For Writer's Block, we chat with @mmburton.bsky.social about her first short fiction collection, A TEMPORARY GRACE (@breakwaterbooksltd.bsky.social), why she writes, & the importance of representing rural voices. Read the full interview at alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

"I count the galaxy of vinyl supernovas, wait for your subtle, consistent snore before making my exit." Blair Trewartha reads “Light Show for Osker,” a poem for his son from HALF-EARTH (@palimpsestpress.bsky.social), a collection exploring climate crisis & digital life. alllitup.ca/poetry-in-mo...

EVENT HORIZON (@bookhugpress.bsky.social) is the latest release from bestselling Swedish author Balsam Karam. Translated by Saskia Vogel, the novel depicts rebellion & a young heroine's belief in a better future. Read an exclusive excerpt from the novel at alllitup.ca/excerpted-ev...

"It made me feel as if I had a continuous self; it made me think it’s possible that nothing is lost." In her essay “Being Young Again,” Connie Gault (A STUDY IN RED, @thistledownpress.bsky.social) reflects on the joy of imagining youth as a 70-something writer. alllitup.ca/being-young-...

For Writer’s Block, we chat with @davidlywrites.bsky.social about his debut fantasy novel, NOT ALL DRAGONS (@wolsakandwynn.bsky.social), & the ways mythological creatures can guide the exploration of belonging, memory, and identity. Read the full interview at: alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

We're revisiting some old favourites and new-to-some titles from Freehand Books, an award-winning publisher of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by celebrated authors and exciting new voices. Check them out here: alllitup.ca/press-playba...

The fantastic meets realism in Hollie Adams’ soon-to-be-released short story collection, DEAR HUMANS (@newestpress.bsky.social). Read an exclusive sneak peek from the collection at alllitup.ca/excerpted-de..., and look out for it on shelves or online on June 1.

In her memoir LATE BLOOMER (Inanna Publications), Mary Lou Dickinson reflects on single motherhood, activism, & finding her voice later in life. Today, she shares how her grandmother—a food editor at the Toronto Telegram—helped shape that journey from the very beginning. alllitup.ca/under-the-co...

@michellewillms.bsky.social' debut memoir NORTHERN GIRLS (Baraka Books) is a collection of 9 true stories navigating generational trauma, parental addiction, & resilience. For Writer's Block, Michelle speaks to writing as a means to heal & overcome fear. Read more at: alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

"We can direct the reader’s imagination with pictures, but we can also let them fill in the blanks with words that inspire their imagination." We chat with Stefano Jun about his slice-of-life graphic novels MODERN ASIAN FAMILY from @renegadeartsent.bsky.social alllitup.ca/from-web-com...

WEIRD BABIES (Porcupine’s Quill) is the latest surreal short story collection from Pushcart-nominated poet & author @jaclyndesforges.bsky.social exploring just that—weird babies. Read a full excerpt from the collection at: alllitup.ca/excerpted-we...

"In genre we can make subtext into text, and we can make text weird." We chat with @inkstainedwreck.ca about speculative fiction & his forthcoming book THE LIBRARY COSMIC (@wolsakandwynn.bsky.social), a collection of stories that considers the mysteries of life. alllitup.ca/dont-explain...

In our latest Writer’s Block installment, M.C. Joudrey speaks about his new novel, MARMALADE PARADE (@guernicaeditions.bsky.social), and shares the perfect cocktail of writers who have influenced his own style. Read the full interview at: alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

For #ShortStoryMonth, short story writer @laurairock.bsky.social recommends six standout collections from @anvilpress.bsky.social, @pressassembly.bsky.social, @guernicaeditions.bsky.social, @greatplainspress.bsky.social, @invisibooks.bsky.social & @llpmtl.bsky.social alllitup.ca/afterword-6-...

We rounded up 12 new and newish books by Asian-Canadian authors for #AsianHeritageMonth + 100 more books: alllitup.ca/book-list/as...

