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Media Hits: THE NOTEBOOK, A WAY TO BE HAPPY, MAY OUR JOY ENDURE, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE NOTEBOOK

The Notebook by Roland Allen (Sep 3, 2024) was excerpted in Lit Hub on September 9. You can check out the excerpt, “Paper Trail: On the Cross-Cultural Evolution of the Notebook” here.

Roland Allen was interviewed by Piya Chattopadhyay for CBC Sunday Magazine. The interview was posted on September 8, and you can check it out in full here.

Grab The Notebook here!

A WAY TO BE HAPPY

A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson (Sep 10, 2024) has been longlisted for the Giller Prize, and is showing up on a number of lists! Publishers Weekly (Sep 5), CBC Books (Sep 4), and Quill & Quire (Sep 4) have all posted about the longlist.

A Way to Be Happy was also highlighted in the Georgia Straight as one of the five books on the Giller longlist by BC authors. You can check out that article here.

A Way to Be Happy was reviewed in the BC Review on September 4. You can read the full review online here.

Reviewer Bill Paul writes,

“For each story, Adderson expertly develops a detailed setting . . . [and] the author carefully constructs vivid characters from every walk of life. Each one of them making their way to some undetermined fate.”

Grab A Way to Be Happy here!

MAY OUR JOY ENDURE

May Our Joy Endure by Kev Lambert, translated by Donald Winkler (Sep 3, 2024), was mentioned in the New York Times in an interview with writer Garth Greenwell. The article was published online on September 5, and you can read the it here.

Kev Lambert was interviewed by Steven W. Beattie about May Our Joy Endure for Quill and Quire, published online on September 5, 2024. You can read the full interview here.

Lambert says in the interview,

“I wanted to challenge the idea that humanizing the person you critique is giving them credit. We hear this sometimes in political or media circles. But I think it’s a fake or a wrong idea . . . I’m starting to think that we should try to have empathy. Which doesn’t mean stop criticizing or saying everything’s fine because we have empathy. But I think it gives you an understanding of humans that is more accurate and more useful for political engagement.”

May Our Joy Endure was listed as one of The Walrus‘s “Best Books of Fall 2024.” The article was published online on September 4, 2024, and you can read it here.

Contributor Michelle Cyca writes,

“Who hasn’t wished a little divine retribution upon the ultrarich for all their sins? Kevin Lambert’s third novel, nimbly translated by Donald Winkler, is an icy, cerebral social novel . . . showcasing Lambert’s gimlet eye for the delusions and designer preferences of the 1 percent.”

May Our Joy Endure also appeared on the Daily Kos‘s list of “Contemporary Fiction Views: A new book season is about to begin,” posted online September 3. You can check out the full article here.

Grab May Our Joy Endure here!

THE PAGES OF THE SEA

The Pages of the Sea by Anne Hawk (Sep 17, 2024) was included in the Toronto Star‘s list of “25 books worthy of a place at the top of your to-read pile.” The list was published on September 1, 2024, and you can view it here.

Get Pages of the Sea here!

UTOPIAN GENERATION

The Utopian Generation by Pepetela, translated by David Brookshaw (Aug 13, 2024), was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada. The review will appear in print in their October issue.

The LRC writes,

“A classic post-colonial text . . . This sweeping novel, which moves in roughly ten-year increments from 1961 to 1991, tells the steadily absorbing story of ‘how a generation embarks on a glorious struggle for independence and then destroys itself.'”

Get The Utopian Generation here!

CROSSES IN THE SKY

Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie (May 21, 2024) was reviewed in The Millstone on August 29. Read the full review here.

Edith Cody-Rice writes,

“[A] fascinating and engrossing tale . . . a meticulously researched book . . . It told me, on nearly every page, something I did not know about the history of this province, of the lives lived here in the 17th century.”

Crosses in the Sky was also mentioned in an interview between actress & director Kaniehtiio Horn and interviewer Jim Slotek in Original Cin, posted on September 5. Check out the article here.

