46 Canadian nonfiction books to read in spring 2025
Check out these Canadian nonfiction titles coming out in spring 2025.
Chasing Shadows by Ronald J. Deibert
Chasing Shadows is a nonfiction work that delves into the dark underworld of digital espionage, disinformation and subversion. The work explores how today's digital age has enabled a world where activists, opposition figures and journalists who dare to advocate for basic political rights and freedoms are targeted by autocratic regimes.
Chasing Shadows is out now.
Ronald Deibert is the founder and director of Citizen Lab, a research centre based at the University of Toronto, which studies technology, surveillance and censorship. Deibert delivered the 2020 Massey series of lectures, titled Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society. Reset won the 2021 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing and was also nominated for the 2021 Donner Prize for best Canadian public policy book.
Chrystia by Catherine Tsalikis
Chrystia is a biography that chronicles Chrystia Freeland's incredible journey from her roots in Peace River, Alta., to her role as a journalist and ultimately to her position as deputy prime minister and finance minister in prime minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government. The book gives an inside look at the trailblazing woman, sharing key moments and achievements in her impressive political career.
Chrystia is out now.
Catherine Tsalikis is a Toronto-based writer and journalist. She reports on foreign policy, politics and gender equality. Tsalikis respectively received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics. She worked as an editorial assistant for The World Today magazine, a politics producer for Sky News, and most recently, as the senior editor for OpenCanada.org, an international affairs site.
Everything But Money by Jessica Moorhouse
In Everything But Money, Jessica Moorhouse goes beyond budgeting to reveal the emotional and psychological roots of our relationship with money, helping readers confront the patterns and beliefs that hold them back financially. With her expertise and guidance, Moorhouse empowers readers to transform their money story and build a healthier, more secure financial future.
Everything But Money is out now.
Moorhouse is a financial counsellor, podcaster and TV personality. She has appeared on the CBC, CTV, BNN Bloomberg, the Toronto Star, Forbes and USA Today.
Safekeeping by Chelene Knight
In Safekeeping, award-winning author Chelene Knight provides practical advice for writers at all stages of their literary endeavours. The book combines writing prompts, tips, reflective exercises and mindset-building activities to equip authors with the tools for successful publishing, while maintaining a healthy outlook and helping them avoid imposter syndrome, burnout and the pitfalls of comparing themselves to others.
Safekeeping is out now.
Knight is a writer and poet from Vancouver. She is the author of the Braided Skin and the memoir Dear Current Occupant, which won the 2018 Vancouver Book Award. Her 2022 novel Junie won the 2023 Vancouver Book Award, was longlisted for Canada Reads 2024 and the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, and was a finalist for the Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ fiction.
The Art of Doing by Jesse Lipscombe
In The Art of Doing, Jesse Lipscombe shares how a life-changing mini-stroke that disrupted his Olympic dreams transformed his focus from single-minded goal pursuit to embracing the process of "doing," unlocking a world of opportunity, wonder and happiness. Drawing from his diverse experiences as an actor, speaker, writer, entrepreneur, athlete and singer, he offers practical strategies to help you stay motivated, productive and achieve your dreams.
The Art of Doing is out now.
Lipscombe is an actor, speaker, former athlete, entrepreneur and activist. He invests in multiple businesses and runs a consultancy focused on fighting racism, misogyny, homophobia and hatred. In 2017, he won the Obsidian Award for Top Business Leader in Western Canada and named Community Man of the Year by Diversity magazine. He is the first Black man to receive the AMPIA Award for Best Male Acting Performance at the Rosie Awards.
How to Share an Egg by Bonny Reichert
When Toronto-based journalist Bonny Reichert turned 40, she quit her job and enrolled in culinary school — a life-changing decision that pushed her to explore her relationship with food in writing. This exploration, along with a critical bowl of borscht in Warsaw, led Reichert to writing her memoir, How to Share an Egg, which dives into how food shapes her history as the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
How to Share an Egg is out now.
