2024

Book Signing for John Connolly's Connections

John Connolly's collection of short stories in Connections explores the euphoria of newfound love, the agony of loss, and the darkness some may be capable of when they’re pushed to the brink. Relationships have the power to profoundly impact our lives - in ways we never could have anticipated - and take us to places we least expect.

Book Launch for Suyi Davies Okungbowa's Lost Ark Dreaming

Launch for Nommo Award-winning author Suyi Davies Okungbowa's newest book, Lost Ark Dreaming. This this high-octane post-climate disaster novella brings us the brutally engineered class divisions of Snowpiercer meets Rivers Solomon’s The Deep. 

Book Launch for Stephen Maher's The Prince

The Ottawa Writers Festival presents Stephen Maher as he launches his new biography of Justin Trudeau entitled The Prince.

For tickets please visit  https://writersfestival.org/events/spring-2024-in-person-events/book-launch-the-prince

Book Launch for Don Butler's Norman's Conquest

Join us in-store with Don Butler for the launch of his newest book Norman's Conquest, the much anticipated follow-up to A Life of Bliss.

Book Launch for Bill Waiser & Jennie Hansen's Cheated

Perfect Books will be at Library and Archives Canada to welcome Bill Waiser and Jennie Hansen with their newest work, Cheated: The Laurier Liberals and the Theft of First Nations Reserve Lands.

Book Launch for Sarah Pothecary's Strabo's Geography

Join us in-store with Sarah Pothecary who will introduce her brilliant new Strabo’s Geography: A Translation for the Modern World.This is a lively new translation of Strabo’s complete Geography—an encyclopedic guide to the ancient world of the first century CE—connecting it with the world of the twenty-first century. This truly will be an event not to be missed.

Book Launch for Scott Mainprize's The First Few Feet in a World of Wolves

Scott Mainprize will introduce his novel entitled The First Few Feet in a World of Wolves, a fictionalization of the time the author spent teaching in Aupaluk. 

Book Launch for Jann Everard's Blue Runaways

We join award-winning writer Jann Everard, and her debut short story collection about love and loss with Blue Runaways.

Book Launch for Terry Mosher's Montreal Expos: A Cartoonist's Love Affair

An avid fan of the storied Montreal Expos throughout the team's 36-year existence, renowned Canadian political cartoonist Terry Mosher (pen name Aislin) has put together a tribute of some of his favourite baseball sketches, newspaper clippings, and photographs, and of course, anecdotes from a number of Montreal's virtuoso sports reporters in Montreal Expos: A Cartoonist's Love Affair.

Book Launch for Ben Berman Gahn with The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits

Ben Berman Gahn will be joined by local authors Manahil Bandukwala and Mahaila Smith to launch his new Science Fiction novel, The Years Shall Run Like Rabbits.

Book Launch for Maggie North's Rules for Second Chances

Join us in-store with Maggie North to launch her new romance novel Rules for Second Chances. Brimming with heart and heat, Rules for Second Chances explores the hardest relationship question of all: can true love happen twice...with the same person?

Book Launch for Peter Edwards & Kevin Loring's Lytton

Bestselling true-crime author Peter Edwards and Governor General's Award-winning playwright Kevin Loring will be at Perfect Books to launch their new Non-Fiction book Lytton: Climate Change, Colonialism and Life Before the Fire. From these two sons of Lytton, BC, the town that burned to the ground in 2021, comes a meditation on hometown―when hometown is gone.

Book Signing for Elizabeth Balangue-Langfried's ABC of Ottawa

Elizabeth Balangue-Langfried will be in-store to sign copies of her children's book ABC of Ottawa; a colorful children's picture book that describes the history, culture, demographics, architecture, and everyday life in Ottawa, the capital of Canada.

Book Launch for Alexander Boldizar's The Man Who Saw Seconds

Join us in store with Alexander Boldizar to discuss his second book The Man Who Saw Seconds. Exploring the nature of time, the brain as a prediction machine, and the tension between the individual and the systems we create.

