Dare we say it, spring has finally arrived in St. John's. The snow is no more, crocuses are making their appearance, and we've even had a break from the unrelenting rain, drizzle and fog. That's not the only good news, however...

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The 2021 Atlantic Book Awards shortlist has been announced and Morgan Murray (Dirty Birds) is up for the Atlantic Publishers Marketing Association Best Atlantic-Published Book Award, the Margaret and John Savage First Book Award – Fiction, and both Morgan and Bridget Canning (Some People's Children) are shortlisted for the prestigious Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award.

To add to Morgan Murray's incredible shortlist streak, he was also named to the long shortlist for the 2021 ReLit Awards (novel) AND the longlist for the 2021 Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour.

Kevin Major’s novel, Two for the Tablelands, the second book in his Sebastian Synard Mystery series, has been shortlisted for the Howard Engel Award for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada at the 2021 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence.

 

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As the ReLit Awards have returned, having been on hiatus since 2017, three more Breakwater authors were recognized with places on the long shortlists. Craig Francis Power's Skeet Love and Jamie Fitzpatrick's The End of Music made the cut for the 2018 novel category. Helen Fogwill Porter's Full Circle was included in the poetry category for 2019.

Congratulations to all!

 

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Canadian Independent Bookstore Day (CIBD) is the annual day when readers, writers, and publishers celebrate beloved local bookstores from across the country. CIBD is also an opportunity for Canadians to champion indie bookstores. By shopping local on April 24, you are advocating for independent businesses, supporting a flourishing bookselling community, and investing in Canadian culture.

The past year has been challenging, but indies have continued to adapt and serve their communities. CIBD 2021 is our opportunity to say thank you.

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Our retail space is open at 1 Stamp's Lane in St. John's. Come by and shop local! Open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

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Coming Soon

Us, Now

Us, Now roves from Indonesia to the Middle East, Taiwan, Mexico, China, Africa, Jamaica, Barbados, India, Pakistan, and points in between, converging in Newfoundland.

These stories by racialized Newfoundlanders are by turns joyous, tender, hilarious, and heart-wrenching. They confront racism and celebrate the act of enduring. They are about settling and getting unsettled, about parents and their children, about language, about facing down the horrors of homophobia, about the joy of love, about lifelong relationships or the glee of a magnificent crush.

This is a book about distance and coming together, about what it means to be seen and understood, or—devastatingly—to be seen and judged, or to be invisible and misunderstood. What it means to belong. These are new writers and new visions of an in-the-present-moment Newfoundland, stories shaped by powerful voices, stories urgent, radical, and sparking with beauty.

Us, Now contributor Tzu-Hao Hsu spoke with the St. John's Morning's Show's Ramraajh Sharvendiran about the Quilted Collective, growing up in Newfoundland, and how a book like Us, Now would have impacted her as a young person. Have a listen.

 

You can find Sharon King-Campbell's This Is How It Is on CBC Books' list of 55 Canadian poetry collections to check out in spring 2021.

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Look for the Breakwater Books booth at the 7th Annual Milestone Mega Market on Sunday, May 2, 2020 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Jack Byrne Regional Sport & Entertainment Centre! This market is just in time for Mother's Day, come on out and get that special gift for Mom.

Facebook event page and full vendor list