Bonny Reichert is a journalist and chef based in Toronto. She was formerly an editor at Today's Parent and Chatelaine and has written for The Globe and Mail. She won a National Magazine Award and was on the longlist for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize. She teaches writing at the University of Toronto.
For the Love of a Son by Scott Oake
For the Love of a Son is a memoir that explores a father's unconditional love for a son struggling with drugs, addiction and violence. When Canadian broadcaster Scott Oake first held his infant son, Bruce, in his arms, he never imagined that Bruce would become a statistic in the losing battle to opioid abuse. Oake explores the life of his late son and the lasting impact of loving and supporting someone battling substance use disorder.
For the Love of a Son is out now.
Oake is a sportscaster for CBC Sports, Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada. He is on the Roll of Honour of the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association and appointed a Member of the Order of Manitoba and the Order of Canada. Originally from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Oake started his broadcasting career at Memorial University's campus radio station before spending five decades with CBC.
Searching for Serafim by Ruby Smith Díaz
Searching for Serafim is about the life of Vancouver's first lifeguard, Serafim "Joe" Fortes. The book explores the complexities of his legacy as a hero who saved numerous lives in a racially divided society. Through a blend of historical research, personal reflections and poetry, Ruby Smith Diaz sheds light on the untold struggles of an Afro Latino man in an openly white supremacist world.
Searching for Serafim is out now.
Smith Diaz is an Afro Latina multidisciplinary artist, educator and award-winning body-positive personal trainer. Raised in a migrant, low-income, single-parent household in amiskwaciy (Edmonton), her upbringing has fuelled her dedication to addressing equity and social justice issues. She now lives on the unceded territories of the Stz'uminus peoples (Ladysmith, B.C.).
Start Making Sense by Steven J. Heine
In Start Making Sense, psychologist Steven J. Heine delves into humanity's evolutionary need to seek meaning, explaining that our survival hinges on our ability to make sense of an absurd world. The book offers a blueprint for living with purpose, especially in times when things don't seem to make sense.
Start Making Sense is out now.
Heine is a Vancouver-based author and professor of social and cultural psychology at the University of British Columbia. His research has been published in the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Newsweek and New Scientist, among others. He is also the author of textbook Cultural Psychology.
It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished by Kate Gies
When Kate Gies was born without her right ear, plastic surgeons vowed to make her "whole" and craft the appearance of an outer ear. The Toronto author underwent 14 surgeries before the age of 13, many of which failed, leaving permanent scars — both physically and mentally. Gies shares her harrowing experiences and path to accepting her body through poignant vignettes that form her debut memoir, It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished.
It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished is out now.
Gies is a Toronto-based writer and educator. She teaches at George Brown College. Her writing has been published in The Malahat Review, The Humber Literary Review, Hobart, Minola Review and The Conium Review. She was also longlisted for the 2018 CBC Nonfiction Prize. It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished is her first book and her essay Foreign Bodies will be included in the forthcoming Best Canadian Essays anthology.
Windfall by Tim Falconer
Windfall offers an intimate portrait of Viola MacMillan, a powerful woman in Canadian business history known both for her success as a mining mogul and for her role in one of the country's most infamous stock crash scandals. Despite serving a brief time in prison, she was later pardoned and awarded the Order of Canada.
Windfall is out now.
Tim Falconer is a Toronto-based author. His previous books include Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music and Klondikers: Dawson City's Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey which made the Globe and Mail's top 100.
No Fault by Haley Mlotek
At the age of ten, Haley Mlotek told her mother to get a divorce. In No Fault, Mlotek shares how divorce was a constant presence in her life, with her mother running a mediation and marriage counseling practice, and Mlotek spending her preteen years handling calls and drafting parenting plans for couples splitting up. However, her understanding on divorce would completely change when she went through the experience of divorcing her own husband after twelve years.
No Fault is out now.
Mlotek is a Montreal-based writer and editor whose work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker and ELLE, among others. A founding member of the Freelance Solidarity Project, Mlotek also teaches in the English and journalism departments at Concordia University. She previously worked as deputy editor at SSENSE, style editor at MTV News, editor at The Hairpin and publisher of WORN Fashion Journal.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This marks Egyptian Canadian journalist and writer Omar El Akkad's nonfiction debut. In the fall of 2023, shortly after the bombardment of Gaza, he posted on social media a statement: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this."
