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

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INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DROWNING

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

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!

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IN THE NEWS

ALL THINGS MOVE

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!

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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

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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!

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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!

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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!

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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!

Media Hits: ORDINARY WONDER TALES, THIS TIME THAT PLACE, TRY NOT TO BE STRANGE, BIG MEN FEAR ME, and more!

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IN THE NEWS!

ORDINARY WONDER TALES

Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart (November 1, 2022), has been reviewed in the Globe and Mail! The article on essay collections was published online on December 29, 2022. Read the full article here.

Emily Donaldson writes,

“In her collection Ordinary Wonder Tales, Canadian Emily Urquhart brings her skills as a journalist, editor and folklorist … fascinatingly to bear on a series of exquisitely written essays about the relationship between living and storytelling; about how these two things rely on each other for their mutual survival.”

Get your copy of Ordinary Wonder Tales here!

THIS TIME, THAT PLACE

This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise (November 8, 2022 ) has been reviewed in The Bulwark. The review was published on December 29, 2022. You can read the review here.

Randy Boyagoda writes,

“Clark Blaise might be North America’s Great Unclaimed Writer. […] These stories, like their author, embody and enact a continental sense and sensibility.”

Get your copy of This Time, That Place here!

TRY NOT TO BE STRANGE

Try Not to Be Strange by Michael Hingston (September 13, 2022) has been reviewed in the Times Literary Supplement. The review was published online and in print on December 23, 2022. Check out the full review here.

Michael Saler writes,

“Michael Hingston’s captivating history underscores the affinity between [Javier] Marias’s preoccupations as an artist and the peculiar interplay of the real and fictional that defines the kingdom.”

Grab your copy of Try Not to Be Strange here!

BIG MEN FEAR ME

Big Men Fear Me by Mark Bourrie (October 18, 2022) has been excerpted in Ottawa Citizen. The excerpt was published online on December 29, 2022.

Check out the full excerpt here.

Get your copy of Big Men Fear Me here!

GLOBE AND MAIL 2023 PREVIEW!

The Full Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (August 1, 2023), Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (April 18, 2023), and Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor (August 15, 2023) have been featured as part of the Globe and Mail’s 2023 preview. You can read the full preview here.

Check out The Full Moon Whaling Chronicles here.

Check out Instructions for the Drowning here.

Check out Breaking and Entering here.

Media Hits: QUERELLE OF ROBERVAL, CASE STUDY, THE DAY-BREAKERS, and more!

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IN THE NEWS

QUERELLE OF ROBERVAL

Querelle of Roberval by Kevin Lambert (translated by Donald Winkler) (August 2, 2022) is listed at Quill & Quire as a book of the year. The list was published online on December 7, 2022. You can find the whole list here.

Steven W. Beattie writes,

“This excoriating novel, first published in French in 2018, relocates Jean Genet’s notorious anti-hero to a small mill town in Quebec, where his libertine lifestyle collides with a fraught and controversial workers’ strike. Sexually explicit, graphically violent, and surprisingly lyrical, Lambert’s second novel, in a fluid and furious translation by Donald Winkler, is the most audacious work of fiction published in the English language this year.”

Kevin Lambert also published a piece with Lit Hub recommending books that, like Querelle of Roberval, might disturb the reader. In an article called “Edgy, Unapologetic, and Transgressive: 8 Books That Seek to Unsettle the Reader,” Lambert writes,

“With Querelle, I wanted to write a book about political topics like capitalism, anti-social queer politics, and working class strikes, but without telling the readers what to think, and by doing this, preserving their sense of liberty, inviting them to join the debate and the conflict (“querelle” means “conflict”).” The piece was published online on December 8, 2022.

You can read the whole article here.

Grab your copy of Querelle of Roberval here!

CASE STUDY

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet (November 1, 2022) has been reviewed in the New Yorker. The review was published online on December 12, 2022. You can read the full review here.

The New Yorker writes:

“With its layers of imposture and unreliability, the novel suggests that our personhood is far more malleable than we believe.”

Case Study has been featured as one of Shelf Awareness’s “Best Books of the Week.” The article was published on December 9, 2022. You can read the full article here.

Case Study has also been reviewed in Reviewing the Evidence. The review was published online on December 12, 2022. You can read the full review here.

Reviewer Yvonne Klein writes,

“What decidedly it is is an enticing piece of metafiction that is impossible to put down, but not because it offers generated tension that is happily released when order and safety are restored. Instead it tempts us down one fascinating path after another without promising or providing any solutions.”

Grab your copy of Case Study here!

THIS TIME, THAT PLACE

This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise (October 18, 2022 ) has also been featured as part of Shelf Awareness’s “Best Books of the Week.” The article was published on December 9, 2022. You can read the full article here.

Pick up your copy of This Time, That Place here!

THE DAY-BREAKERS

The Day-Breakers by Michael Fraser has been selected as one of CBC’s Best Poetry Books of 2022. The article was published online on December 8, 2022. You can read the full list here.

The Day-Breakers was featured by ByBlacks as part of their list to “Celebrate Black Canadian Authors This Holiday Season With These 36 Books.” The article was published online on December 12, 2022. You can read the full list here.

