Thistledown Press

12/03/2025

📣Come and work with us!📣

Thistledown Press is hiring a Publicity and Marketing Manager! This is a full-time, six-month contract position based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with possibility for extension.

**Due to overwhelming response in previous job openings, please take careful note that this position is open to a qualified candidate within Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.**

Deadline to apply is December 19, 2025. Visit our website for full details!

https://thistledownpress.com/2025/12/03/were-hiring-publicity-and-marketing-manager/

12/03/2025

So excited to see our titles on the SaskBooks' Holiday Gift Guide! Pick up A SNAKE AND A FEATHERED BIRD by Angie Ellis today!

✨Check out SaskBooks’ holiday gift guide; you’re sure to find a meaningful present for yourself and for the people you love.🎁💝
Fiction lovers’ favourites: tales of humour, mysteries, and self-discovery.

1. Honeydew, published by Radiant Press
“In Ben Zalkind’s debut novel, Honeydew, Rose Gold and her three young acolytes target a very big fish. Hilarity ensues, adventure ensues, and hardcore page turning ensues. Buckle up, this is one wild ride you won’t want to miss.” -Terry Fallis

2. No Straight Lines, published by 7Springs Books; Ruth Chorney
A modern-day murder mystery set in northeastern Saskatchewan. Ingrid Johanson, comes home for her father's funeral to discover the more things change, the more they stay the same. She reconnects with her tribe growing up. Haunted by questions regarding her brother's death years earlier, and by reminders of why she left so suddenly, Ingrid and her best friends try to sort out the past. Was the death an accident, or murder? The story is sure to attract mystery lovers, especially fans of murder mysteries.

3. L’homme blanc un peu fou, published by Nouvelle Plume Coopérative Ltée
Qui pourrait dire que la vie est une ligne droite, aussi droite qu’un chemin de fer roulant vers l’ouest dans les vastes Prairies canadiennes? L’histoire de cet homme sans âge rencontré sur le train serait plutôt un cercle, maintes fois répété, comme les anneaux de croissance d’un conifère mature, ou l’œil rond et luisant du saumon qui remonte la rivière pour donner la vie et mourir.Il m’a raconté ses vies et ses morts, ses réussites et ses erreurs, les noms et les visages qu’il a portés parmi les gens, de ville en village, de route en rivière.

4. A Snake and a Feathered Bird, published by Thistledown Press
This story is set in the 19th century. The atmospheric coming-of-age tale follows Ben, a sensitive boy struggling to unravel his family history while caught in the vortex of other people’s lives. When he knows who he really is, and frees himself from everyone else’s plans for him, can he act on his own desires and claim his place in the world?

Order copies by visiting skbooks.com/bookstore.

12/03/2025

Awesome to see WALKING UPSTREAM by Lloyd Ratzlaff on this list! Thanks, SaskBooks!

✨Check out SaskBooks’ holiday gift guide; you’re sure to find a meaningful present for yourself and for the people you love. 🎁❤️

Poetry collections for poetry lovers to treasure, rich with warmth, humour, and life insights.

1. First Light, Last Light, published by Shadowpaw Press
Poetry readers will love this new collection from Glen Sorestad, one of Canada’s elder literary icons; the work is a mix of reflections on family, memories of youth and friends, and the not-always-pleasant aging process, all viewed with compassion, wisdom and, often, humour.

2. Something for the Dark, published by University of Regina Press
Lundy’s poems accumulate like snow on cedar, his recounting of experiences that transcend language invites you to bend their understanding and notice what was once unseen. Something for the Dark centres Indigenous knowledge to probe the limits of what we know and reckon with our place in the world.

3. Green., published by Radiant Press
An exciting new collection of ekphrastic poems accompanied by a compilation of green sketches via the lens of a q***r poet and visual artist. Whimsical art and thoughtful poems that ponder the nature of existence.

4. Walking Upstream, published by Thistledown Press
A debut poetry collection, both lyrical and surprisingly playful, about overcoming a harsh evangelical upbringing and seeking consolation from the beauty of the natural world.

Order copies by visiting skbook.com/bookstore.

11/28/2025

We are so excited to share that THE GENIUS HOUR PROJECT by Leanne Shirtliffe has been selected for the Fall 2025 issue of Best Books for Kids and Teens!

Best Books for Kids and Teens is a curated database by The Canadian Children's Book Centre featuring the best new Canadian books and magazines for young readers. All books on this list have been handpicked by educators, booksellers, and librarians from across Canada. THE GENIUS HOUR PROJECT is one of 25 titles in the “Junior & Intermediate Fiction” category.

Congratulations to Leanne and the other featured authors! Read the full list here: https://bookcentre.ca/collections/best-books?sort_by=title-ascending&filter.p.m.custom.ccbc_best_season=2025+Fall

11/21/2025

We at Thistledown Press are excited to announce that Meredith Hambrock is our new Assistant Editor! Meredith brings years of experience as a writer, editor, and teacher to the team. She was the 2023-24 Saskatoon Public Library Writer in Residence and has taught creative writing at various postsecondary institutions, including the University of Saskatchewan and Vancouver Island University. Her second novel, “She’s a Lamb!”, was recently named a 2025 Best Book of the Year from Indigo.