"The time you wake up on a beach, soft sound of breath / and Pacific Ocean waves smoothing the shore— / pale-wet, pale-wet." On this last day of #ALUPoetsResist, we chat with Chelsea Coupal about her collection U ALIVE (@thistledownpress.bsky.social) & read a poem: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

“...all reading & writing is a kind of magical portal to other worlds, to imagining better worlds, & to gathering strength to resist injustice.” Read about @reneesarojini.bsky.social's modern epic, BRAMAH’S DISCOVERY (@nightwoodeditions.bsky.social), for #ALUPoetsResis: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"We thought they would be parallel or even diverging tracks going on into the distance forever." Read a poem from Di Brandt's forthcoming collection LITTLE DRAGONS (Turnstone Press) and our interview with Di for #ALUPoetsResist here: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

Continuing #ALUPoetsResist, we speak with @mahailasmith.ca about their poetry collection, SEED BEETLE (@stelliform.press), which follows a community fighting to reclaim its agency & unlearn harmful colonial practices. Learn more and listen to a reading of a poem at alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

Today is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day! We’re grateful to indie booksellers for their support of indie Canadian publishers and creators, and for their work in building communities. Visit indiebookstores.ca/CIBD for details. #CIBD2026 #ShopLocal #IndieBookstoreDay #IndieBookstores

"One may take action or / do nothing: slowly, I / dissolve into this exterior / which doesn't exist." Nicole Raziya Fong reads a poem from their collection SUBTEXT (@talonbooks.bsky.social), which explores identity through diasporic history & memory for #ALUPoetsResist. alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

Packed with nearly 100 poems & 400 illustrations, @christianmcpherson.bsky.social’s zine-esque poetry collection SCREAMING OBSCENITIES AT THE SKY (@atbaypress.bsky.social) embraces anger & art as powerful tools to resist injustice. Read more for #ALUPoetsResist at: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"In our poetry, we embrace and enlarge all possible categories." David Waltner-Toews shares his thoughts on the role of poetry and reads from his decades-spanning collection NEW & SELECTED POEMS (@cmupress-ca.bsky.social) for #ALUPoetsResist: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

In NEBULAS (@coachhousebooks.bsky.social), award-winning poet @meghankempgee.bsky.social looks to the stars to make meaning out of loss & sacrifice in unprecedented times. Celebrate National Poetry Month with #ALUPoetsResist & read our full interview with Meghan at alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"Out of hope I write, and in having written, I find reason to hope." Richard Harrison is today's featured poet in our #ALUPoetsResist series w/ a poem from his book MY MOTHER JOINS THE RESISTANCE (@wolsakandwynn.bsky.social). Read our interview and a poem from his book: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

Sadie McCarney’s THE BRIGHT AFTERS is a novel-in-verse (@ecwpress.bsky.social) about anti-queer violence & queer resilience. For #ALUPoetsResist, she reflects on poetry as a way of building connection and reads a poem from the book: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

“Methods of resistance change, but writers have been and will continue to resist inequality, exploitation, and erasure.” @amyjleblanc.bsky.social shares a poem from her collection, I USED TO LIVE HERE (Porcupine’s Quill), for #ALUPoetsResist. Read the poem at: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"My mother tells me: / the greatest proof that God is a man / is what He lets happen to women." For #ALUPoetsResist @quratdar.bsky.social shares a poem from her collection NON-PROPHET (@gooselane.bsky.social), winner of the Claire Harris Poetry Prize. Read it here: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

@jenniferlovegrove.bsky.social's THE TINDER SONNETS (@bookhugpress.bsky.social) weaves myth & folklore to celebrate female sexual desire & navigate misogyny & entitlement under patriarchal systems. For #ALUPoetsResist, read more about the book & listen to a reading at: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"They tried to lose you from us / but you are always and forever / found to me" Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha gave us full-body chills with a reading from their new collection THE WAY DISABLED PEOPLE LOVE EACH OTHER (@arsenalpulp.bsky.social) for #ALUPoetsResist alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"Poems are Tarot spreads: they tell you who we are and who we could be." Ariel Gordon chats with us about what poetry makes possible and shares a poem from her dystopian book BLOOD LETTERS (@greatplainspress.bsky.social) for #ALUPoetsResist. alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

In her debut collection CHIMERAS (Inanna Publications), Tegan Zimmerman reclaims the Greek mythological creature as a feminist symbol to explore maternal & feminine identity, memory, & mother-daughter relationships. Read our interview with Tegan for #ALUPoetsResist at: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"Exile is a broken thread of salty / water joined in part by WhatsApp / stories" @jidesalawu.bsky.social shares a poem from his book CONTRABAND BODIES (@newestpress.bsky.social) and chats with us about poetry and community for #ALUPoetsResist alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

