DebutsTag

"What it Means to Be a Palestinian in Diaspora" Saeed Teebi on His Vivid & Wise Short Fiction Debut

Writer and lawyer Saeed Teebi's short story, "Her First Palestinian", an evocative, uncomfortable, brilliant gem of a character study, was shortlisted for the prestigious CBC Short Story Prize in 2021. ...

"Histories That are Buried Beneath the Mainstream" Sheila Murray on Telling the Stories of Two Mixed Race Men in Her New Novel

Nearly 100 years of history separate Cyril and Edward, two mixed race Black men who made Toronto their home in Sheila Murray's Finding Edward (Cormorant Books). When Cyril arrives from Jamaica in 2012, ...

Getting to Know Sara Flemington, Author of the Surprising and Brilliant Debut Novel Egg Island

Most kids had a daydream at some point about heading out on their own, finding a new and better home, preferably with a cool friend along for the adventure. But for Julia, the wary teenage lead in debut ...

Liana Cusmano on Welcoming Readers to See Themselves in Catch and Release, Their Debut Novel

There is a quote attributed to Aristotle which says that "knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom". This idea—that self-knowledge opens us up to discover and understand more—is elegantly illustrated ...

Ann Shin and Bardia Sinaee Win Big at the 35th Annual Trillium Book Awards

Yesterday, the evening saw writers and publishers gathered at Toronto's historic Arcadian Court to honour the finalists and winners of the 2022 Trillium Book Awards. Ontario Creates, the body which runs ...

"Blood Blooming Like Flowering Tea" Read an Excerpt from Francine Cunningham's Debut Story Collection, God Isn't Here Today

If the eye-catching title of Francine Cunningham's debut short story collection—God Isn't Here Today (Invisible Publishing)—wasn't enough to signal a bold, irreverent, powerful new writer, the stories ...

Janet Calcaterra on Crafting a Powerfully Intimate Novel Exploring the Legacy of War and Secrets

The myths and silences that grow up around family secrets can be like knots – tightening, fraying, and tangling over time until they seem impossible to unravel. In Janet Calcaterra's riveting family ...

Pik-Shuen Fung Wins 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award

It was a good night for Penguin Random House Canada's new Strange Light imprint last night, when Pik-Shuen Fung took home the 2022 Amazon Canada First Novel Award for Ghost Forest. The imprint identifies ...

Amazon Canada First Novel Award Shortlist Announced

Yesterday, Amazon Canada and The Walrus announced the shortlist for the forty-sixth annual Amazon Canada First Novel Award, which rewards the debut novel judged to be the finest of the year based on literary ...

Both Art and Relationships are "Liminal, Ever Evolving, & Expose Our Vulnerabilities": Melanie Mitzner on Her 90s-Set Debut Novel

The 90s may (somehow) be thirty years ago now, but in Melanie Mitzner's Slow Reveal (Inanna Publications), where are whisked back to the final decade of the 20th century for an intense family portrait ...