During the frenzied Klondike Gold Rush, many daring women ventured north to seek riches and adventure or to escape a troubled past. These unforgettable, strong-willed women defied the social conventions of the time and endured heartbreak and horrific conditions to build a life in the wild North. At the height of the gold rush, Martha Purdy, Nellie …

In July 1924, Scottish nursemaid Janet Smith was murdered in Vancouver’s wealthy Shaughnessy Heights. Her killer was never apprehended, but the investigation had shocking consequences. Twenty years later, Molly Justice was stabbed to death in a Saanich park. Her murderer has never been charged, even though police were virtually certain of his ide …

The women in these stories did the unthinkable for their time: they followed their own paths, flouting convention and daring to break from the traditions of family and marriage. They chose a life outside the norm, a decision for which most paid dearly. Nell Shipman was overlooked because she was not as acquiescent as required; she opened an indepen …

The blossoming of Métis society and culture in the 19th century marked a fascinating and colourful era in western Canadian history. Drawing from journals and contemporary sources, Irene Ternier Gordon presents a vivid account of Métis life in the area that is now Saskatchewan and Alberta. Here are the stories of the masters of the plains—Métis …

The early history of the Hudson’s Bay Company comes alive in these true tales of fur-trade wars, incredible wilderness journeys, hardships and danger. Founded by the extraordinary adventurers and renegades Radisson and des Groseilliers, the HBC attracted many memorable characters. Explorer Henry Kelsey was the first European to see the buffalo he …

In 1897, tens of thousands of would-be prospectors flooded into the Yukon in search of instant wealth during the Klondike Gold Rush. In this historical tale of mayhem and obsession, characters like prospectors George Carmack and Skookum Jim, Skagway gangster Soapy Smith and Mountie Sam Steele come to life. Enduring savage weather, unforgiving terra …

Winner of the Aboriginal Children's Book of the Year Award, 2006 Anskohk Aboriginal Literature Festival and Book Awards

Kayâs is a young Cree man who is blessed with a Gift that makes him a talented hunter. He knows the ways of the Beings he hunts and can even talk with them in their own languages. But when he becomes proud and takes his abilities …

Here are the stories of singularly courageous West Coast women—driven, obsessed, sometimes desperate people whose nonconformist beliefs and actions made them rebels in society’s eyes. Many faced hardship and ridicule as they pursued their goals. In these vivid biographies, Rich Mole chronicles the lives of some of the most celebrated and contro …

Katie plans to win the junior girls' barrel race at her Alberta town's Heritage Days Rodeo. She has a good chance on her fast, sure-footed trail horse Fudge.

As the day approaches, however, her older brother John claims he needs to ride Fudge, and their parents back him up. Katie scrambles to locate another mount. When she finally finds an all-black …

In this sequel to Lightning Rider, January and her family have taken in an RCMP summer student as a boarder. When Willow Whitecloud pulls up on her Kawasaki ZX-10R, January takes an instant liking to her. Willow becomes both a friend and a spiritual guide, who helps January connect with her Native heritage. But January is shocked when a number of c …

After many years of denial, the Halifax's city government has finally acknowledged the wrongs that were done to the residents and the community of Africville, and has agreed to make amends for its actions.

This extensively illustrated book was prepared by the Africville Genealogy Society and published originally in 1992. Long out of print, it is bei …

Was Barbie was the first feminist doll? She always worked in interesting positions, never married, never had a child, and never did house work. Yet today, many women who played with Barbie when they were children consider her to be an inappropriate role model, although these same women often have interesting Barbie stories to tell. In Forever Barbi …

Born in 1889, Gertrude Harding spent a boistrous childhood on a Welsford, New Brunswick, farm. She travelled to Hawaii to live with her sister, and, when her sister moved to London in 1912, Harding went with her. One day, from the top of a London bus, she saw a parade of women carrying large white posters. Attended by a policeman, they walked in si …

One Friday, Walter Dohaney, novelist M.T. (Jean) Dohaney's husband, went out as usual to play hockey with his friends. She never saw him alive again. Without warning, Jean was plunged into the most painful and disorienting experience of her life. Faced with a tumult of emotions and sudden responsibilities, she turned to her writing for solace and b …

In the early hours of April 22, 1914, American President Woodrow Wilson sent Marines to seize the port of Veracruz in an attempt to alter the course of the Mexican Revolution. As a result, the United States seemed on the brink of war with Mexico. An international uproar ensued. The governments of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile offered to mediate a pe …

“Too many survivors of Canada’s Indian residential schools live to forget. Theodore Fontaine writes to remember.”
– Hana Gartner, CBC’s The Fifth Estate

Bestselling Memoir, McNally Robinson Booksellers

Approved curriculum resource for grade 9–12 students in British Columbia and Manitoba.

Theodore Niizhotay Fontaine lost his family and fre …

Abandoned by her father during the Depression, eleven-year-old Elsie lives in the garage behind her old house with her mother, grandmother Nan and out-of-work uncle. Elsie's friend Scoop accompanies her as she searches for her father in the city, encountering unfriendly hobos, food lines and shantytowns.

