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Media Hits: THE ART OF LIBROMANCY, THE HOLLOW BEAST, BURN MAN, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

The Art of Libromancy by Josh Cook (Aug 22, 2023) was reviewed in Full Stop. The review was published online on February 18, 2024. You can read the full article here.

Rebecca Stuhr writes:

“In The Art of Libromancy, Josh Cook asks booksellers to live by their ideals. As a bookseller himself, at Porter Square Books in Massachusetts, he seeks to set an example for justice-based bookstores—justice for booksellers in their employment conditions, and justice as a motivation for bookselling.”

The Art of Libromancy was also featured in LitHub’s list of “Books for Indie Booksellers”, which was published online on February 23, 2024. You can read the full list here.

Rachel Conrad writes,

The Art of Libromancy is a candid and nuanced account of what it takes to be a part of an industry that faces a barrage of societal pressures and often finds itself at the forefront of social justice movements in a time where misinformation and fascism are on the rise.”

Get The Art of Libromancy here!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, trans. Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024) was reviewed in Midwest Book Review. The review was published online on February 18, 2024, and can be read here.

The review reads:

“A master of epic storytelling, The Hollow Beast is an inherently fascinating saga of a read from start to finish.”

Order The Hollow Beast here!

BURN MAN

Burn Man by Mark Anthony Jarman (Nov 21, 2024) was reviewed in Midwest Book Review. The review was published online on February 18, 2024, and you can check it out here.

The review reads:

“A truly revelatory selection highlights from one of the most spirited and singular contemporary masters of the short story format.”

Burn Man was also reviewed by Jeremy Thomas Gilmer in the Ampersand Review. The full review is available to read online here.

Gilmer writes,

“This collection brings [Jarman’s] fiercest prose, his most vital characters, and builds an architecture against which our troubled times can be thrashed. The music of broken men, splintered lives, and the salted souls left behind echo through the pages.”

Get your copy of Burn Man here!

STANDING HEAVY

Standing Heavy by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne (Oct 3, 2023) was reviewed by Marcie McCauley in Buried in Print. The review was published online on February 22, 2024, and can be read here.

McCauley writes,

Standing Heavy (in translation by Frank Wynne) reads quickly, even though it’s rich and complex. I’d intended to read just a couple of chapters, but I spent a snowy afternoon reading the whole book until it was finished … the style is vivid, the dialogue taut, and the presentation is clever.”

Get Standing Heavy here!

ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

Ray Robertson, author of All the Years Combine: The Grateful Dead in Fifty Shows (Nov 7, 2023) was interviewed by Lynn Saxberg in the Ottawa Citizen. The article was published online on February 20, 2024, and you can read the full interview here.

Saxberg calls the book:

“A fascinating chronicle of the band’s history told in a series of essays.”

Get All the Years Combine here!

CROSSES IN THE SKY

Crosses in the Sky by Mark Bourrie (May 14, 2024) was featured in Quill & Quire’s Spring Preview. The article was published online on February 18, 2024, and you can check out the full preview here.

Attila Berki writes:

“Bourrie looks at how such early encounters between French colonists and missionaries and Indigenous Peoples continue to resonate in those same relationships.”

Preorder Crosses in the Sky here!

Media Hits: THE HOLLOW BEAST, THE FUTURE, LOVE NOVEL, THEY CALL ME GEORGE!

IN THE NEWS!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024) has been reviewed in Foreword Reviews! The review was posted online on February 14, 2024 and can be read here.

Reviewer Isabella Zhou wrote,

“Mixing family history with local lore, the satirical novel The Hollow Beast is a tale of revenge and hauntings.”

Order The Hollow Beast here!

THE FUTURE

The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2023), was reviewed by Andrew Hood on TheBookshelf! The review was published online on February 14, and can be read here.

Hood writes of the book,

“In The Future, old things are dying and new things are growing. That the new things come at the cost of the loss of the old can’t help but tint our feelings towards them. It’s this grey area that Leroux manages to break light through.”

Catherine Leroux was also interviewed alongside a review of The Future, in the McGill Daily! The feature was posted online on February 12, 2024. You can read and listen to the review and interview here.

Caley Fifield writes,

The Future is as factual as it is fictional, and the strength, creativity, and humour with which her characters weather each storm that comes their way are truly inspiring.”

Get The Future here!

LOVE NOVEL

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simić (Feb 6, 2024), was featured in a ‘Book of the Day Roundup’ from Foreword Reviews! The roundup for the week of Feb 12-16 was posted online on February 15. Check out the full roundup here.

Love Novel was also reviewed by Tom Bowden in The Book Beat! The review was posted February 10, 2024. Read the full review here.

Bowden writes,

“Ivana Sajko’s narrative—rendered in English by Mima Simić with seeming effortlessness—is told in the third-person with an omniscience transparent enough to be led by the rhythms of each character’s thoughts and speech.”

Order Love Novel here!

THEY CALL ME GEORGE

They Call Me George by Cecil Foster was featured in All Lit Up‘s ‘Black History Month Series: Non-Fiction’ list! The list was posted on February 8, and you can check out the full article here.

