Keith Inman (Niagara Branch) participated in a Poets and Painters Reveal at the Niagara Falls Public Library April 30. The work was displayed in the Rosberg Gallery for Poetry Month. He also has a reading scheduled for May 10, from 7:00 – 9:00 pm, at The Hippie Chick restaurant on Main Street in Welland. This event includes many local poets. All are welcome to attend.

 

Arwinder (Arwi) Kaur (BC Branch) is surprised and delighted to announce that Living While Human is a 2023 Silver Nautilus Book Award Winner in the Memoir and Personal Journey category.

 

Svetlana Machurina Herrera Guzman, pen name Lana Guzman (Toronto Branch), is pleased to announce her new short novel The Unusual Lives: A Trafficker(ed). It will be released by Noble Gray PRESS on May 10, 2023, and will available in PDF and e-book format at http://noblegraypress.ml.

 

Jass Aujla (Toronto Branch) invites you to the launch of Next of Twin (SparkPress) on May 21, at the Indigo bookstore in the Square One Shopping Centre, 100 City Centre Drive in Mississauga. This event will start at 12:00 pm ET, with remarks and author reading at 12:15 pm. Please RSVP by May 19th to byjassaujla@gmail.com.

 

Suparna Ghosh (Toronto Branch) invites you to take a short ride with her through her blog series at
https://suparnaghosh.com/2023/02/07/past-months-in-my-blind-spot/.

 

Melanie Marttila (Member at Large) is pleased to announce that her short story, “Psychopomps Are Us”, will appear in the Spring 2023 issue of Pulp Literature Magazine. Melanie is floored to see her name on this beautiful cover. See it for yourself and order your copy here: Issue 38, Spring 2023 – PULP Literature.

 

John Passfield (Toronto Branch) has released video-readings from his new novel, Glenn Gould: Light and Dark (Rocks Mills Press, 2023) on YouTube. Each reading is accompanied by a short note on an aspect of novel writing. The planning notebook and a reflective journal of the Glenn-Gould writing process are posted for free access at johnpassfield.ca.

 

Elaine Cougler (Member at Large) will be interviewing Stephen Leacock medal winner and Canadian icon Terry Fallis at “An Evening with Terry Fallis”, presented by the London (Ontario) Writers Society May 8, 2023, at the London Public Library, Central Branch. Find more information and advance tickets at https://londonwriterssociety.ca/events/. Elaine will be launching her seventh book, Canada: Brave New World, an anthology of shocking stories of beleaguered people forced to flee from their home country and settle in Canada. All are welcome on June 4, 2023, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm ET at St. David’s United Church, 190 Springbank Avenue N, Woodstock, Ontario.

 

Jass Aujla‘s (Toronto Branch) debut novel Next of Twin, releasing May 16, 2023, is a contender in Bedside Reading’s 2023 Book Cover Awards in the fiction/poetry category. Check out all the awesome book covers and vote for your favourites in the five listed categories at https://www.bedsidereading.com/vote2023.html.

 

Seye Oloruntoba (Toronto Branch) is thrilled to announce her new young reader’s book, Who Will Wear the Crown?, has just launched. This is the story of a castaway tree, Thorny Bee, who teaches the mean trees a lesson about love and respect for everyone’s uniqueness. A book for young readers to learn about love and acceptance.

 

Darlene Madott (Toronto Branch) invites you to the launch of Winners and Losers (Guernica Editions) on Sunday, April 30, at the Centre for Social Innovation, 192 Spadina Avenue, Toronto. Doors open at 4:00 pm, with remarks and readings at 4:15 pm, and light refreshments, wine and hors d’oeuvres. Please RSVP by April 15 to dmmadott@gmail.com.

 

Svetlana Machurina Herrera Guzman, pen name Lana Guzman (Toronto Branch), is pleased to announce the release of her two short stories “The Neighbourhood Gossip: The Kvetch” and “The Neighbourhood Gossip: The Maid” on April 10 by Noble Gray Press. Both will be available in PDF format at http://noblegraypress.ml.

 

Catherine Graham’s (Toronto Branch) ninth book, Put Flowers Around Us and Pretend We’re Dead: New and Selected, appears this April. It’s included on the CBC Books Poetry Collections to Watch for List.

 

Samar Samir Mezghanni’s (National Capital Region Branch) novel Things (in Arabic) was featured on CNN prime time with Becky Anderson on March 6. The novel, released in 2022, follows the lonely journey of a dysfunctional family through their addictive “things”. Things become the masters, the agents, and the storytellers; reflecting a consumerist world that humanizes materials and materializes humans.

 

Ken McGoogan (Toronto Branch) interviewed with CBC-Yellowknife in January about artifacts retrieved from the wreck of H.M.S. Erebus, famously lost during the 1845 expedition led by John Franklin – and the story went national. In September, with Douglas & McIntyre, Ken will publish Searching for Franklin: The Royal Navy Man Who Discovered Arctic Catastrophe. https://kenmcgoogan.com/2023/01/09/parks-canada-en-route-to-the-fate-of-franklin/

 

John Passfield (Toronto Branch) has a new novel, Glenn Gould: Light and Dark (Rocks Mills Press, 2023). A planning notebook and journal for the novel are available for free at johnpassfield.ca. John has posted over 200 short videos on YouTube, each containing a reading and a short note on an aspect of novel writing.

 

Svetlana Machurina Herrera Guzman, pen name Lana Guzman (Toronto Branch), is pleased to announce her two short stories that form part of a respective series: The Neighbourhood Gossip: The Proprietors and The Countryside Stories: Johnny is Building an Outhouse or Is He? Both will be released by Noble Gray PRESS on March 1, 2023, and will be available in PDF format only at http://noblegraypress.ml.

 

Keith Inman (Niagara Branch) will be reading at the National Poetry Month Event, Sharing JOY, along with John B. Lee, Mori McCrae, Fran Figge, Gary Wilhelm, Laura Lane, and Taylor Peebles. The event will be held at the Main Branch of the Welland Public Library from 2:00 – 4:00 pm ET on April 22. This is a Canada Council for the Arts event coordinated through the League of Canadian Poets and the Welland Library. Keith was co-judge for this year’s League of Canadian Poets “Poem in Your Pocket Contest”, and had work published in Verbalart (India) and Phenomenal Literature (India). Two poems are forthcoming in Arc Poetry Magazine’s 100th Anniversary Issue.

 

Melanie Marttila (Member at Large) is pleased to announce that her short story, “Psychopomps Are Us,” will be appearing in Pulp Literature’s Spring 2023 issue (#38).

 

Patrick Connors (Toronto Branch) poem, “Darkness”, is the featured poem in the current issue of Canadian Stories magazine. His newest chapbook, Worth the Wait, will be released this spring by Cactus Press, and launched at Accent Reading Series in Montreal on April 16. Details on the Toronto launch will be released soon.

 

Keith Inman (Niagara Branch) was co-judge for this year’s League of Canadian Poets “Poem in Your Pocket Contest”. He also had work published in Verbalart (India) and Phenomenal Literature (India). Two poems are forthcoming in Arc Poetry Magazine’s 100th Anniversary Issue.

 

Joyce Goodwin (BC Branch) launched her poetry book Fragments: A Poetry Mosaic on November 6, 2022, at Hycroft University Women’s Club. Her book was included in the North Shore Libraries Local Authors Collection at a reception on November 17, 2022.

 

Sophie Jai (Toronto Branch) will be launching her debut paperback, Wild Fires (which came out in August 2022 in Canada with HarperCollins), at Blackwell’s in Oxford, UK, on February 25. She’s also proud to announce that the book will finally be coming out in the US in May 2023.

 

Louise Rachlis (National Capital Region Branch) wrote the book Feeling Good: Life lessons from my friends 10 years ago for her 65th birthday. Now, the Ottawa writer has created a new paperback, Feeling Good II, a compilation of how 12 contributors managed the Covid years. You can order Feeling Good II through https://www.lulu.com.

 

Kamal Parmar (BC Branch), Poet Laureate of the City of Nanaimo, will be reading along with other local poets at the Gabriola Island Library on April 22, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm. The title of the event is A toast to Spring.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region) has a storytelling event at the  Almonte, Ontario, Public Library on Wednesday, March 1, from 6:30 – 7:45 pm. He’ll share stories from his Father Rick Roamin’ Catholic memoir. Pride in Mississippi Mills and St. Paul’s Anglican Church are co-hosts. https://www.rickprashaw.com/book-events

 

Jennifer Harris (Peterborough Branch) is thrilled to declare the publication of her new book Whisper Their Names: The journey to peace after losing your child, now available on Amazon and through other channels as both an e-book and a paperback.

 

Svetlana Machurina Herrera Guzman, pen name Lana Guzman, (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce her fourth short novel, The Unusual Lives: Subjugation, being published by Noble Gray Press on February 15, 2023. Each short novel follows the lives and struggles of a character from cradle to grave. Available in e-book and PDF formats at http://noblegraypress.ml.

 

John Van Rys (Niagara Branch) has won the 2022 Prairie Fire MRB Short Fiction Contest. His winning story, “Excavations,” will be published in the summer edition: https://www.prairiefire.ca/previous-contest-winners/. In December, John also had his story “Parking Spots” published in Blank Spaces: https://www.blankspaces.ca/magazines/p/december2022. Earlier in the fall, his story “The Homely Dreams of a Silly Soul” appeared in Solum Literary Journal: https://www.solumpress.com/publications/p/solum-journal-summer-2022.

 

Frances Boyle’s (National Capital Region) third poetry book, Openwork and Limestone, was published by Frontenac House in October 2022. After fall readings in B.C. and a launch in Ottawa, Frances’s upcoming Ontario tour will be with fellow Frontenac House author, Kim Fahner (Emptying the Ocean). Both authors will read in Ottawa at Perfect Books on March 14, in Kingston at Novel Idea on March 15, and in Cobourg on March 16.

 

Christopher Canniff‘s (Toronto Branch) audiobook of Intervals of Hope (Blue Denim Press, 2021) is now available. The amazing voice talent of veteran actor David Lane Pusey can be heard as the narrator. See more information and purchase your own copy at https://www.intervalsofhope.com/ and http://www.christophercanniff.com/.

 

Suzanne Craig-Whytock (Toronto Branch) is thrilled to announce the release of her second short story collection At The End Of It All (Potter’s Grove Press) on February 7, 2023. In addition, her second novel The Dome (Bookland Press) was recently translated and published into Arabic by Arab Scientific Publishers in Lebanon.

 

Anne Lazurko’s (Member at Large) novel What Is Written on the Tongue (ECW Press, 2022) was shortlisted for the $20,000 Glengarry Book Award. The award is funded by Clare Kramer and administered by the Saskatchewan Foundation for the Arts.

 

One Arctic Night by D.F. Whibley (Member at Large) of Montreal, QC, has won The Canadian Book Club Award for Best Novel: Children’s Early Reader Category. This award will be added to The Global Book Awards, Bronze Medal: Teen Social and Family Issues, which he received December 2022.

 

Tara Kimberley Torme (BC) has updated her blog! Read her new posts and like, comment, follow, and subscribe at https://tktorme.wordpress.com/2022/12/.

 

Jean Van Loon’s (National Capital Region) second poetry book, Nuclear Family, was published in April 2022 by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Jean’s book has received positive reviews in Arc Poetry Magazine, Marrow Reviews, and Humanities and Social Sciences Online (H-net), and through a thoughtful interview by David O’Meara on the Writers Festival Radio podcast. Jean read from Nuclear Family at the Manx Pub’s first Plan 99 readings since the onset of Covid-19. Stay tuned for future readings in the Ottawa area.

 

Rebecca St. Pierre (Member at Large), a freelance writer and photographer, is pleased to announce her poem about the war in Ukraine, “Will Nightingales Sing”, has been published on The Lit website.

 

Melanie Marttila (Member at Large) is pleased to have two poems published in Polar Starlight 7, “Avalon” and “Blood Flower Moon.” The issue may be read free as a downloadable pdf at https://polarborealis.ca/currentba a tiny little ck-issues/.

 

Christopher Butt (Niagara Branch) has had a short story, “The Painting”, published on Dark Winter Literary Magazine on November 24.

 

Purabi Das (Toronto Branch) was interviewed recently by Benji Cole of Al Cole/People of Distinction Broadcasting Network about her book Twenty-Two for 22, a collection of short stories, poetry, and magical travel vignettes. The interview includes Purabi reading one of her poems, “Freedom Song”. Listen to the interview here: https://youtu.be/HmI-4p-vYMU.

 

Peter Freeman (BC Branch) is pleased that his fifth book, Deadly Delivery, with be published in March 2023 by Adelaide Books of New York. He is currently working on two new fiction novels, Escape! and The Silent Boy.

 

Anne M. Smith-Nochasak’s (Member at Large) second novel, The Ice Widow: A Story of Love and Redemption, was released November 2022. She is sharing at local Christmas markets.

 

Gwen Tuinman (Toronto Branch) has just signed a deal with Random House Canada for publication of her latest historical novel, Unrest, due out in 2024.

 

Cathalynn Labonté-Smith and Frances Peck (BC Branch) will read and discuss tales of disaster and rescue, real and imagined, in an interactive conversation at the West Vancouver Library on January 28, 2023, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm. All are welcome. Cathalynn’s new book, Rescue Me: Behind the Scenes of Search and Rescue (Caitlin Press), is a collection of harrowing accounts from those who survived natural disasters and misadventures, and those who risked their lives to rescue them. Frances’s debut novel, The Broken Places (NeWest Press), explores what happens to society, and a group of wildly different yet interrelated characters, when the fictional Great Vancouver Earthquake hits.