After both her uncle and her mother disappear …

Yax is too young to accompany his father on a trading expedition and must stay at home with his mother and his younger sister. Disappointed, he goes off to practise his spear-throwing. When he loses his spear, he thinks he is old enough to go into the forest to look for it, even though he has been warned about the dangers that await children who wa …

The best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured annually with the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world's richest and most prestigious literary awards. The 2010 edition of the anthology includes poems from all the books to be shortlisted this year by judges Anne Carson, Kathleen Jamie, and Carl Phillips. Th …

What is the 'Toronto look'? Glass skyscrapers rise beside Victorian homes, and Brutalist apartment buildings often mark the edge of leafy ravines, creating a city of contrasts whose architectural look can only be defined by telling the story of how it came together and how it works, today, as an imperfect machine.

Shawn Micallef has been examining T …

When detective Rick Montoya returns to the city to try to clear his name after being accused of taking a bribe, he discovers someone is living in his apartment. Before he can find out who it is, the apartment house goes up in flames. Rick watches covertly as the police remove two bodies. Was the firebombing meant for him? Who exactly was killed in …

In the spring of 1954, when her father announces that the family has a chance to immigrate to Canada, Theresa's life changes forever. She and her family are wartime refugees from Yugoslavia, so it shouldn't be hard to leave Austria. But the weathered barracks of Lager Lichtenstein are the only home she knows, and they are filled with family and fri …

Giving his characters life in a whirlwind of words, Daniel MacIvor showcases his talents as a writer and performer in two of his most celebrated solo shows. Published here for the first time in their newly revised scripts, House and Here Lies Henry seethe with anger and soothe with comedy.In House, Victor drags his audience through his life, his fa …

Addison's mother wants to sell their comfortable old house and move into a townhouse in a new development across town - a shoe box near a shoe factory, Addison calls it. As usual, Addison's brain goes into overdrive as he tries to solve two problems: first he must get his mother to see their old house in a new light, and then he must figure out who …

With her multiple-award-winning, bestselling, and critically acclaimed novel The Outlander, Gil Adamson established herself as one of our preeminent fiction writers. But ten years before The Outlander, when Adamson published another book of fiction with a small press, readers and critics immediately sat up and took note. Barbara Gowdy called Help M …

Winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize (2002)

Stunning and masterful in its execution, Eunoia is a five-chapter book in which each chapter is a univocal lipogram.

The word ‘eunoia,’ which literally means ‘beautiful thinking,’ is the shortest word in English that contains all five vowels. Directly inspired by the Oulipo (l’Ouvroir de Littératur …

When the Edmonton Oil Kings discover that Reuben Reuben has a hockey game as unforgettable as his name and his Inuit heritage, life changes in a hurry for him and his best friend Gear.

A wealthy businessman sponsors a three-on-three pond-hockey tour across the western Arctic, and Reuben and Gear find out more than they ever bargained for about team …

The best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured annually with the Griffin Poetry Prize. The 2009 edition of the anthology includes poems from all the books to be shortlisted this year by judges Michael Redhill, Saskia Hamilton, and Dennis O'Driscoll. The poems in the anthology are selected and introduced by …

Award-winning author and poet Emily Schultz offers an immensely readable, funny, and sharp novel about a man who works for a Harlequin-like publisher, and gradually discovers that he has arrived in "heaven." Like Will Ferguson's international bestseller, Happiness, Heaven is Small is a smart, satirical novel from one of our best.

Heaven is Small is …

Nell has been in foster homes all her life—most of them have been horrible.

She finally gets moved to a home she likes, and the ministry threatens to close it down unless an expensive renovation is made to the house. Nell and the two boys in the home, Billy and Tom, decide to raise the funds themselves. How do kids get large amounts of money quick …

Invited to a quiet Swiss château by the enigmatic Tatiana Beaujeu Lehmann, Anne begins to slowly write a novel in a language that is not hers, a language that makes meaning foreign and keeps her alert to the world and its fiery horizon. Will the strange intoxication that takes hold of her and her characters – sculptor Charles; his sister Kim, …

Nominated for several Dora Awards

When a young scholar finds Eternal Hydra, a long-lost, legendary and encyclopedic novel by an obscure Irish writer, she brings the manuscript to an esteemed publisher, hoping to secure an international audience for the book. But Vivian's obsession with the dead author, who has materialized in her life, is challenged …

Florence Nightingale’s Suggestions for Thought has intrigued readers from feminist-philosopher J.S. Mill (who used it in his The Subjection of Women) to the latest generation of women’s activists. Although selections from this long work have been published, Lynn McDonald is the first editor to work through the numerous surviving drafts of Night …

Hockey stars Mike "Crazy" Keats and his new friend, Dakota, are caught in a web of violence which makes winning a championship the least of their concerns. Dakota Smith is in trouble. But Mike "Crazy" Keats doesn't care. He is new to the Seattle Thunderbirds, and Dakota seems like a good guy to have for a friend. Unfortunately, not everyone accepts …

This is the story of how the first beaver came to be. It tells of a young girl, Reedee, who is born with hair the colour of Mother Earth, not the colour of Raven like the rest of her people. It isn't just her hair that sets Reedee apart: at night, when everyone else sleeps, Reedee disappears into the forest. Her parents are dismayed, but when they …

Fascinating, revelatory, and powerful, Butterfly MindM is a memorable work from a renowned reporter on the front line of history.