Get They Call Me George here!

Media Hits: BURN MAN, THE FUTURE, LOVE NOVEL, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FUTURE

Catherine Leroux, author of The Future (trans. by Susan Ouriou) (Sep 5, 2024) was interviewed alongside Heather O’Neill on CBC The Next Chapter by Ali Hassan, as part of their promotion of The Future for CBC Canada Reads, our nationwide literary competition. The interview aired on February 2, 204. You can listen to the full episode here.

Catherine Leroux was also interviewed for CBC Syndication which includes dozens of shows across the country. The interviews were conducted live on February 7, 2024. You can find links to all of her recent CBC interviews and features for Canada Reads here.

Get The Future here!

BURN MAN

Burn Man: Selected Stories by Mark Anthony Jarman (Nov 21, 2023) has been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal by Sam Sacks. The review was published online on February 8, 2024 and can be read here.

Fiction critic Sam Sacks writes:

“The stories in Burn Man, by the Canadian writer Mark Anthony Jarman, derive from the … raucous lineage of Barry Hannah, Thomas McGuane and Denis Johnson … He gives us a gallery of antiheroes—some of them bona fide criminals but many just screwups—who are helpless in the grip of their worst impulses.”

Get Burn Man here!

LOVE NOVEL

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simić (Feb 6, 2024) was reviewed by Andrew Hood on The Bookshelf. The review was published online on February 5, 2024, and can be read in full here.

Hood writes:

“In its depiction of a contemporary relationship submitted to the meatgrinder of contemporary demands and expectations, Love Novel is unafraid and unsparing in its honesty.”

Love Novel was also listed in Library Journal as recommended by booksellers. The article was published online on February 5, 2024 and can be seen here.

Get Love Novel here!

THE HOLLOW BEAST

The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler (Apr 2, 2024) was reviewed in Publishers Weekly. The review was published online on February 2, 2024, and you can read the full review here.

The review reads:

“Quebecois writer Bernard debuts with a feverish burlesque about a one-time hockey player’s decades-long dispute with a referee and his grandson’s attempts to reverse the family curse … Bernard’s bawdiness and mania credibly evoke Thomas Pynchon’s flights of invention.”

Order The Hollow Beast here!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

Jason Guriel, author of The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles (Aug 1, 2023) has written a piece for The Millions, in which he discusses his journey from lyric poetry to a novel in verse. The article was published online on February 6, 2024. Check out the full essay here.

Grab The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

The Art of Libromancy by Josh Cook (Aug 22, 2023) was reviewed in the Chicago Tribune by John Warner as part of his “Top 5 Favorite Books About Bookstores.” The review was published online on January 27, 2024. You can read the full article here.

Warner calls the book:

“A treatise on the way commerce shapes what and how we read.”

Grab The Art of Libromancy here!

ALL THINGS MOVE

All Things Move by Jeannie Marshall (Apr 4, 2023) has been featured in Canadian Architect. The review was published online on February 1, 2024. Read the full review here.

Reviewer Adele Weber writes:

All Things Move: Learning to Look at the Sistine Chapel … makes a unique case for considering the Chapel as something other than a religious enclave, scholarly artifact, or checklist tourist attraction. It’s all those, of course, but its otherworldly qualities transcend religious, academic, or tour-bus affiliations.”

Get All Things Move here!

Media Hits: BURN MAN, THE FUTURE, YOUR ABSENCE IS DARKNESS, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FUTURE

The Future by Catherine Leroux, translated by Susan Ouriou (Sep 5, 2024), according to CBC Books is the #1 bestselling Canadian fiction title in Canada this week! You can view the full list here.

The Future was featured in the Windsor Star. The article was published on January 13, 2024, and you can read the full profile here.

Trevor Wilhelm writes:

“Dystopian novel The Future, published by Windsor’s Bibliosias, is in the running for a national competition to determine the one book to rule them all.”

Catherine Leroux, author of The Future, has been interviewed on CBC: Let’s Go. The interview aired on January 15, 2024. Listen to the full interview here.

Grab your copy of The Future here!

BURN MAN

Burn Man by Mark Anthony Jarman (Nov 21, 2023) received an outstanding review in the New York Times! The review was published online on January 13, 2024. You can read the full review here.

Lincoln Michel writes:

“Anyone who enjoys poetry in prose, who feels enlivened by language and struck by sentences, will find much to admire in Burn Man. Jarman’s stories are full of violence, tragedy and mistakes. Yet there’s plenty of humor and heart too. […] Burn Man left me seeing a bit more beauty in our hurting-heart world.”

Burn Man was featured again in the New York Times by Greg Cowles as part of their Editor’s Choice column: “9 New Books We Recommend This Week.” The article was published online on January 25, 2024, and can be read here.

Cowles says, of Burn Man:

“The Canadian author Jarman may not be a familiar name in the United States just yet, but this anthology aims to fix that.”

Burn Man was reviewed by Andrew Hood on The Bookshelf’s website. The review was published online on January 19, 2024, and can be read here.

