LGBTQ2S+
Synopsis:
This thrilling romantasy about king’s Blade, Keera, and her epic quest to avenge her lover, save her people, and bring down a tyrant king is the final installment of Melissa Blair’s highly acclaimed series. The Halfling Saga showcases BIPOC and queer representation, love, passion, betrayal, magic, and great battles of the sword and the soul.
“Your land is not the one you take; it is the one you die for.”
Keera has tried to keep her final promise to Brenna, the partner she was forced to kill to save a kingdom—but that promise has led to the most difficult struggles of her life. She’s been at war with her worst self while battling King Damien for the freedom of the Halflings, and she’s lost too many along the way. But when she finally breaks the last seal, unleashing the Fae magic that’s been hidden away for hundreds of years, the conflict seems to be turning in the Halflings’ favor.
Meanwhile, Keera’s discovery of a staggering secret about her lover and the kidnapping of one of her closest allies threatens to tip her back into darkness, but she has no time to rest. Opening the kingdom’s magical seals has transformed Keera in ways even the wisest Fae elders could not have anticipated, and the return of an evil thought long vanquished throws their rescue plans into chaos. And with the kingdom’s Halfling population suddenly posing a risk to the crown, the land is plunged into violence as the king begins a new blood purge. Keera and her allies must gather an army to meet Damien’s forces in a final confrontation of epic—and tragic—proportions.
The stunning conclusion of BookTok sensation Melissa Blair’s epically romantic series will leave readers breathless as Keera fights for her land, her people, and the promise of a better world.
Reviews
"[F]illed with high-stakes action, choices, and consequences... Romantasy fans should add this series to their reading list." —Library Journal
Educator & Series Information
Young adult/new adult fantasy series recommended for ages 18+.
This is the final book in The Halfing Saga.
Additional Information
432 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
A darkly humorous thriller about the ghosts that haunt the temples of excess we call casinos, and the people caught in their high-stakes, low-odds web
For decades, a dark force has terrorized the Languille Lake reservation. Spoken of only in whispers as “the sandman,” he lurks in the Hidden Atlantis Lake Resort and Casino, the reservation’s main attraction and source of revenue, leeching its patrons’ dreams and preventing the ghosts that linger there from moving on. Fleeing a breakup, Marion Lafournier, a midtwenties Ojibwe, seeks solace in the slot machine’s siren song. Here he falls afoul of the sandman, an encounter he barely escapes through the timely intervention of his cousins Alana and Cherie, who both work at the casino and are intimately aware of the sandman’s power. Meanwhile, Glenn Nielan, recently out of the closet and an aspiring documentarian, hopes to capture the faces of the Ojibwe land while experiencing the casino’s thrills. But he will learn that all who choose to play the sandman’s games are in danger of falling into his grasp.
Marion and Alana are members of the Bullhead clan, a family with ties to a sacred past and a fierce determination to ensure their future. Alana, with her sevenfire sight, is the only person to fully understand the danger the sandman poses. Aware of Marion’s occasional ability to navigate the spirit world, she enlists his aid in defeating this wraith. But the power and reach of the sandman go far beyond Alana’s worst fears. Soon she and Marion find themselves in a battle for their lives and for the souls of the reservation’s residents, both the living and the dead.
Reviews
"Ojibwe writer Dennis E. Staples' blend of suspense, comedy and thrills is perfect for fans of Reservation Dogs and Stephen Graham Jones." — Lizz Schumer, People
"The sense of timelessness and multiple points of view add to the novel's chaotic suspense, giving readers the impression they're trapped in an episode of Twin Peaks. This is a quick and unique read sure to appeal to thriller fans who also enjoy gothic horror." —Booklist
"Taking readers on a journey through the lavish Hidden Atlantis Casino, where no clocks hang on the walls, to the timeless realm of mysterious and death-dealing spirits, Dennis E. Staples delivers an otherworldly story that's haunting, darkly humorous, and chock full of fascinating Native lore." —Nick Medina, author of Indian Burial Ground
Additional Information
272 pages | 5.80" x 8.52" | Hardcover
Synopsis:
Cedar Sigo's latest poetry collection, Siren of Atlantis, is an introspective odyssey of remarkable poetic and personal resonance.
Here are poems that speak to Sigo's profound experience of learning to write again after suffering a stroke in 2022. In creating this work, the author retraces poetic sources and reexamines style and tone, using a variety of compositional techniques to renegotiate what is at stake in the work. There is a joy in this collection, as Sigo allows us to bear witness to the rediscovery of language, imparting the work with a new and dramatic clarity, for the poet and ultimately for the reader as well.
