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Media Hits: MAY OUR JOY ENDURE, ON COMMUNITY, A CASE OF MATRICIDE, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

MAY OUR JOY ENDURE

May Our Joy Endure by Kev Lambert, translated by Donald Winkler (Sep 3, 2024) was featured in Lit Hub‘s list of “The 16 Best Book Covers of September.” The article was published online on September 26, and you can check it out here.

Grab May Our Joy Endure here!

A CASE OF MATRICIDE

A Case of Matricide by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Nov 12, 2024) was reviewed in the Sunday Post! The review was published in print on September 29.

The Post writes,

“The most ‘action-packed’ of the trio, it [A Case of Matricide] is a master class in characterisation. Unnervingly dark—and at times, surprisingly humorous—it took its toll on the author.”

Get A Case of Matricide here!

ON COMMUNITY

On Community by Casey Plett was reviewed in Geist, in their Fall 2024 print issue.

Reviewer Kristina Rothstein writes,

“A spiral of thoughts and anecdotes organized around questions concerning what it means to be part of the queer and trans communities, On Community . . . is a heartfelt, funny, wistful read—just conceptually rigorous enough to provoke thought, but without difficult theory or jargon.”

Grab On Community here!

THE NOTEBOOK & A WAY TO BE HAPPY & HELLO, HORSE

The Notebook by Roland Allen (Sep 3, 2024), A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson (Sep 10, 2024), and Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick (Aug 10,2024) were all featured in the Windsor Star! The article highlighted the books and their upcoming launches at Biblioasis Bookshop on September 30 and October 2. Check out the article here.

Grab The Notebook here!

Get A Way to Be Happy here!

Get Hello, Horse here!

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: HELLO HORSE, COCKTAIL, COMRADE PAPA, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

HELLO, HORSE

Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick (Aug 6, 2024) was reviewed in The Miramichi Reader! The review was published on August 5, and you can read it in full here.

Reviewer Brett Josef Grubisic writes,

“Restless, exuberant, meandering, funny, inventive, and really quite bonkers . . . Either Kemick is one of those rare, savant-like authors whose outpouring is naturally (and enviably) stylish, or he tempers what seems to be a natural, baroque extravagance with careful, word-by-word revision. Whatever the case, readers will notice—and ought to appreciate—those sentences . . . All in all, Hello, Horse gallops and canters, dazzles and makes a splash. Prepare to be wowed.”

Hello, Horse was also reviewed by Jessica Poon in The BC Review on August 8, which you can check out here. Poon writes,

“Overall, Kemick has balanced visually rich absurdity . . . and the general malaise of youth with admirable, poetic flair. This is an unapologetically unique slice of Canadiana.”

Lit Hub also featured the collection on their list of “26 new books out today” on August 6—you can check out the full list here. The list features Burn Man: Selected Stories author Mark Anthony Jarman’s blurb of the collection:

Hello, Horse is beguiling and wondrous, with talking dogs and nuns at the end of the world, images that linger with strange pleasure; Richard Kelly Kemick is a stellar wordsmith.”

Grab Hello, Horse here!

A WAY TO BE HAPPY

A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson (Sep 10, 2024) was featured in Quill & Quire‘s “2024 Fall Preview: Short Fiction, Graphic Novels, and Poetry.” The preview was posted on July 31, and you can check out the full list here.

Cassandra Drudi writes,

“The characters in these stories from veteran of the form Caroline Adderson range from thieving addicts to a Russian hit man to a middle-aged man facing a routine colonoscopy. Through these varied characters and their disparate conflicts, Adderson explores happiness—how we find it and what it means when we do.”

Order A Way to Be Happy here!

COCKTAIL

Cocktail by Lisa Alward (Sep 12, 2023) was included in 49th Shelf‘s list of “Short Stories for Summer Reading.” The article was published on August 8, and you can read it in full here.

Danila Botha writes,

“The winner of this year’s Danuta Gleed award, this collection is absolutely masterful. When a writer writes with such precision and authorial control, it’s such a joy to read their work. There’s a stylistic elegance that I admire so much, the way that Alward disrupts domesticity, the tensions inherent in her stories, her expert pacing and her beautiful descriptions are all incredibly impressive.”

Pick up Cocktail here!

COMRADE PAPA

Comrade Papa by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne (Oct 8, 2024), was reviewed by Lara Pawson in the Times Literary Supplement on August 1. You can read the full review here.

Pawson writes,

“Only a bold writer in command of their talent could take on such a perilous and vast subject and come out, with laughter and love, on top . . . If you are foolish enough to open this book with a set of assumptions about where it will go, prepare to be wrong-footed . . . Expect to see GauZ’ back on the shortlists with this superlative work of fiction.”

