Authors aplenty in Order of Canada award recipients
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Manitoba-born, Toronto-based novelist Miriam Toews wasn’t the only Canadian author appointed to the Order of Canada in recent days.
Toews was appointed on June 30 along with 82 other Canadians — a group that included a handful of other writers and illustrators.
B.C. provincial health officer Bonnie Henry was among the appointees — she penned 2021’s Be Kind, Be Calm, Be Safe, published by Allen Lane, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ottawa lawyer Maureen McTeer was also appointed; her books include 2022’s Fertility: 40 Years of Change and 2004’s In My Own Name.
Montreal appointee Marianne Dubuc is a French children’s author whose books include the Mr. Postmouse series as well as Devant ma maison and the Governor General’s Award-winning Le lion et l’oiseau.
Fellow Montrealer Élise Gravel is a prolific children’s author and illustrator in both French and English whose 50 picture books include Club Microbe, the Disgusting Critters series and It’s My Brain!
Ottawa’s David Pelly has written extensively about Canada’s North, including books such as 2017’s The Old Way North: Following the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition and Ukkusiksalik: The People’s Story.
For a complete list of the most recent appointees to the Order of Canada, see wfp.to/iTb.
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Elbows Up!
A collection of Canadian authors have come together in a collection being published on Oct. 14 in response to recent aggression shown by the U.S.
Elbows Up!: Canadian Voices of Resilience and Resilience was edited by Elamin Abdulmahmoud and features essays by Manitoba writers David A. Robertson, Niigaan Sinclair, Jillian Horton, Peter Mansbridge and the late Margaret Laurence as well as Margaret Atwood, Dave Bidini, Omar El Akkad, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Carol Off, Jen Sookfong Lee, Canisia Lubrin and others.
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Montreal author Chanel Sutherland has been named the winner of the 2025 Commonwealth Short Story Prize, an award worth £5,000 (around $9,147).
The prize is awarded to the author who has penned the best piece of unpublished short fiction between 2,000-5,000 words. One finalist from five different regions (Canada and Europe. Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Pacific) wins the top prizes, with each of the other finalists receiving £2,500 (just over $4,500).
Sutherland has a debut story collection, Layaway Child, forthcoming from House of Anansi Press in spring 2026.
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Neuromancer
South Carolina-born, Vancouver-based sci-fi author William Gibson’s seminal debut novel, 1984’s Neuromancer, has been announced as being in production for a streaming series coming to Apple TV+.
In a very brief teaser trailer released July 1 online, little is revealed about the series, which is based on Gibson’s novel that follows a computer hacker and which introduced the work “cyberspace” into the vernacular.
The series will star Callum Turner along with Briana Middleton, Joseph Lee, Peter Sarsgaard, Dane DeHaan and others, and will be created for TV by Graham Roland (Dark Winds, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan).
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Speaking of adaptations, a second version of Stephen King’s The Running Man is heading for the big screen in the fall.
The dystopian novel follows a character named Ben who must survive a reality TV show with all manner of dangerous, often-fatal challenges and deadly pursuers.
The first version of The Running Man was released in 1987; it starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was directed by Paul Michael Glaser. The new version stars Glen Powell (in Schwarzenegger’s role), Colman Domingo, William H. Macy and others and was directed by Sean of the Dead’s Edgar Wright.
The film is slated to land in theatres in November 2025.
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Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ben Sigurdson
Literary editor, drinks writer
Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press‘s literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben.
In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press’s editing team before being posted online or published in print. It’s part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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