Canadian Children's Book Week, May 2-8

The list is out! and what a  list...some of Canada's top creators will be out and about visiting schools and libraries in one way or another. Below are some of them

• Michelle Barker, My Long List of Impossible Things (9781773213644 PB/ 9781773213651 HC) 
• Paul Covello, Canada ABC 
• Kevin Sylvester, Follow Your Stuff (
• Nicola Winstanley, Mel and Mo’s Marvelous Balancing Act

You can see the full list here.

DK Canada's "Stay Home, Stay Curious" Campaign

DK Canada is thrilled to share their "Stay Home, Stay Curious" campaign on DK Canada's website.

This hub will house content from across DK Canada's books and divisions. Everything from home learning ideas, recipe extracts to great Canadian content such as a free downloadable teacher's guide for Our Great Prime Ministers. There's also DIY ideas & Gardening tips as well as excerpts to make staying fit at home easy!

Blue Spruce Awards Go Virtual!

The Blue Spruce Awards are going virtual! Visit Forest of Reading (see attachment for the link ; read-aloud schedule) to catch this years Blue Spruce Nominees!  These books will enrich young readers learning experiences with beautiful illustrations blended with fun, interesting, and exciting stories.

#OperationReadAloud

Operation Read Aloud is a much needed site to aggregate children's book creators to read-aloud while children are sequestered at home. Join the group to enjoy story-time with your little ones, all while watching some of our favourite authors #readaloud.

Paper Bag Princess Turns 40: A Podcast Primer

A classic of children's literature will be celebrating a big birthday in May 2020; its 40th, to be precise. And what a celebration it will be! Robert Munsch's seminal story, The Paper Bag Princess, has been adored by millions of children around the globe, and inspired countless artists over the last forty years to challenge the framework of 'normal' fairy-tales. The CBC recently published an illuminating interview (which you can check out here) on Munsch's creative process and various inspirations for PBP, along with the exclamation that Elizabeth's proud declaration of independence is indeed a happy ending; Munsch adds, "That's the ending it's supposed to have."

Stay tuned for more PBP news & updates - there's going to be plenty this year!

OLA Superconference 2020 Author Signings- HarperCollins/Harlequin

Please be sure to visit the HarperCollins (732/734) and Harlequin (730) Booths at the OLA Superconference this week! 

We have some great authors signing throughout the day on Thursday and Friday, and lots of great ARC giveaways and contests in-booth!

Thursday, Jan 30^th

• Molly Fader (The Bitter and Sweet of Cherry Season) 10:30am
• Kate Hilton (Better Luck Next Time) 10:30am
• Bryn Turnbull (The Woman Before Wallis) 11:30am 
• The Fan Brothers (The Scarecrow) 12:30pm 
• Hannah Mary McKinnon (Sister Dear) 2:30pm.

 Friday, Jan 31st

• Kelly Rimmer (Truths I Never Told You) 10:30am 
• Jessica Westhead (Worry) 10:30am
• Ken Oppel (Bloom) 11:30am 
• Kate Elizabeth Russell (My Dark Vanessa)- 12:30 pm 

Tune in tomorrow for a preview of some of the ARCs we'll have on hand at the HarperCollins booth!

Hope to see you at the conference!

Rosalyn

Highly Anticipated: DISFIGURED by Amanda Leduc

Coming on February 4th: DISFIGURED by Amanda Leduc is a challenging and affirming treatise on disability in fairy tales.

One of the Toronto Star's Twenty Books You Need to Know About In Spring 2020, DISFIGURED has also received a starred review in Library Journal, and author Leduc was interviewed for a piece in the Toronto Star. Leduc is the Communications Coordinator for the Festival of Literary Diversity.

Canada Reads is finally here!

At long last, the week of Canada Reads is upon us, when bookish Canadians join together to listen to "literary Survivor." The debates take place at 11 a.m. today, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There are many ways you can tune in: watch the livestream on cbc.ca/books, YouTube or Facebook, watch on CBC TV, listen on CBC Radio or on your favourite podcast app. For full details, check out the site. See you there!

Look out for these Raincoast Books on CBC's Spring 2019 Canadian Fiction list!

Raincoast has two books on CBC Book's newly-released Spring 2019 Canadian Fiction list! A Deadly Divide by Ausma Zehanat Khan will be on sale Feb 12/2019, and Radicalized by Cory Doctorow comes out March 19/2019.

Human Rights, Crisis, and Writing

Immigration lawyer, magazine editor, a PhD in international human rights law - Oh, did we mention she's also a badass mystery fiction series writer? Ausma Zehanat Khan is a person of phenomenal talent, and yet stays incredibly down-to-earth. In this interview on Rungh.org, Zehanat Khan gets into the roots of her writing, what drives her, and how her real life research and experience has influenced her work. Her newest title, A Deadly Divide, hits shelves February 2019. Check out her past work here! 

