to see the list, go here.

At the Mike Series in Victoria, Nov 27

If you are in Victoria on Nov 27, join Lee Henderson, John Gould and myself in conversation at 7pm at Cadboro Bay Books for the At the Mike Series. It's an honour to appear with two writers I deeply admire and respect. More info on the event here.

Toronto: Type Books, Nov 21

Toronto! Join me, Ian Colford and Barry Grills for a triple threat event at Type Books this Wednesday, Nov 21.

The event, dubbed, "The Lost Boys," starts at 6:30pm and promises an eclectic range of material and styles. For more information, click here.

Canzine West: 1-2 Punch Book Pitch

The 1-2 Punch Book Pitch at Canzine West in Vancouver is accepting people to pitch their book idea on Nov 17. Live on the main stage, you get two minutes to pitch your book to a panel of judges: Brian Kaufman, Elizabeth Bachinsky and myself. 

We get one minute each to tell you why you’ll never get published 
in a million, billion years, or why we want to see your manuscript in our inbox ASAP. The winner of the pitch gets bragging rights and a Broken Pencil prize pack worth $200.

To sign up, email canzine@brokenpencil.com with 1. name 2. email address 3. phone number 4. two or three line description of the project you are going to pitch. For more details visit here.

Bull Head Makes Bestseller List

Whoa! BULL HEAD shares some fine company on the Calgary Herald's bestseller list.

The full list is here.

8 Male Writers I’d Want At My Side In A Bar Room Brawl

Suppose you find yourself standing in a Calgary bar, perhaps Ranchman’s, mouthing off about your beloved Vancouver Canucks who’ve just eliminated the Flames in the playoffs (unlikely as that might be) and you’ve been shouting to be heard—the music is loud after all. A large southern Albertan ranchman hears you. He’s wearing a big white hat that shadows his eyes. His belt buckle winks in the light and you notice it’s a shiny Calgary Flames logo. You exchange a few words, but he’s not interested in talking.

Read the full list here.