interviews Archives - Page 3 of 6

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (Nov 7, 2023) has been reviewed in the New Yorker as part of their “Briefly Noted” column. The article was published online and in print on December 18, 2023. You can read the full review here.

The New Yorker writes:

“Feeney’s prose is beautifully crisp.”

Get How to Build a Boat here!

SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY

The Future by Catherine Leroux, trans. by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023) has been featured on CBC Day 6’s Holiday Gift Guide. The list was published on December 18, 2023. The complete CBC Day 6 gift guide can be seen here.

Catherine Leroux was also interviewed on CBC’s Afternoon Drive. The interview aired on December 15, 2023. Listen to the full Afternoon Drive interview here.

Get The Future here!

OFF THE RECORD

Off the Record edited by John Metcalf (Dec 5, 2023) was reviewed in The BC Review. The review was published online on December 18, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Brett Josef Grubisic calls it:

“Carefully wrought, tonally diverse, artful, thoughtful, revelatory, and nothing short of enticing.”

An interview with Caroline Adderson on her experience contributing to Off the Record was featured in Open Book. The interview was published online on December 12, 2023, and can be read here.

The book is described by Open Book in glowing terms:

“Metcalf challenges six decorated Canadian authors to consider and share just how they became writers. Each essay is accompanied by a short story, showcasing each writer’s literary identity and style, and providing insight into how each writer approaches their work and their editorial relationships.”

Get Off the Record here!

Sleep Is Now a Foreign Country by Mike Barnes (Nov 14, 2023) has been reviewed in Publishers Weekly. The review was published online on December 9, 2023, and can be viewed here.

Publishers Weekly writes,

“The volume’s particular magic lies in Barnes’s adept use of free-flowing chronology and hallucinatory language to immerse readers in the depths of his psychosis … This isn’t easy to forget.”

Mike Barnes was also interviewed on CBC’s Fresh Air on December 9, 2023 and published a playlist for the book on Largehearted Boy on December 11, 2023.

You can listen to the full interview here, and check out Barnes’ playlist here.

Get Sleep Is Now a Foreign Country here!

POGUEMAHONE

Poguemahone by Patrick McCabe was listed on The Book Beat‘s Year-End Favorites by Tom Bowden. The list was published online on December 14, 2023, and can be seen here.

Bowden writes,

“Poguemahone, for all its bleakly comic episodes, is more seriously about the tensions between traditional and modern ways, trust and betrayal, memory and vengeance, and British / Irish power dynamics.”

Get Poguemahone here!

Media Hits: ALL THE YEARS COMBINE, BURN MAN, CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES, and more!

December 7, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS!

SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY

Mike Barnes, author of Sleep Is Now a Foreign Country (Nov 14, 2023), was interviewed in Open Book. The interview was posted on December 5, 2023 and can be read here.

Open Book writes,

“Mike Barnes is one of those rare writers who can do it all—in poetry, short fiction, novels, and memoir, he takes readers on nuanced, brainy, powerfully moving journeys. Fiercely intelligent yet consistently accessible and relatable, Barnes has a unique perspective informed by a deep empathy gained through his own difficult and complex experiences with mental health and grief.

His latest book, Sleep is Now a Foreign Country (Biblioasis), is a deeply personal, thoughtful, unflinching exploration of madness and imagination.”

Sleep Is Now a Foreign Country was (rave!) reviewed in the Toronto Star. The review was published online on November 23, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Brian Bethune writes:

“For all the ways Barnes’s book is indescribable, this much is true—it is a thing of beauty and courage.”

Get Sleep Is Now a Foreign Country here!

ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

Ray Robertson, author of All the Years Combine (Nov 7, 2023) has been interviewed on Bookin’ podcast, hosted by Explore Booksellers’ Jason Jeffries. The episode aired on December 4, 2023. You can listen to it here.

All the Years Combine was reviewed in Anti Music as part of their holiday gift guide for 2023. The article was published online on November 22, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Kevin Wierzbicki writes:

“All the Years Combine is a fast, enlightening read but it is also something to savor, like one of the Dead’s notorious hour-long jams.”