Order Comrade Papa here!

THE EDUCATION OF AUBREY MCKEE

Alex Pugsley, author of The Education of Aubrey McKee (May 7, 2024), was interviewed on Toronto Met Radio’s “All My Books”! The interview aired on July 31, and you can listen to it (beginning at 31:20) here.

Get The Education of Aubrey McKee here!

Check out the first book, Aubrey McKee here!

Media Hits: MAY OUR JOY ENDURE, THE NOTEBOOK, THE PAGES OF THE SEA, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE PAGES OF THE SEA

The Pages of the Sea by Anne Hawk (Sep 17, 2024) was reviewed in The Guardian! The review was published online on July 25, and is available to read here.

Critic Claire Adam writes,

“The writing is confident and precise; evocative of the beauty of the Caribbean and full of sparkling observation. I’ll eagerly await whatever this talented author has in store for us next.”

Order The Pages of the Sea here!

THE NOTEBOOK

Roland Allen, author of The Notebook, has been interviewed by David Marr on ABC’s Late Night Live podcast, talking about how the humble notebook changed the world. The interview was posted online on July 25, and you can listen to it here.

Roland Allen was also interviewed by John Dickerson on Slate‘s Gabfest Reads podcast, in which they discuss the historical origins of notebooks, how to keep a notebook and their own personal journeys documenting their lives. The episode was posted online on July 20, and you can listen to it here.

Order The Notebook here!

MAY OUR JOY ENDURE

May Our Joy Endure by Kevin Lambert, translated by Donald Winkler (Sep 10, 2024), was featured in Quill & Quire’s  2024 Fall Fiction Preview. The list was published online on July 24, and you can check out the full preview here.

Attila Berki writes,

“Like his previous works, including Querelle of Roberval, Kevin Lambert’s new novel has garnered acclaim and won multiple awards in the original French. A philosophical critique of the ultra-privileged, it tells of a famous architect who returns to her hometown and creates a furor with a widely condemned Montreal megaproject.”

May Our Joy Endure was also reviewed (in French) in Fugues. The review was posted on July 21, and you can read it here.

Reviewer Benoit Migneault writes,

“[A] translation . . . that masterfully captures the quality of the original text. As a reminder, May Our Joy Endure brilliantly explores and satirizes the world of the ultra-rich, the galloping gentrification of neighborhoods, and the incestuous and parasitic links between political and economic circles.”

Order May Our Joy Endure here!

CROSSES IN THE SKY

Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie (May 21, 2024) was excerpted in the Ottawa Citizen. The excerpt, “Up to Huronia” from chapter two of the book, was published online on July 22. Read it in full here.

Grab Crosses in the Sky here!

Media Hits: PAGES OF THE SEA, COMRADE PAPA, ON CLASS, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE PAGES OF THE SEA

The Pages of the Sea by Anne Hawk (Sep 17, 2024) was reviewed in Kirkus Reviews. The review will appear in their Aug 15 print issue, and was published online on July 19. Check it out in full here!

Kirkus writes,

“Hawk’s prose is beautiful, a lyrical and loving portrayal of an island and its people . . . A unique, scrappy, tender bildungsroman.”

Order The Pages of the Sea here!

COMRADE PAPA

Comrade Papa by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne (Oct 8, 2024), was reviewed by Alison Manley in The Seaboard Review. The review was published online on July 14, and you can read it here.

Manley writes,

Comrade Papa is a sweeping coming-of-age story, spanning two centuries and continents, linking two characters across time and space to critique the long-lasting effects of colonialism. It’s also a very playful novel, poking fun at the purity of movements and the one-note branding we often slap on history. GauZ’ is a really interesting and experimental writer, and it shows here in his second book translated into English by Frank Wynne.”

Order Comrade Papa here!

ON CLASS

On Class by Deborah Dundas (May 9, 2023) was reviewed in the Montreal Serai. The review was published online on July 15, and you can read it in full here.

Reviewer Veena Gokhale writes,

“Coming at the complex issue of class from several angles, Deborah Dundas draws from personal narrative, interviews and testimonies, formal research and studies, information from media, and other sources to present a holistic, nuanced and highly informative view of class in Canada.”

Get On Class here!

Check out the rest of the Field Notes series here!

YOUR ABSENCE IS DARKNESS

Your Absence Is Darkness by Jon Kalman Stefansson, translated by Philip Roughton (Mar 5, 2024), was included in the Sarnia Journal‘s list, “The ultimate summer 2024 reading guide: The Book Keeper’s top picks.” The article was published online on July 17, and you can read it here.

Bookseller Ann writes,

“This is way more charming, endearing, beautiful and hopeful than the title, the cover and the themes of grief make it sound. It’s the perfect summer read if you love a cast of funny, endearing characters who roll over each other’s stories in a way that clarifies the meaning of community.”

