40 Canadian books we can't wait to read in October
A new month means new books! Here are the Canadian novels, poetry, comics and works of nonfiction we can't wait to read in October.
The Punishment by Joseph Dandurand
B.C. writer Joseph Dandurand returns with The Punishment, a poetry collection rooted in story, with scenes of residential school, the psych ward, the streets and the river. Through his poems, he shares what he sees: the great eagles and small birds; his culture and teachings; Vancouver's East Side; and his Kwantlen community.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
- Joseph A. Dandurand shares his misery, joy and laughter in poetry collection The East Side of It All
Dandurand is a member of the Kwantlen First Nation, east of Vancouver. He is the director of the Kwantlen Cultural Centre and the author of several books of poetry, including 2020's The East Side of It All, which was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize. In 2021, Dandurand received the BC Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence.
False Creek by Jane Munro
False Creek is Vancouver poet Jane Munro's latest poetry collection. In it, Munro tackles her signature themes of the natural world, the power of art and what it means to dream.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Munro is a writer form Vancouver. Her poetry books include Active Pass, Point No Point and Grief Notes & Animal Dreams. Her poetry collection Blue Sonoma won the 2015 Griffin Poetry Prize. She is also the author of the memoir Open Every Window.
No One Knows About Us by Bridget Canning
No One Knows About Us is a collection of short fiction with characters on the search for connection in a disconnected world. The stories involves themes of love, loss and evolving relationship dynamics.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Bridget Canning is a St. John's author. Her debut novel, The Greatest Hits of Wanda Jaynes, was shortlisted for the BMO Winterset Award, The Margaret and John Savage First Book Award and the Newfoundland and Labrador Book Award for Fiction. Her other work includes the novel Some People's Children.
I Am Claude Francois and You Are a Bathtub by Stuart Ross
I Am Claude Francois and You Are a Bathtub is a short story collection that experiments with craft and form using elements of pathos, absurdism and humour. The characters in these stories deal with issues of displacement, belonging and identity as the author deconstructs narrative to examine loss, dysfunction and survival.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Stuart Ross is a writer, editor and teacher. He is the author of several books of poetry, fiction and essays, including You Exist, Pockets and A Sparrow Came Down Resplendent. Ross was the 2019 recipient of the Harbourfront Festival Prize. He lives in Cobourg, Ont.
The Animals by Cary Fagan
The Animals is a fable-like narrative featuring the protagonist Dorn, who creates miniature scale models displayed in the local shops. The mild-mannered Dorn deals with an untrustworthy younger sibling and a distant father — all while trying to show his deeper feelings of love to Ravenna, the ungainly schoolteacher. Life takes a strange turn when the government-sponsored "Wild Home Project" is introduced and wild animals cohabit with the town residents. The Animals explores the nature of relationships, faunal and human, and reminds us of the challenges of finding one's place in society.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Cary Fagan is an Ontario author of several books for adults and children. His children's books include the popular Kaspar Snit novels, the two-volume Master Melville's Medicine Show and the picture book Mr. Zinger's Hat. He is also the author of the novels A Bird's Eye and The Student and the short story collection My Life Among the Apes. In 2014, Fagan received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work.
Possessed by Jowita Bydlowska
Possessed is a novel that uses dark humour to reflect on sexual obsession, mental health and the supernatural. The protagonist, Josephine, has overwhelming feelings for a younger suitor who doesn't reciprocate in ways she desires. When the relationship withers and she meets someone new, things take a haunting and erotic turn.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Jowita Bydlowska is a writer and journalist based in Toronto. Her memoir, Drunk Mom, recounts her relapse into alcoholism after having her first child. She is also the author of the novel Guy. Bydlowska has written columns on popular culture and mental health for the National Post, the Globe and Mail and CBC.
More Than a Footnote by Karin Wells
More Than a Footnote is a nonfiction look at stories of Canadian women who have overcome adversity throughout history. The book features detailed accounts of women such as Mina Benson Hubbard, who finished the mission to map northern Labrador that had killed her explorer husband; and Vera Peters, a medical doctor who revolutionized treatments for Hodgkin's lymphoma and breast cancer.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Karin Wells is a lawyer, a CBC Radio documentary maker and a three‐time recipient of the Canadian Association of Journalists' documentary award. She has reported from more than 50 countries. Her first book, The Abortion Caravan, was a 2021 finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing.
