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V.I.A. EXCLUSIVE: First look at the cover of Grant Lawrence's new book

If you've been on a BC Ferries vessel in the past couple of years you might have noticed something in their gift shop: Grant Lawrence's first book, Adventures in Solitude (which we have featured heavily over the years - 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ) is alw

If you've been on a BC Ferries vessel in the past couple of years you might have noticed something in their gift shop: Grant Lawrence's first book, Adventures in Solitude (which we have featured heavily over the years - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) is always sitting right next to Jon Vaillant's title, The Golden Spruce, right at eye level in the "BC BOOKS" section. Why is it that these two titles sit front and centre? It's because they're two of the very best books written in and about our province, that's why. Both have won awards not simply because they're well written but also due to the way they truly connect readers with the spirit of British Columbia.

Aside from working his regular gig as a CBC personality, since Grant's book release in 2010 he's been writing another collection of stories which will be releasing this October under the title of The Lonely End of the Rink - Confessions of a Reluctant Goalie. These stories chronicle his conflicted personal relationship with hockey and bullying backdropped by the three failed Stanley Cup runs of the Vancouver Canucks. We can't wait til it comes out!

Grant has graciously offered us the opportunity to unveil the cover here today, designed by Naomi MacDougall with a photo by Chris Mizzoni. It was taken at the Ice Sports Arena in North Vancouver during warm up before a game with Grant's team, the Flying Vees. The title comes from the Tragically Hip song, with blessings from the band...

Also, as a side note, if you've been following the blog for a few years you might remember that we offered the first look of Grant's first book back in August of 2010! HERE!

Here's the official word on Grant's upcoming book, releasing in October of 2013 on Douglas & McIntyre:

In addition to being a CBC host, an eminent indie-rock alumnus, and the award-winning author of the bestselling book Adventures in Solitude, Grant Lawrence has another claim to fame: as a toddler, he spent the majority of a plane ride from Toronto to Winnipeg on Bobby Orr’s lap. Grant, his parents, Bobby Orr and the rest of the Canadian hockey team were on their way to Game Three of the famous Summit Series—seven games played between Russia and Canada in 1972, during the height of the Cold War. It was at this point—at the age of one—that Grant’s life-long entanglement with hockey began.

In this deeply personal, yet incredibly witty memoir about Grant’s relationship with hockey, the narrative passes back and forth between tales of Grant’s life and a fascinating history of hockey, complete with lively anecdotes about the many colourful characters of his hometown Vancouver Canucks and the NHL.

Through Grant’s early life, he struggled with the idea of hockey. He was an undersized child who wore thick glasses and knee-braces, and he understood, first-hand, what it was like to be in the attack zone of the hockey-obsessed jocks at his school. For Grant, bullying and the violent game of hockey seemed to go hand-in-hand. Yet he was also enamoured with the sport, and eventually learned that playing goalie on a hockey team isn’t all that different from playing in a band and that artistically-minded wimps find just as much joy in the game as their meathead counterparts.

In The Lonely End of the Rink, Grant Lawrence brings the allure of hockey into a zone where it can impress upon the nerds and geeks as well as the jocks. Grant is a highly original writer, and with this book, he tells a quintessentially Canadian story about the nation’s favourite sport.

Bookmark THIS PAGE on D&M's site and check back with us here as we'll let you know as soon as the book releases.