Get Your Absence Is Darkness here!

Media Hits: A WAY TO BE HAPPY, THE EDUCATION OF AUBREY MCKEE, THE NOTEBOOK, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

A WAY TO BE HAPPY

A Way to Be Happy by Caroline Adderson (Sep 10, 2024) has received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews! The starred review will appear in their August print issue, and was published online on July 4. Check it out here.

Kirkus writes,

“Adderson . . . is a deft, masterful storyteller whose literary fiction surely deserves more attention.”

Order A Way to Be Happy here!

HELLO, HORSE

Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick (Aug 6, 2024) was listed in Reactor‘s “Can’t Miss Indie Press Speculative Fiction for July and August 2024.” The article was posted on July 3, and you can read it here.

Tobias Carroll writes,

“These stories include a number of strange visions of the not-so-distant future—and throw some ghosts into the mix as well. “

Get Hello, Horse here!

THE NOTEBOOK

Roland Allen, author of The Notebook (Sep 3, 2024), was interviewed on Ryan Holiday’s podcast The Daily Stoic. The episode aired on June 26, and is available to listen to here.

Order The Notebook here!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024), was reviewed in the Manhattan Book Review. The review was published online for their June issue, and is available to read here.

Reviewer Eric Smith writes,

“Bernard’s hilarious tome is a hundred-proof fever dream of bizarre scenarios and Canada’s most outlandish cast of characters . . . But readers beware. Your technicolor nightmares will be fueled by The Hollow Beast.”

Grab The Hollow Beast here!

AWARD NEWS!

THE EDUCATION OF AUBREY MCKEE

The Education of Aubrey McKee by Alex Pugsley (May 7, 2024) has been longlisted for the 2024 Toronto Book Awards! The longlist was announced on July 4, and you can read it here.

Toronto Public Library has created a special reading list of the 2024 longlisted titles, here. The shortlist for the 2024 Toronto Book Awards will be announced later this summer and a winner will be named in a prize ceremony November 7.

Grab The Education of Aubrey McKee here!

Or, check out the first book, Aubrey McKee, here.

Media Hits: THE FUTURE, CROSSES IN THE SKY, THE HOLLOW BEAST, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FUTURE

The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2024) was featured in the Quill & Quire‘s article on “Independent booksellers’ top-selling Canadian titles of 2024”! The article was posted on June 26, and places The Future in the #2 and #3 spots on their top-sellers lists.

Check out the full article here.

Grab The Future here!

CROSSES IN THE SKY

Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brebeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie (May 21, 2024) was reviewed by Michael Taube in the Washington Examiner. The article was published online on June 21, and you can read it here.

Taube writes,

Crosses in the Sky provides a detailed account of the giant-framed missionary who walked among the Hurons . . . This patron saint of Canada has long been given plenty of attention by Jesuits, whether for his missionary spirit or for his extreme suffering. It is good to see his legend now given serious historical treatment.”

Crosses in the Sky was reviewed in Guelph Today in bookseller Barb Minett’s column, “On the Bookshelf.” The review was posted on June 23, and can be read here.

Minett writes,

“Bourrie’s history of the attempted colonization of Huronia by the Jesuits and French is a torrent of information. Open the first page and you will be taken down a treacherous river full of gigantic rapids and waterfalls, and around every turn there is a skirmish or drought, an epidemic or blackflies . . . [This is] a very important book in the writing of Canadian history.”

Crosses in the Sky also made an appearance on Quill & Quire‘s article on “Independent booksellers’ top-selling Canadian titles of 2024.” The article, posted on June 26, places Crosses in the #25 spot. Check out the article here.

Get Crosses in the Sky here!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024), was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada. The review by Amanda Perry will appear in their July/August issue, and was published online on June 24 here.

Perry writes,

“It’s ambitious . . . [The reader] can tap into the author’s manic rhythm and admire the density of the world he creates . . . his technical mastery has generated all kinds of complex flavours, so long as one can stomach the initial shock of the taste.”

Grab The Hollow Beast here!

BARFLY

Barfly by Michael Lista (June 4, 2024) was reviewed in the Midwest Book Review. The review was posted in their Wisconsin Bookwatch on June 24, and can be viewed here.

The MBR writes,

“With his own distinctive style of cadence, rhythm, word driven imagery, and emotional reach, the poems comprising Michael Lista’s last volume of verse is an extraordinary, memorable, and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and college/university library Contemporary American Poetry collections and supplemental curriculum reading lists.”

Grab Barfly here!

ORDINARY WONDER TALES

Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart was featured in Book Riot! Kendra Winchester featured the essay collection in her newsletter Read this Book on June 26, and you can read it in full here.