 

Jason Waddle’s (Member at Large) second book, Falling Through the Cracks, will be released on January 6, 2023.

 

Mark Vulliamy (BC Branch) will read from his novel Through Thorns on December 13 at the Vancouver Public Library Writers Showcase. The event, featuring four local authors, starts at 6:30 pm at the VPL Main Branch, Montalbano Family Theatre, Level 8.

 

Dorothee Komangapik (Member at Large) is pleased to announce the release of her book, Ukuaq: A Woman’s Arctic Memoir (Crowe Creations, 2022), now available on amazon.ca in paperback and digital formats. This is a memoir, ranging from 1974 to 1986 with flashbacks, illustrated with author and archival photos. Details at https://vpl.bibliocommons.com/events/6318ed5b6f49c0fd8f2be640.

 

Gordon K. Jones‘s (Toronto Branch) novel, Saving Tiberius, has been translated into Arabic and is being promoted by Bookland Press at the Sharjah International Book Fair in the UAE. The English versions of his new novel, Predators and Prey, and his previous one, Saving Tiberius, are also being promoted at this prestigious bookfair. http://www.gordonkjones.com/

 

Susan Wadds (Member at Large) is pleased as proverbial punch to have her short story, “Speaking with the Dead”, published in Quagmire Literary Magazine. Ian Canon is this writer’s dream editor. You can read the story here: https://www.quagmiremagazine.com/read/speaking-with-the-dead.

 

Pamela Dillon’s (Member at Large) poem, When Love Drifts, will be published in the early winter issue (2022) of The Atlanta Review.

 

Lucian Childs‘s (Toronto Branch) short story, “Napoli,” appears in the current print issue of Prairie Fire: A Canadian Magazine of New Writing. Copies can be purchased at their website and at many Canadian bookstores. Lucian’s debut novel, Dreaming Home, is in production now and is scheduled for publication next year by Biblioasis.

 

Jolie Phuong Hoang (Niagara Branch) will be reading from her nonfiction book, Three Funerals for My Father: Love, Loss and Escape from Vietnam, and interviewed by Thanh Campbell (Orphan 32) on November 12, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm, in the Hamilton Room at the Central Branch of the Hamilton Public Library (55 York Boulevard). See details at www.joliehoang.com.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region) has upcoming author events in Kemptville and Almonte, Ontario, and Hyde Park, Vermont, sharing stories from his memoir Father Rick Roamin’ Catholic and signing books. Kemptville: North Grenville Library, 6:00 – 8:00 pm on November 17; Almonte: All day craft sale at Civitan Centre on November 19; Hyde Park: Lanpher Memorial Library, 6:30 – 8:00 pm on November 22. Details at https://www.rickprashaw.com/book-events.

 

Scott Overton (Member at Large) launched a new science fiction thriller novel in October called Augment Nation, set in 2040 when computerized brain augments replace smartphones. Multi-award-winning SF author Robert J. Sawyer says, “Scott Overton is a terrific writer, and his vision of tomorrow is both realistic and frightening. Read this book!” See http://www.scottoverton.ca/.

 

Kamal Parmar (BC branch), Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, has recently published her fifth poetry book, Just passing by, in which she explores the innate connection that man has with Nature. These poems are gentle and reflect a longing to transcend the true meaning of life. Available at most local bookstores in Nanaimo.

 

Yvonne Van Lankveld (Niagara Branch) is thrilled to launch her second novel, The Park Street Secrets, at the Lincoln Pelham Public Library – Fonthill Branch on November 21, 2022. This work of fiction was published on September 29, 2022, just two days after the second edition of her first book, The Road to Alright, was released. Please see her website, yvlauthor.com, for more details about both novels, and Yvonne’s career transition from nurse to author.

 

Susan J. Atkinson (National Capital Region Branch) will join five award-winning Ottawa Poets to finally celebrate their debut collections in person that were published during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Join Susan, Jacqueline Bourque, Conyer Clayton, Doris Fiszer, and Deborah-Anne Tunney as they read at Redbird Live, 1165 Bank Street, Ottawa.

 

Karen Gansel’s (Niagara Branch) family drama, The Inheritance, was published in October 2022 and is available through Amazon.ca (eBook and paperback) and Kobo.com (eBook). This novel tells the story of Sarah, a corporate lawyer, who toils in a high-rise tower in Toronto while raising a teenage daughter as a single mother. See more here: www.newfictionwriter.com.

 

Susan Mockler’s (Member at Large) memoir, Fractured, detailing her experiences of acquired physical disability following a car accident that left her partially paralyzed, was released by Second Story Press in September 2022. Fractured is an illuminating look at healthcare, ableism, and Susan’s acceptance of the mantle of disability activist.

 

Rita Miceli (Niagara Branch) of Windsor, Ontario won the Best New Canadian Manuscript award from the Word Guild for her manuscript entitled, Giaci and Me: Life Lessons on Raising an Autistic Child.

 

Michael Gates (Member at Large) celebrated the launch of his seventh book, Hollywood in the Klondike (Harbour Publishing), with about 100 attendees on October 4 in Whitehorse, YT. After a short reading, there was a musical performance by Danchic Duo, and the screening of silent films accompanied by Whitehorse musician Annie Avery on piano.

 

Deborah Cannon (Toronto Branch) has a feature article published in Mystery and Suspense Magazine called “Romantic Mystery Objects: the appeal of mysterious objects in romantic mysteries”. The article was requested after the release of her new title Twilight over the Aegean, book six in her Fresco Nights romantic mystery series and available on Amazon.

 

D.F. Whibley (Member at Large) is pleased to announce that his book, One Arctic Night, has been chosen by the Canadian Book Club Awards as a finalist in the young readers category.

 

Christine Topjian (Toronto Branch) has been awarded the eLit Awards 2022 Bronze Medal for her children’s book, The Chrissie Series: Chrissie Meditates & Visualizes. Christine has three new books available: The Chrissie Series: Chrissie Speaks Nicely, Preparing To Say “I Do!”, and The Art of Getting It Done: Secrets of Overachievers and How Anyone Can Be One.

 

Nancy Chislett (Member at Large), author of Bombing the Moon, will be doing a Book Chat with the Manitoba Writers’ Guild. This event is FREE and ONLINE. To receive a zoom link, email mwgevents2022@gmail.com prior to October 12, mention Nancy’s name, and they will send you the link.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region) returns to his hometown, London, Ontario, to tell stories from his Father Rick Roamin’ Catholic memoir. The storytelling is at Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, on Thursday, October 13, from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. Details on this and later fall appearances in Almonte and Kemptville will be posted at https://www.rickprashaw.com/book-events.

 

John Van Rys (Niagara Branch) has won a Word Award from The Word Guild in the General Market Short Story category. His winning story, “Eggsistential Crisis”, was published in Agnes and True. His story “Nether Lands,” which appears in his collection Moonshine Promises, published by Wipf and Stock, was also the runner-up in this category. Recently, John had book signings to promote Moonshine Promises at the Indigo store in Ancaster, Ontario (September 18) and the London North Indigo (September 24).

 

Gordon K. Jones (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce his new crime thriller, Predators and Prey, will be released by Bookland Press on October 7, 2022. Now available to order from Indigo, Amazon, or your favorite independent bookstore.

 

Kamal Parmar (BC Branch), Nanaimo’s Poet Laureate, will be organizing an in-person poetry reading of local poets with newly published poetry books, followed by an open mic. The event, named “Autumn beckons with new poetry book launches”, will be held at the Harbor-front library on October 21 at 2:30 pm PST.

 

Carolyn Trickey-Bapty‘s (Member at Large) new book To My Boy Baby is her first foray into children’s literature. In a series of letters to Ella’s boy baby, George, the book chronicles the siblings’ struggles, happiness and their love for one another. Questions at the back help parents create a space for children to voice their feelings. www.tomyboybaby.com

 

Nancy M. Bell‘s (Member at Large) new novel Kayla’s Cowboy will be released in November 2022 by BWL Publishing Inc. Kayla Dunbarton is in Las Vegas at the National Finals Rodeo for the sole purpose of promoting the sport of Dressage. She has no intention of getting mixed up with champion bull rider Rob Chetwynd, but…

 

James Arnett’s (Toronto Branch) novel Bean Fate was reviewed in the Winnipeg Free press. See full review HERE.

 

R. J. Hore‘s (Member at Large) final omnibus volume, #4 of The Housetrap Chronicles, featuring the novellas in his fantasy detective series, has just been released at the end of August 2022. It includes #10 The Road to Hell is Paved with Parsnips, #11 ‘Twas the Week Before the Night, and #12 The Mid-Winter Cuckoos at Midnight. Available now through Champagne Book Group, Amazon, and the usual suspects.

 

Andrew Palmer‘s (Toronto Branch) debut literary novel, The Bridge, is receiving fantastic critical reviews. From Indiereader.com, to Reedsy, and OnlineBookClub.org, this intriguing Canadian story, illustrating the tragic events behind the 1907 Quebec Bridge disaster, is captivating readers of all ages.

 

Christopher Butt (Niagara Branch) has had his latest work, The Call of the Dullahan, published at Darkwinterlit on August 22, 2022.

 

Wei Djao’s (Toronto Branch) second edition of her book A Humanist Path: Confucius and Lao Zi for Today was published by Ginger Post World Inc. on August 15, 2022, in paperback and eKindle formats. Available at Amazon.ca, Amazon.com, and other Amazon marketplaces. Wei will be a presenter at Confucius and Lao Zi for Today offered by the Toronto Canada-China Friendship Association, via Zoom at 7:00 pm on September 11, 2022. Join Zoom meeting here.

 

Jane Baird Warren’s (Member at Large) middle grade novel debuts October 4 from Scholastic Canada. How to Be a Goldfish is a gripping story about lost and found family, fierce friendship, warm griddle cakes, and finding the courage to be who you were always meant to be. Purchase links (including CIBA’s Buy Local) are available at https://www.janebairdwarren.com/book.

 

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli‘s (Toronto Branch) Pigeon Soup & Other Stories (Inanna Publications, 2021) was honoured as a Finalist in the 2022 International Book Awards, in the “Fiction: Short Story” category. It was also a Finalist in the 2021 American BookFest Best Book Awards. A complete list of winners and finalists in each category can be found here. The latest review of Rosanna’s book, by Dr. Julia Lisella, appeared in Mom Egg Review on June 29, 2022.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch) shares readings and author stories from his Father Rick Roamin’ Catholic memoir in a return to Bestival Reads at 5:00 pm on September 16 at 660 Belmont Avenue in Kitchener. Details on this and later fall appearances at https://www.rickprashaw.com/book-events.

 

Patrick Connors (Toronto Branch) has had 5 poems published in the anthology Consonant Lights, a book review accepted by Freefall Magazine, and is hosting an event under the 100,000 Poets for Change banner on September 17, at Hirut Café (7:00 pm at 2050 Danforth Avenue in Toronto).

 

Lise Mayne, pen name LG Pomerleau, (Member at Large) has a poem entitled “Take Ten”, about the life and untimely death of Marilyn Monroe, included in Oprelle Publications’ 2022 anthology, Matter II Volume 2. The book is available for purchase in September through Amazon.com. Lise has recently been accepted as an Associate Member in the League of Canadian Poets. She is excited to join this group and looks forward to developing her craft knowledge and connecting with other Canadian poets.

 

Arwinder Kaur (Member at Large) received a lovely review from the Whistler Independent Book Awards of her book Living While Human: “A flowing style that is simple, yet captivating to keep the reader glued to the book. Very informal style with a personal touch which is endearing to the reader. A book worth reading.”

 

Nduka Otiono (National Capital Region Branch) has been shortlisted for the Archibald Lampman Award for poetry for his new collection of poems, DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono. The winner announcement will take place at the Ottawa Book Awards ceremony on October 19, 2022, at Les Lye Studio at the Meridian Theatre. See full details HERE.

 

Anne Kathleen McLaughlin‘s (National Capital Region Branch) novel Singing the Dawn is now available for online orders HERE. A small community of women with a shared calling to prepare for the Rebirth of the Sacred Feminine live as hermits on islands off the west coast of Ireland and gather to celebrate the earth festivals of the Celtic Year.

 

Liisa Kovala’s (Member at Large) historical novel, Sisu’s Winter War, set during the Finnish-Russian Winter War and in 1980 Northern Ontario, will be released in October by Latitude 46 Publishing. Liisa is also the author of Surviving Stutthof: My Father’s Memories Behind the Death Gate (Latitude 46).

 

Robert W. Mackay (BC Branch) has sold his manuscript, set in Canada’s war in Korea from 1950 – 1953. Now Or Never Publishing has set a target date for launch in the Fall of 2024. The book will join Soldier of the Horse and Terror on the ALERT in Robert’s CV.

 

Tara K. Torme (BC Branch) will be teaching two upcoming poetry workshops at Roundhouse Community Centre and West Point Grey Community Centre. She also has new blog posts at https://tktorme.wordpress.com/2022/08/ and new books at Torme & Taylor.

 

Genni Gunn’s (BC Branch) novel Tracing Iris has been published in Italian as Alla Ricerca di Iris by Les Flâneurs Edizioni. Genni will be in Italy to promote the translation and present the book at ten different venues – Rome, Bari, Rutigliano, Monopoli, Siena, Forte dei Marmi, Viareggio, Torino and two in Udine – from September 5 to October 4. Tracing Iris was published in 2001, and was made into a film, The Riverbank, in 2011. And now it’s gone to Italy!