Grab Crosses in the Sky here!

CASE STUDY

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet was included in the Globe and Mail‘s list of “Books we’re reading and loving in September.” The list was published on September 5, and you can check it out here.

Ian Brown writes,

“Graeme Macrae Burnet’s Case Study (longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize) is the best type of novel: the sharply crafted, deeply intelligent but compulsively readable kind . . . As soon as you stop reading, you’ll want to read it again.”

Get Case Study here!

Preorder Burnet’s forthcoming book, A Case of Matricide, here!

Media Hits & Awards: ON CLASS, MAY OUR JOY ENDURE, THE NOTEBOOK, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

MAY OUR JOY ENDURE

May Our Joy Endure by Kevin Lambert, translated by Donald Winkler (Sep 3, 2024), appeared on Lit Hub‘s list of “27 new books out today.” The list was published on September 3, and you can check it out here.

The list features Heather O’Neill’s blurb:

“Baroque and philosophical, May Our Joy Endure captures the sensibilities and excesses of the elite. A novel about the housing crisis told from the perspective of those causing it . . . Lambert’s writing is lyrical and rapturous. In this book, he proves himself a satirical and whimsical Robespierre, hailing from small town Quebec.”

May Our Joy Endure also featured on All Lit Up‘s list of “Book Recommendations to follow The Rage Letters.” The article was posted on August 28, and you can read it here.

Grab May Our Joy Endure here!

THE NOTEBOOK

The Notebook by Roland Allen (Sep 3, 2024) was excerpted in The Walrus. The excerpt, titled “Moleskine Mania: How a Notebook Conquered the Digital Era,” was published online on August 30, and you can read it in full here.

Roland Allen contributed a feature to the Globe and Mail, which published online on August 30. You can check out the article, “In a world of screens, the humble notebook remains the best way to learn,” here.

The Notebook was also reviewed in Angelus News on August 30. You can read the full review here.

Reviewer Heather King writes,

“[The Notebook] celebrates the age-old practice of writing things down—numbers, images, thoughts, dreams—and charts the evolution of this handy, humble little item that many of us consider indispensable.”

Grab The Notebook here!

THE FUTURE

The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023) was featured on CBC Books’ list, “These 14 writers recently won some of Canada’s biggest literary awards.” The list, which highlighted The Future‘s 2024 Canada Reads win and Carol Shields Prize longlisting, was posted on August 30, and you can read it here.

Grab The Future here!

THE PAGES OF THE SEA

The Pages of the Sea by Anne Hawk (Sep 17, 2024) appeared on Toronto.com’s list of “25 books worthy of a place at the top of your to-read pile.” The list was posted on September 1, and you can read it in full here.

Grab The Pages of the Sea here!

CROSSES IN THE SKY

Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie (May 21, 2024) was featured on 49th Shelf‘s list of recommendations, “Grappling With History.” The article was posted on August 26, and you can check it out here.

Marianne K. Miller writes,

“Mark Bourrie tackles the mythology around the Jesuit missionary priest, Jean de Brebeuf. It is a different story than the one you thought you knew.”

Get Crosses in the Sky here!

HELLO, HORSE

Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick (Aug 6, 2024) was reviewed in Everything Zoomer! The review was posted online on August 15, and you can read it here.

Everything Zoomer writes,

“The year 2024 has Richard Kelly Kemick, whose wild imagination and fresh insights cast a spell in Hello, Horse; every entrancing story casts off in a different direction, with a genuine ‘wait? what?!’ moment you did not see coming . . . Kemick, a poet and playwright and National Magazine Award gold medal-winner, is one to watch.”

Grab Hello, Horse here!

AWARDS NEWS!

ON CLASS

We’re thrilled to share that On Class by Deborah Dundas is a nominee for the 2024 Heritage Toronto Book Award. The nominees were announced on September 3, 2024, and you can check out the full list here.

