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@indiebookstores.ca

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Promotional book cover for Colson Whitehead's new novel Cool Machine, with the author and title in bold multicolor blocks, a note that he's a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, a misty black-and-white aerial view of New York City, and a vertical "New Release" label.
Summer Booksellers' List selection Our Wild Familiar by Dan Werb. Bookseller Joshua Cockerill from Type Books said [Coming at a time when we’re in desperate need of rethinking our relationship to human and more-than-human habitats, Our Wild Familiars turns an international lens on animals who have adapted to cities. Dan Werb provides stories that will soften your heart and factoids that will blow your mind. An important book about the climates we create and the ones we share. ]
Booksellers List Summer Selection Habits of the Sea bookseller quote from Joy Mclean at Cafe Books [A brilliant, beautiful creation. It’s a story of the sea, its tides, and a world changing around it. It’s also a love story so beautifully told that you will hold your breath for the safety of two lost souls that have found each other. Habits of the Sea is harrowing in its prophetic look at what the world may face. I still find myself lost in the pages of this book.]
Booksellers List selection Tata by Valerie Perrin [From the author of one of my all-time favourite books, Fresh Water for Flowers, I had high expectations for Tata. What Valérie Perrin does exceptionally well in both books is treat her characters with tenderness and care, despite their flaws. She creates a sense of goodness and writes in such an approachable way. I really loved this book. The stories of multiple characters coexist and are intertwined seamlessly. It has mystery, history, trauma, loss, family drama, and so much more. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Fresh Water for Flowers, or readers who enjoy literary fiction.]
Booksellers' List graphic promoting four new-release novels — 'Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt' by Ben Reeves, 'Country People' by Daniel Mason, 'Decadence' by Richard Kelly Kemick, and 'Habits of the Sea' by Shea Ernshaw.
Photo from the Bookseller's List of a Spring 2026 selection, The Midnight Train by Matt Haig. The quote from bookseller Brittney Spires at Westminster Bookmark reads: Matt Haig creates beautifully written, emotion-evoking stories with a magical element that pulls the reader in. Set in the same world as The Midnight Library, Haig takes us back in time to experience the moments that mean the most to the main character as he battles with the urge to stay in the past forever. I am eager to jump back into the Midnight world!
Promotional layout showing the cover of Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt by Ben Reeves, a circular Booksellers’ List Selection badge, and a short review by Janet Broder (Blue Heron Books) praising its gentle, personified-Death narrator and slow-burn emotional story. [Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt is one of those slow burn novels that feeds you emotional and amusing tidbits throughout the story so that you are anticipating the next course while also reflecting on what you just digested. Death as the narrator? Yes please! And, in this case, personified by the slightly naïve Travis, who is kind, gentle, and caring as he attends to people in their last hours. Things get a bit complicated when Travis establishes relationships with his neighbour Dalia and her eight-year-old daughter, Layla. This book is certainly one that would spark discussion among the stacks and in book clubs]
Promotional poster for The Booksellers’ List showing a 4x5 grid of 20 contemporary book covers, the title at top and IndieBookstores.ca at the bottom, highlighting recommended new releases.
Photo of The Bookseller's Spring Selection, The Good Eye by Jess Gibson. Bookseller quote from Sophia Ross Eckert at The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore reads: [Each gem of a story in Jess Gibson’s debut collection embodies exactly what I love about short fiction: nothing is ever quite what it seems. Gibson’s sophisticated prose bends reality to create little worlds that answer enough questions to satisfy while leaving enough unanswered to keep the reader thinking about the story long after it’s done. Her characters are recognizable yet strange, and their deceptions (of others and of themselves) often surprise but ultimately ring true. This is a must-read for literary fiction readers who like to be kept on their toes.]
Photo of The Booksellers' List spring selection Land by Maggie O'Farrell. Bookseller quote from bookseller Lori Cheverie of Bookmark Charlottetown reads [Land is one of those books that made me wish I could begin it again for the first time. Told over central centuries of Irish history, my heart ached and loved alongside every character, across every century in this novel. This is O’Farrell’s best yet and I know it will be one I pick up to re-read just to try to capture some of what I felt the first time.]