 

Melanie Marttila’s (Member at Large) short story, Torvi, Viking Queen, will be published in Tyche Books’ Pirating Pups anthology in August. See the Tyche Books page here: https://tychebooks.com/pirating-pups. In conjunction with the launch, Melanie will be participating in the Pirating Pups panel/reading at When Words Collide (WWC) on Friday, August 12, at 3:00 pm MT. WWC is virtual again this year (and free!).

 

Lise Mayne‘s (Member at Large) new historical fiction novel Time Enough was selected as a finalist in the Rigel 2022 contest by Sunspot Literary magazine. The first two chapters will appear in the digital magazine and in the 2022 Sunspot Anthology, under Lise’s pen name LG Pomerleau. For more information, visit https://sunspotlit.com/contests.

 

John Van Rys (Niagara Branch) has had two stories shortlisted in the short story category of the Word Guild’s Word Awards. Nether Lands appears in his collection Moonshine Promises, published by Wipf and Stock (it first appeared in Blank Spaces Magazine). Eggsistential Crisis was published in Agnes and True. Winners announced September 17!

 

Purabi Sinha Das (Toronto Branch) has published her third book, Twenty-Two For 22, a collection of 22 stories, poems, and magical travel vignettes, and the book is available in all formats through Amazon. Purabi was invited by GSAW (Global South Asian Women) to read from her book at their annual luncheon gala on May 21 in Scarborough, ON.

 

Malak Kalmoni Chehab (Toronto Branch) is in the running for The Unsealed letter writing contest. Her letter, Romancing Time, has been published on The Unsealed website and needs your votes to win the prize! Vote for Malak here: Romancing Time – The Unsealed. Malak also participated in the Facebook Live Episode 13 of Online Poetry Café at the Mera Penna Poetry Cafe, reading from her poetry book Perfectly Flawed. See her reading at https://www.facebook.com/merapanna07/videos/411649937584183/.

 

Melanie Marttila‘s (Member at Large) short story “Torvi, Viking Queen” will be published in the Tyche Books’ anthology Pirating Pups: Salty Sea-dogs and Barking Buccaneers in August 2022. For more information and pre-order link, please visit Tyche Books at https://tychebooks.com/pirating-pups.

 

Liz Rachel Walker (BC Branch) was runner-up in the 2022 Debut Dagger competition, offered by the UK Crime Writers’ Association for the opening of an unpublished manuscript, and her manuscript excerpt from The Dieppe Letters was honored as “highly commended.”

 

Lori Hahnel (Member at Large) won the 2022 Short Story Collection Award in the Alberta Literary Awards for Vermin: Stories (Enfield & Wizenty, 2020). Find out more at www.lorihahnel.ca.

 

Christopher Butt (Niagara Branch) has had his story, The Salesman, published on the website www.darkwinterlit.com on June 6, 2022.

 

Richard Tattoni (Niagara Branch) has published work this past year available through his website and through Amazon. Besides the publication of Richard’s last traditional novel, Richard has published a magazine of articles, short stories, and audio file stories as a graphic novel comic book, including poetry, through WordPress. The Technossance Magazine is an alternative story-telling e-zine, available only online. Richard’s novel, The Stoned Theory of My Own Destruction, in multiple formats, has earned a five-star review.

 

K. R. Wilson’s (Toronto Branch) novel Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia has been longlisted for the Leacock Medal for Humour. The three finalists will be announced on August 15, 2022.

 

Suzanne Craig-Whytock (Toronto Branch) recently launched a new online literary magazine called DarkWinter Lit (www.darkwinterlit.com). As Editor-In-Chief, Suzanne is thrilled with the quality of the submissions so far, and the magazine is currently open to short fiction (one or more pieces under 2,000 words) and poetry (one or more pieces under 500 words).

 

Kamal Parmar (BC Branch) was thrilled to give a reading at an in-person event on June 4 at Chapters bookstore in Nanaimo, BC, reading poems from her various poetry books.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region) has signed an audiobook deal with Tantor Audio for Father Rick, Roamin’ Catholic, his second memoir. New, live book tour dates include: Nickel Brook Brewery, Burlington (ON), May 30; Beacon, Bike & Brew, Picton (PEI), May 31; Espanola Public Library, Espanola, (ON), June 22; Water Tower Inn, Sault Ste. Marie (ON), June 23; Masonic Heritage Hall, Elliot Lake (ON), June 25. More information on time and addresses at https://www.rickprashaw.com/book-events.

 

Keith Inman (Niagara Branch) had work published this past year in India, on Black Moss Press’s website, and through the Cuba Canada Literary Alliance and The Ontario Poetry Society. Keith also had video poems included in ‘Poem In Your Pocket’ for the League of Canadian Poets, posted on Poetry X Hunger’s U.S. website, and in a video-book through a Photographer’s and Poet’s exchange with the Welland Camera Club. The League also sponsored a live reading hosted by Welland Public Library on April 23. Other events included monthly reading and critiquing sessions with CAA-Niagara and a Painter’s and Poet’s Exchange at the Niagara Falls Public Library.

 

Elaine Cougler (Member at Large) is excited to announce the launch of her latest book, My Story, My Song and the prequel to her Loyalist trilogy, The Loyalist’s Daughter. During Covid having a launch was impossible so Elaine launched both books in April of this year.

 

Susan Sommers (Toronto Branch) is thrilled to announce the release of her new audiobook, The Magic of Walking: Your Guide to a Balanced, Purposeful Life, designed to add to the paperback and e-book editions, which were launched in 2021. Available on major audiobook platforms.

 

Willie Handler (Toronto Branch) is thrilled to announce the release of his latest black comedy crime thriller Deep Into the Weeds, on May 26.

 

P.L. Stuart (Member at Large) is thrilled to announce the release of The Last of the Atalanteans (published by FriesenPress), the second novel in his The Drowned Kingdom Saga. Follow the journey of Prince OThrun as he continues to evolve, as a man, a leader, and a King. Available on all major bookselling platforms.

 

K.S. Covert‘s (National Capital Region Branch) debut novel, The Petting Zoos, will be released May 24 in Canada (June 21 in the U.S.) by Dundurn Press. The novel combines “elements of science fiction with whip-sharp social commentary,” says one reader, calling it a “punchily erotic elucidation on the human condition.” Details available at Dundurn Press.

 

Catherine Little‘s (Toronto Branch) picture book, Twelve in a Race (Plumleaf Press), illustrated by Sae Kimura and published March 30, 2022, is a read-aloud rhyming book that retells the origin story of the Chinese zodiac in an engaging and creative manner, while teaching children about the history and culture of Canadians of Asian descent.

 

Genni Gunn (BC Branch) is pleased to announce her third poetry collection, Accidents, was released April 14, 2022, by Signature Editions. In Accidents, Genni takes us through past and present and different continents, to examine the emotional, political, and geological upheaval that inevitably shape and alter our lives.

 

Frances Peck’s (BC Branch) debut novel, The Broken Places, is now on the shelves at bricks-and-mortar and online bookstores across Canada and the US. This “wonderfully sophisticated and razor-sharp” novel about a major earthquake rocking Vancouver has been called a “beautifully layered and compelling” story with “nuanced, stunning characters.” Details and early praise at NeWest Press.

 

Nduka Otiono (National Capital Region Branch) launched DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono in Ottawa on March 30. Carleton University’s Institute of African Studies and the Department of English Language and Literature hosted the hybrid in-person and virtual event and included Guest of Honor, His Excellency, Mr. Adeyinka Asekun, the High Commissioner of Nigeria to Canada.

 

Natalie MacLean (National Capital Region Branch) has just signed with Dundurn Press for her third book, a memoir. Wine Witch on Fire: Rising from the Ashes of Divorce, Depression and Drunk All Over is the inspiring story of one woman’s quest to rebuild her shattered life. She’s forced to choose between despair and overdrinking or digging deeper to find the magic inside herself.

 

Rick Prashaw’s (National Capital Region Branch) new second memoir, Father Rick Roamin’ Catholic, hit #1 in two genres on Amazon Canada. He is happy to announce three live April book celebrations: April 19 at 7 pm at Parlour Restaurant in Ottawa; April 23 at 2 pm at Average Joe’s Restaurant in North Bay; April 24 at 2 pm at Twiggs Coffee in Sudbury. Rick’s books are available through indie stores and here. You can read all Rick’s book news at https://www.rickprashaw.com.

 

Betty Guenette (Member at Large) will have her mystery novel, A Burning We Will Die, available April 19 through Renaissance Press. An amateur protagonist, Erin Rine is a community Registered Nurse who literally trips over her dead patient in our Northern Ontario woodland. See the video prelaunch, book cover, trailer and author reading at Renaissance Press Facebook.

 

Catherine Graham (Toronto Branch) is happy to announce that her second novel, The Most Cunning Heart, is on CBC Books “Fiction to Watch For” list and 49th Shelf’s “Most Anticipated Spring Books” list. Pre-orders are now available through your local bookstore. The novel will be published by Palimpsest Press this May. She is also excited to be co-hosting The Hummingbird Podcast: Conversation & Inspiration with Jessica Outram.

 

Aaron S. Bayley (Toronto Branch) recently published his first book, Why Baseball Is A Sport and Golf Is Not: Separating the Players from the Poseurs. It received a positive review from Kirkus Reviews and part of the proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to Autism Canada. It is available at https://www.wbiasagin.com.

 

Darlene Madott (Toronto Branch), author of Dying Times, will be speaking at the Hot House Restaurant at 5:30 pm, on Monday, March 28, 2022. To reserve your spot, call Amanda at 416-366-7800 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday to Friday and pay via credit card. Dying Times (Exile Editions) can be ordered through the Exile website, or through the dedicated author’s website: www.DyingTimes.com.

 

Pat Connors (Toronto Branch) is launching his first full poetry collection, The Other Life, released by Mosaic Press last year, at Hirut Cafe, 2050 Danforth Avenue, on Thursday, May 19. Josie di Siascio Andrews and Stemond Pardy will also be reading.

 

Nancy Chislett’s (Member at Large) debut literary novel, Bombing the Moon, will drop Canada-wide on April 15. The book launch is at Winnipeg’s McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant location, at 7:00 pm on April 22. Lara Rae, comedian, award-winning playwright, CBC Debater, and activist will be the host. All are invited. With any luck, this will be an in-person or at least hybrid event. Bombing the Moon has just been awarded a grant from The Canada Council of the Arts for $22,000.00 (over two years) to support Nancy as she writes her second novel.

 

May Q. Wong (BC Branch) is honoured to share her contribution to the new 4-part series, BLK: An Origin Story, launched February 26, 2022. Telling little known stories about Blacks in Canada from the 1600s to present day, May was interviewed about the stories of Black pioneers in BC in her book City in Colour. Find details here: https://blkoriginstory.com/.

 

JoAnn Catania (Toronto Branch) is happy to announce the release of the audiobook version of her novel, A Scarcity of Virgins, narrated by award-winning narrator, Cassandra Campbell (Where the Crawdads Sing). This feminist period piece explores with psychological depth the full emotional palette of a woman caught between worlds. Available as a print and eBook on Amazon.

 

Anne Lazurko‘s (Member at Large) second novel, What Is Written on the Tongue (April 2022), is on TIFA’s list of Canadian Books to Read in 2022: https://festivalofauthors.ca/2022/01/12/new-canadian-books-to-read-in-2022/. See book details here: https://ecwpress.com/collections/books/products/what-is-written-on-the-tongue.

 

Nan Williamson (Peterborough Branch) will have her poem, “Poets Practice In These Times”, published by Dreamers Creative Writing Magazine in their next print magazine as well as online on the website in February, 2022. They will also publish her poems “Waiting” and “Heard in the Shell” on their website in late spring/early summer.

 

Joyce Goodwin (BC Branch) published a poetry book, Fragments: A Poetry Mosaic, in November 2021, through First Choice Books.

 

Scott Overton (Member at Large) has just delivered his second virtual book launch of the pandemic, receiving good response and media coverage in his home city of Greater Sudbury. The Dispossession of Dylan Knox is a science-fiction thriller that explores the question, “Who do we really fall in love with? The person we see, or who they are inside?” You can read a sample chapter and more at Scott’s website www.scottoverton.ca or buy the book through online retailers via https://books2read.com/Dispossession.

 

Kamal Parmar (BC Branch), the current Poet Laureate of Nanaimo, will be participating as one of the featured readers in a Zoom reading event hosted by Planet Earth Poetry in Victoria, BC, on March 29 at 7:30 pm.

 

Ron Hore, writing as R.J.Hore, (Member at Large) announces the January 31st release of his latest novella, The Mid-Winter Cuckoos at Midnight, the final tale in his twelve-part fantasy detective series, The Housetrap Chronicles. Available now as an ebook, Mid-Winter will be included in a print anthology called The Housetrap Chroniicles Omnibus, Vol 4, due in the next month.

 

Richard Pyves’ (Toronto Branch) book, Sir John James Taylor De Facto Ruler of Ireland: Assistant Under-Secretary of Ireland 1918-1920, is available at amazon.ca. It is the story of the author’s great-grand-uncle, a commoner who rises through the ranks of the British Civil Service in Ireland to a position of influence during the Anglo-Irish War of Independence. richardpyves.com

 

Christine Bergsma (Toronto Branch) converted a screenplay that was listed as a semi-finalist in the Austen Film Festival into a historical fiction YA novel called Ximena. After the devastating mudslide of 1970 decimates her village, Ximena’s only hope of survival and reuniting with her family is the reliance on Mango, a gangster that mugged her the week before. Available on Amazon here. Christina’s novel Ace of Cups, a women’s commercial fiction novel exploring the aspects of immigration of a young girl from South Africa to Canada, is also available on Amazon.

