65 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in fall 2022
Here are the Canadian novels and short story collections we are excited to read in the second half of 2022.
The Foghorn Echoes by Danny Ramadan
The Foghorn Echoes is a novel about forbidden love and finding home in the midst of war. Set in war-torn Syria in 2003, two boys act on their feelings for one another and in an instant, their lives are changed forever. Ten years later, as they struggle to find peace and belonging, the past continues to reverberate and both men must face heartache and history.
When you can read it: Aug. 30, 2022
Danny Ramadan is a Syrian-Canadian author, public speaker and advocate for LGBTQ+ refugees. His debut novel, The Clothesline Swing, was shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award and was longlisted for Canada Reads 2018. He has an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and currently lives in Vancouver with his husband.
There Are Wolves Here Too by Niall Howell
In this dark coming-of-age novel, Robin and his best friends are enjoying their first summer as teenagers. When the younger sister of a classmate goes missing, Robin finds his carefree existence suddenly filled with paranoia, guilt and confusion. While parents and police search for the missing girl, Robin is convinced foul elements are at play.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Niall Howell is a Calgary-based author. His debut novel, Only Pretty Damned, was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for literary fiction. His writing has been featured in The Feathertale Review and FreeFall.
Nine Dash Line by Emily Saso
Jess, a U.S. Navy intelligence officer, is assigned to a top-secret mission that goes wrong and has her rescued by Philippine Navy sailors. The sailors, who've been moored for far too long, believe Jess is an angel sent to save them, but Jess has done horrible things and desperately wants absolution. When she eventually washes up on the shores of Mischief Reef, she meets an exiled man named Zi Shan. The two wonder what binds them together and how will they ever get home.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Emily Saso is a writer from Toronto. Her debut novel, The Weather Inside, was published in 2016. Nine Dash Line is her second novel.
The Taste of Hunger by Barbara Joan Scott
Set in Saskatchewan in the late 1920s, 15-year-old Olena is forced into a marriage with a man twice her age. Stuck in a life she despises, Olena rebels against her fate and sets off a chain of events whose effects reverberate through generations. The Taste of Hunger is a family saga about Ukrainian immigrants and the power of redemption and forgiveness.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Barbara Joan Scott is a writer and editor from Calgary. Her first collection of short stories, The Quick, won the City of Calgary W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and the Howard O'Hagan Award for Best Collection of Short Fiction. The Taste of Hunger is her debut novel.
The Raw Light of Morning by Shelly Kawaja
Fourteen-year-old Laurel Long commits an act of violence that alters the course of her life. She finds herself living in a small town in Newfoundland, trapped in a system of poverty, generational neglect and trauma. In search of a fresh start, Laurel sees education as her way out, but the past starts to catch up with her and she must decide how far she will go to protect herself and the ones she loves.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Shelly Kawaja is an author from Newfoundland. Her writing has appeared in the Humber Literary Review, the Dalhousie Review, Postcolonial Text, PACE and more. Her short story Shotgun won the gritLit 2020 fiction contest. The Raw Light of Morning is Kawaja's first novel.
Rosa's Very Own Personal Revolution by Eric Dupont, translated by Peter McCambridge
Rosa Ost grows up in a tiny village where boredom and the paper industry reign supreme. When Rosa decides to leave her home for Montreal on a quest to summon the westerly wind that is essential to the local economy, a tale of long journeys, prophecies and death unravels. Rosa's Very Own Personal Revolution is a story about stories, storytellers and revolution in Quebec.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Eric Dupont is an award-winning author from Quebec. His fourth novel, Songs for the Cold of Heart, was a finalist for the 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize. The original French version of the novel, La Fiancée Américaine, won Quebec's top two literary prizes: the Prix des libraires and Prix des collégiens.
Almost Visible by Michelle Sinclair
Tess, who has just moved from Montreal to Nova Scotia, befriends an older man in hopes of losing herself in the lives of others. After furtively going through his photos, letters and journals, Tess becomes obsessed with his life of political polarization and repression in his Latin-American homeland. As she learns about his love for a militant young woman and his dedication to his best friend on the other side of the political divide, Tess begins to question her own life choices and emotions.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2022
Michelle Sinclair is an Ottawa-based writer who worked for two decades on policy related to human rights. She has lived in Australia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Ecuador, France, Switzerland and the United States. Almost Visible is her first novel.
