by Nathan Whitlock    Literary complexity is for the fall awards season. This country’s brief time in the sun should be reserved for the book equivalent of a vodka Jell-O shot. So the thinking goes. The problems I have with beach reads are that A) I’ve never figured out how to read comfortably on a beach, and B) I am a ridiculous snob when it comes to books. And maybe a bit of a masochist. Books that bum me out are my kind of fun. Whenever I have a stretch of time off ahead of me, I start thinking about all the thorny, uncomfortable tomes I’ve been putting aside for that exact moment ..read more

by John Brady McDonald    As much as I hate to admit it, I find the stack of books in my “To Read” pile increasing at a rate which is outpacing my reading output. The Japanese call it Tsundoku, the act of acquiring books, but letting them pile up, and I fully admit that my bedside dresser-top is becoming overwhelmed with books either purchased by me, rescued from “Free Book” piles, and as gifts given to me by those with the best intentions. The genre usually dictates the amount of time spent in literary purgatory upon my dresser. Cozy British mysteries don’t stay around very long. Ne ..read more

by Ariel Gordon   View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize View fullsize For years, the joke was that there were more Winnipeggers in Calgary and Toronto and Vancouver than in Winnipeg. For years, if you were smart and ambitious – oh wait, if you had MONEY and were smart and ambitious – you left. But I always thought that was bupkis. I grew up in an English suburb on the banks of the Red River that had once been a district of French market gardens feeding the city. I attended a French immersion high school wit ..read more

by Anuja Varghese    There’s a great saying about short stories that goes something like: A short story is like looking in  the window; a novel is like living in the house. I love this way of thinking about short stories – brief, stolen glimpses of a particular moment when something extraordinary happens. Something changes. And often, when a short story is at its best, it changes you too. May is Short Story Month, which means there’s no better time to dive into a collection of bite-sized reads! Whether you’re a longtime fan of the short story, or just discovering how powerful th ..read more

by Tanis MacDonald    I appreciated the hell out of Deborah Dundas’s recent book, On Class, a slim volume in which Dundas does much to unpack what many Canadians are too polite to articulate, too fearful to admit, or too snobbish to account as important: that many of us grew up, remain, or are related to working-class people. Because of this cultural reticence, “working-class” is a notoriously slippery term, perhaps obscured by our obsessions with celebrity culture and late-stage capitalism, and the dubious pleasures of retail therapy and having just way, way too much. Who would admi ..read more

Books I’m Still Thinking About Two Years Later by Paul Vermeersch    In the publishing business, something called “conventional wisdom” keeps telling us we only have six months or less to sell a book. Even the most ardent readers scarcely have time to discover new titles before the cycle resets, and many brilliant books simply slip through the cracks. If you’ve ever slugged it out in the book promotion trenches – launch parties, readings series, author festivals, award seasons – then you already know that publicity can be a beast. And it’s an extremely fickle one with a violently sho ..read more

by Joe Ollmann    When the book Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton recently won the Canada Reads literary contest televised on CBC, it was the first time a graphic novel had made it past the first elimination and it created a new wave of first-time graphic novel readers. (Also, it’s a crazy and remarkable thing that we have an annual, televised literary contest that is widely anticipated and watched!) The graphic novel has been gaining acceptance in the literary mainstream in recent years with Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, nominated for the Booker Prize in 2018 and Seth’s Clyd ..read more

   Happy International Women’s Day! The theme for this year’s women’s day is Inspire Inclusion. As per IWD’s official website, “when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.” At Wolsak & Wynn, we strive to publish stories where women belong, are represented, relevant and empowered. Below are nine women-centred books to celebrate International Women’s Day.   A Is for Acholi by Otoniya J. Okot Bitek A Is for Acholi is a sweeping collection exploring diaspora, the marginalization of the Acholi people, the dusty str ..read more

by Joe Ollmann    When the book Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton recently won the Canada Reads literary contest televised on CBC, it was the first time a graphic novel had made it past the first elimination and it created a new wave of first-time graphic novel readers. (Also, it’s a crazy and remarkable thing that we have an annual, televised literary contest that is widely anticipated and watched!) The graphic novel has been gaining acceptance in the literary mainstream in recent years with Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina, nominated for the Booker Prize in 2018 and Seth’s Clyd ..read more

  Let’s just dispense with the formalities. CanLit can be sexy, funny and romantic. It’s full of books that are perfect for Valentine’s Day or anytime you want something to warm your heart or raise your temperature in the cold, dark month of February, without even needing to mention Bear. Here are seven splendid independently published books with love in the mix to get you through the shortest month:   Friend Beloved: Marie Stopes, Gordon Hewit and an Ecology of Letters edited by Laura Jean Cameron Friendship, collaboration and tangled emotions between real people, this is a fascina ..read more