The Other Ones by Jamesie Fournier, illustrated by Toma Feizo Gas
The Other Ones is a novella with elements of horror set in the North. Featuring vibrant illustrations, the tales include a story about eerie occurrences on a frozen lake, supernatural creatures and foreboding notions of travelling to otherworldly realms.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Inuk author Jamesie Fournier's work has appeared in Inuit Art Quarterly, Red Rising magazine, Northern Public Affairs, and the anthology Coming Home: Stories from the Northwest Territories. He lives in Thebacha/Fort Smith between Salt River First Nation, Smith's Landing First Nation and the South Slave Metis Nation.
Toma Feizo Gas is a Canadian artist and illustrator who has spent 10 years working in entertainment arts, with experience in production art, creative direction and concept design.
My Road from Damascus by Jamal Saeed
Jamal Saeed sought refuge in Canada in 2016 after being imprisoned three times for a total of 12 years in his native Syria. Imprisoned for his political writing and his opposition to the regimes of the al-Assads, Saeed spent years in Syria's most notorious military prisons. My Road from Damascus tells the story of his life: as a young person finding love, developing critical thought, living in hiding from the police for 30 months, his eventual imprisonment and his family's escape to Canada. He chronicles the sociopolitical landscape in Syria from the 1950s up until his escape to Canada, documenting the harrowing experience but also the beauty of village life, the love of his family and his hope for the future.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Saeed spent 12 years as a prisoner of conscience in Syria before being invited to Canada in 2016. He continues to raise awareness about Syria's ongoing civil war and humanitarian crisis through his work as an activist, editor, visual artist and author. He lives in Kingston, Ont.
Fight, Magic, Items by Aidan Moher
Fight, Magic, Items is a nonfiction book that explores the "geek culture" around the classic video games known as Japanese role-playing games, also known as JRPGs. It delves into the origin stories of two classic Nintendo titles, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and serves as a primer for JRPGs as it looks at the evolution of the genre and why the games have endured over the years.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Aidan Moher is a science fiction and fantasy writer, essayist and editor from Victoria. As an editor, Moher won a Hugo Award in 2014 for the fanzine A Dribble of Ink. His work has been featured in Wired, Kotaku, Electronic Gaming Monthly, Uncanny Magazine, Fanbyte and Tor.com.
Scenes from the Underground by Gabriel Cholette, illustrated by Jacob Pyne, translated by E. S. Taillon
Accompanied by Jacob Pyne's full-colour illustrations, Gabriel Cholette's lyricism leads us through the bathrooms and back rooms of clubs and raves across Montreal, New York and Paris in Scenes from the Underground. Cholette's words read like field notes of the sex, drugs and music that make up queer nightlife.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Cholette frequents the New York, Berlin, and Montreal underground scenes for literary material. He is also finishing a thesis on the commercial imagination in medieval French literature.
Pyne is an artist from Montreal whose work explores themes of sexual identity, relationships and anonymous sex from a queer perspective.
E. S. Tallion is a queer, neurodiverse writer, an MFA candidate in the University of British Columbia's creative writing program and the former managing editor at PRISM international magazine.
Suck It In and Smile by Laurence Beaudoin-Masse, translated by Shelley Tanaka
Previously released in French, Suck It In and Smile is a YA novel about the dark side of internet stardom. Far from the shy teenager she was, Ellie is living life as a popular fitness influencer with hundreds of thousands of followers and a famous boyfriend. Yet, Ellie worries her life might not be as flawless as she makes it out to be on social media. From her obsession with the "ideal weight," her growing attraction to another man and her family's disdain for her career as a content creator, Ellie fears she may have lost herself along the way.
Suck It In and Smile is for ages 12 and up.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Laurence Beaudoin-Masse is a writer from Montreal. She is the author of two novels: Suck It In and Smile and its sequel.
Shelley Tanaka is an author, translator and editor who has written and translated more than 30 books for children and young adults. She lives in Kingston, Ont.
The Future Is Disabled by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
In The Future Is Disabled, Leah Laksmi Piepzna-Samarasinha writes about the power of disability justice to create a future in which humanity as a whole can survive fascism, climate crisis and pandemics. The book argues that disability justice can liberate us all and examines how disabled people kept and are keeping each other — and the rest of the world — alive during our current collective crises.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Piepzna-Samarasinha is a queer, disabled, non-binary femme writer, educator and disability and transformative justice worker. They have written or co-edited nine books, including Care Work and Tonguebreaker.