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This expands on his powerful social media message and chronicles his thoughts on the fragile nature of truth, justice, privilege and morality.
One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This is out now.
El Akkad is a Canadian journalist and author who currently lives in Portland, Ore. His novel American War, which was defended on Canada Reads 2018 by actor Tahmoh Penikett., and his novel What Strange Paradise won the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize and was defended on Canada Reads 2022 by Tareq Hadhad.
On Book Banning by Ira Wells
On Book Banning examines both historical and modern efforts to censor books — from the destruction of libraries in Ancient Rome to today's government-sponsored suppression of LGBTQ+ literature. It points to the crucial need of protecting the freedom to read in maintaining democracy within society.
On Book Banning is out now.
Ira Wells is a writer, critic and associate professor at Victoria College in the University of Toronto. His work has been featured in The Atlantic, the Globe and Mail and the Guardian, among others. His previous book, Norman Jewison: A Director's Life, is a biography.
Sucker Punch by Scaachi Koul
In Sucker Punch, Scaachi Koul candidly recounts the painful events that turned her life upside down, from her marriage falling apart to her mother's cancer diagnosis, and everything in between. With her signature humour, Koul reflects on navigating struggle — shifting from her belief that fighting is the only way out — to exploring when to fight and when to let go in the face of life's unexpected challenges.
Sucker Punch is out now.
Koul is a writer from Calgary who currently lives in Brooklyn, New York. Her debut book, One Day We'll All Be Dead And None Of This Will Matter, was a New York Times Editors' Choice and a finalist for the Leacock Medal for Humor and the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. She is currently a Senior Writer at Slate and co-hosts the Ambie Award-winning podcast Scamfluencers. Koul also co-hosted the Emmy-nominated Netflix series Follow This, and her work has been published in The New Yorker, This American Life, New York Magazine and The Cut. She has also appeared in documentaries such as Quiet On Set and Pretty Baby.
Women Who Woke Up the Law by Karin Wells
In Women Who Woke Up the Law, Karin Wells shares the inspiring stories of Eliza Campbell, Chantale Daigle and Jeannette Corbiere Lavell, whose landmark legal battles advanced women's rights in Canada. Despite facing a prejudiced society and being told their cases were hopeless, their unwavering courage and determination led to unprecedented recognition of freedoms for women.
Women Who Woke Up the Law is out now.
Wells is a CBC radio documentarian and a lawyer. Her books highlight the often overlooked stories of remarkable Canadian women, such as The Abortion Caravan, which was shortlisted for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and More Than a Footnote. She lives in Port Hope, Ont.
Baldwin, Styron, and Me by Mélikah Abdelmoumen, translated by Catherine Khordoc
Baldwin, Styron, and Me is about the unexpected literary friendship between James Baldwin and William Styron, which began when they wrote together at Styron's guest house in 1961. Their discussions often focused on race in America, and Baldwin is said to have encouraged Styron to write the controversial The Confessions of Nat Turner, a novel that later won the Pulitzer Prize. Decades later, Mélikah Abdelmoumen, a racialized woman, reflects on their bond and examines the ongoing relevance of questions related to identity, race and equity.
Baldwin, Styron, and Me is available March 11, 2025.
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Mélikah Abdelmoumen is the author of several short stories, essays and books. Her previous works include Les désastrées and Douze ans en France. Her essay Baldwin, Styron et moi won the 2022 Pierre-Vadeboncoeur Essay Prize. She is the former editor-in-chief of the literary magazine Lettres québécoises. She holds a PhD in literature from the University of Montreal.
Catherine Khordoc is a translator based in Ottawa. She is a professor at Carleton University in the department of French and the School of Indigenous and Canadian studies.
