Who’s Who

E.G. Alaraj. Photo credit: Allison Youseff.

A is for Alaraj
Growing up in a homeschool family as the youngest of six sisters, E.G. Alaraj learned early that imagination and trouble often go hand in hand. Now based in Vancouver, Alaraj brings that playful, inquisitive spirit to the page in My Language Is a Garden (Orca $21.95), a lyrical picture book that explores how heritage language connects children to culture, land and family. Written as a parent’s invitation to a child, the poem moves through deserts, plains, roads and galaxies, celebrating language as a living force that carries memory, medicine and belonging. Illustrated by Rachel Wada, My Language Is a Garden encourages parents and caregivers to nurture language as something grown together—tended, shared and passed on with care. 9781459840652

Bill Gaston

B is for Bill
Setting out on an eleven-day road trip through rural America with his two sons—a journey at the heart of his new book Spying on America (Goose Lane $26)—Bill Gaston brings his signature wit, curiosity and sharp cultural insight to both the open road and the page. A longtime professor at the University of Victoria and former editor of Canada’s oldest literary journal, The Fiddlehead, Gaston has built a celebrated career spanning novels, short fiction, nonfiction and plays. Born in 1953 and raised in Winnipeg, Toronto and North Vancouver, he worked as a logger, fishing guide, group-home worker and even briefly played professional hockey in France before turning to teaching and writing full-time. With awards including the Timothy Findley Award and Giller recognition for Mount Appetite (Raincoast, 2002), Gaston remains one of Canada’s most versatile storytellers. 9781773104652

Carol Cram

C is for Carol
Silence is where Carol Cram often begins—an empty space she fills with music, memory and the rich inner worlds that shape her fiction. A lifelong west coaster born in Victoria and raised in Vancouver, she has spent decades weaving stories across genres while building a prolific parallel career as an educator, consultant and author of more than fifty college-level textbooks. Her latest novel, The Choir (HTF Publishing, $19.95 USD), takes place in the 1890s to follow Eliza Kingwell and a determined group of working-class women whose voices refuse to be quieted. Rooted in themes of resilience, sisterhood and self-determination, the book continues Cram’s interest in historical narratives shaped by women’s inner strength. She lives on Bowen Island with her partner, painter Gregg Simpson. 9781963452280

Diana Hayes

D is for Diana
In Hawking the Surf (Silver Bow Publishing $23.95), Diana Hayes returns to the coastal landscapes that shaped her earliest poems, weaving photographs and lyrical meditation into a layered exploration of memory, belonging and the natural world. A longtime Salt Spring Island poet, photographer and publisher, Hayes blends decades of creative practice into this immersive collection rooted in the Pacific coast’s tides, fog and shifting light. Her work spans poetry, photography, chapbook publishing and a debut novella, all shaped by her deep connection to place and the quiet revelations of the shoreline. Hawking the Surf  captures a lifetime of seeing—and seeing again—with clarity and devotion. 9781774033890

Emma Cleary

E is for Emma
Liverpool-born, Vancouver-based writer Emma Cleary makes her debut with Afterbirth (HarperCollins $24.99), a haunting horror novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood and the body’s terrifying transformations. Set in a decaying Vancouver apartment stalked by a mysterious figure known as Medusa, the novel follows two estranged sisters whose reunion spirals into obsession and the supernatural. Cleary’s short fiction and essays have appeared in Best British Short Stories, James Baldwin Review and Canadian Literature. She holds a PhD in literature and an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and currently serves as editor-in-chief of Geist magazine. 9781443474276 9781771872812

