NON's Fall '18 News & Reviews Extravaganza!

NON's news, views and other random info for Fall '18.

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New Releases

With the rapid approach of the end of his professional life, Marcus O is quietly wondering what’s next. Well first there’s a workplace nemesis he aspires to humiliate. And then there’s a style-conscious student whose shallow interests seem calculated to aggravate Marcus alone. And finally there are the nights scouring the web and composing attractive answers to profile questions generated by a seniors’ online dating site he’s recently joined. Set in a near future where everything is pretty much the same—or maybe a touch worse—Oldness; or, the Last-Ditch Efforts of Marcus O presents a satiric portrait of a contradictory man in a complicated place and time whose reality may be just over the horizon.

"Grubisic's great talent is the comedic scene and his novel overflows with them." ~ Vancouver Sun

$19.95
978-1-988098-63-0
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Jake has fallen hard for Genny, and now he’s brought her home to meet the family. As he introduces her to Poplar Lake, he amuses her with innocent anecdotes about his childhood, and regales her with the story of the town’s founding and the scoundrels, bootleggers, progressives and visionaries who shaped it—all the while dodging and deflecting questions about his own past. Genny knows he’s hiding something. Does it involve his first love Tammy, or his enigmatic friend Clinton Sturgis, or his brother Victor, whom he hero-worships to this day? Whatever it is, it clearly haunts and traumatizes him and could destroy their future together. Poplar Lake is a darkly satiric novel about home towns, families and relationships, and the day-to-day lies that sustain them, a tragicomedy rich with yearning, heartbreak, and love.

“In Poplar Lake, Ron Thompson has written a captivating story, rich with humour and heart. I didn’t want it to end.” ~ Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

$19.95
978-1-988098-64-7

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Christian McPherson’s second collection of short stories serves up a boozy menu of mixed cocktails. Whether it be funny twisted tales of suburban marriages on the rocks, glue sniffing felons looking to win a radio contest, or Humpty Dumpty drinking the greatest cup of coffee in the world, these stories will have you reading and laughing to the last drop. There is also a serious side to Going Fly, in which we examine loss and what we do to carry on in the face of overwhelming tragedy. It’s through these stories that McPherson gives us insight into the human condition, expressing how we endure the crushing weight of despair.

$14.95
978-1-988098-65-4

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Shatter the Glass, Shards of Flame contains a wide array of narrative and confession-lyric poems written over the last fifteen years, examining the various joys and tragedies, the losses and redemptions, of the poet’s life. These poems span a diverse range of Moore’s experience, from his time in the Canadian military and on humanitarian work projects in Haiti, to travelling the storied avenues of Oxford University and working with young offenders on the hardscrabble streets of Moncton.

$14.95
978-1-988098-66-1

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New-ish Releases

$19.95
978-1-988098-48-7
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$19.95
978-1-988098-46-3
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$19.95
978-1-988098-47-0
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$19.95
978-1-988098-45-6
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NON News and Reviews

Check out Ron Norman's
Slouching Towards Innocence in
The Tyee and the Victoria Times Colonist. Or Rona Altrows' At This Juncture in I've Read This.
And, what, is that Altrows again in Pickle Me This? Or maybe check out Bruce Geddes' The Higher the Monkey Climbs in the B ookworm Norm.

Author Spotlight

A lecturer of English literature splitting his time between Vancouver and Salt Spring Island, Brett Josef Grubisic is the author of the novels The Age of Cities, This Location of Unknown Possibilities, and From Up River and for One Night Only. Previous publications include Understanding Beryl Bainbridge, Contra/diction, Carnal Nation (co-edited with Carellin Brooks), American Hunks (co-authored with David L. Chapman), National Plots (co-edited with Andrea Cabajsky), and Blast, Corrupt, Dismantle, Erase (co-edited with Giséle M. Baxter and Tara Lee).

“The story, rooted in character and anchored with voluble,
explosive prose, transcends the grey particulars, quickly
becoming universal in its force.” —Toronto Star

“This excursion into the ’80s will be immersive for readers
who remember the decade fondly; the story of dreamers
pushing against the confines of conventionality and limited
expectations will resonate more broadly.” —Publishers Weekly

Upcoming NON Events

Authors Among Us
(It's true, they live among us, in the seedy underbelly no less. Scary.)

On Friday, October 12th, Author Brett Josef Grubisic will be celebrating with family, friends, colleagues, and fans of his newest literary novel Oldness; or, the Last-Ditch Efforts of Marcus O in the Mole Hill Community Room, Laneway at 1101 Thurlow Street in Vancouver at 7pm. Following that, Brett will be reading and signing copies of his novel at the Salt Spring Island Public Library on November 3rd at 3pm with Bill Stenson.

Author Christian McPherson will be reading from his latest collection of short fiction Going Fly on Saturday, November 10th at Coles Billings Bridge from 11-2pm.

Author Ron Thompson will be launching his novel Poplar Lake on Wednesday, October 17th at the Pilot Tavern’s Stealth Lounge at 22 Cumberland Street in Yorkville, downtown Toronto, at 7pm.