In Review: The Week of September 21st

On the Blog

~ Author of the new collection Hammer & Nail: Notes of a Journeywoman (Caitlin Press) Kate Braid discusses how working in construction sparked her interest in writing, having tough conversations with Fear, and making a ritual of Mah-Jong: “I sat Fear in the chair opposite me at the library carol and had a silent conversation. I asked Fear what the heck was going on? Why was it blocking me? Then dutifully wrote down our conversation.”~ For National Tree Day, Ariel Gordon chats with us about creating her recent collection TreeTalk (At Bay Press), a long/found poem that asks: what does it mean to live in the urban forest? ~ This week in the Indie Reading Room: Mark Sampson tells us about his satirical post-apocalyptic novel All the Animals on Earth (Wolsak and Wynn), writing inspirations, and a good book to read (other than his own). Plus, he he reads from his collection on our ALU IGTV.~ Debut alert! Katie Bickell’s Always Brave, Sometimes Kind (Brindle & Glass) is a page-turning combo of Megan Gail Coles’s Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club for its sense of place and depictions of race and class and Lisa Moore’s Something for Everyone for its chorus of voices and everyday adventures. 

Around the Web

~ The Word on the Street Digital Marketplace went live this week with lots of indie vendors to buy books from, including All Lit Up!~ The winners of the 2020 BC and Yukon Book Prizes were announced: ALU faves Ivan Coyote, Chantal Gibson, and Aaron Chapman were among the list!~ CBC Books announced 37 Canadian poetry collections to watch for this season

ICYMI (last week) 

Indie Reading Room: Fall 2020

The ALU Indie Reading Room is open for another season with 10 more authors + new books! Tune in every Thursday as we drop a new reading on our Instagram at 3pm EST + a Q&A on the blog & 20% off featured books!