Congratulations to Tom Wayman for winning the 2026 Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize for his collection, Out of the Ordinary!

Photo of man with white hair and glasses, in blue-striped white shirt against a backdrop of greenery with headline that Tom Wayman wins the 2026 Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize.

The $10,000 prize recognizes the most outstanding new book of poetry published in Canada in 2025 by an established poet with five or more published poetry collections. Read the full story here: quillandquire.com/omni/

We're thrilled to see The Teachings of Mutton and The Last Exile selected as finalists for the 2026 BC & Yukon Book Prizes. The winners will be announced in September.

© CBC/Radio-Canada 2026. All rights reserved.

Don’t miss Margaret Gallagher’s interview with BC poet Russell Thornton on his new collection, Two Songs: Poems 2000-2025. www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Congratulations to Joseph Dandurand and Tom Wayman!
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU (Nightwood Editions) and Out of the Ordinary (Harbour Publishing) have been shortlisted for the 2026 Al and Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize. The winner will be announced on April 21.

Book cover of Raven & Friends, A Roy Henry Vickers Colouring Book for Kids shows a raven on a tree branch

I review everything by Northwest Coast artist Roy Henry Vickers. His latest, a colouring book, blends styles of his #Indigenous cultures w opportunity to relax. RAVEN & FRIENDS is beautiful in art and spirit. From @harbourpublishing.bsky.social canlitforlittlecanadians.blogspot.com/2026/03/rave...

Dive into an epic time-travelling series in verse, set in 2110, weaving the devastating impacts of climate change with an immersive, fantastical universe.

Bramah’s Discovery is out April 14. Catch up with the full series available now on @harbourpublishing.bsky.social’s website. ⏲️✨

29 new Canadian poetry titles to check out this spring | CBC Books Here are the new and upcoming Canadian books of poetry we're most excited for this season.

The CBC Books Spring 2026 Canadian Poetry preview includes Two Songs by Russell Thornton! Thornton's 10th collection brings together poems published across 25 years of his writing career, from 2000 to 2025.

www.cbc.ca/books/canadi...

Congratulations to Tom Wayman, whose poetry collection, Out of the Ordinary, has been longlisted for the 2026 Al & Eurithe Purdy Poetry Prize. This year’s jury includes Susan Musgrave and previous winners Sid Marty and A.F. Moritz. The winner will be announced on April 21 — stay tuned!

Ryan Frawley reviews Guns Across the River, by Sam Wiebe Ryan Frawley reviews Guns Across the River, by Sam Wiebe (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2026) $24.95 / 9781998526550

Thank you to Ryan Frawley for this thoughtful deep dive into Sam Wiebe’s new novel, Guns Across the River, the latest instalment in the Dave Wakeland series. #BCReview #SamWiebe

Electric Mermaid Live Reads Featuring: Wendy Donawa @Char's Spoken Word Open Mic, pay what you can at the door Featuring: Wendy Donawa Emcee: Derek Hanebury Moderator: Karl Korven FMI: electricmermaidreads@gmail.com

Electric Mermaid Live Reads presents Wendy Donawa, reading from The Time of Falling Apart, at Char’s Landing in Port Alberni on March 25 at 6 PM. Join us in person—or tune in from your living room. The Zoom link and registration details are in the announcement.

Poetry collection Two Songs - Selected Poems 2000-2025 by Russell Thornton (Harbour Publishing) sits with a notebook with an ornate gold cover and a blue fine tip pen - all sit atop a colourful piece of crocheting

Handwritten transcription of the poem "Hummingbird in That Second" by Russell Thornton from the poetry collection Two Songs - Selected Poems 2000-2025

Close-up of a handwritten transcription of the poem "Hummingbird in That Second" by Russell Thornton from the poetry collection Two Songs - Selected Poems 2000-2025

"a light taking the hand of the green
of my grandmother's irises in a dance as grave as it is joyous."

#TodaysPoem #poetry
Hummingbird in That Second by Russell Thornton from Two Songs - Selected Poems 2000-2025 (2026 @harbourpublishing.bsky.social) harbourpublishing.com/collections/...

gillian harding-russell reviews Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025, by gillian harding-russell reviews Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025, by Russell Thornton (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2026) $26.96 / 9781998526574

Gillian Harding-Russell on Two Songs by Russell Thornton: "Two Songs is a remarkable oeuvre that includes poems of great beauty that intertwine light and dark, fire and water and earth and dust or ashes, and all these poems so magnificently held together by love."

