All Lit Up Press Picks for the Holidays: Signature Editions

This Side of Light by Carolyn Marie Souaid

Selected by Karen Haughian, Publisher:

“We published Carolyn Marie Souaid’s very first collection, Swimming into the Light, and numerous collections after that. With each book she expanded her reach, exploring new territory, testing her talents, and surprising the reader. After six books with us, she went on to publish with other presses, but when she brought her selected to us, it really struck me how much I’ve always loved her work. I’m not going to say that you shouldn’t read all her books, but This Side of Light is the perfect introduction if you don’t know her work.

Carolyn started painting during the pandemic, and when I saw the photos of her paintings she was posting on social media, I was stunned by how good she was at that too. It was like she’d suddenly emerged fully formed as a visual artist. So it was a real pleasure to be able to put her artwork together with her poetry on the cover of This Side of Light.”

Find This Side of Light here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.

I Am Full: Stories for Jacob by Dan Yashinsky

Selected by Karen Haughian, Publisher:

“I’d never heard of Prader-Willi Syndrome before reading this book. And although I learned about the scientific underpinnings of it, more than that, I was drawn into the life of a young man who battled with it his whole life. From stealing his classmates’ lunches to sneaking into unlocked fridges, Jacob spent his life fending off the insatiable hunger that is the primary symptom of PWS. There were bouts of depression, and periods spent in the psych ward, but Jacob’s indomitable spirit and his goofy humour always prevailed. He came into his own in his twenties. He had a girlfriend and a group of good friends to hang out with. He had a job that he loved. So, when he died in a car accident, it was devastating. Worse, his father was driving the vehicle. How Dan came through this is hard to imagine, but this book is a beautiful tribute to a much-loved son.”

Find I Am Full here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.

In the Country in the Dark by Daryl Sneath

Selected by Ashley Nielsen, Marketing Assistant:

“In the Country in the Dark is such a dark and thrilling mystery about the sinister side of love at first sight. So often we romanticize whirlwind relationships and Landon Wood and Joy Kalm’s initial connection is no different, but as the book goes on there is a sense of dread that creeps in—you realize that there is nothing really romantic about spontaneously deciding to buy a cute little farmhouse in the middle of nowhere and moving in with someone you’ve only known for a few weeks. The entire time I was reading it I knew there was something that I couldn’t trust about these characters. It is a fun read for people who love psychological thrillers.”

Find In the Country in the Dark here on All Lit Up or use the Shop Local button to purchase from your local indie bookstore.

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For more Press Picks for the Holidays, click here.