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AS YOU WERE, ON DECLINE, THINGS ARE AGAINST US, THE SINGING FOREST, WHITE SHADOW, and ON TIME AND WATER: New Reviews!

IN THE NEWS!

AS YOU WERE

Elaine Feeney’s As You Were (October 5, 2021) was featured in Nylon Magazine as one of “9 October 2021 Books to Kick Off Fall”! The list was published online on Friday, October 1. You can read it on their website here

Sophia June praised As You Were

“In a novel that paints a picture of modern Ireland that isn’t by Sally Rooney, women in an oncology ward come to terms with secrets, illnesses, and how to deal with their families through text and emoji-speak and existential humor. Perfect for Sad Girl Fall.”

An excerpt of As You Were was also published yesterday on October 4, in Lit Hub! You can read it on their website here.

Pick up your copy of As You Were here!

 

ON DECLINEOn Decline cover

Andrew Potter, author of On Decline (August 17, 2021) was interviewed for CBC Ideas with Nahlah Ayed. The episode was published online on September 29, and aired on CBC radio the same evening at 8PM ET. You can listen to the full interview here

Potter tells Ayed, 

“I think climate change is an effect of our civilization, but it becomes a problem when you lose the ability to do anything about it.”

Pick up your copy of On Decline here!

 

THINGS ARE AGAINST US

Lucy Ellmann, author of Things Are Against Us (September 28, 2021), was interviewed by Lit Hub! The interview was published on September 29. You can read it out on their website here.

Lucy Ellmann spoke about how men need to read women writers: 

“It’s time for men simply to listen to women. But apparently even educated men who read books do not read books by women: in other words, they have no respect for our point of view.”

Things Are Against Us was listed by Lit Hub as one of thirteen New & Noteworthy titles to check out this week! The list was published on September 29. You can read it on their website here

Lucy Ellmann’s new essay collection was listed by The Millions as a New & Noteworthy title! The list was published on September 28, and you can read it here

Lucy Ellmann was also interviewed by the Chicago Review of Books! The interview was published on October 1. You can read it out on their website here.

Interviewer Rachel León praised Things Are Against Us

“[Ellmann] delivers these diatribes with her signature wit and humor … Each essay is accompanied by an illustration by artist Diana Hope, which complements the colorful nature of this collection. Fans of Ellmann will likely delight in Things Are Against Us.”

And Things Are Against Us is a Toronto Public Library Fall 2021 Pick! It was included in “Valerie’s Picks”, published on September 20, and was featured on their Instagram on October 1. You can read the list on their website here

Librarian Valerie Casselman wrote,

“As you might expect, a collection of essays by the author of the prize-winning stream of consciousness novel Ducks, Newburyport will not be boring or stuffy. ‘Let’s complain,’ she says in the preface and then proceeds to do just that. A collection of satirical essays written with biting wit, irreverence, and clever wordplay.”

Pick up your copy of Things Are Against Us here!

 

THE SINGING FOREST

Judith McCormack’s The Singing Forest (September 21, 2021) was featured as an Editor’s Pick from 49th Shelf, as well as a “Valerie’s Pick for Fall 2021” at the Toronto Public Library! 

Check out the full list from 49th Shelf here

Check out the full list from the Toronto Public Library here.

Pick up your copy of The Singing Forest here!

 

On Time and Water coverON TIME AND WATER and WHITE SHADOW

Both Andri Snær Magnason’s On Time and Water (March 30, 2021) and Roy Jacobsen’s White Shadow (April 6, 2021) received excellent reviews in World Literature Today! Both reviews will be published in the Autumn 2021 issue and can be read on their website. 

You can read the On Time and Water review here, and the White Shadow review here.

Reviewer Greg Brown praised On Time and Water

“Andri Snær Magnason’s On Time and Water is a wondrous, rambling book. It confronts the ecological and social challenges facing humanity and eloquently presents facts that are dire and terrifying. And yet, through persuasive narratives and insightful examples, the book is satisfying, useful, and even hopeful to a degree. I highly recommend Magnason’s On Time and Water to readers of nonfiction, especially those interested in ecology and eco-theory … Magnason’s eloquence is exactly what is called for in this dire moment.”

Reviewer Thomas Nolden praised White Shadow: White Shadow cover

“With every sentence in his new novel, Roy Jacobsen shows how his characters carve their morality out of the dried driftwood found on the small islands of war-ravaged Norway. White Shadow is yet another masterpiece by Jacobsen, who continues in this short novel to track the vicissitudes of the life of his young heroine Ingrid Barrøy … White Shadow is a powerful psychological novel.”

Pick up your copy of On Time and Water here!

