The cover star for the November Q&Q, now on newsstands, is journalist and historian Don Gillmor, whose first novel for adults, Kanata, is being published this month by Viking Canada. Also in the issue, Q&Q looks at the Ontario Arts Council under its new literary officer, and we weigh the benefits of The Writers’ Union of Canada’s health insurance plan for writers. All that, plus our College and Scholarly Publishing Special Report and reviews of more than 35 new books, including Kate Pullinger’s The Mistress of Nothing, John Bemrose’s The Last Woman, Wade Davis’s The Wayfinders, and Frieda Wishinsky’s Maggie Can’t Wait.
In search of the West
In his first novel, Don Gillmor puts an overlooked cartographer, explorer, and extraordinary Canadian back on the map
Kicked off the block
Have the rules of the funding game changed under the Ontario Art Council’s new literature officer?
The cut-and-paste method
Digital technology has led to customized products for the scholarly market – but are they a good deal for academic presses? Plus more in the College and Scholarly Publishing Special Report
Children’s Announcements
The season’s complete listings
FRONTMATTER
Reviewing the ReLits
Weighing the benefits of the Writers’ Coalition health plan
The future of the AECB
Local Buzz: Keith Halliday’s Game On Yukon!
Cover to Cover: Kennepohl and Shaw’s Accessible Elements
Snapshot: Bryan Jay Ibeas of Cormorant Books
COLLEGE AND SCHOLARLY REPORT
CSPI’s unlikely feminism
Free e-books for everyone
Revisiting the Canadian Research Knowledge Network
REVIEWS
The Last Woman by John Bemrose
Dracula the Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt
Monstrous Affections by David Nickle
Plus more fiction, non-fiction, and poetry
BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
The Pirate and the Penguin by Patricia Storms
Proud as a Peacock, Brave as a Lion by Jane Barclay and Renné Benoir
The Rocket by Mike Leonetti and Greg Banning
Plus more fiction, non-fiction, and picture books
THE LAST WORD
Authors who complain about bad reviews need to grow up, writes Claude Lalumière
With the third instalment in his burgeoning Sherlock Holmes series set for publication this month, could Shane Peacock – Q&Q’s cover star for the October issue, now on newsstands – be the next big name in Canadian YA? Also in this issue’s KidLit Special, Q&Q looks at the two faces of Kelley Armstrong, the Haida-Manga hybrid art of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas, and the future of Tundra Books. All that plus the fall Children’s Announcements, listing every kids’ title of the season, and reviews of Margaret Atwood’s The Year of the Flood, Bonnie Burnard’s Suddenly, Seán Cullen’s The Prince of Neither Here Nor There, and two new books by John Wilson.
Fall is the season for “big” books, and this year is no exception, with new fiction from the likes of Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland, Louise Penny, Bonnie Burnard, and Alice Munro. In our 2009 fall preview, part of the July/August issue of Q&Q, we give you a first look at the season’s most exciting titles. Also in the issue, we look at authors’ options in the landmark Google book search settlement and investigate the troubled publishing history of Kunati Books.
Stephen King calls him “the finest science fiction author now writing,” but Robert Charles Wilson is hardly a household name in Canada. The June issue of Q&Q profiles an author at the height of his powers who is beginning to garner mainstream attention. Also in the issue, we look at how publishing schools justify maintaining enrolment levels even as the job market dries up, and we examine a trend many authors and agents find alarming: the decline of in-house editing.
The Queen of Paradise’s Garden by Andy Jones and Darka Erdelji
Jet-setting author Richard Poplak travelled to 17 different countries to research his latest book, which looks at the influence of American pop culture in the Muslim world, and he’s Q&Q’s cover subject in the May 2009 issue. Also in the issue, we look at the surprising success of Harlequin Enterprises at 60 and at how print-on-demand is changing the bookstore of the future. Our Library Special Report examines the tricky task of putting Canada’s archival history online. Plus reviews of new books by Colin McAdam, Emily Schultz, Giles Blunt, Lynn Johnston, Barry Callaghan, and more.
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
The January/February issue of Q&Q, out now, features a look at the working habits of several Canadian children’s book illustrators, including Greg Banning, Marthe Jocelyn, Jillian Tamaki, and others. Also in the Children’s and Educational Publishing Special Report: a look at the limited effect B.C.’s new CanLit curriculum requirement is having in classrooms, and a story on how the government is competing with school publishers in the digital arena. January/February is also the Spring Preview issue, offering a sneak peek at the hottest spring titles in fiction, non-fiction, books for young people, and international titles. Plus reviews of 40 new books by Lisa Gabriele, Eric Walters, Alan Bradley, Priscila Uppal, and more. The full table of contents is after the jump.
Q&Q has made its annual Books of the Year selection: 15 books that mattered in 2008, from fiction to non-fiction to kids’ titles. To find out what made the list, and why, you’ll have to check out the December issue, which is making its way to stores and subscribers now. Also in the issue: how the financial crisis rocked author Joseph Heath’s upcoming book; the death of Canadian experimental novelist Lawrence Braithwaite; and why and how publishers are reaching out to frontline Indigo staff. Plus: reviews of new books by John Ralston Saul, Joan Thomas, Kenneth Whyte, Neil Bissoondath, Deborah Ellis, Charles Pachter, and more. The full table of contents is after the jump.
Farley Mowat is the cover star of the November Q&Q, which is making its way to subscribers and bookstores now. In a profile by Marq de Villiers, the 87-year-old Mowat discusses some of the passions and preoccupations that have defined his career. Also in November, a closeup on two e-reading devices, the Sony Reader and Amazon’s Kindle, a look at hustler-turned-author Daniel Allen Cox, and a Special Report on College and Scholarly Publishing, covering the newly reduced Broadview Press, a new online textbook initiative, and the quirky Toronto imprint Alphabet City. All this plus reviews of new books by M.G. Vassanji, Nino Ricci, Margaret Atwood, and more. The full table of contents appears after the jump.