Additional Information
80 pages | 7.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
In their second poetry collection, Tawahum Bige explores belonging and voice of a Two-Spirit Dene youth.
These poems are a stark plunge—an answer to how voice emerges for a young Two Spirit growing up in so-called “Surrey, BC,” far from his Łutselk'e Dene territories. The fundamental thrum in which vocal cords produce sound to whisper, cry, holler and laugh—these inner workings are made corporeal through moments of growth from childhood to young adulthood to show how the seeds sprouted for someone who needed to learn to express to find their path.
Additional Information
96 pages | 5.50" x 8.00" | 25 colour and b&w photographs | Paperback
Synopsis:
Daring and vulnerable, this is the highly anticipated new collection from Griffin Poetry Prize winner Billy-Ray Belcourt.
In The Idea of An Entire Life, Belcourt delivers an intimate examination of twenty-first-century anguish, love, queerness, and political possibility. Through lyric verse, sonnets, fieldnotes, and fragments, the poems, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes slyly humorous, are always finely crafted, putting to use the autobiographical and philosophical style that has come to define Belcourt’s body of work. By its close, the collection makes the urgent argument that we are each our own little statues of grief and awe.
Reviews
"To read Billy-Ray Belcourt’s The Idea of An Enitre Life is to experience genre as a place between landscapes, but also beyond them: horizon as 'line break,' infrastructure as 'wound,' 'an image of a forest someone else/was supposed to know by heart.' These poems are achingly beautiful. Belcourt writes what’s already broken, breaking in real-time, 'in order to repair it.' How this new form might arrive, 'miraculously' but also diligently, an act of recuperation and courage that’s on-going, 'meandering' but also (always) 'incomplete,' becomes what happens when we read."—Bhanu Kapil
Additional Information
96 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Hardcover
Synopsis:
From global art superstar Kent Monkman and his long-time collaborator Gisèle Gordon, a transformational work of true stories and imagined history that will remake readers’ understanding of the land called North America.
For decades, the singular and provocative paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman have featured a recurring character—an alter ego of sorts, a shape-shifting, time-travelling elemental being named Miss Chief Eagle Testickle. Though we have glimpsed her across the years in films and on countless canvases, it is finally time to hear her story, in her own words. And, in doing so, to hear the whole history of Turtle Island anew. The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island is a genre-demolishing work of genius, the imagined history of a legendary figure through which profound truths emerge—a deeply Cree and gloriously queer understanding of our shared world, its past, its present, and its possibilities.
Volume One, which covers the period from the creation of the universe to the confederation of Canada, follows Miss Chief as she moves through time, from a complex lived experience of Cree cosmology to the arrival of European settlers, many of whom will be familiar to students of history. An open-hearted being, she tries to live among those settlers, and guide them to a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of all beings and the world itself. As their numbers grow, though, so does conflict, and Miss Chief begins to understand that the challenges posed by the hordes of newly arrived Europeans will mean ever greater danger for her, her people, and, by extension, all of the world she cherishes.
Blending history, fiction, and memoir in bold new ways, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle are unlike anything published before. And in their power to reshape our shared understanding, they promise to change the way we see everything that lies ahead.
Reviews
"Long a persona stalking the paintings of provocative Cree artist Kent Monkman, Miss Chief Eagle Testickle steps off the canvas to tell her own story—and that of the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island—in a two volume collaboration with Gisèle Gordon. Lavishly illustrated with Monkman’s paintings, The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle is at once (and seamlessly) a unique story of an even more unique deity, an exposition of nêhiyaw (Cree) beliefs and a primer in nêhiyawêwin (Cree Language), and a deeply researched history of contact, colonization, and resurgence. A full-blown remediation of the politically-charged and erotic world of Monkman’s paintings, these books educate, inspire, entertain, and leave the reader breathless."—Steve Collis, 2024 VMI Betsy Warland Between Genres Award judge
Additional Information
264 pages | 6.51" x 9.99"" | Full-colour art throughout | Paperback
Synopsis:
Winnipeg and Other Places / Winnipeg et ailleurs is a back-to-back bilingual collection of short stories which read as sketches or snapshots of the author’s wanderings. Seen through the author’s subjective lenses, no two people have the same recollection of the past or of what just happened. Memory, loss, and longing are shaped by the author’s native Winnipeg and wherever else fate has taken him.
Educator Information
Bilingual: English and French.
Additional Information
75 pages | 3.00" x 5.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
The thrilling third entry in the high fantasy saga that started with BookTok sensation A Broken Blade.
