The best Canadian fiction of 2022

Here are the CBC Books picks for the top Canadian fiction of the year!

A Minor Chorusby Billy-Ray Belcourt

A Minor Chorusis the debut novel from Griffin Poetry Prize-winning poet and authorBilly-Ray Belcourt.A Minor Chorusfollows an unnamed narrator who abandons his thesis and goes back to his hometown, where he has a series of intimate encounters bringing the modern queer and Indigenous experience into focus.

• Billy-Ray Belcourt'sA Minor Choruslooks at modern love and the Indigenous experience

Belcourtis a writer and academic from Driftpile Cree Nation in Alberta. In 2016, he became the first Indigenous person from Canada to be a Rhodes Scholar.Belcourtwon the 2018 Griffin Poetry PrizeforThis Wound is a World. He is also the author ofNDN Coping Mechanisms.

LISTEN | Billy-Ray Belcourt discusses A Minor Chorus with Shelagh Rogers:

The Next Chapter14:24Billy Ray Belcourt on A Minor Chorus: A Novel

Billy Ray Belcourt talks to Ryan B. Patrick about his novel, A Minor Chorus.

This Time, That Place by Clark Blaise

This Time, That Place is the latest short story collection from Clark Blaise. The collection brings together 24 stories written over the course of Blaise's career, taking readers to Montreal, Florida, Pittsburgh and more.This Time, That Place demonstrates why Blaise isone of Canada's greatest short story writers.

Blaise is a Canadian American writer who has written more than two dozen books. His other books include the short story collections A North American Education andThe Meagre Tarmac, the novels Lunar Attractions and IfIWere Me and the memoirs Days and Nights in Calcutta and I had a Father. In 2010, he was made an officer of the Order of Canada.

Possessedby Jowita Bydlowska

Possessedis a novel that usesdark humour to reflect onsexual obsession, mental healthand the supernatural. The protagonist, Josephine, has overwhelming feelingsfor a younger suitorwho doesn't reciprocate in ways she desires.When the relationship withersand she meets someone new, things take a haunting and erotic turn.

• Jowita Bydlowska on avoiding books with long descriptions of water

Jowita Bydlowskais a writer and journalist based in Toronto. Her memoir,Drunk Mom,recounts her relapse into alcoholism after having her first child. She is also the author of the novelGuy. Bydlowska has written columns on popular culture andmental health for theNational Post, the Globe and Mail andCBC.

Shadow Life by Michael Decter

Shadow Lifeis a novel about a man named Matthew Rice, whose life unravels after he delivered a verdict of not guilty in a trial about a murder of a child.He decides to learnmore about his mother, who he never knew and ends up living off-the-grid on an island in Georgian Bay. But will this big adventure be enough for Matthew to find peace?

Michael Decteris a writer who was born in Winnipeg and currently lives in Toronto. He has written about healthcare and investment and has written a memoir.Shadow Lifeis his first novel.

The Animalsby Cary Fagan

The Animalsis a fable-like narrative featuring the protagonist Dorn, who createsminiature scale models displayed in the local shops.The mild-mannered Dorn deals withan untrustworthy younger siblingand a distantfather all while trying toshow his deeper feelings of love to Ravenna, the ungainly schoolteacher. Life takes a strange turn when the government-sponsored "Wild Home Project" is introduced and wild animals cohabit with the town residents.The Animalsexplores the nature of relationships, faunal and human, and reminds us of the challenges of finding one's place in society.

• Why Cary Fagan has a love-hate relationship with words

Cary Fagan is an Ontario author of several books for adults and children. His children's books include the popular Kaspar Snit novels, the two-volumeMaster Melville's Medicine Showand the picture bookMr. Zinger's Hat. He is also the author of the novelsA Bird's EyeandThe Studentand the short story collectionMy Life Among the Apes. In 2014, Fagan received the Vicky Metcalf Award for Literature for Young People for his body of work.

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Centuryby Kim Fu

InLesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, acollection of short stories, Kim Fu turns the familiar on its head to weave tales of new worlds where strange happenings, like a girl growing wings on her legs or toy boxes that control the passage of time, are the ordinary trappings of everyday life. The stories deal with themes of death, technological consequence, guilt and sexuality and unmask the contradictions within humanity.

Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Centurywasshortlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

• Kim Fu'sLesser Known Monsters of the 21st Centurypeers into the magical, transportive power of short stories

Fu is a Washington-based, Canadian-born fiction writer and poet. She has published two other works of fiction,For Today I Am a BoyandThe Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore, and a book of poetry calledHow Festive the Ambulance.

LISTEN |Kim Fu talks to Shelagh Rogers aboutLesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century:

The Next Chapter17:43Kim Fu on Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century

Kim Fu talks to Shelagh Rogers about her short story collection, Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century.

Stray Dogsby Rawi Hage

The characters inStray Dogs, ashort story collection, are restless travellers, moving between nation states and states of mind, seeking connection and trying to escape the past. Set in Montreal, Beirut, Tokyo and more, these stories highlight the often random ways our fragile modern identities are constructed, destroyed and reborn.

Stray Dogswasshortlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

• Rawi Hage's short story collectionStray Dogscaptures snapshots of the lives of people on the move

Rawi Hageis a Montreal-based writer. His books includeDe Niro's Game,Cockroach,CarnivalandBeirut Hellfire Society.Cockroachwas defended by Samantha Bee onCanada Reads2014.

LISTEN |Rawi Hage talks to Shelagh Rogers about Stray Dogs:

12:13Rawi Hage on Stray Dogs

Rawi Hage talks to Shelagh Rogers about his book Stray Dogs and Other Stories.

Some HellishbyNicholas Herring

Some Hellishis about a lobster fisher named Herring who is facing the existential dread of what he feels is a boring, mundane life. That is, until one December day when he decides to cut a hole in the living room floor and alter the course of his life ashe knows it. Througha myriad of absurd and confronting experiences, including his wife and children leaving him, and Tibetan monks rescuing him afteranear-death experience, Herring is forced to reckon with himself, his fear and what it means to be alive.

Some Hellishwon the Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

Herring is a writer and carpenter fromMurray Harbour, P.E.I.Some Hellishis his debut novel. His writing has also appearedin thePuritanand theFiddlehead.

LISTEN | Nicholas Herring reflects on his literary success:

The Sunday Magazine16:42In Pure Colour, writer Sheila Heti uses humour to tackle the challenges of modern life

In her new novel Pure Colour, Canadian author Sheila Heti explores the idea that the world is an unfinished work of art, whose creator is getting ready to scrap and start over... because the first draft just didn't cut it. David Common speaks with Heti about the book's themes of grief, climate change and the human condition, along with the personal loss that shaped its narrative.

Pure Colourby Sheila Heti

Pure Colourfollows a woman named Mira, who leaves home for school and meets a person named Annie. Annie has this power over Mira and opens her chest like a portal. Many years later when Mira is older, her father dies and his spirit passes into her. Together, they become a leaf on a tree. But when photosynthesis gets boring, Mira must choose whether or not to return to Annie and the human world she has left behind.Pure Colouris a funny exploration of the wonderful and terrible aspects of being alive.

Pure Colourwon the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

• Why bestselling writer Sheila Heti's favourite journey is inside her own mind

Sheila Heti is a Canadian playwright and author whose work has been translated in over a dozen languages. Her novelMotherhoodwas on the shortlist for the 2018Scotiabank Giller Prize. She is also the author of the novelsTicknorandHow Should a Person Be?and the self-help bookThe Chairs Are Where the People Go.

LISTEN | Sheila Heti talks to David Common about Pure Colour:

20:47Is there anything scarier than motherhood? That's the question author Ainslie Hogarth asks in Motherthing

In the new horror novel Motherthing, the performance of womanhood is the most terrifying monster of all. Canadian author Ainslie Hogarth joined Tom Power for a special Halloween chat about finding the visceral dread in motherhood, marriage and the far-reaching roots of childhood trauma.

Motherthingby Ainslie Hogarth

In the horror novelMotherthing, Abby Lamb is finally putting the darkness from her childhood to rest after meeting her wonderful husband Ralph. But when they move in with Ralph's mother Laura, Laura's depression and cruel ways start to weigh on Abby. After Laura takes her own life, her ghost haunts them and Abby must make the ultimate sacrifice to save her family.

Ainslie Hogarth is an author from Windsor. She has published two YA horror novels,The LonelyandThe Boy Meets Girl Massacre, and her short fiction has appeared in Hazlitt, Black Static and elsewhere.