A Message to Caregivers: You Are Not Alone

This is one of my favourite books of the year.
Seven years ago, accomplished poet and author Mike Barnes became his mothers caregiver. "I think I'm about where anyone would be seven years into caregiving, which is fairly embattled and somewhat ground down," Barnes told CBC's Tapestry host Mary Hynes. Along the way, Barnes began to write letters about the issues and emotions he lived day-to-day. Those letters now form his newest book, Be With: Letters to a Caregiver, a collection of letters and vignettes that share Barnes' experience, and let caregivers know that it is okay to feel overwhelmed. Barnes discussed his new book and his experience caring for his mother with CBC's Mary Hynes. Listen to the full interview here. 

Which Anne of Green Gables Character Are You?

Marilla or Matthew? Diana or Gilbert? Or are you Anne all the way? Anyone who's read L.M. Montgomery's classic, or fell in love with any one of the films or T.V. series has a favorite character! Find out who you are with this fun Bookriot Quiz!

#NotYourPrincess

#NotYourPrincess, edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale, hit bookstores last fall. A collection of poems, essays, interviews, and artwork submitted by Native American women, #NotYourPrincess is a visual anthology that challenges stereotypes and celebrates the diverse voices of the many women who shared their stories.

Teaching Books is now sharing #NotYourPrincess audio resources with over 33,000 schools! Listen to Lisa Charleyboy's clip here, and Mary Beth Leatherdale's clip here, where both editors read an excerpt from #NotYourPrincess and discuss how the book came to be (believe it or not, Beyoncé's Lemonade had a little something to do with it).

Catherine Hernandez's Scarborough Shortlisted for Trillium Book Award

Catherine Hernandez's Scarborough has been shortlisted for the 2018 Trillium Book Award. Scarborough tells the story of this diverse Toronto neighbourhood through the eyes of several of its inhabitants. It was previously named winner of the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop Emerging Writers Award in 2015 and was a finalist for the $50, 000 Half the World Global Literati Award for best unpublished manuscript in 2016.

Scarborough is also shortlisted for “One Book, One Brampton” by the Brampton Library (cast your vote here); the 2017 City of Toronto Book Award; and the 2018 Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction. It was longlisted for Canada Reads.

Read more at the Toronto Star or check out the other nominees here.

The Sisters Brothers Trailer

With over 150, 000 copies sold in Canada since it's release in 2011, The Sisters Brothers will soon be coming to a theatre near you. Eli and Charlie are (you guessed it) brothers. Immersed in a life of alcohol and violence, they follow Hermann Kermit Warm to his gold-mining claim outside San Francisco; along the way, Eli tries to make sense of his life in the face of the job he must carry out.

A new edition of the multi-award-winning title is coming out to coincide with the release of the film. Directed by Jacques Audiard and starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix, and John C. Reilly, The Sisters Brothers is dark, funny, absurd, and gritty. We can't wait!

Canadian Indie Bookstore Day

Saturday April 28th, Canadian book lovers celebrate Independent Bookstore Day! Head on out to your local independent bookstore to meet authors, participate in activities, shop, and so much more. In an increasingly digital and big-box world, it's amazing how much you can discover and learn by connecting, browsing, and chatting within the book community - Let's make it a great day for our indie bookstores! 

What Happens Next

Bullying is no easy issue to tackle, but Susan Hughes' newest release, What Happens Next is a fantastic and powerful starting point for discussions on emotions, empathy, and how we can relate to others. With a brand new trailer, and new discussion guides written by a child psychologist with research background in bullying, What Happens Next is a moving and informative read on the difficult issue of bullying. 

70 Amazing Facts about Munsch!

His full name? His hobbies? The story behind his coming to Canada? CBC Books has complied a fantastic list of 70 amazing facts about Robert Munsch - Satisfy your curiosity here!

I Don't Want To Know Anyone Too Well

Celebrated abroad, the late Canadian author Norman Levine was relatively unknown in his home nation. But as The Walrus has described, perhaps with the posthumously I Don't Want To Know Anyone Too Well, that is poised to change. The first-ever full collection of these long out-of-print stories from Levine is a can't miss for lovers of Canadian authors. 

Canada 150: One-Hundred-Fifty Bestselling Canadian Titles!

BookNet Canada is celebrating the Nation’s sesquicentennial the best way any book-lover would! From Robert Munsch to Margaret Atwood to Alice Munro, BNC has complied a list (and fantastic looking poster!), of 150 Canadian-authored bestsellers from the last 10 years. Canadian icons, literary legends, and timeless stories, make up this awesome, interactive, clickable list- Check it out here.