All the Years Combine was reviewed in The Ultimate Guitar. The review was published on November 27, 2023, and you can read it in full here.

Greg Prado writes,

“Author Ray Robertson … put[s] it all in perspective.”

Ray Robertson was interviewed in Roots Music Canada, which was published on December 1, 2023 and can be read here.

Jason Schneider writes,

“One of Canada’s most prolific writers … one thing that’s always made Ray’s work stand out is how he seamlessly blends his favourite music into his prose, whether it’s fiction or non-fiction.”

Get All the Years Combine here!

SETH’S CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES 2023

The Future by Catherine Leroux, trans. by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023) was featured by CBC Books as one of their “Best Books of 2023.” The article was published online on December 5, 2023.

You can read the full list here.

Get The Future here!

ON COMMUNITY

Casey Plett, author of On Community (Nov 7, 2023), was interviewed on CBC’s The Next Chapter and in the Globe and Mail. Both interviews were published online on December 1, 2023. You can listen to the full episode of The Next Chapter here. You read the full Globe and Mail interview here.

On Community was reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on November 18, 2023. You can read the review here.

Matt Henderson writes:

“Plett ruminates on the importance of community in succinct, snappy prose.”

On Community was featured on The Tyee’s 2023 top reads for the holidays. The article was published online on December 1, 2023, and can be read here.

Casey Plett was also interviewed on “The Maris Review,” Lit Hub’s podcast hosted by Maris Kreizman. The episode was published on November 30, 2023, and you can listen to the interview here.

Get On Community here!

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (Oct 31, 2023) have all been featured in the Chicago Tribune’s holiday gift guide which was published on November 30, 2023, as well as the Toronto Star‘s holiday gift guide which was published November 24, 2023. You can read the Chicago Tribune list here and the Toronto Star here.

Christopher Borelli (Chicago Tribune) writes:

“For the past several years Canadian publisher Biblioasis has revived the tradition, one thin, tiny book at a time (illustrated by minimalistic, idiosyncratic cartoonist Seth). They’ve revived ghosts by Edith Wharton, Charles Dickens and others. The newest installment … includes “The Captain of the Polestar,” a polar fright by Arthur Conan Doyle. What is, after all, “A Christmas Carol” but a ghost story, handed down, every holiday?”

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories were also reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada! The reviews of The Captain of the Polestar, The House by the Poppy Field, and A Room in a Rectory were published in their December print issue.

The three reviews write:

“The House by the Poppy Field is a spare and chilling tale that’s as much psychological as it is spectral. A perfectly sized collectible with Seth’s signature illustrations throughout, this latest edition would make for a fine stocking stuffer. Just don’t wait until Christmas morning to open it.”

“Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Captain of the Polestar (Biblioasis) is full of foreboding, with whispers of both Coleridge and Melville. In this edition, Seth complements the artful story from 1883 with bold and evocative imagery that transports readers to the haunting scene.”

“Caldecott’s A Room in a Rectory … may well spook those who gather on Christmas Eve … Ultimately, the author’s and the illustrator’s treatments of ‘the obscene and macabre’ make for a lot of fun.”

Get all three 2023 Christmas Ghost Stories here!

Check out the rest of the series here!

BURN MAN

Burn Man: Selected Stories by Mark Anthony Jarman (Nov 21, 2023) has been reviewed in the Toronto Star. The review was published online on November 30, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Sara Harms writes:

“One doesn’t read a Mark Anthony Jarman story so much as one experiences it … These 21 stories in Burn Man selected by the author himself, are not ordered chronologically but rather the way a musician might sequence tracks on an album, paying careful attention to modulations in tempo and rhythm and how individual pieces play against one another.”

Get Burn Man here!

BREAKING AND ENTERING

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (November 7, 2023) has been listed in Lit Hub as one of the “10 Best Book Covers of November,” and on Bookmarks as one of “The Best Reviewed Books of the Month.” Both articles were published online on November 30, 2023.