LISTEN |Ainslie Hogarth on how motherhood inspired her horror novel:

The Next Chapter12:15Thomas King on Deep House

Thomas King talks to Shelagh Rogers about Deep House, the latest installment of his Dreadful Water mystery series.

Deep Houseby Thomas King

In the latest installment of the DreadfulWater Mystery series, Thumps DreadfulWater has finally found some peace in small-town Chinook. Although his beloved cat is still missing and his relationship with Claire is uncertain, Thumps can at least relax in the comfort of his home. But when he unintentionally discovers a body at the bottom of a canyon, the reluctant investigator becomes entangled in yet another inexplicable mystery and begins to question who he can really trust.

• Thomas King on why humour and tragedy are inseparable

Thomas King wasthe first Indigenous person to deliver a CBC Massey Lecture in 2003.His bestselling books includeTruth & Bright Water,The Inconvenient Indian,Green Grass, Running Water,The Back of the Turtleand the DreadfulWater mystery series. He has also written a poetry collection,77 Fragments of a Familiar Ruin.

LISTEN |Thomas King talks to Shelagh Rogers about Deep House:

The Next Chapter3:33Chelene Knight on Junie

Chelene Knight on the inspiration behind her novel, Junie.

Junieby Chelene Knight

Junieis a novel about Junie, a creative and observant child, who moves to Hogan's Alley in the 1930s with her mother. Hogan's Alley is a thriving Black immigrant community in Vancouver's east end and Junie quickly makes meaningful relationships. As she moves into adulthood, Junie explores her artistic talents and sexuality, but her mother sinks further into alcoholism and the thriving neighbourhood once filled with potentialbegins to change.

• Chelene Knight on bringing a historic Black community in Vancouver back to life in her debut novelJunie

Chelene Knight is a writer and poet from Vancouver. She is the author ofBraided Skinand the memoirDear Current Occupant, which won the 2018 Vancouver Book Award.

LISTEN | Chelene Knight talks to Shelagh Rogers about Junie:

The Sunday Magazine20:22Exploring art, history and belonging through the lens of the Tibetan diaspora

In April 2012, New York's Rubin Museum of Art which specializes in Himalayan regions had an unnamed 15th century mudstone statue on display. It seemed to depict a mythic Buddhist figure from Tibet, but it was nameless and devoid of a backstory. When writer Tsering Yangzom Lama looked at the icon, she saw a symbol of all that's been lost for those who fled Tibet an autonomous region in China that it claims as part of its territory, but that many Tibetans have claimed as independent for centuries. The statue also inspired Lama's debut novel, We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies, an intergenerational story of a Tibetan family in exile. Lama walks Piya Chattopadhyay through her work of fiction, set between refugee settlements and one of the world's largest Tibetan diasporas: Toronto.

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodiesby Tsering Yangzom Lama

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodiesis a novel that recounts a Tibetan family's struggle to create new lives of dignity, love and hope after China's invasion of Tibet in the 1950s. Readers follow sisters Lhamo and Tenkyi on a multi-decade journey through exile, from a harrowing trek across the Himalayas to a refugee camp on the border of Nepal. Decades later, the sisters are separated. Tenyki lives in Toronto with Lhamo's daughter Dolma, who has to decide if it's worth risking her dreams to help her community.

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodieswasshortlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

• Tsering Yangzom Lama examines the cost of exile in debut novelWe Measure the Earth with Our Bodies

Tsering Yangzom Lama is a Tibetan Canadian author based in Vancouver. Born and raised in Nepal, she's also lived in Toronto and New York City.We Measure the Earth with Our Bodiesis her debut novel.Lama was named awriter to watch by CBC Books in 2022.

LISTEN | Tsering Yangzom Lama on writing about the Tibetan diaspora in fiction:

Q32:14Ann-Marie MacDonald on her new novel Fayne and the forthcoming stage adaptation of Fall on Your Knees

Ann-Marie MacDonald is one of Canada's most celebrated writers. Her debut novel, Fall on Your Knees, was a runaway hit when it came out in 1996, taking the literary world by storm. MacDonald brings that same sharp writing to her latest novel, Fayne, which is set in the late 19th century at a crumbling estate that straddles the border between England and Scotland. She sat down with Tom Power to tell us more.

