news | Tuesday October 6, 2026

Sailors Can't Swim Is Here!

The winner of the 2023 Prix des libraires du Québec, the 2023 Prix Jacques-Brossard de la science-fiction et du fantastique, and the 2023 French Prix Imaginales is now available in English!

Maritime adventure is back in Dominique Scali new book Sailors Can’t Swim (translated by Jessica Moore). Part oceanic fairy tale, part bildungsroman, part history of an alternate eighteenth century, Sailors Can’t Swim is set on the Atlantic island of Ys where safety lies behind the one high-walled city. There, citizens live in opulent security while the shore-dwellers below rebuild their ruined homes after each great tide.

It is on the shore that we meet Danaé Poussin, an orphan with a rare gift: the ability to swim. Danaé yearns for life within the safety of the walls. As her life flows between the city, the shore, and the sea, she must learn how to navigate the classist indignities of the calm before revolution.

An excerpt from Sailors Can’t Swim:

“From one day to the next, the water turned icy. Danaé Poussin only realized it once she was already immersed. She had dived in to gather up a structure of planks linked like a raft, and two barrels of a liquid that only adults were allowed to drink. Far off the shape of the pier loomed, a dark, hazy spot in the mist. She crossed the shore, shoulders hunched. Reaching the shed she went up to Brunante Coquerane and tugged on her sleeve.
— What is it you want? Can you not see I’m up to my elbows in guts?
The girl stepped back out, then returned to place one of the two small barrels at Brunante’s feet.
— There’s another like this one, and a good deal of planks besides.
The woman’s eyes widened. She put down her knife and wiped her hands on her apron.
— God’s blood, lass!
She moved closer to the girl and began wringing out her hair.
— I got very cold, said Danaé, teeth chattering.
— Aye, I’ll warrant you’re very cold, poor lamb.
— May I have some wood to make a fire?
— Course not, Danaé. You know that well enough. Were I to give you wood, I should have to give it to the others too.
The girl nodded, holding back her tears. She took refuge in the orphan’s cottage, pushing the door open with her shoulder. At the back of the room was a boy. He quickly stashed away the object he was playing with, a silver ball that flashed a glint in the dim light. Danaé stood frozen, her wet hair dripping onto her cheeks.
— What’s that?
— Nothing.
— Liar. ’Tis a coast guard button, I saw it plain. Where’d you get it?
She stepped towards the boy, grabbed his jacket, and tried to turn out his pockets.
— You’ve no right to keep it.
— Let me alone! he said, struggling.
— You must give it to Brunante – that’s the rule.
— There is no rule, the boy shouted. She’s the one gave it me. She gives me all manner of things, Brunante does, as I’m her favourite. The rest of you are naught but a pack o’ nippers nobody wanted.
He pushed her away and bolted out the door, disappearing into the thick white fog. The girl wrapped herself in a blanket, shaken by spasms that could have been shivers just as well as sobs.”

Sailors Can’t Swim is a squall of a novel that fixes its gaze on the meanness of meritocracy, and the reality that all that belongs to someone once belonged to someone else first. Order your copy of this stellar new novel here.

news | Friday September 18, 2026

Cecily Nicholson Delivers the 2026 Sharon Thesen Lecture

Cecily Nicholson, author of Crowd Source, HARROWINGS, and more, is delivering the 2026 annual Sharon Thesen lecture presented by the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Check out this article about Nicholson penned in the lead up to the lecture.

news | Thursday September 17, 2026

Dina Del Bucchia's WeirdLit Book Recs

Dina Del Bucchia (You’re Gonna Love This, It’s A Big Deal!, and more) recommends some great, weird Canadian literature to check out including The World Afloat by M.A.C. Farrant and the latest novel by Daniel Zomparelli (author of Jump Scare, Davie Street Translations, and more). See all of Del Bucchia’s recommendations here on 49th Shelf.

news | Wednesday September 16, 2026

George Bowering and Jónína Kirton Selected for Poetry in Transit

We are thrilled that the iconic George Bowering and the incredible Jónína Kirton have been chosen as two of the writers for this year’s Poetry in Transit program! Our commutes around the lower mainland and the Greater Victoria area just a whole lot better. Keep an eye out for Bowering’s poem “There Is Delight in Singing” from Pearl and Kirton’s poem “what widows know” from Save Your Prayers – Send Money on vehicles and bus shelters near you.

Pearl is Bowering’s final poetry collection. Holding grief and levity together, this book reflects on a life well-lived.