Tear by Erica McKeen
The quiet and reclusive Frances is on the brink of graduating from university. Isolated in the basement from her upstairs roommates, Frances can't remember there being a lock on the door at the top of the basement stairs. She can't tell the difference between her childhood memories and her dreams, and she can't ignore the tapping sound coming through her bedroom wall. Tear explores false narratives, gaslighting, female rage and manipulation.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Erica McKeen is a writer from London, Ont. Her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, longlisted for the Guernica Prize and shortlisted for The Malahat Review Open Season Awards. Tear is her first novel.
Confessions with Keith by Pauline Holdstock
Consumed by the demands of her four children and fledgling literary career, Vita Glass doesn't notice that her life is on the brink of collapse. She can barely find time for her writing, just as her vegetable erotica takes off. Her only source of blissful escape is in Keith's hair salon. When her husband leaves the country unannounced, Vita decides to do the same with her children in tow. Confessions with Keith explores the ways in which we deceive each other and ourselves.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Pauline Holdstock is an award-winning novelist, short fiction writer and essayist. Her 2003 novel Beyond Measure won the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and was a finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize.
Because of Nothing at All by Paul Sunga
A team of international health program evaluators are abducted near the Kenya-Sudan border and forced to march under the desert moon. From an orphan named Money who is too hungry to sleep to a rich doctor gradually losing his points of attachment, some escape and others are recaptured or held ransom. As its characters are drawn into isolated and desperate circumstances, Because of Nothing at All reflects on the power of choices, identity and wealth.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Paul Sunga is the author of the novels The Lions and Red Dust, Red Sky. He has served as an international health consultant in more than a dozen countries in Africa and Asia. He teaches medical sciences in Vancouver.
Quiet Time by Katherine Alexandra Harvey
Grace has an insatiable need for attention. Growing up on an isolated island town with absentee artist parents, she looks for attention in her playmates by taking games too far and then in men, delighted by the power her body has over them. Eventually, Grace meets a young painter named Jack and it seems she has finally found the attention she's been looking for. But their relationship turns dark, obsessive and dangerous and Grace finds herself slowly disappearing.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2022
Katherine Alexandra Harvey is the executive director of ReLit and the founder and editor of ReLit Magazine. She has been nominated for the Governor General's History Awards, the Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Award and the Writer's Alliance of Newfoundland and Labrador Fresh Fish Award. Quiet Time is her first novel.
The Sea Between Two Shores by Tanis Rideout
The Stewarts are mourning the loss of their youngest son after an accidental drowning, when they get an unexpected call from the island of Iparei inviting them to participate in a reconciliation ceremony for their ancestors. On Iparei, the Stewarts meet a ni-Vanuatu family, the Tabés, who are also mourning the death of a child. As the reconciliation ceremony approaches, the Stewarts and the Tabés uncover their shared losses, failings, hopes for the future and they reflect on the wounds that stand in the way of freeing them from the legacy of the past.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Tanis Rideout is the bestselling author of the novel Above All Things, which won the Premio ITAS del Libro di Montagna and made the longlist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. She is also the author of the poetry collection Arguments with the Lake.
Jade Is a Twisted Green by Tanya Turton
After the mysterious death of her twin sister, 24-year-old Jade is grappling with grief and seeking solace in lovers and friends. Holding tight to old pals and her ex-girlfriend, Jade finally realizes that she belongs to herself and goes on a journey to reclaiming that self. Through a series of hilarious and heartbreaking adventures, Jade relinquishes the weight of her trauma as she fully comes into her own as a young Black woman and writer.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Tanya Turton is a Toronto-based author, educator and mental health advocate from Jamaica. Jade Is a Twisted Green is her debut novel.