Darlene Foster

F is for Foster
With ten books in the Amanda Travels series, featuring a spunky young girl who loves to travel, Darlene Foster is an award-winning children’s author who divides her time between the west coast of Canada and Orihuela Costa, Spain. Her latest book in the series is Amanda in Ireland: The Body in the Bog (self-published, 2025 $10.99), which takes 12-year-old Amanda Jane Ross to the emerald isle for a cousin’s wedding. The plot takes a dark turn when Amanda joins the search for a missing horse and stumbles upon a world of screaming banshees, peat bogs and alarming secrets, wondering if she will become “another body in the bog”. Foster was brought up on a ranch in southern Alberta, where her grade three teacher encouraged her to write. She is a retired employment counsellor and ESL teacher. 9781069552600

George M. Abbott

G is for George
George M. Abbott brings both historical depth and policy experience to Unceded: Understanding British Columbia’s Colonial Past and Why It Matters Now (UBC Press $29.95), a clear-eyed examination of how colonial decision-making continues to shape the province today. Drawing on extensive archival research and his experience as a former BC Liberal MLA and cabinet minister, Abbott traces more than 150 years of BC–Indigenous relations, from the refusal to negotiate treaties to the confinement of First Nations on small reserves while settlers gained access to land and resources. Now serving as a BC treaty commissioner, he situates modern reconciliation efforts—including court decisions, treaty negotiations, and legislative change—within their historical context, showing why “unceded territory” remains a lived political reality rather than a symbolic phrase.  9780774881159

Hannalora Leavitt

H is for Hannalora
Hannalora Leavitt is a Vancouver Island-based author and disability-awareness expert who has been legally blind since the age of eleven due to a cancerous brain tumour. She holds a Master’s degree in Writing from the University of Victoria. Leavitt explores life with vision loss as a form of “dual citizenship”—living in both the sighted and blind worlds—and applies Malcolm Gladwell’s Ten-Thousand Hour Rule to assert that she is accomplished at being blind. Her second book is All About Us (Orca $29.95), which features twenty inspiring kids and adults living with disabilities today, including Paralympian Stefan Daniel and singer Stella Bartlett. All About Us explores the basic categories of disability—intellectual, sensory, physical and invisible—and introduces readers to people who were born with a disability and others who became disabled due to illness or accident. 9781459837089

Anosh Irani

I is for Irani
In Behind the Moon (Talonbooks $21.95), award-winning playwright, Anosh Irani, explores the character of Ayub, a man haunted by his past and isolated in a cold, unfamiliar Toronto. Ayub works in a Mughlai restaurant, where his routine is disrupted by a late-night visit from a mysterious stranger, forcing him to confront the family he left behind and the dreams he abandoned. Through this lens, Irani delves into themes of love, loss, brotherhood and the complexities of starting anew. The play reflects Ayub’s emotional struggles, intensified by the harsh winter, as Irani examines the inner lives of his characters, embracing their strangeness and woundedness to uncover deeper truths about identity and resilience. 9781772016383

John Hughes. Photo credit: The British Columbia Review

J is for John
Unsure what to expect from a book that boldly positions itself at the intersection of politics, national identity and cultural defiance, readers will find John Francis Hughes at the centre of it all. A former CBC and Co-op Radio reporter, bike courier, world traveller and scholar with a doctorate from SFU’s School of Communication, Hughes brings a lifetime of curiosity and grit to Canada Is Not the 51st F**king State (Cosmic Cranium Press $27.99), an anthology of essays, interviews, stories and artwork by an assortment of contributors resisting Donald Trump’s aggression against Canada. His career has taken him from Vancouver’s streets to India’s rail lines to the Amazon’s vast riverways, shaping a voice that is equally grounded in lived experience and critical inquiry. Hughes now runs Groove Cat Books and Records with his wife, Cat, while co-operating Cosmic Cranium Press. 9781069072610

Kamila Sediego

K is for Kamila
Haunted by questions of inheritance and the lingering ache of intergenerational trauma, Kamila Sediego explores the ways displacement and memory shape identity in Homecoming (Playwright Canada Press $18.95). The playwright and dramaturg examines how migration fractures—and sometimes mends—the ties between three generations of Filipina women separated by continents and silence. Moving between the Philippines and Canada, Homecoming weaves together humour, grief and cultural memory in a story that asks whether love can survive distance and time. A Filipinx settler based in Vancouver, Sediego’s ancestral roots trace back to Iloilo, Cebu and Manila and her work—including the ongoing project Engkanto—draws deeply from Filipinx folklore and spiritual safety. 9780369105790