A new king is on the throne and the rebellion lies in ruins. Keera spends her days drinking and her nights avoiding the strange dreams that have haunted her since she returned from the capital.
Keera’s family in Myrelinth won’t let her go without a fight. With new intelligence about the magical seals left behind by Keera’s ancient kin, the Light Fae, she rallies to face her demons and unleash the formidable powers she inherited from her people. But a shocking truth is hiding in plain sight, one with the power to unravel the entire rebellion...
The pivotal third installment in the Halfling Saga will upend everything Keera thought she knew about her enemies . . . and her allies.
Reviews
"Gripping and fierce. This is much-needed fantasy with its fangs honed sharp by the power of resistance. Melissa Blair has built a tremendous world."—Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
Educator & Series Information
Young adult/new adult fantasy series recommended for ages 18+.
The third entry in the Halfling Saga, the epic tale of a deadly assassin with a mysterious past, set in a lush fantasy world of Mortals, Elves, Halflings, and Fae, A Vicious Game is perfect for readers who enjoyed the A Court of Thorns and Roses series and other romantic fantasy books, especially those seeking LGBTQ+ romance or BIPOC representation.
Additional Information
448 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
A collection of intersecting stories about Indigenous love and loneliness from one of contemporary literature’s most boundless minds.
Across the prairies and Canada’s west coast, on reserves and university campuses, at literary festivals and existential crossroads, the characters in Coexistence are searching for connection. They’re learning to live with and understand one another, to see beauty and terror side by side, and to accept that the past, present, and future can inhabit a single moment.
An aging mother confides in her son about an intimate friendship from her distant girlhood. A middling poet is haunted by the cliché his life has become. A chorus of anonymous gay men dispense unvarnished truths about their sex lives. A man freshly released from prison finds that life on the outside has sinister strictures of its own. A PhD student dog-sits for his parents at what was once a lodging for nuns operating a residential school—a house where the spectre of Catholicism comes to feel eerily literal.
Bearing the compression, crystalline sentences, and emotional potency that have characterized his earlier books, Coexistence is a testament to Belcourt’s mastery of and playfulness in any literary form. A vital addition to an already rich catalogue, this is a must-read collection and the work of an author at the height of his powers.
Reviews
“Belcourt is one of the finest and most sublime writers at work today. This book is a feat of beauty and compression, every sentence reinventing the reader. It’s like entering a quiet room or a secret lake. It’s about our coexistence with lovers, kin, enemies, but also our coexistence with desire, solitude, and an intelligence that in itself is a form of hunger—language as solace, language as light. Belcourt is the rare writer who composes from, to, and because of the soul. It’s been some time since I loved a book so deeply.”—Claudia Dey, author of Daughter
“Through the interconnected lifeworlds contained in Coexistence, we hear a defiantly loving and astoundingly honest response to colonial and racial violence. Billy-Ray Belcourt has written an homage and an elegy to a still-unfolding history—as intimate and hopeful as young romance, as mysterious and life-giving as family. I adore this collection.” —Tsering Yangzom Lama, author ofWe Measure the Earth with our Bodies
“Coexistence filled my heart and lifted my spirit. There are few writers who can authentically capture the beauty and complexity of Indigenous existence both on the rez and in the city like Billy-Ray Belcourt. This book is a resolute proclamation of resilient Indigenous humanity and the nuance and richness we all embody. The stories weave and enrich on journeys that are both familiar and informative. Coexistence is a powerful celebration and a gift to the world.” —Waubgeshig Rice, author of Moon of the Turning Leaves
“Billy-Ray Belcourt masterfully portrays the complexities of Indigenous lives, longing, and belonging through these stories. There are sentences in this collection that I didn’t know I had been waiting to read; my breath caught on several of them. I suspect that readers will be letting out collective sighs while reading this book.”—Helen Knott, author of Becoming a Matriarch
“Billy-Ray Belcourt’s Coexistence is a brilliant exploration of the boundaries both imposed and imagined that exist between beings and the spaces we inhabit. I wildly admire Belcourt’s crisp prose and remarkable insights, yet what haunts me most about these powerful stories is the author’s heart-blasted willingness to be vulnerable on the page. This engaging, alive text drills right to heart of what it is to be Indigenous in the twenty-first century.”—Mona Susan Power, author of A Council of Dolls
Additional Information
200 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Hardcover
Synopsis:
The interwoven destinies of the people of Meridian will finally be determined in this stunning conclusion to New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse’s Between Earth and Sky trilogy.
