46 works of Canadian nonfiction to read in fall 2023
Check out the great Canadian memoirs, biographies, sports books and more coming out in in fall we are excited to read.
Stolen Family by Johanne Durocher, translated by JC Sutcliffe
Johanne Durocher has been fighting since 2005 to free her daughter and grandchildren from an abusive marriage in Saudi Arabia. Stolen Family details her struggle to bring her family back to Canada.
When you can read it: Aug. 1, 2023
Durocher grew up in Montreal's South Shore. The fight to liberate Nathalie, Samir, Abdullah, Sarah and Fowaz has been at the heart of her life.
JC Sutcliffe is a writer, translator and editor who has lived in England, France and Canada. She has reviewed books for the Times Literary Supplement, the Globe and Mail and the National Post.
Like Every Form of Love by Padma Viswanathan
A few years ago, Padma Viswanathan met a man named Philip, and they quickly struck up a friendship. When he told her stories about his family, she realized there was material for a book, but when digging into the hidden truths about these larger-than-life characters, Viswanathan had to face the fact that telling their story meant losing her friend. Like Every Form of Love is a memoir about the journey the author went on with writing her book.
When you can read it: Aug. 22, 2023
Viswanathan is a writer originally from Edmonton who now divides her time between Montreal and Fayetteville, Arkansas. She is also the author of the novels The Ever After of Ashwin Rao and The Toss of a Lemon. The Ever After of Ashwin Rao was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. She is currently a professor at the University of Arkansas, where she teaches fiction.
It Stops Here by Rueben George, with Michael Simpson
It Stops Here: Standing Up for Our Lands, Our Waters, and Our People is part memoir, part call-to-action. It recounts the stance taken against the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion from the perspective of Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation who has devoted years to fighting this project.
When you can read it: Aug. 29, 2023
George is Sundance Chief and a member of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN). He is the manager of TWN's Sacred Trust initiative to protect the unceded Tsleil-Waututh lands and waters from the proposed Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion.
Michael Simpson is a writer whose work focuses on settler colonialism and conflicts over oil and gas pipelines in Canada.
Becoming a Matriarch by Helen Knott
Becoming a Matriarch is a memoir that delves into Helen Knott's experience after losing both her mother and grandmother in just over six months. It spans themes of mourning, sobriety through loss, and generational dreaming and explores what it truly means to be a matriarch.
When you can read it: Aug. 29, 2023
Knott is a Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw, Métis and mixed Euro-descent writer from Prophet River First Nations. She is a 2019 RBC Taylor Prize Emerging author. She is also the author of the memoir In My Own Moccasins, which won the Saskatchewan Book Award for Indigenous Peoples' Publishing.
Terry & Me by Bill Vigars, with Ian Harvey
Terry Fox had established the Marathon of Hope at the age of 22 in 1980 to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. Although he had to stop in Thunder Bay when his cancer spread to his lungs, Fox successfully raised over $24 million dollars. In Terry & Me, Bill Vigars recounts his experience of working with Terry Fox as the person responsible for supporting the Marathon of Hope on behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society, giving us a fresh portrait of the remarkable Canadian hero.
When you can read it: Aug. 29, 2023
Vigars had served as the Director of Public Relations and Fundraising for Ontario's Canadian Cancer Society division.
The Definition of Beautiful by Charlotte Bellows
In The Definition of Beautiful, Charlotte Bellows writes her own coming-of-age story. Between the ages of 15 and 17, she had to recover from an eating disorder, and explores this journey along with all the consequences it had brought into her life, during a global pandemic.
When you can read it: Sept. 1, 2023
Bellows is a high school student in Calgary. The Definition of Beautiful is her first book.
The Age of Insecurity by Astra Taylor
Writer and filmmaker Astra Taylor delivers the 2023 Massey Lectures in The Age of Insecurity. She explores the pervasive insecurity in our current reality and how the institutions that promise to make us more secure actually contribute to this feeling. Throughout the book, Taylor argues that embracing this vulnerability is the key to more caring, sustainable notions of security.