No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot by Wes Hall
Wes Hall's memoir No Bootstraps When You're Barefoot traces his childhood in Jamaica where he was raised by his grandmother and experienced abuse at the hands of his mother to his eventual move to Canada where he eventually went on to become a major entrepreneur and philanthropist. Starting out in a law firm mail room, Hall's resilience paved the way for his life as a business leader while the roadblocks he faced, including racism and discrimination, forged his commitment to justice.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Hall is a Jamaican-Canadian business leader and business school instructor. His podcast, Between Us with Wes Hall, features conversations on systemic racism with leaders of colour. He is the founder of the anti-Black racism initiative BlackNorth and one of the investors on the hit CBC series Dragons' Den.
Boldly Go by William Shatner with Joshua Brandon
William Shatner, the beloved star of Star Trek, reflects on nearly nine decades of exploring the world with a sense of wonder and awe. In heartfelt, often funny essays, Shatner shares the stories of his life and the insights he has gleaned along the way.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Shatner is the author of nine Star Trek novels, including The Ashes of Eden and The Return. He is also the author of several nonfiction books, including Get a Life! and I'm Working on That.
Joshua Brandon is a director, producer and writer.
Cactus Gardens by Evelyn Lau
Cactus Gardens is a poetry collection in two parts. The first follows a single narrator as they deal with friendships and relationships that are complicated, meaningful and messy. The second part explores poet Evelyn' Lau's relationship with an older writer and the fallout and scrutiny that followed when Lau wrote a public essay about their relationship. It also examines Lau's own relationship to poetry and how that experience shaped how she engages with her own art.
When you can read it: Oct. 7, 2022
Evelyn Lau is the Vancouver-based author of several poetry collections. Her memoir Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, which recounts her time living on the streets of Vancouver, was published when she was 18 years old.
Stations of the Crossed by Carol Rose GoldenEagle
In Stations of the Crossed, Cree/Dene writer Carol Rose GoldenEagle uses her childhood memory of the church rite "stations of the cross" as a springboard for critical reflection, examining the dark legacy of the residential school system, church and government policies and their ongoing impacts on Indigenous people today.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
GoldenEagle is a writer who was appointed Saskatchewan's poet laureate in 2021. She is also the author of the novel Bearskin Diary. Her first book of poetry, Hiraeth, was shortlisted for a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2019. Her latest novel, The Narrows of Fear (Wapawikoscikanik), was published in 2020 and won the 2021 Rasmussen & Co. Indigenous Peoples' Writing Award at the Saskatchewan Book Awards. She lives in Regina Beach.
The Tragedy of Eva Mott by David Adams Richards
The Tragedy of Eva Mott is a novel about the Raskin brothers, who were once proud to be producers of a much sought-after material of great benefit to society — asbestos. But now their mine is under close scientific scrutiny, with reports of serious illness linked to the place. Family lies and secrets soon come to light and the mystery involves a young woman who threatens to change lives forever.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
David Adams Richards is a novelist, nonfiction writer and Canadian senator from New Brunswick. His numerous books include The Keeping of Gusties, The Coming of Winter, Nights Below Station Street and Mercy Among the Children, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Fayne is a novel about Charlotte Bell, a young woman growing up in the 19th century. She lives at Fayne House, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland. When a mysterious artifact is found, Charlotte's passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets — and to the heart of her own identity.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Ann-Marie MacDonald, born in Germany, now lives between Toronto and Montreal. She's the author of several bestselling novels, including Fall on Your Knees, The Way the Crow Flies and Adult Onset. Fall on Your Knees was a finalist for Canada Reads in 2010, when it was defended by Perdita Felicien.
Dancing in Small Spaces by Leslie A. Davidson
Dancing in Small Spaces is the story of a marriage. In 2011, Leslie Davidson and her husband, Lincoln Ford, were finding adventure in their retirement through the outdoors, travelling and preparing to be grandparents. Then, when Lincoln started experiencing confusion and Leslie experienced tremors in her body, a double diagnosis of Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease transformed the couple's lives. In Dancing in Small Spaces, Davidson documents the years following the diagnoses, including navigating how to care and be cared for, reckoning with the physical symptoms and community support. In Dancing in Small Spaces, she writes her way through the emotional turmoil, sharing the lessons she learned along the way about herself and the man she loved, in a bid to move toward understanding and acceptance.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Davidson is the author of two children's books, In the Red Canoe and The Sun is a Shine. Her essay Adaptation won the 2016 CBC Creative Nonfiction Prize. She lives in Revelstoke, B.C.
