The Hamilton Review of Books' Independently Published Bestsellers List: August 2024
Take a look at which independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores.
September 23, 2024
Fiction
Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction edited by Sonia Sulaiman, Fernwood Publishing
Chrysalis: Stories by Anuja Varghese, House of Anansi Press
Gay Girl Prayers by Emily Austin, Brick Books
The Wendy Award by Walter Scott, Drawn & Quarterly
Her First Palestinian by Saeed Teebi, Astoria (House of Anansi)
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, ECW Press
To Our Graves by Paul Nicholas Mason, Now or Never Publishing
Dennison Avenue by Christina Wong (Author), Daniel Innes (Illustrator), ECW Press
Anomia by Jade Wallace, Palimpsest Press
Hello, Horse by Richard Kelly Kemick, Biblioasis
Nonfiction
Special Topics in Being a Parent: A Queer and Tender Guide to Things I've Learned About Parenting, Mostly the Hard Way by S. Bear Bergman (Author), Saul Freedman-Lawson (Illustrator), Arsenal Pulp Press
40 Days and 40 Hikes: Loving the Bruce Trail One Loop at a Time by Nicola Ross, ECW Press
Fungal: Foraging in the Urban Forest by Ariel Gordon, Wolsak & Wynn
The Social Safety Net by Nora Loreto, Dundurn Press
Crosses in the Sky: Jean de Brébeuf and the Destruction of Huronia by Mark Bourrie, Biblioasis
In Exile: Rupture, Reunion, and My Grandmother's Secret Life by Sadiya Ansari, House of Anansi Press
A Communist for the RCMP: The Uncovered Story of a Social Movement Informant by Dennis Gruending (Author), Gregory S. Kealey (Foreword), Between the Lines
mmm... Manitoba: The Stories Behind the Foods We Eat by Kimberley Moore and Janis Thiessen, University of Manitoba Pres
Off the Tracks: A Meditation on Train Journeys in a Time of No Travel by Pamela Mulloy, ECW Press
Abolish Social Work (As We Know It) by Craig Fortier (Editor), Edward Hon-Sing Wong (Editor), MJ Rwigema (Editor), Between the Lines
Kids
Cosmic Wonder: Our Place in the Epic Story of the Universe by Nathan Hellner-Mestelman, Linda Leith Publishing
I’m Hungry by Elise Gravel, Orca Book Publishers
City of Neighbors by Andrea Curtis (Author), Katy Dockrill (Illustrator), Groundwood Books
Tunnels of Time by Mary Harelkin Bishop, Coteau Books
The King of Jam Sandwiches by Eric Walters, 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, 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. August is a quieter month in sales and so we see more old favourites, particularly in the children’s list and in fiction.
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