News

November 2022

23/11/2022
Mariam Pirbhai’s Isolated Incident reviewed by Quill & Quire. Read here.

22/11/2022
Laila Re’s Nila the Bleeding Garden reviewed by Maryse’s Book Blog. Read here.

October 2022

30/10/2022
Rima Elkouri interviewed by CBC Books. Read here.

17/10/2022
Isolated Incident and Mariam Pirbhai featured on the Muslim Network TV. Watch here.

17/10/2022
Isolated Incident and Mariam Pirbhai featured in the Record. Read here.

01/10/2022
Toronto, I Love You reviewed by Emily Breitkopf at the Ampersand Review. Read here.

September 2022

01/09/2022
Isolated Incident and Nila: The Bleeding Garden listed in CBC Book‘s list of “65 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in fall 2022.” Read here.

August 2022

17/08/2022
Isolated Incident listed in Quill & Quire‘s Fall fiction preview. Read here.

12/08/2022
Toronto, I Love You reviewed by the Toronto Star. “[Leclair] helps us see the city with fresh eyes[.]” Read here.

04/08/2022
Fareh Malik interviewed by CBC on his poetry collection, Streams that Lead Somewhere, and his RBC/PEN Canada New Voices Award win. Read here.

July 2022

25/07/2022
Manam listed on the Scotiabank Giller Prize’s “Craving CanLit 2022” list. Read here.

11/07/2022
de book of Joseph reviewed by the Hamilton Review of Books. Read here.

04/07/2022
Toronto, I Love You reviewed by Montreal Review of Books, called a “deeply nuanced portrait of society.” Read here.

June 2022

15/06/2022
Reminders on the Path reviewed by Minola Review. Read here.

01/06/2022
de book of Joseph included by CBC Books in their list of books to read for June. Read here.

01/06/2022
Sheniz Janmohamed (Reminders on the Path) interviewed by Pearl Pirie on her blog. Read here.

May 2022

31/05/2022
Leslie Roach (Finish that Sentence) interviewed by Pearl Pirie on her blog. Read here.

31/05/2022
Toronto, I Love You reviewed by The Miramichi Reader. Read here.

31/05/2022
Any Girl reviewed by Quill & Quire. Read here.

24/05/2022
H Nigel Thomas awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize (Arts)! Read here.

23/05/2022
Interdisciplinary artist 8ULENTINA released an EP named after a section from Trish Salah’s Wanting in Arabic, “Hysteria of Origins”. Read more about the EP here.

17/05/2022
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar reviewed by Wasafiri.

13/05/2022
Caroline van Rooyen (Any Girl) interviewed by the Beaumont News. Read here.

03/05/2022
searching for eastman shortlisted for the ReLit Award for poetry! Read here.

03/05/2022
Toronto, I Love You listed by CBC Books as one of “40 Canadian books coming out in May we can’t wait to read.” Read here.

April 2022

12/04/2022
An excerpt from Any Girl is on Open Book. Read here.

08/04/2022
Where the Baedeker Leads listed as one of “22 debut Canadian poetry collections to read for National Poetry Month” by CBC Books. Read here.

March 2022

07/03/2022
Reminders on the Path reviewed by Canthius magazine. Read here.

01/03/2022
Reminders on the Path reviewed by The Temz Review. Read here.

February 2022

22/02/2022
Terry Watada (The Game of 100 Ghosts, The Four Sufferings) spoke to CBC Ideas about Japanese Internment. Read here.

07/02/2022
Rana Bose, author of The Fourth Canvas, shares an extended conversation with H Nigel Thomas about his recently published collection of poetry, The Voyage, for Montréal Serai. Watch here.

05/02/2022
Terry Watada, author of The Four Sufferings and The Game of 100 Ghosts, interviewed by The New Quarterly about his poetry. Read here.

03/02/2022
In the Bowl of My Eye and de book of Joseph listed in CBC Books‘ Spring Poetry preview. Read here.

January 2022

12/01/2022
Toronto, I Love You listed in Quill & Quire‘s Spring preview. Read here.

11/01/2022
Toronto, I Love You listed in CBC Books‘ Spring Fiction preview. Read here.

December 2021

19/12/2021
Malaria Memoirs reviewed in The Citizen. Read here.