You can read the Bookmarks article here, and Lit Hub here!

How to Build a Boat was also reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on November 20, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Malcolm Forbes calls it:

“A wonderful book that earned its rightful place on this year’s Booker Prize longlist.”

Get How to Build a Boat here!

Don Gillmor, author of Breaking and Entering (August 15, 2023) was interviewed on CBC’s The Next Chapter on November 25, 2023, and All Write in Sin City on November 26, 2023.

You can listen to CBC Next Chapter here, You can listen to All Write in Sin City here.

Get Breaking and Entering here!

COCKTAIL

Cocktail by Lisa Alward (Sept 12 2023), was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada for their December print issue. It was also featured as one of The Miramichi Reader’s “Best Books of 2023.” Both the review and the list were published online on November 20, 2023. You can read the full LRC review here and The Miramichi Reader‘s list here.

Emily Latimer writes, in the LRC,

“Throughout Lisa Alward’s debut story collection, deceptively unassuming items … prompt a diverse cast of characters to reflect on events that have changed their lives … Alward’s sure-footed writing ably steers readers through stories about injuries, marriages, new parenthood, and other watershed moments.”

Cocktail was also featured on The Tyee’s 2023 top reads for the holidays. The article was published online on December 1, 2023 and can be read here.

Get Cocktail here!

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (Apr 18 2023) was featured by CBC Books as one of their “Best Books of 2023.” The article was published online on December 5, 2023.

You can read the full list here.

Get Instructions for the Drowning here!

Media Hits: HOW TO BUILD A BOAT, ALL THE YEARS COMBINE, SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY, and more!

November 3, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS!

SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (Nov 7, 2023) has been reviewed by Sophie Ward in the New York Times! The review was published online on November 1, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Ward writes:

“Atmospheric … Feeney’s prose is both careful and relaxed—detailed in its description of place and character and of the effortful human urge to find order in the natural world; casual in its approach to storytelling.”

How to Build a Boat has also been reviewed in the Hindustan Times. The review was published online on October 31, 2023. You can read the full review here.

The Hindustan Times writes:

“How to Build a Boat conjures images of rural Ireland and the Irish sea. It explores how motherhood shapes people in many ways … Fractured lives … come together beautifully in this novel that explores humanity, love, and grief.”

Get How to Build a Boat here!

Sleep is Now a Foreign Country by Mike Barnes (Nov 14, 2023) was reviewed in Quill & Quire. The review was published online on November 2, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Micheline Maylor writes:

“At times memoir, at times dissociative fable, at times personal essay … the writing maintains breath-close nearness to the perceptions of the narrator … This close-up experience of Barnes’s psychosis is akin to being in a diving bell with the storyteller, extremely intimate and viscerally suffocating … culminat(ing) in a feeling of waking from a vivid dream not quite remembered.”

Get Sleep is Now a Foreign Country here!

ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

All the Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in Fifty Shows by Ray Robertson (Nov 7, 2023), was reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on October 30, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Douglas Johnston writes:

“It’s hard to convey the magic of the Dead’s music in words … Robertson … succeeds.”

Ray Robertson was interviewed on Border City Rock Talk. The interview was posted online on October 31, 2023. Listen to the full interview here.

All the Years Combine was also reviewed in Louder Than War. The review was published online on November 1, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Craig Campbell writes:

“This collection celebrating fifty concerts by the Grateful Dead shows them to be tougher and more complex than you might think … meticulous readings of the bands concerts (alongside track listings) are impressively extensive but crucially they also build a surprising picture too.”

Get All the Years Combine here!

SETH’S CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES: THE CAPTAIN OF THE POLESTAR

The Captain of the Polestar by Arthur Conan Doyle, illust. by Seth (Oct 31, 2023) was featured on the Christmas Past Podcast! Host Brian Earl did a reading of the story, from our 2023 Christmas Ghost Stories series, in an episode posted on October 31, 2023. You can listen to the episode here.