The Theory of Crows by David A. Robertson
The Theory of Crows is about a disconnected and distant relationship between a man named Matthew and his teenage daughter Holly. Following a tragic event, Matthew and Holly head out onto the land in search of a long-lost cabin on the family trapline, miles from the Cree community they once called home. When things go wrong during the journey, the father and daughter must rely on each other and the challenges they face eventually heal them in ways they never thought possible.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
David A. Robertson is an author and graphic novelist of Swampy Cree heritage. Based in Winnipeg, he has published 28 books across a variety of genres, including picture books On the Trapline and When We Were Alone, the graphic novel Breakdown, and his memoir Black Water, which won two 2021 Manitoba Book Awards. Robertson was the winner of the 2021 Freedom to Read Award.
Junie by Chelene Knight
Junie, a creative and observant child, moves to Hogan's Alley in the 1930s with her mother. Hogan's Alley is a thriving Black immigrant community in Vancouver's east end and Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships. As she moves into adulthood, Junie explores her artistic talents and sexuality, but her mother sinks further into alcoholism and the thriving neighbourhood once filled with potential begins to change.
When you can read it: Sept. 13, 2022
Chelene Knight is a writer and poet from Vancouver. She is the author of Braided Skin and the memoir Dear Current Occupant, which won the 2018 Vancouver Book Award. Her work has appeared in literary magazines in Canada and the U.S. and she has been a judge for literary awards, including the B.C. Book Prizes.
The Loyal Daughter by Nancy Lam
Told from the perspective of mother, daughter and granddaughter and spanning from the 1940s to modern day, The Loyal Daughter follows a young woman from a village in communist China to an isolated northern Ontario town and then to Toronto. When the woman finds herself stuck in a small apartment with her four kids and mother, the promise of a new beginning fades and her resilience is tested.
When you can read it: Sept. 15, 2022
Nancy Lam is a Toronto author and immigration lawyer. The Loyal Daughter is her debut novel.
Five Moves of Doom by A.J. Devlin
In the third book of the Hammerhead Jed mystery series, a mixed martial arts trainer hires pro-wrestler PI "Hammerhead" Jed to extract answers from the tight-knit MMA community. As Jed infiltrates an exclusive fight club, he finds himself pushed to his absolute limit, relying on his closest allies to survive, and forced to make choices he never thought he'd have to make.
When you can read it: Sept. 15, 2022
A.J. Devlin is an author and screenwriter from British Columbia. Cobra Clutch, the first book in the Hammerhead Jed professional wrestling mystery-comedy series, was released in spring 2018. It was nominated for a Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery and won the 2019 Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.
Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For by Leslie Greentree
This collection of short stories explores people and relationships challenged by death and redeemed by art. From an actress who turns her terminal illness into an art installation to a teacher who befriends a gargoyle, Not the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For probes at how we locate, create and avoid meaning in our lives.
When you can read it: Sept. 15, 2022
Leslie Greentree is the author of the award-winning short story collection A Minor Planet for You. Her second book of poetry, go-go dancing for Elvis, was shortlisted for the Griffin Poetry Prize.
Nether Regions by Randal Graham
The third book of the Beforelife series unravels what happens when two of the afterlife's best-known residents have a baby. This baby holds a secret that sets off a humorous adventure featuring Socrates, Albert Einstein, Nostradamus, Elizabeth I, Sigmund Freud, Neferneferuaten and at least 200 Napoleons, all doing their best to keep the afterlife from turning into hell.
When you can read it: Sept. 20, 2022
Randal Graham is an author and law professor based in London, Ont. His first novel, Beforelife, won the IPPY gold medal for fantasy fiction. Both Beforelife and its sequel, Afterlife Crisis, were finalists for the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour.
A House Without Spirits by David Homel
Paul is hired to write a monograph of the Montreal photographer John Marchuk and he thinks he'll be able to turn the project out in a matter of weeks. As he visits Marchuk in his home stuffed with boxes cataloguing his life's archive, Paul begins to come to terms with an emptiness in his own home.
When you can read it: Sept. 21, 2022
David Homel is a Montreal-based writer and translator. He is the author of nine novels and a memoir, as well as a series of books for young readers co-written with Marie-Louise Gay. He has worked in documentary film, print and radio journalism.
This Unlikely Soil by Andrea Routley
This Unlikely Soil follows a community of queer women living in a rural part of Canada's west coast, as they navigate love and life. From the recent split of Naomi and Rita, to Freddie, who is suffering from a brain injury, these stories reflect on painful histories, connection and the failures of kindness against the backdrop of a lush and isolated landscape.