Helen Liang

L is for Liang
Community is essential for humans and the challenges of living together are often solved by engineers, which is the focus of the book Why Communities Need Engineers (Orca $29.95), by Helen Liang. Liang, who earned her Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of British Columbia, explains to young readers how engineering inventions have been essential to human survival and prosperity for thousands of years. The book explores how engineers are responsible for everything from clean drinking water, managing garbage, safe places to live with electricity and running water, to communication and transportation networks. Liang also holds an associate certificate in technical writing with distinction from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. 9781459840539

Mila R.SC

M is for Mila
Rooted in British Columbia but shaped by a childhood between mountains and ocean in South America, Mila is a traveller, storyteller and food enthusiast who has visited more than 30 countries and lived in four. Balancing a full-time career with a deep commitment to exploration, she believes adventure doesn’t require abandoning responsibility—only intention and the courage to show up. That philosophy fuels 30 Under 30: Exploring 30 Countries Before 30 (Adventurelicious Inc $21.99), a travel memoir and practical guide that blends personal stories, cultural insight and hard-earned lessons on travelling smarter rather than richer. Written for dreamers, first-time adventurers and busy people who feel stuck in work–eat–repeat cycles, the book invites readers to see travel as a path to growth, confidence and meaning, one story at a time. 9781069887818

Rosalie Nyce. photo credit: James Nyce.

N is for Nyce
Navigating grief and friendship as a neurodivergent kid is the core inspiration behind the picture book The Crow and the Garden (Orca $21.95), by author and educator Rosalie Nyce. Nyce, a mother, teacher, school counselor and writer, currently lives on Gitxsan territory. Her book tells the story of Maeve, an autistic girl who loves crows and talks to the ghost of her late aunt and her friendship with Fern, a new student mourning the loss of her father. Through their connection, Maeve’s origami crows and Fern’s drawings of her father’s favorite plants bloom into living magic, cultivating a magical garden and an even more magical connection. Nyce has formal degrees in music, psychology and education and previously spent several years on the spoken word poetry festival circuit. 9781459840072

Elizabeth Oldham

O is for Oldham
In her second novel Shadows on the Heart (Doppia Press $17), Elizabeth Oldham explores what happens when life forces you into roles you never expected. This character-driven story follows three generations of women as they navigate love, memory and the long reach of grief. Oldham’s storytelling is gentle, offering a compassionate look at family bonds and personal transformation. Through shifting perspectives, the novel highlights how connection can grow in even the most complicated circumstances. Shadows on the Heart is a testament to resilience and the ways we carry both pain and hope across generations. 9781738822638

Dan Pontefract

P is for Pontefract
“We’re not here to see through each other; we’re here to see each other through.” Leadership strategist, keynote speaker and author Dan Pontefract brings that philosophy to his sixth book, The Future of Work Is Grey: The Untapped Value of Age in the Workforce (Page Two $29.95), a timely examination of how demographic change is reshaping modern organizations. Drawing on two decades of senior leadership roles at SAP, TELUS and Business Objects, alongside extensive consulting work with global organizations, Pontefract challenges age-based assumptions embedded in today’s workplaces. He introduces the concept of “age debt” and argues for a new model that recognizes the experience dividend—unlocking the value of skills, insight and mentorship across generations. An adjunct professor at the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business and a frequent contributor to Forbes and Harvard Business Review, Pontefract is known for translating complex leadership challenges into practical, human-centred frameworks. 9781774586440

