The Hamilton Review of Books' Independently Published Bestsellers List: October 2023
Take a look at which independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores.
November 14, 2023
Fiction
Roaming by Jillian Tamaki (Author), Mariko Tamaki (Author), Drawn & Quarterly
Semi-Detached by Elizabeth Ruth, Cormorant Press
The Marigold by Andrew F. Sullivan, ECW Press
Her Body Among Animals by Paola Ferrante, Book*hug Press
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, ECW Press
An Ordinary Violence by Adriana Chartrand, Spiderline (House of Anansi Press)
Cocktail by Lisa Alward, Biblioasis
The Abduction of Seven Forgers by Sean Dixon, Freehand Books
How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney, Biblioasis
The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye, Vagrant Press (Nimbus Publishing Limited)
Nonfiction
The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart by Astra Taylor, House of Anansi
On Community by Casey Plett, Biblioasis
101 Fascinating Canadian Music Facts by David McPherson, Dundurn Press
Cheated: The Laurier Liberals and the Theft of First Nations Reserve Land by Bill Waiser (Author), Jennie Hansen (Author), ECW Press
Eating Like a Mennonite: Food and Community across Borders by Marlene Epp, McGill-Queen's University Press
Take Your Baby and Run: How nurses blew the whistle on Canada's biggest cardiac disaster by Carol Youngson, Great Plains Press
Black Activist, Black Scientist, Black Icon: The Autobiography of Dr. Howard D. McCurdy by Howard Douglas McCurdy C.M. O.Ont. Ph.D (Author), George Elliott Clarke (Author), Nimbus Publishing Limited
Paths of Pollen by Stephen Humphrey, McGill-Queen's University Press
Misfortune and Fame: 10 Reasons You Don't Want to be Rich (or Famous) by Paul Berton, Douglas & McIntyre
Creating a Seat at the Table: Reflections from Women in Law by Beth Bilson, Leah Howie, Brea Lowenberger (Eds.), Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin (Forward) University of Regina Press
Kids
Maggie Lou, Firefox by Arnolda Dufour Bowes (Author), Karlene Harvey (Illustrator), Groundwood Books
stay up: racism, resistance, and reclaiming Black freedom by Khodi Dill (Author), Stylo Starr (Illustrator), Annick Press
How to Be Found by Emily Pohl-Weary, Arsenal Pulp Press
100 Chapatis by Derek Mascarenhas (Author), Shantala Robinson (Illustrator), Owl Kids
Fluffy and the Stars by T’áncháy Redvers (Author), Roza Nozari (Illustrator), Orca Book Publishers
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 sales of Another Story Bookshop in Toronto, Biblioasis Bookshop in Windsor, 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. If you are a bookstore who would like to contribute to the list please get in touch with us, we’d love to have more information.
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 nonfiction 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. This month we’re seeing the fall books hit their stride, with a slate of fresh titles in nonfiction and children’s books. We’re also seeing some older titles make it back onto the list as authors tour new books that are not with independent presses.
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. Please, if you’re looking for something wonderful to read, 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