13/12/2021
Sheniz Janmohamed talks to author Shilpa Agarwal of Rukus Avenue Radio, an exclusive South Asian radio station, about her new book. Listen here.

12/12/2021
Malaria Memoirs reviewed in The Star (Kenya’s daily paper) by Dr Makokha, Professor of Literature and Theatre at Kenyatta University. Read here.

07/12/2021
charles c smith (Searching for Eastman) interviewed by CBC’s The Next Chapter. Listen here.

01/12/2021
Leslie Roach has a new poem published on Anvil Tongue Books’ blog. Read here.

November 2021

29/11/2021
Searching for Eastman by charles c smith listed by CBC Books in their Gift Guide as one of “20 books for the music lover on your holiday shopping list.” Read here.

25/11/2021
Searching for Eastman by charles c smith reviewed in the Toronto Star. Read here.

24/11/2021
H Nigel Thomas named a recipient of the Judy Mappin Community Award for his contributions to English-language literature in Quebec. Read here.

24/11/2021
Sheniz Janmohamed (Reminders on the Path, Firesmoke, Bleeding Light) appointed U of T Scarborough’s 2022 writer-in-residence. Read here.

17/11/2021
Manam (Rima Elkouri) and The Voyage (H Nigel Thomas) both reviewed in the Fall issue of the Montreal Review of Books.

05/11/2021
Murray Hogben (Minarets on the Horizon) sat down for an extended conversation with Prof Shobhana Xavier for the New Books Network. Read here.

03/11/2021
All Lit Up featured Thorsten Nesch and Rima Elkouri for their NaNoWrimo column. Read here.

October 2021

22/10/2021
A poetry collection curated by James Yékú (Where the Baedeker Leads) and Jumoke Verissimo on the protest writings that have emerged in response to the police brutality taking place in Nigeria was featured in Brittle Paper. Read here.

21/10/2021
Edem Awumey (Descent into Night, Mina Among the Shadows) is featured in the “Rock” episode of Writing the Land, the new CBC documentary about some of Canadian literature’s most exciting writers. Watch here.

21/10/2021
Malaria Memoirs, Zul Premji’s “rags-to-research” story about his lifelong journey as a malaria expert, is reviewed by the Literary Review of Canada. Read here.

15/10/2021
Professor Toyin Falola reviewed James Yékú’s collection Where the Baedeker Leads in the New Times. Read here.

01/10/2021
Mohineet Kaur Boparai’s Polychromasia reviewed in the forthcoming fall issue of Herizons Magazine: “Polychromasia furthers the poet’s goal of challenging the reader to actively create their own meaning.”

01/10/2021
Natasha Ramoutar’s Bittersweet reviewed in Arc Poetry Magazine: “These collections honour multiple geographies and generations and their generosity bestows knowledge and compassion as headwaters for perception, belonging, justice, and action.”

01/10/2021
Leslie Roach’s Finish this Sentence reviewed in Arc Poetry Magazine: “If you’re Black and you’ve ever needed to hear, ‘you’re not crazy’ while allowing yourself madness, if you’ve ever needed to be shown scars that mirror your own, there is space for you in Finish this Sentence.”

September 2021

29/09/2021
“Indigenous inexplicitus” from Ayaz Pirani’s Kabir’s Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets is a featured poem on The League of Canadian Poets’s website. Read here.

26/09/2021
Congratulations to Joseph Dandurand, author of SH:LAM, on winning the 2021 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Literary Excellence! Read here.

17/09/2021
Read two poems—”Traveler” and “Take a Knee”—from James Yékú’s Where the Baedeker Leads on the All Lit Up blog. Read here.

16/09/2021
James Yékú talks about his new collection Where the Baedeker Leads and his philosophy of poetry in interview with The University of Kansas News. Read here.

15/09/2021
Indo Caribbean World calls Natasha Ramoutar’s Bittersweet a “Diaspora Must Read.” Read here.

08/09/2021
Sheniz Janmohamed reads “Rift Valley Song” from her forthcoming collection Reminders on the Path for All Lit Up’s “Poetry in Motion” series. Watch here.

02/09/2021
The Voyage is selected as one of 49th Shelf’s “On Our Radar” picks. Read here.

02/09/2021
The Youth of God by Hassan Ghedi Santur is one of 49th Shelf‘s “Quick Hits” picks. Read here.

