Bookhug Press

10/08/2025

presents an author talk by , author of Starry Starry Night!

Thursday, October 9, 2025
6:30 pm
Bracebridge United Church, 46 Dominion Street, Bracebridge, ON
Free with RSVP

10/08/2025

Today we invite Shani Mootoo to the Book*hug blog to share the decades-long origin story behind her latest novel, Starry Starry Night! Read on for insights into Shani’s earliest forays into writing, as well as the process of transforming Starry Starry Night into a work of autofiction (link in bio)!

Starry Starry Night is available for purchase on our eStore, or from your local bookseller!

Read more here:

Today, we invite Shani Mootoo to the Book*hug blog to share the decades-long origin story behind her latest novel Starry Starry Night! Read on for insights into Shani's earliest forays into writing, as well as the process of transforming Starry Starry Night into a work of autofiction. Take it away S

10/07/2025

Shani Mootoo, author of Starry Starry Night—a CIBA Booksellers’ List selection for the Fall season—visited her local bookstore, Books and Company, for her launch last week. Here she is with the store’s owner David Sweet. 🤩

10/07/2025

Happy Publication Day to Go/No-Go: A Journey Into the Research and Treatment of Mental Health Disorders, the newest book by Marianne Apostolides. This compelling work of nonfiction marks our sixth book with Marianne. Earlier books include Swim, Voluptuous Pleasure, Sophrosyne, Deep Salt Water, and I Can’t Get You Out of My Mind. Combining scientific investigation with empathy, humour, and artistic curiosity, Go/No-Go is a groundbreaking addition to an urgent dialogue about mental health.

Go/No-Go is available now to order from our online shop (link in bio) or your local bookseller.

Marianne is taking her new book on the road this fall with tour stops in Victoria, Calgary, Chicago, and a launch in Toronto on November 13 in partnership with Toronto Lit Up. Stay tuned for more details.

10/07/2025

Book*hug Press is proud to be part of the Certified Canadian Publisher program, newly launched by the Association of Canadian Publishers.

As you browse specific books or publishers, keep an eye out for the Certified Canadian Publisher seal—publishers bearing the seal can be found in communities across our country. By purchasing and celebrating books from these publishers, readers can:

📚Support Canadian jobs – from editors and designers to printers, distributors, and booksellers.
🏆Champion Canadian talent – Canadian publishers nurture and launch the careers of our greatest literary innovators.
🏘️Strengthen our communities – Certified Canadian Publishers operate in almost every province and territory, reflecting diverse cultural perspectives.
💰Boost our economy – dollars spent on Canadian books stay in Canada, fueling creative industries and cultural growth.
🇨🇦Preserve Canadian perspectives – in a market flooded with foreign titles, buying Canadian ensures our stories remain visible at home and abroad.

Find out more at www.certifiedcanadianpublisher.com

10/07/2025

“This was a beautiful novel. I loved what [Shani] Mootoo did here: the writing is so true to childhood and excellently executed. Starry Starry Night was a fantastic story.”

Thank you to Alison Manley for this lovely review of Starry Starry Night for The Miramichi Reader.

I think one of the hardest things to write is from the viewpoint of a child.

10/07/2025

Shani Mootoo, author of Starry Starry Night—a CIBA Booksellers’ List selection for the Fall season—visited her local bookstore, Books and Company, for her launch last week. Here she is with the store's owner David Sweet.🤩

Guess who recently popped into Books & Company? Shani Mootoo, author of Starry Starry Night, a Booksellers’ List selection for the Fall season, stopped by her local bookstore for her book launch last week. 🤩

If you’ve already begun to dive into Starry Starry Night, you’re in for a major emotional ride—don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Bookhug Press

[Pictured: Shani Mootoo, right, and owner David Sweet]

10/06/2025

Book*hug Press presents the Victoria launch of Go/No-Go: A Journey into the Research and Treatment of Mental Health Disorders by Marianna Apostolides. With special guest Keva Glynn.

Wednesday, October 8, 2025
, 965 King’s Road, Victoria, BC
6:30 pm PT
Free to attend!

10/06/2025

Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl came out last Friday. Our co-publisher and resident Swiftie, Hazel, has listened to the album about a million times since its release. Naturally she spent today ignoring her inbox and instead curated a The Life of a Showgirl-themed book playlist pairing each track with a Book*hug title.

Have you been listening to the album? What are favourite songs?

The Life of a Showgirl Book Playlist, featuring:

🧡 RE: Wild Her by Shannon Webb-Campbell as “The Fate of Ophelia”
🧡 Barbara by Joni Murphy as “Elizabeth Taylor”
🧡 I Remember Lights by Ben Ladouceur as “Opalite”
🧡 Grand Menteur by Jean-Marc Ah Sen as “Father Figure”
🧡 women & roosters by Fenn Stewart as “Eldest Daughter”
🧡 Iris and the Dead by Miranda Schreiber as “Ruin the Friendship”
🧡 You Crushed It by Jean-Philippe Baril Guérard, translated by Neil Smith, as “Actually Romantic”
🧡 Sugaring Off by F***y Britt, translated by Susan Ouriou, as “Wi$h Li$t”
🧡 Reckless by Andrea MacPherson as “Wood”
🧡 Bystander by Mike Steeves as “CANCELLED!”
🧡 Not Even the Sound of a River by Hélène Dorion, translated by Jonathan Kaplansky, as “Honey”
🧡 The Fun Times Brigade by Lindsay Zier-Vogel as “The Life of a Showgirl”

10/06/2025

Last week, we were very saddened to learn of the passing of Jørgen Leth, one of Denmark’s foremost modern poets and a leading international filmmaker. We are honoured to have published the poetry collection, Trivial Everyday Things, selected and exquisitely translated by Martin Aitken, in 2011. Leth died at the age of 88 on September 29, 2025, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Leth wrote many volumes of poetry and nonfiction books. As a poet, he consistently employed unostentatious, matter-of-fact language and exhibits strong filmic qualities, often in the form of notes and stage directions. Poems and films: two sides of his extensive ouevre, intricately interwoven. Trivial Everyday Things is a collection of his poems spanning some forty years, and is the first book-length collection of Leth’s poetry to have appeared in English.

As a director of more than 50 films, Leth is known for work like the documentary A Sunday in Hell (1977), Haiti. Uden titel (1995), and the short film The Perfect Human (1968), which was later revived by Leth and Lars von Trier in the The Five Obstructions (2003).

We send our condolences to Leth’s family and loved ones.

10/06/2025

Book*hug Press presents the Toronto launch of A Fast Horse Never Brings Good News by Cary Fagan. With special guest Gary Clement. Books will be for sale, and of course, the author will be signing.

Wednesday, October 15, 2025
The West End Phoenix, 3 Bartlett Avenue, Toronto, ON
7:00 pm-9:00 pm
Free to attend!

10/03/2025

“In Wordly Girls, [Tamara Jong’s] striking debut memoir-in-essays, Jong unpacks her indoctrination and subsequent disillusionment with the religion that formed so much of her identity—as well as her adult struggles with depression, infertility and estrangement—with remarkable vulnerability.”

Jan Zoratti reviews Worldly Girls for the Winnipeg Free Press:
https://tinyurl.com/bdhejkmn