Pick up your copy of White Shadow here!

ON DECLINE, ON THE ORIGIN, DANTE’S INDIANA, MUSIC LATE AND SOON, and THINGS ARE AGAINST US: Podcasts & Publicity!

On Decline coverIN THE NEWS!

ON DECLINE

Andrew Potter, author of On Decline (August 17, 2021) was interviewed for Jodi Butts podcast, @Risk, and the episode is now live! You can listen here.

On Decline was also the subject of an opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen by Terry Glavin titled, “Glavin: Yes, civilization is in decline (though it may not stay that way)”! The article was published online on September 22. You can read it here.

Glavin writes,

“Like its historic ancestors, On Decline deserves a wide general audience and should be required reading for the incoming federal government.”

Get your copy of On Decline here!

 

THINGS ARE AGAINST US

Lucy Ellmann’s Things Are Against Us (September 28, 2021) was listed by the New York Times as a New & Noteworthy Title! The list was published online on September 22, and in print on September 26. You can check it out on their website here.

The New York Times wrote:

“Ellmann tackles the climate crisis, war and feminism in this collection of 14 searing essays on the beauty industry, ecotourism, crime fiction, Donald Trump and more.”

Things Are Against Us also received a rave review in the Winnipeg Free Press! The review was published on Saturday, September 25. You can read it out on their website here.

Reviewer Pauline Holdstock wrote:

“[Ellmann] lambastes the patriarchy with verve and gusto … The 14 pieces that comprise Ellmann’s discontents, vividly illustrated by Diana Hope, muster all of her comic powers in the service of her home truths… Ellmann is entertaining, funny, loopy and brave, but, importantly, she’s empowering. You remember that you’re not alone … It’s good to know Ellmann is keeping her formidable comic weaponry trained on the people who got us into this pig show.”

And on Sunday, September 26 we celebrated the launch of Things Are Against Us! Check out the full video of the launch on Facebook here, or on YouTube here.

Order your copy of Things Are Against Us here!

 

MUSIC, LATE AND SOONcover

Robyn Sarah, author of Music, Late and Soon (August 24, 2021) published an editorial in The Globe and Mail titled, “We should need no excuse to hold on to or reclaim something we love”! The piece was published online on September 24, and in print on September 25. Read the article here.

Sarah writes,

“… a longing to go back to what was once so central and fulfilling can haunt the years. In my own case, longing became impulse became action at the age of nearly 60.”

Robyn Sarah’s Music, Late and Soon was also featured in a review by the Winnipeg Free Press! The review was posted online on September 25. You can read it here.

Get your copy of Music, Late and Soon here!

 

DANTE’S INDIANA

Randy Boyagoda, author of Dante’s Indiana (September 7, 2021), wrote an article for the Globe & Mail! The opinion piece “Dante’s pandemic: Why the Divine Comedy helps us understand how we can respond to the challenge of living good lives in bad times” was published on Saturday, September 25, both in print and online. You can read it on their website here.

In other news, University of Toronto’s Massey College is hosting an exclusive in-person event with Randy Boyagoda on Wednesday, September 29 at 4:30 PM EDT! The event, “A Dante Theme Park? Satire and Sensibilities in 2021”, is part of the Massey Dialogues series. Randy Boyagoda, a Massey College Senior Fellow, will discuss his Dante’s Indiana with Senior Fellow Charles Foran and Junior Fellow Kate Frank. Only a limited number of people can attend, so register for a ticket here.

Get your copy of Dante’s Indiana here!

 

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE DEADLIEST PANDEMIC IN 100 YEARSOn the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years cover

Elaine Dewar, author of On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years (August 31, 2021), was interviewed by Jesse Brown for the Canadaland podcast! The episode aired today on September 27. You can read the transcription and listen here.

Over the weekend, Dewar was also live on The Roy Green Show (Global News). Listen to the episode here.

On the Origin was also mentioned in an article from The Sun titled “OVEN READY Covid was ‘perfectly adapted’ to infect humans when virus emerged in Wuhan which ‘proves’ lab leak, book claims”. Read the article here.

Get your copy of On the Origin here!

Praise for Biblioasis Titles

IN THE NEWS!

ON THE ORIGIN

Elaine Dewar, author of On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation (August 31, 2021), published an editorial in the Toronto Star titled “Canadians must know what our lab’s role was in COVID’s origins”! The article was published online on September 18. You can read it here.

On the Origin was also listed in the Globe and Mail‘s “Fall 2021 books preview: Pump up your autumn with these weighty reads”. See the full list here.

