February 8, 2010. The Literary Press Group will be at the 34th annual literary convention, Reading for the love of it, this week in Toronto. This two day event brings together local, national, and international speakers in the field of literarcy to lead thought provoking and inspirational discussions for teachers so that they can better and more creatively pass on the love of reading. The LPG will be there spreading the word about the fantastic books and authors we represent on behalf of our member publishers. For more information on the conference visit their website.

January 19, 2010. Renowned Canadian poet P.K. Page passed away at her home in Victoria on January 14th. We offer condolences to her family and celebrate the body of work she has left behind as her legacy to us all.

From the Globe and Mail, by Sandra Martin on January 17th:

A sharp-eyed observer of the world and of her own species, she wrote more than 35 books, including two as recently as last November – a long poem called Cullen and a trilogy of fables for children called The Sky Tree . She won the Governor-General's Award for The Metal and the Flower , back in 1954 and was short-listed for the Griffin Poetry Prize in 2003 for Planet Earth: Poems Selected and New .

January 14, 2010. With the end of a year and the beginning of a new one, there have inevitably been many "Best of" as well as "Most Anticipated" lists from various book news sources. Our publishers have had a banner year and the momentum seems to be continuing!

Some highlights from the past year include:

Amphibian by Carla Gunn (Coach House Books). Quill and Quire named it one of their top five overlooked books of the year and the Globe and Mail named it one of their top five debut novels of the year.

January 5, 2010. Getting the New Year started with a bang, The Afterword has announced the longlist for 'Canada Also Reads,' a shadow competition of the CBC's 'Canada Reads' and our LPG publishers have made out like bandits!

We want to congratulate our publishers and authors and encourage everyone to write in to request that your favourite be included in the shortlist:

Martha Baillie / The Incident Report / Pedlar Press

Kyle Buckley / The Laundromat Essay / Coach House Books

Sean Costello / Here After / Your Scrivener Press

Claudia Dey / Stunt / Coach House Books

Jeramy Dodds / Crabwise to the Hounds / Coach House Books

Jon Paul Fiorentino / Stripmalling / ECW Press

Stacey May Fowles / Be Good / Tightrope Books

Stacey May Fowles / Fear of Fighting / Invisible Publishing

December 16, 2009. The Porcupine's Quill just published George A. Walker's A is for Alice, comprising of twenty-six magical images gleaned from almost two hundred of the authors wood engravings made for the extremely rare editions of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (And What Alice Found There), which were published by Cheshire Cat Press in 1988 and 1998, respectively.

To celebrate the release of A is for Alice, a video following the book through the intensive production process, which takes place in-house at The Porcupine's Quill shop on the Main Street of Erin Village, has been made available here. Enjoy!

December 3, 2009. Monstrous Affections by David Nickle has been nominated for a Black Quill Award from Dark Scribe Magazine in the category of Best Dark Genre Ficition Collection. We want to congratulate David and his publisher, ChiZine Publications, on the nomination.

Praise for Monstrous Affections:

December 1, 2009. Invisible Publishing has launched a contest just in time for the holiday season! Visit their website to share your true holiday story and if it is chosen as one of the best submitted author/illustrator of This American Drive, Mike Holmes, will illustrate your story. The resulting comic strip will then be published in Halifax's alt weekly, The Coast. Not only that but you will win a signed copy of Mike's book!

Visit the Invisible Publishing website for all the details.

November 30, 2009. The Globe and Mail has chosen their top 100 'best-reviewed, buzziest books of 2009' and here at the Literary Press Group we're not ashamed to say, we have a few favourites!

Thought You Were Dead by Terry Griggs. Biblioasis. 

'The story is equal parts comic murder mystery, hero’s journey and layered intellectual puzzle, and it satisfies on every level.’  Sally Cooper

The Incident Report by Martha Baillie. Pedlar Press.

‘Baillie is a subtle portraitist and in Miriam Gordon creates an engaging heroine, with rich psychological nuance.'  Karen Luscombe

Kahn & Engelmann by Hans Eichner, translated by Jean Snook. Biblioasis.

October 26, 2009. Congratulations to Valerie Sherrard and Creative Book Publishing for the nomination of There's a COW Under My Bed! for a Blue Spruce Award. The announcement was made this morning as part of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Awards.

October 26, 2009. Congratulations to Philip Roy and Ronsdale Press for the nomination of Submarine Outlaw for a Red Maple Award. The announcement was made this morning as part of the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Awards.

Submarine Outlaw follows Alfred, a young boy who wants to be an explorer. He teams up with a junkyard genius to build a submarine that he sails around the Maritimes and beyond, with his unlikely crew of a rescued dog and a quirky seagull. Submarine Outlaw shows how any great goal in life takes a good deal of patience, determination, and hard work.