52 works of Canadian fiction coming out in spring 2024
Check out these Canadian novels and short story collections coming out in spring 2024.
Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke
In the novel Broughtupsy, the death of her brother brings Akúa home to Jamaica after a decade. There, she struggles to reconnect with her estranged sister while they spread his ashes and revisit landmarks of their shared childhood. A chance meeting with a stripper named Jayda forces Akúa to reckon with her queerness, her homeland, her family and herself over two life-changing weeks.
Broughtupsy is out now.
Christina Cooke is a Jamaican Canadian writer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in publications such as The Caribbean Writer, Prairie Schooner and Epiphany: A Literary Journal. She has won the Writers' Trust M&S Journey Prize and Glenna Luschei Prairie Schooner Award. Broughtupsy is her debut novel.
Naniki by Oonya Kempadoo
The novel Naniki, or active spirits, allow shape-shifting sea beings Amana and Skelele to travel the Caribbean towards a strange, dreamed future. Devastation sends the pair back through time in this historical, magical realist novel in order to save their islands, seas and each other.
Naniki is out now.
Oonya Kempadoo is a Grenadian English Guyanese author who lives in Montreal.
We Rip the World Apart by Charlene Carr
Following the multi-generational women of a Canadian Jamaican family, We Rip the World Apart is told across several timelines. In the past, Evelyn and her husband flee Jamaica to Canada with their first-born son Anthony. Years later, after Anthony's murder, his grandmother arrives to help Evelyn's family with their grief and connect the youngest, Kareela, with her Jamaican heritage. Present day finds Kareela at 24, unsure of an unplanned pregnancy and grappling with the struggles of her own racialized identity alongside the secrets her family has carried in silence for so long.
We Rip the World Apart is out now.
Charlene Carr is a Toronto-raised writer and author based in Nova Scotia whose work explores truth in fiction. She is also the author of the novel Hold My Girl. Carr was named one of CBC Books' writers to watch in 2023.
The Bezzle by Cory Doctorow
The sequel to Red Team Blues continues the adventures of forensic accountant Martin Hench in The Bezzle as he navigates the long guerilla war between those who want to hide and find money. During a vacation on Catalina Island, Martin accidentally disrupts an on-going scheme and finds himself caught between the ultra-wealthy and California's Department of Corrections, with hundreds of thousands of prisoners caught in the middle.
The Bezzle is out now.
Cory Doctorow is a Toronto-born author, activist and journalist living in Los Angeles. His work, spanning non-fiction and fiction, adult, YA and childhood audiences, has seen him inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and earned him the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Award for lifetime achievement. His book Radicalized was a Canada Reads 2020 contender, when it was defended by Akil Augustine
Pale Shadows by Dominique Fortier, translated by Rhonda Mullins
Pale Shadows tells the story of three important women in Emily Dickinson's life: her sister, her brother's wife and her brother's mistress, who come together after Emily's death. With nothing but the poet's scribbled scraps of paper, Lavinia, Mabel and Susan work through their grief and anger to create a life-changing book.
Pale Shadows is out now.
Dominique Fortier is an editor and translator from Outremont, Que. Her other books translated into English include On the Proper Use of Stars, Wonder, The Island of Books and Paper Houses. Fortier's first novel, Du bon usage des étoiles was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award and the Prix des Libraires du Quebec. Her novel Au peril de la mer won the Governor General's Literary Award for French fiction.
Rhonda Mullins is a translator based in Montreal. Her previous works include And Miles To Go Before I Sleep, The Laws of the Skies and Suzanne. A seven-time finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for translation, Mullins won in 2015 for her translation of Jocelyne Saucier's Twenty-One Cardinals. Her translation of And the Birds Rained Down by Saucier was a Canada Reads contender in 2015, when it was championed by Martha Wainwright.
A Meditation on Murder by Susan Juby
In the sequel to Mindful of Murder, we rejoin Buddhist butler Helen Thorpe in a A Meditation on Murder as she's tasked to help an influencer, Cartier Hightower, re-examine and rebrand her life. Unfortunately, the plan is quickly derailed by a series of strange accidents that befall Cartier's fellow content creators. Soon their ranch retreat is overrun with influencer friends and crashed by a murderer.
A Meditation on Murder is out now.
Susan Juby is an author from Vancouver Island whose book Mindful of Murder was nominated for the Leacock Medal for Humour. Her previous books include Getting the Girl, Another Kind of Cowboy and the Alice MacLeod series. Her novel Republic of Dirt won the 2016 Leacock Medal in 2016. She lives on the island with her husband and two dogs.
