We’re visiting authors in their hometowns and learning about some of their favourite spots all October long.
Find more Homegrown picks here.
Very Vancouver by Christopher Cheung (ECW Press)
Vancouver, BC
lion statues on just about every block
All Lit Up: How does your community feature in your book?
Christopher Cheung: What do you think of when someone asks you to picture Vancouver? Our skylines, waterfronts, and mountain views (and maybe even yoga pants and gorpcore rainbreakers) often come to mind for tourists and locals alike. My hope with Very Vancouver is to take readers beyond that perfect postcard. My book is a collection of 15 real stories about people who make up the city’s vibrant neighbourhoods. You’ll meet tofu makers, Chinatown bottle scavengers, a Syrian politician-turned-baklava baker, and other local legends who will challenge your impression of this West Coast metropolis.
Click here to learn more aboutVery Vancouver.
Duckweed 浮萍 by Kathryn Lennon (NeWest Press)
Edmonton, AB
Photo Credit: Wendy McGrath
Photo credit: Emily Lennon.
All Lit Up: Does your community feature in your book in some way?
Kathryn Lennon: Edmonton’s Chinatown community shows up as a main character in my book in the poem “Tong Yun Gaai 唐人街”. I also write about Vancouver’s Chinatown in the section “Saltwater City 鹹水埠 Haam Sui Fow.” As a supporting character, Chinatown is in the background of many of these poems—as a source for ingredients and as a language environment. It is a place and community that has taught me so much and given me so many friendships. These poems pay tribute to the community-builders—the friends, the elders, the artists, the activists, the historians—their tenacity, their creativity, their refusal to be erased. I think of Chinatowns as portals—to other times, other places, other memories. Wandering through Chinatowns in different cities is one of the ways wayfinding occurs in this book.
Photo on the left: Paper Birch Books is a magical used and new bookstore in McCauley/Little Italy, Edmonton. Céline Chuang, the co-owner of the store is Duckweed 浮萍’s cover and book designer. I spend a lot of time here, and have had book meetings with NeWest staff and Wendy McGrath my editor) here over the last year! My book launch will be held here on October 8.
Photo on the right: 97th Street and 101A Avenue. This is out front of NeWest Press’s offices. This block was where Edmonton’s Chinatown began. A Chinese restaurant named New World restaurant once operated in this building. In the background, you can see the new Harbin Gate under construction.
Click here to learn more about Duckweed 浮萍.
Everyone Can’t Be Wrong by Sonal Champsee (Inanna Publications)
Toronto, ON
All Lit Up: How has your hometown or community influenced your writing?
Sonal Champsee: My hometown is Toronto—I was born in Scarborough, grew up in North York, and at around the time I started writing seriously, I moved into the old City of Toronto and haven’t left it since. The arts and writing community here is overwhelming and enormous, to the point where it can be hard to connect into it. The huge, superstar festivals dominate the landscape, but most of us don’t rub elbows at that level, especially not when you’re a kid from Scarborough who grew up among mall bookstores.
Lately, it seems like a lot of writers have been moving out of Toronto and moving into smaller towns in Ontario and elsewhere, and building up their own community there. This isn’t something I could ever do; I love Toronto too much, but more to the point, it’s one of the few cities where I am rarely the only brown-skinned person walking down the street. We are a city dominated by immigrants and children of immigrants, and so-called “visible minorities.” For me, there’s a comfort in my presence being unremarkable. Having grown up with the constant refrain of “What will people think?” there is so much freedom for me in knowing that I don’t have to worry about that, and that helps me bring the same to my writing.
Click here to learn more about Everyone Can’t Be Wrong.
Fairy by Kirby (Palimpsest Press)
Toronto, ON
All Lit Up: Does your community feature in your book in some way?
