#69 | Fall/Winter 2016 http://ambp.ca/pbn/ FREE The accidental plus: New work from David Bergen inside publisher Prairie books for kids page 24 & young adults A feature on As well as fiction, drama, A novel from poetry, & non-fiction strong women gg winner Katherena … and much more! Vermette page 26 page 28 Publications Mail Agreement Number 40023290 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Association of Manitoba Book Publishers 404–100 Arthur Street, Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3 Escape into a good book this winter C.S. Reardon Cora Siré Judith Alguire Endre Farkas 978-1927426-92-0 978-1927426-89-0 $19.95 $19.95 978-1927426-95-1 978-1927426-86-9 $16.95 $19.95 www.signature-editions.com Reckoning Social Studies Tara Beagan & Andy Moro Trish Cooper 978-1927922-26-2, $15.95 978-1927922-27-9, $15.95 If Truth Be Told True Beverley Cooper Rosa Labordé 978-1927922-28-6, $15.95 978-1927922-25-5, $15.95 FALL 2016 www.jgshillingford.com REPRESENTED BY THE CANADIAN MANDA GROUP • DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS With Love and Keeper a Major Organ Tanisha Taitt Julia Lederer 978-1927922-20-0, $15.95 978-1927922-22-4, $15.95 Vitals Liberation Days Rosamund Small David van Belle 978-1927922-24-8, $15.95 978-1927922-21-7, $15.95 #69 FALL/WINTER TOC 2016 NON- FICTION 7 Sacred FICTION 17 Feminine Love Beyond Space & Time 42 YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN What Matters OUR FEATURED PUBLISHER 7 Love Beyond Space & Time: DRAMA Sci-fi anthology gives voices to 24 The accidental publisher: 33 I Am For You: Stage fighting Indigenous LGBT writers Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing a tool for resolution 8 The Archaeologists: Characters STRONG WOMEN attempt to burst through POETRY 26 Rising Abruptly: Climbing acts suburban ennui in new novel 34 On Not Losing My Father’s as metaphor in new collection 9 The Devil Will Come: Story Ashes in the Flood: Poet 27 Stranger: Bergen’s latest a collection explores evil chronicles his father’s life and death in new book powerful novel of haves and NON-FICTION have nots 36 Silent Sister: Collection chronicles 12 Abandoned Manitoba: The 28 The Break: Vermette’s novel poet’s cancer journey friendly provinces forgotten explores identity, culture, violence, 37 Tell Them It Was Mozart: historical sites focus of new book and belonging Poet hopes to educate others 13 Best of Bridge: Cookbook 29 Lifting Weights: Short story about autism showcases 225 slow cooker recipes collection explores strength, YOUNG ADULT & CHILDREN wisdom 14 Firewater: Author challenges readers to talk about alcohol abuse 38 Another Me: YA novel shows 30 Imperial Plots: Book examines how disaster doesn’t discriminate female homesteaders on the 15 Indigenous Writes: Author Prairies wants everyone to understand 39 The Griffin of Darkwood: Indigenous issues Citra explores loss, adventure 31 The Waiting Place: Author’s first and mystery in new novel novel explores pregnancy and 16 The Pipestone Wolves: Book other labours chronicles the downfall of the 40 Panama Pursuit: Oertel release Pipestone wolves 4th book in successful series FICTION 17 Sacred Feminine: Colouring book 41 The Stone Gift: Delaronde’s latest 4 Behold Things Beautiful: Poet’s showcases Anishinaabe culture hits home novel one of exile and courage 18 Wildlife, Land, and People: 42 What Matters: Picture book 5 Border Markers: A prairie New book explores conservatism teaches how human actions mystery unravels in flash on the prairies have environmental consequence fiction novel EN FRANÇAIS 6 Hot Town: Small town living the 47 Bookends/About Our Contributors backdrop for Trull’s short stories 32 The latest in Prairie French- language titles fiction HOME PLACE Poet’s novel one of exile and courage by Margaret Goldik ora Siré brings her poet’s eye for detail and lyrical Clanguage to Behold Things Beautiful, a finely constructed novel which deals with, Siré says, “a recurrent theme in my writing – identity, place, and the sense of belonging.” The protagonist, Alma Alvarez, left the fictional South American country of Luscano 12 years before, after a brutal military coup when she was imprisoned and tortured. She now teaches in Montreal and is writing a book about Uruguayan poet Delmira Agustini. But she is persuaded by an old friend, Flaco, to come back to Luscano where things have not changed as much as she had hoped. Siré remarks that “I’m dealing with the about whom Siré says, “What struck me at the notion of ‘reverse exile’ or what happens outset was the timelessness of her verses, even when someone who was obliged to leave their though they were written in the early 1900s.” country returns after a prolonged absence.” Agustini died young and dramatically, and her