Get The Captain of the Polestar here!

Get all three 2023 Christmas Ghost Stories here!

ON WRITING AND FAILURE

On Writing and Failure by Stephen Marche (Feb 14, 2023) was reviewed in The New Statesman. The review was published online on November 2, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Barney Horner writes:

“Marche’s purpose is not to discourage young tyros from taking up the pen but to inform them—via repeated commands of “no whining”—that writing is not the path to success, riches or even, often, respect; writers write in spite of failure.”

Get On Writing and Failure here!

Check out the rest of the Field Notes series here!

Jeannie Marshall, author of All Things Move: Learning to Look in the Sistine Chapel (Apr 4, 2023), was interviewed on Art Curious Podcast. The episode was published online on October 30, 2023. You can listen to the episode here.

Get All Things Move here!

Media Hits: THE FUTURE, LOVE NOVEL, STANDING HEAVY, and more!

October 27, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS!

ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

Catherine Leroux, author of The Future, trans. by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023), has been interviewed on CBC’s The Next Chapter. The interview aired on October 21, 2023. You can listen to the full interview here.

The Future has been reviewed in the Montreal Review of Books. The review was published online on October 11, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Bronwyn Averett writes:

“Leroux brings believability, poetry, and hopefulness to the dystopian narrative of Fort Détroit by steering clear of the many pitfalls of end-times novel … This permits the novel to imagine infinite small beginnings within the ending, and to show how destruction is balanced by the ever-present promise of creation.”

The Future was also reviewed in The Miramichi Reader. The review was published online on October 10, 2023, and can be read here.

Lisa Timpf writes:

“Unlike some dystopian books, The Future is suffused with a sense of optimism … Though their neighbourhood is decaying and the economy is crumbling, the characters reach beyond the every-person-for-themselves trope by celebrating community, the power of cooperation, and hope.”

Get The Future here!

Ray Robertson, author of All The Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in Fifty Shows (Nov 7, 2023), was featured in 519 Magazine. The feature was published online on October 26, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Dan Savoie writes:

“If life were a Grateful Dead concert, Chatham author Ray Robertson would be it’s philosopher-archivist.”

Ray Robertson was interviewed for the Chatham Daily News. The story was published online on October 17, 2023 and in print October 18, 2023. Check out the full interview here.

Get All the Years Combine here!

LOVE NOVEL

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simic (Feb 14, 2024) was reviewed in Publishers Weekly. The review was published online on October 25, 2023. You can read the full review here.

The review reads:

“A sharp and claustrophobic portrait of a fraying marriage … Sajko never takes her foot off the gas in this potent and incendiary outing.”

Preorder Love Novel here!

OFF THE RECORD

Off the Record by John Metcalf (Nov 14, 2023) was excerpted in Quill & Quire. Online on October 25, 2023. You can read the full excerpt here.

Off the Record was reviewed in Publishers Weekly, online on October 6, 2023. You can read the full review here.

The review reads:

“The authors’ reflections illustrate the complex interplay between craft and intuition that goes into writing fiction … and provide revealing case studies of how stories move from inspiration to published product. Aspiring writers will be enlightened.”

Order Off the Record here!

STANDING HEAVY

Standing Heavy by GauZ’, trans. by Frank Wynne (Oct 3, 2023) was reviewed in Words Without Borders. The review was published online on October 25, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Tobias Carroll writes:

“Tightly written and tautly structured, Standing Heavy has a considerable heft to it … There have been countless novels written about class and immigration over the years, but what Gauz’ has done here is truly singular.”

Standing Heavy by GauZ’ was reviewed in the New York Times, and was published online on October 6, 2023. You can read the full review here.

The review reads:

“This shrewd, episodic novel stars the security guards of Paris. Specifically: Ferdinand, Ossiri and Kassoum, undocumented Ivoirian immigrants whose watchful eyes examine Parisian turmoil over two generations. ‘Here, everything is on sale, even self-esteem,’ Ossiri notes, before he ejects shoppers at closing.”