 

Hasib Iftekhar (Toronto Branch) received big applause for his poetry recital at Willowdale Winterfest on January 30, 2022. Voiceover for audiobooks has been suggested for a profession since.

 

Lorrie Potvin’s (National Capital Region Branch) follow-up memoir to First Gear – A Motorcycle Memoir (2015), Horses in the Sand, is being published this spring by Inanna Publications. See an interview with Lorrie and Open Book Toronto. Horses in the Sand will be available in May 2022 through Inanna and First Gear can be purchased here. For all Lorrie’s news see her website at https://lorriepotvin.ca.

 

Jacquie Dankner’s (Member at Large) debut novel Unscented, a paranormal, romantic suspense (self-published through FriesenPress), is now available for purchase online as a paperback, hardcover and as an ebook. Details can be found here: http://jacquiedankner.ca.

 

Rick Prashaw’s (National Capital Region Branch) faith memoir, Father Rick, Roamin’ Catholic, is out in February 2022, in stores and on Amazon. “The next Frank McCourt”, raves author Teresa de Grosbois. “My faith was now more Roamin’ than Roman Catholic, a God bigger than any catechism taught me. Be who we are. Love who we love.” https://bit.ly/3KFRlhT

 

Doreen Vanderstoop (Member at Large), author of Watershed, will participate in an online panel as part of Talking Fresh 2022, a free annual festival hosted by the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild. On March 2, 2022, from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, Doreen and two other climate fiction authors will discuss climate-related issues and answer questions. Details here: https://skwriter.com/.

 

John Passfield (Toronto Branch) has posted readings of his novel, Pauline Johnson: Know Who I Am (Rocks Mills Press, 2021), on YouTube, under John Passfield Novels. Each has a note on the technique of the Poetic Novel. He is currently preparing YouTube readings on his latest novel, Eleonora Duse: Let Me Have My Wings (Rocks Mills Press, 2021). johnpassfield.ca

 

Kamal Parmar (BC Branch), the Poet Laureate of the City of Nanaimo, is organizing a Haiku reading event over Zoom hosted by the Vancouver Island Library (Nanaimo,BC) on February 27 from 2:00 – 3:00 pm. The title is “Springtime with Haiku”.

 

Nan Williamson’s (Peterborough Branch) poem demonic snow was chosen for the next issue of Fresh Voices through The League of Canadian Poets.

 

K. R. Wilson’s (Toronto Branch) tragical-historical-comical novel Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia — in which a self-described immortal under investigation for a horrific crime takes his interrogator on a wry, anachronistic tour of 3200 years of Eurasian history — was published in December by Guernica Editions. Wilson read from and discussed the novel on the September 26, 2021, episode of the Words With Writers Podcast.

 

Catherine Graham’s (Toronto) second novel, The Most Cunning Heart (May 2022), is on CBC Books Canadian Fiction to Watch For list (https://www.cbc.ca/books/66-works-of-canadian-fiction-to-watch-for-in-spring-2022-1.6283875) and is featured here: https://www.cbc.ca/books/the-most-cunning-heart-1.6300052.

 

Tara Kimberley Torme (BC), current member of the Canadian Authors Association, has published two more poetry books through Silver Bow Publishing. See book details here: Torme & Taylor.

 

Martin Neil Campbell’s (Toronto) second published book Essential Life Behaviors (January 2022, Core Driver Press) is available on Amazon. It is a self-help guide which, by analyzing and improving our behavior, we can develop loving and resilient relationships and our desired path in life through self-choice.

 

Barbara Wade Rose’s (Toronto) middle-grade children’s (and childish adults’) book, MARABEL or The Great Exception, was published in November: the adventures of a girl who becomes London’s most original nanny. Reedsy gave the book Five Stars and Faber Academy has praised it as “Great Fun!” MARABEL is available on Amazon. An audio version comes out later this year.

 

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli’s (Toronto) fiction collection Pigeon Soup & Other Stories (Inanna Publications, June 2021) has been honoured as a “Finalist” in the “Fiction: Short Story” Category of the 2021 Best Book Awards, sponsored by American BookFest. http://americanbookfest.com/generalfiction/shortstory.html

 

Dr. Ian Prattis (National Capital Region) has a new poetry book coming out in the spring of 2022 called Four Poetic Phases: Ignored, Impermanence, Bittersweet, Caring. Each poetic phase encourages different short stories – often colliding in fusion! https://ianprattis.wordpress.com/2022/01/04/writing-books-2/

 

Elaine Cougler (Member at Large), author of the historical fiction Loyalist series and the non-fiction The Man Behind the Marathons, is giving a virtual talk entitled “What Did the Loyalists Do Anyhow?”, via Zoom from 2:00 – 3:00 pm on January 13, 2022. Presented by the Women’s Canadian Club of London, Ontario.

 

D. Neil Elliott’s (BC) book, A Higher Road, was recently published and is available on Amazon and in bookstores. A Higher Road is a hybrid of inspirational memoir and empowering self-help book. Neil’s story, from the brink of suicide to spiritual awakening, offers a seven-step process to help you find peace, joy, love, and abundance.

 

Christopher Canniff (Toronto) recently launched his latest novel, Intervals of Hope (Blue Denim Press, November 2021). Nicholas Dixon, armed with his father’s wartime journal, a spirited imagination, and a taste for insurgency, embarks on a quest to reunite his family. See https://bluedenimpress.com/books/intervals-of-hope/, www.intervalsofhope.com and www.christophercanniff.com.

 

Nancy Chislett’s (Member at Large) novel, Bombing the Moon, with be released April 15, 2022. The book launch will be at 7:00 pm on April 22 at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  https://nancychislett.com/

 

Mike Phelan (BC) is pleased to announce the October 2021 launch of his historical fiction novel, The Secret of Bell Island, a Newfoundland adventure with WW2 spies, intrigue, treasure, sabotage, and murder. Add in some lost and found family and even romance as the past collides with the present where nobody is safe! www.mikephelan.ca

 

Susan Wadds (Member at Large) is feeling both euphoric and a bit stunned. Her novel, What the Living Do, has been acquired by Regal House Publishing in North Carolina, with its release scheduled for spring 2024.

 

Tina Kamakaris’s (Toronto) publishing company, Owl Publishing, is pleased to announce one of their authors, A. H. Nedani, has won the Canada Book Awards Historical Fiction Category for her debut novel The Broda Salt Cabin. The novel is based on a true story set during World War II and the civil war between Greece and the communist guerillas known as the partisans. The Broda Salt Cabin has also won a five-star review from Reader Views. owlpublishing@bellnet.ca

 

Christopher Gorman’s (Toronto) latest short story, Finding Balance, is featured in an anthology titled Dreaming the Goddess, now available on Amazon. Finding Balance is about a gay man trying to find his way spiritually and discovering the importance of balance between the male and female aspects of himself through a journey with the goddess Elen of the Ways.

 

Frank Spezzano’s (Toronto) new book, Desires… Of Love, will be released in December 2021. Stay tuned for more details on his upcoming book launch event.

 

Nduka Otiono (National Capital Region) is pleased to announce the publication of his new and selected poems, DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono, published as part of Canada’s most prestigious poetry series, Laurier Poetry Series (LPS) of Wilfrid University Press. The book is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.ca/DisPlace-Poetry-Nduka-Otiono/dp/1771125381 and other major online book vendors and traditional bookstores across Canada and internationally.

 

Dr. Ian Prattis (National Capital Region) has released his latest book, Past, Present, Future; Stories that Haunt. The book is available now at Coles at Billings Bridge Plaza, Singing Pebble Books on Main St. opposite St. Paul’s University, Perfect Books at 258a Elgin St, and Books on Beechwood. www.ianprattis.com

 

Karen Gansel (Niagara) is pleased to announce the launch of her second novel, Celeste Unraveled. Enjoy the journey of three urban couples who leave their active and hectic careers behind and move to Niagara on the Lake where they explore retirement. You can buy this book at www.newfictionwriter.com, www.amazon.ca/dp/B08QNCQ9HK, or www.kobo.com/us/enebook/celeste-unraveled.

 

Eleonore Schönmaier (Member at Large) will launch her poetry collection, Wavelengths of Your Song/Wellenlängen deines Liedes (McGill-Queen’s University Press /parasistenpresse), in German translation on November 7 at 1:30 pm EST. She will read in English and German and will talk in English with her translator Knut Birkholz. Register here. On December 12 at 1:30 pm EST Eleonore will read new work plus selections from her four collections (MQUP). The event will include live music from pianist Panos Gklistis. Register here. On January 23 at 1:30 pm EST she will launch Field Guide to the Lost Flower of Crete (MQUP) alongside a conversation with the Greek composer Michalis Paraskakis. Join the event here.

 

Bill Arnott’s (BC) new travel memoir, Gone Viking II: Beyond Boundaries, the sequel to his award-winning bestseller Gone Viking: A Travel Saga, Gone Viking II: Beyond Boundaries, has just been released by RMBooks. Bill will be signing books and reading at bookstores and events around Vancouver. Find details here: https://rmbooks.com/book-author/bill-arnott/.

 

Maurice Suwa (Affiliate Member) is pleased to announce the publication of The Great White Knot, his fun Canada-themed Puzzle book. The Great White Knot is an entertaining, informative and fun activity book targeting Canadians who’d love to test their knowledge of country, improve upon it, or learn all there is to know about their new country.

 

CAA member and author, Renee Sarojini Saklikar (BC), will be reading from her new book, Bramah and The Beggar Boy, an epic fantasy in verse, at the 2021 Vancouver Writers Festival at 2:00 pm on October 24 at the Waterfront Theatre, Granville Island: writersfest.bc.ca. Bramah and The Beggar Boy debuted in July on the B.C. Independent Booksellers bestsellers list and is book one in Saklikar’s epic poem series, The Heart of this Journey Bears All Patterns. Find out more at thotjbap.com.

 

Susan Wadds’ (Member at Large) creative nonfiction piece, The Story As It Is Told, has been published on The Blood Pudding’s fall issue.

 

Rosanna Battigelli’s (Toronto) fifth book for Harlequin was released in July 2021: https://www.amazon.ca/Falling-Sardinian-Baron-Rosanna-Battigelli-ebook/dp/B08PZH5G11. Rosanna was at Science North on September 30 for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. “The path towards reconciliation requires thoughtful and active engagement with Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.” Profits from the sales of her books (https://pajamapress.ca/book/pumpkin_orange_pumpkin_round/) will go to Legacy of Hope Foundation (LHF). Rosanna will also be a featured author in a panel at the Wordstock Sudbury Literary Festival from November 4 – 6 (https://wordstocksudbury.ca/2021-festival), discussing her recently released collection Pigeon Soup & Other Stories: https://www.inanna.ca/product/pigeon-soup-and-other-stories/.

 

Dr. Ian Prattis (National Capital Region) has had three poems accepted by Ariel Chart Magazine that will be in their October Magazine. In addition, Dr. Prattis has a new book review from Reader’s Favorite for Past, Present, Future: Stories that Haunt. www.ianprattis.com

 

JoAnn Catania (Toronto) is happy to announce that her debut women’s fiction novel, A Scarcity of Virgins, published by Iguana Books, will be released October 15, 2021. The novel touches on many relevant women’s issues, including love, marriage, family, fidelity, sexuality, and self-fulfillment. To learn more, please visit https://www.joanncatania.com.

 

Christopher Canniff (Toronto) is pleased to announce the publication of his latest novel, Intervals of Hope (Blue Denim Press). Nicholas Dixon lives with his mother and brother in London, England between the world wars. His father works in the mines of South Leeds. Armed with his father’s wartime journal, a spirited imagination, and a taste for insurgency, Nicholas embarks on a quest to reunite the family. See https://bluedenimpress.com/books/intervals-of-hope/ and www.christophercanniff.com.

 

Kieran Egan’s (BC), first novel, Tenure, has been published by NeWest Press. An entertaining comic campus thriller, in which a drug lord meets a university tenure committee and finds his usual methods don’t work in an environment that seems sometimes more corrupt and vicious than the drug world. Visit Kieran’s website at kieraneganbooks.wordpress.com.

 

Suzanne Craig-Whytock (Member at Large) has had a busy summer. Her debut short story collection, Feasting Upon The Bones, was released in July by Potters Grove Press, and her third novel, the supernatural thriller The Seventh Devil (Bookland Press), was just launched on September 12, 2021.

 

Ms. Ifeoma Chinwuba (National Capital Region) has been appointed Writer-in-Residence, 2021-2022, of the English and Film Studies Department at the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Chinwuba is the author of Merchants of Flesh, Waiting for Maria, Fearless and African Romance, poetry in dialogue. For interactions with Ms. Chinwuba in and around the Edmonton area, email ichinwub@ualbeta.ca.

 

Bill Arnott’s (BC) travelogue Gone Viking: A Travel Saga is the Winner of The Miramichi Reader’s 2021 Very Best Book Award for nonfiction, in addition to winning Finalist awards at the Whistler Independent Book Awards and ABF International Book Awards. The sequel, Gone Viking II: Beyond Boundaries (Rocky Mountain Press), will be released this fall.

