20 Canadian books we can't wait to read in November
A new month means new books! Here are the Canadian new releases in November we can't wait to check out.
Blackwater Falls by Ausma Zehanat Khan
Blackwater Falls is the first in a crime fiction series featuring detective Inaya Rahman. When girls from immigrant communities go missing in the American town of Blackwater Falls, Rahman must act to find justice before more go missing or are murdered. The book features themes of isolation, race and belonging as the search for the true culprit involves various twists and turns.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Ausma Zehanat Khan grew up in Toronto and now lives in Denver. She's a former adjunct law professor and former editor-in-chief of Muslim Girl magazine. She's the author of several crime fiction and fantasy novels. Her debut novel, The Unquiet Dead, won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel. Her subsequent mystery novels include The Language of Secrets, Among the Ruins and A Dangerous Crossing.
LISTEN | Ausma Zehanat Khan on breaking stereotypes in crime fiction:
Frequently Asked White Questions by Ajay Parasram and Alex Khasnabish
In Frequently Asked White Questions, doctors Alex Khasnabish and Ajay Parasram answer 10 questions they are often asked by white people trying to understand how race and racial privilege infiltrates everyday life. The authors offer thoughtful, accessible explanations to questions like, "Is it possible to be racist against white people?" or "Shouldn't everyone be treated equally?" This book is a guide for white people who are looking for answers and for racialized people who are tired of answering the same questions.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Khasnabish is a writer, researcher and professor in Halifax. He currently is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Parasram is professor in Halifax, where he teaches at Dalhousie University.
LISTEN | What are the regularly asked questions from white people about racism?
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
Known to the world as Chandler Bing from the beloved sitcom Friends, Matthew Perry reflects on his life, from his childhood in a less-than-perfect family to behind the scenes of the hit sitcom to his struggles with addiction and eventual recovery in his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Now, having found peace in his sobriety, Perry uses humour and heart to share stories about the lessons and people he's come across along the way, including a closer look at the real-life friendships he maintains with his Friends cast mates.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Perry is a Canadian American actor, executive producer and comedian. He is best known for playing Chandler Bing on the hit television sitcom Friends.
Ordinary Wonder Tales by Emily Urquhart
Ordinary Wonder Tales is an essay collection about finding magic in the everyday. Writing about everything from death and dying, pregnancy and prenatal genetics, psychics, chimeras, cottagers and plague, Emily Urquhart carves out the truth from our imaginations, combining her curiosities as a journalist and a folklorist.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Urquhart is a writer and folklorist currently living in Kitchener, Ont. She is also the author of Beyond the Pale and The Age of Creativity.
Where the Sea Kuniks the Land by Ashley Qilavaq-Savard
A "kunik" is a traditional Inuit greeting in which someone places their nose on the other's cheek and breathes them in. In Where the Sea Kuniks the Land , Inuk writer Ashley Qilavaq-Savard extends that gesture of love in a collection of poems that celebrates the Arctic landscape and people.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Ashley Qilavaq-Savard is an Inuk writer, artist and filmmaker born and raised in Iqaluit. She writes poetry about decolonizing narratives, healing from intergenerational trauma, and love of the land and culture. She has led acting and storytelling workshops for children and youth with the Qaggiavuut Performing Arts Society and the Labrador Creative Arts Festival.
Canticles III (MMXXII) by George Elliott Clarke
In 2008, George Elliott Clarke began to write Canticles, an epic poem addressing the Transatlantic slave trade and colonial conquest. In Canticles III (MMXXII), Clarke looks at the history of the African Baptist Association of Nova Scotia, concluding his epic in his own inimitable style.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Born and raised in Nova Scotia and now based in Toronto, poet and professor George Elliott Clarke is acclaimed for his narrative lyric suites (Whylah Falls and Execution Poems), his lyric "colouring books" (Blue, Black, Red and Gold), his selected poems (Blues and Bliss), his opera libretti and plays (Beatrice Chancy and Trudeau: Long March, Shining Path). He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and was the poet laureate of Toronto from 2012-2015, among many other honours.
Playing the Long Game by Christine Sinclair, with Stephen Brunt
In collaboration with the Canadian sportswriter Stephen Brunt who has followed her career for years, Olympic soccer gold-medallist Christine Sinclair provides an in-depth look into what led her to become the top international goal scorer of all time and one of Canada's greatest athletes. She tells the stories behind some of her brightest successes and heartbreaking failures. In Playing the Long Game, Sinclair shares the wisdom gleaned from a career spent changing the game of women's sport.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
An Olympic gold medallist, Sinclair is the long-time forward and captain of Canada's national soccer team and the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League. Born and raised in Burnaby, B.C., she now lives in Portland.
