As an author, Jerry Auld says he can appreciate – and relate to – the countless hours of solitary and little-recognized time spent sitting at a keyboard that are required to create every page of every book.
By the same token, Auld admits he feels an affinity for the unrecognized hours of toil and dedication that are behind every bottle of wine produced from bunches of grapes.
“The process of creating and ultimately publishing a book is not unlike the long and lovingly applied process of creating a fine wine,” Auld said. “Then, when it’s done after all that time, you get to pour it out and hold it up to the light. You finally get to bring it out and share it.”
To celebrate a sampling of the fine writing crafted in the Bow Valley, and to provide several local authors an opportunity to share their work while tasting a variety of fine wines, Auld will host his second annual Vino Novellus event on Sunday, March 20.
Running from 7-10 p.m. at the Alpine Club of Canada Clubhouse, which was offered by the ACC in support of the event, the evening will feature readings by five authors and a tasting of five wines paired with each of those authors and the “flavour” of their books.
While last year’s inaugural Vino Novellus was a resounding success, drawing 150 people into Café Books’ cosy Main Street location with eight featured authors and matching vintages, Auld said he found eight readings and tastings to be somewhat rushed. He decided to invite six authors this year – three men, three women, three novels and three non-fiction books – to be paired with three white wines and three reds. Unfortunately, one of the authors was obliged to drop out, leaving the final number at five.
“I wanted to slow it down a bit,” Auld said. “I’m trying to figure out the right size, but last year seemed rushed, opening and pouring and reading, opening and pouring and reading.”
This year’s event will feature Christine Thorpe reading from her insightful novel The Fact of Belonging; Jeremy Kroeker’s hilarious travel account Motorcycle Therapy; Stephen Legault’s The Darkening Archipelago, the second in his clever, highly entertaining Cole Blackwater environmental mystery series; Rocky Mountain Outlook’s own Rob Alexander reading from his comprehensive and delightful The History of Canmore; and a special guest from Fernie, B.C., Angie Abdou, who will read from her critically acclaimed comic drama The Canterbury Trail, which brings together a motley assortment of yuppies, ski bums and property developers to explore mountain town issues while stranded in a remote backcountry cabin.
“We’re thrilled to have her,” Auld said. “She’s done a really remarkable job and her book really captures the cultural issues faced by so many mountain towns.”
Since all those involved with the 2010 event – Café Books, Canmore Wine Merchants and the authors and audience members - were thrilled with the event, Auld, who selected the authors with an eye to capture Canmore’s literary diversity, said he was more than happy to donate his own time to organize a second Vino Novellus.
“Everybody has different tastes, like wine,” Auld said. “I picked the authors from those whose books came out recently, and who represent the huge range of what Canmore is doing literally. It’s something I feel is my little event for Canmore. It’s a celebration of getting stuff done.”
To learn more, or for information on a shuttle bus running from Café Books to and from the ACC Clubhouse, visit www.vino-novellus.com
