Kaggsy and Lizzy are hosting this event for the fourth January February (thanks, Reese!) here’s a snapshot of the independently published books I’m reading right now.

The first two I ordered from ig Publishing back in December, but there were issues with shipping (coming across the border from the United States into Canada there are additional depots, fresh s-n-a-f-u opportunities). Never mind, their books are worth the wait.

Postage isn’t a problem for larger publishing houses; they have a buffer that allows them to manage these costs easily. That’s one of many challenges that smaller and independent presses face. But because they are passionate about getting books into readers’ hands, they are also willing to go the extra mile, as in this situation (which involved the package making a stop in Belgium): I was thrilled to see the packet arrive and couldn’t wait to slip bookmarks into these two.

Kim McLarin’s new book is here because I loved her first book Womanish. And I love the Bookmarked series from IG generally, and this one by Pamela Evans is perfect to pair with my reread of Middlemarch this year. (McLarin’s also written on James Baldwin for this series.)

Siamak Herawi’s Tali Girls (translated by Sara Khalili) was sent by a reading friend who can access the fine books from Archipelago more readily than I can; it’s a recent arrival too, but only a few pages in, it’s already proving to be a powerful and visceral story. Particularly with the Jihadist conflict raging right now in the Middle East—fuelling the conflict in Palestine and Israel, and around the world—this is a vitally important read. For readers at such a distance, sometimes fiction is the only way to understand what’s driving a group like Hamas and how historically complex contemporary conflicts are. Often times, Archipelago Books has been the door through which I’ve stepped into another country’s literature. It’s convenient in a headline to present either-or situations, but stories like this get at the truth behind the facts, and give us context that we desperately need in order to understand and speak on today’s wars and political decisions.

And now for two Canadian presses, from opposite sides of the continent. First, Breakwater Books, an independent publisher in Newfoundland (in present-day eastern Canada). Michelle Porter’s book landed in my stack from the library, at the end of last year, because I’d just devoured her debut novel. (Hint of what’s to come in my post later this year summarising 2023’s reading.) Approaching Fire is one of those beautiful spare volumes, part poetry and part prose, with images and newspaper clippings—to encapsulate her search to know her great-grandfather, a Métis fiddler. There are even photographs of his early records and you just know this is the kind of book that doesn’t neatly fit into categories, the kind of book that might stimy a larger publishing house.

Next, from western Canada (in colonial naming convention), Nightwood Editions, which is part of the Harbour Publishing group; Heiltsuk writer Brandon Reid’s debut novel Beautiful Beautiful is a coming-of-age story set in Bella Bella (mid-way up the west coast in what’s currently called British Columbia). I’ve enjoyed their First Nations’ stories previously, too, and reviewed a debut by Conor Kerr a couple years ago for World Literature Today (also a fantastic resource of independently published books). It opens with a dialogue-rich, vivid scene and I’m already hooked.

Thanks to Karen and Lizzy for reminding us to take a look and see who’s doing the work behind the stories that we love to read.

What are you reading from independent presses these days? Or, which of these would you add to your stack to do so?