Aftershock by Zhang Ling, translated by Shelly Bryant
In the aftermath of an earthquake that ruptures the city of Tangshan, China, seven-year-old Xiaodeng is separated from her family through her mother's agonizing, split-second decision. Three decades later, Aftershock finds Xiaodeng in Canada, now an acclaimed writer, still struggling with her childhood wounds. Her only recourse from a breaking point is to return to her home, find her mother and try to heal together.
Aftershock is out now.
Born in China, Zhang Ling moved to Canada in 1986 and began to write in the mid 1990s. Zhang's works include A Single Swallow, which was translated by Shelly Bryant, Where Waters Meet, her first novel written in English and Gold Mountain Blues. Zhang has won the Chinese Media Literature Award for Author of the Year, the Grand Prize of Overseas Chinese Literary Award and Chinese Times's Open Book Award.
Shelly Bryant is a poet, writer and translator. She has translated Chinese text for publishers such as Penguin Books and organizations including the National Library Board in Singapore and the Human Sciences Research Council. Her translation of Sheng Keyi's Northern Girls was on the long list for the Man Asian Literary Prize in 2012, and her translation of You Jin's In Time, Out of Place was shortlisted for the Singapore Literature Prize in 2016.
Followed by the Lark by Helen Humphreys
Followed by the Lark was inspired by poet and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau's own journals and writing. Crafted as a series of short vignettes, the novel examines Thoreau's connections to nature and its intimate ties with grief and loss throughout his life.
Followed by the Lark is out now.
Helen Humphreys is an author of fiction, non-fiction and poetry from Kingston, Ont. Her 2015 novel, The Evening Chorus, was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award. Her memoir, Nocturne, was a finalist for the Trillium Book Award. Previous novels include Coventry, a finalist for the Trillium Book Award; Afterimage, which won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize; Leaving Earth, which won the Toronto Book Award; and The Lost Garden, which was a Canada Reads selection in 2003, when it was defended by Mag Ruffman.
The Catch by Amy Lea
American influencer Melanie and burly Canadian B&B owner Evan collide on Canada's eastern fishing coast in The Catch. Attempting to rescue her fading brand, Melanie agrees to be Evan's fake fiancée, whose family is in the midst of a longtime feud over the B&B. Sparks fly in the Canadian wilderness despite their best efforts and Melanie must quickly decide if they're worth giving up her perfect city life.
The Catch is out now.
Amy Lea is an Ottawa-based contemporary romance writer and Canadian bureaucrat. Her previous novels include Woke Up Like This, which was on the Canada Reads 2024 longlist, Exes and O's and Set on You.
Silver Repetition by Lily Wang
Silver Repetition traces Chinese Canadian Yuè Yuè's struggle to understand herself as she moves through her early 20s. Grappling with a divide between herself and her Canadian-born sister and longing to reconnect with a cousin from back home, Yuè Yuè's story straddles the line between memory and dream, delving into what it means to have culture, language and identity.
Silver Repetition is out now.
Lily Wang was born in Shanghai and immigrated to Canada when they were six. They have an MA in English and creative writing from the University of Toronto and currently still reside in Toronto.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard
The Other Valley follows the story of Odile Ozanne, who lives in a town with a magical valley. To the east, the town exists twenty years forward in time. To the west, it's 20 years behind. Odile seeks to join the Conseil, who decides which of the town's residents may cross the border into the valley to see departed loved ones. When she recognizes two mourners by accident, Odile realizes they have travelled from the future to see someone Odile knows in her present — setting off a chain of events that change the course of several lives.
The Other Valley is out now.
The Other Valley is Scott Alexander Howard's first novel. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the University of Toronto and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard. He currently lives in Vancouver.
A Friend in the Dark by Samantha M. Bailey
To cope with a sudden divorce and her daughter's estrangement, Eden Miller reaches out to Justin in A Friend in the Dark. A connection from 20 years ago, she and Justin rekindle their relationship online. But something more sinister is at work here. Soon, Eden is forced to fight for her family — and their lives.
A Friend in the Dark is out now.
Samantha M. Bailey's previous books include Woman on the Edge and Watch Out for Her. She currently lives and works in Toronto.
Never Been Better by Leanne Toshiko Simpson
Each with their own struggles that landed them in the psych ward, Dee, Misa and Matt became inseparable friends in Never Been Better. When Misa and Matt are set to be married at a destination wedding a year after being discharged, Dee arrives with her own form of baggage. She's in love with Matt, and unlike everyone else attending the wedding, Dee knows how Misa and Matt met. Telling him would jeopardize not only their friendships but mutual support systems — but Dee will have to decide what matters most.
Never Been Better is out now.
Leanne Toshiko Simpson lives with bipolar disorder while teaching at the University of Toronto. Never Been Better is her first novel, and she was Acarborough's Emerging Writer in 2016 and was nominated for the Journey Prize in 2019.