When you can read it: Sept. 23, 2022
Andrea Routley is a writer and editor based in Vancouver. Her work has appeared in literary magazines such as Geist and The Fiddlehead Review. Her debut collection, Jane and the Whales, was a finalist for the 2014 Lambda Literary Award for debut fiction.
I'm the Girl by Courtney Summers
When Georgia stumbles across the dead body of 13-year-old Ashley James, she teams up with Ashley's older sister Nora to find the killer before he strikes again. Georgia's investigation launches her into a world of unimaginable wealth and privilege, something she has always dreamed about. But as Georgia and Nora close in on the killer, they discover that when money, power and beauty rule, it's not always a matter of who is guilty, but who is guiltiest.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Courtney Summers is the bestselling author of several novels for young adults, including Cracked Up to Be, All the Rage and Sadie. She won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult literature and the 2019 Odyssey Award.
The Remembering by Susan Sinnott
Liz, who is widowed and retired, finds her life collapsing under the weight of grief and early-onset dementia. Her daughters are her whole world and when her youngest, Eve, reveals she has been sexually assaulted, Liz's two other daughters are left picking up the pieces. The Remembering is an empathetic exploration of memory, family and generational trauma.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Susan Sinnott is a writer based in St. John's. Her first novel, Catching the Light, won the 2019 Ann Connor Brimer Award and the 2014 Percy Janes First Novel Award for an unpublished manuscript. The Remembering is her second novel.
Motherthing by Ainslie Hogarth
Abby Lamb is finally putting the darkness from her childhood to rest after meeting her wonderful husband Ralph. But when they move in with Ralph's mother Laura, Laura's depression and cruel ways start to weigh on Abby. After Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts them and Abby must make the ultimate sacrifice to save her family.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Ainslie Hogarth is an author from Windsor. She has published two YA horror novels, The Lonely and The Boy Meets Girl Massacre, and her short fiction has appeared in Hazlitt, Black Static and elsewhere.
Black Dove by Colin McAdam
Oliver and his novelist father live in a tall, narrow house on a busy street in a neighbourhood where magic is real and murderers gather. They are haunted by the ghost of Oliver's alcoholic mother, but the 12 year old finds comfort in his father's stories. Constantly teased by bullies and wanting to forget the pain of his past, Oliver begins a transformation through genetic editing and must come to face the dark consequences of fantasy.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Colin McAdam is a novelist based in Quebec. His last book, A Beautiful Truth, won the 2013 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize. His first novel, Some Great Thing, won the Amazon Canada First Novel Award and his second novel, Fall, was shortlisted for the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize.
We Spread by Iain Reid
Penny, an artist, finds herself in a long-term care residence after she's had one too many incidents. Initially surrounded by peers, conversing and painting, Penny begins to lose her grip on time and her place in the world. We Spread explores questions of conformity, art, productivity and what it means to grow old.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Iain Reid is an Ottawa-born author. His debut novel, the 2016 psychological thriller I'm Thinking of Ending Things, was adapted into a film by American writer and director Charlie Kaufman for Netflix.
The Sleeping Car Porter by Suzette Mayr
The Sleeping Car Porter tells the story of Baxter, a Black man in 1929 who works as a sleeping car porter on a train that travels across the country. He smiles and tries to be invisible to the passengers, but what he really wants is to save up and go to dentistry school. On one particular trip out west, the train is stalled and Baxter finds a naughty postcard of two gay men. The postcard reawakens his memories and longings and puts his job in jeopardy.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Suzette Mayr is a poet and novelist based in Calgary. She is the author of the novels Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall, Monoceros, Moon Honey, The Widows and Venous Hum. Monoceros won the ReLit Award, the City of Calgary W. O. Mitchell Book Prize and made the 2011 Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist.
