Variations on a Dream, Angélique Lalonde
(Penguin Random House Canada)
The debut novel from B.C.-based Angélique Lalonde is a strange, deeply absorbing novel that probes the psychological depths of two characters flailing to keep their fairytale marriage intact. Lalonde’s prose is vibrant and eccentric, drawing on inspirations as varied as Dionne Brand and David Foster Wallace as she explores themes of romance and gender roles, sex and porn addiction, and existentialism and toxic positivity. (Feb. 3)
Seven Heavens Away, Ashraf Zaghal
(House of Anansi)
With his debut novel Seven Heavens Away, Palestinian-Canadian poet and author Ashraf Zaghal follows the life of Aziz, a Palestinian teenager coming of age in Jerusalem. In Aziz’s life, nothing is as simple as it seems. Escalating violence in the region looms heavy, creating instability, while Aziz’s growing feelings for Dafna, a Jewish girl he works with in West Jerusalem do not sit well with his closest friend Mustafa. As the world around him continues to shift, Aziz must confront a number of painful truths. (Feb. 3)
Fancy Gap, Zak Jones
(Hamish Hamilton)
Recent census data indicates that Fancy Gap, a mountain region connecting North Carolina to Virginia, occupies an area of four square miles and has a population of 243. The population is one hundred per cent white. In his debut novel of the same name, writer and U.S. Army veteran Zak Jones follows three generations in southern Appalachia contending with poverty, illness, addiction and apocalyptic Christianity. (Feb. 17)
Son of Nobody, Yann Martel
(Penguin Random House Canada)
The first book in a decade from international bestselling author Yann Martel tells the story of a middling classics professor who discovers a previously unknown account of the Trojan War. The post-modern novel is broken into two sections: a translation of the ancient text, paired with extensive, meandering footnotes, in which the narrator reveals a personal account of his broken marriage and of a father struggling to connect with his daughter. Son of Nobody is deeply imaginative and funny, and grapples with questions of myth, history and domesticity. (March 31)
Looking for Livingstone: An Odyssey of Silence, m. nourbeSe philip
(Invisible Publishing)
Originally published in 1991, m. nourbeSe philip’s Looking for Livingstone blends poetry and prose to tell the story of a woman travelling through known and unknown regions, and through time itself, as she searches for Dr. David Livingstone, a man celebrated by the West as a “discoverer” of Africa. A new edition of this work by one of Canada’s most influential experimental writers comes with a new introduction from the author and a new afterword by Michael Nardone. (April 7)
Wonderland Road, Carrianne Leung
(HarperCollins)
What remains when everything we know comes to an end? In Wonderland Road, acclaimed Scarborough author Carrianne Leung explores a near future where the social and political order has collapsed. For many, this collapse signals the arrival of the apocalypse, but for Pauline, Jing and Julian, the three protagonists at the heart of Leung’s third novel, the moment is also an opportunity for resilience, hope, community and connection. (April 14)
The Fall-Down Effect, Liz Johnston
(Book*hug)
Set in the late 1980s in a Pacific Northwest logging town, The Fall-Down Effect follows Fern, a young woman who goes underground after engaging in an act of environmental activism that authorities label ecoterrorism. Unable to keep this secret under wraps, tension within Fern’s family boils over, causing ruptures and confrontations within the family at large. Johnston’s debut novel is a beautiful exploration of family, climate change and loss. (April 21)
The Alchemy of Paradise, by Susannah M. Smith
(Invisible Publishing)
In this fantastical, post-modern work of fiction by Vancouver-based writer Susannah M. Smith, a curator-narrator confronts grief, loss and mortality by arranging the fragments of her life — objects, memories, impressions — into a fragile order. Inspired by Walter Benjamin’s writing collections, The Alchemy of Paradise offers curation “as a restless, ongoing practice of survival and renewal.” (May 12)
This article appeared in the 2026 Feb/Mar issue.