One Foot on the Platform by Peter Goddard, edited by J.A. Wainwright
The late Peter Goddard was a highly respected music critic and journalist. In the summer of 2020, he began working on a book reflecting on his more than fifty-year career, but died in 2022 before finishing the manuscript. One Foot on the Platform includes new essays by Goddard, featuring pieces on artists like Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, k.d. lang and David Bowie, along with some of the classics of his career, celebrating and honouring his legendary work.
One Foot on the Platform is available March 11, 2025.
Goddard was a prominent Canadian cultural critic who covered a wide range of topics, including rock 'n' roll, fashion, movies and classical music. He contributed to publications such as the Globe and Mail, Maclean's and the Toronto Star where he worked for over 30 years. In 1982, he became the first Canadian critic of popular culture to win a National Newspaper Award for criticism. His previous works include Frank Sinatra: The Man, the Myth and the Music and The Great Gould.
J.A. Wainwright is a writer and McCulloch emeritus professor in English at Dalhousie University, where he taught for 30 years. He is the author of six novels, two critical biographies, five poetry books and an opera libretto.
Rot by Padraic X. Scanlan
In Rot, historian Padraic X. Scanlan uncovers the dark truth behind the Irish Potato Famine, revealing how British colonial policies and the empire's blind faith in capitalism left Ireland vulnerable to starvation. By exposing the empire's exploitation and economic neglect, Scanlan reshapes our understanding of the Great Famine.
Rot is available March 11, 2025.
Scanlan is a Toronto-based author and an associate professor at the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources and the Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto. His writing has been published in the Washington Post, the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement and the New Inquiry. Rot is his third book.
From the Rez to the Runway by Christian Allaire
In From the Rez to the Runway, Christian Allaire shares his journey from growing up on the Nipissing First Nation reserve to breaking into the world of high fashion in New York City, navigating the challenges and realities of the industry. He shares the difficulty of balancing his ambitions with the often-inaccurate perceptions — including his own — of his culture's place in the realm of fashion, offering a powerful story of staying true to yourself while pursuing your dreams.
From the Rez to the Runway is available March 25, 2025.
Allaire is an Ojibway writer from Nipissing First Nation. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism from Ryerson University in 2014, and he has since written for publications such as Footwear News, Refinery29, Elle, Hazlitt, Mr. Porter and The National Post. Currently, he is the senior Fashion and Style Writer for Vogue.
Allaire is also the author of The Power of Style, a YA nonfiction book that highlights the need for diversity and representation in fashion — and examines topics such as cosplay, make up, hijabs, and hair to show the intersection of style, culture and social justice over the years. Allaire won Canada Reads 2022, championing Five Little Indians by Michelle Good.
REDress edited by Jaime Black-Morsette
REDress is a powerful anthology that brings together the voices of Indigenous women, elders, activists, artists, academics and families affected by the tragedy of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people from across Turtle Island. Through personal stories and reflections on the REDress Project — an art installation featuring red dresses placed in public spaces as a call for justice — the book emphasizes the ongoing call for action, and honours the vital role of Indigenous women as keepers and protectors of land, culture and community.
REDress is available April 1, 2025.
Jaime Black-Morsette is a Red River Métis artist and activist. Founder of The REDress project in 2010, Black-Morsette has used their art to foster community and drive change against the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls across Turtle Island for over a decade. Their interdisciplinary art practice spans immersive film, video, installation, photography and performance, exploring themes of memory, identity, place and resistance.
Defund by Sandy Hudson
In Defund: Black Lives, Policing, and Safety for All, Sandy Hudson, founder of Black Lives Matter Canada, reveals that defunding the police is essential to creating a model of security to increase public safety. Drawing on research and interviews, Hudson shares how simple changes to educational resources, community centres and civic engagement can not only enhance community safety but also improve the ability to meet the diverse needs of their citizens.
Defund is available April 1, 2025.
Hudson is a producer, writer, lawyer and activist. She is co-executive producer of CBC documentary series Black Life: Untold Stories and co-founder of Black Lives Matter Canada and the Black Legal Action Centre.
Makeshift Fields by Dale Jacobs
Makeshift Fields provides a vivid glimpse into grassroots baseball across Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales, where the game remains fragile — requiring a tremendous collective effort to keep it alive. The book is about the passionate individuals who love the game and those who believe it can thrive anywhere.