We will miss Kate O’Gorman on our editorial team, and wish her all the best in her next chapter. It’s been such a pleasure to work alongside Kate, with her keen eye and her enthusiasm for Canadian literature, and we thank her for all of her excellent work!

Meredith will be working closely with our Editorial Director, Elizabeth Philips, to bring the best in Canadian literature into the hands of our readers. Please direct editorial queries to [email protected].

Welcome to the ThistleTeam, Meredith! Now, let’s get reading!

11/10/2025

Saskatoon folks! Thistledown author Guy Vanderhaeghe will be at The Word on the Street Saskatoon this Saturday! Check out more details and the rest of the lineup below.

And grab your copy of Guy's award-winning book, BECAUSE SOMEBODY ASKED ME TO, from our website: https://thistledownpress.com/product/because-somebody-asked-me-to-observations-on-history-literature-and-the-passing-scene/

Are you ready for a literary day out in Saskatoon? The Word On The Street is back in person at The Refinery on Nov 15 (10:30 a.m.–5 p.m.).

Meet authors, browse books, enjoy talks, connect. Bring your friends, family, reading list.

2025 AUTHORS!
Caleigh Crow
Betty Ternier Daniels
Erina Harris
Adam Pottle
Dwayne Brenna
Marina Endicott
Tea Gerbeza
Trevor Herriot
dee Hobsbawn-Smith
Jeanette Lynes
David Carpenter
Eric Cline
Guy Vanderhaeghe

See you there!
https://thewordonthestreet.ca/saskatoon/

11/05/2025

A SNAKE AND A FEATHERED BIRD by Angie Ellis is as an audiobook!! Check out our for a special preview, then head to our website to learn more!

https://thistledownpress.com/shop/audiobooks/

---------------------------

Narrated by Kelley Jo Burke
Music: "Tree of Life" by Zakhar Valaha

11/04/2025

We were so excited to see Wilfred Burton featured in SaskBooks' Book Week 2025! Learn more about KOHKUM'S ROYAL BANNOCK on our website: https://thistledownpress.com/product/kohkums-royal-bannock/

Book Week 2025 Highlight!

Thistledown Press brought a new Métis picture book, Kohkum’s Royal Bannock, to Book Week 2025.
The story is a feast for the eyes and a tickle for the funny bone, as Kohkum cooks up a HUGE order of bannock in her own kitchen, for the Queen and 299 guests! Written by educator Wilfred Burton, this fun story invites you to count in both English and Michif, with many laughs along the way as Kohkum, aunties, and Xavier scramble to cook the bannock in time for the Queen's visit. With a full translation in both Michif and English, it’s perfect for in-class cultural learning and Michif language discovery.

🎧 Want to hear Wilfred Burton read the story? Watch here:
👉https://youtu.be/5Z_P3UQyigg?si=xUE6oObYcauXRaqr

Thank you to Book Week sponsors: Creative Saskatchewan , Canada Book Fund, Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada. Without their support, Book Week would not be possible.

11/04/2025

There's still time to enter our 50th Anniversary ! Enter by November 15, 2025!

Visit our website to learn more and enter: https://thistledownpress.com/about/fifty-years-of-thistledown-press-1975-2025/

We are giving away some of Thistledown Press’s earliest published titles! These rare, out-of-print poetry books were generously offered to us by Glen and Sonia Sorestad for a giveaway to one lucky reader.

This bundle includes THREE poetry chapbooks:

DARK HONEY by Ronald Marken (1976)
OCTOMI by Andrew Suknaski & William Johnson (1976)
INSIDE IS THE SKY by Lorna Uher (Crozier) (1976)

Want to win these books? Visit our website to enter!

https://thistledownpress.com/about/fifty-years-of-thistledown-press-1975-2025/

Deadline to enter is November 15, 2025. Get your name in today!

10/16/2025

So excited to have Caroline Pignat's THE DISCOVERY OF FINNEGAN WILDE on the list of Red Maple nominees!!

10/16/2025

We are thrilled to share that THE DISCOVERY OF FINNEGAN WILDE by has been nominated for the 2026 Red Maple Award from Forest of Reading!!

Read the full list of nominees here: https://forestofreading.com/red-maple-nominees-2026/

And learn more about the book on our website! https://thistledownpress.com/product/the-discovery-of-finnegan-wilde/

10/10/2025

📣Editors of Saskatoon!📣 There's still one week left to apply to the Assistant Editor position with Thistledown Press!

Visit our website to read the full job description and apply: https://thistledownpress.com/2025/09/25/were-hiring-assistant-editor/

📣Come and work with us!📣

Thistledown Press is hiring an assistant editor! This is a seasonal, part-time position starting in November 2025. The ideal candidate will be local to Saskatoon, SK. Deadline to apply is October 17, 2025.

Visit our website for the full job description!
https://thistledownpress.com/2025/09/25/were-hiring-assistant-editor/