01/09/2021
The Festival of Literary Diversity team has chosen Choosing Hope by Munira Premji for their September reading challenge, which highlights authors living with chronic illnesses. Read here.

01/09/2021
searching for eastman by charles c. smith is an All Lit Up staff pick for the fall. Read here.

01/09/2021
The titular story of Arrival of the Snake-Woman, by Olive Senior, is first on The Guardian‘s recommended list of top 10 magical short stories. Read here.

01/09/2021
If you missed it, you can now watch the talk that the Canadian Council of Muslim Women recently hosted for Murray Hogben’s new book, Minarets on the Horizon. Watch here.

August 2021

31/08/2021
The Journal of West Indian Culture pays tribute to H Nigel Thomas as one of the most important “Queeribbean” writers active today. Read the Twitter thread here.

24/08/2021
Reminders on the Path (Sheniz Janmohamed), searching for eastman (charles c smith), Where the Baedeker Leads (James Yeku), and The Voyage (H Nigel Thomas) listed by CBC, “45 Canadian poetry collections to watch for in fall 2021” Read here.

18/08/2021
Gavin Barrett (Understan) profiled by author Ed Seaward on his website. Read here.

12/08/2021
Manam by Rima Elkouri listed by CBC in list of “65 Canadian works of fiction to watch for in fall 2021.” Read here.

05/08/2021
James Yeku (Where the Baedeker Leads) interviewed by PRISM international. Read here.

July 2021

08/07/2021
Mina Among the Shadows reviewed by the Montreal Review of Books: “[A] unique blend of mystery, political commentary, and magic realism.” Read here.

08/07/2021
Minarets on the Horizon reviewed by Monia Mazigh in Rabble: “[A] relevant and timely reminder of the history of Muslim presence in Canada and the challenges and achievements that have accompanied this ongoing journey.” Read here.

08/07/2021
Natasha Ramoutar’s Bittersweet is paired with Grace Lau’s The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak in All Lit Up‘s recommendation of books that offer up fresh reflections on diasporic identity. Read here.

05/07/2021
Zul Premji, author of Malaria Memoirs, was interviewed by the People of Pathology Podcast. Listen here.

June 2021

21/06/2021
Uma Menon (Hands for Language) writes piece challenging critical race theory ban by Florida lawmakers. Read here.

21/06/2021
Feel Ways reviewed by Quill & Quire. Read here.

11/06/2021
Shaukat Ajmeri’s Keepers of the Faith recommended by Trillium book award nominee Farzana Doctor in the Toronto Star. Read here.

04/06/2021
Malaria Memoirs: My Life Journey as a Public Health Doctor is on CBC Books‘ “17 Canadian books coming out in June we can’t wait to read” list. Read here.

May 2021

13/05/2021
Adrian De Leon, one of the editors of FEEL WAYS, is interviewed by Open Book on the creative process of assembling the celebrated new anthology of Scarborough stories. Read here.

April 2021

27/04/2021
Yolk Literary Journal recently sat down with author Edem Awumey and translators Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott (Mina Among the Shadows) for a thoughtful conversation on the intimacy involved in translation, the role of technology in their workflow, and easiest ways to begin learning French. Listen here.

21/04/2021
Shaukat Ajmeri’s Keepers of the Faith reviewed by the Berkeley Beacon. Read here.

08/04/2021
Poet L. Kiew reads Yaya Yao’s “english” from flesh, tongue as a part of a new project called “I Know That is Poetry,” curated by London-based group Corrupted Poetry. Watch here.

08/04/2021
Leslie Roach interviewed by All Lit Up, where she talks about Finish This Sentence and how it has served as “declaration, rebellion, and empowerment. Read here.

06/04/2021
Natasha Ramoutar and Bittersweet have made the longlist for the 2021 Gerald Lampert Memorial Award in a year of strong entries. Read here.

01/04/2021
Natasha Ramoutar, author of Bittersweet and co-editor of FEEL WAYS, has been named by the Toronto International Festival of Authors as one of eight rising literary stars in Canada. Read here.

March 2021

31/03/2021
Elizabeth Allua Vaah appeared at a reading series hosted by the Writers Project of Ghana and Goethe-Institut Ghana, reading from Maame and discussing religion, gender, and folklore. Watch here.

31/03/2021
Waiting for the Rain by Lamees Al Ethari reviewed in Herizons.

