News, essays and notes on writing
I first met Michael R. Fletcher through Five Rivers Publishing, back in 2012 when the Earth was new and unicorns roamed the land. Then came Michael with his grimdark tales, and his captivating storytelling. The unicorns fled from the darkness. In their place came a character known as 88, and an eponymous novel I was thrilled to publish.
Rebecca Hirsch Garcia is an Ottawa author who is an O. Henry Award winner, and was a runner-up for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, as well as being shortlisted for an Ottawa Book Award. Other Evolutions is her debut novel.
Clayton B. Smith’s name first came to me during my time as a juror for the 2025 Sunburst Award. A Seal of Salvage is his debut novel went on to be shortlisted for the award.
Vanessa F. Penney is a bit of a mystery: a debut author, born in northern Newfoundland, raised in rural Nova Scotia, there is next to no information about her beyond those spare facts. There is no website about her. Her publisher has little beyond that information but for a photograph. This is intriguing.
C.J. Lavigne who, besides being a PhD in communications studies, and holding an MA in English Literature, is an award-winning speculative fiction writer.
Starship Librarians is the 15th anthology from Tyche Books, an indie publisher of fantastika, encompassing stories from Canadian authors. It is a wide range of styles and views, all presenting the premise of libraries following humanity into space.
Seventhblade is Tonia Laird’s first novel, published by ECW Press, an indie publisher which champions under-represented voices. Laird is a Métis writer from Treaty 6 territory, with a background writing for literary, fantasy and comic book publications, as well as a lorekeeper, writer and world-builder for video games
A new novel in Guy Gavriel Kay’s shared world, Written on the Dark offers a lush and evocative story set in a France-like setting during the 100 Years War, and often references the stories in Sailing to Sarantium and others.
You know that feeling you get when you’ve had that perfect cup of coffee on that perfect morning? That sense of completion and being complete, of knowing your place in the world and finding contentment in that?
Marketed as a romantic comedy, there is an element of the fantastic to the story, a bit of mystery, suspense, and even history for good measure.
Shane Peacock’s CV is quite impressive: an Ontario author, journalist, screenwriter, published in 20 languages and 18 countries. He’s won a sheaf of awards, both genre and literary, and been short-listed for a GG.
S.E. Kaiser is a Vancouver author, an outdoor enthusiast with an interest in history, any history. Writing, apparently, came about because of an unfortunate accident in which he broke his leg. The Elixir of Lies is a result of that injury.
James Bow is a science fiction and fantasy author living in Ontario, Canada, who works as a communications officer for a charitable land trust protecting lands from development.