Join Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa, Senaqwila Wyss, and Tsumi'tsiye Violet Elliott, the co-authors of The Teachings of Mutton, on March 12th at the Reach Gallery for a discussion about Coast Salish Woolly Dogs and their cultural significance. #CoastSalish #WoollyDogs

Behind the Clay Author: Verena Foxx “Everything stems from my upbringing,” says acclaimed Canadian potter Mary Fox, speaking from her home in Ladysmith. The belief that helping others matters, she explains, was insti

Renowned potter and philanthropist Mary Fox opens up about her life’s work—and her deep commitment to mentorship—in a conversation with Verena Foxx for Inspired Magazine. #MaryFox #pottery #canadiancraft

North Vancouver Friends! Please join us at the launch of TWO SONGS by Russell Thornton tomorrow evening at 32 Books. Guest author Christina Shah will read from her collection, if: prey, then: huntress. #booklaunch #russellthornton #christinashah #canadianpoetry

Vancouver friends! Catch Wendy Donawa (The Time of Falling Apart: Poems) and Isabella Wang (November, November) at the Twisted Poets Literary Salon on March 11.

Under The Spell of The Rain: Russell Thornton’s Two Songs Selected Poems 2000-2025 by Chris Banks The American poet Galway Kinnell said, “To me, poetry is somebody standing up, so to speak, and saying with as little concealment as possible, what it is for him or her to be on this…

"Russell Thornton’s new poetry collection contains the best of his entire oeuvre, and as I read through its pages, the places the poems inhabit come to be as important as the ideas and experiences they communicate..."
A wonderful review of TWO SONGS by Chris Banks in The Woodlot!

Bookmonger: Weaving perspectives into regional history - Discover Our Coast In 2017, this column featured a book called “Peace Weavers,” a carefully researched work that traced the consequential marriages between Native American women and white men throughout Oregon and Washi...

“The Teachings of Mutton” is a fascinating, humbling, heartbreaking book that revisits a long-forgotten chapter of regional history and indicates rich oral histories and Indigenous traditions that are only beginning to be fully appreciated."

Read more at: discoverourcoast.com/2026/02/12/b...

Many thanks to Joe Plante at The Commentary for this interview with Russell Thornton about his latest poetry collection, Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025.
thecommentary.ca/ontheline/23...

Don't miss this exciting poetry event in North Vancouver on February 26th at 32 Books: A double reading featuring Russell Thornton and Christina Shah!

Linda Rogers reviews The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog by Linda Rogers reviews The Teachings of Mutton: A Coast Salish Woolly Dog, by Liz Hammond-Kaarremaa et al (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025) $36.95 / 9781998526024

“Mutton’s pelt has acted like a teacher,” Hammond-Kaarremaa finishes. “His teachings have revealed so much, to so many people – not only about dog wool and woolly dog DNA and diet, not only about blankets and weaving and spinning, but about the enduring strength of oral history.”

Now You Know - The Long Lost Woolly Dog YouTube video by CHEK Media

Curious about the Coast Salish Woolly Dog? BC Bob explores the history and cultural significance of this remarkable animal, as portrayed in The Teachings of Mutton.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6tq...

Oh hell yes! A selected poems from one of the best poets around.

"Two Songs: Selected Poems 2000-2025" by Russell Thornton, just released by @harbourpublishing.bsky.social:

harbourpublishing.com/products/978...

In The Creation Room at Mary Fox Pottery: Bottle Vases YouTube video by Mary Fox Pottery

New year, new you… new hobby? Mary Fox, author of Developing Glazes, takes you behind the scenes and demonstrates the steps that turn clay into a beautiful work of art.
#potterybook #maryfox #canadianart
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyiH...

#BookReview: Sound Like a Sailor: The Book of Nautical Expressions by R. Bruce Macdonald “I dove straight into this delightful collection of words and phrases that originate on the high seas during the era of sea transport and warfare”
@harbourpublishing.bsky.social

thebcreview.ca/2025/09/29/2...

21 Gifts for the Baby Boomers on Your Holiday List Show some love to the baby boomers in your life with gifts that they're sure to treasure, from comfy clothes to personal mementos

Developing Glazes by Mary Fox made this list of 21 Gifts for a Baby Boomer! Pottery is one of the fastest growing hobbies in North America for creatives of all ages. Gift a copy of the book to the new potter in your family!

bcliving.ca/shopping-sty...

bookstore front with two yellow chairs and a window display of books

display of books and puzzles

As Christmas approaches, I'd like to acknowledge the stellar work done by local Sunshine Coast bookstores, Talewind Books in Sechelt, and Earthfair in Madeira Park. They stock Coast writers, they promote their books, they make gift-buying easy, and they are central to a strong local economy.

Wendy Donawa (The Time of Falling Apart) will read with fellow poet Linda K. Thompson at the Qualicum Beach Museum on Friday, November 14th at 2 pm.

qbmuseum.ca/events/

Mary Fox will launch her new book, Developing Glazes, at Wilson & Co. in Ladysmith this Saturday!