Showing posts with label Book News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book News. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Canadian Independent Bookseller Association has Arrived!


In January, the Canadian Independent Bookseller Association formally launched and we are all thrilled! This will be the go to place for all things indie as well as the meeting place for booksellers and industry professionals.  To sign up for their newsletter go here: https://cibabooks.ca/Contact-us  

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

The 99% Invisible City

The 99% Invisible City is based on the uber popular podcast of the same nameCities columnist Shawn Micallef of the Toronto Star did a unique piece this past Saturday discussing certain Toronto architectural and design "tropes", borrowing from the The 99% Invisible City (e.g. electrical substations, the ROM's Liebskind Crystal) and adding his own explorations. 
The online version of the article is "Why even simple sidewalk stamps have a role to play in telling Toronto's complex story" .



Monday, April 13, 2020

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!

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

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.

Friday, March 27, 2020

#OperationReadAloud

Let's Commit to Celebrating the Read-Aloud Year-Round - NCTE




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.


Friday, February 28, 2020

Ken Liu & Chinese Sci-Fi Translations!



Hello to all you lovely Sci-Fi fans. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to read Cixin Liu's SF-revelation The Three-Body Problem which was published by TOR (one of my favorite books in recent memory), please do yourself a favor: head to your nearest Indie Bookstore and buy a copy immediately. If you're like me, and you've read it already (and perhaps more of Liu's work, revolving in and around this series) there's a great article to check out that centers on the book's translator, Ken Liu.

Check out the full article here:

Monday, February 24, 2020

In The Kitchen with Antoni Porowski


Antoni Porowski, best known from the TV Series Queer Eye, has recently published an amazing cookbook called Antoni in the Kitchen. From the official blurb: "Some of the recipes in this book are weeknight healthyish meals, while others are perfect for off-the-cuff entertaining. Visual stunners, they're often composed of fewer than five ingredients. Whether Bastardized Easy Ramen; Malaysian Chili Shrimp; Roasted Carrots with Carrot-Top Pesto; or Salty Lemon Squares, all are visual stunners and can be carried off with panache, even by beginners."

Click here for an exclusive Antoni interview;

And click here for another one!



Thursday, January 16, 2020

Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun

Sandwiched between Boomers and Millennials are Gen X, a generation many say are underserved. In Ada Calhoun's new book, Why We Can't Sleep, she examines the mid-life crisis facing Gen X women, which she discussed on CBC's The Current.

A January Indie Next Pick and one of the New York Times' 10 Books to Watch for in January.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Award Winner: The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom

Making lots of 2019 round-ups is Sarah M. Broom's The Yellow House. This touching, multigenerational memoir was highly anticipated, and that excitement was justified as it later won the 2019 National Book Award for Nonfiction and became a New York Times bestseller. Kirkus Reviews calls it, "A tribute to the multitude of stories one small home can contain." Available now!

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Biblio File - An Amazing Bookish Podcast!


The Biblio File, hosted by Nigel Beale, is one of the world's leading podcasts on all things book-nerdy! In Nigel's own words, his podcast "features wide-ranging conversations with authors, poets, book publishers, booksellers, book editors, book collectors, book makers, book scholars, book critics, book designers, book publicists, literary agents and other certified bibliophiles". Recently, he sat down with Leslie Hurtig and Jan Walter to discuss, among other things, their experiences over the years in the Canadian book industry and the lasting impact that Leslie's father, Mel Hurtig, had on the industry.

Check out Nigel's interview with Leslie Hurtig & Jan Walter here

Monday, November 4, 2019

Booknet Canada - Innovative Bookselling Podcast


The good data folks over at Booknet Canada have been putting out consistent podcasts for the past couple years that delve into all sorts of Book-Industry topics, hosted by the charming and knowledgeable Zalina Alvi. Recently, one of their podcasts focused on outside-the-box partnerships in book-selling, as well as innovative practices that several interviewed bookstore owners offer. But there's so much more! And if podcasts aren't for you, there's an entire transcript of the conversation to skim through.

Check out the podcast here:

Interested in more Booknet Canada podcasts? There's a whole bunch more here

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Booksellers Association: Leading the Climate Change Battle

BA urges trade to reduce environmental impact in green manifesto

On July 23rd, the Booksellers Association published an extensive Manifesto concerning the state of the environmental impact within the Book Industry. This Manifesto represents "part of [the BA's] ongoing commitment to reducing waste across its membership and throughout the supply chain". Extensive details on both their ideas to reduce waste and studies that include thousands of participants; details too innumerable to fit in this teensy little blog post!

