Author: ALU Editor
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My Body is Distant: An Interview with Paige Maylott
In her gripping memoir My Body Is Distant (ECW Press) Paige Maylott invites readers into a world of digital and physical selves, gender, and belonging. Today, Paige talks to us about her new memoir, what it was like writing such deeply personal things, and how digital drag was a safe way to explore her gender.
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Homegrown: Locally Produced Reads (September 28)
We’re back with an all-new batch of Fall releases from your favourite independent Canadian literary presses. Today’s books include fiction-in-translation, a poetry collection from a covert CanLit lover, and a beautifully-illustrated children’s book. Read on to learn more about all of our picks.
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Writer’s Block: Nina Dunic
Two-time winner of the Toronto Star Short Story Contest, Nina Dunic—whose debut novel The Clarion (Invisible Publishing) is longlisted for the 2023 Scotiabank Giller Prize—shares with us how she came to writing on a dare, why her pen is a protective instinct, and some of her writing rituals.
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Homegrown: Locally Produced Reads (September 26)
We’ve picked some of the highlights and best of the fall season and recently released with weekly batches of fresh new books. Equally stoked to spotlight some of the Canadian indie publishers we know and love—all with their own unique identities—we’ve chosen one exciting book each from over 40 indies. Today’s picks include a Giller-nominated…
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Where in Canada: The Sum of One Man’s Pleasure
In his new novel bridging past and present, The Sum of One Man’s Pleasure (NeWest Press), Danial Neil sets his story of sixties homophobia on the luscious and somewhat out-of-time Vancouver Island. Danial walks us through the Island of his book below.
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Two Poems: Rebellion Box
A debut collection from multi-genre writer Hollay Ghadery, Rebellion Box (Radiant Press) considers big subjects: parenthood, gender roles, race and otherness, and our cosmic insignificance. Thoughtful and tender, many of the poems are rooted hyper-locally in small town Ontario but their connections are expansive and universal. Read two poems from the collection, below.
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Homegrown: Locally Produced Reads (September 21)
We’ve picked some of the highlights and best of the fall season and recently released with weekly batches of fresh new books. Equally stoked to spotlight some of the Canadian indie publishers we know and love—all with their own unique identities—we’ve chosen one exciting book each from over 40 indies. Today’s picks include literary thrillers,…
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Remedies for Chiron: Interview with m. patchwork monoceros
Poet and interdisciplinary artist m. patchwork monoceros’s debut Remedies for Chiron (Radiant Press) is a collection of poems about finding a place to exist in the intersections of young, queer, Black, and disabled. We had the opportunity to chat with the poet about their new book, the interplay between one’s history and artmaking, and how…
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Beautiful Books: Bottom Rail on Top
In his collection Bottom Rail on Top (Brick Books), poet D.M. Bradford splinters Black North American histories and recomposes them, trailed by their historical contexts. D.M. talks about how the poetics of the collection informed the design process, and why he was drawn to what would become the cover’s artwork, Hugo McCloud’s consumption stacks -…
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Homegrown: Locally Produced Reads (September 19)
We’ve picked some of the highlights and best of the fall season and recently released with weekly batches of fresh new books. Equally stoked to spotlight some of the Canadian indie publishers we know and love—all with their own unique identities—we’ve chosen one exciting book each from over 40 indies. Read more about today’s picks,…
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All Lit Up is NINE!
We gave ourselves a little glow up to celebrate turning nine! Take a tour of our new site to discover books, litspaces, and fresh content.
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Poetry in Motion: David Martin + Kink Bands
For his sophomore collection Kink Bands (NeWest Press), poet David Martin explores the intersection between geology and language. Today he reads “Eroded Travel” from the book, on location in Bragg Creek Provincial Park.
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Under the Cover: The Sound of a Rainbow
Author and former high-school principal Sharon Frayne shares with us how the teen protagonist of her YA novel The Sound of a Rainbow (Latitude 46 Publishing) was inspired by a talented, but troubled former student, and how she hopes her book is a supportive reminder to teens today.
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Where in Canada: Hands Like Trees
From the crowded marketplaces of Calcutta to a passenger train hugging a Nepalese mountainside to the Brampton, Ontario suburbs in the dead of winter, Sabyasachi Nag’s Hands Like Trees (Ronsdale Press) gives each place its fair due in this sumptuous linked collection of stories, all following various members of the Sen family of Shulut, India.…
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ALU Summer Book Club: Follow-up Reads After Yaga
We’re keeping All Lit Up Summer Book Club vibes going with four follow-up reads to Kat Sandler’s Yaga (Playwrights Canada Press). Check out our picks for more witchy goodness, drama, and sleuthing for your TBRs.