The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke, 20th Anniversary Edition
First published in 2002, The Polished Hoe won the Giller Prize, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Trillium Book Award. The new 20th anniversary edition features a foreword by writer and professor Rinaldo Walcott, as well as a new cover commissioned from Toronto visual artist Shawn Skeir. Set on the post-colonial West Indian island of Bimshire in 1952, the novel follows the murder confession of Mary Mathilda, who claims to have killed the plantation owner for whom she has worked for more than 30 years — and whose mistress she has been for most of that time, including becoming the mother of his only son.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Austin Clark, who died in 2016, was one of Canada's foremost authors. His work included 11 novels, several short story collections, two collections of poetry and multiple memoirs including 'Membering, published a year before his death.
Patterson House by Jane Cawthorne
Alden Patterson is the last living member of a once-wealthy Toronto family. Living in the run-down Patterson House with a foundling, an injured war veteran and the family's former gardener, she is haunted by her grandfather's suicide. She thinks she has found a way to survive by taking in boarders, but the crash of 1929 leaves her desperate and one particular boarder threatens to ruin everything she thinks she wants.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Jane Cawthorne is an author and women's-rights activist based in Victoria, British Columbia. Her short stories and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and literary journals and her play, The Abortion Monologues, has been produced many times in the U.S. and Canada.
My Indian Summer by Joseph Kakwinokanasum
My Indian Summer is a novel about survival, reconciliation and identity set during the summer of '79. For Hunter Frank, the summer begins with his mother returning home only to collect the last two months' welfare cheques, leaving her three mixed-race children to fend for themselves. The siblings get involved in an adventure involving a trio of elders and the stash of cash in the purple Crown Royal bag hidden in his mattress.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Joseph Kakwinokanasum is a member of James Smith Cree Nation. Kakwinokanasum's work has been published in the 2022 anthology Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing by Anvil Press, the Humber Literary Journal, and Emerge, The Writer's Studio anthology. He was on the shortlist for the 2020 CBC Nonfiction Prize and his manuscript Woodland Creetures was awarded the 2014 Canada Council for the Arts Creation Grant for Aboriginal Peoples, Writers and Storytellers.
King of Hope by Kim Conklin
King of Hope is a novel about Hartley Addison, a mild-mannered man who is known as the defacto mayor for his small Southern Ontario town. The region has been a major environmental dumpsite for decades — and when the media come to town chasing a news story, things come to a head and mysteries come to light.
When you can read it: Sept. 27, 2022
Kim Conklin is a Canadian writer, filmmaker and podcaster. Her journalism has appeared in broadcast and print, and her communications work has received more than 15 awards, including a Clio and a NY International Film Festival award.
Nila by Laila Re
Nila follows the journey of an Afghan girl who suddenly has to flee her homeland during the long war. As a child refugee, she faces the trauma of displacement, while her family struggles to survive. The novel describes the loss and dysfunction caused by war.
When you can read it: Sept. 30, 2022
Laila Re is a poet and author based in Toronto. She escaped Kabul as a toddler with her family and emigrated to Canada in 1992, when she was five. She is the author of three collections of poetry: Pieces to Peace, Soul Led and Beauty and Love.
We Have Never Lived On Earth by Kasia Van Schaik
Set against the backdrop of a world threatened by ecological crisis, We Have Never Lived On Earth follows the journey of Charlotte Ferrier, a child of divorce raised by a single mother in a small town in British Columbia. From a friendship tested by forest fires to a girl on a beach examining the memories of a dying jellyfish, these stories explore intimate and transformative moments of the female experience.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Kasia Van Schaik is a South African poet and writer living in Montreal. We Have Never Lived On Earth is her first story collection.
River, Diverted by Jamie Tennant
The novel River, Diverted leans on elements of magic and pop culture to explore themes of memory, friendship and hope. When River Black, a horror writer, finds a mysterious book from Japan, she decides to go there to revisit her past. River ends up on a quest of self-discovery and identity.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
Jamie Tennant is a writer, author and broadcast director based in Hamilton, Ont. He has covered music and pop culture both locally and nationally. His debut novel The Captain of Kinnoull Hill was released in 2016.
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 2020 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 story collection that experiments with craft and form with elements of pathos, absurdism and humour. The characters in these stories deal with issues of displacement, belonging, identity as the author deconstructs narrative to examine loss, dysfunction and survival.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2022
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
In 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 novel 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 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 novel A Bird's Eye, a finalist for the Rogers Trust Fiction Prize and was an Amazon.ca Best Book of the Year, 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. His 2019 novel, The Student, was a finalist for both the Toronto Book Award and the Governor General's Literary Award.
