The Hamilton Review of Books' Independently Published Bestsellers List: February 2025
Take a look at which independently published books Canadians are purchasing from independent bookstores.
March 27, 2025
Fiction
Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew, Arsenal Pulp Press
Bad Land by Corinna Chong, Arsenal Pulp Press
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice, ECW Press
No Credit River by Zoe Whittall, Book*hug Press
What I know About You by Éric Chacour (Author), Pablo Strauss (Translator), Coach House Books
Twilight of Echelon by Robert Pasternak (Artist), Blaize Moritz (Author), Alex Passey (Author), Lovern Kindzierski (Author), D.G. Valdron (Author), At Bay Press
Good Victory by Mikka Jacobsen, Freehand Books
The Rough Poets: Reading Oil-Worker Poetry edited by Melanie Dennis Unrau, McGill-Queen’s University Press
The Rasmussen Papers by Connie Gault, Thistledown Press
Norma by Sarah Mintz, Invisible Publishing
Nonfiction
A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer, University of Manitoba Press
Dangerous Memory: Coming of Age in the Decade of Greed by Charlie Angus, House of Anansi Press
On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy by Ira Wells, Biblioasis
The Audacity of Relevance: Critical Conversations on the Future of Arts and Culture by Alex Sarian, ECW Press
Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill by Catherine Tsalikis, House of Anansi Press
When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance by Katsi'tsakwas Ellen Gabriel, Sean Carleton, Pamela Palmater, Audra Simpson, Between the Lines
North of Nowhere: Song of a Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner by Marie Wilson, House of Anansi Press
Homegrown Radicals: A Story of State Violence, Islamophobia, and Jihad in the Post-9/11 World by Youcef Soufi, University of Regina Press
Outside In, Inside Out: Unleashing the Power of Business Strategy in Times of Market Uncertainty by Lance Mortlock, ECW Press
What a Farmer Wants You to Know About Food by Dennis Bulani, Ultimate Yield Press
Kids
Game Changers: Stories of Hijabi Athletes from around the World by Charlene Smith (Author), Shireen Ahmed (Foreword), Natalya Tariq (Illustrator), Orca Book Publishers
Raven’s Ribbons by Tasha Spillett (Author), Daniel Ramirez (Illustrator)
Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp, Annick Press
Today is Orange Shirt Day by Phyllis Webstad (Author), Natassia Davies (Illustrator), Medicine Wheel Publishing
Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett (Author), Natasha Donovan (Illustrator), Donovan Yaciuk (Illustrator), Highwater 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 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 February we’re starting to see the impact of Canada Reads, with some hold over from the stronger titles of 2024, along with many old favourites.
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