The Heritage Toronto Book Award highlights the breadth and depth of Toronto’s heritage, covering topics from music history, to public infrastructure, to immigration and multiculturalism. The award ceremony will take place on Monday, October 28, 2024 at The Carlu (444 Yonge Street).

Grab a copy of On Class here!

Media Hits: THE NOTEBOOK, A CASE OF MATRICIDE, THE UTOPIAN GENERATION, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE NOTEBOOK

The Notebook by Roland Allen (Sep 3, 2024) was reviewed in the Wall Street Journal! The article was published online on August 23, and is available to read here.

Reviewer Meghan Cox Gurdon writes,

“Bold and thrilling . . . informative and uplifting, The Notebook may leave you feeling that you should chuck away your smartphone, pick up a nice, clean journal and start jotting.”

The Notebook was featured in Publishers Weekly‘s list of “Eight New Books Indie Booksellers Want You to Read.” The list was posted on August 16, and you can check it out here.

Phoenix Books book buyer Laurel Rhame wrote,

“I love obscure, strange, or hyper-focused histories, and this is the first history of the notebook—a tool that completely changed humanity. I can already tell this is going to be my big gift book for the holiday season. It’s perfect for the writers, artists, or engineers in your life. And of course for the history buffs.”

The Notebook also appeared on Kirkus Reviews‘ list, “150 Most Anticipated Books of the Fall.” The article was posted online on August 20, and you can read it here.

Grab The Notebook here!

 

THE UTOPIAN GENERATION

The Utopian Generation by Pepetela, translated by David Brookshaw (Aug 12, 2024), was featured in The African Report. The review and interview with Pepetela was published online on August 12, and you can read it here.

Reviewer Olivia Snaije calls it:

“A groundbreaking book . . . In The Utopian Generation, perhaps closest to [Pepetela’s] personal experience, the characters fight for the liberation of Angola with the hope of building an egalitarian society. Through the individual characters and the choices they make, the reader makes a 30-year journey through the complexity of decolonisation in Angola.”

The Utopian Generation was also featured on The Daily Kos‘s list of “Contemporary Fiction Views: It’s new books day!” The list was posted on August 13, and you can check it out here.

Grab The Utopian Generation here.

 

A CASE OF MATRICIDE

A Case of Matricide by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Nov 12, 2024) was reviewed in Publishers Weekly. The review was published online on August 16, and is available to read here.

Publishers Weekly writes,

“[A Case of Matricide] serves up a tantalizing blend of psychological thrills and small-town life . . . a convincing depiction of bureaucratic and provincial rot. Fans of the series will be pleased.”

Order A Case of Matricide here!

SORRY ABOUT THE FIRE

Sorry About the Fire by Colleen Coco Collins (Apr 2, 2024) was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada. The review was published in their September print issue.

The LRC writes,

Sorry About the Fire introduces readers to an intrepid thinker and original writer who seems to relish nature as much as her Irish, French, and Odawa heritage. If Collins can teach readers just one thing, surely it’s a sense of surprise, so that we too might say, ‘I’m up in my head / tread, tread, tread, tread, / and you can’t hold a candle to this.'”

Get Sorry About the Fire here!

BURN MAN

Mark Anthony Jarman, author of Burn Man: Selected Stories (Nov 21 2023), was interviewed on the podcast Craftwork. The episode aired on August 8, and you can listen to the conversation in full here.

Grab Burn Man here!

ON CLASS

Deborah Dundas, author of On Class (May 9, 2023), was interviewed by Nathan Whitlock on the podcast What Happened Next: a podcast about newish books. The episode aired on August 19, and you can listen to it here.

Grab On Class here!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (Aug 1, 2023) appeared in 49th Shelf‘s list “Astonish and Renew: Books With a Sense of Play.” The list was posted on August 22, and you can check it out here.

Rod Moody-Corbett calls it:

“[A] brilliant second novel . . . expansive and epic and intellectually enduring.”

Get The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

Check out the companion novel, Forgotten Work, here!