Possessed by Jowita Bydlowska
Possessed uses dark humour to reflect on sexual obsession, mental health and the supernatural. The protagonist in this novel, 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. The book was a national bestseller and optioned for television and film by LD Entertainment. Her latest book is the novel Guy, which follows an intensely narcissistic talent agent. Bydlowska has written columns on popular culture and mental health for the National Post, the Globe and Mail and CBC.
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. Jamesie was guest author at the 2018 & 2020 Northwords Writers Festivals and a runner up for 2018 Sally Manning Award for Indigenous Creative Non-Fiction. 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 ten years working in entertainment arts, with experience in production art, creative direction and concept design.
All I Want for Christmas by Maggie Knox
All I Want for Christmas is a rom-com novel about two mismatched musicians, Sadie and Max, who pretend to be in a relationship for a career-changing opportunity. Real and fake emotions intertwine and the pair wonder if there just might be something more.
When you can read it: Oct. 4, 2022
Maggie Knox is the pseudonym of Canadian writing duo Karma Brown and Marissa Stapley. Brown's bestselling books include Recipe for a Perfect Wife and The 4% Fix, while Stapley's known for romantic novels like Mating for Life and Things to Do When It's Raining. The Holiday Swap marks their first collaboration.
Welcome to the Weird America by A.G. Pasquella
Welcome to the Weird America brings together three novellas that border on the strange and surreal. The stories range from comic-book style adventures, aliens, and an America of hucksters and hobos, cartoons and carnivals.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
A.G. Pasquella is an American Canadian author based in Toronto. His novels include Yard Dog, Carve The Heart and Season of Smoke. His writing has appeared in McSweeney's, Wholphin, The Believer, Black Book, Broken Pencil and Utne Reader.
Pacifique by Sarah L. Taggart
Pacifique is a novel that explores what's real versus imagined. When two people, Tia and Pacifique, engage in a fleeting affair, the result is a life-changing accident. Tia finds herself in a hospital, with no trace of Pacifique — and reason to wonder if Pacifique even existed. Tia is forced to examine her life and her very sanity in the process.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Sarah L. Taggart is a queer writer with lived experience of madness and forced psychiatrization. She has published short fiction in The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead and Journey Prize Stories.
Citizens of Light by Sam Shelstad
Citizens of Light is a debut novel set in southern Ontario. A partner's untimely death forces a call centre agent to find out the truth. This quest veers into the surreal and absurd as she heads to Niagara Falls to learn more about herself and her life circumstances.
When you can read it: Oct. 11, 2022
Sam Shelstad is a Toronto writer. He was longlisted for the 2014 CBC Short Story Prize and was a runner-up for the 2014 Thomas Morton Memorial Prize. His debut story collection, Cop House, was published in 2014.
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. He completed his first novel, The Keeping of Gusties, at the age of 20. His second novel, The Coming of Winter, was published in 1974. In 1988, Richard's novel Nights Below Station Street won the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction. He was also nominated for Road to the Stilt House in 1985, For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down in 1993 and Mercy Among the Children in 2000. Mercy Among the Children won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Trillium Award. He received the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language nonfiction for his book Lines on the Water in 1998.
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.
Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Fayne is 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 bestselling novels. In addition to writing, she was the host of CBC's Doc Zone for eight years. In 1996, MacDonald released her debut novel Fall on Your Knees and was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. The book was a finalist for Canada Reads in 2010, defended by Perdita Felicien. Her second novel The Way the Crow Flies, another Giller Prize finalist, was published in 2003. Her previous novel Adult Onset was published in 2014.
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
Leonard 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.
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. Her work includes the 2017 debut novel Chocolate Cherry Chai and The Desirable Sister.
Cold Snap by Maureen Jennings
Private investigator Charlotte Frayne is pulled into a dangerous international plot when her boss, Mr. Gilmore, provides shelter to a relative in grave danger. Stephen, a refugee from Germany, is privy to information that could change the very future of a country still reeling from the devastation of the War to End All Wars — and at his heels are powerful forces that will do anything to ensure his intelligence never sees the light of day.