Dandelionby Jamie Chai Yun Liew

When Lily was a child, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family and was never heard from again. After becoming a new mother herself, Lily is obsessed with discovering what happened to Swee Hua. She recalls growing up in a British Columbia mining town where there were only a handful of Asian families and how Swee Hua longed to return to Brunei. Eventually, a clue leads Lily to southeast Asia to find out the truth about her mother.Dandelionis a novel about family secrets, migration, isolation, motherhood and mental illness.

• Jamie Chai Yun Liew's debut novel Dandelion is a moving portrait of motherhood and migration

Jamie Chai Yun Liew is a lawyer and law professor based in Ottawa.Dandelionis her first novel and won her the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Writers Award from the Asian Canadian Writers' Workshop.

LISTEN |Jamie Chai Yun Liew on turning her experience in law into fiction:

The Next Chapter17:00Alexander MacLeod on Animal Person

Alexander MacLeod talks to Shelagh Rogers about his new collection of short stories, Animal Person.

Fayneby Ann-Marie MacDonald

Fayneis about Charlotte Bell, a young woman growing up in the 19th century. She lives at Fayne House, a vast and lonely estate straddling the border between England and Scotland. When a mysterious artifact is found, Charlotte's passion for knowledge and adventure will take her to the bottom of family secrets and to the heart of her own identity.

• Ann-Marie MacDonald's new novel Fayne tells a mysterious story of family secrets & lies

Ann-Marie MacDonaldis a writer now lives between Toronto and Montreal. Her novels includeFall on Your Knees,The Way the Crow Flies,andAdult Onset.Fall on Your Kneeswas shortlisted for the Giller Prize and was a finalist forCanada Readsin 2010, when it was defended by Perdita Felicien.In addition to writing, she was the host of CBC'sDoc Zonefor eight years.

LISTEN | Ann-Marie MacDonald reflects on her long literary career and new novel:

The Next Chapter13:00Janice Lynn Mather on Uncertain Kin

Janice Lynn Mather talks to Shelagh Rogers about her collection of short stories, Uncertain Kin.

Animal Person by Alexander MacLeod

The stories in Alexander MacLeod's latest collection explore the struggle for meaning and connection in an age where many of us feel cut off from so much, including ourselves. From two sisters having a petty argument to a family on the brink of a new life, these stories pick at the complexity of our shared human experience.

• Alexander MacLeod's short story collection Animal Person explores love, compromise and the idea of self

Alexander MacLeod is a short story writer and academic from Cape Breton and raised in Windsor, Ont. MacLeod's debut short story collectionLight Liftingwas shortlisted for the 2010Scotiabank Giller Prize, the 2011 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Commonwealth Prize. It won the Atlantic Book Award. In 2019, he won an O. Henry Award for his short storyLagomorph.He currently lives in Dartmouth, N.S.

LISTEN | Alexander MacLeod discusses Animal Person with Shelagh Rogers:

11:01Suzette Mayr on winning the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize

It's Canada's biggest literary prize with a cash purse of $100,000. The morning after the Scotiabank Giller Prize was awarded, Tom Power caught up with this year's winner, Suzette Mayr, for a chat about her award-winning novel The Sleeping Car Porter.

Looking for Janeby Heather Marshall

In 2017, Angela Creighton discovers a mysterious letter containing a confession in an old stack of mail. Determined to find the recipient, Angela's search takes her back to the 1970s when a group of women operated an underground abortion network in Toronto known by the code name: Jane.Weaving together the lives of three women,Looking for Janeis a story about the devastating consequences that come from a lack of choice and the enduring power of a mother's love.

• Wendy McLeod MacKnight recommends 3 novels to captivate fans of historical fiction

Heather Marshall is a writer from Toronto, Ontario. Before turning her attention to storytelling, Marshall worked in politics and communications.Looking for Janeis her first novel.

LISTEN | Heather Marshall on the true history behind her novel Looking for Jane:

The Next Chapter16:45Lisa Moore on This is How We Love

Lisa Moore talks to Shelagh Rogers about her new book, This is How We Love.

Uncertain Kinby Janice Lynn Mather

In this collection of linked stories, Janice Lynn Mather introduces us to the women and girls of The Bahamas. Searching for identity and belonging during moments of upheaval, these complex characters are intimately familiar. From the responsibilities of parenthood to grief, longing and betrayal, the stories ofUncertain Kingrapple with what it means to be a woman.