Media Hits: EDUCATION OF AUBREY MCKEE, HOLLOW BEAST, COCKTAIL, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE EDUCATION OF AUBREY MCKEE

Happy pub week! Alex Pugsley, author of The Education of Aubrey McKee (May 7, 2024) was interviewed by Jason Jeffries for the Bookin podcast. The interview was published on May 6, 2024. You can listen to the full episode here.

In the interview, Jason Jeffries called Education:

“The best book of 2024 period.”

Get The Education of Aubrey McKee here!

Check out the first book, Aubrey McKee, here!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024) received a starred review in Quill & Quire! The review was published online on May 8, 2024. Check out the review here.

Critic Cassandra Drudi writes:

“Bernard weaves a multicoloured, shimmering tapestry of the Gaspé . . . The many threads aren’t necessarily gathered into a neatly finished selvage by the time the reader gets to the end of the book, but the journey they have been taken on is so immersive, so grounded in a place and the characters that inhabit it, that it hardly matters.”

Author Christophe Bernard was interviewed on CBC All in a Weekend. The interview aired on May 5, 2024 and can be heard in full here.

Grab The Hollow Beast here!

COCKTAIL

Lisa Alward, author of Cocktail (Sep 12, 2023) was interviewed on CBC Information Morning for Fredericton! The interview aired on May 7, 2024, and you can listen to the full interview here.

Lisa Alward was also interviewed in The New Quarterly. The interview was published on May 9, 2024, and you can read the full interview here.

Cocktail was featured on CBC Books’ list of “14 Canadian short story collections to read for Short Story Month” on May 10, 2024! Check out the full list here.

Grab a Cocktail here!

 

CASE STUDY & DUCKS NEWBURYPORT

It’s a blast from the past: Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet and Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann were both featured on the Book Review’s Best Books Since 2000 in the New York Times! Check out the full list here.

Pick up Ducks Newburyport here!

Get Case Study here!

 

News & Awards: HOW TO BUILD A BOAT, ON COMMUNITY, FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (August 1, 2023) has been reviewed in the Toronto Star by Michael Coren. The review was published online on July 29, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Michael Coren writes,

“[T]he book that’s going to get under your skin this summer … dizzyingly interesting … there is something utterly new and exciting here.”

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles has also been reviewed in Booklist. The review was published online on July 28, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Sal A. Joyce calls it:

“A story with heart, intrigue, and mystery … Lovers of science fiction will find this unlike anything they’ve read before.”

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles has been featured in Lit Hub and Book Riot. Both articles were published on August 1, 2023.

Read Lit Hub’s “27 New Books Out Today” list here and Book Riot’s “New Releases” list here.

Get The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (November 7, 2023) has been longlisted for The Booker Prize 2023! The longlist was announced this morning, August 1, 2023. You can read the full announcement here.

The Booker jury writes:

“The interweaving stories of Jamie, a teenage boy trying to make sense of the world, and Tess, a teacher at his school, make up this humorous and insightful novel about family and the need for connection. Feeney has written an absorbing coming-of-age story which also explores the restrictions of class and education in a small community. A complex and genuinely moving novel.”

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney was also reviewed in the Irish Times and RTE Ireland. Both articles were published online on July 22, 2023.

Irish Times calls it a “beautiful meditation on love,” while RTE Ireland calls it a “beautifully-written, tenderhearted story.”

Order How to Build a Boat here!

ON COMMUNITY

On Community by Casey Plett (November 7, 2023) has been featured in Quill and Quire’s 2023 Fall Nonfiction Preview. The article was published online on August 2, 2023.

You can read the preview here.

Order On Community here!

COCKTAIL

Cocktail by Lisa Alward (September 12, 2023) has been reviewed in The Miramichi Reader. The review was published online on August 1, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Lucy Black writes,

“This collection of twelve pristine short stories might best be described as small snapshots of lives shadowed by disquietude. The writing is crisp, accomplished and assured, and the characters are vividly and sympathetically drawn, as they experience the emotional convolutions of individuals struggling between that which they believe to be right and that which they desire.”

