CHANGE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER...


Spring has hit high gear at Breakwater Books! May has been jam-packed with exciting updates, and we can't wait to share even more! Most importantly...

Breakwater Books is moving!

And, we're celebrating with a moving sale. Before we pack up our shelves at 1 Stamp's Lane, visit us before the end of the month to pick up the best new local books for 50% OFF.

Included in our sale are some of our hottest new releases, including the much-anticipated short story collection, Here by Heidi Wicks, available now, and the debut novel from Ray Critch, The Beltane Massacre, available May 27th.

Read on for more exciting updates from Breakwater Books!
 
In this issue:

  • New Releases & Upcoming Events (what’s out now and where to catch us!)
  • Big News (exciting updates!)
  • Breakwater Buzz (reviews, interviews, and more!)
  • Have You Heard? (the latest on Breakwater in our community!)
  • Coming Soon (it's time for Spring!)
  • From The Vault (not-to-be-forgotten backlist features!)
  • Photo Album (catch up on the latest happenings!)
  • Keep Connected (follow us on social media!)

 

NEW RELEASES & UPCOMING EVENTS

Aristocrats, hippies, housemaids, an all-girl rock band, a politician, a theologian, a biologist, a ballerina, a crow—Here trails the inhabitants of a colonial mansion on Circular Road in St. John’s over a span of 100 years. Over the decades, the house has a way of bending time for its varied occupiers, making readers question how our histories shape us and whether we can ever truly escape—or make peace with—the ghosts of the past.
 Available now on our website and at select local bookstores!

Former Canadian Forces intelligence officer Rowan McRae lives in the UK with a beautiful wife and healthy baby. He is about to assume a teaching post in London when the unthinkable happens. A bomb is planted in the bonfire at the Edinburgh Beltane Festival, turning Rowan’s world upside down. One year later, Rowan is enlisted by MI5 to help jumpstart the foundering investigation into the bombing. In so doing, he uncovers a conspiracy touching on the highest levels of society—a conspiracy protecting the bomber.
The Beltane Massacre will be available from your local bookstore or our website on May 27th!

 

SAVE THE DATE

  • May 24th: Grab your signed copy of Here by Heidi Wicks from the Avalon Mall Coles from 2PM-3PM!
  • May 25th: Stop by Chapters on Kenmount Road from 12PM to 1PM to chat with author Heidi Wicks and get your copy of Here!
  • May 25th: Find author Paul Moorehead reading from and signing copies of Green at Downtown Comics in St. John's, May 25th at 6PM!
  • June 5th: Join Heidi Wicks to celebrate the launch of Here at the Theatre Hill Cafe in the Majestic Theatre at 7:00PM! Heidi will be reading from her collection, and will be interviewed by the fantastic Noreen Golfman. Check out event details here.
  • June 5th: Find us at Quadrangle NL's Made Right Queer Business Fair at the St. John's Farmer's Market from 6PM-9PM!
  • June 5th: At the Atlantic Book Awards Gala at Paul O’Regan Hall in Halifax Central Library, winners of the 2025 awards will be announced. Soft Serve by Alison Graves is nominated for the Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction, and Vigil by Susie Taylor is nominated for BOTH the Alistair MacLeod Award for Short Fiction and the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award!
  • June 10th: Breakwater Books will host a pop-up shop at the St. John's Board of Trade Love Local: Sip. Savour. Shop. event at the Delta Hotel from 4:00PM-7:00PM! More details and tickets available here.
  • June 11th: Join us at The Rooms for the official launch of Openly Karl, featuring a talk from Karl himself. The event is free, but you need to reserve your spot! Book your tickets on The Rooms website here.
  • June 14th: Find author Ray Critch signing books at Chapters on Kenmount Road from 1PM to 3PM!
  • June 15th: Stop by the Village Mall Coles from 2PM to 4PM to get your copy of the newly released The Beltane Massacre, and have it signed by author Ray Critch!
  • July 4th-6th: The full line-up for Ochre Fest 2025 has been announced! Get your tickets for this amazing weekend of literary discussions and celebrations now!

 

BIG NEWS

Breakwater Books is moving, and we are celebrating with a moving sale!

We're getting ready to pack up and head for a new location, but before we do, we want to welcome you to our 1 Stamp's Lane location for one last shopping blitz! Drop in Monday-Friday, 8:30-4:00 until the end of the month to get your hands on some of your favourite books, old and new.

You might even find some books at an extra discount, along with some throwback titles from our archives!
If you can't make it in to our store, you can always shop 24/7 at breakwaterbooks.com.
We'll be heading to our new home soon. Stay tuned to social media for the official announcement of our new location!

False Bodies wins Next Generation Indie Book Award for Horror!

Congratulations are in order for J.R. McConvey, author of False Bodies, which was named the winner of the Horror category for the 2025 Next Generation Indie Book Awards!

