As an initiative to raise funds for PEN Canada, the organization that helps, and lobbies on behalf of, imprisoned and oppressed writers around the world, twelve CanLit authors have shed their clothes for a nearly nude but essentially demure calendar, including Life of Pi author Yann Martel. Two are from B.C., including Yasuko Thanh and Miss January, fiction writer Angie Abdou.

Here's what Abdou has to say about the BareItForBooks project.

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In 2006, I published my first book, a collection of stories about miscommunication, dysfunctional relationships, and infidelity. I had recently gone through a divorce, and I liked to announce that the book, called Anything Boys Can Do, was about "the death of the institution of marriage!"; and "the absurdity of life-long monogamy!"; These earnest declarations morphed into satire by the time I finally took to the road for the book tour - gigantically pregnant and very happily (and monogamously) remarried.
Reviewers, few as they were, called the book raw and edgy. The Victoria Times Colonist praised it for its original and honest take on female sexuality: "For centuries, terms to describe female sexuality have been along the lines of Slut, Tart and Whore. There are, sadly, no words that describe female desire that are not pejorative, and this lack of available vocabulary is one reason why Angie Abdou's debut short story collection, Anything Boys Can Do, is important. Most of Abdou's stories focus on female protagonists who wholeheartedly pursue sexual relationships.";
That's all great, obviously, except for a minor detail: I have parents. They know how to read.
This is where things get tricky. People tell aspiring writers to kick potential audiences out of their heads during the writing process.
"Don't worry about what people will think!";
"Don't censor yourself!";
Wonderful advice, sure, but the reality of being a published writer sure comes crashing down hard when you see your new husband's grandmother lined-up at your book-signing table, clutching her freshly purchased copy.
The truth is that people will read what you write. Moreover, people will judge you based on what you write, and I don't just mean judge your writing. I mean they will judge you.
One of my mother's best friends read Anything Boys Can Do and responded, "Being a writer must be hard. It must be kind of like walking into the middle of Main Street, pulling down your pants, and yelling 'Hey everyone!! What do you think?!!";
Yep. It is kind of like that. And it gets a little more like that with each new book. It also gets more challenging during the writing process to forget about that uncomfortable element of exposure that comes with publication.
Above my writing desk, I've taped Hemingway's advice to "Write hard and clear about what hurts."; I recognize that quality in the writing that holds me fast to the page. The fiction I most admire deals with emotions, ideas, and subjects that really matter to the writer at a deep and personal level. Such personal investment creates a rawness and energy that a writer can't create from a safe distance. But it also leaves a writer vulnerable and exposed.
When it came time to take my BIFB picture, I was nervous. I wondered if I could go through with it. I thought it would be difficult, even humiliating.
It wasn't. I bare it for books every day at my writing desk as I strive to write hard and clear about what hurts. That is difficult. Taking off my clothes, jumping up on that desk, and letting someone snap a photograph? It's the easiest thing I've ever done in that office.

Visit www.bareitforbooks.ca

[BCBW 2013]