This fall, take a trip through local publishers’ archives to discover something new to you. These BC books are quintessential picks from a long catalogue of fascinating reads for every reader. Whether you’re ready to dive into the vast geology of the province, broaden your perspective through new eyes, or immerse yourself in inspiring prose from changemakers, we invite you to dive into the back shelves of BC books that are still buzzing and absolutely worth the hype.
Nature
The Sacred Balance by Andreas Ammer, illustrated by Falk Nordmann (Greystone Books)
Drawing on the insights from the likes of David Suzuki and other environmental activists, The Sacred Balance combines science, philosophy, spirituality, and Indigenous knowledge to offer concrete suggestions for creating an ecologically sustainable environment.
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Best Places to Bird in British Columbia by Richard Cannings (Greystone Books)
Choose your destination by species in this unique guidebook illustrated with more than 30 colour photographs of birds and locales that introduces some of the best birding sites in BC that will be familiar favourites for readers.
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Tracking Giants by Amanda Lewis (Greystone Books)
Immerse yourself in the natural world through this funny, deeply relatable book about one woman’s quest to track some of the world’s biggest trees.
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Off the Hook by DL Acken and Aurelia Louvet (TouchWood Editions)
Learn fast, easy and tasty recipes featuring some of the most sustainable seafood in the world in this approachable cookbook curated for home cooks of any skill level.
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Nonfiction
British Columbia by the Road: Car Culture and the Making of a Modern Landscape by Ben Bradley (UBC Press)
In British Columbia by the Road, author Ben Bradley takes readers on an unprecedented journey through the history of roads, highways, and motoring in British Columbia’s Interior, a remote landscape composed of plateaus and interlocking valleys, and soaring mountains.
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Big: Stories about Life in Plus-Sized Bodies edited by Christina Myers (Caitlin Press)
Big is a collection of personal and intimate experiences from 26 plus-sized women, non-binary and trans people that invite readers to challenge our society’s obsession with thinness and women’s bodies.
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One Hundred Years of Struggle: The History of Women and the Vote in Canada by Joan Sangster (UBC Press)
Dive into the history of women’s rights and suffrage in Canada, from sea to sea. This series will hook you on just what can be accomplished when people come together to fight for their rights.
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Memoir
The Best of Chief Dan George by Chief Dan George and Helmut Hirnschall (Hancock House Publishers)
From one of the most beloved Indigenous voices of the 20th century, The Best of Chief Dan George is a deeply moving collection that captures Chief Dan George’s profound reflections on nature, identity, love, and the struggles of Indigenous peoples in Canada.
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Where I Belong by Tara White (Orca Book Publishers)
This moving novel of self-discovery and awareness takes place during the Oka crisis in the summer of 1990 as one girl discovers the truth about her Mohawk identity and undergoes a journey to achieve a sense of home and belonging.
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Our Backs Warmed by the Sun by Vera Maloff (Caitlin Press)
The Our Backs Warmed by the Sun is an intricately woven memoir of a family’s determination to live in peace and community as Doukhobors in the face of controversy and unrest during the early 1900s into the 60s.
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Poetry
Burning Sage by Meghan Fandrich (Caitlin Press)
The poems in Burning Sage share a vivid personal account of grief, heartbreak and healing from survivor Meghan Fandrich who escaped the Lytton, BC fire of 2021.
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Another Order by Judith Copithorne, edited by Eric Schmaltz (Talonbooks)
Another Order is a profound collection of the multidisciplinary works from the late Judith Copithorne, the boundary-pushing writer, artist, community worker, and outspoken feminist who has been a key figure in Vancouver’s literary scene since the 1960s.
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Kids
The Princess and the Pants by Carla Voyageur, illustrated by Natassia Davies (Strong Nations Publishing)
Written as a tribute to the author’s grandmother, this beautifully illustrated story reimagines a fairy tale in a contemporary Indigenous setting.
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The Secret Office by Sara Cassidy, illustrated by Alyssa Hutchings (Orca Book Publishers)
Twins Henry and Allie embark on a sneaky adventure through their amazing apartment building’s history and even help out their mom with a new unexpected workspace along the way.
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Andy’s Tribal Canoe Journey by Seabacola Beaton, Jorja Johnson, and Cadence Manson, illustrated by Natalie Laurin (Strong Nations Publishing)
Join Andy as he experiences a Tribal Canoe Journey for the first time and learns what it’s like to belong to a canoe family.
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Fiction
In Search of New Babylon by Dominique Scali, translated by W. Donald Wilson (Talonbooks)
Set in a lawless American town in the 1860s, this atmospheric western novel brings together four unlikely characters as they cross the desert of an impossible ideal.
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Racing Hearts by Melinda Di Lorenzo (Orca Book Publishers)
In honour of the death of her best friend, teen Sienna signs up to do a triathlon and finds a connection with an unexpected training partner in this YA romance exploring first love, grief, and trusting in yourself.
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The List of Last Chances by Christina Myers (Caitlin Press)
A newly unemployed, single, 38-year-old woman takes a cross-country driving job with an elderly woman whose wild road trip plans—and buried secrets—send them both veering off course in unexpected ways.
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