As the economy continues to take a nose dive here in Alberta, I’m becoming more and more determined to read local and encouraging others to do the same. When possible, buying locally-authored books from an independent book store is even better because it keeps the money in your community PLUS it helps the publishing industry…
How to Pronounce Knife by Souvankham Thammavongsa most recently appeared on the Scotiabank Giller Prize longlist, and we’ll find out on October 5 if it makes it to the shortlist. Interestingly, it’s a collection of short stories, written by a poet. It’s rare that a collection of short stories appears on an award list like…
Some of you may be wondering where my reviews of the 2019 Short Story Advent Calendar are, because in years past, I’ve posted a review every single day from December 1 to December 25. Well I’ve smartened up because it was just too time intensive to make a youtube video each and every day, so…
Can I get a hurrah for linked short story collections? Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta is a quiet yet decisive book that doesn’t gloss over the first and second generation immigrant experience in Canada. And instead of getting a disjointed look at these experiences through a raft of different characters, we follow one person, Kara…
People who work at or attend universities seem to make numerous appearances in Amina Gautier’s collection of short stories The Loss of All Lost Things. Is this a problem? No, of course not, and it makes a lot of sense when you discover that Gautier is a professor of creative writing at the University of…
