I realized yesterday that today is April Fool’s Day—not because I’ve been plotting nefarious deeds or anything (or at least that’s the official story), but because the Google Maps Pac-Man prank made the nightly news. A personal aside: I’m told by a source who shall not be named that the fact that I learned about the prank from the nightly news makes me an ‘old fart’, but to that I have no reply but a halfhearted, curmudgeonly fist-waggle. That is neither here nor there.

Apparently anyone under 30 will liken you to this doddering gentleman if you admit to watching the news on television. I am not ashamed. And I rather like that jaunty top hat.

Now some people (ahem John Oliver) are pretty against this April Fool’s Day thing, but the publishing industry has a long history of meticulous pranking. Fake news articles and social media posts are a favourite—There’s the classic case of San Serriffe, the Guardian’s idyllic island hotspot, whose geographical hotspots were (amusingly) named entirely with typographic terminology. Of course there’s the more recent example of ‘bookstore trolling’, made famous by Jeff Wysaski, who created some rather entertaining new subsections in his local bookshop. There’s always the old stand-by of spending a few moments to swap all the dust jackets in your friend’s library. Whatever the case, it would seem that book lovers are a pretty clever and humorous lot, so I’m looking forward to some good ones today.

What’s happening this week…

At PQL.

All joking aside, we have some good news! We’re happy to announce that a new poetry collection by Governor General’s Award winner Don Coles, A Serious Call, is now available in print and digital formats. I can’t say enough good things about this collection. It just feels like an old friend when you read it (yes, there is a friendship theme in there)—and I’m sure it will be one that I return to again and again as new subtleties peek out in every reading.

In Toronto.

It’s all about those Bruces at Junction Reads. Bruce Meyer and Bruce McDougall will both be making appearances at the reading series this month, so be sure to check them out.

In Sarnia

Speaking of Bruce Meyer, he’ll be in good company at this months’ L3 Writers’ Conference. He’ll be reading along with Margaret Atwood, Greg Frankson and Maya Burhanpurkar at Rivendell Books.

In Grimsby

It’s that time of year again—the Grimsby Wayzgoose is back. Join Tim and Elke at the Porcupine’s Quill table at this year’s fair, and pick up some great PQL books while you’re at it.

Speaking of which, we’re happy to announce that Gerard Brender à Brandis and Mariane Brandis will be launching their book The Grand River at the Wayzgoose. This gorgeous book is a joy to hold, and it contains a wealth of information about the beautiful Grand River Valley region.

In BC

Niki Koulouris is on the road again, this time on the west coast promoting The sea with no one in it. Stop into the Fontana Caffee on April 21 for Spoken INK, and April 28 at The Vault Café for WordStorm.

Davy the Punk

Plus, don’t forget the Davy the Punk tour, which continues with dates in Ontario. April performances will be held in Ridgeway, Thornhill, Whitby and Erin. Be sure to check davythepunk.ca for ticketing information.

In the World

March 13 is Scrabble Day AKA the day my mom reminds me that despite my two degrees and a postgraduate diploma, she can still school me like there’s no tomorrow when it comes to strategically-placed letter tiles.

March 16 is National Librarian Day. Go on and hug a librarian to express your appreciation. (Or don’t. Be sure to consult your librarian’s hugging policy beforehand. We don’t want any trouble.)

March 28 is Great Poetry Reading Day. *cough* A Serious Call *cough*

From the porcupette’s corner

Fabulous Fictions. All fabulous. All the time.

After a month of Fall 2015 preparations and yes, those pesky grant applications, I’m feeling rather excited for the newly budding projects coming our way. There’s been a lot of talk about the admittedly quite fabulous Fabulous Fictions project coming down the pipe. There’s also the fact that with technical difficulties resolved, the presses are humming once again. We’re rolling out new titles with a vengeance, and we can’t wait to hear what you think.

Be sure to weigh in with opinions of your favourites—we’d love to hear from you.

Happy April Fool’s,