When you can read it: Sept. 5, 2023
Taylor is a writer, filmmaker and political organizer who was born in Winnipeg and currently lives in New York. Her other books include The People's Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age and Remake the World: Essays, Reflections, Rebellions.
To Change the World by Chandrakant P. Shah
Dr. Chandrakant P. Shah's memoir To Change the World: My Work With Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Canada is about a young Indian doctor who arrives in Vancouver in 1965 and must overcome all the obstacles due to the racism he faces daily. After moving to Toronto a decade later, he begins volunteering his services in Indigenous communities where he soon realizes how little he knew after all.
When you can read it: Sept. 6, 2023
Shah is a professor at the University of Toronto, a retired physician, a public health practitioner and an advocate for ameliorating the medical systems in place in marginalized Canadian communities. He also wrote the textbook Shah's Public Health and Preventive Health Care in Canada.
Skid Dogs by Emelia Symington-Fedy
Skid Dogs is a first-hand account of what it was like being an unsupervised and wild girl in a small town in the 1990s. Emelia Symington-Fedy recalls her teenage years after coming home two decades later and following the murder of an 18-year-old girl on the same tracks that she used to hang out at as a kid.
When you can read it: Sept. 9, 2023
Symington-Fedy is an essayist, storyteller and documentary producer. She is the creator of the blog and radio show that became an audiobook, Trying to Be Good: The Healing Powers of Lying, Cheating, Stealing, and Drugs. She grew up in Armstrong, B.C. and currently lives in Shuswap, B.C.
Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons by Charlotte Gray
Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons, is a dual biography of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt, the mothers of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The book looks at the lives of these two women in the mid-19th century and the essential role they played in shaping their influential sons.
When you can read it: Sept. 12, 2023
Charlotte Gray is a noted historian and a member of the Order of Canada. She has written nearly a dozen books on Canadian history, covering everything from the Massey Murder to the Klondike Gold Rush. Her books include The Massey Murder, which won the Toronto Book Award and the Toronto Heritage Book Award, The Promise of Canada, Gold Diggers and Murdered Midas.
Races by Valerie Jerome
The Jerome family have an historic record in Canadian sports with the grandfather being the country's first Black Olympian and siblings Harry and Valerie also competing and setting world records in the 1960s. In the book Races, Valerie Jerome details those heroic moments for her family and the nation, that came alongside the racism they simultaneously had to face.
When you can read it: Sept. 12, 2023
Valerie Jerome is the granddaughter of Canada's first Black Olympian John "Army" Howard and a Canadian Olympian herself. She has previously represented the Green Party of British Columbia and her work in conservation garnered her a 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal and a City of Vancouver Heritage Award.
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
In Doppelganger, Naomi Klein explores the concept of Mirror World. This includes the presence of far right movements and how they attempt to appeal to the working class, anti-vaxxers, implications of artificial intelligence in content curation and the additional identities that we create on social media. Through referencing thinkers such as Sigmund Freud and bell hooks, Klein also connects to greater social themes to share how one can break free from the Mirror World.
When you can read it: Sept. 12, 2023
Klein is a Montreal-born journalist, bestselling author, political thinker and advocate regarding climate change and the ills of corporate globalization. She is associate professor in geography at the University of British Columbia, and the author of This Changes Everything, The Shock Doctrine, No Logo, No Is Not Enough and On Fire.
Notes on a Writer's Life by David Adams Richards
Notes on a Writer's Life follows the determination of author David Adams Richards to continue writing against all odds. It starts at the beginning and chronicles more than 50 years of writing, relationships with other writers and common themes in his work such as the nature of violence and the inherent qualities of both suffering and joy.
When you can read it: Sept. 15, 2023
Richards is a novelist, screenwriter, essayist, poet, senator and member of the Order of Canada. He has won numerous awards for his writing, including the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language fiction for Nights Below Station Street in 1988, the Scotiabank Giller Prize for Mercy Among the Children and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book for The Friends of Meagre Fortune.