Even the sea cannot stay calm before the storm. —Teek saying
Serapio, avatar of the Crow God Reborn and the newly crowned Carrion King, rules Tova. But his enemies gather both on distant shores and within his own city as the matrons of the clans scheme to destroy him. And deep in the alleys of the Maw, a new prophecy is whispered, this one from the Coyote God. It promises Serapio certain doom if its terrible dictates are not fulfilled.
Meanwhile, Xiala is thrust back amongst her people as war comes first to the island of Teek. With their way of life and their magic under threat, she is their last best hope. But the sea won’t talk to her the way it used to, and doubts riddle her mind. She will have to sacrifice the things that matter most to unleash her powers and become the queen they were promised.
And in the far northern wastelands, Naranpa, avatar of the Sun God, seeks a way to save Tova from the visions of fire that engulf her dreams. But another presence has begun stalking her nightmares, and the Jaguar God is on the hunt.
Nominated for the Nebula, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo Awards, winner of the Alex Award from the American Library Association and the Ignyte Award from Fiyah magazine, the Between Earth and Sky trilogy is amongst our most lauded modern fantasy series from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA TODAY bestselling author Rebecca Roanhorse.
Reviews
“Rebecca Roanhorse… [is one] of the Indigenous novelists reshaping North American science fiction, horror and fantasy — genres in which Native writers have long been overlooked.”— The New York Times
Educator & Series Information
This is the third book in the Between Earth and Sky Series.
Additional Information
608 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover
Synopsis:
Sascha Stronach’s queer, Maori-inspired Endsong trilogy reopens on a city in flames, where a magic-wielding pirate crew uncovers an age-old fight between the gods that threatens their world.
The steel city of Radovan is consumed by fire between. Stranded in its harbor is the crew of the Kopek, the survivors of a bioterror attack overseas. But they bear scars: their captain, Sibbi, has gone missing; Yat, their newest Weaver, is fighting for control of her own mind; and their Weaving powers are in a badly weakened state.
To disable the technology that prevents the group from escaping, Sen and Kiada must plot their way through the ruins of the foreign capital, which is patrolled by a hostile militia, using wits alone. But to navigate through Radovan, Kiada will have to rely on her own history with the city—one she shares with a band of misfits dubbed Fort Tomorrow and their leader, Ari, a charismatic thief.
Ari may hold the key not only to saving Radovan from complete annihilation, but the history of their world, which will come into play as the gods begin to unleash destruction on humanity and one another.
Educator & Series Information
This book is part of The Endsong series.
Additional Information
336 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
The BookTok sensation from debut author Melissa Blair—now with exclusive bonus content!
My body is made of scars,
some were done to me,
but most I did to myself.
Keera is a killer. As the King's Blade, she is the most talented spy in the kingdom. And the king’s favored assassin. When a mysterious figure moves against the Crown, Keera is called upon to hunt down the so-called Shadow. She tracks her target into the magical lands of the Fae, but Faeland is not what it seems . . . and neither is the Shadow. Keera is shocked by what she learns, and can't help but wonder who her enemy truly is: the King that destroyed her people or the Shadow that threatens the peace?
As she searches for answers, Keera is haunted by a promise she made long ago, one that will test her in every way. To keep her word, Keera must not only save herself, but an entire kingdom.
Fans of fast-paced high fantasy such as A Court of Thorns and Roses series, The Inadequate Heir, and From Blood and Ash author Jennifer L. Armentrout, will enjoy the fierce female characters, sapphic representation, and fantasy romance of A Broken Blade.
Reviews
"Gripping and fierce. This is much-needed fantasy with its fangs honed sharp by the power of resistance. Melissa Blair has built a tremendous world."—Chloe Gong, #1 New York Times bestselling author of These Violent Delights
Educator & Series Information
Young adult/new adult fantasy series recommended for ages 18+.
This book is the first title in the Halfing Saga.
Additional Information
448 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
A subversive novel by acclaimed Cree author Darrel J. McLeod, infused with the contradictory triumph and pain of finding conventional success in a world that feels alien.
James, a talented and conflicted Cree man from a tiny settlement in Northern Alberta, has settled into a comfortable middle-class life in Kitsilano, a trendy neighbourhood of Vancouver. He is living the life he had once dreamed of—travel, a charming circle of sophisticated friends, a promising career and a loving relationship with a caring man—but he chafes at being assimilated into mainstream society, removed from his people and culture.
The untimely death of James’s mother, his only link to his extended family and community, propels him into a quest to reconnect with his roots. He secures a job as a principal in a remote northern Dakelh community but quickly learns that life there isn’t the fix he’d hoped it would be: His encounters with poverty, cultural disruption and abuse conjure ghosts from his past that drive him toward self-destruction. During the single year he spends in northern BC, James takes solace in the richness of the Dakelh culture—the indomitable spirit of the people, and the splendour of nature—all the while fighting to keep his dark side from destroying his life.
