The cover of Counting Bones by Ellen Anderson Penno. A blue folded paper resembling a mountainside is in the background, with small figures walking up the side.

Read an excerpt

Excerpted: Counting Bones by Ellen Anderson Penno

At 24, right before she was due to start medical school, Ellen Anderson Penno embarked on a mountain climbing trip with her partner, only to lose him in a tragic accident. Counting Bones: Anatomy of a Love Lost and Found (NeWest Press) is her memoir of that time, chronicling her decision to press on with her studies despite her immense grief. We share the prologue from this remarkable personal story.


Celebrate the 2024 League of Canadian Poets Shortlist!

Check out these finalists for the Gerald Lampert, Pat Lowther, and Raymond Souster awards,
handed out by the League of Canadian Poets.

Book Slider / Carousel
Displays slider based on Tag or Subject or Category or ISBN

Popular Categories


The Future is the winner of CBC Canada Reads!

Congratulations to all of the books and champions of CBC Canada Reads, including the winner, Catherine Leroux’s The Future,
defended by Heather O’Neill!

Book Slider / Carousel
Displays slider based on Tag or Subject or Category or ISBN

Indigenous Litspace

Discover fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and kids’ books by Indigenous authors and #ReadIndigenous.

Poetry Litspace

We don’t tell you what the poets are doing, we show you with a dedicated home for poetry recordings, interviews, excerpts, and more.

Kids Litspace

The ALU Kids Litspace is a home for the finest in kids lit, for young, middle-grade, and teen readers (and all of those who are young-at-heart).

Cheers to these Dublin Literary Award longlisted books!

Congratulations to all of the books longlisted for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award, including these from Canadian independent literary publishers:


Oldman’s River is the inaugural Al and Eurithe Purdy
Poetry Prize Winner!

Congrats to poet Sid Marty for his collection Oldman’s River winning the first-ever Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize!
Of the collection, Eurithe Purdy said: “Oldmanโ€™s River: New and Collected Poems is a major work bringing together the best of Sid’s poetry over more than fifty years, as well as impressive new writing. It is a very worthy recipient of the first Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize.”

Book Slider / Carousel
Displays slider based on Tag or Subject or Category or ISBN

ebooks for everyone

In 2022 All Lit Up launched the ebooks for everyone collection: 600+ books that were converted to fully-accessible epub formats for readers with print disabilities. Browse some handpicks from our collection below.