Get Standing Heavy here!

COCKTAIL

Cocktail by Lisa Alward (Sep 12 2023), was featured on CBC Books as one of “18 books by past CBC Short Story Prize winners and finalists from 2023.” The article was published online on October 26, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Lisa Alward was interviewed on CBC Fredericton by Jeannie Armstrong. The interview was published online on October 23, 2023 and can be listened to here.

Cocktail was also reviewed on Pickle Me This blog on October 16, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Get Cocktail here!

1934

1934: The Chatham Coloured All-Stars’ Barrier-Breaking Year by Heidi LM Jacobs (June 6, 2023) was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada. The review was published online on October 16, 2023, and will appear in the November 2023 print issue. You can read the full review here.

Michael Taube calls it:

“An inspiring story of determination and triumph, grounded in the belief that sport is for everyone.”

Get 1934 here!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (August 1, 2023) has been excerpted in the Washington Post’s Book World newsletter. The excerpt was published online on October 13, 2023. Read the full excerpt here.

In the newsletter, Ron Charles writes:

“Jason Guriel is a Canadian poet of gobsmacking originality. Three years ago, he published Forgotten Work, a futuristic novel about fans searching for an early 21st-century rock band. […] Guriel’s new verse novel is, if anything, even more bizarre and delightful.”

Get The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

News & Awards: THE FUTURE, THE ART OF LIBROMANCY, CONFESSIONS WITH KEITH, and more!

September 11, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

The Future by Catherine Leroux trans. Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023) was reviewed in the Toronto Star. The review was published August 31st, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Alex Good writes of this post-dystopian novel,

“What makes The Future hopeful is its imagining of new, organic, co-operative (but not egalitarian) communities … savage but caring networks: small, local, and while living close to the edge still managing to get by. It may not be progress, but it is adapting to a vision of the future that hits pretty close to home.”

The Future was also featured in Kirkus Reviews as one of “Eight Big New Fiction Books from Small Presses.” The article was published online on September 6, 2023. You can read the full article here.

Catherine Leroux was interviewed by Nantali Indongo for the CBC Montreal arts and culture program The Bridge on August 26th, 2023. They discussed climate anxiety, dystopian and post-dystopian science fiction, parenting young kids, and what Catherine calls her “writing face”. The one hour interview is available on demand from CBC Radio here.

The Future has also been named by CBC Books to a list of Fiction Titles to Read for Fall 2023, which was published on August 31st, 2023. Read the list of anticipated fiction titles here.

Get The Future here!

Jason Guriel, author of The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles (August 1, 2023) has been interviewed in the Globe and Mail. The interview was published on August 31, 2023.

You can read the full interview here.

Get The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

STANDING HEAVY

Standing Heavy by GauZ’, trans. by Frank Wynne (October 3, 2023) was listed in The Walrus as one of the “Best Books of Fall 2023.” The article was online September 8, 2023. You can read the full article here.

The Walrus calls it:

“A spry volume of 167 pages … that manages to trade heavily in politics while also sneaking up on your sympathy. I won’t spoil the end, but it startled me in its poignancy.”

Order Standing Heavy here!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

The Art of Libromancy by Josh Cook (Aug 22, 2023) was reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on September 2, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Ron Robinson writes,

“He writes as a fan of thesis, antithesis, synthesis — looking for solutions.”

The Art of Libromancy was also reviewed in That Shakespearean Rag by Steven Beattie. The review was published online on September 5, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Beattie writes,

“In pulling back the curtain to show readers the nuts and bolts of what this entails, Cook has provided a valuable service.”

Josh Cook was interviewed on the Book Storm podcast. The interview was published online on September 5, 2023. You can listen to the full episode here.

Get The Art of Libromancy here!

BREAKING AND ENTERING

Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor (August 15, 2023) has been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on Sept 2, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Andrea Greary writes,

“Gillmor is a skilled writer.”

Get Breaking and Entering here!

