Blog Post - Dundurn

Mental Health, Drugs, and Creativity

I wrote Babble On with the purpose of it being read. I mean, duh, it’s a memoir; but, more than that, I...

The Conservative Party's Dramatic History

Canadians can be forgiven for struggling to keep track of who’s leading the Conservative Party of...

Writing With Integrity: Finding Your Voice and the Words You Believe In.

When I was asked to write this blog post my first thought was, blogs are not my thing. So, what will I say?...

S.M. Freedman On Writing Psychological Trauma with Care and Empathy

How do we break free from the ingrained lessons and damage done in childhood? This is a question I love to...

In Memory of A.J. Diamond

All of us at Dundurn Press are saddened to hear of the recent passing of renowned architect A.J. Diamond.A...

Reading and Writing With Students

My favourite part of publishing is being invited to read to students. On the other end of the scale is...

Chapter Excerpt: The Burden of Exile by Aaron Berhane

Aaron Berhane (1969–2021) was an Eritrean Canadian journalist. Co-founder and former editor-in-chief of...

Persephone's Children Named Finalist for the 2022 Governor General’s Literary Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Persephone’s Children by Rowan McCandless is a finalist for...

The Writing Process: True Crime Edition

Sometimes finding a topic is due to serendipity. That’s what happened with my latest book, Deadly...

Nicknames, Easter Eggs, and the Joy

I’ve always been one to recount tales using descriptive character nicknames. I always did it with my...

A Conversation With Shawn Skeir

Shawn Skeir made the cover artwork that you see on the beautiful twentieth anniversary edition of The...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part Six

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part 5

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part Four

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part Three

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

Nothing Will Be Different Named Finalist for the 2022 Hilary Weston Writers' Trust Prize for Nonfiction

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Nothing Will Be Different by Tara McGowan-Ross is a finalist for...

The Perfect Medicine Named Finalist for the 2022 Ottawa Book Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Perfect Medicine by Brodie Ramin is a finalist for the 2022...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part Two

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

Memories of Dundurn Press Part One

We're celebrating 50 years of publishing this year! We asked our authors to share some of their favourite...

A Resilient Crown Chapter Excerpt

The Resilient Crown edited by D. Michael Jackson and Christopher McCreery marks the milestone Queen...

In the City of Pigs Longlisted for the 2022 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that In the City of Pigs by André Forget has been longlisted for...

The Castleton Massacre On Tour!

How do you pack 97 warm bodies into a small library in Eastern Ontario AND still make sense as you offer a...

The Link Between Literacy and Education

I know, without a doubt, that each of us has something of value to contribute in helping to make the world a...

Behind the Scenes With Art Director Laura Boyle

Babble On by Andrew Brobyn is a memoir about someone who is deeply conflicted and mired at the...

5 Questions With Sara Flemington

Debut novelist Sara Flemington's minimalist writing style brings a female-driven, Huckleberry Finn...

Music and the City

Long before I wanted to be a writer, I wanted to be a musician. I think this is because I found music less...

Four Tips to Teach An Old or Young Dog New Writing Tricks

As a mature canine with a writing career spanning more than 35 years, I’m always looking for ways to...

Consciousness, Autonomy, and Personhood

Put simply, and as far as I could see during my time observing them, transhumanists/post-humanists are...

The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. Named Finalist for the 2022 High Plains Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Colleen Nelson has been nominated for the 2022 High Plains Book...

3 Unexpected Parenting Lessons from the Dads of Dad Bod

While writing Dad Bod (my book of essays about what dads from pop culture reveal about contemporary...

Persephone's Children Named Winner of the Manitoba Book Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Rowan McCandless has won the 2022 Manitoba Book Awards for the...

Ernest Hemingway Met His Match in Mary Welsh

Mary Welsh was a Camel smoking, gin-drinking journalist in wartime London. She was a first-class reporter who...

The Futile Sport of Silencing Diversity

When I was younger, I wanted to write a book, though not for particularly great reasons. It seemed everyone...

Ambiguous Endings

I wrote The Petting Zoos because I suck at endings.One afternoon at work I got an idea for a short story...