The Invisible Hotel by Yeji Ham
Amid her family's on-going struggles — a brother stationed at the North Korean border, a sister in tragedy, her mother's health waning — Yewon has constant dreams of The Invisible Hotel. In it, there are infinite keys to infinite rooms. As Yewon struggles with feeling trapped in her tiny South Korean village, her dreams lead her to a disarming truth about her country and its collective heritage.
The Invisible Hotel is out now.
Yeji Y. Ham is a Korean Canadian writer who lives in B.C. Her previous works have appeared in journals such as Wilderness Journal, The Rivet Journal and The Broome Street Review. Part of her first short story collection Doraesol won the Frances Mason Harris' 26 Prizes in Fiction.
Pride and Joy by Louisa Onomé
In Pride and Joy, the titular Joy Okafor grapples with the pressure of planning a perfect 70th birthday for her mother Mary. However, the celebrational weekend grinds to a halt when Mama Mary does not wake from a nap. With her Auntie Nancy staunchly believing that Mary will rise like Jesus on Easter Sunday, Joy must plan a funeral. The rest of the family throws open their doors to the Nigerian Canadian community and a television host, all while avoiding the true meaning of their loss.
Pride and Joy is out now.
Louisa Onomé is a Nigerian Canadian writer whose most recent books include the YA novels Twice as Perfect and The Melancholy of Summer. She lives in the Toronto area.
The Laundryman's Boy by Edward Y. C. Lee
Hoi Wing's aspirations of education are dashed when the 13-year-old is forced to work in a Chinese laundromat in St. Catherines, Ont as The Laundryman's Boy. There, amid the mindless toil of handwashing clothing, he meets Heather. The Irish scullery maid shares Hoi Wing's love of books, and their friendship — and reading hideout — blooms in secret. An entrepreneur, Jonathan Braddock, is the founder of the Asiatic Exclusion League and if he wins his mayoral bid, Hoi Wing will be deported.
The Laundryman's Boy is out now.
Edward Y. C. Lee was born in Montreal and now lives with his wife and daughter in Toronto. His writing has been published in literary magazines and publications like the Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail. The Laundryman's Boy is his debut novel.
Maya's Laws of Love by Alina Khawaja
Maya's life has always been guided by a series of rules, always rooted in misfortune: Maya's Laws of Love. Chiefly, that anything that can, will in fact go wrong. Things seem to be looking up when Maya sets off for Pakistan for an arranged marriage to a handsome doctor, a match she's all too happy to accept. But when disaster strikes at every turn, Maya finds herself stuck in Switzerland with a cynical lawyer, Sarfaraz, wondering if this detour is exactly what she needs after all.
When you can read it: Mar 26, 2024
Alina Khawaja is a Canadian Pakistani writer who lives in Ontario. She holds degrees in English, history, creative writing and literatures of modernity. Maya's Laws of Love is her first novel.
Firekeeper by Katłıà
After being kicked out of her home, teen Nyla accidentally sets fire to an ex's building and winds up in jail for arson. Community diversion leads her to a reserve as the titular Firekeeper, but Nyla's new home is quickly endangered by encroaching wildfires. In her fight to save the reserve, Nyla learns to heal, reclaiming both her culture and identity.
When you can read it: April 1, 2024
Katłıà has written multiple books, including the memoir Northern Wildflower and the novel Land-Water-Sky / Ndè–Tı–Yat'a, and splits her time between her ancestral homelands in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories and Lekwungen Speaking Peoples Coast Salish Territory.
What's Not Mine by Nora Decter
In What's Not Mine, Bria Powers' 16th summer is full of strange and dark occurrences. From plagues of insects, wandering bears and forest fires to the tightening grip of fentanyl throughout her hometown, Bria's life is divided in two. She lives and works with her cousin, babysitting and slinging burgers by day, and hangs out with an older guy, Somebody, by night. All the while, the creeping shadow of dependence hangs over Bria — until we wonder if she'll ever beat the odds stacked against her.
When you can read it: April 2, 2024
Nora Decter's is a writer from Winnipeg. Her previous work includes How Far We Go and How Fast, which won the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in 2019.
The Hollow Beast by Christophe Bernard, translated by Lazer Lederhendler
The source of The Hollow Beast's 100-year feud between two Quebec families lies in a 1911 hockey game, when Monti Bouge catches a puck in the mouth and lands with his head across the goal line. He's sought justice against the ref, Victor Bradley, ever since it was ruled a good goal. Revenge schemes sprawl three generations, until Monti's grandson François must make sense of the vendetta that has shaped two families and their entire town.
The French version of The Hollow Beast was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction in 2018.
When you can read it: April 2, 2024
Originally hailing from Carleton-sur-Mer in the Gaspé region of Quebec, Christophe Bernard now lives in Burlington, Vermont. He has been a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for English-to-French translation.
