We can’t be the only ones who wait with anticipation for publishers’ new season catalogues to drop. There’s something about seeing all those fresh titles that brings so much giddy possibility. (“I could be reading these soon!”) We’ve collected just a taste of some of BC’s hottest new releases for you here, in the hope of spreading this book-joy around. Enjoy!
Growing Up Elizabeth May: The Making of an Activist by Sylvia Olsen with Cate May Burton (Orca Book Publishers)
Fighting for the health and safety of the planet and all its inhabitants just comes naturally to Elizabeth May. An activist and climate campaigner since she was a young child, this book takes younger readers through May’s extraordinary life fighting for the Earth. From her early activism to her career in politics, this book is part biography, part inspiration for any young climate activists eager to join the good fight against the climate crisis.
Park Bagger: Adventures in the Canadian National Parks by Marlis Butcher (Rocky Mountain Books)
There are a lot of national parks in Canada. Like, a lot, a lot. They are so numerous, and some of them are so punishingly inaccessible, that it must be impossible to visit them all, right? Wrong! Explorer Marlis Butcher has made it her mission to bag all of Canada’s national parks, and to bring the experience to less adventurous readers through exciting essays and gorgeous, full-colour photography. These are the parks you never knew existed, as documented by the person who visited them all.
First Nations Wildfire Evacuations: A Guide for Communities and External Agencies by Tara K. McGee, Amy Cardinal Christianson, and First Nations Wildfire Evacuation Partnership (UBC Press)
Covering topics such as how to assess what level of evacuation is needed, appropriate communication, and care for Elders and vulnerable community members, this book is an indispensable guide for ensuring the safety of any community at risk from wildfires. Though it was written for and with first-hand knowledge of First Nations communities, the reality is that the changing climate brings with it heat and wildfire risks that cannot be ignored by any community. This is a tell-all guide for wildfire survival and mitigation that everyone should read.
What’s in it for ME? by LS Stone (Rebel Mountain Press)
Sometimes it can be hard to leave our bubbles of comfort and individual goals and desires. But as LS Stone’s incredible new middle grade novel demonstrates, stepping outside of all that, exploring the unknown and offering our skills to good causes can be an intensely rewarding endeavor. Following fifteen year-old Nick’s journey from a comfortable, middle-class Canadian life to helping at an elephant refuge in Thailand, Stone gives readers activism and adventure in equal measure.
A Journey Back to Nature: A History of Strathcona Provincial Park by Catherine Marie Gilbert (Heritage House)
Even the most remote, seemingly ordinary places have full, rich histories lying just under the surface that many people never realize. Strathcona Provincial Park is one such place. Tucked away in the middle of Vancouver Island, the park has been a contested space for generations. This fascinating history takes readers through its various meanings and envisionings, from Indigenous stewardship to settler development, to provincial protection, this park has a multitude of hidden histories.
Music from a Strange Planet by Barbara Black by (Caitlin Press & Dagger Editions)
Barbara Black brings readers the strange, the unexplained, and the magical in this collection of genre-bending short stories. Taking a deep look into the psyche of the human soul, each story bends reality just a little to get to the heart of our greatest fears and our deepest desires. If you’re a fan of fiction that dances on the line of the uncanny, then this is the perfect collection for you.
Tainna: The Unseen Ones by Norma Dunning (Douglas & McIntyre)
Beautiful and evocative, Norma Dunning’s collection of short stories inspired by living and cultural memory takes readers away on a breath-taking spiritual adventure. Each of these modern-day Inuk stories captivates the imagination and draws readers into a world of magic and wonder.
Sunday Drive to Gun Club Road by Marion Quednau (Nightwood Editions)
Continuing on with the theme of the unseen and the unknowable in short stories, Marion Quednau brings readers stories of lives shaped and reshaped on the margins. Sometimes the most significant events of our lives take place in the ordinary, quotidian actions that we take for granted. Quednau helps us find deeper meaning where it is hidden in this debut short story collection.
All the Broken Things by Geoff Inverarity (Anvil Press)
All things come apart in the end. Entropy is inevitable. These are the lessons within Geoff Inverarity’s poetry collection All the Broken Things. Everything we do, feel and create as humans is temporary—but that doesn’t mean the world is full of despair. Inverarity probes the full range of the human experience in his poems, taking the reader through several lifetimes of joy and pain and hopefully, bringing a little perspective in the process.
The List of Last Chances: A Novel by Christina Myers (Caitlin Press)
What would you do if you had one last chance to tie up all the loose ends in your life? This is the situation Ruthie finds herself mixed up in when she takes on the task of driving one old woman from one end of the country to the other. What was supposed to be an easy escort mission turns into an unexpected journey of detours and relived memories as Ruthie tries to balance an old woman’s bucket list with the demands of her anxious son awaiting her arrival in Vancouver.