The Beatle Bandit by Nate Hendley Winner of 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Beatle Bandit by Nate Hendley has won the 2022 Crime Writers...

Why I Write Biographies about Forgotten Women

Writing a biography means immersing oneself completely in another person’s life. It took me over ten...

7 Feminist Fiction Books You Can Read Right Now

Your pile of books waiting to be read is missing some amazing feminist fiction stories. We’ve compiled...

I, Gloria Grahame Nominated for 2022 ReLit Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Sky Gilbert has been nominated for the 2022 ReLit Awards in the...

Reclaiming Our History

The title of my upcoming book, An Unrecognized Contribution, could apply to women in western...

Persephone's Children Shortlisted for Two Manitoba Book Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Rowan McCandless has been nominated for two Manitoba Book Awards...

The Story Behind the Story

I’ve learned a lot over the last twenty years being a writer. Too many lessons to list. But one of the...

The Incarnations of Gone But Still Here

Gone but Still Here went through many incarnations before finally being published.The first draft was...

Home of the Floating Lily Shortlisted for the 2021 Danuta Gleed Literary Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Silmy Abdullah has been nominated for The Writers’ Union...

Three Dundurn Press Titles Nominated for the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that three authors have been shortlisted for the 2022 Crime Writers of...

Reconciliation on Ojibway-Anishinabe Terms and Other Themes

Writing Di-bayn-di-zi-win (To Own Ourselves): Embodying Ojibway-Anishinabe Ways with Jerry has been a honor...

Clocks Don't Bring Tomorrow

Di-bayn-di-zi-win (To Own Ourselves): Embodying Ojibway-Anishinabe Ways was an interesting project from...

Preface Reveal: With Faith & Goodwill Second Edition

With Faith & Goodwill edited by Arthur Milnes, Maryscott Greenwood, and Scott Reid, celebrates...

Two Dundurn Press Titles Nominated for the 2022 Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Life and Deaths of Frankie D. by Colleen Nelson and...

Past Prime Ministers of Canada

The Lost Prime Ministers is a glimpse at the four men who were Canada’s leaders in the years between...

In Memory of Fraser Sutherland

Today, March 28th, marks the death of beloved Canadian author and critic, Fraser Sutherland, one year...

Coming This Fall: The Voyageurs by Joshua Kloke

Tracing Canadian men’s soccer’s emergence from global obscurity to an international powerhouse...

All the Nice Things

Have you ever noticed how everything we do brings suffering to the world? What a depressing thought. But red...

The Rebellious Tide Named Finalist for 2022 Ferro-Grumley Award for LGBTQ Fiction

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce author Eddy Boudel Tan's The Rebellious Tide is a finalist for the...

Bringing a Popular Series Back

When I published the tenth Inspector Green novel, None So Blind, in 2014, I thought ten was a nice round...

Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack Finalist for 2021 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award

Dundurn Press is pleased to announce Two White Queens and the One-Eyed Jack by Heidi von Palleske has...

Where the Wondrous Things Are: Choosing the Settings of the Creature X Series

The mountains of Oregon, a lake on the coast of Newfoundland, and an island in the South Pacific. Three...

A Non-Inspirational Inspirational Memoir

Much has been made of the image of the doughnut on the cover of The Running-Shaped Hole. So why is there a...

Why Historical Fiction is the Genre Everyone Needs to Be Reading Right Now

“Historical fiction” is a bit of a misnomer. For those unfamiliar with its captivating grip on...

Robots and the Truckers Convoy

The trucker protests in Ottawa and elsewhere in Canada had more to do with robots (technology) than vaccine...

Where Do Raindrops Go?

When people ask me where I get my ideas for young-adult novels, I have to laugh. Ideas rain on me in daily...

How to Defeat Debt and Turbocharge Your Savings

Are you wondering how to survive and thrive in today's reality? We know, it's tough, and with so many...

Starr Sign Nominated for 2022 Edgar Allan Poe Award

Dundurn Press is delighted to announce that Starr Sign by C.S. O'Cinneide has been nominated...

Black Voices for Black History Month

With Black History Month coming up, you’re likely wondering what books to add to your TBR (to be read)...

