The following is a call for papers for a symposium/exhibit scheduled at Ryerson University in Toronto on Monday, April 7, 2008. The deadline for submissions is February 20. Click here for conference poster.

We invite proposals of 250 to 500 words for a symposium/exhibit that coincides with the centenary anniversary of Anne of Green Gables in 2008. We are looking for proposals for 15-minute papers and creative pieces related to any aspect of this classic novel. The range of topics is open and papers focusing on the novel’s interpretation, its composition, or its cultural significance, are all equally welcomed. Creative pieces can take the form of an imagined story, a performance, an installation, fashion design, or digital media: please provide low resolution samples where appropriate. Ryerson Press was the first Canadian publisher of Anne of Green Gables in 1942, and we are proud to host this event at Ryerson University on April 7, 2008.

Yuka draws our attention to the following articles:

Anne of Green Gables turns 100:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/297194

The once and future Anne Shirley:
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/297170

Gentle Island:
http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/296791

Coming soon: A Green Gables prequel:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=77dcba37-52a7-4eda-9c9a-fb3b37fdb7af

Yuka just sent me this link Anne of Japan – Documentary for Terry Dawes’ project. It’s in English.

“We have a video of a phone sex ad where the woman is played by Anne of Green Gables,” Van Bon Bon says, laughing. “It’s part of exploring those inappropriate dreams we all have. I’m a huge fan of Anne of Green Gables, so it distresses me to sexualize her in this manner — but it’s too damn funny!”

Read all about it here. We’ll try to get tickets.

The following event has been posted on the website of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto for Tuesday, 12 February 2008, from 7:00 to 8:30 PM:

100 Years of Anne

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908. This special evening features Budge Wilson, award-winning author of Before Green Gables, and Dr. Elizabeth Epperly, one of the world’s foremost scholars of L.M. Montgomery and editor of Imagining Anne: The Island Scrapbooks of L.M. Montgomery. Kate Macdonald, Montgomery’s granddaughter will be in attendance. The evening will be introduced by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson. Book signing follows.

The January-February 2008 issue of Quill & Quire contains an article by Megan Grittani-Livingston titled “Anne is in the air: Penguin ramps up major new Green Gables campaign.” It also includes a very favourable review of Budge Wilson’s Before Green Gables by Sarah Ellis, titled “Channelling L.M.”

The preliminary conference schedule for the L.M. Montgomery Institute’s upcoming conference, “L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables and the Idea of Classic,” has been posted on the conference website.

Amazon.ca has a listing for Don Harron’s book A Hundred Things You Didn’t Know about Anne of Green Gables, the Musical, scheduled for publication on 1 April 2008 by White Knight Books. More information about this book will be posted here when it becomes available.

From CBC.ca:

Website not a kindred spirit, says Anne authority

The P.E.I. government is investigating a new website for young girls that it says is using images of Anne of Green Gables without permission.

The web site features a certain redheaded girl in pigtails.
(Annesdiary.com)

Called annesdiary.com, the Toronto-based website says it is “inspired by the much-loved Anne Of Green Gables novels.” Aimed at girls aged six to 14, it claims to be the most secure website for children in the world. It requires a fingerprint reader and registration papers signed by a professional as recognized by the company running the site.

But it is not the company’s security protocol that caught the attention of the Anne of Green Gables Licensing Authority. Anne is a trademark owned by the government of Prince Edward Island, and Development Minister Richard Brown told CBC News on Thursday they take violations of that trademark seriously.

“We’re pursuing this quite vigorously,” said Brown, who visited the website and noted many references to and images of Anne.

“Anne of Green Gables is a trademark of Prince Edward Island, and we’re going to protect that trademark.”

The Anne Authority, which is jointly owned by the province and the heirs of author L. M. Montgomery, was established to ensure only a wholesome image of Anne is reflected in products it licenses. The authority says they haven’t given permission to annesdiary.com.

Emily Want, spokeswoman for annesdiary.com, said she approached the Montgomery heirs for permission to use Anne images, but the family was not interested in her request. Want said she’ll wait to hear from the Anne Authority before she decides her next move.

See also Jason’s blog for his comments regarding this website.

Key Porter Books has released a two-minute trailer for Irene Gammel’s Looking for Anne, which will be available in March 2008.