Hood writes:

“If I would compare Jarman to anyone other than himself, it would be to Tom Waits. Post-Kathleen Brennan Tom Waits. Yes, these are stories in the generic sense, just as a Tom Waits song is, technically, a song, but they are made of different things. For Waits, anything is percussive if you bang on it hard enough in the right place, and Jarman bashes language in the same way. The instrumentation in a Jarman story may sometimes sound conventional, but once isolated, sounds like nothing other than what it is. […] Reading Jarman is often, and I mean this in the best way possible, like drinking from a fire hose.”

Burn Man has also been excerpted in Lit Hub. The excerpt was published online on January 17, 2024—take a look here.

Get Burn Man here!

YOUR ABSENCE IS DARKNESS

Your Absence Is Darkness by Jón Kalman Stefánsson, translated by Philip Roughton (March 5, 2024)  is an Indie Next Pick for March and has also received an outstanding starred review in Publishers Weekly. The review was published online on January 14, 2024. You can read the full review here.

Publishers Weekly writes:

“What makes this so irresistible is the narrator’s constant optimism as he probes profound questions from within the murk of his consciousness (“Give me darkness, and then I’ll know where the light is”). Stefánsson is poised to make his mark on the world stage.”

Order your copy of Your Absence is Darkness here!

LOVE NOVEL

Love Novel by Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simić was featured on Kirkus Reviews as one of “20 Titles You Can Read in a Week.” The article was published online on January 24, 2024. Check out the full list here.

Order your copy of Love Novel here!

BEST CANADIAN POETRY 2024 & BEST CANADIAN ESSAYS 2024

Best Canadian Essays 2024 and Best Canadian Poetry 2024 (Nov 14, 2023) have been reviewed in The Miramichi Reader. The article was published online on January 23, 2024. You can read the full review here.

Christina Barber writes of the anthologies:

“A testament to the importance of literature in Canada … it is a powerful body that celebrates the creative and literary spirit of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.”

Best Canadian Essays 2024 was also reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press. The article was published online on January 13, 2024, and you can read the full review here.

Susan Huebert writes:

“Each of the authors in Best Canadian Essays 2024 offers a particular style and perspective, but the essays work together to provide a picture of some of the issues Canadians have been facing. Many readers are likely to find something to interest them in this short collection of essays.”

Grab your copy of Essays here and Poetry here!

Check out all three Best Canadian anthologies here!

Media Hits: HOW TO BUILD A BOAT, OFF THE RECORD, THE FUTURE, and more!

IN THE NEWS!

GLOBE 100 BEST BOOKS OF 2023

How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney (Nov 7, 2023), Breaking and Entering by Don Gillmor (Aug 15, 2023), Instructions for the Drowning by Steven Heighton (Apr 18 2023) and The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles by Jason Guriel (Aug 1, 2023) have been featured by the Globe and Mail as a part of “The Globe 100: The Best Books of 2023.” The article was published online on December 8, 2023.

You can read the full list here.

ON COMMUNITY

On Community by Casey Plett (Nov 7, 2023), was selected as one of CBC Books’ Best Canadian Nonfiction of 2023. The article was published online on December 14, 2023.

You can read the full list here.

Get On Community here!

SETH’S CHRISTMAS GHOST STORIES

A review of Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories (Oct 31, 2023) was featured in Cemetery Dance Magazine. The review was published online on December 12, 2023. You can read the review here.

Critic Blu Gilliand writes,

“Seth’s illustrations suggest more than they actually show, adding to the quiet horror creeping around the edges. These are perfect for a quick read on a cold winter’s night, and are sure to warm the cockles of any jaded horror fan’s heart.”

Also, a “visual taste” of Seth’s Christmas Ghost Stories was featured in the Literary Review of Canada‘s Bookworm newsletter. The excerpt was published online on December 12, 2023. You can check out the excerpted illustrations here.

Grab all three 2023 Christmas Ghost Stories here!

Check out the rest of the series here!

HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

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!

THE FUTURE

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

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!

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!

THE FUTURE

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 2023

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!

HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

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!

BREAKING AND ENTERING

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

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!

IN THE NEWS!

HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

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

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!

ALL THINGS MOVE

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!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FUTURE

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!

ALL THE YEARS COMBINE

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!

THE FUTURE

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!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

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!

IN THE NEWS!

THE FULL-MOON WHALING CHRONICLES

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

Michael Coren writes,

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

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

Sal A. Joyce calls it:

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

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

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

Get The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles here!

HOW TO BUILD A BOAT

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

The Booker jury writes:

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

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

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

Order How to Build a Boat here!

ON COMMUNITY

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

You can read the preview here.

Order On Community here!

COCKTAIL

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

Lucy Black writes,

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

Order Cocktail here!

THE ART OF LIBROMANCY

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

Michael Welch calls it

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

Order The Art of Libromancy here!

THE COUNTRY OF TOO

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

MA Orthofer calls it

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

Get The Country of Toó here!

SLEEP IS NOW A FOREIGN COUNTRY & OFF THE RECORD

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

Order Sleep is Now a Foreign Country here!

Order Off the Record here!