Order Cocktail here!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

The Art of Libromancy by Josh Cook (August 22, 2023) has been featured in the Chicago Review of Books as one of their “12 Must Read Books of August.” The article was published online on August 1, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Michael Welch calls it

“A necessarily critical look at the practice of connecting readers with their next book in the age of monopolization and censorship.”

Order The Art of Libromancy here!

THE COUNTRY OF TOO

The Country of Toó by Rodrigo Rey Rosa, translated by Stephen Henighan (July 11, 2023) has been reviewed in The Complete Review. The review was published online on July 29, 2023. You can read the full review here.

MA Orthofer calls it

“An appealing panorama of both the country and the different cultures and forces—from Mayan to global-capitalist—at work in it.”

Get The Country of Toó here!

SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY & OFF THE RECORD

Sleep is Now a Foreign Country by Mike Barnes (November 7, 2023) and Off the Record edited by John Metcalf (November 14, 2023) were both featured in Quill and Quire’s 2023 Fall Preview: Poetry, Memoir, and Biography. The article was published online on July 26, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Order Sleep is Now a Foreign Country here!

Order Off the Record here!

April Media Hits!

IN THE NEWS!

ALL THINGS MOVE

All Things Move: Learning to Look in the Sistine Chapel by Jeannie Marshall (April 4, 2023) was reviewed by Randy Boyagoda on CBC’s The Next Chapter! The episode was posted on April 21, and is available to listen to here.

All Things Move was also reviewed in Ploughshares on April 10, the Winnipeg Free Press on April 8, and the Midwest Book Review on April 20..

In the Ploughshares review (here), Holly M. Wendt writes:

“Marshall’s narrative doesn’t arrive at tidy religious revelation or optimistic conversion; what takes center stage is simply the willingness to examine her own story from the edges and move inward: from the threads of her mother’s complicated faith and with attention to the moments in her life that allowed her to stand here, in this artistic and historical center.”

In the Winnipeg Free Press review (here), Alison Gillmor writes:

All Things Move is an extended essay on how we experience art. […] evocative and illuminating, a moving meditation on the human impulse both to create art and to experience its power.”

In the Midwest Book Review (here), Helen Dumont calls the book:

“Informative, insightful, perceptive, thought-provoking.”

Additionally, Jeannie Marshall wrote a special for the Globe and Mail, “What’s so great about the Sistine Chapel?” published on April 7. You can read Marshall’s piece here.

Grab your copy of All Things Move here.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) has been reviewed in the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. Both reviews were published online on April 20, 2023.

David Moscrop writes, in the Globe and Mail:

“To create so many small worlds and characters that feel so real and populate is an act of transcendence. To do it well is to offer a gift. In Instructions, the late Steven Heighton has managed both, and the gift is ours.”

Read the full review here.

Robert J Wiersema writes, in the Toronto Star:

“As these stories demonstrate, human life is a means of exploration and celebration, threaded through with darkness and loss. In the midst of death, Heighton seems to say, we are in life: it should be savoured.”

Read the full review here.

Instructions for the Drowning was also reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada by Kyle Wyatt. The review was published online on April 18, 2023. You can read the review online here.

Kyle Wyatt writes:

“If there is any justice in this literary world, Steven Heighton’s ‘Professions of Love,’ the fifth of the eleven stories in Instructions for the Drowning, will soon 7nd itself sitting side by side with ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ on syllabuses everywhere. Like Heighton’s final collection as a whole, it is wonderful.”

Instructions for the Drowning was excerpted in Lit Hub on April 19, 2023, and Open Book on April 13, 2023. Read the Lit Hub excerpt here and Open Book here.

Get your copy of Instructions for the Drowning here!

WAY TO GO

Way to Go by Richard Sanger (April 4, 2023) has been reviewed in The Miramichi Reader by Heidi Greco. The review was published online on April 17, 2023. You can read the review here.