Meanwhile, Charlotte's estranged mother reappears, wanting her help to find a child she gave up at birth 20 years ago. Despite her turbulent feelings, Charlotte agrees to investigate, not knowing that the two cases will connect in surprising ways.
When you can read it: Oct. 14, 2022
Maureen Jennings is best known as the author of the Detective Murdoch series — a collection of novels that follow Toronto detective William Murdoch as he attempts to solve the city's most gruesome crimes. Murdoch Mysteries is the CBC television drama based on Jennings's characters.
The Descendants by Robert Chursinoff
The novel The Descendants is an exploration of love, faith and violence. Years after an encounter with a vicious biker gang, ex-lovers Jonah Seeger and Ruby Samarodin return to their Doukhobor religious community in the mountains of British Columbia to heal and start new peaceful lives. They soon discover that a person from their past is looking for them and wants revenge. Jonah and Ruby discover that the past can never truly be left behind.
When you can read it: Oct. 15, 2022
Robert Chursinoff is a Vancouver-based musician and writer. He has been a drummer for musical acts such as Tegan and Sara, Australian pop star Ben Lee, the Be Good Tanyas, Juno-nominated performer Kinnie Starr, the Belle Game and many others. His writing has been published in the literary journal Blank Spaces, the anthology Just Words Volume 4, and online in Vice, Nowhere Magazine, Upworthy and the Matador Network.
The Rooftop Garden by Menaka Raman-Wilms
The novel 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' short story Black Coffee 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.
The Lost Century by Larissa Lai
This historical novel 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.
Everything You Dream is Real by Lisa de Nikolits
Everything You Dream is Real is a speculative fiction work and sequel to novel The Rage Room. Set in the wake of a world ravaged by environmental decline, new societies rise up and battle for resources and power as gender roles and dynamics shift and sway.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Lisa de Nikolits is a Canadian writer and art director who is originally from South Africa. Her novels include The Hungry Mirror, West of Wawa, A Glittering Chaos, The Witchdoctor's Bones and more. She is a member of the Mesdames of Mayhem and the Crime Writers of Canada.
Precious Little by Camille Fouillard
This debut novel is set in the remote Labrador Innu community of Utshimassits and was inspired by real events. In early-1990s Labrador, a people's inquiry records the aftermath of a house fire that killed six Indigenous children. The community comes together as elders, men, women and children share their lived experiences and cope with grief, trauma and healing.
When you can read it: Oct. 18, 2022
Camille Fouillard is a St. John's writer and activist raised in Manitoba on Treaty 2 lands. She has worked and collaborated with the Labrador Innu on storytelling and books, protests and activism, facilitation, land rights, social health and education. She served as editor for Gathering Voices-Mamunitau Staianimuanu: The Davis Inlet People's Inquiry and co-edited It's Like the Legend: Innu Women's Voices.
Isolated Incident by Mariam Pirbhai
Isolated Incident is set in the Greater Toronto Area and involves an act of violence toward a Muslim community that is deemed a minor event. But when the violence threatens to escalate, Kashif Siddiqui, the son of Pakistani immigrants, joins a group of volunteers on a security watch at an Islamic cultural centre — the potential target of another attack — during the festive Eid night.
When you can read it: Oct. 30, 2022
Mariam Pirbhai is a Pakistan Canadian academic and author. Her work includes the short story collection Outside People and Other Stories, winner of the 2018 IPPY Gold Medal for Multicultural Fiction and the 2019 American BookFest Award for the Short Story. Isolated Incident is her debut novel.
Four for Fogo Island by Kevin Major
Four for Fogo Island is a detective novel involving the sardonic private eye Sebastian Synard, who becomes involved in a murder mystery while on a family vacation on Fogo Island. Tracking down the culprit proves harder than it seems, as a series of occasionally bizarre and humorous turns complicate the investigation.
When you can read it: Oct. 30, 2022
Kevin Major is a writer from Newfoundland. He made a name for himself in 1978 with the YA novel Hold Fast, which was adapted into a feature film. He is also the author of the novel Found Far and Wide.