The Uniqueness of Human Suffering

Life can be hard. Harder for some than others, but not just because life doles out hardship inequitably. Some...

Boy by Brent van Staalduinen Winner of the Kerry Schooley Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that our author, Brent van Staalduinen has won the Kerry Schooley Book...

A Great Story and a Great Storyteller

Join Jeremey John tonight, December 9th, at 7PM ET at Indigo's Instagram page for some live, storytime...

Why Do People Love True Crime? An Explanation, of Sorts

Why do people love reading true crime?There are many reasons, and not just because the public has an...

Scandalous Old Hollywood

I certainly don’t set out to be controversial. But I’ve always loved Gloria Grahame’s...

Christianity & The Rebel Christ

Being an author is strange, ambiguous, unformed. Especially for me, in that writing books has always been...

Two Dundurn Press Titles Named Finalists for the Hamilton Literary Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Boy by Brent van Staalduinen has been nominated for the Hamilton...

On Epistolary Novels

If I had to guess, I’d say the epistolary novel—a story written as though it were a collection of...

How to Survive Your Twenties

Tara McGowan-Ross’s definitive guide to surviving your twenties.1. Don’t die.Arguably the...

Square Peg

“Our strategy should be not only to confront empire, but to lay siege to it. To deprive it of oxygen....

Dundurn Press Gift Guide

🎁So you don’t know what books to gift for the holidays — that’s okay, usually we...

Making Memories At Massey Hall

Ask Canadian artists what venue they most aspire to headline and the unanimous reply is Massey Hall. The...

Stanley Park Coyotes

"We can be ethical only in relation to something...

Hunger, Laughter, and Thinking Too Much: A Yume Listicle

Greetings, Dundurn readers! By now, you know Yume is about a woman teaching English in Japan whose life turns...

Spotify Playlist: Music to Accompany The Liquor Vicar

The protagonist in The Liquor Vicar is Tony Vicar, a dreamer and failed musician who is getting older,...

Two Dundurn Press Titles Nominated for the 2022 Forest of Reading Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Nothing but Life by Brent van Staalduinen has been nominated for...

Excerpt: Modest Hopes by Don Loucks and Leslie Valpy

Modest Hopes by Don Loucks and Leslie Valpy celebrates Toronto’s built heritage of row...

What Hockey Means for Canadians

The start of each new NHL season always brings promise and excitement. No matter how your team finished at...

16 Best Books for Halloween

It’s the season of thrills and chills, and our spooky lineup is here! If you love the fall atmosphere...

Reading Group Guide: The Son of the House

Not only is it the best time of year, it’s also National Reading Group Month! We love a good book chat,...

The Son of the House Shortlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize

We’re so excited to see The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia as a finalist for the 2021...

The Stories We Live

I’ve always been interested in stories – how they shape our lives, and how our lives are...

How To Write Literary Fiction

The title to this essay begs the question, “What is literary fiction?”If a story is beautifully...

Take the Prehistoric Quiz Inspired by Sisters of the Wolf by Patricia Miller-Schroeder

Shinoni and Keena lived 40,000 years ago in an area we now call France and Spain in an era called the Upper...

The Age of Fentanyl Named Finalist for the 2021 Ottawa Book Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Brodie Ramin’s The Age of Fentanyl has been shortlisted for...

The Son of the House Longlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia has been...

Running and Writing: Better than a Root Beer Float

Let’s go on a journey together. Let’s explore the premise that running and writing belong...

The Son of the House Named Finalist for The Nigeria Prize for Literature

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia has been...

The Fear of Feelings

“But how did that make you feel?"As a recovering drug addict who’s spent four months in a...

Chapter Reveal: The Devil's Choir by Martin Michaud

The Devil's Choir by Martin Michaud (translated by Arthur Holden) is an intricate, intense mystery from...

I Want You to Feel Young

I’m often asked what my books are about, and I’ve never found that easy to answer. How do I...

Four Nominations for the 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Michael Snow by James King, The Flyer Vault by Daniel Tate and Rob...

Living With the People We Pretend to Be

“We are who we pretend to be, but no one can pretend forever.”If I could condense everything I...