Book Launch for Gloria Blizzard's Black Cake Turtle Soup

Gloria Blizzard joins us this evening with her new book of essays entitled Black Cake Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas, a diasporic collection of essays on music, memory, and motion. These musings of wayfinding speak to anyone exploring issues of belonging - to a family, a neighbourhood, a group, or a country.

Book Launch for Adrienne Gruber's Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes: Essays on Motherhood

Book*hug Press and Perfect Books present the Ottawa launch of Monsters, Martyrs, and Marionettes: Essays on Motherhood by Adrienne Gruber. With special guests Brecken Hancock, Ben Ladouceur, and Katherine Leyton.

Jagjeet Sharma Book Signing for Measure of a Woman

Jagjeet Sharma will be in-store with us to sign copies of her new book of poetry released earlier this year entitled Measure of a Woman. The masculine and the feminine are equally divided within yourself, within oneself. It is about the struggles and challenges a Wo/man faces day in and day out in any part of the world.

Book Launch for Spencer Gordon and Jess Taylor

Spencer Gordon and Jess Taylor will be at Perfect Books to launch their new books, repectively, A Horse at the Window, and Play. With a unique blend of contemporary storytelling and psychological fiction, Play is a haunting, riveting novel that reminds us of both the beauty and danger of imagination. A Horse at the Window is a genre-bending collection of dramatic monologues shining a light on the anxious, self-directed gaze that defines contemporary consciousness.

Book Signing for Scott Mainprize 's The First Few Feet in a World of Wolves

Scott Mainprize will be in-store to sign copies of their new novel entitled The First Few Feet in a World of Wolves, a fictionalization of the time the author spent teaching in Aupaluk.

Book Launch for Jade Wallace's Anomia

Join us in-store with Jade Wallace to introduce their new novel Anomia. Beneath the familiar surface of this missing-persons novel lies an unparalleled experiment: the creation of a folkloric alternate reality where sex and gender have been forgotten.

Book Launch for Susan Wadds' What the Living Do

Join us at Perfect Books along with Susan Wadds to launch her new novel What the Living Do, which tells a heartfelt and gripping story that speaks of survival and hope, of how one woman rises above the scars of a traumatic childhood. She is accompanied by author Mary Simmerling and her novel We've Been Put Through Fire & Come Out Divine.

*Cancelled* Book Signing for Judy LeBlanc's Permission to Land: A Memoir of Loss, Discovery, and Identity

CANCELLED

Judy Leblanc will be in-store to sign copies of her new book Permission to Land: A Memoir of Loss, Discovery, and Identity. After the death of her mother, Judy embarked on a personal journey of discovery and reconciliation with her known but unacknowledged Coast Salish ancestry on her mother’s side.

Book Launch for Maurice Crossfield 's Townships Noir Trilogy

Maurice Crossfield will join us at Perfect Books to discuss the first two books in his Townships Noir Trilogy, along with Amy Tector and her Dominion Archives series.

Book Launch for Courtney Bates-Hardy's Anatomical Venus

Join us at Perfect Books along with Courtney Bates-Hardy who will be here to launch her new novel, Anatomical Venus. It is a visceral collection of poems that invoke anatomical models, feminine monsters, and little-known historical figures. 

Signing for Barbara Leimsner's Quitting the Master Race

In Quitting the Master Race,  Barbara Leimsner confronts the past to discover how one ordinary man—her adored German papa—became thoroughly indoctrinated with Nazi ideology during the Hitler years.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ The Capital of Dreams with Heather O’Neill

Join us for the launch of our Fall season with The Capital of Dreams, a breathtaking dark fairy tale of survival and betrayal from the vivid imagination of Heather O’Neill. Hosted by Lucy van Oldenbarneveld.

Book Launch for Gerald Lynch's Plaguing Jake

In equal parts Joyce and Hemmingway local author Gerald Lynch's new mystery, Plaguing Jake, heralds a powerful return to literary storytelling and captures and essential Canadian narrative.

Book Launch for David O'Meara's Chandelier

Award-winning local poet David O’Meara launches his debut novel Chandelier, in which he captures one family’s precarious balance between misery and hope.

Ottawa International Writers Festival Proof with Beverley McLachlin

From Beverley McLachlin the former Chief Justice of Canada and #1 bestselling author of Full Disclosure, comes Proof, a razor-sharp thriller featuring defense attorney Jilly Truitt as she defends a high-profile mother accused of kidnapping her own child. Hosted by Charlotte Gray.

Book signing for Don Butler's Norman's Conquest

Don Butler will join us in store to sign copies of his new mystery novel Norman's Conquest.

Plan 99 Poetry Series Double Book Launch

Double book launch for Manahil Bandukwala's Heliotropia and Jake Byrne's Daddy, two brand new books of poetry.

Poetry Reading with Susan Atkinson, Margo LaPierre, and Callista Markotich

Join us in store for a poetry reading with Susan Atkinson and her new book All Things Small, Margo LaPierre's new chapbook, and Callista Markotich's debut collection Wrap in a Big White Towel.

Fawn Parker Book Launch for Hi, It's Me

Join us in store for a launch of What We Both Know by Fawn Parker, the Scotiabank Giller Prize–longlisted author. Best described as Women Talking meets Study for Obedience, this novel is a stunning depiction of fresh grief.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ The Siege with Ben Macintyre

Join us for a deep dive with bestselling author Ben Macintyre on his latest book, The Siege: A Six-Day Hostage Crisis and the Daring Special-Forces Operation that Shocked the World.

Perfect Books 30th Anniversary — Customer Appreciation Day!

We are celebrating our 30th birthday with a customer appreciation day, all day long! Want to know what we have in store for you? You'll have to pop in to find out. ;)

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ The Knowing with Tanya Talaga

We are honoured to present an evening with Tanya Talaga, the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of Seven Fallen Feathers. Her new book, The Knowing, is a riveting exploration of her family’s story and a retelling of the history of the country we now call Canada. Hosted by Joy SpearChief-Morris.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ John Newlove Poetry Awards and the Ottawa Poets Laureate

Our evening begins with the 2024 Bywords John Newlove Poetry Awards, followed by readings from the newly appointed City of Ottawa Poets Laureate. Don't miss the launch of Biblical Invasion BC by Nnadi Samuel, the 2023 recipient of the John Newlove Poetry Award. Hosted by Amanda Earl, the evening also features readings by this year’s award recipient and honourable mention—to be announced at the reading—plus music by Princess Unlucky. 

Jane Cooper launches What Ukrainian Elections Taught Me about Democracy

Join Jane Cooper, author of What Ukrainian Elections Taught Me About Democracy, in conversation with fellow McGill-Queen's University pressmate Rhonda Gossen, author of Twelfth of February.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ Poetry Cabaret with Amanda Earl, Christine McNair and Sandra Ridley

Following quickly on the heels of the Poets Laureate reading and the John Newlove Poetry Awards, we are pleased to present three giants of Ottawa's poetry community: our poetry cavalcade continues with readings from Amanda Earl, Christine McNair, and Sandra Ridley. Hosted by David Currie.

Lola Reid Allin launches Highway to the Sky

Join Lola Reid Allin reading from Highway to the Sky: An Aviator's Journey (Simon and Schuster Canada), a book that is both memoir and feminist aviation history, that details the author's experience from unwanted child to successful pilot.

Plan 99 presents Caroline Anderson, Pasha Malla, and Shannon Robinson

Don't miss this iteration of Plan 99, featuring three fantastic authors launching their latest books:

Pasha Malla, All You Can Kill (Coach House Books)

Caroline Anderson, A Way to Be Happy (Biblioasis Books)

Shannon Robinson, The Ill-Fitting Skin (Press 53)

Book Signing with Michael McMullen, author of Garbage Boy

Drop in to grab a signed copy of Garbage Boy by Michael McMullen!

Kevin Hearne launches Candle & Crow

Don't miss local SFF legend Kevin Hearne launching Book Three of the Ink and Sigil Series, Candle & Crow! 

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ Invisible Prisons with Lisa Moore and Jack Whalen

Join us for an evening of riveting nonfiction as we welcome multi-award-winning author Lisa Moore back to the Festival stage with Invisible Prisons: Jack Whalen's Tireless Fight for Justice. It tells the shocking true story of a teenaged boy who endured abuse and solitary confinement at a reform school in Newfoundland, but survived through grit and redemptive love. Hosted by Sara Power.

Ashley-Elizabeth Best launches Bad Weather Mammals

Join us for a night of daring poetry as Ashley-Elizabeth Best launches Bad Weather Mammals (ECW Press) alongside local poets Ellen Chang-Richardson and Conyer Clayton, hosted by Margo LaPierre.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ In Winter I Get Up at Night with Jane Urquhart

In luminous prose, and with exhilarating nuance and depth, Jane Urquhart charts an unforgettable life in her new novel In Winter I Get Up at Night, while also exploring some of the grandest themes of the twentieth century—colonial expansion, scientific progress, and the sinister forces that seek to divide societies along racial and cultural lines. Hosted by Lucy van Oldenbaneveld.

Book Signing with Andi Vicente and Allan Matudio

One Box (Fernwood Publishing) is a lovely children's book about family and reunification, telling the story of a Filipino family sending supplies to their loved ones across the world. Stop by, chat with author Andi Vicente and illustrator Allan Matudio, and grab your copy!

Coltrane Seesequasis launches Secrets of Stone

Join Kegodance Press author Coltrane Seesequasis as he launches his debut YA fantasy book, Secrets of Stone, the first in a four part series! An exciting new release that is not to be missed.

Colin Morton launches Scar Atlas

We welcome local poet Colin Morton with his latest book, Scar Atlas, personal reflections on healing, hurts, the pandemic, and snapshots of life in the Ottawa valley.

Ottawa International Writers Festival ~ A Most Extraordinary Ride with Marc Garneau

Join us for the Ottawa launch of A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics, and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream, a captivating and inspiring memoir by Marc Garneau, Canada's first man in space. 

Eve Krakow launches Voice Lessons, a Memoir in Essays

Eve Krakow's Voice Lessons (Guernica Editions) uses both traditional and hybrid forms to explore an introvert's struggle to find her voice—as a singer, a writer, a mother, and more. Join us in welcoming Eve as she launches her book!

CANCELLED - Gary Barwin launches Scandal at the Alphorn Factory

THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED - We are so excited to welcome Gary Barwin to the store to launch his book of new and collected short fiction, Scandal at the Alphorn Factory (Assembly Press). If you've never seen Gary read, you are in for a treat! 

Justin Giovanetti Lamothe launches Poutine: A Deep-Fried Road Trip of Discovery

Award-winning journalist Justin Giovanetti Lamothe launches Poutine: A Deep-Fried Road Trip of Discovery (Douglas & McIntyre), a book about the long, winding history of poutine. As he tracks the lore of this iconic Canadian recipe, he also explores the evolving nature of his relationship with his father and his Quebecois heritage. This is a book for the foodies, historians, and memoir lovers alike!

Mark Leslie Book Signing

Keep spooky season going! Stop in to see Mark Leslie, signing copies of One Hand Screaming: 20 Haunting Years, a collection of horror/fear themed poetry and stories that Jonathan Maberry calls a "wonderfully weird gallop through nightmare country."

Kenn Harper launches Give Me Winter, Give Me Dogs

Arctic historian Kenn Harper comes to Perfect Books to launch Give Me Winter, Give Me Dogs: Knud Ramussen and the Fifth Thule Expedition (Inhabit Media). This book details Ramussen's journey across Canada's Arctic from 1921 to 1924. During his time, he recorded Inuit stories, and perhaps most importantly to him, immersed himself in their culture and got to know them.

Ruth Abernethy Book Signing

Drop by and say hello to sculptor Ruth Abernethy, signing copies of In Form: Life and Legacies in Bronze, her new book which details the story of twenty bronze sculptures in bronze across Canada, including Oscar Peterson at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.

Gwen Tuinman launches Unrest

Don't miss this event by a major talent in historical fiction, with a novel set in Ottawa nonetheless! Gwen Tuinman's Unrest (Penguin Random House Canada) is a story of brash, duplicitous women, murder and mayhem, and illicit love, all set in Bytown in 1836.

Ottawa Writers Festival presents Reconciling History with Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh

Co-authors Jody Wilson-Raybould and Roshan Danesh appear at Ottawa Writers Festival for an in depth discussion of their new book Reconciling History: A Story of Canada. 

"The totem pole forms the foundation for this unique and important oral history of Canada. Its goal is both toweringly ambitious and beautifully direct: To tell the story of this country in a way that prompts readers to look from different angles, to see its dimensions, its curves, and its cuts.  To see that history has an arc, just as the totem pole rises, but to realize that it is also in the details along the way that important meanings are to be found.  To recognize that the story of the past is always there to be retold and recast, and must be conveyed to generations to come. That in the act of re-telling, meaning is found, and strength is built."

Mike Martin Book Signing

Pop in for a chat with Mike Martin as he signs copies the latest in the Sgt. Wildflower Mystery Series, All That Glitters.

Memorial Book Launch of Jacqueline Bourque's Without Beginning or End

Join Plan 99 Reading Series as we celebrate the poems of Jacqueline Bourque's final collection with readings from Without Beginning or End (McGill-Queen's University Press) by fellow writers.

Jacqueline Bourque (1949–2023) was an Ottawa-based poet. Her poems appeared in The Antigonish Review, The Dalhousie Review, The Fiddlehead, and the Queen’s Quarterly. Her first book is Repointing the Bricks (Mansfield Press, 2021), shortlisted for the Ottawa Book Award. Deeply inspired by her Acadian upbringing along the ocean shores of New Brunswick, these are poems populated by aerialists, painters, and the spirit of Charles Baudelaire, who connects the poet to “the ligatures of life.” 

Book Signing with Rod Carley

Stop by and have your copy of the theatrical and outrageous novel RuFF signed by Rod Carley!

Myths, Mushrooms, and Monuments: with Yvonne Blomer and Ariel Gordon

Yvonne Blomer and Ariel Gordon join forces for a fantastic double book launch, in an event that combines poetry, essay, myth, and the natural world—this is an event for those ready to reimagine everything from Greek myth to how we can exist within our world. Hosted by local writer Frances Boyle!

In Yvonne Blomer's Death of Persephone (Caitlin Press), the patriarchal myth of the maiden taken, raped, and made the potent and sexualized queen of the underworld is questioned, altered, flipped.

In Fungal: Foraging in the Urban Forest (Wolsak and Wynn), Ariel Gordon moves seamlessly from the natural world to the personal in these essays, examining the interconnectedness of all things and delighting in the rich variety of the world around her.

Bruce Kauffman, Doris Fiszer, and Carolyne Van Der Meer Poetry Reading

Come out and enjoy an evening of poetry as these three authors join together to read from their latest collections:

-Kingston poet Bruce Kauffman with Still Arriving

-Ottawa poet Doris Fiszer with If I Were a River

-Montreal poet Carolyne Van Der Meer with All This As I Stand By

The Ottawa Writers Festival presents At a Loss for Words with Carol Off

Join host, Adrian Harewood, for a conversation with award-winning author and broadcast journalist Carol Off about her latest bestseller, At a Loss for Words: Conversation in the Age of Rage. More details and tickets: Ottawa Writers Festival

Ottawa Writers Festival presents Dangerous Memory with Charlie Angus

Join host Joe Reilly, for a conversation with politician, author, and musician Charlie Angus celebrating the launch of his new book Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed. More details and tickets: Ottawa Writers Festival

Laura Madokoro launches Sanctuary in Pieces

Part of the McGill-Queen's University Press Forced Migration Series, Laura Madokoro's important book Sanctuary in Pieces takes a look at the history of protection and hospitality in Montreal/Mooniyaang/Tiohtià:ke over two hundred years. Conceptually innovative, Sanctuary in Pieces speaks to activist and policy considerations in the present, the making and unmaking of community, and how historical practice can accommodate silence in studies of intimate experiences of mobility and, on occasion, refuge. Hosted by James Milner, Director of the Migration and Diaspora Studies program at Carleton University.

Beth Everest Book Signing

Join author Beth Everest signing copies of Some of the Facts, Jasper: when tales were told. 

Some of the Facts invites readers into the fictional lives of the young community of Jasper. The tales, set in the 50s, are very loosely based on what some of the old timers would tell, stories that continue to change marvelously with each telling. Beth Everest, the author, holds these story-tellers in high regard. Her father, who has spent more than 70 years in Jasper, is the inspiration for this project. He, like so many others, lost his home in the July 2024 wildfire. This book is dedicated to him, and to the story-tellers, and those who continue to fight for the integrity and safety of this community.

All proceeds from book sales with be donated to a Jasper relief fund.

Jesse Ecklerin, Nyla Matuk, Cory Lavender, and Ellen Chang-Richardson Poetry Reading

Four fantastics poets join together for what is sure to be a fascinating and moving evening of readings. Hosted by local poet Bardia Sinaee. Recent releases:

-Jesse Eckerlin, Almost Nothing (Anstruther Press)

-Cory Lavender, Come One Thing Another (Gaspereau Press)

-Nyla Matuk, Stranger (Vehicule Press)

-Ellen Chang-Richardson, Blood Belies (Wolsak and Wynn)

CANCELLED - Ruby Barrett launches The Match Faker

Join local romance writer Ruby Barrett for a launch party alongside host Maggie North! The Match Faker has Canadiana, classic opposites attract dynamics, mistaken identities, road trips, and more—come along for the ride!

Hòt'A! Enough! with Georges Erasmus

We are delighted to welcome Dene leader Georges Erasmus to the store for a reading, conversation, and book signing to celebrate the launch of Hòt'A! Enough! Georges Erasmus's Fifty Year Battle for Indigenous Rights (Dundurn Press). Join us and learn about his actions as a radical Native rights crusader widely regarded as one of the most important Indigenous leaders of the past fifty years.

Allan Briesmaster and A. Garnett Weiss Poetry Reading

Allan Briesmaster and A. Garnett Weiss come to the store to launch their poetry collections. Join us for a lovely evening of readings and conversations with these two poets.

In Life, after life (Aeolus Press), A. Garnett Weiss turns words and phrases found in obituaries into over 60 five-line, singular poems about life.

In Later Findings (Ekstasis Editions), Allan Briesmaster continues his perennial quest for what might still be trusted and believed, as we contend with societal dysfunction, accelerating technological change and deepening environmental crisis.

Thursday Night at VERSefest

VERSefest kicks off on Thursday night at Red Bird with Lunenburg's Alice Burdick, Ottawa's own Manahil Bandukwala, Cobourg's Stuart Ross, French Ottawa Poet Laureate Véronique Sylvain. Hosted by Stephen Brockwell. Don't miss the start of what is sure to be a fantastic three days of poetry!

Friday Night at VERSefest

The fabulous poetry continues at Arts Court Studio where VERSefest welcomes Chuqiao Yang, Stephen Collis, and Faith Paré to read. Hosted by Ben Ladouceur. Don't miss this event!

Barbara Fradkin Book Signing

Local mystery author Barbara Fradkin will be in store signing copies of Wreck Bay. Stop by and say hello!

In Wreck Bay, Amanda Doucette pursues the connection between a reclusive artist and the wealthy surfer who turned up dead on a remote island in Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim in a wilderness-infused mystery perfect for fans of Jane Harper or Louise Penny.

Plan 99 at VERSefest

VERSefest wraps in incredible fashion at The Manx with readings from none other than Armand Garnett Ruffo, 2024 Governor General for Poetry Winner Chimwemwe Undi, and Erik Linder. Hosted by Ottawa English Poet Laureate David O'Meara.