The Hamilton Review of Books' Independently Published Bestsellers List: January 2022

Take a look at which independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores.

Fiction

1. Scarborough by Catherine Hernandez, Arsenal Pulp Press

2. We, Jane by Aimee Wall, Book*hug Press

3. The Best of the Bonnet by Andrew Unger, Turnstone Press

4. Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead, Arsenal Pulp Press

5. All the Quiet Places by Brian Thomas Isaac, Brindle & Glass

6. The Party is Here by Georgina Beaty, Freehand Books

7. Sultan of Sarawak: An Ava Lee Novel by Ian Hamilton, Spiderline/House of Anansi

8. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, ECW

9. Out of Mind by David Bergen, Goose Lane Editions

10. Gospel of Breaking by Jillian Christmas, Arsenal Pulp Press

Non-fiction

1. Richard Wagamese Selected: What Comes from Spirit by Richard Wagamese, Douglas & McIntyre

2. Spin Doctors: How Media and Politicians Misdiagnosed the COVID-19 Pandemic by Nora Loreto, Fernwood Publishing

3. Cobalt: Cradle of the Demon Metals, Birth of a Mining Superpower by Charlie Angus, House of Anansi

4. 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph, Indigenous Relations Press

5. Prairie Garden 2022 Smaller Spaces, The Prairie Garden Committee

6. On Property by Rinaldo Walcott, Biblioasis

7. It Was Dark There All the Time: Sophia Burthen and the Legacy of Slavery in Canada by Andrew Hunter, Goose Lane Editions

8. Backyard Birdfeeding, Backyard Bird Feeding: A Saskatchewan Guide by Trevor Herriot and Myrna Pearman, Nature Saskatchewan

9. Nobody Here Will Harm You: Mass Medical Evacuation from the Eastern Arctic 1950–1965 by Shawn Selway, Wolsak and Wynn

10. Calgary’s Best Hikes and Walks by Lorrie Beattie, Fifth House Publishing

Kids

1. We All Play by Julie Flett, Greystone Kids

2. I Sang You Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett-Sumner and Michaela Goade, Owlkids

3. The Night is Deep and Wide by Gillian Sze and Sue Todd, Orca Book Publishers

4.  Meennunyakaa / Blueberry Patch by Jennifer Leason, Theytus Books

5.  Living with Viola by Rosena Fung, Annick Press

How I Built This List:

I am very grateful for all the bookstores who generously shared their sales data with me. The information used to create this list was drawn from the December sales of Another Story Bookshop in Toronto, The City and the City Books in Hamilton, Epic Books in Hamilton, McNally Robinson Booksellers (both the Grant Park and the Forks Locations in Winnipeg), McNally Robinson Saskatoon, Shelf Life Books in Calgary and Wordsworth Books in Waterloo. We’re covering a fair amount of Canada, but I hope to add more stores over time to the process and create a more wide-ranging list.

Many of the authors on this list will be new to readers, but what I’ve done here is create a bestseller list drawn only from those books published by Canadian-owned independent presses. Most of the books in the top half of both the fiction and the non-fiction bestseller lists sold well in several of the stores on the list and many of the other titles are books that sold well in only one or two stores who shared information. Sometimes these were strongly regional titles.

I acknowledge that this list is not at all perfect. It is only a small sampling of the data out there, but it is a fascinating look at what independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores across a reasonable amount of Canada.

My deep thanks to the Hamilton Review of Books for publishing this Independent Bestseller List. I’m looking forward to seeing the data for our February list, as the fall books continue to fill our bookstore shelves and we finish off the holiday season. Please, if you’re looking for something wonderful to read this winter, visit your nearest independent bookstore and ask them what they suggest. The people who work in these stores know an amazing amount about books and will find you your next best possible read.

Noelle Allen