Midnight Storm Moonless Sky by Alex Soop
Midnight Storm Moonless Sky is a collection of Indigenous horror short stories involving the eerie and supernatural. The work melds First Nations legends, dark fantasy, apocalyptic and the paranormal enchantment to explore themes of racism and injustice.
When you can read it: Oct. 31, 2022
Alex Soop is a Calgary writer of the Blackfoot Nation. His stories focus on Indigenity, identity and the legacy of residential schools.
Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Blackwater Falls is the first in a crime fiction series featuring detective Inaya Rahman. When girls from immigrant communities go missing in the American town of Blackwater Falls, Rahman must act to find justice before more go missing or are murdered. The book features themes of isolation, race and belonging as the search for the true culprit involves various twists and turns.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Ausma Zehanat Khan grew up in Toronto and now lives in Denver, Colo. She's a former adjunct law professor and former editor-in-chief of Muslim Girl magazine. She's the author of several crime fiction and fantasy novels. Her debut novel, The Unquiet Dead, won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel. Her subsequent mystery novels include The Language of Secrets, Among the Ruins and A Dangerous Crossing.
Something's Burning by Janet Trull
Something's Burning is a story collection with themes of belonging and identity. The characters in these stories challenge societal norms to varying effects.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Janet Trull is a Canadian writer and editor. Trull won the CBC Canada Writes challenge, Close Encounters with Science, in 2013 and was nominated for a Western Magazine Award in the short fiction category. Her debut collection of short fiction, Hot Town and Other Stories, was published in 2016
Fourteen Days, edited by Margaret Atwood
Fourteen Days is a story anthology that was collaboratively created during the COVID-19 pandemic. Edited by Margaret Atwood, notable names such as John Grisham, Celeste Ng, Monique Truong, Hampton Sides, Mary Pope Osborne, Emma Donoghue and Atwood herself are among the writers. The story, set on a Manhattan rooftop in 2020, reflects on the nature of empathy and connection as the virus spreads worldwide and the rich are fleeing the city.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Margaret Atwood is the celebrated Canadian writer who has published fiction, nonfiction, poetry and comics. Her acclaimed books include The Handmaid's Tale, Alias Grace, Oryx and Crake and The Edible Woman. She has won several awards for her work, including the Governor General's Literary Award, the Scotiabank Giller Prize and the Man Booker Prize. She is also a founder of the Griffin Poetry Prize and the Writers' Trust of Canada.
All the Bears Sing by Harold Macy
All the Bears Sing is a story collection that reflects the particular magic of the West Coast. The stories involve nature and the people who live in it — everyday fishermen and loggers, gardeners and wildland firefighters, rock blasters and island homesteaders.
When you can read it: Nov. 5, 2022
Macy is an author from British Columbia. His work includes The Four Storey Forest, San Josef and has been published in various literary journals.
Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk
Even Though I Knew the End revolves around a detective living in a Chicago filled with magic and monsters. The historical fantasy novel is about mystical powers, everlasting love and a chase for a vengeful serial killer.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
C.L. Polk is a fantasy writer from Calgary. Their other books include Witchmark, Stormsong and The Midnight Bargain. Witchmark, their debut novel, won the 2019 World Fantasy Award for best novel. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award, Locus Award, Aurora Award and a Lambda Literary Award. The Midnight Bargain was defended by Olympian and broadcaster Rosey Edeh on Canada Reads 2021.
The Opportunist by Elyse Friedman
The Opportunist is a novel about gender dynamics and power. When Alana Shropshire's father, Ed, starts dating a much younger woman, her family react with shock, dismay and a desire to protect their inheritance. When it's clear wedding bells are in the picture, a dangerous scheme is set in motion to retain control.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
Elyse Friedman is a Toronto-based author and screenwriter. Her work has been shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award, the Toronto Book Award, the ReLit Award and the Tom Hendry Award.
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
A World of Curiosities is Louise Penny's 18th book in the Armand Gamache series, which takes place in a warm, eccentric, tight-knit community known as Three Pines. This time out, Inspector Gamache gets caught up in a story involving two young siblings who have appeared in the village. The pair were young when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged. Gamache must uncover why they have arrived in town — before it's too late.
When you can read it: Nov. 29, 2022
Louise Penny, a former CBC broadcaster and journalist, is the award-winning author of the Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries.
