Magic in the City

Quarrington is, among other things, an extremely amateur magician. (This interest arose out of a novel he wrote,?The Spirit Cabinet, which features a couple of Las Vegas style showmen, not unlike his beloved Siegfried and Roy). Recently, on the advice of his friend?Baldini?(himself a prestidigitator of considerable talent), he attended a performance at Toronto’s Tranzac Club. First there was a display of mentalism by?Mysterion?(and then some metal music, during which Quarrington drank in the back room which featured a pleasantly whuss singer/songwriter) and then?Steve Santini?performed some terrifically terrifying escapes. I mean, how often do you see an escapist here in Toronto? I myself want more, more, more!!Here’s a picture of a Golden Lion Tamarin (I was in Brazil this summer, working on a movie, from which I was fired) because I had nothing better to illustrate this magical theme:??

Moving Stories Film Festival Seeking Submissions

Have a short film inspired by works of literature? Here’s the place to submit it.

The Moving Stories Film Festival

Producer Judith Keenan of BookShorts fame was the first to marry the creation of moving pictures with the release of the printed work upon which the short film is based, and introduce both to the public in a context that supports the authors, filmmakers and in service to helping readers, or new readers, find the books they love.

Literacy for Everyone!

Congrats To Colin Linden

We understand that Colin Linden, whose stunning slide guitar solos on Gladstone Hotel and Hemingway enhanced our “Way Past Midnight” release, has joined Emmylou Harris’s band.

We are big fans of Emmylou, and her music has been a continuing influence. (We’ve also admired her guitarists: Ricky Skaggs, James Burton, Albert Lee, Daniel Lanois, Buddy Miller and now Colin. Whew!)

We therefore feel a special connection to both Colin and Emmylou as well as to blues singing sensation Roxanne Potvin who guests on our new CD and has a impressive new release of her own, produced by… Colin Linden.

Moose TV Wins CFTPA Indie Award for Best Comedy Series

The little indie sitcom “Moose TV” gets a surprise win in the comedy series category, besting ratings leaders “Corner Gas” and “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”

“Moose TV,” which stars Adam Beach as a native Canadian who returns to his hometown and starts up a pirate TV station, is produced by Montreal production house Rezolution Pictures and aired on the pay TV channel Showcase.

Paul Quarrington is the story editor for Moose TV.

Porkbellys Play the Best Folk/Roots Concert of the Year

James Reaney Music Editor of the London Free Press votes one of our Ontario appearances last fall Best Folk/Roots Concert of the Year.

?Porkbelly Futures played The London Music Club to an appreciative audience and were as bloody great as you?d expect from a band good enough to have somebody from the Canadian Brass playing guitars and harmonica, the double bassist from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra bowing away and a Governor General?s Award-winning novelist supplying most of the lyrics. And they had London?s Teddy Leonard guesting on guitar. When Porkbelly Futures come back, don?t you dare miss them.? James Reaney, London Free Press, Dec. 29/07

Thank you Mr. Reaney!

We were also pleased to see Blackie and the Rodeo Kings (featuring Porkbelly contributor Colin Linden) in runner-up spot.

We’ll be back at the London Musical Club on Saturday, March 22. The estimable Mr. Leonard will be with us.

Porkbelly Futures new CD hits the stores!

Porkbelly Futures’ new CD has been released by?Cordova Bay Entertainment Group.?It is entitled “Porkbelly Futures” so as to avoid any confusion. Please walk into your nearest music outlet and say, “Please give me ‘Porkbelly Futures’ by that great band, um… I forget.” OR… you can order your CD on ITunes. Or select individual songs. Indeed, we kind of like that, because the tracks get little lines after them, and the more popular, the longer the line. Quarrington, Worthy and Laughton, the chief writers for the band, are having kind of a horse race! So, come on! Help Quarrington’s pony win!!

Quarrington on the Cover of Quill and Quire

Quill & Quire Feature Story?of Canada Reads champ Paul Quarrington in the April issue of Quill & Quire, where Quarrington talks candidly about how his personal life affected his new novel, The Ravine.