Greco calls the collection

“remarkable […] We should all be so blessed (and brave) to leave such a farewell as Sanger has.”

Get your copy of Way to Go here.

PASCAL’S FIRE

Pascal’s Fire by Kristina Bresnen (April 4, 2023) has been reviewed in The Miramichi Reader. The review was published online on April 10, 2023. You can read the full review here.

In the review, Michael Greenstein writes:

“Speaking in tongues, Bresnen makes an impressive name for herself in this debut colloquy; she notices, and should be noticed.”

Get your copy of Pascal’s Fire here.

ON WRITING AND FAILURE

On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche (February 14, 2023) has been reviewed in Compulsive Reader. The review was published online on April 9, 2023. Read the full article here.

Nick Harvey writes,

On Writing and Failure is less about writing and more about perseverance. Reading it reminded me of all the things I thought impossible before I tried them and now find impossible to live without. Writing is one of those things.”

Get your copy of On Writing and Failure here.

 

Media Round-up

IN THE NEWS

ON WRITING AND FAILURE

On Writing and Failure (February 14, 2023) by Stephen Marche has been reviewed in the the Washington Post. The article was published online on March 6, 2023. Read the full article here.

Mark Athitakis writes,

In On Writing and Failure, Marche attempts to reset the way we talk about such struggles. He stomps Freytag’s Pyramid flat. […] Marche’s book isn’t a pep talk, but it’s not intended to cut you off at the knees. His sole prescription is stubbornness. “You have to write.”‘

On Writing and Failure was also reviewed by John Delacourt in Policy Magazine. The review was published online on March 7, 2023.  You can read the full review here.

John Delacourt writes, for Policy,

On Writing and Failure is a slim little truth bomb I wish had been written when I first harboured notions of writing to be published.”

Stephen Marche, author of On Writing and Failure has been interviewed by Aryeh Cohen-Wade on the Culturally Determined podcast. The podcast episode was published online on March 7, 2023. Listen to the full episode here.

Marche was also interviewed on CKLW AM 800 about his event on March 8, 2023. Listen to the full AM 800 interview here.

Grab your copy of On Writing and Failure here.

BIG MEN FEAR ME

Mark Bourrie author of Big Men Fear Me (October 18, 2022) has been interviewed on CBC Ideas. The episode aired on March 6, 2023.

Check out the full episode here.

Grab your copy of Big Men Fear Me here.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) has been reviewed in FreeFall Magazine. The review will be published in their spring 2023 print edition.

Skylar Kay writes,

“Heighton will go down as one of the brightest stars in Canadian literary history.”

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton has been reviewed in The Walrus. The review was published online on March 6, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Elisabeth de Mariafi writes,

“In Instructions for the Drowning, however, he uses his poet’s precision, his depth as a novelist, and his intimacy as a memoirist to give us a glimpse of the closure he may have hoped for—for himself, for his characters, and also for his readers.”

Order your copy of Instructions for the Drowning here.

SHIMMER

Shimmer by Alex Pugsley (May 17, 2022) was reviewed in The Colorado Sun. The review was published online on March 5, 2023. Read the full review here.

The review quotes Jason Jefferies,

“Alex Pugsley is one of our greatest living writers. He is like a Canadian James Joyce, only if James Joyce grew up hanging out in the parking lots of rundown 7-Elevens and pow-wowing on the grimy floors of divey rock & roll clubs.”

Grab your copy of Shimmer here.

ON BROWSING

On Browsing by Jason Guriel has been reviewed in Literary Matters. The review was published online on March 6, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Vertacnik writes,

“We need the voices of those like Guriel in our midst […] My copy is already a well-thumbed and annotated reminder of the advantages (to quote Guriel’s fellow Canadian Marshall McLuan) of ‘marching backwards into the future.'”

Get your copy of On Browsing here.

ORDINARY WONDER TALES

Emily Urquhart, author of Ordinary Wonder Tales (November 1, 2022), and this year’s nonfiction judge for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize, has been interviewed for the Kobo blog! The interview was published online on March 10, 2023.

