Invisible Publishing

We love Anne Logan's honest read of Daniil and Vanya (think The Push taken to the next level), by Marie-Hélène Larochelle, translated by Michelle Winters. "I didn’t expect to love this book, and I honestly can’t say I liked it because it made me so uncomfortable. Still, I am in awe of this book, of its power to agitate and affect me so deeply, it’s been over two weeks since I finished it, but I can’t forget about it. Truth be told, I sort of want it out of my house, but ther...e’s no one I can responsibly give it to without fear of upsetting them. Still, there is value in this kind of literature, it’s important that we read about all sorts of things, not just the stuff that’s pleasant. This is life. This book is realistic, which is what makes it all the more painful to read." This debut was a Quill & Quire Editors' Pick of the Year, receiving a Starred Review. Casey Plett said that reading Daniil and Vanya was like "watching a terrifying play. The sense of dread and horror is physically palpable, and the careful stagecraft of the writing - in Michelle Winters's capable English translation - is precisely calibrated. ... What are parents to do with children who are consistently cruel? What does it mean when parents are unable to understand their children? Are there bad reasons for becoming parents? ... [A] remarkable achievement, and Marie-Helene Larochelle is a writer to watch." We hope you'll take a chance on Daniil and Vanya!

We're thrilled to share that Samantha Garner will appear at #FOLD2021! Thank you, The Festival of Literary Diversity, for this invitation! Interwoven with themes of Filipino-Canadian and mixed-race identity, fantastical elements from Norse and Filipino mythology, and tarot card symbolism, THE QUIET IS LOUD is an intergenerational tale of familial love and betrayal, and what happens when we refuse to let others tell our stories for us (Available May 4, 2021) https://invisible...publishing.com/product/quiet-is-loud/ #DiverseCanLit

This Sunday! Faye Guenther at Junction Reads, discussing her short story collection, Swimmers in Winter. Register for free now!

Surprise book drop The 10th edition of the Little Bird Stories contest anthology is here, and it’s a beauty! Big congrats to all the contest winners, whose works were selected by judge @sheenakamalwrites. There are only 100 copies of the print edition, and once they fly the nest, they’re gone. So don’t sit on it!... We’re so pleased to partner w/ @sarahseleckywritingschool on producing these perfect, punchy books. Proceeds from sales go to the Pelee Island Bird Observatory and the Prince Edward Point Bird Observatory to help protect the real little birds out there.

La Presse shares ten titles in translation to discover. 26 noeuds, the French translation of the "remarkable literary debut," 26 Knots, by Bindu Suresh, shares company with Emily St. John Mandel, Ocean Vuong, and Dani Shapiro!

First up for our recommendations: shop by author! We’ve got a couple stellar combos here, with two novels from Michelle Winters(and Marie-Helene Larochelle), and two essay collections from Jonah Campbell. Daniil and Vanya: An unflinching psychological horror story, both sinister and awe-inspiringly good.Chatelaine I Am a Truck: At once charming, funny, bizarre and highly original with a feel-good ending reminiscent of Thelma and Louise’s iconic finale, the book is drive...n by mystery, emotion and wholly likeable characters. Canadian Living Eaten Back to Life: Eaten Back to Life offers crisp observations about cuisine and food writing that make this collection a must for the reader who likes to play with their food, conceptually, as well as eat it. Montreal Review of Books Food and Trembling: Jonah Campbell’s Food & Trembling is a love song of food and language written by a lover of gravy and a hater of brunches. The Coast *** Don’t forget about our No-Sale Sale: From now till Dec 31, if you buy two Invisible Publishing books, and send us a photo of the receipt and your mailing address, we’ll send you a free, limited-edition SURPRISE in the mail! Details on our website.

This year, we’ve decided not to offer a pre-holiday sale! Instead, we’re asking you to #buylocal and to #supportindies. And when you buy two Invisible Publishing books, send us a pic of the receipt and your address, and we’ll send you a SURPRISE in the mail. Want to share the love by shopping at more than one store? Amazing! Just combine your receipts and send them in. Full details on the Invisiblog! #giftideas

"Like The Haunting of Hill House, at the heart of Be Scared of Everything is a deeply thoughtful exploration of how horror is used as a coping mechanism after trauma and the ways in which it permeates the every day." Happy, Bingemas! Draw comfort from Peter Counter's frighteningly good pop culture essays about all things horror and human.

We're looking forward to this incredible event, and beyond thrilled that Peter Counter (Be Scared of Everything) has been invited to participate! October 30, Galen Hook will lead an online automatic story writing session. After Hook calls upon ~the spirits~ to provide the first word of a story, participating writers will contribute lines, scaring the wits out of each other until the spirits say THE END. All ticket details at the link. Of note, profits will go to the Gerste...in Crisis Centre, in memory of Katharine Mulherin, Flying Books’ first champion. Check out the list of participating authors in our comments, below!