In the April 2008 issue of Q&Q:

Paul Quarrington Admits The Ravine is Semi-autobiographical

“It’s about this writer who squanders his talents in television, drinks too much, screws around and ruins his marriage,” he says. “So, yes, I’ve been telling people it’s semi-autobiographical.”

Read the complete article in The Star “Paul Quarrington’s new book The Ravine publishes today “

King Leary Wins Canada Reads 2008

CBC announces: “Long live the King! Paul Quarrington’s King Leary, a novel about hockey, winter and a charming octogenarian rascal, has won Canada Reads 2008.”

Paul Quarrington’s hockey comedy King Leary was defended by Dave Bidini and is the first comic novel to triumph in the Canada Reads debate.

Read the complete article on the CBC site
Visit Dave Bidini’s web site.
Watch a BookShort video here

Paul Quarrington

In May 2009, Paul was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. From May 2009 to January 2010 he channeled his prodigious creative energy into the completion of many artistic endeavours, including his first solo CD release “Paul Quarrington: The Songs,” the third PorkBellys Futures CD release, his memoir “Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life” for Greystone Books, the documentary film “Paul Quarrington: Life in Music” (BookShorts / CTV Bravo) and so much more.

His brave journey ended on January 21, 2010. He passed peacefully at home in Toronto surrounded by friends and family.

The Quarrington Arts Society has been established in honour of the inspiration Paul’s life and work continues to provide for artists who seek expression in many disciplines – for information about the organization and its mandate, please visit http://www.quarringtonartsociety.ca

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Paul Quarrington was a musician, acclaimed non-fiction writer and novelist, an award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, and an educator extra-ordinaire.

His novel The Ravine (2008) was long-listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize; his previous novel Galveston (2004) was short-listed for the Giller. Quarrington won the Stephen Leacock Award for King Leary, a title that also won the 2008 Canada Reads competition. Whale Music won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction and was one of several of his novels already adapted or currently being adapted as feature films.

His non-fiction writing includes books on some of his favourite pastimes such as fishing, hockey and music; his memoir Cigar Box Banjo: Notes on Music and Life, is published by Greystone Books (May 29, 2010). He regularly contributed book reviews, travel columns and journalism to Canada’s national newspapers and magazines, winning or co-winning more than 30 Gold awards. His screenplays and story editing won many awards, including the CFPTA Indie Award for Comedy for the series Moose TV.

Throughout his career he was in high demand as a story editor for Canadian and American feature films and television. Paul’s filmmaking talents as writer / director are evident in his BookShorts film, Pavane (2008), which he adapted from his novel The Ravine; it was featured in the national tour of Moving Stories Film Festival, won a Remi Platinum Award for adaptation at Houston’s WorldFest, was juried in several other US film festivals, and was broadcast in Canada on Bravo!FACT Presents and CBC Reflections.

As a musician, he played in the band Porkbelly Futures for more than ten years; the band’s first CD Way Past Midnight was extremely well received, their self-titled second CD was released to even more popular acclaim; and a third release will be available in 2010.  From 2008, Paul increasingly returned to the performance circuit as solo vocalist on guitar; his first solo CD release “Paul Quarrington: The Songs”  is available June 8, 2010 from Cordova Bay.

Paul taught creative writing at Humber College for more than 20 years (in the program founded by Joe Kertes, Quarrington and colleague Wayson Choy); he also taught at University of Toronto.  His seminars on adapting books for the screen and creative writing were constantly presented by institutions and festivals in across Canada.

He sat on the Board of Directors for the Fringe Theatre Festival, and was mentor to BookShorts Inc. since the company’s first short film release (2005) through to the company’s production of Paul’s biographical feature documentary film Paul Quarrington: Life in Music (Dir. Bert Kish, for CTV Bravo) which will be broadcast May 29 and 30, 2010.  Nipissing University bestowed him a Doctor of Letters PhD (posthumously) in June 2010.

Quarrington enjoyed his ranking as an (extremely) amateur magician and would-be mariner. He is survived by his two children, Carson Lara and Flannery Quarrington.