The Great Canadian Literary Quiz

by Darlene Ryan

If you're looking for Sandra Parshall, she's away today, but please keep reading for the chance to stretch your brain and learn some literary trivia. You asked for it, well some of you did, and here it is: The companion to the Great Canadian Quiz from September. The Great Canadian Literary Quiz. There are ten questions covering everything from Canadian humour to the classic, Anne of Green Gables.

Good luck. (* Answers are now in Comments.)

1. Viking Canada released a prequel to Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables early this year. Name the book and the author.
(Bonus points if you can name one of the other two writers nominated along with this author for the 2007 Ann Connor Brimer award.) I will be deeply wounded if no one gets the bonus question.

2. This writer is well-known for his humourous non-fiction. His books include How to be a Canadian, and Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw. His most recent novel is set in the southern US of the 1930s and features a con man who doesn't really have the heart for the con. The novel has its own soundtrack of all original songs including three with lyrics by the author.
Name the book and the author.

3. In this fantasy a man finds himself in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean with a Bengal tiger. Name the book.
(Bonus points if you can name the author or the tiger.)

4. "Rage is not a lifetime commitment, but only a passage of darkness in the mind, a cold shiver of the soul." These words were written by a poet and novelist from my home province. In 1967 he won the Governor General's award for poetry for Bread, Wine and Salt. Name the author.

5. This children's author is best known for his book about a mother's enduring love for her child but he also wrote a very popular book about a princess with a unique sense of fashion. Name the author and either of these two books.
(Bonus points for naming both books.)


6. This author of books about Canadian history, including the best-selling The Last Spike, about the building of the Canadian railway, was also a panelist on the CBC television show Front Page Challenge. Name the author.

7. This humourist was actually born in England. One of his most popular pieces is "How We Kept Mother's Day." Each year a prize of ten thousand dollars is awarded in his name to the most humourous book published in Canada written by a Canadian author. (Hint: the author in question 2 was one of the 2008 nominees.) Name the author.

8. Tired of being away from home on long book-signing tours this author invented the Long Pen. What is a Long Pen and who is the author?

9. This mother of three writes The Otherworld paranormal suspense series. Her characters include a werewolf, a teen witch and a ghost world bounty hunter. Name the author.

10. This mystery writer, the creator of Inspector Banks, was born in Yorkshire, England. Among others he's won the Anthony and Barry awards and the Arthur Ellis award. Name the author.