Makeshift Fields is available April 1, 2025.
Dale Jacobs is a writer based in Windsor, Ont. His previous books include Graphic Encounters: Comics and the Sponsorship of Multimodal Literacy, On Comics and Grief and 100 Miles of Baseball: Fifty Games, One Summer, co-authored with Heidi L.M. Jacobs. He teaches at the University of Windsor.
Restaurant Kid by Rachel Phan
Three decades after her family's restaurant opened, Rachel Phan's parents are considering retirement. In Restaurant Kid, Phan reflects on this milestone and shares her experience growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, from living with parents who were building a new life to navigating the challenges of being the only Chinese girl at school.
Restaurant Kid is available April 1, 2025.
Phan is a Toronto-based writer. Her work has been featured in HuffPost, CBC, the National Post and Maclean's. She holds a Master of Journalism from the Toronto Metropolitan University.
On Oil by Don Gillmor
In On Oil, Don Gillmor examines how oil has been a constant in the lives of modern society. Gillmor, who worked as a roughneck on oil rigs during the seventies oil boom in Alberta, looks at the ways our dependence on oil has led to regulatory capture and how the industry has evolved over the decades.
On Oil is available April 8, 2025.
Gillmor is a Toronto journalist and author of novels and nonfiction books, including Canada: A People's History. He has twice been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award in the young people's literature — text category for The Fabulous Song and The Christmas Orange.
The Book of Possibilities by Bee Quammie
In The Book of Possibilities, Bee Quammie challenges the idea of being a "role model" and instead offers herself as a "possibility model" — one example among many of how to live one's life. Through this approach, she aims to show her daughters and other women the vast array of opportunities and paths available, encouraging them to embrace life even when it leads to unexpected or unconventional destinations.
The Book of Possibilities is available April 8, 2025.
Quammie is a writer and broadcaster based in Toronto. She co-hosted the Kultur'D podcast on Global News Radio and is a regular guest on The Social. Her work has been featured in publications including EBONY, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's and Chatelaine, among others. She covers a wide range of topics, including race and culture, parenthood, and health and wellness.
Story of Your Mother by Chantal Braganza
In Story of Your Mother, Chantal Braganza reflects on her intergenerational experiences growing up as the daughter of Mexican and Indian immigrants, as well as raising her own two children. Through a series of essays, she explores themes of migration, identity, motherhood, loss, nourishment and violence.
Story of Your Mother is available April 8, 2025.
Braganza is a Toronto-based writer and editor. Her writing has been featured in the New York Times Magazine, Hazlitt, The Hairpin, the Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Fashion Magazine and Maisonneuve, among others. She is currently a senior editor at Chatelaine.
Field Work by Andrew Forbes
Field Work explores baseball's history and sheds light on the people who make the game happen, from the people building ballparks to parents coaching Little League teams. Relayed poetically, Andrew Forbes examines the complex relationship between work, play and how we value labour in the world of baseball.
Field Work is available April 15, 2025.
Forbes's first short story collection What You Need was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and Trillium Book Award. He is also the author of The Utility of Boredom, The Only Way Is the Steady Way, McCurdle's Arm and The Diapause. His stories have appeared in the Toronto Star, Canadian Notes and Queries and Maisonneuve Magazine, among others. He is based in Peterborough, Ont.
elseship by Tree Abraham
In elseship, Tree Abraham recounts the emotional rollercoaster of falling in love with her housemate, who did not return her feelings. The book blends personal reflections, research, illustrations, photos and diagrams, all organized within the eight ancient Greek categories of love. It explores the beauty and pain of unrequited love while challenging the traditional heteronormative narrative of romance.
elseship is available April 15, 2025.
Abraham is a Brooklyn-based writer, art director and book designer. Originally from Ottawa, she is also the author of Cyclettes.