To check out the BA Article, click here



Wednesday, October 2, 2019

"Pumpkinheads" Graphic Novel Trailer!

A collaboration for the ages! Bringing together Rainbow Rowell - the author of Fangirl and Elanor & Park, among other celebrated YA novels - and the beautiful illustrations of Faith Erin Hicks, who won the Eisner award for her work on The Adventures of Superhero Girl, the new graphic novel Pumpkinheads is a perfect fit for the fall season. If you want to read a quick review, check out this article by the Hollywood Reporter; if you're more the visual type, click the link below for a trailer!

Monday, August 26, 2019

Curiosity Day - September 14th!

Curiosity Day is approaching, my friends! The smiling legend that is Curious George, published for decades by the renowned Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, will be celebrated nationwide on September 14th, 2019. Booksellers, please consult the handy-dandy poster for any information you might need, and if there's anything you need to know that isn't on there, please email Michelle & Ellen over at Raincoast with your requests!

In the meantime, friends, stay Curious, and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Independence: Roots in the Community

Sales at independent bookstores rose nearly 5 percent in 2018. 
CreditJeenah Moon for The New York Times
Although the book business seems to be shifting in the direction of e-commerce, spurred on by Amazonian giants, independent bookstores are not going away; rather, they are experiencing a resurgence, and becoming cultural hearths of their communities. The New York Times recently published a very interesting article on this topic, interviewing booksellers from New York`s McNally Jackson, exploring the tailspin of Barnes and Noble, and shedding light on how difficult yet important it is to keep independent bookstores afloat.

Check out the article! It elaborates on much more than we can summarize:

Friday, July 19, 2019

Bestselling Indigenous Books in Canada

There There by Tommy OrangeSeven Fallen Feathers by Tanya TalagaBlackflies by Robert Munsch, illustrated by Jay Odjick
BookNet Canada has compiled a useful and informative list on the bestselling Indigenous books in Canada, which you can find here. Forty titles are included in total, ranging in the categories of Fiction, Non-Fiction, Juvenile and YA Fiction, and Juvenile and YA Non-Fiction. BookNet put some serious work into this data collection, so please check it out! It`s a great place to start if you`re interested in exploring Canadian Indigenous Literature for the first time, or catching up on any titles you might`ve missed.

BookNet has also put together a handy Catalist catalogue containing all 40 titles, to compliment their research.

Friday, July 12, 2019

John Oliver & the Amazon Warehouses

John Oliver - Last Week Tonight - Amazon Warehouses 

John Oliver, the celebrated host of Last Week Tonight, spent almost an entire episode discussing the perils of Amazon and their labyrinthine warehouses. The Week wrote a nice article that condenses many of Oliver`s key points, and provides a good summation of the episode for those of us without HBO (and those of us in Canada, blocked by YouTube`s access). Our main takeaway is this: don`t be a lazy shopper! Get out there and support your local Independent Bookstore, friends!


Thursday, April 25, 2019

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day!









Pay your local indie bookstore a special visit on April 27th, to show them some love and support on Canadian Independent Bookstore Day! This day is meant to support the amazing independent bookstores in our communities, and to encourage people to go out and visit their local bookstores.  Click here for a list of Canadian independent bookstores that will be participating in this years' Independent Bookstore Day! 

Monday, April 1, 2019

Man Booker Longlist Announced

With Canada Reads over, many of us are looking for a new curated booklist to work through. Luckily, the Man Booker International longlist, or "Man Booker Dozen," was recently revealed. Like a baker's dozen, it consists of thirteen toothsome delights to delve into before the winner is announced on May 21st. These translated novels hail from Chile (The Remainder) to South Korea (At Dusk) and everywhere in between, each promising an engaging and challenging read. For full details of the shortlist check out the Man Booker International website, where the shortlist will be posted on April 9th.

Friday, March 29, 2019

The Woes of the Comic Industry -- Interview with Faith Erin Hicks





Award-winning comics creator, Faith Erin Hicks, describes in her own words what it was like to write her first YA novel, Comics Will Break Your Heart, and her experience in the comic industry.

Hicks shares how as a comic creator, it was extremely difficult for her to read about how some comic creators don't retain ownership of the characters they create, or they lose copyright to their creations. This book was inspired by these issues, and to shed light on the struggle many comics face in this industry. 

Comics Will Break Your Heart is a sensitive and funny modern day romance, and shows what it takes to heal the past.  Click here to read more!