Reviews
“MacLeod offers the reader a thought-provoking and immersive portrait of a remote Dakelh community and of James, the driven Indigiqueer educator who chooses to work there—a man who must struggle with structural injustices, conflicting demands, prejudice, and his own divided self. A deeply authentic novel, and one that is both educative and heartfelt.” — Kathy Page, author of Alphabet and Dear Evelyn
“A Season in Chezgh’un is about the search for meaning and for love, about grappling with history and loss, about creating a future out of quiet daring. I love the elegance of languages and cultures intermingling in this story, Cree, Dene, Nehiyaw, French, Spanish. Beautifully crafted, this novel is alive with dialogue that takes us into the hearts of characters too often left voiceless. Let this book sweep you away.” — Kim Echlin, author of Speak, Silence
Additional Information
320 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
The highly anticipated second installment of the new adult fantasy saga that took BookTok by storm picks up where A Broken Blade left off…
To the kingdom, Keera is the king’s Blade, his most feared and trusted spy and assassin. But in the shadows, she works with Prince Killian and his Shadow—the dark, brooding Fae, Riven, who sets her blood on fire. Together, they plot to kill a tyrant king.
In Myrelinth, the lush, secret city of trees, Fae, Elves, and Halflings like Keera live in harmony. But Keera cannot escape her past: her crimes against her own people have followed her all the way to the Faeland. There is a traitor in their midst, and Keera is the top suspect.
Keera finds comfort in the allies that have become her family. She swore she would never open her heart again after a loss she barely survived. But she will soon find she has more to lose than she ever imagined . . .
Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series, A Shadow Crown is a tour-de-force high fantasy novel with stunning world building and a slow burn enemies to lovers romance. Readers seeking more LGBTQ+ and BIPOC representation in the fantasy realm will fall in love with the unforgettable cast of characters introduced in A Broken Blade, whose sagas are only beginning…
Reviews
"The second installment in Melissa Blair’s Halfling Saga will undoubtedly take BookTok by storm all over again with its political intrigue and plotting.” —Paste Magazine
“If you’re a particular fan of spies in fantasy realms—like our beloved Inej in Six of Crows—then The Halfling Saga should be your next read.” —The Everygirl
Educator & Series Information
Young adult/new adult fantasy series recommended for ages 18+.
This book is the second title in the Halfing Saga.
Additional Information
480 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
A visceral and compelling mystery about a Cherokee archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs who is summoned to rural Oklahoma to investigate the disappearance of two women…one of them her sister.
There are secrets in the land.
As an archeologist for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Syd Walker spends her days in Rhode Island trying to protect the land's indigenous past, even as she’s escaping her own.
While Syd is dedicated to her job, she’s haunted by a night of violence she barely escaped in her Oklahoma hometown fifteen years ago. Though she swore she’d never go back, the past comes calling.
When a skull is found near the crime scene of her youth, just as her sister, Emma Lou, vanishes, Syd knows she must return home. She refuses to let her sister's disappearance, or the remains, go ignored—as so often happens in cases of missing Native women.
But not everyone is glad to have Syd home, and she can feel the crosshairs on her. Still, the deeper Syd digs, the more she uncovers about a string of missing indigenous women cases going back decades. To save her sister, she must expose a darkness in the town that no one wants to face—not even Syd.
The truth will be unearthed.
Reviews
“Blood Sisters sets its hooks on page one and then pulls relentlessly and colorfully through buried secrets and rediscovered Native heritage.”— C. J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Storm Front
"Vanessa Lillie’s riveting thriller explores the elusiveness of truth, and the history that binds people together—and to a place—no matter the time or the distance. At once captivating and illuminating, surprising and powerful, Blood Sisters is a story that resonates."—Megan Miranda, New York Times bestselling author of All the Missing Girls
“Combines pulse-pounding action with Cherokee myth and customs. I loved Syd Walker, a compelling new character who’s dealing with her own disturbing family history while trying to unravel the disappearance of several Native women. I hope we’ll see more of Syd Walker soon!” —David Heska Wanbli Weiden, award-winning author of Winter Counts
“This suspenseful mystery will not only captivate you, but it may just teach you something about Cherokee history, land rights and the plague of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Including queer and Two-Spirit characters, Blood Sisters is a meaningful and compelling thriller.” —Ms. Magazine
Additional Information
384 pages | 6.21" x 9.29" | Hardcover