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| Cover Art for Influenced. The latest book from Prince Rupert's Muskeg Press will launch Saturday with an event at Eddies News |
The book project from Prince Rupert's Muskeg Press features short stories of fiction from a collection of writers from Canada, India, Ireland, and Scotland.
Among them a trio of writers from the North Coast, with Rudy Kelly, Shannon Lough and Conar Rae Harris all making the final cut from the large volume of submissions put forward for consideration.
The stories were chosen after a “call for submissions” in the springtime yielded over 700 entries; the only condition for entry was that the stories should not mention the pandemic.
Chris Armstrong, the owner of Muskeg Press, provided a glimpse into the genesis of the
“We took our inspiration from Giovanni Boccaccio, a Florentine who wrote The Decameron in the 14th century, a collection of 100 stories that distracted its readers from the Black Plague ravaging Europe at the time,. We were very humbled that we received so many submissions, and it was a very difficult task to decide which ones would be included in the anthology.”
As for the themes and plots of the stories to explore come Saturday, they are as varied as the places they come from.
One tells the story of a young boy marooned on a giant pile of trash. Another re-works an ancient Bengali myth about a mischievous cat. And another describes the love a golf-obsessed man has for his phone.
John Farrell, who served as editor for the collection observed on sone of the themes that were explored as part of the collective work.
“Each story is so very different. Many of the characters, the protagonists, are wrestling with how to take more control over their lives. And I think that it’s not coincidental that that’s what we’re all trying to do during this pandemic, trying to figure out what we can control when most aspects of our lives have suddenly changed.”
The full list of what's in store for the reader can be explored below:
“Inheritance” by Conar Rae Harris (Prince Rupert)
"Open Door” by Rudy Kelly (Prince Rupert)
“CuddleFish” by Drew Taylor (Scotland)
“The Transcendentalist” by Will Russell (Ireland)
“By the River” by Shannon Lough (Prince Rupert)
“In the Forest, Under a Claw-Shaped Moon” by Sharanya Manivannan (India)
“Trash” by David Ward (Canada)
“Chasing YourGirlLovesMe27” by Evan Manning (Canada)
“Puck Fair” by John Paul Davies (Ireland)
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| The Three Prince Rupert area contributors for Influenced, will be part of a Book Launch event on Saturday |
The book will be officially launched at Prince Rupert's Eddie’s News on Second Avenue West on Saturday, November 21. The Book launch event takes place from 1 to 4 PM.
The three local authors will be in attendance to sign copies and take questions about their work and participation in the project.
Though it is noted that the book launch organizers are asking that everyone respect social-distancing guidelines if they come to the event.
As part of the launch event they advise that Masks are not required, but recommended.
You can learn more about the project from the Muskeg Press website, where you can also order a copy if you wish to do your book browsing and buying online.
You can review some of our previous notes on the work as it was in progress below:
For more notes on Community Events see our archive page.
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