Lazer Lederhendler is a translator and academic from Montreal. He has been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award for French-to-English translation several times. He won the prize in 2008 for his translation of Nikolski by Nicolas Dickner and again in 2016 for his translation of The Party Wall by Catherine Leroux and in 2020 for If You Hear Me.
The Secret Keeper by Genevieve Graham
Once inseparable, twin sisters Dot and Dash Wilson's lives are fractured by the Second World War in The Secret Keeper. Dot's skill with puzzles and Morse code lands her in a top-secret spy school, while Dash escapes their family's personal tragedy by training as a pilot with the Air Transport Auxiliary. Secrecy oaths threaten to tear the sisters apart, but Dot's loyalties are tested when a close contact goes missing in a Nazi-occupied territory. With all eyes on her operation, Dot uses all her skills to save lives.
When you can read it: April 2, 2024
Genevieve Graham has written many novels, including The Forgotten Home Child, Letters Across the Sea and Bluebird. She lives and writes in Alberta.
Village Weavers by Myriam J. A. Chancy
Childhood friends Gertie and Sisi are extremely close, despite the socioeconomic differences that separate their daily lives in 1940s Port-au-Prince. An end-of-life secret tears their families apart in Village Weavers, and we follow the girls across the decades as Sisi moves to Paris and Gertie marries into a rich Dominican family — eventually both landing in the United States. A sudden phone call forces their lives back together, where they might finally be able to forgive and trust again.
When you can read it: April 2, 2024
Myriam J. A. Chancy is the author of four novels and four books of literary criticism. Her novel The Loneliness of Angels won the Guyana Prize for Literature Caribbean Award in 2011 and was shortlisted for the 2011 OCM Bocas Prize in Carribbean Literature for fiction. Chancy was raised in Haiti and Canada and now resides in the United States. Her previous book, What Storm, What Thunder, was longlisted for the 2022 Aspen Words Literary Prize and the 2022 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature.
Perfect Little Angels by Vincent Anioke
Perfect Little Angels is a short story collection set mostly in Nigeria, pondering questions of expectation, desire and duty among its various characters. From boarding school tensions to secret rendezvous between lovers in a hill, the stories explore masculinity, religion, othering, queerness, love and self-expression.
When you can read it: April 9, 2024
Vincent Anioke was born and raised in Nigeria and now lives in Waterloo. Ont. He has been a finalist for the 2023 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and won the Austin Clarke Fiction Prize in 2021. His short story Utopia was longisted for the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize. His work has been featured in SmokeLong Quarterly, The Rumpus, The Masters Review and Passages North.
Grey Dog by Elliott Gish
When Ada Byrd, amateur naturalist and spinster, accepts a teaching position in the isolated Lowry Bridge, it seems like the perfect escape. Here, no one is privy to her past full of shame and grief, until Ada is suddenly plagued by strange, disturbing nature: a swarm of dying crickets, a self-mutilating rabbit, a half-formed faun. Soon, Ada loses her grip on the real, the delusion, or the traumatic memory and takes to the woods. There she wonders if the real horror isn't the Grey Dog behind these horrible offerings, but Ada herself instead.
When you can read it: April 9, 2024
Elliott Gish's work has appeared in journals such as New Quarterly, the Baltimore Review and the Dalhousie Review. She was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2022. Gish lives and works in Halifax.
The War You Don't Hate by Blaise Ndala, translated by Dimitri Nasrallah
As Montreal documentary filmmaker Véronique Quesnel accepts awards and praise for her telling of Sona's story, a young woman who escaped sex slavery, danger emerges. Across the ocean, on the other side of The War You Don't Hate, Master Corporal Red Ant and his cousin Baby Che are on a mission for truth and vengeance after the Second Congo War and they've set their sights on Véronique.
When you can read it: April 10, 2024
Blaise Ndala is the Ottawa-based Congolese Canadian author of the novels J'irai danser sur la tombe de Senghor, which won the Ottawa Book Prize in the French Fiction category and Sans capote ni kalachnikov, winner of the 2019 edition of the Combat national des livres.
Dimitri Nasrallah is the author of four novels. His most recent book Hotline, was nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and championed by Bhangra dancer Gurdeep Pandher on Canada Reads 2023. Nasrallah was born in Lebanon in 1977 and moved to Canada in 1988. His previous books include The Bleeds, Niko and Blackbodying.
Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr
Isidore "Ezzy" Desjarlais and Grey Ginther live together in Grey's uncle's trailer, passing their time with cribbage and cheap beer. The former is cynical of what she feels is a lazy and performative activist culture, while the latter is simply devoted to her distant cousin. So when Ezzy concocts a scheme to set a herd of bison loose in downtown Edmonton, Grey is along for the ride — a ride in Prairie Edge that has devastating, fatal consequences.