Christine Quintana

Q is for Quintana
Set in a Mexican resort, the lives of Sarah, a cynical Canadian wedding guest, and Adriana, a perfectionist hotel floor manager, intersect in unexpected ways in Christine Quintana’s latest play, Espejos: Clean (Playwrights Canada Press $19.99). Sarah’s pessimism and Adriana’s quest for order mask deeper anxieties, which come to light as their parallel realities collide. Through poignant and often humorous monologues, the bilingual play delves into themes of female strength, solidarity, and the struggles each woman faces in navigating her world. Speaking directly to the audience, their stories reveal both contrasts and commonalities, magnifying their shared pain and resilience. The play was adapted and translated into Spanish by Paula Zelaya-Cervantes. 9780369104588

Royce William Warren

R is for Royce
Lifetime working toward solutions to the climate crisis has shaped every chapter of Royce William Warren’s career, from years spent in forestry, mining, agriculture, fisheries and energy to a decade of advanced study in sustainability and political science. Drawing on experience across university teaching, government, consulting and environmental advocacy, Warren confronts the political contradictions that keep meaningful climate action out of reach in Climate and the Courage of Leadership (Friesen Press $34). Written with future generations firmly in mind, the book outlines four concrete actions governments can take while challenging democracies to move beyond short-term gain toward long-term environmental stability. Warren now lives on Vancouver Island with his wife, Christine, where his commitment to climate leadership remains rooted in responsibility to his children and grandchildren. 9781038325990

Pat Sullivan

S is for Sullivan
When art world egos collide, no frame can contain the fallout. In Pat Sullivan’s debut novel, In the Frame (Iguana Books $20.99) the fictional Toronto Art Gallery has just undergone a re-branding exercise. Now TAG is gearing up for a pivotal fund-raiser when disaster strikes–a rambunctious kids’ camp and a tour of art-loving naturists wander into the picture on the very same night. As chaos spreads through every corner of the gallery, clashing ambitions and fragile reputations hang in the balance. Now each staff member must confront the turmoil, outmaneuver the madness and salvage what they can in this behind-the-scenes art-world caper. Sullivan grew up in Cornwall, Ontario, and studied English at York University, later obtaining her master’s in art history from Queen’s, which led to her career as an educator at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, and at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston. She lives in Vancouver. 9781771807333 

Léa Taranto

T is for Taranto
A disabled Chinese Jewish Canadian writer and alumna of the University of British Columbia’s MFA program, Léa Taranto is an author whose work explores mental health and neurodivergence. Her debut YA novel, A Drop in the Ocean (Arsenal Pulp Press $19.95), is a finalist for the Governor General’s Young People’s Literature – Text Award and addresses the dehumanizing stigma around mental illness. The novel follows sixteen-year-old Mira Durand, who is checked into a treatment centre for obsessive compulsive and comorbid disorders after years of worsening OCD and anorexia. Mira’s brutal religious compulsions, which she believes keep her mother safe, lead to her only friend being her journal. Taranto writes the literature she yearned for during her adolescence, which she spent certified in various inpatient facilities for life-threatening OCD, creating stories where neurodivergent and Mad readers can see themselves reflected. 9781551529813

Uma Krishnaswami

U is for Uma
In Uma Krishnaswami’s final instalment of the Book Uncle trilogy—the middle grade novels set in India about the power of grassroots activism and how kids can make a difference—The Sunshine Project (Groundwood $11.99), the karate-loving Anil and his friends have been championing a solar energy project. Anil doesn’t like speaking up, for, as his karate sensei says, “best fight, no fight.” But when he learns that the new solar panel factory the city is planning will threaten plant and animal species, Anil takes action with help from Yasmin and Reeni (the main protagonists, respectively, of the first two titles). Just how loudly will he have to speak up? Illustrations by Julianna Swaney. 9781779460530

