Winnipeg Public Library’s first makers-in-residence share unique skills

An abstract rapper and a letterpress artist are the Winnipeg Library’s first ever makers-in-residence.

Struggles of parenthood shine through in Klassen’s subtle, powerful storytelling

In this bittersweet work of historical fiction, Manitoba’s Sarah Klassen tells a powerful story that explores childlessness, family and belonging in a Mennonite family, set against the backdrop of the Russian Revolution.

Boilermaker toughs it out amongst boys’ club

So what does a boilermaker do? The answer is obvious, but then also it isn’t.

Lee’s rich, liquid prose offers insight into life, pop culture and more in poignant memoir

The full title and busy cover of this gripping memoir are rather misleading. A Warhol-esque multi-panelled silkscreen with loud-coloured photos of author Jen Sookfong Lee backdrops all-caps, off-kilter text, together seemingly announcing a tongue-in-cheek romp through pop culture and one person’s frantic emotional connection to it. One picks up the book, marvels at the comically graffitied images, reels from the loud title font and immediately expects a coy take on an almost silly topic.

Legendary screenwriter’s intense, thought-provoking memoir details early years and struggle with Alzheimer’s

If you ever watched the hit TV shows NYPD Blue or Deadwood, the name David Milch might be familiar. Not only did he serve as the creator, writer, and executive producer of those series, but they garnered him numerous Emmys. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015, Milch has nonetheless penned an intense, thought-provoking memoir about his screenwriting career. At the same time, the story sheds light on his dark side — the extent to which his life was often a two-edged sword.

Moorehead’s latest explores the life of Edda Mussolini and the sinister allure of fascism

Caroline Moorehead’s latest book is sabotaged by its subtitle. A prolific author, historian and human rights advocate, Moorehead fails to provide convincing evidence that justifies calling Benito Mussolini’s daughter, Edda,”the most dangerous woman in Europe.” While Edda was certainly well acquainted with the leaders of totalitarian Italy and Germany, there was no shortage of really dangerous women and men in Europe, and she was hardly in their league.

New in paper

Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman

Story of Berlin’s downfall mainly missing in action

Taking Berlin has very little to do with it — a more suitable title for Martin Dugard’s war book would be Taking the Buyer.

Evil mastermind returns to destroy Thorne

Shudder and tremble and don’t dare breathe — it’s detective inspector Tom Thorne’s turn to be stalked by his own Professor Moriarty.

Writer weaves life’s experience into rich, detailed prose

In the vast and sometimes-turbulent waters of Canadian literary awards, Nicholas Herring netted quite the catch with his first cast.

Mattea Roach to defend graphic memoir ‘Ducks’ on CBC’s Canada Reads

TORONTO - "Jeopardy" champ Mattea Roach will go to bat for a graphic memoir on CBC's "Canada Reads" this year.

The on-air literary contest returns March 27, with Roach championing "Ducks" by Nova Scotia author Kate Beaton, which was on former president Barack Obama's list of favourite books of 2022.

Actor-filmmaker Keegan Connor Tracy will argue on behalf of Michael Christie's "Greenwood," while Yukon-based bhangra artist and educator Gurdeep Pandher will defend "Hotline" by Dimitri Nasrallah.

Meanwhile, TikToker Tasnim Geedi will champion "Mexican Gothic" by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, while the actor-director Michael Greyeyes will represent "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel.

‘Fall On Your Knees’ play should make you forget there’s a book: Ann-Marie MacDonald

TORONTO - It's taken a decade to wrestle Ann-Marie MacDonald's sweeping historical novel "Fall On Your Knees" into a theatrical production and now that its tortured Cape Breton characters are being reborn on the stage, so, too, comes their demise on the page.

MacDonald says she hopes the ambitious two-part, six-hour, music-driven show eclipses the source material entirely.

"What I'm really hoping for, and what I anticipate, is that for many people this show will just make them forget that there's a book," she says as the world premiere approaches Thursday in Toronto.

"That'll be success. And that people who never read the book will come to the show and go, 'What? There's a book?'"

Horowitz his own suspect in new thriller

That devilishly clever murder mystery author Anthony Horowitz has finally got his comeuppance — he’s the prime suspect in the brutal murder of a vile theatre critic, and the police have the goods to put him away for life.

Richardson’s ravishing new novel brings beauty in succinct, striking prose

Canadian author and book designer CS Richardson’s novel, All the Colour in the World, is a beautiful testament to the enduring power and beauty of art and of love.

Struggle between rich and poor laid bare in Kapoor’s sophomore fiction

Deepti Kapoor’s novel Age of Vice opens with a brutal act of violence, in which five innocent people are killed. Because these people are pavement dwellers, asleep on a sidewalk when they are run over, their lives are of little consequence. However, a servant is hauled out of the driver’s seat of the Mercedes and sent to jail. But was he the one at the wheel when the car jumped the curb, or is he taking the fall for someone else?

Slim volume on climate change an urgent wake-up call to all Canadians

‘The clock is ticking.” Such is the grave warning offered by William Leiss, author of Canada and Climate Change and fellow and past president of the Royal Society of Canada — amongst other designations and credentials.

New in paper

Chasing History: A Kid in the Newsroom

Museum’s mysteries marvelous in deft debut

A lush and atmospheric romp replete with medieval magic, sexy intrigue and violent ambition, The Cloisters examines the blurry lines between love and lust, curiosity and obsession and choice and destiny. A stunning debut penned by writer and art history professor Katy Hays, The Cloisters sweeps you up in a dark and mesmerizing world.

Penguin Classics, Marvel to issue new editions of 3 comics

NEW YORK (AP) —

Bestselling authors Leigh Bardugo, Jerry Craft and Rainbow Rowell are contributing forewords to new editions of three famed Marvel Comics series.

Penguin Classics is teaming with Marvel on Penguin Classics Marvel Collection, which already includes “Black Panther,” “Captain America” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

Three new books will be out Sept. 12: “The Avengers,” with a foreword by Bardugo; “Fantastic Four,” with a foreword by Craft; and “X-Men,” with a foreword by Rowell.

Ken Follett’s ‘The Armor of Light’ to come out Sept. 26

NEW YORK (AP) — Ken Follett is ready to wrap up his epic fictional chronicle of Western civilization.

Viking announced Wednesday that the British author's “The Armor of Light" will be published Sept. 26, concluding an eight-volume series that began in 1989 with “The Pillars of the Earth” and spans 1,000 years. The new book is set in the late 18th-early 19th centuries, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and centers on the conflicts between Britain and France.

“I’m fascinated by how people have struggled for freedom — and won," Follett said in a statement. "Most of my stories are about just that. The issue underlying 'The Armor of Light’ is freedom of speech.”

Follett's historical novels, which also include “World Without End” and “A Column of Fire,” have sold more than 75 million copies worldwide.