“In putting together pain, loss, and good feeling, the poems articulate a human capacity for gear shifting amidst dissonance—however imperfect.” —Marguerite Pigeon reviews Fine, by Matt Rader (Madeira Park: Nightwood Editions, 2024) $19.95 / 9780889714663
“He went from penniless ex-British Navy man to influential roles in the new colony increasing his annual salary with each step up.” Ron Verzuh reviews The Eventful Life of Philip Hankin: Worldwide Traveller and Witness to British Columbia’s Early History by Geoff Mynett (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2023) $26.00 / 9781773861197
Delightful debut YA novel “speaks … to all readers who care about becoming adult in a positive, life-embracing, world-loving way.” —Alison Acheson reviews Crash Landing, by Li Charmaine Anne (Toronto: Annick Press, 2024) $18.99 / 9781773218427
A “biodiverse” poet offers advice, wake-up calls, and calls to action in an inspired and passionate volume. —Mary Ann Moore reviews Hazard, Home, by Christine Lowther (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2024) $20.00 / 9781773861241
“‘It became a philosophical/legal statement about the land. I hope it reaches out to Indigenous and non-Indigenous audiences and will inform people going forward with reconciliation.’” Sage Birchwater reviews Lha Yudit’ih We Always Find a Way: Bringing the Tsilhqot’in Title Case Home by Lorraine Weir, with Chief Roger William (Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2023) $35 / 9781772013825
This fast-paced murder mystery with a “wonderfully wry” tone is “great fun.” It’s also an “animated and sharp” glimpse of Vancouver’s social landscape, circa 1929. —W.H. New reviews Mr. Good-Evening, by John MacLachlan Gray (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2024) $34.94 / 9781771623957
Montreal in the late 1940s is the backdrop for appealing portraits of young women navigating convention and discovering themselves. —Bill Paul reviews A Real Somebody, by Deryn Collier (Seattle: Lake Union Publishing, 2023) $15.70 / 9781662512643
Highly recommended novella presents “a humane vision from an imagined future, of the potential that arises from valuing connection and collaboration in and with place.” —Dana McFarland reviews Arboreality, by Rebecca Campbell (Hamilton: Stelliform Press, 2022) $19.00 / 9781777682323
Romance novel stands out for its approachable characters and inclusion of real-world problems. —Myshara Herbert-McMyn reviews The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch, by Jacqueline Firkins (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2023) $18.00 / 9781250836526
“People who attended summer camp, or who wish they had, or who, like myself, sent their children to camp, will enjoy the shared memories.” Phyllis Reeve reviews My Paddle’s Keen and Bright: Summer Camp Stories by Rika Ruebsaat (Vancouver: New Star Books, 2023) $24 / 9781554201884
Quietly affecting novel delivers with an elegiac narrator recalling the “vibrant, creative and tragic world” of his youth. —Theo Dombrowski reviews The Marvels of Youth, by Tim Bowling (Hamilton: Wolsak and Wynn, 2023) $24.00 / 9781989496749
“The intermittent chronicle of British Columbia filmmaking offers many examples of motion pictures that could have been made, but somehow never were.” British Columbia film historian and archivist Dennis J. Duffy ruminates on the films based on B.C. literature that got away, such as Swamp Angel by Ethel Wilson, in his essay Knowing the Country: The Unfilmed Ethel Wilson
At first, the poetic flurry of puzzling phrases is “like trying to drink from a firehose.” —Joe Enns reviews The Goldberg Variations, by Clint Burnham (Vancouver: New Star Books, 2024) $16.00 / 9781554202096
“Staggering, epic, a treasure trove – are words used to describe British Columbia Artists, an extensive digital finding aid to references for B.C. visual artists, started over 25 years ago…” Christina Johnson-Dean reviews Gary Sim’s British Columbia Artists (Vancouver: Sim Publishing, 2024)
Engaging, insightful poems entwine love, nature, and the cosmos.—gillian harding-russell reviews Asterisms, by Donna Kane (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2024) $22.95 / 9871990776717
“The Notorious Georges is about the rivalry of the two Georges and about the founding of Prince George. It’s also about the drive to tame a wild land with organized townsites and laws, rules, and regulations that needed to be adhered to—civilization as opposed to lawless wilderness.” Steven Brown reviews The Notorious Georges: Crime and Community in British Columbia’s Northern Interior, 1909 – 1925 by Jonathan Swainger (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2023) $32.95 / 9780774869416
A “sweet and pleasant” romantic comedy showcases a rural resort and an unlikely pairing. —Valerie Green reviews Love Naturally, by Sophie Sullivan (New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2024) $24.00 / 9781250875839
Characters struggle with loneliness and death in a debut story collection buoyed by a hopeful tone. —Bill Paul reviews Blue Runaways, by Jann Everard (Victoria: Stonehewer Books, 2024) $23.95 / 9781738993307
By turns funny and incisive, a debut essayist is a connoisseur of everyday absurdities. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Laser Quit Smoking Massage: Essays, by Cole Nowicki (Edmonton: Newest Press, 2024) $21.95 / 9781774390917
From “the city to rural backroads, Siemens takes readers on an unforgettable journey.” —Valerie Green reviews Call of the Void, by J.T. Siemens (Edmonton: NeWest Press, 2024) $22.95 / 9781774390863