Vikram Vij

V is for Vikram
Vancouver culinary icon Vikram Vij is known for revolutionizing Indian cuisine in Canada. His flagship restaurant, Vij’s, has been praised by The New York Times as “easily among the finest Indian restaurants in the world” and earned a Bib Gourmand designation from the Michelin Guide in 2023 and 2024. Vij’s newest book, My New Indian Kitchen (Figure 1 Publishing $40), features 80 easy-to-follow recipes that marry the vibrant flavors of Indian cuisine with elegant culinary techniques. Recipes are designed for the home chef and include dishes like Chilled Pea Soup with Fried Mint, Gnocchi with Garam Masala Tomato Sauce and Paneer. The book also traces Vij’s culinary journey, sharing stories of the people, travels and ingredients that have inspired him. 9781773272610

Paul Wong

W is for Wong
The boundary-pushing career of curator and artist Paul Wong is highlighted by his latest project, curating the photography retrospective Enemy Alien: Tamio Wakayama (Figure 1 $45) for the Vancouver Art Gallery, opening in March 2026. Wong is known as a bold pioneer in Canadian visual and media art, with a career spanning over five decades. The heavily illustrated book features Wakayama’s unpublished memoir, Soul on Rice, along with essays by Eva Respini and an interview with his partner, Mayumi Takasaki. Wong’s artistic output is celebrated for fiercely embodying his queer, Asian and Canadian identities and challenging stereotypes. He is currently the Artistic Director and curator of On Main Gallery and holds the 2024–2025 Artist in Residence position at UBC. Wong’s recent works also include the award-finalist book 身在唐人街/OCCUPYING CHINATOWN (On Main Gallery, 2021). 9781773272801

Mary Fox

X is for Fox
Renowned potter Mary Fox shares her knowledge of glazing in Developing Glazes: Low-Fire Reduction and Oxidation (Harbour Publishing $44.95), a guide that encourages ceramic artists to experiment with confidence. Rather than relying on ready-made glazes, Fox invites potters to explore the use of minerals and clay slips, offering step-by-step instructions and techniques for low-temperature firing. All royalties are donated to the endowment fund for the Legacy Project, which supports the careers of emerging potters through apprenticeships, residencies, studio space and a library of instructional videos. A self-taught exploratory potter, Fox moved with her family to British Columbia in 1966. She has worked exclusively as an artist since then, developing an international reputation for her sculptural ceramic vessels. In Developing Glazes, she extends this mentorship to readers, blending her creative philosophy with practical techniques to help others discover joy and freedom in the glazing process. 9781998526253

Terence Young

Y is for Young
A profound meditation on regret, resilience and the fragile beauty of human connection forms the heart of Give Us This Day (Signature Editions $21.95), a new collection of short fiction by Terence Young. The stories explore the weight of the past through a kaleidoscope of voices and styles, capturing the quiet reckonings of everyday existence. His subjects range from retired grandparents thrust into unexpected childcare and young labourers adrift in mines and road crews to teachers struggling to find meaning and couples at a crossroads. Young is a prolific author who recently retired from teaching English and creative writing at St. Michaels University School and is a co-founder of The Claremont Review, an international literary journal for young writers. In 2008, he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence. 9781773241616

Ziyad Saadi

Z is for Ziyad
Set over a single, chaotic day in Detroit, this debut novel follows queer Palestinian refugee Firas Dareer as he plans to come out to his family at an elaborately staged birthday dinner, only to find his orchestrated reveal thrown into disarray by a chain of escalating crises. Three Parties (Hamish Hamilton $34.95) explores Palestinian diasporic life, generational trauma and the pressure of queer self-revelation with humour and emotional depth. It’s a story of self-presentation, fractured families and the quiet dignity of choosing to be known on one’s own terms. Ziyad Saadi is a Palestinian Canadian writer and filmmaker based in Vancouver. A Nicholl Fellowship semi-finalist and winner of the MPAC Hollywood Bureau pilot writing competition, his writing has appeared in Indiewire, The Independent and The Gay & Lesbian Review. His short story “The Third or Fourth Casualty” appears in the speculative fiction anthology Thyme Travellers (Fernwood, 2024). 9780735250963