BIBLIOASIS WEEKLY ROUNDUP (WED.NOV.18-WED.NOV.25)

As the days begin to darken before business hours are over, year-end lists and mulled wine abound. Here’s a roundup of this week’s happenings at Biblioasis:

THE YEAR-ENDS KEEP ROLLING IN
When your work tops a list of books by literary biggies like Paula Hawkins, Elena Ferrante, Kelly Link, and Nino Ricci, it’s a pretty good indication that you’ve made it to the big leagues. This week, Anakana Schofield’s Giller shortlisted Martin John was named among The Toronto Star‘s notoriously selective ‘Top 5 Fiction Books of the Year.’ Martin John received another big best-of nod, along with Kevin Hardcastle’s Debris, from the good folks at 49th Shelf. From the country that’s (mostly) south of the border, we were beyond pleased to see A.J. Somerset’s Arms: The Culture and Credo of the Gun first on The Washington Post‘s list of 2015’s notable nonfiction. Arms was selected by Michael S. Rosenwald, a brilliant and diverse critic whose pieces on technology, business, pop culture, sports, and more appear in publications like The New Yorker, GQ, Popular Science, and ESPN.

TO NEW YORK, FROM GUELPH, WITH LOVE
We couldn’t be happier for Seth, whose art rocks this week’s cover of The New Yorker. Not only does he illustrate every cover of our magazine, Canadian Notes & Queries, he also designs and illustrates our most beautiful books — including the recently released Christmas Ghost Stories.

THE NATIONAL POST DELVES INTO THE DIRTY WORK OF TRANSLATION
It’s no secret that we at the press love literature in translation; in fact, we started our International Translation Series because we “believe that translation is the lifeblood of literature.” That’s why we were delighted to see the National Post’s in-depth look at the the process behind Arvida. We know that translating literature is a difficult craft — but translating literature filled with rich, rural Quebecois swearing is a step above. Thanks to NP Books’ Naben Ruthnum, we’re given insight into this process, undertaken by Samuel Archibald and Donald Winkler over the course of several fun meetings — as well as insight into the difficult, often underappreciated work of brilliant translators like Don.

BIBLIOASIS SEEKS WINTER VOLUNTEERS
This week, we put out our seasonal call for bright, enthusiastic volunteers. We’ve run a popular and successful volunteer program for almost a year; our staff has helped introduce a dozen young students and post-grads to the world of publishing. A few have even gone on to work here. Lunch and travel stipends are provided. The application deadline is Friday, Dec. 11th.

CLEAR YOUR CALENDARS
Join us at the store next Friday (Nov. 27th) from 3-8 p.m. as Jon Magidsohn will be signing copies of his travel memoir, Immortal Highway (Iguana Books, 2015). Now living in England, Jon has returned to Canada to promote the book he wrote after his wife, a former Windsor broadcast news reporter, lost her battle with breast cancer. The book details the six-week “healing tour” Jon and his infant son, Myles, took across Canada and the U.S.