Meet Prologue to Love, the latest reissue under our Throwback Books imprint! A novel about forbidden love, inheritance, and a generational clash of values, the book is both a snapshot of its time and decidedly relevant today. Our new edition of Prologue to Love includes an insightful introduction by Hannah McGregor. As Hannah puts it: "If you want more Kamloops-based historical romance prominently featuring both sheep and cocktails in your life, then you need this book!" ... Now available in fine (re: local, independent) bookstores everywhere!

Enjoy an excerpt from County Heirlooms: Recipes and Reflections from Prince Edward County. This vegan recipe for socca flatbread comes from Chris Byrne, a plant-based chef for 20 years. County Heirlooms is the gift that keeps on giving! Royalties from sales of the book will support Food to Share, a PEC-based initiative that gathers, prepares, and distributes healthy, fresh food through their local food banks.

"If you type 'guilty pleasure' into Google the top result is a Spotify playlist of mercilessly effective commercial pop songs, Paris Hilton, Backstreet Boys, Black Eyed Peas. So that’s what constitutes a guilty pleasure: openly, unashamedly capitalist pop music with no apology. Songs that are trying to be loved, maybe even to the point of desperation. [...] To say, 'I shouldn’t like Enya,' is to say we look down at her ubiquity and commercial dominance." If you missed it in the print edition, this weekend, read an excerpt from Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures by Chilly Gonzales, now up online at The Star!

The guilty pleasure resides between our childhood understanding of pleasure and the eventuality of corrupted pleasure. Chilly Gonzales, author of Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures, unpacks this further. Listen in!

Poetry in Motion is a public art project of the Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. Short poems (and excerpts from longer poems) are displayed on transit ads in buses throughout the Halifax Regional Municipality in the fall of each year. This year, we're thrilled that Nolan Natasha's work from I Can Hear You, Can You Hear Me? has been included in the project. Here, Nolan reads "Girlhood". (Be sure to watch the other readers, too!)

ICYMI! @quillandquire on @mhlarochelle’s debut novel: The sense of dread and horror is physically palpable, and the careful stagecraft of the writing is precisely calibrated. Readers will find themselves unable to look away the book is a remarkable achievement. (starred review) DANIIL AND VANYA is our now / buy it here or from your fav bookstore

Our latest Throwback Book is heading out the door soon! This deep cut by Martha Ostenso is a star-crossed romance set in the Okanagan and features a new intro by @hkpmcgregor

Our reading guide for Be Scared of Everything by Peter Counter is now available. Click on the cover to begin the free download! "There is a balance in this book between rational and mystical points of view. If you’re an avid reader, you’re likely open to many ideas and paradigms. That’s an attitude that will help you engage with these essays. You don’t have to believe in the occult, Satan, ghosts, or aliens to find value here, but if you can manage a state of half-belief, entertaining what Agent Mulder from The X-Files calls 'alternative realities,' then I think you’ll be on track to really get your empathy engine roaring."

Daniil & Vanya definitely brings the cringe! Thanks for including it, Hamilton Review of Books!

Del Cowie reflects on the decision to acquire Chilly Gonzales’s irreverent book about Enya and musical taste (an "initial mix of confusion and intrigue") for Invisible Publishing's Bibliophonic series. "Gonzales’ own take is typically idiosyncratic. While he does spend a bunch of time divulging some perceptive and granular insight into Enya’s musical prowess (the use, or lack thereof, of her own voice is particularly enlightening), Gonzales also gradually unravels his own immersion in music and the evolution of his own musical taste directly tied to the book’s subtitle 'a treatise on unguilty pleasures.' Consequently, it often feels like Gonzales is sitting across from you in a coffee shop, engagingly pontificating on the difference between official canon recordings and personal taste." #music #memoir #biography

This was great! Enjoy the replay (and music) of Chilly Gonzales in conversation with Malakoff Kowalski. Chilly is the author of Enya: A Treatise on Unguilty Pleasures. One early reader says, "Chilly Gonzales is every bit as entertaining a writer as performer," and we're inclined to agree. But, you know, it's a matter of taste. You should probably grab the book, to see for yourself!

"As a poet, I trust fragments intuitively, but it’s thanks to [Anne] Michaels that I understand how fragments can cohere in a novel, and how poetry in prose can create cohesion." -- Shazia Hafiz Ramji (Port of Being)

T O D A Y ! 2 PM ET. Poetry Café with Dorothy Mahoney, Laurie Smith, Claire Caldwell, Dani Spinosa, and Samantha Badoa. Moderated by Marty Gervais. Join us!