The O'Keefes of O'Kanagan by Ken Mather
The O'Keefes of Okanagan tells the fascinating rags-to-riches story of Michael O'Keefe, who arrived in Canada as a penniless Irish immigrant in 1819, unaware of the lasting legacy his descendants would create in the Canadian west. This multi-generational tale explores the O'Keefe family's ranching journey and prosperity, offering a snapshot of the early farming community in the Okanagan Valley.
The O'Keefes of Okanagan is available April 15, 2025.
Ken Mather has spent over four decades researching western Canadian heritage, holding curatorial, management and research roles at Fort Edmonton Park in Barkerville, B.C., and the O'Keefe Ranch since the early 1970s. He is the editor of the Okanagan Historical Society Report and was awarded the 2015 Joe Martin Memorial Award for his contributions to B.C. cowboy heritage. His previous books include Stagecoach North, Ranch Tales, Frontier Cowboys and the Great Divide and Trail North, which was a finalist for the British Columbia Lieutenant Governor's Award for Historical Writing.
Book of Hope by Agnes R. Pascal
Book of Hope brings together over 30 voices from northern and Indigenous cancer survivors and caregivers, highlighting the unique challenges of accessing healthcare in the North.
Book of Hope is available April 22, 2025.
Agnes R. Pascal is Tetlit Gwich'in, originally from Fort McPherson, N.W.T. She was adopted at birth by her grandparents. Now living in Inuvik, N.W.T., Pascal founded the Inuvik Cancer Support group in 2018 after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Currently training to become a counselor at Rhodes Wellness College, Pascal considers her upbringing, community and family to be her strengths.
Theory of Water by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
In Theory of Water, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson discovers, understands and traces the historical and cultural interactions of Indigenous peoples with water in all its forms. She presents water as a catalyst for radical transformation and how it has the potential to heal and reshape the world in response to environmental and social injustice.
Theory of Water is available April 22, 2025.
Betasamosake Simpson is a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg scholar, activist, musician, artist, author and member of Alderville First Nation. Her books include Islands of Decolonial Love, This Accident of Being Lost, Dancing on Our Turtle's Back and As We Have Always Done. Simpson was chosen by Thomas King for the 2014 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Award. This Accident of Being Lost was shortlisted for the Rogers Writer's Trust Fiction Prize in 2017 and the 2018 Trillium Book Award.
Her novel Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction and the Dublin Literary Prize. Her most recent book, a collaboration with Robyn Maynard titled Rehearsals for Living, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction.
Beneath Dark Waters by Eve Lazarus
Beneath Dark Waters is about the tragic sinking of the RMS Empress of Ireland in 1914, during its 192nd voyage from Quebec City to Liverpool, England, claiming more lives than the Titanic. Investigative journalist Eve Lazarus draws on historical records and first-hand accounts to uncover the story of the deadliest peacetime maritime tragedy in Canadian history and its aftermath.
Beneath Dark Waters is available April 29, 2025.
Lazarus is a Vancouver-based journalist, author, and the host and producer of the true crime podcast Cold Case Canada. Her previous works include Cold Case BC, Murder by Milkshake, Blood, Sweat, and Fear, Cold Case BC and Vancouver Exposed.
Chinatown Vancouver by Donna Seto
Chinatown Vancouver is a vibrantly illustrated history of the neighbourhood's buildings and celebrates the Chinese community's contributions to Canada. It features iconic businesses like Cathay Importers and Ho Inn Restaurant, while highlighting the resilience of early Chinese settlers. It honours Chinatown as a living heritage site that connects Canadians to their past and future.
Chinatown Vancouver is available May 1, 2025.
Donna Seto is a writer, artist and academic based in Vancouver. She holds a PhD in politics and international relations from the Australian National University. Her short story Generation Congee was longlisted for the CBC Nonfiction Prize in 2019.
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman by Niko Stratis
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman is a memoir-in-essays that explores how a love of "dad rock" music helped Niko Stratis come to a better understanding of life, love and the world around them. Stratis was a closeted 20-something trans woman working in her dad's glass shop in the Yukon Territory during the time when "dad rock" bands like Wilco, Radiohead and The National were regular fixtures on the radio and in rock culture circles.