Read the press release announcing the winners, and check out the rest of the winners here.

BREAKWATER BUZZ

Want to know more about our books, our authors, and what to read next? We have new reviews, new interviews, and bonus content to dig deeper into the story behind your favourite recent reads:

Check out a new review of Actor Needs Restraint! by Andy Jones, published in the June 2025 edition of the Literary Review of Canada! Read it online here. It's "Best Kind"!

To celebrate the release of Here, Heidi Wicks wrote a recommended reading list for 49th Shelf, including some of her favourite books that centre community (like her new short story collection!). Read it here!

Laura Patterson recently reviewed Health Explored for The Seaboard Review: "Only time will tell if we as a society can get back to what matters most. Until then, we have the guidance in this book to remind us of how to achieve the good life." Read the rest of her review here!

For more insight on Here, check out this interview with Heidi Wicks published by All Lit Up! She talks about some of the inspiration behind her collection, and her "twirly whirly" writing process.

Listen here to a new interview with Karl Wells on CBC's Weekend AM! "His time at the CBC made him a media celebrity. Now, Karl Wells tells his story in a new memoir."

We are so proud to say that Allison Graves, currently shortlisted for the Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction for her collection Soft Serve, has been named one of the Writers' Trust of Canada's 2025 Rising Stars, selected by author Michael Crummey, to participate in their mentorship program! Read all about the program here.

Both Just Around the Corner by Yvonne Rumbolt-Jones (#2) and Openly Karl by Karl Wells (#5) were on the list of Top 5 Bestsellers in NL from Atlantic Books for the month of April! Check out the lists by province here.

 

 

HAVE YOU HEARD?

The Literary Press Group of Canada Celebrates 50 Years!


It’s the Literary Press Group of Canada’s 50th anniversary! The LPG has championed independent Canadian literary publishers through sales, marketing, and other vital supports for five decades. Thank you from Breakwater Books, a proud LPG member!

As part of their celebrations, LPG has selected 50 books for 50 years, a celebration of 50 Canadian books coinciding with the LPG’s 50th anniversary supporting independent literary publishers. We're so excited that Barry C. Parsons's Rock Recipes 3 made the list! Browse the whole list here.

COMING SOON!

June is coming, and with it, two more exciting new releases! Cautiously Pessimistic, a memoir from Debbie McGee, will launch on June 10th, and The Saltbox Olive, the debut novel from Angela Antle, will launch on June 17th.

About Cautiously Pessimistic: Through social media posts, text exchanges, and emails, as well as journal excerpts and letters, Cautiously Pessimistic is one woman’s personal account of her husband’s death and what it means to die in the public eye. McGee delves into the story of her and her husband’s tumultuous early relationship and his eventual death, her narrative playing out amongst the scintillating backdrop of the tightly-knit St. John’s arts community and its vibrant affairs. St. John’s is a great town to live in, but an even better town to die in—especially when dying is documented online.

About The Saltbox Olive: When Caroline Fisher studied art in Florence in the mid-1990s, she was unaware of her family’s history in Italy—how her grandfather had travelled the same streets she did as a member of the 166th British Army (Newfoundland) Artillery Regiment, or how her great-uncle lay buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the mountains between Florence and Bologna. And how could she, when her grandfather burned his brother’s letters after returning home from the war? When an olive tree arrives at Caroline’s front door, family secrets begin to unravel, sending her back to Italy to find answers.

Pre-order these exciting releases, plus all books from the rest of our Spring 2025 season, on our website!

 

FROM THE VAULT

ARCHIVE AND BACKLIST HIGHLIGHTS

A Painter's Poems by Christopher Pratt is a collection of autobiographical poetry spanning fifty years of one of the most prolific artistic careers in the country. Described as "pages from a diary," open up the pages and take a peek behind the curtain into Pratt's personal verse.

And from our recent backlist of titles, we're highlighting The Blue Moth Motel by Olivia Robinson! Get lost in this haunting and evocative exploration of the meaning of family and home — and moths.

From the archive: A Painter's Poems

From the recent backlist: The Blue Moth Motel

 

PHOTO ALBUM

When Here and The Beltane Massacre arrived, Heidi Wicks and Ray Critch stopped by to see their books for the first time, and to sign some copies for purchase in our store!

We were delighted to see the ACP's Membership Services Manager Ishta Mercurio in our store recently while she was visiting Newfoundland!

We have another official contract signing! Darren Ivany dropped by the Breakwater offices to sign his contract for an upcoming release. Stay tuned!

 

KEEP CONNECTED


We know you love to find us in your inbox, but don't forget to keep up with us on social media too!  Follow all our channels to make sure you don't miss out on any crucial book news. Be the first to get event and book announcements, author appearance schedules, reels and videos, and more!