Winchester writes,

“Emily Urquhart knows her stuff. She holds a doctorate in folklore, and publications around the world have featured her writing. In this collection of essays, Urquhart examines the magical and the everyday side by side.”

Grab Ordinary Wonder Tales here!

OFF THE RECORD

Off the Record edited by John Metcalf was reviewed in the Literary Review of Canada! The review by Sarah Hampson was published online on June 24, and will appear in their July/August issue. Check it out here.

Hampson writes,

“[Metcalf’s] appreciation for the challenges of being a published writer is reflected in the clever approach he takes in Off the Record . . . The authors in Off the Record chart the course of their careers with stories of rejection, bad publishing decisions, punishing reviews, eventual triumph, and formative experiences. Which is the best kind of education for any wannabe writer—and a reminder for readers of the commitment involved in creating the fiction they get to enjoy.”

Grab Off the Record here!

HELLO, HORSE

Richard Kelly Kemick, author of the forthcoming story collection Hello, Horse (Aug 2024), wrote an essay for The Walrus. The essay, “I Tried to Finish a Dead Man’s Novel” was published online on June 20, and is available to read here.

Order Hello, Horse here!

Media Hits: HELLO HORSE, THE UTOPIAN GENERATION, ON COMMUNITY, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

HELLO HORSE

Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick (Aug 6, 2024) was highlighted in the Globe and Mail‘s list of “Thirty-four books to read this summer.” The article was published online on June 13, and you can check it out here.

Critic Emily Donaldson writes,

“The animal world interacts with the human one in confounding and sometimes wondrous ways in Kemick’s first collection, which abounds with the poet’s sideways, observational writing.”

Hello, Horse was also featured in BC Bookworld! The review was published in their Summer 2024 print issue, and is available to view online here.

BC Bookworld writes,

“Part of the joy of a collection of short stories is the surprising range of characters and situations that can spring from an author’s imagination. Richard Kelly Kemick’s debut collection of character-driven stories, Hello, Horse, range from the humorous to the bizarre.”

Order Hello, Horse here!

THE UTOPIAN GENERATION

The Utopian Generation by Pepetela, translated by David Brookshaw (Aug 13, 2024), was highlighted in the Globe and Mail‘s list of “Thirty-four books to read this summer.” The article was published online on June 13, and you can check it out here.

Critic Emily Donaldson writes,

“First published in Portuguese in 1992, this decades-spanning anti-colonialist novel from the early sixties by Angola’s most prominent writer (real name: Artur Pestana dos Santos) involves a group of students in Lisbon who, faced with the prospect of being conscripted to suppress a political uprising in their native land, end up (like Pepetela himself did) as guerilla fighters in Angola’s brutal 14-year war.”

Order The Utopian Generation here!

SORRY ABOUT THE FIRE

Colleen Coco Collins, author of Sorry About the Fire (Apr 2, 2024), was interviewed on the All Write in Sin City podcast! The interview was posted online on June 9, and is available to listen to in full here.

Grab Sorry About the Fire here!

YOUR ABSENCE IS DARKNESS

Your Absence Is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton (Mar 5, 2024), was reviewed in The /tƐmz/ Review! The review was published online on June 10, and you can read it here.

Reviewer Marcie McCauley writes,

“Jón Kalman Stefánsson’s writing is steeped in love and loss; his stories are sorrow-soaked, the kind that linger.”

Grab Your Absence Is Darkness here!

LOVE NOVEL

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simic (Feb 6, 2024), was reviewed in The /tƐmz/ Review! The review was published online on June 10, and you can read it in full here.

Reviewer Alex Carrigan writes,

“The true love story in this novel is the love between the reader and the characters, asking the reader to sympathize with the flawed, struggling characters and to empathize with how easy it is to fall into cynicism and to forget the joy in life . . . Sajko’s novel can remind you that some relationships are too interwoven to be truly cut apart, and it’s in finding how they’re tied together that one will remember to persist regardless.”

Get Love Novel here!

ON COMMUNITY

On Community by Casey Plett (Nov 7, 2023) was feature in CBC Books’ list of “25 books for Pride Month.” The list was posted online on June 14, and is available to check out here.

CBC Books writes,

“Plett uses her firsthand experiences to eventually reach a cumulative definition of community and explore how we form bonds with one another.”

Get On Community here!

BEST CANADIAN SERIES 2024

The Best Canadian 2024 Series launch, part of TIFA’s Toronto Lit Up programme, was highlighted on their YouTube channel! The short video was posted on June 12, and you can watch it here.

Get Best Canadian Essays 2024 here!

Get Best Canadian Poetry 2024 here!

Get Best Canadian Stories 2024 here!

Get all three Best Canadian anthologies here!