WaPo, AP cut book reviews — but at the Free Press, reviews (and readership) thrive

What’s up: Zilla Jones, Hut Hut, Duane Forrest, ice basketball, Snowshoes and Brews, Dilla Day

Free Press staff recommend things to do this week Read More

Alison Gillmor :

Unadorned forms make for engrossing experience

WHAT IT IS: A minimalist installation that opens up to multiple experiences and interpretations, Continuum: When Water Pauses and We Move is part of the 2026 edition of the Warming Huts on the Nestawe... Read More

Jen Zoratti:

Getting to the grass roots

Exhibition digs into colonial ideas, societal pressures and resource use of lawns Read More

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press:

Tate McRae addresses fan backlash after appearing in ad promoting Team USA

Pop singer Tate McRae is assuring fans her elbows are firmly up after receiving backlash for appearing in an ad highlighting Team USA. McRae, who was born in Calgary, stars in a spot ... Read More

Hillel Italie, The Associated Press:

Chuck Negron, lead singer on ‘Joy to the World’ and other Three Dog Night hits, dies at 83

NEW YORK (AP) — Chuck Negron, a founding member of the soul-rock sensations Three Dog Night who sang lead on such hits as “One” and “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song” and hollered the immortal... Read More

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press:

Cirkut’s big night, Bieber’s bare return and calls against ICE define the 2026 Grammys

It was a night of magic for Canadian hitmaker Henry Walter, and one of disillusionment elsewhere, as Sunday's Grammys saw several artists call out the Trump administration’s immigration crack... Read More

Ben Waldman:

Language decoder

In 'Holland,' playwright uses dramaturgical skills to detail frustration with bureaucracy Read More

Ben Waldman:

Kiyanaan theatre festival strengthens work of Indigenous artists

At this weekend’s Kiyanaan Indigenous Theatre Festival, Erica Wilson is trying her hand at burlesque, puppetry, poetry and contemporary dance — and she isn’t worried about whether the performance comes across as a success or failure: the Winnipeg artist is simply ecstatic about the opportunity to present her work-in-progress to an audience of her peers. Read More

Ben Waldman:

MTYP’s Tad & Birdy takes flight by centring power of invention

Before it evolves into its final form, the tadpole exists in a humble state of in-betweenness. With only a head, a tail and a nametag, Tad (Hera Nalam) can imagine for herself endless futures. Will... Read More

Ben Waldman:

Six-year-old’s question answered with optimistic script

A few days before the opening day of Tad & Birdy, the first of Anika Dowsett’s plays to be professionally produced, the playwright gave some dramaturgical credit to both the Barenaked Ladies and a six-year-old girl. Read More

Nicole Thompson, The Canadian Press:

Toronto-born comedian Mae Martin signs first-look deal with Netflix

TORONTO - Toronto-born comedian Mae Martin has signed a first-look deal with Netflix. Under the agreement, Martin will create and develop scripted series for the streaming service. ... Read More

Mae Anderson, The Associated Press:

This year’s Super Bowl commercials feature AI, weight-loss drugs and celebrities galore

NEW YORK (AP) — As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the battle off the field for advertisers to win over 120 million-plus viewers will be just as heated as the rivalry between the New England Pa... Read More

Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press:

Sophie Nélisse dishes on ‘Heated Rivalry’ Season 2, allyship and bonding on set

The spotlight in “Heated Rivalry” may rest on hockey nemeses-turned-lovers Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov, but the women of Crave’s hit gay romance serve as supportive allies, quietly essential to t... Read More

Fakiha Baig, The Canadian Press:

Animated series profiles brave women, including Canada’s first Black female lawyer

EDMONTON - Jo-Anne Henry says her mother never described herself as a rebel. "I don't ever remember my mom saying, 'I was the first Black woman lawyer in all of Canada,'" Henry said in a phone inte... Read More

Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press:

CBC plans remote broadcasting coverage for every sport at Winter Olympics but hockey

The first so-called "normal" Winter Olympics in eight years is on tap at the Milan Cortina Games.  However, one significant holdover from the 2022 Beijing Games remains: the use of of... Read More

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press:

Sundance Film Festival: Channing Tatum drama ‘Josephine’ wins top jury and audience awards

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Beth de Araújo’s potent family drama “Josephine,” about an 8-year-old girl who witnesses a sexual assault, won top prizes at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. The juries... Read More

Reviewed by Rochelle Squires:

Choosing our stories

Examining the narratives in our lives can help shape us — and imagine the world anew Read More

Reviewed by Dave Williamson:

Depth of field

Aspiring photographer in Knausgaard’s new novel The School of Night an unlikable narcissist Read More

Ben Sigurdson:

Fraser, Bourrie among history prize winners

A pair of English-language authors are among the dozen recipients of the Governor General’s History Awards, administered by Canada’s National History Society. Ottawa’s Mark Bourrie was awarded the ... Read More

Reviewed by Keith Cadieux:

Gothic debut explores trauma in lush, visceral language

In lush and beautiful prose that describes some awful and disgusting things, Atlanta-based Yah Yah Scholfield examines the intergenerational trauma of slavery and familial abuse by way of a haunted house in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp in the gorgeously gothic and surreal debut novel On Sundays She Picked Flowers. Read More

Reviewed by Ron Robinson:

Beloved medieval queen’s path pursued

Who’s up for a 320-kilometre hike in memory of a long-dead and largely forgotten English queen? Read More