Stonewall Honor Book

(given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit for children or teens relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience)

Money Boy by Paul Yee

ALA Notable Books

Migrant, written by Maxine Trottier and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis
Queen of Hearts by Martha Brooks
Sita’s Ramayana, written by Samhita Arni and illustrated by Moyna Chitrakar

Under the Hawthorn Tree
by Ai Mi, translated by Anna Holmwood
Forthcoming February 2012

A bestseller in China with more than 1 million copies sold and adapted for film by internationally acclaimed director Zhang Yimou, Under the Hawthorn Tree is a story of first love and forbidden love, set against the backdrop of the final days of the Cultural Revolution.

Money Boy
by Paul Yee

The Blue Dragon
by Robert Lepage and Marie Michaud, illustrations by Fred Jourdain

An evocative, beautifully illustrated tale of a Canadian expatriate in China from legendary theatre director and visionary Robert Lepage.

Tales from Gold Mountain
by Paul Yee, illustrated by Simon Ng

*Winner of the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, the IODE Violet Downey Book Award and the IODE National Chapter Award

This landmark collection of eight stories describes the extraordinary circumstances of the Chinese who came to build the railroad in Canada and the United States.

The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
by Ian Hamilton

In the third installment in the wildly popular Ava Lee series, The Wild Beasts of Wuhan, butt-kicking Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant Ava Lee uncovers the secret world of art fraud.

Chin Chang and the Dragon’s Dance
by Ian Wallace

*Winner of the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator Award

Chin Chiang has dreamed of dancing the dragon’s dance but now the first day of the Year of the Dragon has arrived, and he is so scared that he wants to melt into his shoes.

Here they are:

Download the Anansi catalogue                  Download the Groundwood catalogue

Today we’re taking a look at two Canadian fiction titles we’re about to publish that we can’t wait to share with you. One is by a bestselling author who may be well known to you, especially if you’ve read his blockbuster hit The Final Confession of Mabel Stark. The other is from an emerging Canadian writer with one critically acclaimed book under her belt and the proprietor of a hugely popular blog about writing and motherhood. Read on for more!

Dr. Brinkley’s Tower by Robert Hough
Available February 2012

The fourth novel from one of Canada’s most critically acclaimed writers, Dr. Brinkley’s Tower is a sensational, passionate story of jealousy and greed set against the backdrop of Mexico in the 1930s.

We’re recommending this book to fans of Gabriel García Márquez, Patrick deWitt, Mark Twain, and anyone who loves to disappear into a great story with memorable characters and a fantastic sense of humour. Find out more about Robert Hough by visiting his newly redesigned website and by following him on Twitter — and don’t miss Robert’s article on finding the “real” Dr. Brinkley for a bit of fascinating backstory.

The Juliet Stories by Carrie Snyder
Available March 2012

A stunning new novel-in-stories set against the backdrop of the political turmoil in 1980s revolutionary Nicaragua by one of Canada’s brightest emerging writers.

We’re recommending this book to fans of Barbara Kingsolver, Elizabeth Strout, Alice Munro, and anyone who loves to read about motherhood, coming-of-age stories, or just appreciates breathtakingly beautiful writing. Find out more about Carrie Snyder by visiting her blog Obscure CanLit Mama, following her on Twitter, or by joining the Facebook page for The Juliet Stories!

Stay tuned over the next few months as we continue to preview our Spring/Summer 2012 titles!

Groundwood Books Co-Publisher Patsy Aldana is also Co-Chair of the National Reading Campaign (alongside Rick Wilks). Patsy and Rick have written a passionate letter to Toronto City Council asking that the Council reconsider the budget cuts:

“Torontonians have an obligation to give every child living in this city the chance to have a successful life by becoming life-long readers. Our democracy and sense of fairness demand it.” — Patsy Aldana and Rick Wilks (read the full letter)

Please help us spread the word by sharing this blog post and letter with your friends and family and local City Councillor.

The Blue Dragon, Robert Lepage’s new stage play, premieres today at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, and we are thrilled to be able to offer two sets of tickets to give away! Two lucky winners will receive a pair of tickets to see The Blue Dragon on January 31, 2012, at 8:00 p.m. To enter to win this fabulous prize, please email reader@houseofanansi.com with “Blue Dragon Tickets” in the subject line. Enter now!

To find out more about the graphic novel version of The Blue Dragon, please visit our website.

*Contest closes January 24, 2012. Void where prohibited. Travel and accommodations not included.

Attention theatre buffs! As the proud publishers of the graphic-novel adaptation of Robert Lepage and Marie Michaud‘s play The Blue Dragon, we are very excited to see the theatrical event hit the stage in Toronto! Mirvish promises the performance will be one of “eloquent dance, electrifying performance and spectacular, cinematic staging.” To get your tickets, head to the Mirvish website.

For more about the graphic novel, please visit our website or take a moment for this in-depth Globe and Mail feature with commentary on the artwork and creation of the book.

On to our January author events! We hope you can join us for:

Ian Hamilton (The Disciple of Las Vegas)

Thursday, January 5 12, 7:00 p.m. [please note the change of date for this event]
Crime Fiction Book Club Appearance
Words Worth Books
100 King Street South
Waterloo, ON

Wednesday, February 1, 7:00 p.m.
Reading with Brad Smith
Words Worth Books
100 King Street South
Waterloo, ON

Michael Lista (Bloom)

Wednesday, January 11, 8:00 p.m.
Pivot Readings at the Press Club with Jacob McArthur Mooney and Paul Vermeersch
850 Dundas Street West
Toronto, ON
PWYC

*

Margaret Atwood (Payback)

Friday, January 20, 6:00 p.m.
World Premiere of the Payback film at Sundance
Yarrow Hotel
Park City, Utah

Additional Screenings:
Sunday January 22, 12:00 p.m.
Broadway Cinema 6, SLC
Monday January 23, 3:30 p.m.
Redstone Cinema 8, Park City
Wednesday January 25, 6:00 p.m.
Temple Theatre, Park City
Friday January 27, 3:15 p.m.
Holiday Village Cinema 2, Park City

Theatrical opening in Toronto the weekend of March 16-18 (details TBC)
Theatrical opening in New York City in April 2012 (details TBC)

Matt Rader (A Doctor Pedalled Her Bicycle Over the River Arno)

Thursday, January 26, 7:00 p.m.
The Atwater Poetry Project
Reading with Russell Thornton
Atwater Library Auditorium
1200 Atwater Avenue
Westmount, QC

All of us at Anansi and Groundwood are terribly sad to learn of the death of Christopher Hitchens, an intellectual and friend. Our thoughts are with his family and friends in this difficult time.

We are proud to be able to uphold the memory of this remarkable person in our Munk Debates book, Hitchens Vs. Blair. Please visit our website for more information, including video clips of both debaters’ opening remarks and an exclusive interview with Hitchens and Noah Richler.

The Nobel Prize winners are presenting a series of lectures leading up to the ceremony on Saturday. Nobel Media has generously provided a live webcast of the Nobel Lectures in Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Physics and Chemistry, as well as the Prize Lectures in Economic Sciences.

Today at 5:30pm CET, Tomas Tranströmer will be presenting the Nobel Lecture in Literature. Tune in later today!