 

Rita Miceli’s (Niagara) short story called “Going to the Dance” has been published on Spillwords Press. https://spillwords.com/going-to-the-dance/

 

JF Garrard (Toronto), a Toronto-based publisher/writer/editor, has created an ongoing podcast about writing and publishing, “The Artsy Raven,” which is released bi-weekly. Writers on the podcast showcase their work by reading from their book. Editors, agents, publishers and other art industry professionals share their thoughts on what inspires and what led to their success. jfgarrard.com/arpodcast

 

Kamal Parmar (BC) has been appointed Poet laureate of the City of Nanaimo from 2021 to 2023. Kamal will be reading from her new poetry book What does the wind say? at 2:00 pm on October 17th at the North Nanaimo Vancouver Island library, and is also reading at the Burnaby Writers’ Society and participating in the reading-series Spoken INK on October 18^th.

 

Purabi Sinha Das (Toronto) has launched her debut novel Moonlight – The Journey Begins with a virtual launch on Facebook. Purabi wanted to shine a light on female courage; how despite insurmountable odds she is able to overcome social barriers, love her family, forgive them for their mistakes, find inspiration from ancestors and lead her life with dignity. https://books.friesenpress.com/store/title/119734000179989228.

 

Sylvia Barnard (Niagara) from Penetanguishene, Ontario is pleased to announce the publication of her début novel, Rhubarb, Strawberries, and Willows, a historical fiction spiced with time travel and romance involving the 1910 Spanish River Train Disaster in Northern Ontario. Learn more about Sylvia and the book at www.sbarnardauthor.ca.

 

Bill Waiser’s (Member at Large) latest book, In Search of Almighty Voice: Resistance and Reconciliation, was launched at the One Arrow First Nation powwow at the request of the One Arrow First Nations Elders. https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/photos-historians-book-launched-at-one-arrow-first-nation-powwow.. Bill also did a follow-up interview with CBC Sask about the book launch with the One Arrow chief. Listen here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-66-the-morning-edition-sask/clip/15862733-historians-book-launched-one-arrow-first-nation-powwow.

 

Doug Jordan (National Capital Region) has published his latest novel, The Treasure of Stella Bay, a nostalgia trip for anyone who has grown up in the 1960s, or anyone who remembers the anguish of transitioning from childhood to their looming teen years: new school, new friends, first love, and solving a mystery. Find out more at Doug’s website: www.afspublishing.ca.

 

Catherine Graham’s (Toronto) seventh poetry collection, Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric (Wolsak & Wynn/Buckrider Books), is shortlisted for the Toronto Book Awards.

 

Vanessa Farnsworth (Member at Large) will be teaching a series of free genealogy workshops at libraries throughout the Kootenays this fall. Learn more at: https://www.vanessafarnsworth.com/events.

 

Kathleen S. Schmitt’s (BC) novel Magnificat will be published in the spring of 2022 by Inanna Publications, Toronto. Her novels Soaring Up in the Sky (Conversations with Amelia new ed) and Getting a Life (new ed) return into circulation soon. She also published three devotional volumes entitled Seasons of the Feminine Divine published by Crossroads, New York.

 

Kamal Parmar (BC), a Nanaimo-based poet, has been appointed Poet Laureate of the City of Nanaimo for a two-year term (2021-2023). She is looking forward to creating awareness of the importance of poetry among the community.

 

Tonya Liburd (Toronto) has been interviewed by the folks over at What’s In The Box podcast, https://telluswhatsinthebox.podbean.com/e/ep-36-soucouyants-guest-tonya-liburd/. “Settle in with your soucouyants, islands, and heat and listen as we unbox two short stories by Tonya Liburd (Mimosa Versus The Soucouyant and 10 Steps to a Whole New You).” Find these stories in American Monsters 2, edited by Margrét Helgadóttir and http://www.fantasy-magazine.com/. Visit Tonya’s website at https://thespiderlilly.wordpress.com/.

 

Kelly Allers (BC), a young family man with a dream of becoming a career fantasy novelist, has self-published his first book in his The Final Age of Magic series, The Battle for Arisha’s Mountain, through Friesen Press at the end of May 2021. Visit his website at https://www.thefinalageofmagic.com/.

 

Hanna Park’s (Toronto) debut novel, Finding Tiegan, is now available to the big wide world. Published by The Wild Rose Press and available at all major online retailers. A romance, touching on contemporary, erotic and paranormal genres. A binge worthy read with sizzle and pop! Visit Hanna’s website today at hannapark.ca.

 

John Bennett (BC) is excited to announce the publication of his first book, Wakan Tanka: On Human Origins, Spirituality and the Meaning of Life, released in 2021. Learn more about John and the book at www.wakantankabook.com.

 

Maria Saba (National Capital Region), an Ottawa-based writer, Storyteller, and arts educator was awarded the 2021 Wallace Stegner Grant for the arts by the Eastend Arts Council in Saskatchewan. Maria will also be the writer in residence at the Wallace Stegner House, where she will work on her manuscript and engage with the Eastend community during the month of September.

 

Lorrie Potvin (National Capital Region), a queerishly two-spirited Métis, artist, tradeswoman and teacher, is happy to share that her follow up memoir to First Gear – A Motorcycle Memoir, (published under her previous surname Jorgensen), Horses in the Sand will be launched in the Fall by Inanna Publications.  For those more curious please visit lorriepotvin.ca.

 

Lucian Childs’ (Toronto) short story, “Napoli,” has been accepted for publication in Prairie Fire: A Canadian Magazine of New Writing. Watch for it in the Winter 2021 or Spring 2022 issue.

 

Catherine Graham’s (Toronto) Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric (Wolsak & Wynn /Buckrider Books) has been longlisted for the 2021 Toronto Book Awards. The Jurors have narrowed the field from a record-setting 93 submissions to just 10 books competing for a spot on this year’s shortlist, which will be announced in August.

 

Karen Schauber (Metro Vancouver) is pleased to announce that CAA Vancouver Writers Circle has an opening for a new member. Like them, you are supportive, dynamic, professional, and published. This small group critiques members’ short fiction and nonfiction works-in-progress monthly. For details, contact vancaawriterscircle@gmail.com by August 15, 2021.

 

Melanie Marttila’s (Member at Large) short story “The Wolf You Feed” has been accepted for publication in Home for the Howlidays, a holiday anthology published by Tyche Books and edited by M.L.D. Curelas. Publication will be in November 2021.

 

Anna V. Leigh (Toronto) is delighted to make her authorial debut with The Russian Girl: A Noir Romance. The novel tells the story of Roxana, a young woman who spies, seduces, steals, and scams – anything to win the heart of a Russian mobster. Follow a cast of anti-heroes, mafiosos, hitmen, petty thieves, and the living, breathing city of Toronto itself while Roxana searches for love in all the wrong places. Read the book today at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0968TNQS1/

 

Mike Mulcahy (Metro Vancouver) has released his first cookbook entitled Feast On This: A Collection of Inspired Recipes & Life Stories That Should Be Shared, a compilation of 130 recipes that date back to his early years, with each chapter reflecting food he was cooking or being inspired by at the time. https://big-feast.ca/feast-on-this/

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia (Toronto) is pleased to announce that his debut novel, The Transaction, has won the 2021 IPPY Awards Silver Medal in the Europe – Best Regional Fiction category.

 

Carol L. MacKay (Metro Vancouver) has been announced the winner of the 2020 SCBWI Magazine Merit Award for Poetry for her poem, “Moving Day Villanelle,” which was published in the summer 2019 issue of the Irish children’s magazine The Caterpillar. Vancouver Island Regional Library also selected Carol’s poem, “A Tailor Visits Englishman River”, as one of ten selections for their inaugural 2021 “Poem in Your Pocket Day” project. Her work also appears in InScribe Press’ recent anthology, Easter Stories & More.

 

Sharon Frayne (Niagara) is delighted to announce that her YA novel, The Sound of a Rainbow, won the 2020 Muskoka Novel Marathon. Latitude 46 Publishing has acquired the novel and expects to release it in 2023. Sharon is the President of the Niagara Branch of the Canadian Authors Association.

 

Scott Overton (Member at Large) has just launched his newest science fiction thriller novel Naïda with a virtual launch and numerous interviews in Northern Ontario media. You can read a sample chapter and more at Scott’s website www.scottoverton.ca or buy the book through online retailers via https://books2read.com/Naida.

 

Patrick Connors (Toronto) first full poetry collection, The Other Life, published by Mosaic Press, is now available at the Indigo bookstore at Bay and Bloor, and on many online platforms.

 

Monique Layton’s (Metro Vancouver) book, Everyday Evil: Why Our World Is the Way It Is (Tidewater Press, 2019), was a finalist for the 2021 Montaigne Medal (Eric Hoffer Award) given to “the most thought-provoking books” and was named Reviewer’s Choice for May 2021 by the Bookwatch.

 

Dr. Ian Prattis (National Capital Region) has won the eLit Awards Environment/Ecology/Nature Silver Medal for his 18^th book, Past, Present, Future: Stories that Haunt. www.ianprattis.com

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia’s (Toronto Branch) debut novel, The Transaction, has won the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Best Crime First Fiction. See full details HERE.

 

Vera Constantineau (Member at Large), Poet Laureate of Greater Sudbury, will be reading as part of an ‘International Voices’ presentation via Zoom on Saturday, June 26, 2021, at 11:00 am EST, along with David Bingham from Ironbridge, Shropshire. Both poets are widely published and have a passion for Japanese forms of poetry. To access the presentation, visit https://offaspress.co.uk/events/.

 

Purabi Sinha Das (Toronto) has released the book trailer for her new novel, Moonlight – The Journey Begins, being published in Summer 2021. When Chandni Rai turns thirteen, her father dies suddenly, and she discovers a clue to the mystery of her missing grandmother, a child-bride who disappeared without a trace. See the book trailer on YouTube HERE.

 

Naomi Eliana Pommier Steinberg (Metro Vancouver) is exited to announce that on Wednesday June 16, from 7:00 – 8:00 pm, Banyen Books and Sound is hosting a book reading and storytelling event for Goosefeather: Once Upon a Cartographic Adventure. Register for this free event HERE. Naomi is happy to serve the CAA as treasurer for the Vancouver branch and is for hire as a traditional storyteller (for adults or children!). www.goosefeather.ca

 

Eleonore Schönmaier’s (Member at Large) Field Guide to the Lost Flower of Crete is being published June 1, 2021 by McGill-Queen’s University Press. Wavelengths of Your Song (MQUP) was published in German translation as Wellenlängen deines Liedes in 2020 (parasitenpresse, Cologne) and Dust Blown Side of the Journey (MQUP) was a finalist in the 2020 Eyelands Book Awards. Her latest poetry film can be viewed here.

 

Marc Todd (Niagara Branch) is delighted to announce that his horror/thriller fiction novel Chains has now been published and is available for sale on Amazon at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0228842395. You can find out more about Chains at https://mtoddbooks.ca/.

 

Rosanna Battigelli (Toronto Branch) will read from her and illustrator Tara Anderson’s children’s books Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round and Easter Morning, Easter Sun (www.pajamapress.ca) in a virtual story time event by Reading Town Sudbury Ville Lecture and Greater Sudbury Public Library on Sunday, May 2nd, online via Facebook Live. The release of Rosanna’s collection Pigeon Soup & Other Stories has been changed to June 2021. https://www.inanna.ca/product/pigeon-soup-and-other-stories/

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia’s (Toronto Branch) award-winning debut novel The Transaction is shortlisted for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Best Crime First Fiction.

 

Jean Baker (Niagara Branch) is delighted to announce her historical fiction novel Albatross Hall has now been published by Friesen Press. Available for sale HERE.

 

Nina Shoroplova (Metro Vancouver Branch) is a historian, researcher, photographer, and author living in Vancouver’s West End. Nina’s book Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park (Heritage House Publishing, 2020) is a finalist for the 38th Annual British Columbia Historical Federation Lieutenant Governor’s Historical Writing Competition. This annual competition for the coveted prize of the B.C. Lieutenant Governor’s medal for historical writing celebrates books that make significant contributions to the historical literature of British Columbia.

 

Tamel Wino’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) debut book, Ekleipsis, which was released on December 18th 2020, has won a Reader Views bronze award in the Anthology/Short Stories category. See the Reader Views Awards page here: https://www.readerviews.com/winners-2020-2021. Purchase Ekleipsis from amazon here: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B08LR1PCJH.

 

Kamal Parmar (Metro Vancouver Branch) is pleased to announce her online poetry reading event on April 20th via Zoom, at Campbell River Library (Vancouver Island, B.C.) from 2:00 – 3:00 pm PST. The reading event is called “Crossing many milestones: a poetic reflection”. Kamal is also reading on April 25th at Char’s Landing at Port Alberni (Vancouver Island, B.C.) via Zoom at 2:00 pm PST.

 

Ron Hore, writing as R.J.Hore, (Member at Large) is pleased to announce that volume three of the “Housetrap Chronicles” collection of novellas is now available as an eBook or print version. This collection contains three novellas in the fantasy detective series: Menagerie @ Trois, Murder on the Disoriented Express, and Silence of the Sands. Available through the publisher, Champagne Books, or the usual on-line outlets.

 

Nan Williamson (Peterborough Branch) will be leading a small group workshop for Peterborough writers, Poetry 101, weekly on Zoom during National Poetry Month. Nan also had her piece, “I made this poem for you”, showcased in the League of Canadian Poets Fresh Voices 22.

 

Kathleen S. Schmitt’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) novel Magnificat: Song of Justice will be published in the spring of 2022 by Inanna Publications in Toronto.

