Freehand Books

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Calgary, AB
Freehand Books

Publishing outstanding Canadian fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, and graphic literature. Want to stay in the loop?

Our publishing list is an eclectic, purposeful mix, illustrating the dual nature of the phrase 'freehand' – which represents both unfettered creativity (e.g., freehand drawing) and exquisite control (e.g., bull riders must not touch with their free hand). Freehand aims to publish books that show this balance of creativity and skill – in short, books of exceptional literary merit. Sign up for our monthly newsletter, Freehand's Footnotes, here: freehand-books.com/subscribe

08/27/2026

Freehand's very own paulo da costa is featured in Calgary Arts Development's Artist Spotlight!

https://calgaryartsdevelopment.com/news-information/blog/artist-spotlight-paulo-da-costa/

08/15/2026

Two weeks from today, Freehand will be at the The Elbow Book Show! On August 29th stop by, say hi, and get some great additions to your To Be Read list. There will be booksellers, publishers, authors, artists and so much more.

There will also be refreshments thanks to the Oolong Tea Shop.

When: August 29, 2026 from 10:00am to 6:00pm
Where: Crescent Heights Community Association (1101 2 St NW, Calgary, AB)

07/29/2026

Cheryl Girard of the Winnipeg Free Press has published this wonderful review of Dora Dueck’s Like a River Divides the Earth!

07/27/2026

Coming soon! We're incredibly excited about this short story collection from M. Jay Smith!

Cantaloupe! brings us nine juicy stories about trying (and failing) to do the right thing – about yearning to stay true to yourself, in a culture that demands compromising even the most deeply held convictions.

Congratulations Jay!

"M. Jay Smith writes with rare honesty about ordinary people, their predilections and prejudices, and the choices and sacrifices they have to make," says Peter Midgley, author of Let Us Not Think of Them As Barbarians

"Feral suburban mothers, depressing elite athletes, a libertarian would-be politician, an electric drag king, disappointing climate science professors, a griefless widower, a hopeful artisanal-dog-collar entrepreneur—the range of characters in Cantaloupe! is as impressive as its revelatory scope. M. Jay Smith’s wry stories surprise at every turn to wondrously reveal the anguish and exhilaration running through our faltering, fluttering human hearts," Mikka Jacobsen, author of Good Victory says of the collection.

The official pub date is September 22 -- preorder your copy today! And stay tuned for launch events in Edmonton, Calgary, and Toronto!

https://freehand-books.com/product/cantaloupe/ -description

07/24/2026

We are honoured to publish this stunning memoir of a father's life, changed entirely by a six-week imprisonment in a concentration camp in the Netherlands near the end of the war, from Leonard Diepeveen.

When I Come Back We Will Talk is a book about the afterwards. Leonard Diepeveen explores his relationship with his father, beginning with his father’s imprisonment as a boy during the winter of 1945 at Kamp Amersfoort. In the 80 years that followed, the war would not let Len’s father go, holding him and their family unrelentingly in its grip. Even as Len’s father lay dying, he said, “The war is inside me, Len.”

The book is both a tender search to understand a father's life as a survivor and an immigrant, and a mesmerizing examination of memory and self. Congratulations, Len, on this exceptional book! We are proud to be a part of the journey.

The official pub date is September 15 -- preorder your copy today! And a Halifax launch celebration is planned for September 20 -- stay tuned for more details on this and other events.

https://freehand-books.com/product/when-i-come-back-we-will-talk/ -description

07/22/2026

Coming soon! This collection of cover stories is one you won't want to miss! From bestselling, award-winning author Wayne Grady, and with a forward from Margaret Atwood, we are please to present The Cartel and Other Cover Stories.

Just as cover songs are both tributes to other musicians and original works in themselves, here Grady masterfully reimagines classic short stories in a way that honours the originals while creating something entirely new.

Congratulations, Wayne!

“Wayne Grady’s unmissable The Cartel and Other Cover Stories is not like any book you’re likely to have ever read,” says Margaret Atwood.

Ian Williams calls this collection “ amazingly—impossibly—every bit as good as their originals."

And Jane Urquhart describes Wayne's literary experiment as “A brilliant exploration of the philosophy of literature, the art of the short story, and the creative act itself.”

Our official pub date is September 8, but preorder your copy now-- and keep your ear to the ground for launch event news and more!

https://freehand-books.com/product/the-cartel-and-other-cover-stories/

07/15/2026

How is your Read Alberta Summer Reading Challenge going?

06/18/2026

More bestseller news! This time from Edmonton, where Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand by Tim Bowling holds the #3 slot.

The good news for Graveyard Shift at the Lemonade Stand continues to roll in -- just today we heard that it was shortlisted for the High Plains International Book Awards, and earlier this month it took home the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction at the Alberta Literary Awards. Congratulations to Tim!

06/17/2026

Delighted to see Dora Dueck and Like a River Divides the Earth atop the Winnipeg Bestsellers List! Thank you to Winnipeg and McNally Robinson Booksellers!

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Calgary, AB

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https://www.freehand-books.com/

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