When you can read it: April 16, 2024
Conor Kerr is a Métis/Ukrainian writer who hails from many prairie towns and cities, including Saskatoon. He now lives in Edmonton. A 2022 CBC Books writer to watch, his previous works include the novels Old Gods and Avenue of Champions, which was longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize, and won the ReLit award the same year. Kerr currently teaches creative writing at the University of Alberta.
Play by Jess Taylor
Paulina "Paul" Hayes spent much of her childhood playing in The Lighted City, an imaginary place with her cousin Adrian. Decades later and struggling with PTSD, Adrian's death and constant reports of missing children, Play finds Paul returning to her hometown and the ravine of The Lighted City in order to come to terms with "the day everything happened."
When you can read it: April 23, 2024
Jess Taylor is a writer and poet based in Toronto. Her previous short story collections are Pauls and Just Pervs. The title story of Pauls won the 2013 Gold Fiction National Magazine Award, while Just Pervs was a finalist for the 2020 Lambda Literary Award in Bisexual Fiction. Play is her first novel.
Not How I Pictured It by Robin Lefler
Agnes "Ness" Larkin surprises herself more than anyone when she signs up for the reboot of a hit teen TV drama she starred in 20 years ago. Joining her are former best friend Libby and Hayes, the one who got away. The drama begins quickly in Not How I Pictured It when the group of seven actors and their production assistant are stranded on a remote island with only a derelict mansion and each other for survival. Can they learn from the past, and each other, and make it through the storm?
When you can read it: April 23, 2024
Robin Lefler lives and writes in her hometown near Toronto. Her first book is called Reasonable Adults.
Death by a Thousand Cuts by Shashi Bhat
Death by a Thousand Cuts traces the funny, honest and difficult parts of womanhood. From a writer whose ex published a book about their breakup to the confession wrought by a Reddit post, these stories probe rage, loneliness, bodily autonomy and these women's relationships with themselves just as much as those around them.
When you can read it: April 23, 2024
Shashi Bhat's previous novels include The Family Took Shape, a finalist for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award and The Most Precious Substance on Earth, which was also a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction in 2022. Her short stories won the Writers' Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and been shortlisted for a National Magazine Award and the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. Bhat lives in New Westminster, B.C.
Mr. Good-Evening by John MacLachlan Gray
Mr. Good-Evening tangles the stories of same-name radio news host Ed McCurdy, burgeoning celebrity; Dora Decker, accused of being the Fatal Flapper murderer; and Inspector Calvin Hook, determined to piece together a twisting mystery. Third in the Raincoast Noir series, this crime thriller pulls readers through the gritty streets of 1920s Vancouver, full of history and intrigue.
When you can read it: April 27, 2024
- Why Arthur Ellis Award-nominated crime writer John MacLachlan Gray doesn't write for success or fame
John MacLachlan Gray is a writer-composer-performer for stage, film, television, radio and print. He is the author of seven crime novels, including The White Angel and Vile Spirits. An officer of the Order of Canada, Gray lives in Vancouver.
Peacocks of Instagram by Deepa Rajagopalan
The collection of stories in Peacocks of Instagram paint a tapestry of the Indian diaspora. Tales of revenge, love, desire and family explore the intense ramifications of privilege, or lack thereof. Coffee shop and hotel housekeeping employees, engineers and children show us all of themselves, flaws and all.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Deepa Rajagopalan was the 2021 RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award winner. Born to Indian parents in Saudi Arabia, she has lived across India, the United States and Canada. Her previous writing has appeared in publications such as the Bristol Short Story Prize Anthology, the New Quarterly, Room and Arc. Rajagopalan now lives and works in Toronto.
The Education of Aubrey McKee by Alex Pugsley
In the follow up to Aubrey McKee, we find Aubrey at a house party in the 1990s, where he falls for the poet Gundrun Peel, who convinces him to steal a slice of cake. Aubrey and Gundrum's lives quickly intertwine with friends, rivals and lovers amid the backdrop of the underground arts scene, until The Education of Aubrey McKee blows up in spectacular fashion.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Alex Pugsley is a Nova Scotian filmmaker and writer. He is the co-author of the novel Kay Darling. He was named one of CBC Books' writers to watch in 2020 and was nominated for the Canadian Comedy Awards, Gemini Awards and National Magazine Awards.
Mystery in the Title by Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson
Miranda Abott returns in the sequel to I Only Read Muder, where the actress is finally able to break a dry spell with the lead role in a movie of the week. But this all sounds too good to be true according to Miranda's trusted assistant Andrew, who turns out to be right when her co-star crashes through the hotel window, dead. From Police Chief Ned Buckley and a grumpy bookstore owner to soon-to-be-ex Edgar Abott and Bea of Bea's B&B, the citizens of Happy Rock are enlisted to help solve the case in Mystery in the Title.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Will Ferguson has written humour, travel books and fiction. The Calgary-based writer won the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his thriller 419. He has won the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour three times: for his novel Generica (now titled Happiness), his Canadian travel book Beauty Tips from Moose Jaw and his travel memoir Beyond Belfast.