The Burden of Exile by Aaron Berhane
In Eritrea, one of the most severe dictatorships in the world, Aaron Berhane founded the first independent newspaper. When the paper is shut down, Berhane must flee to avoid arrest, sending him on a journey across the desert, into Sudan and then into secret safe houses in Kenya, before eventually finding sanctuary in Canada. Pursued by the Eritrean secret police and having to leave his young family behind, Berhane is forced to piece his life together in a foreign place. The Burden of Exile is a story of struggle, courage, resilience and the fight for freedom.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Berhane was a journalist and a co-founder of Eritrea's first independent newspaper. Berhane came to Canada after fleeing Eritrea by way of Sudan. He previously chaired Pen Canada's writers-in-exile group. He died in 2021.
The Power of Story by Harold R. Johnson
The Power of Story reflects on the power of storytelling — from personal narratives to historical sagas — as they relate to humanity and even how humans structure societies. In this posthumous work, Harold R. Johnson makes a case for how stories can shape and change our lives for the better if only we are willing to employ story as the world-building tool that it is.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Johnson, a member of the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, was a lawyer and writer whose groundbreaking book Firewater: How Alcohol Is Killing My People (and Yours) was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for nonfiction. He died in February 2022.
A Ballet of Lepers by Leonard Cohen
A Ballet of Lepers was created by the late Leonard Cohen sometime between the mid-1950s to 1960s in Montreal and Greece. The titular novel, A Ballet of Lepers, is a look at fear and insecurity, while the accompanying 15 stories and play script probe the inner demons of his characters, many of whom could function as stand-ins for the author himself.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Cohen is a legendary figure in the world of music and literature. The late Montreal artist released 14 albums over the span of nearly 50 years, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008 and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. His books include the novel Beautiful Losers and Selected Poems 1956-1968, for which he won — and declined — a Governor General's Literary Award. Cohen died on Nov. 7, 2016 at the age of 82.
Radioland by Matt Cahill
Radioland is a thriller novel set in Toronto. A series of murders around the city's bustling music and nightclub scene has people on edge. A web of intrigue surrounds two characters, Kris and Jill, as they explore their past, their connection with music and ways to navigate their world.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Matt Cahill is a Toronto writer and psychotherapist. Cahill's debut novel, The Society of Experience, was published in 2015. His short stories have appeared with Found Press, The Quarantine Review and Fusion Fragment.
Ruby Red Skies by Taslim Burkowicz
In the novel Ruby Red Skies, an Indo-Canadian woman named Ruby looks back at her life and how things might have been different. Now in middle age with a mixed-race daughter and a distant white husband, she is compelled to seek fulfilment by way of B.C.'s raging wildfires, accompanied only by the fantastical stories her mother used to tell about their ancient Mughal ancestry — a dancer named Rubina who lived in the concubine quarters of the great Agra Fort.
When you can read it: Oct. 13, 2022
Taslim Burkowicz is a B.C. writer. She is also the author of the novels Chocolate Cherry Chai and The Desirable Sister.
The Big Melt by Emily Riddle
The Big Melt is a debut poetry collection rooted in Nehiyaw thought and urban millennial life events. Part memoir, part research project, it draws on writer Emily Riddle's experience working in Indigenous governance and her own family's experience — demonstrating that governance is as much about interpersonal relationships as it is about law and policy.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Riddle is Nehiyaw and a member of the Alexander First Nation (Kipohtakaw). A writer, editor, policy analyst, language learner and visual artist, she lives in Edmonton. Her writing has been published in the Globe and Mail, Teen Vogue, The Malahat Review and Room Magazine. She was shortlisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize.