Get your copy of The Day-Breakers here!

HAIL, THE INVISIBLE WATCHMAN & THE AFFIRMATIONS

Hail, the Invisible Watchman by Alexandra Oliver, and The Affirmations by Luke Hathaway (April 4, 2022) were both selected as one of CBC’s Best Poetry Books of 2022. The article was published online on December 8, 2022. You can read the full list here.

Hail, the Invisible Watchman and The Affirmations were also both reviewed in Able Muse! Both articles were published online on December 14, 2022. Read The Affirmations review here and Hail, The Invisible Watchman review here.

Brooke Clark writes, of The Affirmations:

“This is a book that will be read and reread by those attuned to its pleasures. For myself, I can only say it could have gone on forever; once I entered the mental world created by The Affirmations, I never wanted to leave it.”

Susan McLean writes, of Hail:

“Alexandra Oliver, in Hail, the Invisible Watchman (Biblioasis, 2022), shows off her bravura poetic technique and her sharp satiric eye, extending her darkly ironic visions from the individual poems that populated her first two collections, to the more novelistic narrative mosaics in her latest book.”

Order The Affirmations here!

Order Hail, the Invisible Watchman here!

SETH’S CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (November 1, 2022) were reviewed in Paste Magazine’s ‘5 Cozy Christmas Reads to Warm Your Holiday Season’! The article was published online on December 9, 2022. Read the review here.

Alana Joli Abbott writes,

“Taking classic short stories and adding design and geometry-heavy illustrations, Seth reintroduces eerie works from writers including Gertrude Atherton, Lady Asquith, and Shirley Jackson, among many others … great small gifts for holiday exchanges.”

Pick up the 2022 set of Christmas Ghost Stories here!

Check out the rest of the series here!

THE POWER OF STORY

The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era by Harold R. Johnson (October 11, 2022) has been featured as part of CBC’s “Best Nonfiction Books of 2022.” The article was published online on December 13, 2022. You can read the full review here.

Grab your copy of The Power of Story here!

CONFESSIONS WITH KEITH

Pauline Holdstock’s Confessions with Keith (October 25, 2022), has been listed as a book of the year at the 49th Shelf! The list, called “22 of ‘22: Our Books of the Year,” was published online on December 12, 2022. You can find the whole list here.

Order your copy of Confessions with Keith here!

BEST CANADIAN ESSAYS 2023

The Miramichi Reader has reviewed Best Canadian Essays 2023 edited by Mireille Silcoff. The review was published online on December 12, 2022. You can read the whole review here.

Pick up Best Canadian Essays 2023 here!

Grab the full Best Canadian 2023 set here!

Media Hits: ON BROWSING, CASE STUDY, THIS TIME THAT PLACE, CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES, and more!

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IN THE NEWS!

ON BROWSING

Jason Guriel’s On Browsing (Oct 4, 2022) was featured on TVO’s The Agenda. Steve Paikin interviewed Guriel about browsing, physical media, and mall nostalgia. The episode aired on Dec 6, 2022. You can watch the whole interview here.

Jason Guriel published an original piece about holiday shopping as a companion to On Browsing at The Atlantic. In “The Tactile Joy of IRL Gift Buying,” Guriel writes, “Browsing isn’t just better for carbon levels; it’s better for the soul.” Find the whole essay here.

Jason Guriel’s On Browsing has been featured in an article at the Toronto Star. The article was posted online on Dec 3, 2022. You can find the whole piece here.

In a piece titled “Tinder fatigue, the endless Netflix scroll, and the real reason online life is exhausting,” Andy Lamey writes,

“The trend in dating apps illustrates a central insight of poet and critic Jason Guriel in his book On Browsing: constraint can be generative. On Browsing recounts Guriel’s experiences shopping for physical copies of books or movies or albums, and asks, much as the developers of Soon do in the case of dating, why such experiences often compare favourably to seeking out a similar item online.”

Order your copy of On Browsing here!

THIS TIME, THAT PLACE

This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise (Oct 18, 2022) has been reviewed in the McGill Tribune! The review was published online on December 7, 2022. Read the full review here.

Adrienne Roy writes,

“[Blaise’s] readers don’t feel as though they’re merely a fly on the wall: They’re sitting in the back of a stolen car in the middle of the night, inheriting a new identity as they watch a past life fade in the rearview.”

This Time, That Place was featured at CBC Books’ ‘The Best Canadian Fiction of 2022,’ published on December 6, 2022. You can find the whole list here.

They write,

“This Time, That Place demonstrates why Blaise is one of Canada’s greatest short story writers.”

Grab your copy of This Time, That Place here!

ORDINARY WONDER TALES

Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart (Nov 1, 2022) was reviewed in the McGill Tribune! The review was published online on December 7, 2022. Read the review here.

Ella Buckingham writes,

“In Urquhart’s collection, she dispels the notion that fairy tales are irrelevant in this fast-paced, modern environment, and recreates the magic of childhood in day-to-day life.”

Ordinary Wonder Tales has been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press! The review was published online on December 3, 2022. Read the full review here.

