Author: ALU Editor
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Two Poems from This is a Stickup
Amber McMillan’s This Is a Stickup (Wolsak & Wynn) weaves together images of nature and wildlife in a gripping exploration of grief, loneliness, perseverance, and wonder. Elegant and bold, these poems inhabit tumultuous waters and confront dark crawl spaces. With this collection, McMillan curates a space for readers to linger in moments of both deep grief and…
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If You Liked x, Read y: Historic Canadians Edition
If you liked getting an insight into Canadian life through stories of some of its famous and not-so-famous citizens in The Promise of Canada, you might like to follow it up with Geoff Mynett’s River of Mists: People on the Upper Skeena 1821-1930 (Caitlin Press).
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Beautiful Books: Monument
MONUMENT by Manahil Bandukwala upturns notions of love, monumentalisation, and empire by exploring buried facets of Mughal Empress Mumtaz Mahal’s story, moving her legacy beyond the Taj Mahal. In this edition of Beautiful Books, the production team at Brick Books provides some insight into the evolution of the cover and interior design.
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Under the Cover: Immigration Journeys from the Courtroom to the Page
Writer Nancy Lam shares with us how advocating for her parents turned into advocating for immigrants in general in her capacity as an immigration lawyer, and then that going full circle; incorporating her mother’s stories and struggles as a new immigrant to Canada into her novel-in-stories, The Loyal Daughter (At Bay Press).
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Where in Canada: Night in the World
In this week’s edition of Where in Canada, we are joined by Sharon English, author of Night in the World (Freehand Books). Sharon takes us to the urban wilds that make up the Toronto Islands, where she wrote much of the novel on retreat.
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Test Kitchen: Mooseballs, Brownies, and Assassins (oh, my!)
Jen and Éric Desmarais are the husband-and-wife writing team behind the new adult series The Gates of Westmeath and its first book, Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers (Renaissance Press). They’re also dynamos in the kitchen; check out their recipes for two dishes found in the book: stuffed mooseballs and a chocolate and chilli brownie. Is it lunchtime, yet?
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All Lit Up is Eight!
Turning eight, feeling great is what our editors thought upon waking this happy morning, because it’s our eighth birthday! To celebrate, we asked the team to share a fave memory from when we were young (aka, seven).Plus, there’s an eighth birthday GIVEAWAY – read on!
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Where in Canada: The River Twice
Giller-nominated writer John Bemrose tells us about the setting of his new novel, The River Twice (Thistledown Press), Paris, Ontario – which also happens to be his boyhood home. See how Paris lives up to its name as “the prettiest town in Canada”, and the uglier side of war and the trauma it inflicts on Paris’s…
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Poetry in Motion: Adebe DeRango-Adem + Vox Humana
In her new collection Vox Humana (Book*hug Press), poet Adebe DeRango-Adem interrogates the politics of voice, namely, who gets to have one, in a milieu of racist and institutional violence. The poems seek to reclaim voice in a series of literary experiments of word and sound – hear her read part II of poem “Vox Refugium”…
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First Fiction Friday: Jade Is a Twisted Green
Our top choice for a read heading into this weekend? Debut novelist Tanya Turton’s Jade Is a Twisted Green (Dundurn Press), a sparkling coming-of-age novel about simultaneously navigating loss and Black, queer, and immigrant identity.
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In House: At Bay’s “Scene Between the Lines” Video Series
Winnipeg’s At Bay Press looked at the outstanding community of writers and creators around them and thought – why not share their talents in a different way? And thus, the engaging Scene Between the Lines documentary series was born. At Bay publisher M.C. Joudrey tells us more, below.
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Writer’s Block: Thomas Trofimuk
Award-winning author and poet Thomas Trofimuk – most recently of The Elephant on Karlův Bridge (Thistledown Press) – answers our Proust questionnaire. He dreams up his perfect writing day (including a café where you can still get espresso for $1.50) shares his advice on the craft, and tells us all about the magic of an overpriced lavender scented candle.
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School is in Session: Eight Reads for Back to School
Get out your knapsacks, it’s the first day of school. We rounded up two books from each stage of a student’s life to salute kiddos heading back to class all over and at every age – elementary, middle school, high school, and university.
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Fall 2022: ALU Staff Picks
We don’t care that it’s still hot enough to wear shorts; we’re getting ready for fall with some exciting reads on our release radar. Check out what books our staffers will be reading as the leaves start to change and things get cozy.
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Top 10: Memoir Picks
Did you know August 31 is We Love Memoirs Day? We help you hop-to loving memoirs with these 10 new and upcoming memoir picks.