The Rooftop Garden by Menaka Raman-Wilms
The Rooftop Garden is a novel that follows Nabila and her childhood friend Matthew, who played on Nabila's rooftop garden in an imaginary world that has flooded from climate change. Nabila comes from an educated, middle-class family, while Matthew had been abandoned by his father and was often left to deal with things on his own. Now both in their 20s, Matthew has disappeared from his Toronto home, and Nabila travels to Berlin to find him and try to bring him back.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Menaka Raman-Wilms is a writer and journalist based in Toronto. Raman-Wilms was shortlisted for the 2019 CBC Short Story Prize. She's the host of The Decibel, the daily news podcast from the Globe and Mail. She's also worked as a parliamentary reporter for the Globe and as an associate producer at CBC Radio One. Her writing has also been published in Broken Pencil Magazine and Acta Victoriana.
How to Hold a Pebble by Jaspreet Singh
Jaspreet Singh's second collection of poems, How to Hold a Pebble, engages with memory, place, language and migration, exploring strategies for survival and action amid the realities of colonialization, climate change and other existential issues facing humans in the Anthropocene.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Jaspreet Singh is the author of the novels Helium, Chef and Face, the story collection Seventeen Tomatoes, the poetry collections November and How to Hold a Pebble, and the memoir My Mother, My Translator. He lives in Calgary.
Love from Mecca to Medina by S.K. Ali
In the sequel to Love from A to Z, Adam and Zayneb must find their way back to one another. Adam is in Doha, Qatar, making a map of the Hijra, a historic migration from Mecca to Medina, and Zayneb is in school in Chicago. When the pair get a chance to reunite for Thanksgiving week on the Umrah in Saudi Arabia, the trip goes nothing like what they expect and their love is put to the test.
Love from Mecca to Medina is for ages 14 and up.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
S.K. Ali is a writer and teacher from Toronto, best known for her debut YA novel, Saints and Misfits. She is also the author of Love from A to Z.
Scars and Stars by Jesse Thistle
Jesse Thistle, the author of the bestselling memoir From the Ashes — a Canada Reads 2020 finalist — returns with the poetry collection Scars and Stars. Scars and Stars charts his own history and the stories of people from his past, including the complex legacies of family, parenthood and community.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Thistle is Métis-Cree, from Prince Albert, Sask., and an assistant professor in humanities at York University in Toronto. His memoir, From the Ashes, won the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for Nonfiction, the Indigenous Voices Award, the High Plains Book Award, and was also a finalist on Canada Reads 2020. He lives in Hamilton, Ont.
The Lost Century by Larissa Lai
The Lost Century is a historical novel that explores the legacy of colonialism and resistance involving the British, China and Hong Kong. On the eve of the return of the British crown colony of Hong Kong to China in 1997, a young woman explores a possible murder in her family's past. The quest for the truth unearths family secrets, lies, violence and love.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Larissa Lai is a writer from Calgary. She is also the author of the novels The Tiger Flu, Salt Fish Girl and When Fox is a Thousand and the poetry books Sybil Unrest, co-written with Rita Wong, and Automaton Biographies. The Tiger Flu won a Lambda Literary Award. She is a Canada Research Chair in creative writing at the University of Calgary.
The Last Chairlift by John Irving
The Last Chairlift is an epic novel involving an American slalom skier who leaves that life behind after becoming pregnant with her son Adam during a competition in Colorado. Years later, Adam returns to the Aspen hotel where he was conceived to learn more about his past and identity.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
John Irving is an American-Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of the 1978 novel The World According to Garp. His other work includes The Cider House Rules, A Prayer for Owen Meany and Avenue of Mysteries.
Red Zone by Laurent Duvernay-Tardif
In July 2020, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif made headlines when he decided to opt out of the upcoming NFL season due to the global pandemic. A professional football player and a graduate of medical school, Durvernay-Tardif made the unique decision to step out of the NFL limelight in order to step onto the frontlines where he worked as an orderly in a long-term care facility in Montreal during the pandemic. He shares this story in Red Zone.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Duvernay-Tardif is a football player for the New York Jets. He won a Superbowl in 2020 with the Kansas City Chiefs. He graduated with a medical degree from McGill University in 2018 and then worked as an orderly in a long-term care facility in Montreal during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he received the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. His scrubs and lab coat are on display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Running Down a Dream by Candy Palmater
Running Down a Dream is Candy Palmater's story about the highs, the lows, the gut instincts and the pitfalls that led her to live a unique, multi-hyphenate life, often exceeding expectations and finding success through self-belief and community support. She described herself as "a queer Mi'kmaw lawyer-turned-comic raised by bikers in rural New Brunswick" and found major success across mediums and careers. After practicing law and landing a government job, Palmater left to pursue comedy and later starred in five successful seasons of her own national TV show, and hosted many radio shows.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Palmater was a band member of Ugpi'ganjig, a Mi'kmaw First Nation in northern New Brunswick formerly called Eel River Bar. Palmater created and hosted The Candy Show on APTN, was a regular co-host on CTV's afternoon talk show The Social and acted in various shows, including Trailer Park Boys. She also hosted The Candy Palmater Show on CBC Radio One and championed The Break by Katherena Vermette on Canada Reads 2017. She died in December 2021.
Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016
Geneviève Castrée: Complete Works 1981-2016 is a posthumous collection of the works of illustrator, cartoonist and musician Geneviève Castrée. Featuring an introduction from Castrée's widower, American musician Phil Elverum, the book collects never-before-seen illustrations, comics, album covers and more.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Castrée was a cartoonist, illustrator and musician from Quebec. Her books include the memoir Susceptible and the children's book A Bubble, which she drew as a final gift to her then two-year-old daughter. Castrée died of pancreatic cancer on July 9, 2016.
Road of the Lost by Nafiza Azad
Road of the Lost is a fantasy YA novel. Croi, a brownie, lives in the Wilde Forest and her power is weak, until her guardian gives her a book about magic from the Otherworld. Soon Croi finds herself being pulled to this new place, so she embarks on a journey beyond the forest, only to be met with danger and surprises. Enchanted to forget her true identity, Croi starts to change as she travels this treacherous path to find her true self and her place in the Otherworld.
Road of the Lost is for ages 14 and up.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Nafiza Azad is a writer from Fiji now based in British Columbia. She is also the author of The Candle and the Flame, which was nominated for the William C. Morris Award, The Wild Ones and Road of the Lost.
Kwändǖr by Cole Pauls
Kwändǖr collects Cole Pauls's work from comic festivals, magazines and zine-making workshops. The comics covers topics like racism, family and identity, and feature Yukon history and Southern Tutchone cultural practices and language lessons.
When you can read it: Oct. 23, 2022
Pauls is a Tahltan comic artist. He created his first comic, Dakwäkãda Warriors, as a language-revival initiative. In 2017, it won Broken Pencil magazine's awards for best comic and best zine of the year. in 2020, it won best work in an Indigenous language from the Indigenous Voices Awards. He is also the author of the graphic novel Pizza Punks.
Imminent Domains by Alessandra Naccarato
Imminent Domains asks essential questions about our current relationship to nature amidst the climate crisis and what it takes to survive. Arranged by five central elements of survival — earth, fire, water, air and spirit — Alessandra Naccarato uses lyric prose, first-hand observations and research to weave an intriguing meditation on how each of us can come to our own unique answers to our most pressing collective questions.
When you can read it: Oct. 25, 2022
Naccarato is a writer whose debut poetry collection, Re-Origin of Species, features the poem Postcards for my Sister for which she won the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize. She also won the 2015 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers.
Kinauvit? by Norma Dunning
When Dr. Norma Dunning applied to the Nunavut Beneficiary program, seeking to confirm her identity as an Inuk woman, she was asked one question that would set her down a path to understand the history of Canadian bureaucracy. She was asked, "What was your disc number?" This question begged others, leading Dunning to conduct a series of heartfelt interviews with Inuit community members who experienced the Eskimo Identification Tag System. Kinauvit? examines the treatment experienced by the small Indigenous population in Canada at the hands of the Canadian government. Dunning provides a comprehensive look into this dehumanizing practice and shares the voices of those who, under this system, were only ever viewed as a number.
When you can read it: Oct. 29, 2022
Dunning is an Inuk writer who currently lives in Edmonton. She wrote Tainna, which won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction. She is also the author of the short story collection Annie Muktuk and Other Stories and the poetry collection Eskimo Pie: A Poetics of Inuit Identity. Annie Muktuk and Other Stories won the 2018 Danuta Gleed Literary Award, which recognizes the best debut short story collection of the year. Dunning is currently a juror for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize.
We Were Younger Once by Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet
We Were Younger Once is a graphic memoir about Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet's life growing up with her moshom (grandfather), cousins and other relatives on the Prairies, told in a series of nonlinear mini-memories.
When you can read it: October 2022
Kiona Callihoo Ligtvoet is a mixed Cree, Métis and Dutch visual artist, author and printmaker based in Edmonton.
