All Lit Up is turning two today!! To celebrate the start of our ‘terrible twos’ we demanded breakfast in bed… since that didn’t happen we’re going to move on and celebrate in a way that we know will bring little flutters to our book-loving hearts. We’re sharing our book love with all of you! Team ALU is sharing our favourite blog posts and Instagrams from the last year, and looking ahead, we’re sharing which fall titles we’re sitting on pins and needles, just waiting to read. Oh, and to share the love with you, lovely book nerds who we couldn’t do this without: hop on over to our Facebook page this afternoon for your chance to win some of our favourite books from the last year and some ALU swag!
By:
ALU Editor
Share It:
All Lit Up is turning two today!! To celebrate the start of our ‘terrible twos’ we demanded breakfast in bed… since that didn’t happen we’re going to move on and celebrate in a way that we know will bring little flutters to our book-loving hearts. We’re sharing our book love with all of you! Team ALU is sharing our favourite blog posts and Instagrams from the last year, and looking ahead, we’re sharing which fall titles we’re sitting on pins and needles, just waiting to read.Oh, and to share the love with you, lovely book nerds who we couldn’t do this without: hop on over to our Facebook page this afternoon for your chance to win some of our favourite books from the last year and some ALU swag!* * *
Barb’s Picks
Blog PostGrowing up in Kingston ON, one of my favourite memories is of Don “All That Jazz” Robinson, and his Sunday night program. “A Love Supreme,” the blog post by Andrew Forbes about Kent Nussey’s novel A Love Supreme is beautifully written and brought back a lot of fond memories of the stories Don would tell on air before playing his wonderful collection of jazz.The program ran for 23 years and my guess is that Don, Andrew and Kent would have had a lot to talk about.Fall Book I am really looking forward to I Am A Truck. This debut fiction, published by Invisible, comes out in November. Reminiscent of And the Birds Rained Down, this sounds like the best book to curl up and get into my winter reading list with.Favourite ‘gramCoworkers that play together, stay together! A fun break in the park with my favourite women 😉
A photo posted by AllLitUp.ca (@alllitupcanada) on
Christen’s Picks
Blog PostThe powerful piece “#PublishingSoWhite: 13 Ways to Diversify Your Press” by Vivek Shraya stays with me as an essential reference, and grew out of a keynote address at a meeting of members of the Association of Canadian Publishers and our parent organization, the Literary Press Group, last mid-winter.In wake of #OscarsSoWhite, Vivek provides thirteen concrete recommendations to book publishers looking to diversify their mandate, acquisitions, and business practices, through editorial to marketing and by examining existing biases. Vivek inspires us to get to work reading and publishing books that reflect what the world looks like, and to ensure that our definition of diversity is current. Her latest poetry collection, even this page is white (Arsenal Pulp), is available here.
Fall BookI’ve followed matt robinson’s work literally from Halifax, first through a poetry collection (Against the Hard Angle, ECW Press) that referenced that city, which I’ve lived in twice.I’ve enjoyed robinson’s broadsides and the odd baseball poem, and am excited about his latest collection, Some Nights It’s Entertainment; Some Other Nights Just Work, coming soon from Gaspereau Press (and to ALU). There’s a sneak peek at Gaspereau’s lovely paper jacket for the book here. Favourite ‘gramRom Com poets shook up a CanLit cocktail for a Valentine’s Day edition of Chappy Hour!
A video posted by AllLitUp.ca (@alllitupcanada) on
Lauren’s Picks
Blog PostThe award for post I loved most went to the insightful and hilarious “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves” – a look into the art direction and considerations that went into the cover for Sarah Barmak’s Closer (Coach House). Managing Editor Heidi and the rest of the Coach House team came together and tag-teamed the many working parts that went into the cover, with no vulval pun left unpunned.Full disclosure: I’m that same Lauren that got the honour of photographing an embroidered vag, and being told things like “get one from the clit’s perspective” and “I’m feeling this is a little aggressively fuchsia” are highlights of not only this year, but maybe my entire publishing career.
