The Hamilton Review of Books' Independently Published Bestsellers List: June 2024
Take a look at which independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores.
July 22, 2024
Fiction
Bird Suit by Sydney Hegele, Invisible Publishing
Chrysalis: Stories by Anuja Varghese, House of Anansi Press
Dennison Avenue by Christina Wong (Author), Daniel Innes (Illustrator), ECW Press
Disobedience by Daniel Sarah Karasik, Book*hug Press
Peacocks of Instagram by Deepa Rajagopalan, Astoria (House of Anansi)
From Sweetgrass Bridge by Anthony Bidulka, Stonehouse Publishing
The Road to Heaven: A Patrick Bird Mystery by Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson, Dundurn Press
Eleven Huskies: A Dr. Bannerman Vet Mystery by Philipp Schott, ECW Press
Farm: Lot 23 by Tonya Lailey, Gaspereau Press
Stasio: A Novel in Three Parts by Tamas Dobozy, Anvil Press
Nonfiction
Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie, Biblioasis
Stroll, updated edition by Shawn Micallef (Author), Marlena Zuber (Illustrator), Coach House Books
52 Weeks to a Sweeter Life for Caregivers, Activists and Helping Professionals: A Workbook of Emotional Hacks, Self-Care Experiments and Other Good Ideas by Farzana Doctor, Douglas & McIntyre
40 Days & 40 Hikes: Loving the Bruce Trail One Loop at a Time by Nicola Ross, ECW Press
The Medicine Chest: A Physician's Journey Towards Reconciliation by Jarol Boan, University of Regina Press
On Canadian Democracy by Jonathan Manthorpe, Cormorant Books
Fungal: Foraging in the Urban Forest by Ariel Gordon, Wolsak & Wynn
One Second at a Time: My Story of Pain and Reclamation by Diane Morrisseau (Author), Elisabeth Brannigan, Purich Books (UBC Press)
Black Cake, Turtle Soup, and Other Dilemmas: Essays by Gloria Blizzard, Dundurn Press
Off the Tracks: A Meditation on Train Journeys in a Time of No Travel by Pamela Mulloy, ECW Press
Kids
Let’s Go by Julie Flett, Greystone Kids
We Need Everyone by Michael Redhead Champagne (Author), Tiff Bartel (Illustrator), Highwater Press
Jamilah at the End of the World by Mary-Lou Zeitoun, Lorimer
This is a Tiny Fragile Snake by Nicholas Ruddock (Author), Ashley Barron (Illustrator), Groundwood Books
The Scooter Twins by Dorothy Ellen Palmer (Author), Maria Sweeney (Illustrator), Groundwood Books
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, 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 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 the switch to summer reading is showing with many mysteries in the Fiction list.
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