And on Friday, September 17, Elaine Dewar was live on CJAD 800 AM – Montreal Now with Aaron Rand and Natasha Hall. You can listen to her radio interview here.

Get your copy of On the Origin from Biblioasis here!

 

THINGS ARE AGAINST US

Lucy Ellmann’s Things Are Against Us (September 28, 2021) received a great review in Publishers Weekly! The review was published online on September 20. You can read it on their website here.

Publishers Weekly wrote:

“In this offbeat essay collection, novelist Ellmann (Ducks, Newburyport) addresses complex systemic ills alongside petty grievances in an acerbic and hilarious litany of complaints … Readers of Ducks, Newburyport will be familiar with her expansive writing style, which here manifests as a plethora of footnotes … Fans of feminist satire will delight in these rants and ruminations.”

Things Are Against Us was also included in the Globe and Mail‘s Fall 2021 book preview! The list was published on Saturday, September 18, both in print and online. You can read it on their website here.

Reviewer Emily Donaldson wrote:

“‘Let’s complain,’ urges the author of the prize-winning experimental novel Ducks, Newburyport at the outset of her first work of non-fiction, then valiantly leads the way. Over 14 entries that use approaches ranging from all-caps to page-swallowing footnotes, she takes on Trumpism, the beauty industry, patriarchy and crime writers, with charming tetchiness.”

Order your copy of Things Are Against Us here!

 

DANTE’S INDIANA

Randy Boyagoda’s Dante’s Indiana (September 7, 2021) was included in Globe and Mail‘s Fall 2021 book preview! The list was published on Saturday, September 18, both in print and online. You can read it on their website here.

Reviewer Emily Donaldson praised Dante’s Indiana as,

“Witty and wrenching.”

Randy Boyagoda was interviewed about Dante’s Indiana in the Catholic Register. The interview was published yesterday on September 19. You can read it on their website here.

Wendy-Anne Clarke wrote,

“Randy Boyagoda takes a bold dive into some of society’s most contentious issues in his latest novel, Dante’s Indiana … The theme of being lost and also being found is at the crux of Prin’s experience and that of the other characters. That profound idea found in Catholic liturgy and in Scripture is central to the religious tradition at play in this book.”

Randy Boyagoda was also interviewed by the University of Toronto’s A&S Newsletter. The interview was published September 15. You can read the interview on their website here.

Get your copy of Dante’s Indiana here!

 

ON DECLINEOn Decline cover

Andrew Potter’s On Decline (August 17, 2021) received a great review in the Winnipeg Free Press, titled “Extremism, stagnation hastening our potential downfall”! The article was published online on September 18. You can read it here.

Michael Dudley writes,

“Like its historic ancestors, On Decline deserves a wide general audience and should be required reading for the incoming federal government.”

Get your copy of On Decline here!

Biblioasis News, Reviews, and Excerpts!

IN THE NEWS!

ON THE ORIGIN OF THE DEADLIEST PANDEMIC IN 100 YEARS

Elaine Dewar, author of On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years: An Investigation (August 31, 2021), was featured in an article on CBC Manitoba titled “New book debunks Winnipeg-lab conspiracy theory but questions collaboration with Chinese military scientist”! The article was published online on August 31. You can read it here.

Elaine Dewar also appeared on CHCH Morning Live for an interview about her book On the Origin of the Deadliest Pandemic in 100 Years. The interview with Annette Hamm aired on September 2. You can watch it on their website here.

Get your copy from Biblioasis here!

 

HOUSEHOLDERSHouseholders cover

On August 25, Quill & Quire published their Best of Fall 2021 Guide for Fiction, Short Fiction, and Poetry, and Kate Cayley’s Householders (September 14, 2021) was on the list!

Andrew Woodrow-Butcher wrote about Householders:

“The accomplished fiction writer, playwright, and poet veers from the fantastic to the mundane and back again in her latest collection of intertwined stories, which features neighbourhood drama, zombies, and an underground bunker.”

The Best of Fall 2021 Guide will be published in the September 2021 issue, and can be read on their website here.

Householders (September 14, 2021) was also included by the Lambda Literary on their list “September’s Most Anticipated LGBTQIA+ Literature”! The list was put together by Sydney Heidenberg on September 1, and it can be read on the Lambda Literary website here.

Order your copy from Biblioasis here!

 

On Decline cover

ON DECLINE

Andrew Potter, author of On Decline (August 17, 2021), published an article in The Globe and Mail titled “The COVID-19 pandemic. Climate change. Culture wars. For the West, the party is over”! The article was published online on August 20. You can read it here.

An excerpt was also published in The Walrus on August 25. You can read the excerpt here.

Get your copy from Biblioasis here!