• Janice Lynn Mather's Uncertain Kin is a new short story collection about belonging

Janice Lynn Mather is a novelist and short story writer born and raised in Nassau, Bahamas, who now lives in Vancouver. Her other books includeLearning to Breathe, which was a finalist for the2018 Governor General's Literary Award for young people's literature text.

LISTEN | Janice Lynn Mather talks to Shelagh Rogers about Uncertain Kin:

The Next Chapter19:29Silvia Moreno-Garcia on The Daughter of Doctor Moreau

Silvia Moreno-Garcia talks to Shelagh Rogers about her novel, The Daughter of Doctor Moreau0).

The Sleeping Car Porterby Suzette Mayr

The Sleeping Car Portertells the story of Baxter, a Black man in 1929 who works as a sleeping car porter on a train that travels across the country. He smiles and tries to be invisible to the passengers, but what he really wants is to save up and go to dentistry school. On one particular trip out west, the train is stalled and Baxter finds a naughty postcard of two gay men. The postcard reawakens his memories and longings and puts his job in jeopardy.

The Sleeping Car Porterwonthe 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Suzette Mayr is a poet and novelist based in Calgary. She is the author of the novelsDr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall,Monoceros,Moon Honey,The WidowsandVenous Hum.

LISTEN | Suzette Mayr reacts to winning the Giller Prize:

The Next Chapter15:59If you like Richard Wright's Black Boy... you'll love this Canadian book

TNC columnist Donna Bailey Nurse finds a Canadian companion to Black Boy by Richard Wright.

This is How We Loveby Lisa Moore

This is How We Loveis the latest novel from award-winning writer Lisa Moore. The novel is set in St. John's, delves into the complexities of familial relationships asking questions about what makes a family, how family shapes us and whether we really choose who we love.

• Lisa Moore's new novel This Is How We Love delves into the complexity of family ties

Lisa Moore is a writer from Newfoundland. Her other books includeCaught,February,Alligator,OpenandSomething for Everyone. She has been nominated for the Scotiabank Giller Prize three times: in 2002 forOpen, in 2005 forAlligatorand in 2013 forCaught. Her novelFebruarywonCanada Readsin 2013, when it was defended by comedian Trent McClellan.

LISTEN | Lisa Moore talks to Shelagh Rogers about This is How We Love:

The Next Chapter13:59Noor Naga on If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English

Noor Naga talks to Ryan B. Patrick about her novel, If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English.

The Daughter of Doctor Moreauby Silvia Moreno-Garcia

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau, the latest novelby Silvia Moreno-Garcia, is set in 19th-century Mexico and has elements of the supernatural as it reimagines the classic workThe Island of Doctor Moreau. Carlota Moreau is a young woman who lives in an estate, safe from the conflict and strife of the Yucatn peninsula. Carlota's father is the eccentric Doctor Moreau, a man whose scientific experiments have created the hybrids part human, part animal monstrosities. Living in the jungle, Carlota is caught up in this world filled with secrets and horror.

• Silvia Moreno-Garcia examines gender and class in her romantic reimagining of a sci-fi classic

Born and raised in Mexico, Moreno-Garcia isthe B.C. author of novelsSignal to Noise,Gods of Jade and Shadow,Untamed Shore,The Beautiful OnesandVelvet wasthe Night.

LISTEN | Silvia Moreno-Garcia talks to Shelagh Rogers about The Daughter of Doctor Moreno:

Finding Edwardby Sheila Murray

Finding Edwardis a novel about a man, Cyril Rowntree, who discovers letters from the 1920s that reveal the story of a white mother who gave up her mixed race son, Edward, for adoption. Cyril has recently moved to Toronto from Jamaica and was abandoned by his own white father, so Edward's story intrigues him, and he begins to search for Edward, and the truth about what happened to him. This journey of personal discovery is also one of Canada's Black history.

Finding Edwardwas a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for fiction.

• Sheila Murray's novel Finding Edward is a story of personal discovery and of Canada's Black history

Sheila Murray is a writer born and raised in England who now lives in Hamilton, Ont.Finding Edwardis her first novel. Her short fiction has appeared in Descant, The Dalhousie Review, and The New Quarterly.

