Deal announcement! Congratulations to @charlenechallenger , whose THE ARCHITECT TO ELSEWHERE has been sold to @diana.pho.auntie.editor at @erewhonbooks in a two-book deal. ARCHITECT comes out in 2028! Congratulations again, Charlene! 🥳
We (I) haven’t posted one of these in a while, but here is the list of books from Canadian independent publishers that were most borrowed in April 2026, compiled by the Literary Press Group with @booknet_canada data. On it, @denisonavenue still going strong, and a new entry for @reneesylvestrewilliams ’s THE SINGLES TAX, both with @ecwpress !
Congratulations to Kate Cayley and @coachhousebooks , as PROPERTY has been shortlisted for the Amazon Canada First Novel Award, co-presented with @thewalrus !
Congratulations Kate Cayley on joining 29 other authors in being longlisted for the 2026 @cbcbooks Short Story Prize! Shortlist to come April 30 and winner announced May 7!
Just got my agent’s copies of LES MAÎTRES DU SOL (MASTERS OF THE LAND) by @ryadassanirazaki ! This comes out in French on April 29. 2026, with @vlb_editeur . Very excited for this sweeping epic historical novel about Africa.
A manhunt rages in Aldea, a fishing village on the coast of present-day Ghana, for the drunkard who murdered an oburoni—one of the warrior-merchants who arrived from distant Portugal many years ago—in the middle of the street. From their clifftop fortress, the oburoni are increasingly interfering in the affairs of the kingdom, and the omanhene no longer rules entirely alone. The elders are worried, but no one seems fully aware of the new forces that govern the hearts and destinies of men. When land ceases to be an inheritance and becomes a commodity, the balance of the world falters.
From the coast of Elmina to the libraries of ancient Timbuktu, MASTERS OF THE LAND unfolds in a striking panorama the ravages of the first contacts between Africa and Europe in the 15th century. Ryad Assani-Razaki’s second novel is also a spiritual and political meditation on the sovereignty of peoples, and the means of regaining it.
Congratulations and happy book birthday to @sheung_king , whose award-winning BATSHIT SEVEN comes out today in paperback with @penguincanada ! On top of all the other praise, the 2024 @writerstrust Atwood Gibson Fiction Prize jury called it “A perfect amalgam of form and idea, Batshit Seven is poignant, darkly hilarious, and stunningly original.”
Thank you to the Penguin Canada team, but in particular, @sundelacruzdeborah for championing this book, @cest.la.mer for the beautiful paperback, and @nattsakiris7 for getting people aware of the book.
Get your copy of BATSHIT SEVEN at your favourite local bookstore!
Launch details for @reneesylvestrewilliams ’s THE SINGLES TAX (@ECWPress )! If you’re single and want to be in more control of your finances, and/or learn about how single people have been financially disadvantaged for decades and why, this is your book, your launch, your turning point. I hope I’ll see you there.
More info:
Date: February 18
Time: 6:30 pm EST
Location: Marketplace Theatre at @thewell_to
Join Toronto Lit Up, part of the Toronto International Festival of Authors for an evening celebrating the launch of The Singles Tax: No-Nonsense Financial Advice for Solo Earners by Renée Sylvestre-Williams (ECW Press). The event will take place at the Marketplace Theatre at The Well at 6:30pm.
There will be a fireside chat with Renée, hosted by personal finance journalist Lora Grady from the Toronto Star. Afterwards, a Q&A and book signing will follow.
Light refreshments will be served. Books will be available for purchase on site.
This is a free event. Full details are in Renée’s bio. And@sign up for her newsletter, The Budgette, at budgette.substack.com
#book #thesinglesupplement #torontolife
Look at this brilliant cover of the brilliant @delbauchery ’s TOUGHER THAN THE REST, published by the brilliant @arsenalpulp , coming out Fall 2026! The stories in this collection are titled after rock songs by mens, and cast both a tender and cutting eye at themes such as loneliness, gentrification, trying to fit in, despair, and maybe a ghost, depending on how the edit goes. I’m looking forward to this, you’re looking forward to this, let’s all preorder five copies when the time comes, yes? Brilliant cover by @fleckcreative !
A wonderful evening of music, poetry, and conviviality at @theburdockmusichall , organized by @banutabnr , featuring readings by @paulvermeersch , @adamsol42 , Kate Cayley, and guest Kārlis Vērdiņš; and musical performances by Jānis Ozoliņš. It was brilliant (personally speaking), and thank you to Banuta for organizing this evening!