Read the full interview here.

Grab your copy of Ordinary Wonder Tales here.

 

ON WRITING AND FAILURE, TRY NOT TO BE STRANGE, DANTE’S INDIANA: Reviews and Interviews!

IN THE NEWS!

ON WRITING AND FAILURE

On Writing and Failure (February 14, 2023) by Stephen Marche has been reviewed in the Globe and Mail. The review was published online on February 23, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Reviewer Sandra Martin writes,

“While writing starts with one person, an empty page and an urge to say something, it ends with another person reading your words, digesting them and making a judgment. […] That’s why I’m keeping On Writing and Failure on my desk—for encouragement—which I am guessing is Marche’s true purpose in writing the book.”

On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche has been excerpted in The Atlantic. The excerpt was published online on February 21, 2023. You can read the full excerpt here.

Stephen Marche has been interviewed on The Times Literary Supplement podcast and The Commentary podcast. Both aired on February 16, 2023. You can listen to the full TLS podcast episode here, and the full episode of The Commentary here.

Stephen Marche has also been interviewed by Tara Henley in her newsletter Lean Out with Tara Henley. The interview was published online on February 19, 2023. Read the full interview here.

During the interview, Marche says,

“I think what I find very powerful is those feelings of connection that you get across time and space, that really only writing can provide. […] That cosmopolitanism in time and space and that web of connections—to even be a small part of that is very powerful.”

Grab your copy of On Writing and Failure here!

TRY NOT TO BE STRANGE

Try Not to Be Strange by Michael Hingston (September 13, 2022) has been reviewed in Alberta Views. The review appears in the March 2023 print edition.

Megan Clark writes:

Try Not to Be Strange takes on the magnificent feat of writing the history of a persistent and yet barely extant literary kingdom. […] The charm of the book, really, is the earnestness with which Hingston approaches the story.”

Get your copy of Try Not to Be Strange here!

DANTE’S INDIANA

Dante’s Indiana by Randy Boyagoda (September 2021) has been reviewed in America Magazine. The review was published on February 15, 2023. Read the full review here.

Gregory Wolfe writes:

“Using the literary framework of Dante’s three-part epic poem ‘The Divine Comedy’ as a lens through which to cast a sardonic eye on the present moment is hardly a new idea, but it has proven to be a durable one.”

Grab your copy of Dante’s Indiana here!

Check out the first book, Original Prin, here!

CASE STUDY, DUCKS NEWBURYPORT, ON WRITING AND FAILURE: Reviews and Awards!

IN THE NEWS

CASE STUDY

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet (November 1, 2022) has been longlisted for The Dublin Literary Award 2023! The longlist was announced online on January 30, 2023. You can check out the full longlist here.

The nominating library, Limerick City and County Libraries, comments:

“Macrae Burnet has created a dynamic work that has excellent characterisation with acute observation. The writing is layered but there is no use of superfluous words. While the themes are profound, the style is both intriguing and playful . He has created a book that is thought provoking and a compulsive read.”

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet has been reviewed in Spectrum Culture. The review was published online on January 27, 2023. You can read the complete review here.

J Simpson writes,

“Darkly funny and, at times, deeply weird, Case Study is a dense, complicated, singular work of meta-fiction. It asks deep and important questions without ever shoving them down your throat. Most importantly, though, it tells an interesting and engaging story—three of them, in fact. It’s a ride well worth taking, even if it is sometimes quiet and subtle. Case Study is well-deserving of its praise.”

Get your copy of Case Study here!

DUCKS, NEWBURYPORT

Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann was mentioned in the Ohio Star‘s article “The Importance of Reading Difficult Books.” Read the full article here.

Grab your copy of Ducks, Newburyport here!

Check out Lucy Ellmann’s other books here.

ON WRITING AND FAILURE

On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche (February 14, 2023) was featured in the Columbia Daily Tribune. The article, “These early 2023 books top reading lists of local literary enthusiasts” was published online on January 30, 2023. You can read the full article here.