Stephen Brunt is a Canadian writer and broadcaster and the author of multiple books including Facing Ali, Searching for Bobby Orr and Gretzky's Tears.
WATCH | Christine Sinclair wins a lifetime achievement award:
A Train in the Night by Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny & Christian Quesnel, translated by W. Donald Wilson
A Train in the Night is the graphic novel adaptation of the Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny's nonfiction book Mégantic. The book tells the story of the 2013 summer night when a runaway train full of oil caused a massive explosion in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic. The disaster claimed 47 lives and is one of the deadliest railway accidents in Canadian history. A Train in the Night connects the dots from the scene of the accident to the corporations, investors and politicians that may have played a role in the tragedy.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Anne-Marie Saint-Cerny is a writer, activist and videographer based in Quebec. Her book Mégantic was shortlisted for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
Christian Quesnel is an author and graphic novel and children's book illustrator from Saint-Andre-Avellin, Que.
W. Donald Wilson is a translator from Waterloo, Ont.
LISTEN | Why the Lac Mégantic disaster was memorialized as a graphic novel:
Scales and Stardust by Meaghan McIsaac
Scales and Stardust is the latest book in The Bear House series. While the war in the medieval world of the Bear Highen has ended, the true test has just begun for 13-year old Aster who is now the High Queen. While peace now reigns in the land, political and personal challenges threaten to end her rule as the massive Hemoth Bear, symbol of the House of the Bear, is growing more powerful. When Aster meets a young girl living in a nest of wyverns, she must learn how to keep the peace while realizing her one true destiny.
Scales and Stardust is for ages 10 to 14.
When you can read it: Nov. 1, 2022
Meaghan McIsaac is a Toronto author. Her other books include Urgle, Underhand, The Boys of Fire and Ash and The Bear House.
Abolitionist Intimacies by El Jones
In Abolitionist Intimacies, El Jones analyzes the prison abolition movement through the Black feminist principles of care and collectivity. Jones explores how intimacy is controlled and policed in the prison system, such as through prison visits, strip searches and controlling connection to community. Examining these principles in the context of the history of Canadian prisons, settler colonialism and anti-Black racism, Jones argues that intimacy is vital to the movement for justice and liberation in the carceral state.
When you can read it: Nov. 2, 2022
Jones is a poet, journalist, professor and activist from Halifax. She is also a journalism instructor at the University of King's College and the fifth poet laureate of Halifax.
Even Though I Knew the End by C. L. Polk
Even Though I Knew the End revolves around a detective living in a Chicago filled with magic and monsters. The historical fantasy novel is about mystical powers, everlasting love and a chase for a vengeful serial killer.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
C.L. Polk is a fantasy writer from Calgary. Their other books include Witchmark, Stormsong and The Midnight Bargain. Witchmark, their debut novel, won the 2019 World Fantasy Award for best novel. It was also nominated for a Nebula Award, Locus Award, Aurora Award and a Lambda Literary Award. The Midnight Bargain was defended by Olympian and broadcaster Rosey Edeh on Canada Reads 2021.
This is it, Lark Harnish by Laura Best
This is it, Lark Harnish is a historical middle-grade novel about a plucky young teen starting a new life in 1919 Nova Scotia. Lark's father has died and due to economic constraints, she is forced to leave her mother and siblings to go work at the McMasters house. She arrives at an unhappy place of devastated adults, raising sad and lonely children. Lark is determined to bring laughter and hope into the lives of both families... but will she succeed? When Lark barrels in with her big personality, she disturbs a long-held silence in the McMasters house.
This is it, Lark Harnish is for ages 9 to 12.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
Laura Best is an author from Nova Scotia. Her books include the YA novels A Sure Cure for Witchcraft and Bitter, Sweet, which was shortlisted for the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People.
Night Lunch by Eric Fan, illustrated by Dena Seiferling
Night Lunch is a picture book set in a Victorian city at night under the watchful eye of the hungry Night Owl. As the animals and people set down to eat under the midnight sky, Mouse is wary. Owl has spotted Mouse... will he be next on the menu?