Kirby: Here I am seated in what can only be described as “a fairy’s throne,” enjoying the most delicious watermelon, across from dear friend and fellow bookseller, Katya Noskko, owner of The Great Escape Bookstore (957 Kingston Road) who took this photo. In fairy, I query, “Are All Booksellers Dreamers?,” while on a road trip Katya and I made to visit James McDonald at The Printed Word in Dundas. The Great Escape is one of those rarities of rarities, an actual neighbourhood mainstay, serving some of the best window displays in the city, a Book & Film Club, and enough nooks and crannies filled with wondrous titles to lose and find your way, my favourite kind a browsing. Caleb & Katya know their store and readers, and then there’s Scout, often seated in the doorway, on the back deck…trusty Scout, just as he appears. I fall in love with place, often, because of its keepers. I always find myself expectant visiting, so many good days and memories connected to this place. We are so lucky.
Click here to learn more about Fairy.
Who By His Own Hand by Greg Rhyno (Cormorant Books)
Guelph, ON
All Lit Up: What’s a favourite spot to visit where you live?
Greg Rhyno: When I was growing up in Northern Ontario, I had this idea for a place that would be a bookstore, a coffee shop, and a movie theatre. A place where all of my favourite things would exist under one roof. As I got a little older, this imaginary place expanded to include decent food and beer on tap. It was a lot to ask, but a kid can dream can’t he?
When I moved to Guelph, I discovered that the Bookshelf was all of these things. The shop keeps Guelph’s best selection of books. The rep cinema upstairs shows all the cool films you can’t see anywhere else in town. And Miijidaa Café & Bistro is easily one of Guelph’s best restaurants. In addition to all of this, the Bookshelf is about to host the launch of my latest Dame Polara mystery. After, we’re going to kick back and watch a screening of the 1941 film noir classic, The Maltese Falcon. Since 1973, the Bookshelf has been one of Guelph’s most significant cultural institutions and, for this kid, the stuff that dreams are made of.
Click here to learn more about Who By His Own Hand.
Driving Crazy to the Front Door by Michael Foy
(Linda Leith Publishing)
Senneville, QC
All Lit Up: What’s a favourite spot to visit where you live?
Michael Foy: The St. Anne-de-Bellevue Canal is a favourite of mine. It marks the confluence of the Ottawa and St. Lawrence rivers. Trains regularly rumble across the rail bridge, while boats float up and down the locks to avoid the St. Anne Rapids between Lac St. Louis and Lac des Deux-Montagnes. The town of St. Anne’s is home to some great coffee shops where I like to write and a wonderful used bookstore full of surprises. The boardwalk leads out to the water, where you can see the fall colours, candle ice drifting by in the spring, and blue herons standing statue-still as they hunt. Best of all, my family knows that it is my favourite place to walk, at any time of year. What more could you ask for?
Click here to learn more about Driving Crazy to the Front Door.
All the Waking Hours by Erin Wunker (Assembly Press)
Halifax, NS
All Lit Up: Does your community feature in your book in some way?
Erin Wunker: Walking shows up in All the Waking Hours often, which is why I chose to use this photo. In it, you can see the green of the Common, and just behind the right top corner of the book is a tree that is perfect for climbing if you happen to be a child. During the pandemic there was a bleak period when the Nova Scotia government marked all the official pathways with tiny orange flags, and walking on the grass was a significant fine. Now, when the weather is fair, the Commons fill with people in all sorts of configurations doing all sorts of things. I haven’t yet become ambivalent to the delight of being able to walk freely and see people together hanging out. In the bottom of the photo you can see our big dog, who is one of the dogs that swish, bound, and pad through this collection. Another throughline of All the Waking Hours is the importance of both friendship and art. The bracelet I’m wearing, which is just out of focus, was made by an artist friend. It is in the shape of a watch face, and while it has hands it does not have numbers. Instead, it reads “In a bit…Bétôt…” It reminds me of how trying to connect with the place I am in by walking with loved ones (both human and canine), looking for art and for artists, and making human connections are some of my most vital tools for daily life.
Click here to learn more about All the Waking Hours.
* * *
Join us here every Thursday from now until October 29 for more Homegrown reads! Books can be purchased on All Lit Up, or from your local indie bookstore (try our Shop Local button located on every book listing to find copies at your local indie).