Fall BookAgain, Coach House clinches it for me: I was an early evangelist of last year’s Giller-winning Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis, and this year, couldn’t wait to get my hands on an advance of his newest quincunx, The Hidden Keys. It did not disappoint: think of all of the puzzles and esoteric city knowledge of The Da Vinci Code, but then add Alexis’ formidable literary talent. His “treasure hunt in Toronto” premise got me itching for a self-made walking tour of the varied settings peppered throughout the city (not to mention the off-hand mention of some other quincunx characters that had me stifling an ugly cry on my commute).Favourite ‘gramThis video of Tan and I smashing an old motherboard a la Office Space was a long-held dream. What’s not pictured is me almost falling over laughing outside of the frame.
A video posted by AllLitUp.ca (@alllitupcanada) on
Natasha’s Picks
Blog PostI loved the “Do-Lit-Yourself” post on integrating books into your bullet journal. I don’t have my life together well enough yet to have a fancy bullet journal, but you can bet that once I do, there’ll definitely be a page for books on there, filled with many, many, All Lit Up titles!The reason why I love this post is because it provides an overview of two great options for book pages in your bullet journal. The first will be more for the artistically-inclined: you have to draw the books on shelves and colour them in as you read them. The second style gears more towards the analytical, A-types out there who really, really want to track their reading. I’m not sure what style I’ll go with when I start my bullet journal, but at least I have two great options to ponder!
Fall Book We don’t get the chance to see many hardcovers around here, so I am really excited for Notes From a Feminist Killjoy by Erin Wunker, BookThug’s first ever hardcover printing!Aside from this book’s cool hardcover status, I am really excited to dig in on the essays in this collection. As a feminist myself, I am keen to keep the dialogue going and reflect upon the views of others. Wunker’s perspective as the Chair of the Board at the non-profit org, Canadian Women in the Literary Arts, will provide a great point of context for many of the issues she unpacks in these essays.Favourite ‘gramI like this photo quite a bit because it captures the fun of our All Lit Up Book Club discussion on Two-Gun & Sun (Caitlin Press). We had a great time reading the book and discussing it together!
A photo posted by AllLitUp.ca (@alllitupcanada) on
Tan’s Picks
Blog Post One of my favourite posts from this year was the Do-Lit-Yourself Embroidered Totes. We each had a different style in mind for our projects, so we were able to teach each other new techniques.It actually inspired me to attend a workshop and learn even more. Now I’m working on some holiday gifts …Fall BookGuy is a gift to women; at least, he thinks so. But you would likely hate Guy.At the same time, I think you might just love Guy by Jowita Bydlowska (Wolsak & Wynn).Favourite ‘gramColour swatching with books for National Lipstick Day – Red Heads vs Pink Ladies.
A photo posted by AllLitUp.ca (@alllitupcanada) on
Tanya’s Picks
Blog PostI’m going to cheat and pick a series of posts rather than just one: our ALU Summer Book Club! It was so much fun to get to do a deep dive into two of our titles, Two-Gun & Sun and A Gentle Habit. And I knew Team ALU loved talking books, but man, when you get us started it’s hard to stop! The copious amounts of sugar we consumed during these discussions may have also had something to do with that.If you were busy this summer and didn’t get a chance to follow along, you can check out all our Book Club fun here. We got the inside scoop from the publishers, we recorded our own staff discussion and shared our discussion questions, plus we chatted with the authors and shared further recommendations.
Fall BookI’m really excited to read The Conjoined by Jen Sookfong Lee, published by ECW Press: family secrets and the myth of social heroism are examined in what is sure to be a fast-paced, gripping read from the descriptions I’ve read so far. Social worker Jessica unearths a grizzly secret in her mother’s basement as she’s cleaning it out after her mother’s recent passing. What she discovers leads her on a hunt to find out what happened to two young girls who fostered with her family for six weeks when she was growing up.We received a few copies in our office to take with us to WORD Vancouver on September 25th and I’m having a hard time not snagging a copy and reading under my desk until I’m finished.Favourite ‘gramTo continue with my theme of ALU Book Club love, I love this picture of Team ALU members reading our first pick as we returned from our annual meeting with our publishers in Winnipeg this past June.