CONFESSIONS WITH KEITH

Confessions with Keith by Pauline Holdstock has been shortlisted for the 2023 Victoria Butler Book Prize! The shortlist was announced on September 7, 2023.

Check out the full shortlist here.

Get Confessions with Keith here!

BIG MEN FEAR ME & ON BROWSING

Big Men Fear Me by Mark Bourrie and On Browsing by Jason Guriel were both nominated for the 2023 Heritage Toronto Book Award! The nominees were announced on September 5, 2023.

Check out the full list here.

Get Big Men Fear Me here!

Get On Browsing here!

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

August 4, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

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!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

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 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!

Media Hits: DREAMING HOME, WORLD AT MY BACK, ART OF LIBROMANCY, and more!

July 7, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS!

DREAMING HOME

Dreaming Home by Lucian Childs (June 6, 2023) has been reviewed in the New York Times. The article was published online on July 7, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Kia Corthron writes,

“Eminently accomplished, [and] often deliciously droll … The novel asks provocative questions: At what age are we wholly accountable for our actions? To what degree do we hold a traumatized person responsible for perpetuating harm?”

Dreaming Home was also reviewed in Quill and Quire on June 27, 2023 and in Prairie Fire on June 26, 2023.

In Quill and Quire, Shawn Syms writes,

“In elegant, emotionally resonant prose, Childs creates a nuanced and sensitive portrait of a life shaped by loss, abandonment, and generational trauma … Thematically sophisticated, Dreaming Home also explores persistent issues in the gay male community such as sexual racism and the disparagement of older men.”

In Prairie Fire, Will Fawley writes,

“Though weighty, the stories or chapters in Dreaming Home are easy to devour because they feel so real and personal … The language is sparse, yet beautifully written, illuminating brief moments and observations that root you to the lives and experiences of these characters, making them vivid and real.”

Dreaming Home was featured in The Southern Review of Books as one of “Books to Celebrate in June 2023”. The list was published online on June 29, 2023. You can read the full list here.

Order Dreaming Home here!

THE WORLD AT MY BACK

The World at My Back by Thomas Melle, trans. by Luise von Flotow, (May 2, 2023) has been featured in the New York Times as one of “9 New Books We Recommend This Week.” The article was published online on May 31, 2023.

You can read the full article here.

Order The World at My Back here!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

The Art of Libromancy by Josh Cook (August 22, 2023) has been featured in Lit Hub as one of their “Most Anticipated Books of 2023.” The article was published online on July 5, 2023.

You can read the full article here.

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 featured in the Brooklyn Rail, including an interview with the author by Tobias Carroll. The article was published online on July 5, 2023. You can read the full piece here.

Carroll writes,

“The Country of Toó is … about a lot of things, including political corruption and reform; a young man’s surreal recovery from a traumatic injury; and the moral crisis faced by a man known only as the Cobra, who has begun to feel the strain of years of working as a hired gun. Tonally, the work shifts from realistic to dreamlike and back again; the result is a complex reckoning with histories both personal and national.”

Order The Country of Toó here!

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) was featured in the New Yorker as part one of their “Best Books We Read This Week,” which is part of their Best Books of 2023. The list was updated on June 22, 2023.

You can read the full list here.

Order Instructions for the Drowning here!

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (November 7, 2023) has been reviewed in the Guardian as part of “Hot off the press: authors pick their page-turners for summer.” The article was published online on July 4, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Louise Kennedy writes,

“How to Build a Boat is a heart-rending and delightful voyage in the company of 13-year-old Jamie O’Neill and his currach. The author Elaine Feeney has a poet’s way with words and uncanny understanding of human frailty.”

Order How to Build a Boat here!

ON CLASS

Deborah Dundas author of On Class (May 9 2023) wrote a piece on the process of writing On Class in the Literary Review of Canada. The piece “Opening Up” was published online on June 22, 2023 and appears in the print edition of their July/August issue. You can read the full piece here.