The incisive essays in the book examine how Stratis discovered a sense of queer and trans identity and belonging by way of listening to "emotionally available" artists such as Neko Case and Sharon Van Etten within this subgenre.
The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman is available May 6, 2025.
Stratis is a Canadian writer, author and critic from Toronto by way of the Yukon. Her writing has appeared in publications like Catapult, Spin and Paste.
On Sports by David Macfarlane
In On Sports, David Macfarlane expresses his love for sports and his discomfort with their commercialization in the digital age. Through a mix of personal reflection and sharp critique, he examines how sports have transformed into a spectacle driven by profit, corporate interests and gambling — exploring the consequences of this shift.
On Sports is available May 6, 2025.
Macfarlane is a writer and editor based in Toronto. His previous works include the nonfiction book The Danger Tree and the novels Likeness and Summer Gone which was a finalist for the 1999 Giller Prize.
The Snag by Tessa McWatt
In The Snag, when Tessa McWatt's mother's dementia progressed and she could no longer live independently, it forced McWatt to experience and confront grief. This led her to a forest, where she discovered that from the youngest seedling to the oldest snag in the forest, every stage of a tree's life holds meaning — finding solace in the natural world as a source of healing and understanding.
The Snag is available May 6, 2025.
McWatt is the author of several novels and two books for young readers. Her previous works include Dragons Cry, Vital Signs and Higher Ed. She wrote the memoir Shame on Me, which won the 2020 Bocas Prize for Non-Fiction and was shortlisted for the Hilary Weston Prize and the Governor General's Award. Her fiction has been nominated for the Governor General's Award, the City of Toronto Book Awards, the OCM Bocas Prize and the Society of Authors' Volcano Prize. McWatt is a creative writing professor at the University of East Anglia. Originally from Guyana, she grew up in Canada and now lives in London, England.
Corporate Control by Nora Loreto
In Corporate Control, Nora Loreto explores why a handful of corporations in Canada wield such tremendous power, leaving Canadian politicians seemingly powerless to challenge corporate interests. She examines how, despite promises to address pressing issues, politicians remain unable to confront the root causes of the problems facing Canadians, constrained by corporate influence.
Corporate Control is available May 6, 2025.
Loreto is an activist, author and journalist based in Quebec City. She is the editor at the Canadian Association of Labour Media and co-hosts the political podcast Sandy and Nora Talk Politics.
Encampment by Maggie Helwig
Encampment is about priest Maggie Helwig's lifelong activism, highlighting her dedication to supporting the unhoused who found refuge near her Anglican church in Toronto. As she fights to keep her churchyard open to those in need of shelter, the book brings the stories of the unhoused to the forefront.
Encampment is available May 13, 2025.
Helwig is a white settler based in Tkaronto/Toronto. She is the author of 15 books and chapbooks, including the most recent book, Girls Fall Down, which was on the Toronto Book Award shortlist and selected as the One Book Toronto in 2012. She is a social justice activist and an Anglican priest, serving as the rector of the Church of St. Stephen-in-the-Fields since 2013.
Harley Parker by Gary Genosko
Harley Parker is about the legacy of Harley Parker, a Canadian museum designer whose innovative approach reshaped how we experience museums. Through a look at his influential designs and rediscovered manuscript, the book highlights Parker's pioneering contributions to sensory studies and museum theory, and his role as a key figure in communication and cultural studies.
Harley Parker is available May 15, 2025.
Gary Genosko is a professor of communication and digital media studies at Ontario Tech University. He has written extensively on topics such as continental thought, communication modelling, administrative surveillance, critical semiotics and the lives of scholarly journals. His previous works include McLuhan and Baudrillard: The Masters of Implosion and When Technocultures Collide. He also edited a critical edition of Harley Parker's book The Culture Box.
Precarious by Marcello Di Cintio
Precarious examines the harsh realities faced by migrant workers in Canada, revealing the exploitation, abuse and dangerous conditions they endure under the Temporary Foreign Worker program. Marcello Di Cintio investigates the system's deep flaws, and questions whether a system that relies on the vulnerability of its most marginalized can ever be made more just.