Night Lunch is for ages 4 to 8.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
Eric Fan is a writer and frequent collaborator with brother Terry Fan on children's books. Their books include The Night Gardener and Ocean Meets Sky. They also illustrated The Darkest Dark by astronaut and author Chris Hadfield.
Dena Seiferling is a Canadian illustrator of children's books and needle-felt artist based in Calgary.
The Opportunist by Elyse Friedman
The Opportunist is a novel about gender dynamics and power. When Alana Shropshire's father, Ed, starts dating a much younger woman, her family react with shock, dismay and a desire to protect their inheritance. When it's clear wedding bells are in the picture, a dangerous scheme is set in motion to retain control.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
Elyse Friedman is a Toronto-based author and screenwriter. Her work has been shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award, the Toronto Book Award, the ReLit Award and the Tom Hendry Award.
While You Sleep by Jennifer Maruno, illustrated by Miki Sato
The picture book While You Sleep features collage art and rhyming couplets to depict the world of dreams as little ones get ready for bed. The magical tale sees night-helper bunnies busy at work to help make bedtime a wonderful place to be.
While You Sleep is for ages 2 to 5.
When you can read it: Nov. 8, 2022
Jennifer Maruno is an educator and author. She is also the author of the novel When the Cherry Blossoms Fell.
Miki Sato is a Japanese Canadian illustrator originally from Ottawa. Her work has previously appeared in Today's Parent, Reader's Digest and The Walrus.
Cyclettes by Tree Abraham
Interspersed with drawings, maps, diagrams and scientific charts, Cyclettes probes the millennial experience, asking what it means to live a meaningful life, especially amid economic and environmental uncertainty. Both a travelogue and a book of philosophical introspection, the multidisciplinary work asks big questions in a bid to understand our place in the world.
When you can read it: Nov. 10, 2022
Tree Abraham is a book designer, illustrator and writer.
The Mother of All Degrassi by Linda Schuyler
The co-creator and executive producer of the long-running television series Degrassi, Linda Schuyler shares her personal stories about what it took to make it as a woman entrepreneur in the independent Canadian television industry of the early 1980s in her memoir The Mother of All Degrassi. Through sharing stories, insights and some behind-the-scenes memories from the Degrassi set, Linda reflects on the lessons she learned along the way.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2022
Linda Schuyler is the executive producer and co-creator of over 500 episodes of the multi-award-winning Degrassi television franchise. Linda is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. She lives in Toronto.
LISTEN | The Degrassi creator on what makes good TV:
Kwändǖr by Cole Pauls
Kwändǖr collects Cole Pauls's work from comic festivals, magazines and zine-making workshops. The comics covers topics like racism, family and identity, and features Yukon history and Southern Tutchone cultural practices and language lessons.
When you can read it: Nov. 15, 2022
Cole Pauls is a Tahltan comic artist. He created his first comic, Dakwäkãda Warriors, as a language-revival initiative. In 2017, it won Broken Pencil magazine's awards for best comic and best zine of the year. In 2020, it won best work in an Indigenous language from the Indigenous Voices Awards. He is also the author of the graphic novel Pizza Punks.
WATCH | Cole Pauls on making Indigenous comics:
Men I Trust by Tommi Parrish
When Sasha, a 20-something who just moved back in with her parents and is searching for direction, meets Eliza, a struggling poet and single mother in her 30s, the two strike up an unlikely friendship in Men I Trust. Their relationship evolves into something more in this story about looking for intimacy in a world that feels increasingly disconnected.
When you can read it: Nov. 22, 2022
Tommi Parrish is a cartoonist and painter based in Montreal. Their debut graphic novel, The Lie and How We Told It, won the 2019 Lambda Literary Award for best LGBTQ graphic novel.
A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny
A World of Curiosities is Louise Penny's 18th book in the Armand Gamache series, which takes place in a warm, eccentric, tight-knit community known as Three Pines. This time out, Inspector Gamache gets caught up in a story involving two young siblings who have appeared in the village. The pair were young when their troubled mother was murdered, leaving them damaged. Gamache must uncover why they have arrived in town — before it's too late.
When you can read it: Nov. 29, 2022
Louise Penny, a former CBC broadcaster and journalist, is the award-winning author of the Inspector Armand Gamache mysteries.
Corrections
- This post has been updated to reflect that the release date for Fourteen Days, edited by Margaret Atwood has been moved to May 2023.Nov 02, 2022 4:01 PM ET