Ian Ferguson won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for Village of the Small Houses and is the co-author, with his brother, Will, of How to Be a Canadian, which was shortlisted for the Leacock Medal and won the CBA Libris Award for non-fiction. A writer and creative director in the film and television industry, Ian Ferguson lives in Victoria.
I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay
Most people never have to answer the question of how they would react in a life-or-death situation. Unfortunately, English teacher Richard Boyle must figure it out quickly when a former student shows up at school with a bomb in I Will Ruin You. His response averts a tragedy and hails him as a hero, but Richard is pulled into a dark web of secrets with a blackmailer, drug-dealing gangsters and a truth about his town that could cost him everything.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Linwood Barclay is an American Canadian thriller writer, with almost 20 books to his credit. His books include the adult thrillers Find You First, Broken Promise and Elevator Pitch and the middle-grade novels Escape and Chase.
Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele
Unbeknownst to the tourists who flock to Port Peter every summer for peaches and sun, the bird women live in a meadow beneath the lake and offer their children to the Birds on the cliffs. Strangely, the Birds do not take Georgia Jackson. Twenty years pass to find Georgia entangled with a man named Arlo, who turns out to be her mother's ex. So begins a complicated matrix between Georgia, Arlo, his wife Felicity and their son Isaiah. Bird Suit probes issues of grief, faith, sex and love in the sticky, peach-filled heat of summer.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Sydney Hegele is a writer living in Toronto. Their story The Bottom was shortlisted for The Malahat Review's 2020 Open Season Awards. They have been published in American Chordata, Thorn Literary Magazine and other literary journals. Their debut book The Pump won the 2022 ReLit Award for short fiction.
This Summer Will Be Different by Carley Fortune
Vacationing one summer on Prince Edward Island, Lucy meets Felix in an electric, chemistry-filled night. Only one problem: Felix is her best friend Bridget's younger brother. On her annual return trips to P.E.I., Lucy vows to avoid Felix and his bed, that This Summer Will Be Different — easier said than done. When Bridget rushes home to P.E.I. in crisis a week before her wedding, Lucy can only follow and remind herself to protect her heart, but finally wonders if she really wants to do that after all.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Carley Fortune is a Toronto-based journalist who has worked as an editor for Refinery29, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine and Toronto Life. Her second book, Meet Me at the Lake was a contender for Canada Reads 2024, when it was championed by Mirian Njoh.
Behind You by Catherine Hernandez
Alma's life as a film editor for a corny true crime series with her wife and teenage son seems comfortable and safe. But when Infamous' latest episode features the Scarborough Stalker — who terrorized Alma's own neighborhood when she was a girl — Alma realizes what she's long held in around consent to stop her young son from making terrible choices toward his own girlfriend. Unfolding in two timelines, Behind You challenges and dissects rape culture and champions one girl's resilience into adulthood.
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Catherine Hernandez is a Canadian writer, author and playwright. She is the author of several books, including the novels Scarborough and Crosshairs and the children's books I Promise, M is for Mustache and Where Do Your Feelings Live?. She is also the creator and star of the Audible Original sketch comedy podcast Imminent Disaster. Scarborough was championed by actor Malia Baker on Canada Reads 2022. It was also adapted into a feature film that premiered at TIFF in 2021. CBC Books named her a writer to watch in 2017.
Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie by Jackie Lau
Emily Hung's mother will not stop talking to her about Mark Chan, single man extraordinaire for her last unwed daughter. When they're forced together at a family wedding in Love, Lies, and Cherry Pie, Emily isn't exactly enthused since Mark clearly thinks he's too good for her. But he reluctantly agrees to a fake dating scheme so that Emily's mother — along with family friends that keep popping up on their dates — will leave them alone. But as the ruse continues, Emily is forced to wonder: is Mark really as bad as she originally thought?
When you can read it: May 5, 2024
Jackie Lau is a Toronto-based author of over a dozen romantic comedies, including The Stand-Up Groomsman, Donut Fall in Love and the Holidays with the Wongs series. She went to school for engineering and worked as a geophysicist before writing romance novels.
The Takedown by Lily Chu
Dee Kwan's picturesque life, with her cozy home, great job and attractive online gaming nemesis, comes to a crashing halt in The Takedown. Her parents and estranged grandmother move in, and the scandal for fashion firm Celeste Dee's hired to clean up belongs to her arch nemesis, Teddy. He pleads with her to help clean up Celeste, and that's how Dee somehow finds herself in the middle of a corporate coup. Now she must confront some hard truths: about herself, Teddy and her desire to really make a difference.