Photo of The Booksellers' List Spring selection, The Typing Lady, by Ruth Ozeki. Bookseller quote from Meghan at River Bookshop reads: When you read Ruth Ozeki's works, you're driven by an irresistible need to unravel the core intrigue, along the way discovering new ways to connect with other people. Her books are wise, playful, funny, and meaningful—and The Typing Lady is a collection of stories that allow you to experience this again and again. Together, they ask you to consider what stories we choose to tell, and how we're defined by those stories in return. What more could a reader ask for?
Photo of The Booksellers' List Spring selection, Whistler by Ann Patchett. Bookseller quote from Heather Doran at Bookmark Charlottetown reads [I have loved Ann Patchett since I read Bel Canto and I might have cheered when she announced she had a new book coming. Whistler is a beautifully written story about the consequences of the choices you make, told with the heart and humanity we have come to expect from an Ann Patchett novel. Like Tom Lake, I expect Whistler will be a shop favourite.]
Photo of Booksellers' List Spring selection, The Coffin of Honey by Geoffrey D. Morrison. Bookseller quote from Basil Sylvester from Flying Books bookstore reads [Geoffrey D. Morrison's The Coffin of Honey is an existential romp and a heartfelt cry for an international humanitarian awakening. It’s the Close Encounters of the Third Kind for our modern era. Morrison's command of prose and literary devices have me breathlessly awaiting whatever's next.]
Photo of The Booksellers' List selections Land, The Typing Lady and Whistler. Side text in green reads 'NEW RELEASES'
Photo of The Booksellers' List Selection, the book of birds. Bookseller quote from Erin Dalton reads [Any time that author Robert Macfarlane and artist Jackie Morris pair up, the world gets a little more colourful. The Book of Birds is no exception. Macfarlane's song-like writing and Morris' sumptuous illustrations create alchemy together. Yes, this is a book that every birder should own—but it's so much more than that. Anyone who needs a reminder that wonder and magic exist will find enchantment on each page.]
Photo of The Booksellers' List Selection, The Last Mandarin. Bookseller quote from Khira Borden reads [Louise Penny steps away from Three Pines and is joined by award-winning journalist Mellissa Fung for this stand-alone mother-daughter political thriller that is sure to captivate the reader from the first page. The story takes you through the USA and China with great Chinese history and myths weaved into the story. Part historical fiction, part thriller, this is a high-stakes novel sure to satisfy any reader.]
Photo of The Booksellers' Selection The Midnight Train by Matt Haig. Side text reads 'NEW RELEASE' in yellow.
Photo of The Booksellers' List Selection, We Burned So Bright by TJ Klune. Bookseller quote from Cole Davidson at The Spaniel's Tale reads: [A beautiful story of a love that never ends, even after death. While you won’t find Klune’s signature adorable alien/ghost/robot/other-cute-creature in this novella, you will still find the classic themes of found family and unconditional love that he is known for. Sad and lovely, this story will take you on an adventure to the end of the world as it asks the timeless question: how far will you go for love?]
A photo of a Booksellers' List spring selection John of John by Douglas Stuart. The quote from bookseller Caileigh at Windowseat Books reads: [Douglas Stuart is an incredible writer whose stories feel meticulously crafted and deeply lived in. The characters from his previous novels have stayed with me years later, and I have no doubt his latest work will be just as enduring. Stuart’s ability to portray tenderness and vulnerability reaches a new peak in John of John and I can't wait for readers to pick it up. It is a staggering, beautiful addition to an already profound body of work that cements Stuart as one of our favourite authors.]
A photo of the Booksellers' List Spring selection The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. The quote from bookseller Samantha Bolen of Bolen Books reads [A new Strout! Be still my heart. Everything she has ever published is my favourite and this book is no different. New characters, a new storyline, and new people to love and to despise. The Things We Never Say is a perfect book club pick, offering many topics for discussion and debate. We don't have Olive but we have Artie! This novel is of the moment; it feels as if Elizabeth is handing you the sheets off her typewriter to read, right now, this second. Pick this book up to add to your collection of your new favourites.]