Reviewer Ariel Gordon writes,

“This book brings to mind Robin Wall Kimmerer’s work … Ordinary Wonder Tales is a quietly charming book about all the ordinary tragedies in a life. Urquhart’s essays help us understand the stories we tell ourselves, while also being satisfying as stories themselves.

Ordinary Wonder Tales was also reviewed by Andrew Hood for Bookshelf! The review was published online on December 4, 2022. Read the full review here.

Hood writes,

“Through both personal experience, the experiences of others, and scholarship, Urquhart reveals the wondrous to be ordinary and the ordinary to be wondrous … you won’t be able to put the book down. Unless, of course, you have to.”

Emily Urquhart, author of Ordinary Wonder Tales, was interviewed in Kitchener CityNews! The interview was published online on December 2, 2022. Read the full article here.

In the interview, Urquhart states,

“I like to say that I’m a journalist on the folklore beat. We often see journalism as fact and folklore as fiction but I think if you look at fairy tales … what gets passed on within these stories, there’s truth within them.”

Get your copy of Ordinary Wonder Tales here!

SETH’S CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (November 1, 2022) were reviewed on the Total Christmas Podcast! The episode was published online on December 3, 2022. Listen to the review, beginning at 1:24:15 here.

Host Jack Ford says about the Christmas Ghost Stories,

“What I love about these books is that they’re really a proper blast from the past … If you know someone who likes their spooky stories, then they’d make a perfect Christmas gift. They look lovely, the artwork is fantastic, and they’re just a great read … I highly recommend them.”

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories were also reviewed in Modern Daily Knitting! The review was posted on December 3, 2022. Check it out here.

Reviewer DG Strong writes,

“There’s a wide range [of stories]—some are genuinely spooky, some (when held to today’s horror movie standards) are borderline campy, but I’ve yet to read one that wasn’t genuinely entertaining.”

Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories were reviewed in The Charlatan! The review was published online on December 1, 2022. Check out the full review here.

Reviewer Justin Ball writes,

“[Seth’s] illustrations are bold yet simple, and the use of shadows brings a lifelike quality to the playful cartoon style. Seth visually guides readers through each scene and adds thrill to every tale … Those looking to introduce a weird yet interesting tradition with spooky historical ties should consider reading Christmas ghost stories to haunt the holiday season.”

Pick up all three 2022 Christmas Ghost Stories here!

Check out the rest of the series here!

CASE STUDY

Case Study by Graeme Macrae Burnet (November 1, 2022) has been featured in the New York Times as part of “11 New Books We Recommend This Week.” The list was published online on December 1, 2022. You can read the full article here.

Case Study has been featured by Lit Hub as one of “November’s Best Reviewed Books.” The article was published online on November 30, 2022. You can read the full list here.

Pick up your copy of Case Study here!

THE POWER OF STORY

The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era by Harold R. Johnson (October 11, 2022) has been reviewed in Quill & Quire by Robert J. Wiersema. The article was published online on December 1, 2022. You can read the full review here.

Wiersema writes,

“The Power of Story is a profoundly hopeful book, rooted in the malleability of stories we have taken for granted (the justice system and the government, to name but two), and the power of humans building out from their lifestories to effect those changes.”

Grab your copy of The Power of Story here!

BEST CANADIAN POETRY 2023

The Miramichi Reader, All Lit Up Blog, and the National Observer have reviewed Best Canadian Poetry 2023!

In the Miramichi Reader, Michael Greenstein writes,

“Hats off to Barton for editing this collection that has so much variety and serves as a forum and format for reconciliation; hats off to Biblioasis for publishing Best Canadian Poetry 2023.”

The review was published on Nov 26, 2022. Read the whole review here.

At All Lit Up, bookseller Matthew Stepanic writes,

“With heavy hitters such as Billy-Ray Belcourt, Bertrand Bickersteth, Jake Byrne, Penn Kemp, and Jan Zwicky, this collection will surprise and delight readers with a diverse range of what’s possible in the form, and will help guide them to discover books and poets they’ll want to read more from.”

The recommendation was published Nov 29, 2022. You can read Stepanic’s whole list here.

And at the National Observer, Matteo Cimellaro writes of the collection’s launch,

“As attendees sat cramped between oak bookshelves, […] readers were challenged with distinct poems of varying language, scenes, stories and identities. The reading—and the anthology—appreciates the overlaps and differences of each poet’s specificity.”

The article was published Nov 25, 2022. You can read the whole article here.

Grab your copy of Best Canadian Poetry 2023 here!

Check out the full Best Canadian 2023 set here!

THE AFFIRMATIONS

The Affirmations by Luke Hathaway (April 5, 2022) has been featured as part of The Coast’s “12 local books that topped our reading lists in 2022.” The article was published online on December 6, 2022. You can read the complete list here.

Morgan Mullin writes:

“The Affirmations by Luke Hathaway Halifax-based poet Luke Hathaway had a lot to live up to with his newest release, since his last one—was on The New York Times’ radar as one of 2018’s best books. This time around, Hathaway delivers the story of ‘the love that rewired his being’ through lyrical poems that lean into the possibilities presented by small-f faith and transformation.”

Grab your copy of The Affirmations here!