LISTEN | David Adams Richards talks about The Tragedy of Eva Mott:
The Lost Supper by Taras Grescoe
In The Lost Supper, journalist Taras Grescoe delves into ancient cuisine from all around the world to show that the answers to sustainable eating could lie in reviving the foods of the past.
When you can read it: Sept. 19, 2023
Grescoe is a Montreal-based author and journalist. Grescoe won the Mavis Gallant Prize for Nonfiction for Possess the Air: Love, Heroism, and the Battle for the Soul of Mussolini's Rome. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian and National Geographic.
When My Ghost Sings by Tara Sidhoo Fraser
In When My Ghost Sings: A Memoir of Stroke, Recovery, and Transformation, Tara Sidhoo Fraser details how a stroke left her with amnesia and how, when her memories started coming back, she didn't always recognize the person who she used to be. She names that other version of her, Ghost, and in letting Ghost take up more space in her life, she eventually has to reclaim her sense of self.
When you can read it: Sept. 19, 2023
Tara Sidhoo Fraser is a writer from Vancouver. Her work has been published in Autostraddle and Anathema magazine. When My Ghost Sings is her first book.
My Body is Distant by Paige Maylott
Paige Maylott was living a double life: her real one and her virtual one. Eventually, a cancer diagnosis, divorce and humiliation at work push her to transition and she can finally become her authentic self. She shares this journey in her memoir My Body is Distant.
When you can read it: Sept. 19, 2023
Maylott is a Hamilton-based writer and gamer. She won the 2021 Hamilton Arts & Letters Award for creative non-fiction and a 2022 Canada Council for the Arts grant.
Where the World Was by Rosemary Sullivan
In the essay collection Where the World Was, writer Rosemary Sullivan explores the fascinating life she has led as a writer, activist and world traveller.
When you can read it: Sept. 19, 2023
Sullivan is a poet and biographer. She created literary portraits of Elizabeth Smart, Gwendolyn MacEwen, Margaret Atwood and Joseph Stalin's daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva. She was the 1995 recipient of the Governor General's Literary Award for English-language nonfiction and the winner of the 2015 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction. In 2012, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.
One Sunny Afternoon by Rowan Jetté Knox
One Sunny Afternoon is a memoir about facing one's trauma head on. Rowan Jetté Knox's writes about his recovery from the violent events that have haunted him for years, but it's also a story of resilience and hope for the future.
When you can read it: Sept. 22, 2023
Rowan Jetté Knox is a Toronto-based journalist, writer and human rights advocate. He is also the author of the memoir Love Lives Here: A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family.
Cracking the Nazi Code by Jason Bell
Dr. Winthrop Bell, also known as MI6 Agent A12, was integral to winning the fight against the Nazis. The professor and businessman from Halifax courageously gathered information that proved invaluable in warning the allies of Hitler's secret plan of putting in place the Holocaust. Jason Bell, based on recently declassified documents, details the exploits of Agent A12 in the book Cracking the Nazi Code.
When you can read it: Sept. 26, 2023
Bell is a professor of philosophy at the University of New Brunswick.
My Name is Not Harry by Haroon Siddiqui
In My Name is Not Harry, Harron Siddiqui shares his experiences within the media as a brown and Muslim reporter, especially following the events on 9/11 and how Islamophobia grew both in his native India and North America. Siddiqui compares his native and adopted lands and shows how thing can go wrong, but can also be made right.
When you can read it: Sept. 26, 2023
Siddiqui is editorial page editor emeritus of the Toronto Star, a senior fellow at Massey College and a member of the Order of Canada.
Tika the Iggy by Tika the Iggy
Tika the Iggy is a guide to living your best dog life, based on the fabulous life of Tika the Italian Greyhound from Montreal. The book features many images of Tika in fabulous outfits of course, but also travelling the world and even being an activist.
When you can read it: Sept. 28, 2023
Tika is an Italian Greyhound from Montreal who rose to social media fame for her phenomenal outfits. Her first book, Tika the Iggy and Her Fashion Tour, was published in 2021.