When you can read it: May 7, 2024
Lily Chu writes romantic comedies set in Toronto with strong Asian characters. Chu's debut rom-com novel was The Stand-In. She is also the author of The Comeback.
Indian Winter by Kazim Ali
In a journey of discovery and acceptance, the narrator in Indian Winter travels across India trying to write through heartbreak. As he struggles to pen thoughts of a long-past lover who recently passed, his current relationship falters and his family's rejection of his queerness hangs like a cloud. A blend of travel diary, poetry and autofiction, this novel traces the narrator's path towards growth and maturity as an artist.
When you can read it: May 14, 2024
Kazim Ali is a professor, poet, writer and certified yoga instructor. He has published 25 books including his poetry collections, Sukun, Sky Ward and The Far Mosque, and his nonfiction book Northern Light.
Wild Failure by Zoe Whittall
The characters in the short story collection Wild Failure are a collective study of human nature. Complex relationships abound between colleagues, roommates and wilderness lovers and fearers as the book centres feminine and queer desire. The book tackles the awkward and uncomfortable feelings of shame, attachment and disconnection through bad decisions and the most unusual situations.
When you can read it: May 14, 2024
Zoe Whittall is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. Her books include The Fake, Bottle Rocket Hearts, Holding Still for as Long as Possible, a Lambda Literary Award winner, and The Best Kind of People, which was a finalist for the 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize and is being adapted for film by Sarah Polley. She's also a writer for the hit CBC comedy series Baroness Von Sketch Show and was a story editor on the sitcom Schitt's Creek. Whittall lives in Toronto.
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Natalie Jenner
London playwright Vivien Lowry's hopes of success are dashed in Every Time We Say Goodbye when her sole female-authored play is torn apart by West End reviewers, shutting down the production. At her friend Peggy's suggestion, Vivien signs on as a script doctor on a major film in Rome, catapulting her into the world of movie stars, directors and a battle for the future of post-war Italian cinema. As Vivien struggles to secure her future, she must also confront the truth about both the World War and what really happened to her lost fiancé.
When you can read it: May 14, 2024
Born in England and raised in Canada, Natalie Jenner now lives in Oakville, Ont. as the owner of an independent bookstore. Her previous books include Bloomsbury Girls and The Jane Austen Society, which was a Goodreads Choice Award runner-up for historical fiction and finalist for best debut novel.
Land of No Regrets by Sadi Muktadir
Nabil is the new transfer student at Al Haque Islamic Academy, where he struggles with new rigid rules and religious studies, longing for his regular teen life back in Scarborough. Land of No Regrets sees Nabil fall into the company of two other boys he catches doing something illicit. He and class clown Farid complete the foursome, who together discover the diary of a student back from when the school was an all-girls Catholic institution. Inspired to escape their madrasa, the boys' path toward freedom ultimately changes their lives forever.
When you can read it: May 21, 2024
Sadi Muktadir is a Toronto based writer and editor at Joyland Magazine. Land of No Regrets is his debut novel.
Lost Ark Dreaming by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
In a world ravaged by the risen Atlantic ocean off the West African coast, survivors live in five towers that sit partially submerged in the sea. Lost Ark Dreaming draws together three characters at various tower levels: Yeneki, a mid-level analyst; Tuoyo, a mechanic beneath the water level; and Ngozi, a bureaucrat at the peak. They must work together to save the future of their world, especially from those who perished in the Atlantic, reawakened by a mystical power in search of revenge.
When you can read it: May 21, 2024
Suyi Davies Okungbowa is a Nigerian writer of African speculative fiction. His other work includes the novels David Mogo Godhunter and Son of the Storm. He was a contributing writer for Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda.
Coexistence by Billy-Ray Belcourt
Complex Indigenous lives intersect in the stories that make up Coexistence. Stretching across Canadian prairies and the west coast, we travel to reserves, university campuses and lodgings of old residential schools to meet characters learning to live with and love one another and accept the realities of the past, present and future happening together all at once.
When you can read it: May 21, 2024
Billy-Ray Belcourt is writer from Driftpile Cree Nation in Alberta. His first novel is A Minor Chorus. His debut collection of poetry, This Wound is a World, is unapologetically Indigenous and queer at the same time. Belcourt won the 2018 Griffin Poetry Prize for This Wound is a World. The collection also won the 2018 Indigenous Voices Award for most significant work of poetry in English and was a finalist for the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry.
High Society by Daniel Kalla
Psychiatrist Holly Danvers wants to use psychedelics to treat her patients suffering from addiction in High Society. While psychedelics helped her emotionally recover from surviving the car crash that killed her father as a teenager, she ignores the risks and tries an unproven protocol that yields promising results… until it doesn't. This turns her life upside-down and sends her on a solo mission to find out why her clients are relapsing and dying — one that'll put her life at risk and force her to revisit her trauma.