 

Tara K. Torme (Vancouver Branch) is pleased to announce that her new website is up: https://wordpress.com/home/tktorme.wordpress.com. Her poetry books, In Conversation Volume I and In Conversation Vol 2, have been released by Silver Bow Publishing. Tara’s latest book, Bull, has also been released and is available here: Bull.

 

Kieran Egan‘s (Metro Vancouver Branch) first book of poetry, Amplified Silence, has just been published by Silver Bow Publishers. Described by Christopher Levenson as, “Kieran Egan’s humorously thoughtful poetry excels at evoking the lives of children and animals . . . His linguistic skills will charm and beguile.”  For more information see: https://kieraneganbooks.wordpress.com.

 

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that her new website is up: www.rosannabattigelli.com. Her Easter book for children, Easter Morning, Easter Sun, has been released by Pajama Press: https://pajamapress.ca/book/easter_morning_easter_sun/. Free and downloadable teaching guide here. Rosanna’s Easter Video: https://youtu.be/XX65T5TYmRA. Her fourth book for Harlequin, Rescued by the Guarded Tycoon, has also been released and is available at Amazon and Chapters. Rosanna’s collection Pigeon Soup & Other Stories will be released by Inanna Publications in May 2021: https://www.inanna.ca/product/pigeon-soup-and-other-stories/.

 

Carmel M. Toussaint (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce her new book, Humanity’s Struggles with Inequality: More Inequality Divides – Less Inequality Unites, is now available on Amazon. This book presents a systematic analysis of inequality, its origin, development, and potential solutions. Buy your copy here: https://www.amazon.com.br/Humanitys-Struggles-Inequality-Inequality-Divides-ebook/dp/B08X7GDCBV

 

Catherine Graham’s (Toronto Branch) seventh poetry collection Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric launches on Thursday, April 15 2021, at 7:00 pm EDT, a partnership between Toronto Lit Up, Wolsak &Wynn, Toronto Arts Council, and Toronto International Festival of Authors. Special guest is Kathleen McCracken, a wonderful poet from Northern Ireland. To attend, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/ther-an-out-of-body-lyric-book-launch-tickets-146961825777.

 

Gerald Richardson Brown (Metro Vancouver) has finished his trilogy of three books linked by the contents of a sea chest brought to America by early European settlers. In Road to Ganneious, (vol.1), five generations of a European family leave the mountains of Austria to finally settle in a former Iroquois village in Ontario. In The Villager, (vol.2), the protagonist grows up in a village in Ontario during hard times and war. In North to Crying Rock, (vol.3), a retired professor flees his earthquake devastated city, and finds refuge in an Indigenous village high in the mountains of British Columbia, itself a refuge from the clan’s flooded village on the coast. conundrumpress.com

 

Gordon K. Jones (Toronto Branch) is excited to announce that he has been signed by Bookland Press to record an audiobook of his crime thriller, Saving Tiberius, which is currently available in print and as an e-book.

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that his debut novel, The Transaction (published by Guernica Editions), is a Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist.

 

Samreen Ahsan (Toronto Branch), international award-winning author, is pleased to announce her third book in the [Stolen] Series, Once Upon A [Broken] Time. From twenty-first century London, a modern-day travel blogger meets a recluse prince from the fifteenth century England, through a magical mirror inside a cursed castle, where past and future collide in a tale of love, obsession, betrayal, and the hope for redemption. www.samreenahsan.com

 

Adam Smith (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce the completion of his mystery trilogy entitled, The Freedom Flaw. These three novels tell the story of a Canadian psychology professor and former CSIS spy after a Harvard associate turns up dead on the same day they were to meet. When the local detective determines the death is suspicious, the investigation unravels a complicated conspiracy that originated in 1965 to hijack the U.S. Congress. The probe expands to the Massachusetts State Police, then the FBI, and progresses all the way to the President. Public Deception, Public Discovery, and Public Action are available on Rakuten-Kindle (eBook) and Amazon-Kindle (eBook & Paperback).

 

Sharon Lax (Member at Large) is pleased to announce the book launch of her short story collection, Shattered Fossils, published by Guernica Editions. The launch will feature Sharon in conversation with Su J Sokol, author of Cycling to Asylum, Run J Run and Zee, and will be held via Zoom at 5:00 pm EST on Sunday, February 28, 2021.

 

Jean Kay (Metro Vancouver Branch) is a published poet who has written a poem every morning for 23 ½ years. She contributes monthly to a local newsletter and IAUSM magazine. Her interview with Silver Lining Conversations is here https://bit.ly/3dPuC53. Some of her poems are on her website: https://poetrytoinspire.com.

 

Rosanna Battigelli (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that she has two upcoming book releases: her fourth book for Harlequin, Rescued by the Guarded Tycoon (March 1st and 9th, Chapters and Amazon), and Easter Morning, Easter Sun (March 16th, Pajama Press). “With Rosanna Battigelli’s bouncing rhyme and Tara Anderson’s cozy art, Easter Morning, Easter Sun is sure to become a tradition of its very own.” https://pajamapress.ca/book/easter_morning_easter_sun/. The book trailer of Rosanna’s novel La Brigantessa (Inanna, 2018), winner of a 2019 Gold IPPY Award for Historical Fiction, is now on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vmc4f0_Drsk.

 

Keith Inman (Niagara Branch) has work published, or upcoming, in seven anthologies for 2020/21, most from Ontario, one from Saskatchewan, and two international. He will again co-ordinate The Banister Poetry Contest and Anthology for 2021. It’s the contest’s 36th edition; Keith’s 15th year on the board and sixth as chair. This year’s judge is Dr. Elspeth Cameron. Last fall, Keith participated in Black Moss Press’s video zoom recordings of authors discussing and reading their poetry. You can find the VZR’s at blackmosspress.com. He also continues to participate in monthly poetry meetings based on the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop style of round table discussion and sharing.

 

Karen Gansel (Niagara Branch) is pleased to announce her new novel Celeste Unraveled is available on both Amazon and Kobo. This adult fiction tells the story of Celeste, whose former role as a high-profile nurse manager in a busy urban hospital ends abruptly when restructuring hits her personally. Like her peers, she has dreamed of retirement as a time for herself. Instead, her careful plans lay around her in shreds. You can find it on the CAA Member Book Catalogue along with Karen’s first novel Differences Between Us.

 

Catherine Graham (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that her seventh poetry collection Æther: An Out-of-Body Lyric will be launched this spring. “Graham has created a luminous homage to family, to cancer and to the strange windings of truth. Memories mesh with visitations and multiple stories unfold of pain and loss, hidden tragedy, forgiveness and growth. With an otherworldly delicacy Graham stitches it all together to create a book-length lyric essay of lingering and profound beauty, a paean to the complexity of love and survival.” Pre-order here.

 

Erin MacNair (Metro Vancouver Branch) received the Honourable Mention in Pulp Literature’s 2020 Raven Short Story contest. It Can Be Done with Words is set to be published in the Spring Issue (#30). Erin also has a speculative fiction piece coming out in the 2021 spring issue of Prairie Fire Magazine. Detour Ahead, an online lit mag showcasing stories of navigating Covid-19, has published her nonfiction piece Zoom Meeting in Progress. Three of her short stories, Where Things Rise, Unannounced, and The Chemistry of Unhappiness, published in EVENT Magazine, are now featured on the podcast Fresh New Shorts.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch) has Tantor Media (USA) releasing the audiobook of his Soar, Adam, Soar (Dundurn Press, 2019) on February 16, 2021. Incredibly, John Dickhout, the recipient for Rick’s son Adam’s heart, is the narrator. https://tantor.com/soar-adam-soar-rick-prashaw.html

 

Gordon Jones (Toronto Branch) will be participating in 2 live virtual Author Events with Bookland Press at this years Ontario Library Association Super Conference, Ontario’s largest book trade show. One will be on February 4, 2021, for his latest novel Saving Tiberius, and the other is on February 5, 2021, for his non-fiction book Defending the Inland Shores. See details at https://www.eventscribe.net/2021/OLASC/searchGlobal.asp.

 

Jerena Tobiasen (Metro Vancouver Branch) is pleased to announce that her novel The Crest is available as an audiobook, narrated by the talented James Meunier of the UK. The multi-award-winning story is a fast-moving historical tale of war, prejudice, crime, love and heartbreak that spans more than 70 years and both World Wars. Find it on Amazon, Audible and iTunes. http://jerenatobiasen.ca/

 

Gail Sidonie Šobat (Alberta Branch) has won the 2020 International Eyelands Book Awards Grand Prize for her poetry manuscript, Lessons from the Greeks. The book will be published by Strange Day Books in both English and Greek, and Gail will spend a week at Three Rock writers’ resort on the island of Crete.

 

Karen Gansel’s (Niagara Branch) new novel, Celeste Unraveled, was recently published on Amazon.com and Kobo.com. A member of the Canadian Authors Association since 2009, she was president of the Niagara branch between 2011 and 2017, joined the Association’s Board of Directors in 2017, chaired the Program Committee from 2017 to 2020, and was elected as 1^st Vice-Chair at the Annual General Meeting in 2020. Her short story, Canal of Destiny, was published on the Quick Brown Fox blog in 2010. In March 2018, Karen released her first novel, Differences Between Us, a psychological suspense available on Amazon.com and Kobo.com.

 

Ligia Carvalho (Metro Vancouver Branch) published her third children’s book, My dragon doesn’t want to wear shoes, in November 2020, to bring the message about bullying and confidence to kids. The book follows the journey of a little dragon named Freddy, who is struggling with self-confidence because his friends make fun of his green shoes. https://ligiacarvalho.ca/books

 

Karim Bhaloo (Toronto Branch) and Shirley Lum have published a book called Italy – Some Day! through Kindle Direct Publishing. A story of their journey that started with a fateful meeting in 2009 and resulted in discovering new places, including a trip to Italy and a food and wine tour. Purchase a copy (e-books also available) here.

 

Dan Buchanan (Peterborough Branch) is pleased that his new book, The Wreck of HMS Speedy: The Tragedy That Shook Upper Canada, is up front in bookstores across the country through the holiday season. Interest has been growing for this Canadian history story since its release on August 18, 2020. Makes a great Christmas present! www.danbuchananhistoryguy.com

 

Dr. Ian Prattis (National Capital Region Branch) is releasing PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE: Stories that Haunt, in 2021 through Manor House. This collection contains stories, personal essays and futuristic writings illuminating facets of humanity that are both wholesome and deadly. www.ianprattis.com

 

Aaron Barry (Metro Vancouver Branch) announces his latest release, Young Adult Prompts Gone Wild. It’s a continuation of his first book, Writing Prompts Gone Wild, and offers fresh, offbeat, and hilarious YA writing prompts for wordsmiths who like to challenge the conventional. For sample pages or additional info, check out @promptsgonewild on Instagram!

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch), author of Soar, Adam, Soar (Dundurn Press, 2019) has a 4-episode video podcast with actor John Dickhout, his son’s heart recipient. The first two episodes for the Canada Council for the Arts airs on December 15.  Here’s the trailer: https://bit.ly/3ojTsMn

 

Kamal Parmar (Metro Vancouver) published his new book of poems titled Still Waters in October 2020. The book launch, organized by the publisher Silver Bow Publishing B.C. and hosted by Cynthia Sharp, was held on November 22. Kamal will be doing an online reading from a poetry anthology launched by the Nanaimo Library VIRL Branch titled Alone, but not Alone, on December 5.

 

Carol L. MacKay (Vancouver Branch) was the featured author at Qualicum Reads, at the Qualicum Beach (BC) Museum on August 27, where she read from and discussed her historical children’s book, Lily in the Loft. On September 28, Carol read her poem about meeting prairie icon Grant MacEwan at the Zoom Launch of YYC POP, an anthology by Frontenac House. Her article “From Stranger to Familiar Face” appeared in the September/October 2020 issue of Internet Genealogy. Carol’s children’s story, Soured on Pickles, will appear in the February 2021 issue of Spider, while the October 2020 issue of Ladybug featured her silly story for early readers, Not the Same Squirrel, about a costume-changing critter.

 

A Light from Below, written by Chadham Thomas (Toronto branch), was published on October 7th, 2020. The novel, Thomas’s debut, was self-published with the aid of FriesenPress. It is available for purchase through both Amazon and FriesenPress, and links for both are available on his website, chadhamthomas.com.

 

Michael Newman (Toronto Branch) has received national recognition through the 2020 New York City Big Book Award for his debut novel Between These Walls, which was recognized as a Distinguished Favorite in the category of Historical Fiction.

 

Sue Farrell Holler (Alberta Branch) is pleased to announce the publication of her new picture book Raven, Rabbit, Deer (Pajama Press). Writte n in English, it introduces words in Ojibwemowin. A starred review in Publishers Weekly said, “Holler’s story gains from the interplay of dimensions: the affectionate relationship between the boy and his grandfather, the growing vocabulary they share, and their slow-paced appreciation of the natural world.”

 

Gordon K. Jones’ (Toronto Branch) novel, Saving Tiberius (Bookland Press), is being released as an e-book available through Chapters/Indigo and Apple Books on November 1, 2020.

 

Michael Newman’s (Toronto Branch) debut historical fiction novel Between These Walls received a “Lightening Bolt” review in the October 12^th, 2020 print edition of Publishers Weekly. In the magazine’s BookLife section, the review gave Michael’s book a “Lightening Bolt”, indicating an Editor’s Pick book of outstanding quality.

 

Susana Molinolo‘s (Toronto Branch) poem I, Humminbird has received an acceptance from  Contemporary Verse 2: The Canadian Journal of Poetry and Critical Writing, also known as CV2. Susana first submitted poetry to the journal back in 2003, and has held onto the paper rejection because it contained such constructive and encouraging feedback. Although it’s taken 17 years, Susana’s over the moon to receive an acceptance from CV2!