LISTEN | Why you should read Finding Edward:

The Next Chapter18:51David A. Robertson on The Theory of Crows

David A. Robertson talks to Shelagh Rogers about his novel, The Theory of Crows.

Hotlineby Dimitri Nasrallah

It's 1986 and Muna Heddad has left behind a civil war in Lebanon and is living in Montreal in the novelHotline. The only work she can find is as a hotline operator at a weight-loss centre where she fields calls from people responding to ads in magazines or on TV. These strangers have so much to say about their challenges, from marriages gone bad to personal inadequacies. Although her life in Canada is filled with invisible barriers, Muna is privy to her clients' deepest secrets.

• How Dimitri Nasrallah's mother inspired his novelHotline

Dimitri Nasrallah is a writer from Lebanon. He is the author of novelsThe Bleeds;NikoandBlackbodying. Nasrallah lives in Montreal and is the fiction editor at Esplanade Books.

LISTEN | Dimitri Nasrallah reflects on being longlisted for the Giller Prize:

The Next Chapter8:50Shyam Selvadurai takes The Next Chapter questionnaire

Shyam Selvadurai, author of Mansions of the Moon, takes the Next Chapter's Proust questionnaire.

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak Englishby Noor Naga

Set shortly after the events of the Arab Spring,If an Egyptian Cannot Speak Englishis a novel that traces the relationship between two people a wealthy Egyptian American woman and an unemployed man from the village of Shobrakheit who meet in a cafe in Cairo. The pair fall in love but must contend with issues of identity, class and violence as they try to build a lasting relationship.

If an Egyptian Cannot Speak Englishwasshortlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize.

Noor Naga is an Egyptian Canadian writer.She won the 2017 Bronwen Wallace Awardfor her poemThe Mistress and the Ping.She also won the Disquiet Fiction Prize in 2019. In 2020, Noor was named awriter to watch by CBC Books. Her first book, the poetry collectionWashes, Prays,was published in 2020. Noor is an instructor at the American University in Cairo.

LISTEN | Noor Naga discussesIf An Egyptian Cannot Speak English:

The Next Chapter18:00Heidi Sopinka on Utopia

Heidi Sopinka talks to Shelagh Rogers about her novel, Utopia.

When We Lost Our Headsby Heather O'Neill

When Marie, the spoiled daughter of a sugar baron living in 19th-century Montreal, meets the brilliant Sadie, the two are immediately inseparable. Marie has bubbly charm and sees the pleasure of the world, whereas Sadie's obsession with darkness is all-consuming. Class and circumstance lead them down different paths, while each woman plays an unexpected role in the events that upend their city.When We Lost Our Headsis a story that explores gender, power, sex, desire, class and status.

• 9 books that inspired Heather O'Neill

Heather O'Neill is a writer and author from Montreal. O'Neill's debut novel,Lullabies for Little Criminals, was a finalist for a Governor General's Literary Award and wonCanada Reads2007. The Montreal-based writer was the first back-to-back finalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prize: her novelThe Girl Who Was Saturday Nightwas a finalist in 2014 and her short story collectionDaydreams of Angelswas a finalist in 2015. Her latest books are the novelThe Lonely Hearts Hoteland the nonfiction bookWisdom in Nonsense.

LISTEN | Heather O'Neill discussesWhen We Lost Our Heads:

The Sunday Magazine20:30Emily St. John Mandel's visionary novel is a journey through time, space and speculative simulation

Canadian writer Emily St. John Mandel was described as a prophetic visionary during the pandemic, for writing about a flu-like illness that shut down the world in her 2014 novel Station Eleven. The book surged in popularity during the actual pandemic and was adapted into an acclaimed television series. Her 2020 book, The Glass Hotel, also earned raves Barack Obama listed it as one of his favourites of the year. In her much-anticipated follow-up, Sea of Tranquility, Mandel is once again revisiting life during global crisis and yes, that includes pandemics. She sits down with Piya Chattopadhyay to talk about the book, which takes readers on a journey through time travel, moon colonies, and big questions like whether we're all living in one big simulation.

We Spreadby Iain Reid

In the thrillerWe Spread, Penny, an artist, finds herself in a long-term care residence after she's had one too many incidents. Initially surrounded by peers, conversing and painting, Penny begins to lose her grip on time and her place in the world.