Shifting Gears by Meaghan Marie Hackinen
Shifting Gears: Coast to Coast on the Trans Am Bike Race is the follow-up to Meaghan Marie Hackinen's South Away debut book. This latest book charts her coast-to-coast ride from Oregon to Virginia in 25 days and gives a unique glimpse into the world of athletes and how driven they can be.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2023
Hackinen is a writer and cyclist from Vancouver. Her other book, South Away was published in 2019.
My Life in Propaganda by Magda Stroińska
My Life in Propaganda: Personal Stories about Language and Totalitarian Regimes is Magda Stroińska 's personal account of growing up in Eastern Europe and being raised in communist propaganda. She then observes the ramifications of being exposed to the propaganda during her formative years and how that shaped her entire generation's view of the world. The book is a reminder that societies can be easily influenced and that democracy should never be taken for granted.
When you can read it: Oct. 1, 2023
Stroińska is a professor of linguistics and German at McMaster University.
Instead by Maria Coffey
In the memoir Instead: Navigating the Adventures of a Childfree Life, Maria Coffey writes about her decision to not have children, and the implications of this choice. With her husband Dag, who wants children, they navigate and explore walking an unconventional path together, their shared interest in traveling and being open to experiencing the unexpected.
When you can read it: Oct. 3, 2023
Maria Coffey is the author of 12 books, including Explorers of the Infinite, Fragile Edge: Loss on Everest and Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow. In 2009, she received the American Alpine Club H. Adams Carter Literary Award which recognizes excellence in alpine literature.
The Future of Us by Jay Ingram
In The Future of Us, author and broadcaster Jay Ingram explores the future of technology and how it will influence our civilization. The book also looks at the impact of the developments in science and technology and how powerful they can be. Ingram explains how they have the potential to revolutionize every aspect of our lives, but also how they will complicate questions of ethics and social equity.
When you can read it: Oct. 3, 2023
Ingram is the Calgary-based former host of CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks. He is the author of 19 books, including the five-volume The Science of Why series. Ingram is the cofounder of the arts and engineering street festival called Beakerhead in Calgary and a Member of the Order of Canada.
Lifeline by Stephanie Kain
In the memoir Lifeline: An Elegy, Stephanie Kain recounts her experience of taking care of a loved one who is diagnosed with suicidal depression. Through using a mix of literary genre forms such as personal essays, poetry and stream-of-consciousness, she recounts all that is a part of this complex relationship — the emotions of love and pain.
When you can read it: October 3, 2023
Stephanie Kain is a writer who lives in Ottawa and P.E.I. She teaches creative writing at the University of Ottawa.
Where the Falcon Flies by Adam Shoalts
In Where the Falcon Flies, explorer Adam Schoalt writes about five Canadian ecoregions and centuries of history through following the peregrine falcon's 3, 400-kilometre long migration from southern Canada to the Arctic. He explores the importance of the connections between the wilderness and urban parks.
When you can read it: October 3, 2023
Shoalts is a writer, historian, archaeologist and geographer. He is the author of Alone Against the North, Beyond the Trees, The Whisper on the Night Wind and A History of Canada in Ten Maps. In 2018, he was the Royal Canadian Geographical Society's Explorer-in-Residence.
Sharp Notions, edited by Marita Dachsel and Nancy Lee
Sharp Notions: Essays from the Stitching Life, is a collection of essays that explores writers and artists' complex relationships to fibre arts. Along with colour photographs, the essays, showcasing Black, Indigenous, South-Asian, Chinese and queer artists, challenge the traditional view of crafting and shed light on the role and necessity of craft in our contemporary lives.
When you can read it: Oct. 10, 2023
Marita Dachsel is the author of the poetry collections There Are Not Enough Sad Songs, Glossolalia and All Things Said & Done, and the play Initiation Trilogy. She is an assistant teaching professor in the Writing Department at the University of Victoria.
Nancy Lee is the author of two works of fiction, Dead Girls and The Age, and a poetry collection, What Hurts Going Down. She is an associate professor at the University of British Columbia School of Creative Writing and co-creator of the internationally acclaimed EdX education series, How to Write a Novel. She lives in Vancouver.
Take Your Baby and Run by Carol Youngson
In Take Your Baby and Run, Carol Youngson shares the tragic story of 12 children who died in a Winnipeg hospital under the care of Dr. Jonah Odim due to ineptitude and misogynistic behaviour. As the nurse in charge of the cardiac unit, Youngson explains what led to the tragedy and connects it to present-day healthcare issues.
When you can read it: Oct. 10, 2023
Youngson lives in Winnipeg, and is a retired registered nurse who also worked for the Manitoba Department of Justice for the office of the chief medical examiner as an investigator. Take Your Baby and Run is her first book.
Landbridge by Y-Dang Troeung
In her memoir Landbridge: Life in Fragments, Y-Dang Troeung wrote about the transactional relationship host countries have with the refugees they admit. Troeung herself was only one-year-old when she came to Canada from Cambodia fleeing Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge regime. The book also explores the complex ethnic, regional and national identities of family legacies and how they are passed down to the next generation.
When you can read it: Oct. 12, 2023
Troeung was a researcher, writer and assistant professor of English at the University of British Columbia. Her first book, Refugee Lifeworlds: The Afterlife of the Cold War in Cambodia, explored the enduring impact of war, genocide and displacement. She died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 42 in 2022.
Funny You Should Say That by Gerry Dee
In the essay collection Funny You Should Say That, comedian Gerry Dee shares the funniest stories from his life and career. From being a kid in suburban Toronto, to becoming a father, to starring in a TV show and touring comedy clubs, Dee takes us behind the scenes of all these defining moments in his life. He also shares his lifelong affliction with hypochondria, but always infused with his trademark sense of humour.
When you can read it: Oct. 17, 2023
Dee is an actor and comedian who grew up in Scarborough, Ont. His CBC television show, Mr. D, ran for eight seasons and Dee now hosts CBC's Family Feud Canada and stars in the FOX comedy Animal Control.
Ignite by Andre De Grasse
Ignite: Unlock the Hidden Potential Within is a book about Andre De Grasse's journey to becoming the most decorated male summer Olympian in Canadian history. It tells De Grasse's story while sharing the lessons he has learned about achieving success and finding happiness along the way.
When you can read it: Oct. 17, 2023
De Grasse is a six-time Olympic medallist and World champion sprinter, and the founder of the Andre De Grasse Family Foundation. He is also the author of the picture book Race with Me!.
The Class by Ken Dryden
In The Class: A Memoir of a Place, a Time, and Us, Ken Dryden revisits old classmates with whom he shared his high school years. They were 35 students and they became known as the "Selected Class" at Etobicoke Collegiate Institute in the 1960s, where they'd spend over 200 days together each year. Nearly 60 years later, Dryden started wondering where they were and more importantly how they were and what they were doing. The book retells the conversations he had with them when he found most of his former classmates.
When you can read it: Oct. 17, 2023
Dryden was a goalie for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s, during which time the team won six Stanley Cups. He has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. His other books include The Game, The Series, Home Game and Game Change.
Accidental Blooms by Keiko Honda
In Accidental Blooms, Keiko Honda shares how she had to give up her career as a scientist due to a rare autoimmune disease that left her suddenly paralyzed from the chest down. She had to find a new way to live her life and so she moved from New York City to Vancouver and became an artist dedicated to her community, her friends and her daughter. The book also explores her process of self-discovery as a mother, Japanese immigrant, artist and survivor of a tragedy.
When you can read it: Oct. 20, 2023
Honda is a Vancouver-based scientist, writer, community organizer and painter. She holds a PhD in international community health from New York University and is the founder of the Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society. Honda teaches the aesthetics of co-creation in the Liberal Arts and 55+ Program at Simon Fraser University.
Curious Sounds by Roger Mooking & francesca ekwuyasi
Curious Sounds is a multimedia work that examines how time shapes and defines the world, especially from a Black perspective. Comprising three parts, which mirror the arc of a life — the Learning, the Living and the Leaving — the book features visual art and microstories created by Roger Mooking and essays penned by francesca ekwuyasi. The pieces are inspired by the fact that the average attention span lasts 8.25 seconds.
When you can read it: Oct. 24, 2023
Mooking is a chef, restaurateur, television host, author and recording artist. He has earned an international reputation as a chef and entertainer by showcasing his globally inspired vision. Mooking is best known as the host of the grilling and barbecue show Man Fire Food on Food Network Canada and Cooking Channel. In 2021, Mooking championed ekwuyasi's novel Butter Honey Pig Bread on Canada Reads.
ekwuyasi is a writer, artist and filmmaker. She was born in Lagos and currently is based in Halifax. Her debut novel, Butter Honey Pig Bread, was also longlisted for the 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize, was a finalist for the 2021 Lambda Literary Awards and was shortlisted for the 2021 Amazon Canada First Novel Award.
Girls, Interrupted by Lisa Whittington-Hill
Lisa Whittington-Hill's collection of essays explores pop culture's treatment of women and how it's marked by misogyny and misunderstanding. Girls, Interrupted: How Pop Culture is Failing Women explores how mainstream media constantly fails women and what we can do to fix it.
When you can read it: Oct. 26, 2023
Whittington-Hill is a Toronto-based writer. She is the publisher of This Magazine and a teacher at Centennial College.
Real Enough by Aaron Chapman & Simon Kendall
Real Enough: The Unlikely Story of Doug & the Slugs is a celebration of Canadian band Doug & the Slugs featuring their music, memories, friendships with their ups and downs between musicians playing together for a lifetime. The book features never before seen photos, posters, personal diaries and Slugs music ephemera.
When you can read it: Oct. 30, 2023
Chapman is a Vancouver-based writer, historian and musician with a special interest in Vancouver's entertainment history. He is also the author of Vancouver after Dark: The Wild History of a City's Nightlife and Live at the Commodore: The Story of Vancouver's Historic Commodore Ballroom that won the Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award in 2015.
Simon Kendall was born in Ireland and moved to Vancouver with his family at the age of six. In 1978, Kendall joined indie band Doug and the Slugs. He was the band's music director and keyboardist for 15 years.
By the Ghost Light by R.H. Thomson
By the Ghost Light is a personal look at the wonder of youth, the power of art and how the First and Second World Wars forever changed his family. In By the Ghost Light, Thomson explores a childhood playing toy soldiers on the carpet of his grandmother's house and being enamoured by romantic notions of war.
When you can read it: Oct. 31, 2023
R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film and stage actor. By the Ghost Light is his debut book.
Beryl by Dustin Galer
In Beryl: The Making of a Disability Activist, Dustin Galer shares the biography of disability activist Beryl Potter. Following an accident that led to Potter becoming disabled, she chose to devote her life to advocating for other people with disabilities, and bettering their lives. Galer details the contributions that Potter made, and the obstacles she faced and overcame in her devotion to disability justice.
When you can read it: Nov. 7, 2023
Galer is a Toronto-based historian and writes about disability history and labour. He is also the author of Working Towards Equity, which details the history of the Canadian disability rights movement.
The Road Years by Rick Mercer
The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued... is the sequel to Rick Mercer's memoir Talking to Canadians. This new book tells the story of the success of The Rick Mercer Report and all the great encounters and other adventures that making the show allowed Rick Mercer to experience. It's a celebration of happy moments told in Mercer's trademark positivism and humour.
When you can read it: Nov. 7, 2023
Mercer rose to fame starring on CBC's long-running series This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He was also the host of The Rick Mercer Report for 15 seasons. His newest project is the TV show Comedy Night with Rick Mercer, which is now available on CBC Gem. His previous memoir is Talking to Canadians.
On Community by Casey Plett
Casey Plett writes about the implications of community as a word, an idea and a symbol in the book-length essay On Community. Plett uses her firsthand experiences to eventually reach a cumulative definition of community and explore how we form bonds with one another.