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch), author of Soar, Adam, Soar (Dundurn Press, 2019), has an audiobook deal with Tantor Media and Dundurn. His son’s heart recipient, John Dickhout, an actor, is the narrator! https://www.facebook.com/RickPrashaAuthor

 

Ingrid Betz (Member at Large) is pleased to announce the October 22nd, 2020, online launch of her sixth novel, The Borrowman Cell, by the feminist press Inanna Publications. Animal-rights activists are not the only ones involved when China starts poaching bears in Algonquin Park. The bears may be saved, but human lives will be forever changed.

 

Myrtle Siebert (Metro Vancouver Branch) has written Float House Family Favourites for young people and new cooks who may need a few dependable recipes and methods to help prepare tasty and healthy meals for themselves, their housemates, and their family members. The author has developed these recipes and used them her entire life. Learn more about the author at https://www.myrtlesiebert.com/

 

Alison Clarke’s (Alberta Branch) book of poetry, Phillis: A Poetry Collection, will be published by the University of Calgary Press on October 15, 2020. Phillis Wheatley was the first African American to publish a book of poetry, and she was a slave, publishing her book of poetry in 1773.

 

Nan Williamson (Peterborough Branch Poetry Chair) has had her poem, Poet’s Practice in these Times, accepted for publication online and in print by High Shelf Press, Issue XIII, December 15 2020.

 

Julie Whitley (Waterloo-Wellington Branch) is pleased to announce that the sequel to her Secrets of the Home Wood series, The Stalker, has been recently released and is already a 5-star Readers’ Favourite and receiving great reviews. It can be found on KINDLE at https://amazon.com/dp/B089QVCJBX and in paperback at https://amazon.com/dp/0228816378.

 

Renée Sgroi (Toronto Branch) is hosting a virtual book launch to celebrate her debut poetry collection, life print, in points (erbacce-press) on Thursday, September 24th, at 7:30pm. FREE event, but registration required: https://us04web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upUode-hrTwuHND5glatPeAJYVWSUzWZdvIO.

 

Michael Newman’s (Toronto Branch) debut historical fiction novel Between These Walls received a sterling book review with four out of four “A”s from BookLife Reviews. Mr Newman is also collaborating with a BC screenwriter to bring a screen adaptation of the novel to the TV screen in a six part series.

 

Jerena Tobiasen (Metro Vancouver Branch), author of The Prophecy saga – The Crest, The Emerald and The Destiny – is pleased to announce that The Destiny won Readers’ Favorite 2020 Bronze Medal for Historical Fiction. In 2020, The Prophecy also received awards from Canada Book Awards, Independent Press and Next Generation Indie Book. http://jerenatobiasen.ca/.

 

Keith Inman’s (Niagara Branch) new book, The Way History Dries, a poetry book/novel about walking the Camino-Frances, is scheduled for an October release from Black Moss Press. Keith has also had 19 poems published in print so far this year, four of which were named Honourable Mentions, and had another 16 poems published online. In addition, he wrote two cover blurbs for fellow writers launching new books, provided an introduction for an online journal, helped judge two teen poetry contests and coordinated an Ontario-wide Anthology contest for CAA-Niagara’s The Banister.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch), author of Soar, Adam, Soar (Dundurn Press, 2019), was interviewed by Yvonne Heath, author of Love Your Life to Death, on her Rogers TV/You Tube Channel show Real Life Talk. https://bit.ly/3g8K21G

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that his debut novel, The Transaction (published by Guernica Editions), was a 2020 International Book Awards Finalist in the Literary Fiction category.

 

Purabi Das (Toronto Branch) released her debut collection of essays, What Will It Be This Time, in April 2020. Published by Amazon Digital Services as an e-book, it is a selection of essays touching on the differences and similarities in life between India, where Purabi immigrated from, and Canada. Purabi was the featured guest on Episode 2 of Words with Writers Podcast in June 2020.

 

Margaret Lynch (Toronto Branch) is the winner of the 2020 Penguin Random House best nonfiction book proposal prize for TRANSFORMED: When My DNA Changed, So Did I. The National Post published an excerpt on July 4, 2020, “How my sister’s cells attacked my body, and changed my life.”

 

Karen Schauber (Metro Vancouver Branch), editor of The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings, is happy to announce the book has just been awarded the “Silver Medal” for “The Very Best” Book Award for Short Fiction 2020 by The Miramichi Reader, Canada’s best regarded source for the finest in new literary releases.

 

Diana Chan-Salitter (Peterborough Branch) is pleased to announce her debut novel, The Search for Sally, is now available as an eBook and a soft-cover edition from Amazon. Take a journey with Elena, a young woman who struggles with poverty, as she gathers all her courage to leave her home country. She travels alone for the first time halfway around the world to search for her family in a cold, unfamiliar place.

 

Ron Hore (Winnipeg, MB; Member-at-Large), writing as R.J. Hore, is pleased to announce that Hammer Across the Stars, the middle book in his Of Destiny’s Daughters trilogy, was released on July 13, 2020. It is currently available in ebook format through the usual outlets and through the publisher, Champagne Books, and will be available in a print edition at a later date. The final chapter, Expeditions to Earth, is set to be available by the end of this year. Hope you enjoy Canadian-flavored space opera!

 

The memoir written by Leila Kulpas (Metro Vancouver Branch), Into the Eyes of Hungry: Growing up in the Wilds of Australia (published in 2019), was a finalist for the 2019 Book Excellence Awards.

 

Sam Thiara’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) Lost and Found: Seeking the Past and Finding Myself, is a moving memoir documenting an impossible quest to find her grandfather’s village – with just a faded photograph. The story is for anyone who has felt adrift in the world; what was once lost can be found. Available for sale through Amazon.

 

Bestseller Bill Arnott (Metro Vancouver) is pleased to announce the New Edition release of his adventure travelogue Gone Viking: A Travel Saga (WIBA Awards Finalist) from RMBooks, which has been awarded Finalist at the ABF International Book Awards. Bill’s eight year trek and exploration writing his travel memoir has also earned him a Fellowship in the Royal Geographical Society of London (fellow fellows include Darwin, Shackleton, Livingstone and Palin).

 

Ed Seaward (Toronto Branch) held the official book launch of his debut novel Fair on July 21, 2020, as a virtual event via Zoom. Fair was published June 22, 2020 by The Porcupine’s Quill.

 

Rajesh Sehgal’s (Toronto Branch) book NOT GUILTY: Fabricated Implication Report – FIR is now available on Amazon. This book describes how the laws in India have been misused and the criminal justice system abused over the years—leading to arrest, humiliation, and sufferings of tens of thousands of innocents who are implicated in false cases. It also touches on police abuse and atrocities.

 

Alberta author Sue Farrell Holler (Grande Prairie, AB, member-at-large) won the 2020 R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature. Her YA novel Cold White Sun is based on the true story of a child refugee from Ethiopia. Jurors said, “The writing is vivid, often raw, and the protagonist’s story lingers far after the final page.”

 

Gordon K Jones (Toronto Branch) is pleased to announce that his crime thriller, Saving Tiberius, is scheduled for release by Bookland Press in July 2020. When word is leaked that  Morgan Watson’s cat, Tiberius, miraculously cured itself of diabetes and may hold the key to a cure, he is attacked and almost killed. As he and a strong-willed police officer, Paula Rogers, search for who is behind the brutal attempts to get Tiberius, they find themselves intertwined with the growing list of dead bodies.

 

With twenty-five reading events postponed (so far!), Bill Arnott (Metro Vancouver Branch) created Gone Viking Online, a virtual book tour with actual reading. Join Bill for quick, lighted readings from his Whistlers Independent Book Award finalist travel memoir Gone Viking: A Travel Saga, with mini-video tours, here on YouTube.

 

Author Nina Shoroplova (Metro Vancouver Branch) is planning a week of activities from June 22–28 inclusive, to promote the release of her book Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park with Heritage House. The week will begin on June 22 with a live online Facebook conversation with Bill Stephen, recently retired Superintendent of Urban Forestry, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation and author of the foreword in Nina’s book.

On Friday, Nina and Margaret Anne Hume, National Chair of CAA, will be discussing Nina’s book, their first books, the writing process, and the changes COVID-19 is bringing about for authors, some of which are quite challenging. This will be another live, online Facebook event.

Three one-hour walks stopping at historic trees in Stanley Park on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of that week will be filmed and later posted on YouTube.

Details for these events will be available on Nina’s Author & Book Editor Facebook page, her own website (ninashoroplova.ca), and will be announced in a press release available from Heritage House.

 

Pigeon Soup & Other Stories by Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli (Toronto Branch) will be released in Fall 2020 by Inanna Publications. (Fall Catalogue can be downloaded at www.inanna.ca). The characters in Pigeon Soup & Other Stories are navigating relationships and grappling with issues of translocation, language and identity, religion and culture, and food. These tales portray the dark places they inhabit physically, emotionally, or metaphorically, with twists that sometimes provide a flicker (or even a bright beam) of hope. Rosanna was to have spoken about her novel La Brigantessa at the Writers and Editors Network Breakfast Meeting on April 18th; it will be rescheduled. https://wenetwork.ca/site/breakfast-meeting-april-18-2020

 

Canadian Authors–Toronto co-president Lee Parpart received an honourable mention in the Negative Capability Press Spring 2020 poetry contest for her poem “Deadheading in Late August,” and won Arc Poetry Magazine’s inaugural Award of Awesomeness in May 2020 for her poem “Hello goodbye.”

 

Michael Newman (Toronto Branch) is launching his debut novel Between These Walls and invites you to his virtual book launch on May 14, 2020, at 7:00 pm EDT. He will have several special guests, including Wendy Gruner, author of Children of a Faraway War, and an exclusive performance by award-winning singer, songwriter Jill Barber. RSVP at mnewman@boardwalkcapital.ca  and join the Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86509584495?pwd=WGI3TkFxTHBFQUFFTEVuNmZtTHdLdz09

 

Naomi Steinberg’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) first book, Goosefeather – Once Upon a Cartographic Adventure, catalogues her artistic journey around the world by land and sea, from the West Coast of Canada—and all the way back again. Five hundred hardcover, silver gilded, first edition books will be available for purchase on June 9, 2020. The book launch will be broadcast from Naomi’s Facebook artist page https://www.facebook.com/sheisNEPS and YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbAy36rqdhAxh2DDqqJ7euQ/featured?view_as=public. More information is available on www.goosefeather.ca.

 

Pamela Yuen-Elkerbout and Susana Molinolo (Toronto Branch) co-wrote the poem “Postcards We Never Sent”, which has been published in the anthology COVID-19: Poems from the Lockdown. It’s now available on Amazon.They co-read their poem at the Canadian Authors’ Toronto poetry month event on April 23.

 

Susana Molinolo‘s (Toronto Branch) 5-word poem “Nervous gut like garbage truck” was published in Neutral Spaces, Issue Concrete, available at neutralspaces.com/concrete. She also read poems at the first virtual edition of Draft Readings on April 26.

 

Melanie Marttila (Sudbury ON, member at large) has had five poems accepted for publication over the next five issues of Polar Borealis Magazine. The first one, “Relativity Speaking,” was published in issue #14 on April 27th. The magazine is free to read online here: http://polarborealis.ca/currentback-issues/

 

With twenty-five reading events postponed (so far!), Bill Arnott (Metro Vancouver Branch) created Gone Viking Online, a virtual book tour with actual reading. Join Bill for quick, lighthearted readings from his WIBA Finalist travel memoir Gone Viking: A Travel Saga, with mini video tours, here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqqHfvXtRDc

 

Guglielmo D’Izzia’s (Toronto Branch) debut novel, The Transaction, winner of the Marina Nemat Award, was released by Guernica Editions on May 1, 2020. On May 9, he will also appear as a featured author at this year’s edition of Librissimi – Toronto Italian Book Festival.

 

Margaret Lynch (Toronto Branch) published her essay, “Déjà Vu in the time of COVID-19” on the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) blog April 2020.  She recently published an excerpt from her memoir-in-progress in the January 2020 Issue 5.1 of literary journal untethered. “Witness” is about her experience as an accidental caregiver for her father towards the end of his life, and the unlikely connection they forged after a difficult relationship.

 

On June 2, Heritage House (Victoria, BC) will publish Nina Shoroplova’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) second trade book (sixth overall, including four self-published titles). Legacy of Trees: Purposeful Wandering in Vancouver’s Stanley Park tells the stories of the many trees growing in this world-famous urban park. In 2014, TripAdvisor called Stanley Park the best urban park in the world. These trees tell the story of Vancouver.

Do you write for a travel journal? a plant-focused journal? a  magazine for landscape gardeners? Nina is looking for review and interviews. Anyone interested?

 

Nan Williamson‘s (Peterborough Branch) poem “Poet’s Practice ” was published in High Shelf Press, Issue XIII, and her poem “Georgian Bay Meditation” was one of the 15 poems chosen for the League of Canadian Poets’  “Poem in your Pocket” for Poetry Month. She will receive the booklet with the 15 poems, postcards of these poems for handout on National Poetry Day, April 30th and $150.

 

Spiritual writer Donald Lee (Alberta Branch) recently published his first book, The Band Director’s Lessons About Life (available at online & real stores). It’s a book of modern-day parables inspired by his career as a band director. In the style of Chicken Soup for the Soul, Donald draws spiritually inspirational lessons from everyday classroom foibles.