Deborah Dundas was also interviewed on Morning TV Hamilton. The interview aired on June 20, 2023. Watch the full interview here.

Order On Class here!

BIG MEN FEAR ME

Big Men Fear Me by Mark Bourrie (October 18, 2022) has been reviewed in Troy Media by Michael Taube. The article, “Four Canadian Books I Highly Recommend” was published online on July 4, 2023. Check out the full article here.

Taube writes,

“[George McCullough] is barely remembered today for several reasons, including the unfortunate bipolar disorder that led to his early and unexpected demise. Thanks to Bourrie’s well-written book, that’s no longer the case.”

Order Big Men Fear Me here!

Media Hits: INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING, ALL THINGS MOVE, ON CLASS, and more!

June 1, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) was reviewed in the New York Times by Jen Vafidis. The review was published online on May 30, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Vafidis writes,

“To read work like Heighton’s knowing that we won’t get more of it […] inspires fury in all directions. […] Every story in this collection has “it,” whatever Heighton decided “it” would be: pacing that thrills; fragile love and blind hate; descriptions you can smell and taste and hear.”

Instructions for the Drowning was reviewed in That Shakespearean Rag by Steven Beattie. The review was published online on May 23, 2023 and can be read here.

Beattie writes:

“Heighton’s almost preternatural ability to recognize what to include and what to leave out of a particular piece is most apparent in his poetry and his short fiction, where compression and precision of language combine to create meaning.”

Get Instructions for the Drowning here!

All Things Move: Learning to Look in the Sistine Chapel by Jeannie Marshall (April 4, 2023), was reviewed in the Globe and Mail! The review was published online on June 1, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Reviewer Kate Taylor writes,

“In the era of the perpetual scroll, art still asks us to stop and look, long and slowly. All Things Move is a rich vindication of one writer’s decision to do just that.”

All Things Move by Jeannie Marshall was mentioned in the New York Times as part of their “Newly Published.” The article was published online on May 24, 2023. Read the full article here.

From the article:

“The Sistine Chapel serves as inspiration and structure for this deeply contemplative account about life, family, art, and appreciation.”

All Things Move was also reviewed by Dan Dunsky in the Literary Review of Canada. The review appears online and in their print June issue. It was first published online on May 19, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Dunsky writes,

“Part meditation, part cultural criticism, part therapy, All Things Move captures the complex range of emotions that art can sometimes elicit in us, as well as the questions that may arise as a consequence.”

Get All Things Move here!

THE WORLD AT MY BACK

The World at My Back by Thomas Melle, trans. by Luise von Flotow (May 2, 2023) was featured in Words Without Borders‘ article “The Watchlist: May 2023.” The article was published online on May 31, 2023. Read the full review here.

Tobias Carroll writes,

“The World at My Back is in no way an easy read; instead, it’s a candid and frequently harrowing chronicle of its author’s struggles with mental health over the years, and the cyclical nature of its effect on his life. In von Flotow’s translation, this book becomes a source of insight into what its author went through—and what he gained and lost along the way.”

The World at My Back has been reviewed in the Ottawa Review of Books. The review was published online on May 19, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Tim Niedermann writes,

“His goal in The World at My Back […] is to show what being mentally ill is really like from the inside. That he is such a talented writer allows him to pull this off powerfully.”

The World at My Back by Thomas Melle has been excerpted in Lit Hub. The excerpt was published online on May 23, 2023. You can read the full excerpt here.

Get The World at My Back here!

ON CLASS

Deborah Dundas, author of On Class (May 9, 2023), was interviewed by the University of King’s College MFA Program for their website, published online on May 24, 2023. You can read the full interview here.

On Class by Deborah Dundas was reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The review was published online on May 19, 2023. You can read the full review here.

Reviewer Douglas J. Johnston calls it

“a nifty, provocative little book.”

Grab On Class here!

ON BROWSING

On Browsing by Jason Guriel (October 4, 2022) has been reviewed in Fare Foreword. The review was published online on May 23, 2023. Check out the full review here.