The article quotes local bookseller, Carrie Koepke,

“Number 6 in the Biblioasis Field Notes Series. A tiny book that holds enough to be a repeated reference. Any writer will benefit from having this honest exposure to the importance of failing. It is a harsh, and still kind, reminder that the effort is more important than the result—because without the effort there isn’t a chance of anything at all.”

Order your copy of on Writing and Failure here!

Check out the rest of the Field Notes series here!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING, ON BROWSING, THIS TIE THAT PLACE, ORDINARY WONDER TALES, A GHOST IN THE THROAT, BEST CANADIAN ESSAYS 2023: Media Hits!

IN THE NEWS!

THIS TIME, THAT PLACE

This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise (November 8, 2022 ) has been listed on Kirkus Reviews as part of “Yes, You Can Read Short Stories in Shuffle Mode” by Laurie Muchnick. The article was published online on January 24, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Muchnick writes,

“Blaise is a name I’ve known for years but never read, and this career-spanning retrospective is a great place to start. Born in North Dakota to Canadian parents, he’s lived in both Canada and the U.S. with his late wife, Bharati Mukherjee, and our review says his work ‘can feel old-fashioned, but in a good way. The stories have an autobiographical buzz and intensity.’ We call the stories ‘fiercely and smartly observed’; Blaise is, as Margaret Atwood puts it in her foreword, ‘the eye at the keyhole … the ear at the door.'”

Get your copy of This Time, That Place here!

A GHOST IN THE THROAT

Doireann Ní Ghríofa‘s A Ghost in the Throat was listed in Town and Country Magazine as one of “14 Books to Read After Watching The Banshees of Inisherin.” The list was published online on January 21, 2023.

You can read the whole list here.

Grab your copy of A Ghost in the Throat here!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) has received a starred review in Foreword Reviews. The review will be part of their March/April 2023 issue.

In Foreword, Elaine Chiew calls Instructions,

“Masterful … the Joycean stories collected in Instructions for the Drowning are searing reminders: that the other side of rage is a vale of tears”

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton was also featured as part of the Toronto Star’s Spring 2023 preview. You can check out the full preview here.

Preorder your copy of Instructions for the Drowning here!

ORDINARY WONDER TALES

Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart (November 1, 2022), has been reviewed in Consumed By Ink! The review was published online on January 18, 2023. Read the full review here.

Reviewer Naomi MacKinnon writes,

“I let Emily stoke a sense of wonder and an interest in folklore that I didn’t know I had … Reading her essays feels like someone is reading you a bedtime story while learning new and marvelous things.”

Ordinary Wonder Tales was also reviewed in The Charlatan! The review was published online on January 14, 2023. Read the full review here.

Reviewer Daria Maystruk wrote,

“[A] collection of essays that invigorates the imagination, warms the heart and fills the mind with melancholic wonder.”

Grab your copy of Ordinary Wonder Tales here!

ON BROWSING

On Browsing by Jason Guriel (Oct 4, 2022) was reviewed at the substack newsletter Lean Out with Tara Henley, published on January 8, 2023.. You can read the whole piece here.

In a short essay called “Weekend Reads: The Wandering Mind,” Tara Henley writes,

“We were snowed in in Toronto when I began reading. My phone fell silent. The wind howled outside the window. And, suddenly, all that existed was Guriel’s exquisite elegy for all we’ve lost with the rise of digital culture—including the experience of passing hours at your local bricks-and-mortar bookshop, browsing.”

Get your copy of On Browsing here!

BEST CANADIAN ESSAYS 2023

Best Canadian Essays 2023 (Nov 15, 2022) was reviewed at the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published on January 9, 2023. Read the review here.

Reviewer Gene Walz writes, these

“earnest essays offer some serious insight … some of the essays, as stand-alones, are worth the price of the entire book.”

Grab your copy of Best Canadian Essays 2023 here!

Check out the full Best Canadian 2023 set here!