 

Author R.J.Hore (Winnipeg, MB, member at large) with 13 novels and 9 novellas published, is trying out something new starting February 12. He will be posting a chapter of an unpublished novel each Wednesday on his Facebook author page https://www.facebook.com/RonaldJHore/ to provide a sample of one of his writing styles. This project will continue until all of the novel has been displayed, or demand for a free reading dies.

 

Ingrid Betz (London, ON member at large) will be reading from her latest prize-winning short story, Colours In the Rain, at the launch of this year’s  CAA – Niagara Branch anthology, Fifteen Stories High.  Date: March 28th. Time: 2 pm.  Place: St. Catharines Public Library, 54 Church Street, St. Catharines, Ontario. [This event was cancelled due to COVID-19.]

 

Nancy Taber (Niagara Branch) published her short story, “Secrets and Stockings,” in The Blake-Jones Review, available at  https://www.blakejonesreview.com/short-stories/secrets-and-stockings/ The story is about a journalist who steals her grandmother’s journal from the code-breakers museum at Bletchley Park. It is part of an in-progress collection inspired by her research in war museums; the collection immerses the reader in diverse tales about strong and complicated women whose stories have been overlooked or forgotten.

 

Monique Layton (Metro Vancouver Branch) ended 2019 with two new books: Everyday Evil: Why Our World Is the Way It Is (Tidewater Press), launched at the Vancouver Book Warehouse in October, and Voices from the Lower Deck: Folklore and Folkways of the Sea (FriesenPress), published in December. Both are available from their respective publishers and on Amazon.

 

Romantic writer Robert Joseph Greene (Metro Vancouver Branch) believes there is a tangible format to understanding love and will be presenting his findings on the age-old question “What Is Love?” to an academic as well as public audience at UBC’s Green College. This free event takes place on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, at  Coach House, Green College, UBC 6201 Cecil Green Park Rd, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 from 5:00 to 6:30 pm, with a reception to follow. Wikipedia lists Greene as Canada’s only male author dedicated solely to romantic fiction. This will be his second appearance at Green College. For more information, to go https://greencollege.ubc.ca/civicrm/event/info/.

 

Anita Kushwaha‘s (National Capital Region Branch) novel Secret Lives of Mothers & Daughters about the ties that bind mothers and daughters together and the secrets that tear them apart, will be released on January 28th by HarperCollins Canada.

 

Nan Williamson‘s (Peterborough Branch) poem “Kindled” was published in Issue 3 of Dreamers Creative Writing magazine.

 

Gill Foss (National Capital Region Branch) is announcing the publication of her new poetry book Personal Perspectives. It covers her journey from the north east coast of the UK, through a variety of travels to her life now as a Canadian citizen and CAA Member of many years standing. It concludes with her anxiety about climate change on our future. The book is currently available through Amazon.ca at a cost of approximately $10 CDN.

 

Bernice Lever’s (Metro Vancouver Branch) poem Taking Spiders Out received Honourable Mention in The World Around Us poetry anthology contest by The Ontario Poetry Society. In November, two of her poems were included in The Prairie Journal (editor: Anne Burke). In December, Bernice did a reading of her poems from Tenfold on World Poetry Café on Vancouver Co-op Radio. (World Poetry Café is a multilingual and multicultural radio show with listeners in 106 countries. They feature poetry both local and from around the world, including book launches with poets and writers and CD launches with a number of musicians, artists, and filmmakers. For more info, go to https://www.coopradio.org/content/world-poetry-cafe-2 and https://worldpoetry.ca/).

 

Hannah Long (Barrie, ON member at large) has sold her Viking-inspired adult fantasy Hall of Smoke to Titan Books in a 2-book deal, with audio rights sold at auction to Recorded Books. The book follows a disgraced warrior-priestess as she evades armies and meddling gods to regain her goddess’s favour. Publication is set for Spring 2021.

 

Elizabeth McLean‘s (Metro Vancouver Branch, formerly NCR) story “95%” was shortlisted for the Bridport 2019 Short Story Prize in the UK. The story is about the coming into adulthood of a young man who finally has to take responsibility for a child he had fathered in his younger years. See https://www.bridportprize.org.uk/results

 

Nancy Taber (Niagara Branch) published her short story, Climbing, on CommuterLit, available at http://commuterlit.com/2019/10/thursday-climbing/. The story explores the intersection of the female protagonist’s personal and professional lives. It combines the allegory of Greek Gods and Goddesses with an archeological bent using a Nike statuette. She is currently working on a collection of short stories, inspired by her research in war museums, which immerse the reader in diverse tales about strong and complicated women whose stories have been overlooked or forgotten.

 

Jerena Tobiasen (Metro Vancouver Branch) recently released The Destiny, the third volume of an intriguing historical saga called The Prophecy. As prophesied by Punita Kota, future generations of the Lange (“The Crest”) and Kota (“The Emerald”) families collide, resulting in manipulation, deception and false beliefs, resulting in an international kidnapping and vicious court battles.Jerena’s books are available on Amazon (print and e-book). Print copies can also be ordered through most bookstores.

 

Suparna Ghosh, (Toronto Branch) one of the founding members of the Art Bar, the longest-running, weekly poetry readings in Canada, was one of the poets at the Dead Poets Society Night on December 17, 2019, at the Supermarket on Augusta Avenue. She read Rabindranath Tagore’s poems, the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Tagore’s short story, Post Office, was staged at the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto in 1914. Please visit suparnaghosh.com.

 

Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli (Toronto Branch) read from her award-winning novel La Brigantessa at the Parry Sound Festival of Authors on October 29 and at Ronald McDonald House in Toronto on October 3. La Brigantessa (Inanna Publications, 2018) has received five honours and awards to date. https://www.inanna.ca/index.php/catalog/la-brigantessa/

 

Kathleen Jones  (Toronto Branch) signed copies of her novel Love Is the Punch Line at IndigoSpirit, First Canadian Place, in Toronto, ON, on September 5. Get more information about the book and read reviews at https://kathleenjones.org/category/love-is-the-punch-line/.

 

Ed Burrows (Peterborough Branch) has published his book Putting Your Affairs in Order through Self-Counsel Press. His book allows the reader to enter into it all the information that will be needed on their death, saving substantial costs for the estate. It is available at Chapters and Staples stores across Canada.

 

Peter Freeman (Metro Vancouver Branch) has been selected by the editing team for The Fieldstone Review, the University of Saskatchewan’s literary magazine, as the winner of The Fieldstone Review‘s literary prize, for his short story Hidden Message. His story was published in their annual magazine in September 2019 and is available to read online.

Peter has also launched Growth, a collection of poetry using historical events to identify its impact on a young boy’s life as he matures from childhood to adulthood, at the Salt Spring Island Library in BC. Growth was published by Adelaide Books of New York and is available on Amazon and Adelaide Books in paperback and Kindle versions. http://petersfreeman.ca.

 

Joan Boxall (Metro Vancouver Branch) has authored DrawBridge: Drawing Alongside My Brother’s Schizophrenia (Caitlin Press), which includes a colour insert of her brother’s drawings. The book lends itself well to book clubs in its handling of the subject of mental health and the power of art to heal. For discussion questions and reviews, go to www.joanboxall.com and http://caitlin-press.com/our-books/drawbridge/

 

Tommy Schnurmacher‘s (Montreal Branch) memoir Makeup Tips from Auschwitz: How Vanity Saved My Mother’s Life is now available through Amazon, Indigo, and Barnes and Noble. It was recently listed in the bestseller rankings on Amazon.ca as #1 in both Hot New Releases/Judaism and Hot New Releases/Jewish Biography, #3 bestseller in Judaism, #5 in Hot New Releases in Humorous Essays and #6 bestseller in Jewish Biography. talkradiotommy.com and https://www.amazon.ca/Makeup-Tips-Auschwitz-Vanity-Mothers/dp/0228805155/

 

Edythe Anstey Hanen (Metro Vancouver Branch) is a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards for her novel Nine Birds Singing. The winners will be announced at the Whistler Writers Festival on October 18, 2019.

 

Purabi Das (Toronto Branch) was invited once again by Poetry and Spoken Word Quarterly Readings and Performances (@PoetryandSpokenWordQuarterly) to share her art on September 17, 2019. The event took place at the Berry Hill Co. in Oshawa. Poetry and Spoken Word Quarterly Readings and Performances connects with a community of thinkers and lovers of language through verse and voice, examining the world and what it means to be human.

 

Patricia Sandberg‘s (Metro Vancouver Branch) short story The Colour of Us, first published in The Cabinet of Heed, is newly published in an anthology from the Lit Mag Love course community. The anthology features work from 25 writers with comments on their road to publication. Free copies available at litmaglove.com/anthology.

 

Rick Prashaw (National Capital Region Branch), author of Soar, Adam, Soar, joins Amanda Jette Knox (Love Lives Here) and host Matthew Pearson for a Modern Family panel at the Ottawa Writers’ Festival on October 27, 2019, sharing stories on love’s power to overcome obstacles and the many ways families can support each other in a world that is too often cruel and unwelcoming. https://writersfestival.org/events/fall-2019/modern-family  Rick was also invited to speak to the Canadian Human Rights Commission on October 2, 2019. Details at www.rickprashaw.com.

 

Rosanna Battigelli (Toronto Branch) launched her children’s book Pumpkin Orange, Pumpkin Round, (Pajama Press), illustrated by award-winning Tara Anderson, at Chapters in Sudbury, Ontario, on Saturday, September 28. https://pajamapress.ca/book/pumpkin_orange_pumpkin_round/

 

Karen Schauber‘s (Metro Vancouver Branch) upcoming book launch for The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Stories Inspired by Historic Canadian Paintings, will be held along with a celebration and author readings at 7:00 – 9:00 pm on November 20, 2019, at Aperture Coffee Bar, 4124 Main Street in Vancouver.

 

Gord Grisenthwaite (Kingsville, ON member at large) and the works of roughly 14 of Canada’s best Indigenous writers are collected in Bawaagigan: Stories of Power, available on November 1, 2019. Gord will give a reading at the Toronto book launch in early December.

 

In September, JF Garrard‘s (Toronto Branch) Dark Helix Press published their twelfth book, Immersion: An Asian Anthology of Love, Fantasy, and Speculative Fiction, which is Book 2 in the Ricepaper Magazine book series. Featuring 15 speculative fiction stories, characters include a lost samurai, shape shifters, hopping vampires to an unground society of janitors. http://www.darkhelixpress.com/acww/immersion/.

 

Ann Shortell (Toronto Branch) is a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards for her novel Celtic Knot: A Clara Swift Tale. The winners will be announced at the Whistler Writers Festival on October 18, 2019.

 

Sharon Frayne (Niagara Branch) was the Young Adult Novel Winner with Chain of Broken Hearts at the 2019 Muskoka Novel Marathon. This 72-hour write-a-thon raised funds for the Muskoka/Simcoe YMCA Adult Literacy Program. Sharon was also the 2019 Winner of the South Simcoe Arts Festival Short Story Award and was shortlisted for the 2019 Eden Mills Writers Festival. www.fraynesharon.com.

 

Elaine Cougler (Woodstock, ON member at large) is launching The Man Behind the Marathons: How Ron Calhoun Helped Terry Fox and Other Heroes Make Millions for Charity on Sept. 8, 2019 at Quality Hotel in Woodstock ON from 2–4 pm. Area book club members are invited to a special session with the author and the subject, Ron Calhoun, at 1:30 pm. The first launch was very well attended in London ON in June and the third launch will be in the Beaty Room at the Thamesford, ON Library on October 10, 6:30–8:30 pm. www.elainecougler.com and www.themanbehindthemarathons.com

 

Jean Kay (Metro Vancouver Branch) has had her story (shared at CanWrite! in Vancouver) published in the Coffee News.The weekly newspaper is published in 10 countries around the world. The story tells how one of Jean’s poems, which she gave as a gift thirty years ago, is taped to the owner’s mirror and read every day. The recipient is now 96. One never knows how our words can touch lives. https://poetrytoinspire.com

 

Dean Eilertson (Metro Vancouver Branch) has been announced as the finalist in the Fiction category in the 2019 Book Excellence Awards for his now Gold Seal adorned book Dreammaker.

 

In May, Jerena Tobiasen (Metro Vancouver Branch) published her second book The Emerald, which is Book II in The Prophecy saga.This is a story about a Roma family forced to flee Germany to avoid Hitler’s round-up of undesirables. Jerena’s first novel The Crest and this recent publication are both available on Amazon. http://jerenatobiasen.ca/

 

Carol L. MacKay (Metro Vancouver Branch) received word that her debut picture book, Lily in the Loft (YNWP, Regina), illustrated by Val Moker, was a finalist in the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Regional Fiction category. These awards honour small press and independently published books. Carol’s poems for children were published in the following magazines: “Ocean Surprises” in Pockets, June 2019; “In the Tulip Field” in Highlights, June 2019 and “Moving Day Villanelle” in Caterpillar (Ireland), Summer 2019. Her story, “Knock-Knock!” was published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Life Lessons from the Cat, May 2019. Carol lives in Qualicum Beach, BC. www.facebook.com/CarolMacKayAuthor

 

Dick Bourgeois-Doyle‘s (National Capital Region Branch) What’s So Funny? Lessons from Canada’s Leacock Medal for Humour Writing is being reprinted by Burnstown Publishing House. It is also available in digital format. Find out more at https://burnstownpublishing.com/product/whats-so-funny-lessons-from-canadas-leacock-medal-for-humour-writing/.