Katy Carl writes,

“Guriel’s browsing minds court multisensory and memorable run-ins with reality, where text and context meld to generate irreducibly personal meanings. […] Guriel wants us to remember that, as human beings, we have deep, direct, innate access to ‘human and humanist’ values.”

Neil Pasricha (author of The Book of Awesome) featured On Browsing on his blog as part of his April Book Club, published on April 29, 2023. You can read Neil’s post here.

Get On Browsing here!

CASE STUDY

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet (November 1, 2022) was reviewed in the New York Sun. The review was published online on May 19, 2023 and can be read here.

Carl Rollyson writes,

“The parallel tracks of Case Study are deeply satisfying because they encompass a sense of how we live day-by-day in doubt, often unaware of our own motivations.”

Get Case Study here!

Media Hits: ALL THINGS MOVE, ON CLASS, DREAMING HOME, and more!

May 12, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS

Jeannie Marshall, author of All Things Move: Learning to Look in the Sistine Chapel by (April 4, 2023), was interviewed by Meg Nolan in Foreword Reviews. The interview was published online on May 11, 2023. You can read the interview here.

All Things Move was also featured on All Lit Up as one of “10 Books to Get For Mom.” The list was published online on May 8, 2023. Read the full list here.

Buy All Things Move here.

ON CLASS

On Class (May 9, 2023) by Deborah Dundas was excerpted in the Toronto Star. The excerpt was published online on May 6, 2023. Read the full excerpt here.

Deborah Dundas was interviewed about On Class for Open Book. The interview was published online on May 2, 2023. Read the full interview here.

Open Book writes,

“Part of Biblioasis’s acclaimed Field Notes series exploring social issues, On Class is urgent and wise, written with Dundas’ trademark wit and crisp prose. Raw and smart, it urges readers not to look away from the complexity of issues affecting the poor and working class, especially in a time of constant political, economic, and social turmoil.”

Buy On Class here.

DREAMING HOME

Dreaming Home by Lucian Childs (June 6, 2023) was reviewed in the Miramichi Reader. The review was published online on May 6, 2023. Check out the full review here.

Sarah Rutkowski writes,

“Childs’ ruthlessly genuine depiction of Kyle through these narratives is illustrative of a smart and thoughtful engagement with the simultaneity of a person whose sense of self is moulded by their suffering.”

Get Dreaming Home here.

PASCAL’S FIRE

Pascal’s Fire by Kristina Bresnen (April 4, 2023) has been reviewed in The BC Review. The review was published online on May 2, 2023. You can read the full review here.

In the review, Linda Rogers writes:

“Bresnen has found a metaphor for the human condition, but some will argue against the facility of faith speech as a solution.”

Buy Pascal’s Fire here.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING & THIS TIME THAT PLACE

Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023) and This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise (Oct 18, 2022) were included in CBC Books’ list, “May is Short Story Month — here are 14 Canadian collections to check out.” The list was published on May 4, 2023. Check out the full list here.

Get Instructions for the Drowning here.

Get This Time, That Place here.

ORDINARY WONDER TALES & CONFESSIONS WITH KEITH

Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart and Confessions with Keith by Pauline Holdstock were both featured in the Globe and Mail‘s list, “Twelve books that capture the fabulous and fraught nature of motherhood.” The article was posted on May 12, 2023. Check out the full list here.

On Ordinary Wonder Tales:

“In these essays, Emily Urquhart—who has a doctorate in folklore (and is the daughter of Canadian author Jane Urquhart and the late painter Tony Urquhart, whose dementia is dealt with in the final, powerful essay)—explores childhood, motherhood and daughterhood with a sense of wonder.”

On Confessions with Keith:

“Bridget Jones meets Nora Ephron in this diarized account of Vita, a woman dealing with an unexpected plot twist after 20 years of marriage.”

Get Ordinary Wonder Tales here.

Get Confessions with Keith here.

April Media Hits!

April 21, 2023/in Latest News/by biblioasis

IN THE NEWS!

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.