In this memoir, award-winning journalist Patrick Brown weaves together three stories: the first is Brown's own education as a journalist over the past twenty-five years, and his parallel struggle with alcoholism. The seco …

The best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured each year with the Griffin Poetry Prize. The 2008 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology includes poems from the exceptional books shortlisted by judges George Bowering, James Lasdun, and Pura Lopez Colome. The poems in the 2008 anthology are selected and introduced by …

In February 1956, a remarkable young woman named Christina McCall began her working life as an editorial secretary at Maclean's magazine. It was a legendary time there, when the likes of Pierre Berton, Robert Fulford, June Callwood, Peter Gzowski, and Peter C. Newman graced the magazine's pages. McCall would come to join that illustrious group, and …

Cuando un vecino adulto es brutalmente asesinado durante una fiesta de la preparatoria, todos en la escuela parecen saber quién lo hizo, pero nadie habla con la policía. Jen estuvo ahí, vio el cuerpo y tiene sus propias ideas sobre el posible culpable. Como es la reportera del programa de TV escolar, decide descubrir la verdad y averiguar si un …

The West was a lawless domain when Jerry Potts was born into the Upper Missouri fur trade in 1838. The son of a Scottish father and a Blood mother, he was given the name Bear Child by his Blood tribe for his bravery and tenacity while he was still a teen. In 1874, when the North West Mounted Police first marched west and sat lost and starving near …

Founded in 1997 by producer Anita Lee and journalist Andrew Sun, the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival is a unique showcase of contemporary Asian cinema and work from the Asian diaspora. The festival fosters the exchange of cultural and artistic ideals between East and West, provides a public forum for homegrown Asian media artists and …

Nikki blames her brother, Derek, for their parents' death in a house fire, but when Derek gets involved with a gang, Nikki knows she is the only one who can save him. Enlisting the help of a girl named Rain, who uses her athletic abilities to carry out acts of petty thievery, Nikki uses all her gymnastic and free-running skills to stay ahead of the …

As the new girl in a strange town, Casey is trying desperately to fit in and make friends. When her parents leave town for the weekend, her friend suggests she have a house party. Casey is reluctant to go along, until she realizes maybe this is the answer to fitting in and making friends—and getting back at her parents. They invite a few people a …

When master fact-gatherers TJ and Seymour are asked to join the school Quiz Kids team, TJ thinks Seymour should take the stage at the upcoming contest against the high-pressure Fairview School team.

TJ is already more than occupied rescuing his cats and helping Gran get ready for her upcoming trip to Belize. When he goes with his dad to help with a …

The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches, originally published in French as La Petite Fille qui Aimait Trop les Alumettes, dominated the bestseller lists and captured major media attention when it appeared in Quebec. It was the first novel published in Quebec ever to be nominated -- let alone become a finalist -- for France's prestigious Prix Re …

The best books of poetry published in English internationally and in Canada are honoured each year with the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world's richest and most prestigious literary awards.

The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology: A Selection of the 2007 Shortlist includes poems from the exceptional books shortlisted by jurors John Burnside, Charles …

The Story of Dunbar: Voices of a Vancouver Neighbourhood draws on interviews with more than 350 local residents, including recent arrivals, descendants of pioneer settlers and the aboriginal inhabitants. Their personal accounts are woven together with information from diaries, records in the City of Vancouver Archives and carefully chosen published …

City Hall proclaimed 2006 the Year of Creativity. 'Live With Culture' banners flap over the city. And across the city, donors are ponying up millions for the ROM and the AGO. Culture's never had it so good. Right?

The State of the Arts explores the Toronto arts scene from every angle, applauding, assailing and arguing about art in our fair burg. Th …

The abundance and variety of the apples grown across Canada inspire professional chefs and home cooks alike. Elaine Elliot and Virginia Lee have collected a delicious array of apple recipes from the best chefs right across the country. There are treats such as Breakfast Bread Pudding (Cobble House Bed & Breakfast, Cobble Hill, BC), Almond Brie wit …

Longlisted for a ReLit Award (2007)

Alcuin Society Citation for Excellence in Design

The stories in Sugar Bush & Other Stories deal with gender relations, love, and sex in a frank way. Most of the pieces feature female protagonists who navigate their young adult years in some questionable ways. They make some ill-advised choices, which are driven by …