Precarious is available May 20, 2025.
Di Cintio is a writer based in Toronto. His previous works include Walls, Pay No Heed to the Rockets and Driven. Walls won the 2013 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, and Driven was named one of the best Canadian nonfiction books of 2021 by CBC Books, and was on the longlist for Canada Reads 2022. His work has also been featured in the International New York Times, Afar and Canadian Geographic, among others.
Big Girls Don't Cry by Susan Swan
In Big Girls Don't Cry, Susan Swan challenges societal expectations as she recounts her defiance of what's traditionally expected as a woman, daughter, wife and mother, while forging her own path as an artist. Swan's memoir invites you to rethink how women are expected to fit into narrow boxes and explore the power of living authentically.
Big Girls Don't Cry is available May 27, 2025.
Swan is a Toronto-based author. Her previous works include The Wives of Bath, The Biggest Modern Woman of the World, What Casanova Told Me, The Western Light and Stupid Boys Are Good to Relax With. She co-founded the Carol Shields Prize for Fiction and was awarded with the Order of Canada in 2023.
Soft As Bones by Chyana Marie Sage
In Soft As Bones, Chyana Marie Sage shares the pain of growing up with her father, a crack dealer who went to prison for molesting her older sister, and the self-destructive ways with which she coped. By revisiting her family's history, she describes the experience of overcoming generational trauma that began with her grandfather, who was forcibly separated from his family through residential schools and the Sixties Scoop. She reflects on how the traditions of her Cree culture played a crucial role in her healing.
Soft As Bones is available May 27, 2025.
Sage is a Cree, Métis and Salish writer based in Edmonton. Her journalism has appeared in the Toronto Star, Huff Post and the New Quarterly. Sage won first place in the Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest and silver in the National Magazine Awards for her essay Soar. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University where she taught as an adjunct professor. She also teaches Indigenous youth about cultivating self-love and healing through the Connected North program.
Food for the Journey by Elizabeth J. Haynes
Food for the Journey is a travel memoir that takes readers on a global adventure, capturing rich encounters and vibrant flavours. From volunteering with disabled children in the Philippines to meeting a young girl in Cambodia and learning about the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge regime, Elizabeth J. Haynes expands her first-world perspective through the people she meets and the foods she experiences along the way.
Food for the Journey is available May 27, 2025.
Haynes is a Calgary-based writer whose work has appeared in various magazines and anthologies, including You Look Good for Your Age. Her previous books include The Errant Husband and Speak Mandarin, Not Dialect, which was a finalist for the Alberta Book Award. Haynes has received the Jon Whyte Memorial Essay Award, a Western Magazine Award and the American Heart Association Award for fiction. In 2023, she was the Calgary Public Library's writer-in-residence. She worked in speech-language pathology prior to her retirement.
In Too Deep by Matthew Bobkin and Adam Feibel
In Too Deep features exclusive interviews and personal stories from nine Canadian artists, looking at how Canada unexpectedly became the birthplace of a new wave of punk rock icons like Simple Plan, Marianas Trench, Avril Lavigne and Billy Talent, who went on to conquer the global music scene.
In Too Deep is available June 3, 2025.
Matthew Bobkin and Adam Feibel are Toronto-based music journalists. Their work has been featured in Exclaim!, Bandcamp, VICE, the National Post and the Toronto Star. In Too Deep is their debut book.
The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul by Eric McLuhan
In The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul, the son of media theorist Marshall McLuhan explores faith as a form of knowing, contrasting the embodied experience of ancient poetry and drama with the disembodied nature of modern electronic communication. By examining synesthesia, sensus communis and the theological senses, Eric McLuhan explores how faith, perception and contemporary life intersect.
The Sensus Communis, Synesthesia, and the Soul is available June 17, 2025.
Eric McLuhan was a communications and literary theorist and the author of 18 books. His previous works include Cynic Satire, The Human Equation series (co-authored with Wayne Constantineau) and Theories of Communication. He also co-authored a number of books and essays with his father, Marshall McLuhan, including Media and Formal Cause and Laws of Media: The New Science.