For #ALUPoetsResist, D.A. Lockhart reads from his collection COMMONWEALTH (@kegedoncepress.bsky.social), a lyrical meditation that challenges settler narratives to sit with loss and the human need to move freely. Check out the reading and read our interview with D.A. at alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"Poetry is the best expression of resistance." Bänoo Zan is today's poet on #ALUPoetsResist with a poem from WOMAN LIFE FREEDOM: POEMS FOR THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION (@guernicaeditions.bsky.social), an anthology she co-edited, tracing the Woman Life Freedom movement. alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

#ALUPoetsResist continues with Delores V. Mullings' BLACK GIRL IN THE RING (@breakwaterbooksltd.bsky.social) a bold work of resistance against colonial values that insists on Black women's right to tell their own stories. Read the interview & listen to a reading: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

"think / of the precedent / you are setting, / everyone who may get to stand / in line / beside you." #ALUPoetsResist begins w/ Pujita Verma whose collection PRECEDENCE (Brick Books) is a coming-of-age about surviving abuse. Read the interview & listen to a reading: alllitup.ca/poets-resist...

It's #NationalPoetryMonth tomorrow! Follow our series, #ALUPoetsResist where we bring together 21 poets whose work reminds us that poetry is its own quiet, but meaningful act of resistance. Check out our line-up of poets here: alllitup.ca/national-poe...

A gripping literary thriller, award-winning author Thomas Trofimuk's sixth novel, SAUDADE (@newestpress.bsky.social), follows protagonist Bruce Flynn across Europe & North America as he searches for his wife who has mysteriously vanished. Read an excerpt from the novel: alllitup.ca/excerpted-sa...

You know we love a good #CanadaReads debate, and we can't wait to see how it all plays out. For now, we're getting excited with follow-up reads from independent Canadian publishers, naturally. Check them out! alllitup.ca/ready-to-can...

What better way to celebrate spring than by taking part in a little exploring? This edition of Field Trip heads to the Niagara Region to visit two incredible indie bookstores bringing stories of every kind to their communities. Read about the trip at: alllitup.ca/field-trip-e...

"One final question the novel seems to ask: isn’t it a wonder when love overcomes our many human failures?" In Afterword, short-story writer Laura Rock Gaughan offers a considered reflection on Liz Johnston’s novel THE FALL-DOWN EFFECT @bookhugpress.bsky.social. alllitup.ca/afterword-li...

Dedicated to creating outstanding literary works by Canadian and Quebec writers and translators, Montreal’s @llpmtl.bsky.social has a unique focus on stories that engage with the ever-changing worlds we live in. Explore five must-reads from their backlist at: alllitup.ca/press-playba...

If you like your fiction wonderfully weird, this Off/Kilter roundup is for you. Check out our eight most anticipated books this spring: alllitup.ca/off-kilter-2...

Russell Smith talks with us about his latest novel, SELF CARE (@biblioasis.bsky.social), an unlikely love story between two mismatched strangers exploring love & loneliness. Read our full interview where Russell speaks to what makes for good dramatic tension at: alllitup.ca/i-want-the-s...

Read an excerpt from award-winning author David Homel’s latest collection, I MADE A PROMISE I COULD NOT KEEP (@llpmtl.bsky.social), exploring the strange moral landscape writers inhabit when they sit down to tell the truth, or at least, something like it. alllitup.ca/excerpted-i-...

Jason Allen’s 52 THINGS TO DO IN HAMILTON (@wolsakandwynn.bsky.social) draws on two decades of calling Hamilton home to invite readers to explore the city with a fresh perspective. Read our latest Under the Cover for the stories & discoveries that inspired the book: alllitup.ca/under-the-co...

Elana Wolff joins Writer's Block to talk about writing, the Kafka-inspired strategy she uses to combat creative blocks, and her eighth collection of poems EVERYBODY KNOWS A GHOST (@guernicaeditions.bsky.social). Read the interview here: alllitup.ca/writers-bloc...

Read excerpts from award-winning poet David Martin’s latest collection, NIGHTSTEAD (@palimpsestpress.bsky.social). An elegy for his younger brother, Martin blends direct verse with childhood recollections to create an utterly unique and deeply personal poetic memoir. alllitup.ca/two-poems-ni...

We're revisiting some old favourites and new-to-some titles from @wolsakandwynn.bsky.social, an award-winning publisher of boundary-breaking books from Hamilton, Ontario. Check them out here: alllitup.ca/press-playba...