• Iain Reid says the people he has in his life are his greatest achievement

Iain Reidis an Ottawa-born author. His debut novel, the 2016 psychological thrillerI'm Thinking of Ending Things,was adapted into a film by American writer and director Charlie Kaufman for Netflix. He is also the author of the memoirsOne Bird's ChoiceandThe Truth About Luck.

LISTEN | Why Iain Reid turned to writing thrillers:

Q22:37Saeed Teebi on his debut story collection Her First Palestinian

In his debut story collection, Her First Palestinian, Saeed Teebi shines a light on the varied experiences of Palestinian Canadian characters navigating their way through life in their new home country. He joined Tom Power to tell us more.

The Theory of Crowsby David A. Robertson

The Theory of Crowsis a novel about a disconnected and distant relationship between a man named Matthew and his teenage daughter Holly. Following a tragic event, Matthew and Holly head out onto the land in search of a long-lost cabin on the family trapline, miles from the Cree community they once called home. When things go wrong during the journey, the father and daughter must rely on each other and the challenges they face eventually heal them in ways they never thought possible.

• David A. Robertson's new novelThe Theory of Crowsis a dramatic tale of hurt & healing

David A. Robertson is an author and graphic novelist of Swampy Cree heritage. Based in Winnipeg, he has published severalbooks across a variety of genres, including picture booksOn the TraplineandWhen We Were Alone, the graphic novelBreakdown, and his memoirBlack Water. Robertson was thewinner of the 2021 Freedom to Read Award.

LISTEN | David A. Robertson talks to Shelagh Rogers about The Theory of Crows:

The Next Chapter20:19Chelsea Vowel on Buffalo is the new Buffalo

Chelsea Vowel talks to Shelagh Rogers about her new book, Buffalo is the new Buffalo.

The Island of Forgettingby Jasmine Sealy

The Island of Forgettingis an intimate saga spanning four generations of one family who run a beachfront hotel. Starting in the 1960s and moving from Barbados to Canada, the story examines complex relationships, race, sexuality and the many ways a family's past can haunt its future.

• Vancouver writer Jasmine Sealy sees beyond stereotypes in debut novel The Island of Forgetting

Jasmine Sealy is a Barbadian-Canadian writer based in Vancouver. She won the 2020 UBC/HarperCollins Best New Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2017 CBC Short Story Prize.The Island of Forgettingis her debut novel.

LISTEN | Jasmine Sealy discussesThe Island of Forgetting:

Mansions of the Moonby Shyam Selvadurai

Mansions of the Moontraces the life of Siddhartha Gautama, otherwise known as the Buddha, and his marriage to the intelligent and spirited Yasodhara. From their early life together to their crumbling partnership as Siddhartha's spiritual calling takes over,Mansions of the Moonpaints a rich portrait of a marriage and illuminates a woman who has remained in the shadows of history.

• Shyam Selvadurai on writing diverse fiction that's true to life

Shyam Selvaduraiis an award-winning Sri Lankan Canadian novelist. His novelFunny Boywon the 1995 Books in Canada First Novel Award, now known as the Amazon Canada First Novel Award. Itwas also adapted into a film by Indian Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta, which isavailable on CBC Gem. His other books includeThe Hungry GhostsandSwimming in the Monsoon Sea.

LISTEN |Shyam Selvadurai takes The Next Chapter questionnaire:

Utopiaby Heidi Sopinka

The novelUtopiais about a mysterious death in the 1970s California art world. When Romy, one of the only women to break into the male-dominated art scene, dies, a young and ambitious artist named Paz is drawn into the world Romy left behind. Soon Paz finds herself in a love triangle with Romy's art-star husband, Billy, and as Paz becomes more obsessed with Romy's life, a disturbing picture begins to emerge.

• Heidi Sopinka's 1970s-era novelUtopiashines a light on gender, agency and empowerment

Heidi Sopinka is a Toronto-based writer, editor and designer. Her debut 2018 novel,The Dictionary of Animal Languages, was shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize. She is a former environment columnist at the Globe and Mail and the co-founder of the clothingline Horses Atelier.

