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Publicity & Events

RECENT NEWS

Mapping the World by Caroline and Martine Laffon has been reviewed in The New York Times Sunday Book Review here.

Click this People Magazine Online link for mention of author Steve Milton and his book, Figure Skating's Greatest Stars.

Click here for Kathleen Fraser's interview with host Mike Naburs of Talk 820 AM Radio, Hamilton as they discuss When I'm Gone and 175 Best Camp Games.

Click here to read The Globe and Mail review of Figure Skating's Greatest Stars.

Chris St. Clair, author of Canada's Weather, was interviewed about his book on The Weather Network. Watch the video on YouTube here.

Please visit The Cousteau Society's website to see an ongoing series of excerpts from World Ocean Census.

Please click here for the Winnipeg Free Press's holiday round up of coffee table books featuring several Firefly Books titles.

Please click here to see the mention of Tim Miller's latest book, Drag Racing in the Dec. 5 issue of the Toronto Star

Scientific American recommends Galapagos: Preserving Darwin's Legacy!

Drag Racing by Tim Miller is reviewed on Evo Street Racers.

Gil Cohen's Aviation Artist work is featured on Air & Space's website.

Please click here to listen to an interview of James Kraus, author of Adirondack Moments on North Country Public Radio

World Heritage Sites is featured in ABC.com article "Travel Books Worth Giving Both Classic and New" by Beth J. Harpaz, AP Travel Writer. Click here to read the article on ABC.com.

Please click here to read the feature article on Chris St.Clair (author of Canada's Weather) in the November 14th, 2009 issue of the Kingston Whig-Standard.

Please click here to listen to CFRA-Ottawa radio interview with Chris St.Clair (author of Canada's Weather).

Click here to view Chris St.Clair of the Weather Network present his new book Canada's Weather.

Click here to listen to the AM900 CHML radio interview with Timothy Miller, author of Drag Racing: The World's Fastest Sport. To listen to the AM900 CHML interview scroll under "Audio" and click October 25, Segment 5. Requires FLASH.

Click here for the Horizons Solutions website review of World Ocean Census.

Michael Worek, editor of Nobel: A Century of Prize Winners, appeared on ABC National News on October 9, 2009.
Please click here to read more.


RECENT REVIEWS

Publishers Weekly Web Exclusive Book Reviews
Week of November 2, 2009

Planet Ape
by Desmond Morris with Steve Parker. Firefly, $49.95 (288p) ISBN 9781554075669
40 years after British zoo curator Morris published The Naked Ape, a controversial 1967 bestseller (primatology’s first), field researchers have generated thousands of hours of observations regarding gorillas, chimps, bonobos, gibbons and orangutans, and a bounty of comparative data regarding social behaviors, family groups, reproductive strategies and food gathering. Morris and Parker fill a huge gap on the primatology bookshelf by compiling this data into a practical, fully illustrated, encyclopedic book for non-specialists. Extended sections on anatomy, diet, communication behaviors, patterns of social life, sex and reproduction, and developmental stages each cover habits of different species and, where applicable, of humans. Copious images includes photos and graphs illustrating comparative anatomy and physiology, postures, internal structure and more; two-page spreads on dietary needs and the daily feeding routine of an orangutan are particularly well-executed. Morris and Parker, a senior fellow at the Zoological Society of London, also describe numerous threats to the survival of non-human primates, and provide conservation agency contact information so readers can get involved. With few exceptions (some dark backgrounds render text hard to read) this is a beautifully organized and visually gratifying guide, perfect for amateur and budding primatologists. (Oct.)



Publishers Weekly
September 2009

A Fine Line: Scratchboard Illustrations
by Scott McKowen. Firefly, $49.95(208p) ISBN 9781554074518
This collection showcases the career of McKowen, a scratchboard artist who designs theater posters and illustrates for books and magazines. Discussing his creative process and the influences behind some of his most successful images in straightforward language, McKowen explains how he tailors his theater posters to each director's individual vision; some of the most dazzling are designs for Macbeth, Chekhov's Three Sisters, and Shaw's Candida. In 2003, Sterling commissioned McKowen for a series of classic book reissues, including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Alice in Wonderland. Those images, also included, manage to capture the depth and scope of epic stories in a single, precise, stunning image; in his introduction, director Christopher Newton aptly describes McKowen's style as "a lightness of heart which is not afraid to acknowledge the proximity of darkness." It isn't until the book's final section that McKowen gets specific about the scratchboard medium-"black ink covers the chalk surface, and lines are created by scraping through the black ink"-which allows for far more detail than other printmaking methods. McKowen goes on to explain recent technological developments in scratchboard, including the use of Photoshop for color, rather than ink. (Sept.)

Click here for an excellent review and slide show of A Fine Line in The Globe & Mail newspaper.

Click here to read an excellent article on Scott McKowen and A Fine Line at City Pulse Newspaper.

Click here to read Scott McKowen's excellent interview with the Stratford Beacon Herald.



Publishers Weekly
Sept 2009

World Ocean Census: A Global Survey of Marine Life
Firefly, $40.00 (256p) ISBN 9781554074341
[starred review] As industrial fishing fleets have mined the seas of life before scientists get a chance to study it, an international consortium of scientists, funded by their governments, began a collaborative effort in 2000 to catalog every living organism living in the global ocean. Scientists voyaged to regions that had never been studied before, such as the Gaskel Ridge in the Arctic, where unique hydrothermal vent communities were found, while others researched the human history of marine resource management to get an idea of pre-industrial ocean life... Glorious photographs, full of amazing forms and colors, capture many creatures readers will find entirely unfamiliar, as well the cutting-edge technology used to uncover them. Science writer Crist, along with scientists Scowcroft and Harding, have produced a highly readable text with stunning photos that should fully engage the public imagination, a fitting and accessible prelude to the full scientific report, due in 2010.



Publishers Weekly
September 2009

Shellfish
by Lief Mannerström. Firefly, $34.95 (256p) ISBN 9781554075164
No matter which crustacean floats your boat, the first collection from Swedish chef Mannerström will give you plenty of options among more than 200 recipes. Though there's no organization, just one recipe after another (abutted by beautiful full-color photos and occasional commentary), an index-like table of contents helpfully arranges recipes by main ingredient. Classics like paella, bouillabaisse and mussels with pomme frites are the exceptions to Mannerström's inventive rule, exploiting a bounty of local and regional fare with recipes for Norway lobsters, sea urchin, whelks and cockles. Tasty riffs like stir-fried mussels in a dill and béchamel sauce cradled in a crepe, a rich oyster pie with bacon and cheese, and an omelet with curried crab should awaken tired palates, while more involved fare such as Mousseline of scallop, lobster with truffle and Norway lobster sauce, and a Cassoulet of lobster, veal sweetbreads and tarragon sauce offer new challenges for experienced cooks. Though its appeal may be limited due to a decidedly European feel and an emphasis on ingredients not easily sourced on U.S. shores, seafood lovers looking for inspiration should find many new ideas and flavor combinations. (Sept.)

Click here to read a Q and A with Lief Mannerström on GlobalChefs.com.

Accredited members of the media may request a media review copy and catalogues by contacting our Publicity Department.

Please include full contact information and publication name. You may fax your request on company letterhead. Freelance writers include publication and your editor's name. Further information concerning author interviews, reviews, excerpts, photos, etc. is located here.

Publicity Department
(416) 499-8412
FAX: 499-1142

Firefly Books Ltd.
66 Leek Crescent
Richmond Hill, ON
Canada L4B 1H1

Catalog PDFs

US Catalog PDF - Spring 10

Canadian Adult Catalog PDF - Spring 10

Canadian Juvenile Catalog PDF - Spring 10

Firefly Rights Catalog PDF - 2009