Alma’s exile in Canada has left her life as told by Siré adds depth to the experiences grieving for her home and her loved ones. of Alma – “Imagine existing as a free spirit in the As this passage describes, she is able to wrong time, an exile in your own country.” The appreciate Luscano despite her uneasiness poet’s short life and sudden end reinforce what about returning: “Walking with Flaco from Alma knows about the power of poetry. the campus through the downtown traffic, Siré’s poetic descriptions breathe life into an Alma had breathed the city’s imaginary country. “A faint bleaching on the essence in all its layers. Coffee, horizon and the country stirred, beginning with BEHOLD THINGS exhaust fumes, puddles sizzling the airborne, horneros and swallows and pigeons, BEAUTIFUL in the afternoon sun, savoury and above them, the first airplane of the day sliding Cora Siré wafts of empanadas, the leathery south through Luscanan airspace.” Signature Editions pungency of shoe polish, the roses Canadian-born Siré travels to Argentina, Chile, $19.95 pb, 256 pages and lilies offered by vendors along and Uruguay, the countries she drew upon to create isbn: 978-1-927426-89-0 the plaza, and the hawkers’ cries. Luscano, on a regular basis. A short walk, not more than ten “To a large extent,” Siré explains, “Luscano minutes, and an immersion, her reflects my love for, and fears about, the region. I footsteps affirming, I’m back, I’m back.” think that just as you can fall in love with a person, Flaco has asked Alma to return, ostensibly to you can also fall in love with a place.” Her first trip give a lecture on Agustini. He has another, more to Argentina “coincided with the period shortly important, agenda, however, and Alma is forced after the military dictatorship during which 30,000 to face her past. Argentines disappeared, that is, were abducted and Siré takes the reader through two women’s lives killed by the junta,” she says. – Alma, physically and psychically scarred by “So with love comes fear and, through my her torture and imprisonment, who has to decide writing, I’ve explored this dichotomy.” whether or not to deconstruct the protective barriers she has built around herself, and Agustini, 4 Prairie books Now | fall/winter 2016 fiction Murder she wrote A prairie mystery unravels in flash fiction novel by Bev Sandell Greenberg uthor Jenny Ferguson may well have pioneered a new structure Ain her debut novel Border Markers. Written in 33 flash fiction chapters, it is a compelling story of murder in a small Prairie city. “I thought my book would likely be students, seemed to feel complete a very large novel, but that didn’t quite enough to give a wide enough picture happen. I stumbled on the flash fiction of the world I wanted to paint.” form and it worked,” says Ferguson. “I The setting of the novel is based on wrote the first chapter and it felt right. Ferguson’s memories of Lloydminster, So I wrote 32 more chapters.” Saskatchewan. “A long time ago, as The story focuses on Poppy, a recent a teenager, I relocated from megacity high school graduate, and her brother Toronto to Lloydminster, where I was Chuck, a drug dealer. At the outset, clearly an outsider. In a way that I Chuck is serving time for the murder of hadn’t expected, Lloydminster branded Poppy’s boyfriend. A year after Chuck’s itself on whatever part of my mind is conviction, Poppy leaves home, using responsible for stories.” travel as an antidote for grief while her In fact, the title of the novel is based parents’ marriage unravels. Much of on an image from Lloydminster’s past. BORDER MARKERS the novel alternates between past and “When I moved there, massive reddish Jenny Ferguson present to reveal the events orange pillars marked the NeWest Press leading up to the murder line between Alberta and $15.95 pb, 104 pages as well as the characters’ Saskatchewan,” states isbn: 978-1-926455-69-3 back stories. Ferguson. “They loomed While writing the novel, over our lives, but one day, Ferguson enjoyed working the city took them down.” “There’s a loss at the centre of this with a large number of To a great extent, the novel. By fracturing my grief across characters. However, her novel plays with the idea a community, and by looking at it biggest challenge was of borders and how we through different lenses, I understand knowing when to stop mark them out, according that loss and others better now.” and when she had enough to Ferguson. “In a lot of On a final note, Ferguson believes characters on the pages. ways, the characters in this that Canadian books with Canadian “In the end,” Ferguson says, “I found novel are planted in the ground on the settings, such as Border Markers, can working with three distinct groups, border of two provinces,” she says.