When you can read it: Nov. 7, 2023
Plett is the author of A Dream of a Woman, Little Fish, A Safe Girl to Love. She is a winner of the Amazon First Novel Award, the Firecracker Award for Fiction and a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Her work has also been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize. Plett splits her time between New York City and Windsor, Ont.
The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle by Kent Monkman & Gisèle Gordon
Split into two volumes, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island combines history, fiction and memoir to tell the story of Turtle Island from creation to present day. It is narrated by Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a recurring character or alter-ego that is often featured in Kent Monkman's art.
When you can read it: Nov. 7, 2023
Monkman is an interdisciplinary Cree visual artist and a member of the Fisher River Cree Nation in Treaty 5 Territory. He is known for his work that challenges colonial perceptions of Indigenous people and history, and his works have been included in galleries such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Denver Art Museum, and the National Gallery of Canada.
Gisèle Gordon is a Toronto-based media artist and writer. Her other projects include the documentary The Tunguska Project, the video installations Crosscurrent and The Land that Dreams, a projection and performance piece.
Imagining Imagining by Gary Barwin
In this collection of essays, Imagining Imagining, writer and poet Gary Barwin thinks about big ideas: story, identity, art, death, how we communicate, why we dream. Barwin shares the thoughts that keep him up at night, but also the ideas that inspire his work.
When you can read it: Nov. 14, 2023
Gary Barwin is a writer, composer, visual and multidisciplinary artist and the author of more than two dozen books of poetry, fiction and books for children. He lives in Hamilton, Ont. His novel Yiddish for Pirates won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour and was also a finalist for both the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize. In 2017, he published the poetry collection No TV for Woodpeckers and in 2022, another collection The Most Charming Creatures.
My Effin' Life by Geddy Lee
My Effin' Life is the long-awaited memoir from Rush bassist Geddy Lee. He writes candidly about his childhood, the history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Canadian band Rush and their success after some struggles early on, as well as intimate stories about his friends and bandmates Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart.
When you can read it: Nov. 14, 2023
Lee is the vocalist, bassist, and keyboard player for the group Rush, with drummer Neil Peart and guitarist Alex Lifeson. Lee was ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the top bassists of all-time. Lee is also the author of the best-selling Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass.
How Canada Works by Peter Mansbridge & Mark Bulgutch
How Canada Works is a collection of personal stories that shine a light on the everyday jobs — and the people who perform them — that keep Canada running. CBC News' former chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge and his long-time producer and collaborator Mark Bulgutch write about workers across Canada who make a difference with what they do and most importantly, who make our country better by doing their jobs with empathy and kindness.
When you can read it: Nov. 14, 2023
Mansbridge is the former chief correspondent for CBC News, anchor of The National, where he worked for 30 years and host of Mansbridge One on One. He is the author of the Peter Mansbridge One on One: Favourite Conversations and the Stories Behind Them and the memoir Off the Record. He is also the co-author of Extraordinary Canadians: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation.
Bulgutch is a journalist, educator, speaker and the author of Extraordinary Canadians and three other books. He worked for CBC for 40 years.
Sleep is Now a Foreign Country by Mike Barnes
In his memoir Sleep is Now a Foreign Country, Mike Barnes shares the story of experiencing madness during his early twenties in 1977. The poet shares the impact that this time had on him, and what had led him to it.
When you can read it: Nov. 14, 2023
Barnes is a Toronto-based poet, novelist and author of eleven books, including Be With: Letters to a Caregiver, a book that features four empathic dispatches intended for an anonymous long-term caregiver.
Corrections
- A previous version of the article stated that Terry Fox died in Thunder Bay. He died in New Westminister, B.C.Sep 12, 2023 9:16 AM ET
- A previous version of this article stated that writer Emelia Symington-Fedy currently lived in Armstrong B.C. She currently lives in Shuswap, B.C.Aug 24, 2023 4:03 PM ET
- A previous version of this story credited the title Skid Dogs to the publisher Greystone Books. The correct publisher is Douglas & McIntyre.Aug 24, 2023 4:02 PM ET