LISTEN | Heidi Sopinka discusses Utopia with Shelagh Rogers:

Sea of Tranquilityby Emily St. John Mandel

From Vancouver Island in 1912 to a colony on the moon 500years later,Sea of Tranquilityis a novel about time travel and metaphysics.When detective Gaspery-Jacques Roberts is hired to investigate an anomaly in the North American wilderness, he uncovers a series of lives upended from an exiled son driven mad by beauty and mystery in a Canadian forest to a writer living in a colony on the moon as a pandemic ravages Earth. Through his work, Gaspery has the chance to do something extraordinary that will disrupt the timeline of the universe.

• Emily St. John Mandel has no idea where she's going... and she's okay with that

Emily St. John Mandel is a bestselling Canadian author currently based in New York. Her other novels includeThe Glass Hotel,which was afinalist for the Scotiabank Giller Prizeand selected byPresident Barack Obama as a favourite book of 2020; andStation Eleven,a bestseller adapted for HBO and a finalist for a National Book Award and the PEN/Faulkner Award.

LISTEN | Emily St. john Mandel discusses The Sea of Tranquility with Piya Chattopadhyay:

Ezra's Ghostsby Darcy Tamayose

InEzra's Ghosts, acollection of fantastical stories, Darcy Tamayose introduces a cast of characters whose lives intersect in a quiet prairie town called Ezra. From a seeker of truth trapped in Ezra after her violent death, to the oldest man in townwho came to Canada to escape imperial hardships, the stories inEzra's Ghostsare linked by language, culture and grief.

Ezra's Ghostswasa finalist for the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

Darcy Tamayose is a writer and graphic designer from southern Alberta. Her work includes the novel,Odoriand the YA bookKatie Be Quiet. Tamayose lives in Lethbridge, Alta.

Her First Palestinianby Saeed Teebi

Her First Palestinianis a debut collection of short stories revolving around thePalestinian immigrant experiencein Canada. Thestories explorethemes of identity, loss, power and belonging as they look at the diverse and layered experiences of thePalestinian diaspora.One of the stories in the collection, the titularHer First Palestinian, wasshortlisted for the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize.

Her First Palestinianwasa finalist for the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize.

• Saeed Teebi celebrates Palestinian identity and community in new story collection

Saeed Teebi is a writer and lawyer based in Toronto. He was born to Palestinian parents in Kuwait and, after some time in the U.S., has lived in Canada since 1993.Her First Palestinianis his first book.

LISTEN | Saeed Teebi on writing about Palestinian Canadians:

Mouth to Mouthby Antoine Wilson

Mouth to Mouthis a novel that explores themes of money, fate and morality through the eyes of an art dealer who confesses the real story behind his success. In a first-class lounge at JFK airport, the book's narrator listens as a former classmate he vaguely remembers shares the story of his adult life a life that forever changed course when he saved a man from drowning.

Mouth to Mouthwas on the former U.S. president Barack Obama's summer reading list of his favourite books of 2022.

• Antoine Wilson's novelMouth to Mouthis a tale of morality, mortality and meaning

Antoine Wilson is a Canadian American novelist, editor and short story writer born in Montreal and based in California. Wilson's work has appeared in The Paris Review, Story Quarterly, Best New American Voicesand the Los Angeles Times.Hisnovels includePanorama City andThe Interloper.

Buffalo is the New Buffaloby Chelsea Vowel

In theshort story collectionBuffalo is the New Buffalo, Chelsea Vowel explores science fiction tropes through a Mtis lens. From a rougarou (shapeshifter) in the 19th century trying to solve a murder in her community to a Mtis man who's gored by a radioactive bison and gains super strength, these stories seek to understand the impact of colonization, remove its psychological baggage and recover ancestral traditions.Buffalo is the New Buffaloexplores Indigenous existence and resistance and rewrites our shared history.

• Chelsea Vowel challenges sci-fi tropes and explores Mtis futurism inBuffalo is the New Buffalo

Vowel is a Mtis writer and educator whose work focuses on language, gender identity and cultural resurgence. She is also the author ofIndigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Mtis & Inuit Issues in Canada,which addresses stereotypes and assumptions about Indigenous issues and offers insight into the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada. She also contributed to graphic novel,This Place,which was adapted into a10-episode podcastfor CBC Books.

LISTEN | Chelsea Vowel discusses Buffalo is the New Buffalo with Shelagh Rogers: