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!

Gary Barwin launches Scandal at the Alphorn Factory

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 Abernathy Book Signing

Drop by and say hello to sculptor Ruth Abernathy, 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.

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.

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)

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.

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.