When you can read it: May 28, 2024
Daniel Kalla is an emergency room doctor and the author of more than 10 books, including Fit to Die, The Darkness in the Light, Lost Immunity, The Last High and We All Fall Down.
The Secret History of Audrey James by Heather Marshall
The Secret History of Audrey James tells the story of Audrey James, a pianist who is about to graduate from music school. Living with her best friend Ilse Kaplan, she dreads returning home to England and leaving Ilse behind. But as the Nazi party's power increases, Ilse's family is targeted. Her parents and brother disappear and her house is confiscated by Nazi officials. Little do they know, Ilse is hiding in the attic and Audrey becomes their housekeeper in the hopes of saving her friend.
When you can read it: June 4, 2024
Heather Marshall is a writer from Toronto. She holds two master's degrees in Canadian history and political science and pivoted to writing fiction after working for many years in politics and communications. Her debut novel, Looking for Jane, was named one of Indigo's Top 10 Books of 2022 and Globe & Mail's Top 100 Books of 2022.
Parade by Rachel Cusk
Parade is a novel that tells the story of the artist G which ignores the limits of identity, character and plot. G is both a 22-year-old painter who explores a different country and a middle-aged man who starts to paint upside down in this mind- bending novel.
When you can read it: June 16, 2024
Rachel Cusk is a Canadian-born novelist who lives in the U.K. She is best known for her Outline trilogy, which includes the novels Outline, Transit and Kudos. Both Outline and Transit were shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize, in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
The Lost Tarot by Sarah Henstra
When struggling Toronto-based art historian Theresa Bateman receives a tarot card in the mail, she knows that it must be the work of avant-garde artist Lark Ringold, representing a huge breakthrough in her career. But The Lost Tarot card was supposed to have been destroyed in a fire that killed the artist among others in a notorious cult meeting. Theresa must figure out how to prove the card is real and why it was sent to her, of all people.
When you can read it: June 18, 2024
Sarah Henstra is a Canadian novelist and professor of English literature at Toronto Metropolitan University. Her books include The Red Word, which won the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for fiction and YA novels Mad Miss Mimic and We Contain Multitudes. Originally from Vancouver, she now lives in Toronto.
Fire and Bones by Kathy Reichs
Fire and Bones is another thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brenner. When she's called to Washington, D.C. to investigate a deadly fire, she becomes suspicious about the property's owner. She teams ups with journalist Ivy Doyle and starts unravelling a mystery and finds herself under lethal threat.
When you can read it: Aug. 6, 2024
Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist, academic and crime writer with more than 20 novels to her credit. Her bestselling mystery series about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan was adapted into the hit television show Bones.
Waiting for the Long Night Moon by Amanda Peters
Waiting for the Long Night Moon is a collection of short fiction that widely describes the Indigenous experience by melding traditional storytelling and spare prose. The stories highlight both trauma and resilience, from what happens when a young man returns from residential school and realizes that he cannot communicate with his parents to the nervous excitement of a young girl dancing in her very first Mawi'omi.
When you can read it: Aug. 13, 2024
Amanda Peters is a writer of Mi'kmaq and settler ancestry living in Annapolis Valley, N.S. Her debut novel The Berry Pickers won the Carnegie Medal of Excellence, was a finalist for the 2023 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and was named one of CBC Books' best fiction books of the year. She is the winner of the 2021 Indigenous Voices Award for Unpublished Prose and a participant in the 2021 Writers' Trust Rising Stars program.
The Queen by Nick Cutter
Over a month after Margaret Carpenter's best friend Charity goes missing in The Queen, she's understandably shocked to find a new iPhone on her doorstep with a text message from Charity. Margaret must follow the clues to find out what Charity wants to tell her — the real story about what happened.
When you can read it: Oct. 29, 2024
Craig Davidson writes horror under the pen name Nick Cutter. He has written several novels, including Cataract City, which was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize in 2013, Rust and Bone, which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated feature film, The Fighter and Sarah Court. His memoir Precious Cargo was defended by Greg Johnson on Canada Reads 2018.
Corrections
- This post has been updated to reflect that Oonya Kempadoo is a Grenadian English Guyanese author.Oct 21, 2024 12:23 PM ET
- This post has been updated with an edit to Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson's bio information.Apr 04, 2024 11:55 AM ET
- An earlier version of this list stated that The Queen will be published on Aug. 27, 2024. Its publication date has been moved to Oct. 29, 2024.Apr 02, 2024 10:07 AM ET
- An earlier version of this list stated that The Secret History of Audrey James will be published on May 5, 2024 instead of June 4, 2024.Apr 02, 2024 10:05 AM ET