Save Your Prayers – Send Money is a hybrid work of poetry and prose that shoulders the heft of chronic illness and takes aim at the wellness industry. Save Your Prayers – Send Money weaves intergenerational trauma and its impact on health through the daily realities of chronic pain and illness.

Poetry in Transit (brought to us by Books BC in partnership with TransLink and BC Transit) is a program that features the work of 10 BC poets on transit cars and shelters throughout the province. The program is in its milestone 30th year. Congratulations to this year’s awesome roster of authors!

news | Tuesday September 15, 2026

Tao of the World in The New York Times

Helen Shaw writes about themes of forgiveness at this year’s Stratford Festival in The New York Times with a special shout out to the brand new play The Tao of the World by Jovanni Sy. The Tao of the World is a hilarious and incisive look at the lives and foibles of Singapore’s ultra-rich. Read Shaw’s article here.

news | Thursday September 10, 2026

Dear Chekhov Is Here!

The latest play by the iconic Michel Tremblay is here! Familial bonds and tensions are on glorious display over a Thanksgiving dinner in Dear Chekhov, translated into English by Linda Gaboriau. An aging playwright re-examines an old, unfinished script that pays tribute to the great Anton Chekhov. And then there is Benoît, the author-brother, who settles his accounts with a detestable young critic, the current flame of their sister. This Great Actress has given her career a boost by working with a trendy millennial director, trashing Chekhov – and their mother’s memory in the process.

An excerpt from Dear Chekhov:

“GISÈLE
Please, don’t start fighting before we even sit down to dinner.

LAURENT
Why not? Will it be more acceptable once we’re facing our raw turkey?

GISÈLE
That’s not what I meant.

LAURENT
(to GISÈLE) That seems to be your refrain tonight.

CHRISTIAN
If I’d known my presence would be such a problem –

BENOIT
No kidding …

CLAIRE
Anyway, I’m not eating outside …

GISÈLE
Well, you can eat in the house all alone. With your critic.

CLAIRE
Fine, the two of us will eat inside … nice and warm while you all freeze.

CLAIRE walks over to the table, takes a glass of tomato juice, drinks it in one shot, and bangs the glass back onto the table.

Now there’ll be two empty glasses. Maman would’ve killed me, but I was thirsty.

JEAN-MARC

Benoit should say something.

BENOIT
So you’re allowed, but not Laurent?

CLAIRE
I’m at home here.”

Delve into the deliciously dramatic holiday of this erudite clan, clashing over passionate, varied opinions about the intersections of art, authenticity, and career (and maybe a little personal history, too). Simultaneously, enjoy the inner workings of a playwright in the vicious process of revising. Order your copy here.

news | Wednesday September 9, 2026

You're Invited to the Talonbooks Fall 2026 Launch

Join us at the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall for the Talonbooks fall 2026 launch! Help us celebrate this season’s authors and books. Here’s the lineup! It’s going to be an amazing evening.

Celebrate the release of A Child’s Seance by Weyman Chan, Grace of Centuries by Hope Anderson, notes from recently by Chris Turnbull, and Panax by Rob Budde. The launch will be hosted by the author of dream / arteries, Phinder Dulai!

The Martha Lou Henley Hall is a fully accessible venue. A parking lot is available in the alley between East 3rd Avenue and East 4th Avenue. Attendance is free! Drinks and light refreshments will be available. Hope to see you there!

Talonbooks Fall 2026 Launch
Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall
Vancouver, BC
November 6, 2026
Doors open at 7:00 p.m., readings begin at 7:30 p.m. PT

news | Tuesday September 8, 2026

Talonbooks Titles on 49th Shelf

Forthcoming Talonbooks titles Grace of Centuries by Hope Anderson, Panax by Rob Budde, A Child’s Seance by Weyman Chan, and notes from recently by Chris Turnbull are on 49th Shelf’s article about their most anticipated forthcoming poetry collections. Read it here.

news | Monday September 7, 2026

Dear Chekhov on All Lit Up

Dear Chekhov by Michel Tremblay, translated by Linda Gaboriau is included in All Lit Up’s post about books to check out for National Translation Month! Familial bonds and tensions are on glorious display over a Thanksgiving dinner in this new play in which an aging playwright re-examines an old, unfinished script that pays tribute to the great Anton Chekhov. See all of All Lit Up’s suggestions here.

news | Sunday September 6, 2026

Uiesh / Somewhere on CBC Books

Uiesh / Somewhere by Joséphine Bacon, translated by Jessica Moore was recently highlighted by CBC Books! Get to know the creatives who won major Canadian literary awards in the last year and their works in this article showcasing award-winning talent.