A photo of the Booksellers' List Spring selection The Fall-Down Effect by Liz Johnston. A quote from bookseller Martha Sharpe at Flying Books reads: [While reading Liz Johnston's The Fall-Down Effect, I was quickly pulled in by the propulsive tension she creates between a mother and daughter's competing responsibilities to family and activism across two different time periods. For fans of Michael Christie's Greenwood, but also think cli-fi Little Women.]
A photo from IndiebookstoresCA for The Bookseller's List. The side text on the left in light purple reads New Releases featuring covers of the The Good Eye, The Coffin of Honey and The Last Mandarin with a maple leaf on the edge of the book.
Book cover of A False and Fatal Claim by Iona Whishaw. Bookseller quote from Jessica Paul of Munro's Books (BC) reads: [Iona Whishaw is a superbly compelling mystery writer that continues to knock it out of the park, even on her 14th book in a series. I devoured the others and can't wait for this next installment.]
Top header text reads The Booksellers' List with book covers of The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, on the left, and John of John by Douglas Stuart, on the right against a light yellow background. Bottom text reads New Releases
Cover of The Brink of Something Beautiful by Bobbi French next to bookseller quote from Janet Broder from Blue Heron Books that reads [I can’t wait to share The Brink of Something Beautiful with our readers. I absolutely loved Bobbi French’s debut novel, The Good Women of Safe Harbour because of the women, their relationships and, of course, the setting of Newfoundland. This second novel is also about women, their choices, and the resultant consequences. I’m always looking for opportunities to give readers a book that celebrates female friendships and the resilience of women. French has a way of depicting her characters so authentically, I can imagine being their friends.]
Image of a green chalkboard background with a squirrel on a stack of books next a snail and a butterfly. Header text reads Contest for Book Lover. Subtitle reads one grand prize winner 1000 dollar gift card in small text it reads to be used at the CIBA member of your choice.
Header reads The Hottest Books of the Week Bestsellers. Image shows covers of Yesteryear, Hail Mary, The Correspondent, Theo of Golden, Dungeon Crawler, London Falling, The Babysitters Club, When the Forest Breathes and A False and Fatal Claim.
Cover of Cherry Beach by Don Gillmor next to text that reads [If the dayglo film-filtered cover of an aging high rise on a summer day doesn't intrigue you, maybe a comparison to "The Wire" but "make it Toronto" will do the trick. Cherry Beach is a propulsive genre mash-up of Canadian crime and literary fiction. I love a good detective story, especially when it combines the fast-paced thrill of solving the mystery alongside two scrappy underdogs, coupled with carefully crafted prose referencing Walker Evans gas stations and mid-century Toronto. No one captures sweltering summer in the GTA quite like Don Gillmor] from bookseller Robyn York of Beach Reads Bookshop.
“I've been waiting for a novel from Daniel Zomparelli since reading his short stories, poetry, and the queer horror anthology he co-edited, so I could not be more thrilled with this new book, Super Castle Fun Park! Daniel's books are weird and funny and bizarre, full of odd characters who defy categorization, but through all the quirkiness, we end up with connection and understanding. Not since Miranda July’s No One Belongs Here More Than You have I felt such a strong affinity for the characters of a book and their circumstances. Read this book for all the emotions.”
I want to thank all the independent bookstores in Canada, from coast to coast to coast, for bringing readers and writers together. The beauty of stories is that they can put us in the shoes of anyone, anywhere in the world, at any given time. But what’s beautiful about indie bookstores is that they belong to our communities and us. For all the work you do for us, thank you. Special thanks to Owl’s Nest Books in Calgary for supporting me, my writing, and my community. I couldn’t—and wouldn’t—do it without you. Maarsii.” —Blair Palmer Yoxall, author of Treat Them as Buffalo
[As the devastating effects of human-made climate change continue to accelerate, Dene author and activist Katłı̨̀ą urges us to learn from the ways in which Indigenous peoples have lived alongside and protected nature for millennia. She calls for us to view Mother Earth as a beloved Elder who deserves reciprocity and care, and shares teachings that might help us to relearn how to live in harmony with nature.]