Book + Beer Pairings for International Beer Day

On International Beer Day, we asked some of our staff what their preferred beer is to drink with their...

The Monsters in Our Waters

Canada has more lakes than any other country on Earth. Given our surplus of fresh water, and that we have...

International Friendship Day

Since today is International Day of Friendship, we wanted to highlight some of our favourite bookish...

Serious Business

Crime isn’t funny. Generally, folks get hurt and the overall results don’t make the world a...

World Emoji Day

Today is World Emoji Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a roundup of our latest reads and an...

Public, Private, Secret

A friend once told me that we all have three lives: our public life, our private life and our secret life....

Where Is Home?

I’ve been a migrant for long as I can remember. I left Bangladesh, my birth country, at the age of one...

The Lost Scroll of the Physician Shortlisted for Two Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Alisha Sevigny’s first book in the Secrets of the Sands...

My Pandemic Style

In celebration of InkWell Workshops’ fourth volume in their anthology series, Brilliance Is the...

The Don by Lorna Poplak Shortlisted for the Speaker's Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that The Don by Lorna Poplak has been shortlisted for the 2021...

10 Books Your Dad Wants for Father's Day

Celebrate Father’s Day for all the father figures in your life with the gift of a book. From the sports...

Stowaway by Pam Withers Winner of Chocolate Lily Award

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that Stowaway by Pam Withers has won the Chocolate Lily...

The Jigsaw Puzzle King by Gina McMurchy-Barber Nominated for the Rocky Mountain Book Awards

Dundurn Press is thrilled to share that Gina McMurchy-Barber’s novel, The Jigsaw Puzzle King, has been...

Dangerous Readers and Safe Allegories: Social Justice in Fantasy

In 1974, Ursula Le Guin published an essay entitled “Why are Americans Afraid of Dragons?” In the...

Newsletter Giveaway: The Doomsday Book of Fairy Tales by Emily Brewes

Want to win a copy of THE DOOMSDAY BOOK OF FAIRY TALES by Emily Brewes?All you have to do to enter is 1)...

Remembering Aaron Berhane

On May 2, 2021, Dundurn Press heard the worst thing that a publisher can hear: one of our authors had died,...

On downers, pronouns and a swiftly burning planet

Y’ever have a nightmare you couldn’t forget? Not a set of events, nor many details, but the very...

First Chapter Reveal: I, Gloria Grahame by Sky Gilbert

Meet Denton Moulton — a shy, effeminate male professor — lives inside his head, where he is...

The Idea of Fiction vs Non-Fiction Is An Illusion

It’s thought to be a little unusual for a writer to work in both fiction and non-fiction. Agents argue...

The Jigsaw Puzzle King wins the 2021 Silver Birch Fiction Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to congratulate our author Gina McMurchy-Barber on winning the 2021 Silver Birch...

Writing What I Fear

There was an alley behind my childhood home where stray cats bred like gremlins. Over the years, many chose...

Newsletter Giveaway: The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia

Want to win a copy of THE SON OF THE HOUSE by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia? All you...

Seven Named a Finalist for the Trillium Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Seven by Farzana Doctor has been selected as a finalist for the...

A Strange Kind of Comfort Shortlisted for the 2021 Manitoba Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that A Strange Kind of Comfort by Gaylene Dutchyshen has been...

Five Easy Ways to Save on Your Wedding Day

The New Wedding Book by Michele Bilodeau and Karen Cleveland will help you plan your wedding without the...

Three Dundurn Press Titles Shortlisted for the Seventh Annual Kobo Emerging Writer Prize

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that True Patriots by Russell Fralich, Night Call by Brenden Carlson,...

Eddy Boudel Tan named one of the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s 2021 Rising Stars

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that our author Eddy Boudel Tan has been named one of the Writers’...

Wrapping Mummies and Ancient Egypt into ‘The Life and Deaths of Frankie D.'

One of my favourite topics in Grade 8 social studies is Ancient Egypt. I loved learning about it when I was a...

Chapter Reveal: The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia

The Son of the House by Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia is a debut novel set against four decades of...

The Gamer's Guide to Getting the Girl Shortlisted for the 2021 Saskatchewan Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Kristine Scarrow’s YA novel, The Gamer’s Guide to...

True Patriots Shortlisted for the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Best Crime First Novel

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that True Patriots by Russell Fralich has been nominated for the Crime...

Why You Don’t Have to Have it Figured Out in Your Twenties

Many people have this preconceived idea of how life is supposed to go. We’re supposed to decide what we...

The Age of Fentanyl Shortlisted for the 2020 Donner Prize

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Brodie Ramin’s The Age of Fentanyl is shortlisted for the...

The Lost Scroll of the Physician Shortlisted for the 2021-22 Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award

Dundurn Press is thrilled to announce that Alisha Sevigny’s first book in the Secrets of the Sands...

It’s Time We Redefined “Comfortable Clothes”

I haven’t been outside today and don’t plan to until I walk the dog this evening. I don’t...

Two Dundurn Press Nominations for the Saskatchewan Young Readers' Choice Award

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that two of our titles are on the Saskatchewan Young Readers’...

Working During and After COVID

Canada, A Working History is the culmination of many years of thinking about the development and meaning of...

After Elias Finalist for Publishing Triangle’s Edmund White Debut Fiction Award

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that After Elias has been nominated for the Publishing Triangle’s...

Women in the Mob

In Starr Sign, my latest novel in the Candace Starr Crime Series, Candace infiltrates her estranged Detroit...

Acting and Writing: Painting with words

It was never about fame, attention or notoriety. It was always about the word and the images that words can...

How I Learned To Write A Trilogy By Raiding My Kids’ Bookshelves

I had written a few books before I sat down to write the Jack Palace series, but I had never written a...

The Inside Story of Drone Chase

Drone Chase sprang out above all from place: the Great Bear Rainforest, which, according to their website,...

Settings; Not Just an Afterthought

As one of the pillars of a good story, setting deserves as much attention as character and plot, but is...

Dundurn Press Unveils New Branding and Mission

In our 49th year, we are excited to announce that Dundurn Press has rebranded and revitalized its mandate....

5 Questions with Brent van Staalduinen

Award-winning short story writer and author of two novels for adults, Brent van Staalduinen brings us a...

Evergreen Award Nominations for Two Dundurn Press Titles!

Dundurn Press is excited to announce that two of its books have been nominated for the Ontario Library...

A Brief History of Toronto Valentines

Toronto's association with Valentine's Day stretches back nearly two hundred and fifty years, to a...

Where the Buck Stopped: The Governor of the Don Jail

When the spanking new Toronto Jail, that grand “palace for prisoners,” opened its doors on the...

The Making of Victor Lessard

Without Blood was published in French in 2010. Obviously, this book was all about the birth of Victor...

Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia Wins the SpriNG Women Authors Prize

We are thrilled to congratulate our author Cheluchi Onyemelukwe-Onuobia who is the inaugural winner of...

The Road to Ranoe

I first stumbled across rumours of a woman accompanying Wolseley’s expedition to Red River in an...

Technology to Writing and the Process In Between

The longest two weeks of my life were the two weeks before the release of my debut novel, Night Call....

Five Things You May Not Have Known About Craig Russell and Drag in Toronto

While Craig Russell liked to be called a female impressionist, we can comfortably say he was a drag queen....

After the Apocalypse: Queer and Trans Futures

I’m kind of over dystopian stories.There, I finally said it. I read 1984 and Brave New World and The...

Writing is Brave - Rick Prashaw on Soar, Adam, Soar

Adam, my late son, the boy who started life as Rebecca, inspired Soar, Adam, Soar – his fierce yet...

Why Do People Love Mysteries?

by Sheila Dalton, author of The Girl in the BoxOf course, any answer to this is speculation only. We want...

First Loves and Other Stories

What struck me at this year's Lambda Awards was the diversity of the award headings, spanning twenty-six...

How Do You Know If Your House is Haunted?

Paranormal Investigator Richard Palmisano, author of Meeting Place of the Dead, outlines some major signs that your house may in fact be haunted and what you can do about it.