25/03/2021
Shadows of the Crimson Sun by Julia Lin reviewed in Taipei Times. Read here.

22/03/2021
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar featured by Daniel Scott Tysdal for his column in Open Book. Read here.

21/03/2021
Olive Senior (Arrival of the Snake-Woman) named Jamaica’s new Poet Laureate! Read here.

20/03/2021
Leslie Roach (Finish this Sentence) interviewed by CBC’s Adrian Harewood for Our Ottawa as part of its International Women’s Day project. Listen here.

08/03/2021
Leslie Roach (Finish this Sentence) interviewed for CBC’s In Her Words digital conversation series. Read here.

03/03/2021
Thorsten Nesch appeared on Douglas Coleman’s radio show to talk about My Totem Came Calling. Read here.

02/03/2021
Audiofile Magazine reviewed the audiobook of Kagiso Lesego Molope’s This Book Betrays My Brother (available from ECW Press), and awarded it their Earphones Award. Read here.

02/03/2021
Rouge by Adrian De Leon reviewed by University of Toronto Quarterly. Read here.

02/03/2021
Natasha Kanapé Fontaine and Joséphine Bacon covered in University of Toronto Quarterly. Read here (en français).

01/03/2021
Uma Menon’s Hands for Language reviewed by Rungh. Read here.

01/03/2021
Mawenzi House publisher Nurjehan Aziz profiled in Quill and Quire, celebrating 40 years of championing literary diversity. Read here.

February 2021

25/02/2021
Munira Premji, author of Choosing Hope, spotlighted by Myeloma Canada. Read here.

18/02/2021
Finish this Sentence by Leslie Roach listed by CBC Books in their list of “25 books by Black Canadian authors to read in 2021.” Read here.

17/02/2021
H Nigel Thomas (When the Bottom Falls Out) and Téa Mutonji (Feel Ways) were both interviewed by CBC Ideas for a two-part series called Behind the Lines. Listen here.

16/02/2021
Uma Menon (Hands for Language) named a 2021 YoungArts winner. Read here.

06/02/2021
H Nigel Thomas (When the Bottom Falls out) interviewed by Nantali Indongo on CBC’s The Bridge. Listen here.

05/02/2021
Kabir’s Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets by Ayaz Pirani reviewed in Arc Poetry Magazine. Read here.

04/02/2021
Leslie Roach’s poetry collection Finish this Sentence has been recommended by the Festival of Literary Diversity as one of their February reads. Read here.

02/02/2021
Natasha Ramoutar (Bittersweet, Feel Ways) wrote an essay, “I Was a Teenage Beauty Pageant Loser,” for The Walrus, describing her experience losing a beauty pageant as a teenager. Read here.

02/02/2021
Maame by Elizabeth Allua Vaah and Finish This Sentence by Leslie Roach both featured on All Lit Up’s Black History Month reading list. Read here.

January 2021

27/01/2021
Elizabeth Allua Vaah wrote an essay for Black History Month, urging her employers and colleagues at TD Bank to reflect on questions of racial justice. Read here.

26/01/2021
Adrian De Leon (Rouge) interviewed for a Rolling Stone feature on Netflix’s reality show Bling Empire. Read here.

26/01/2021
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar reviewed in Quill & Quire, praising Ramoutar’s “especially skilled use of internal rhymes.” Read here.

21/01/2021
Leslie Roach (Finish This Sentence) appeared on CBC’s Ottawa Morning to share her thoughts on Amanda Gorman. Listen here.

21/01/2021
Elizabeth Allua Vaah wrote on the significance of the word “maame” (meaning “mother”), and why she chose it for the title of her short story collection, in an interview with Open Book. Read here.

19/01/2021
Maame by Elizabth Allua Vaah featured on The African Book Review. Read here.

17/01/2021
Message Sticks by Joséphine Bacon listed by BBC Radio 4’s Open Book on their weekly book list. Read here.

12/01/2021
An excerpt from Mina Among the Shadows by Edem Awumey is now on Open Book! Read here.

10/01/2021
Terry Watada (The Four Sufferings) profiled by the Vancouver Bulletin. Read here.

06/01/2021
Elizabeth Allua Vaah’s short story collection Maame has been recommended by the Festival of Literary Diversity as one of their January reads. Read here.

04/01/2021
Lamees Al Ethari’s memoir, Waiting for the Rain, featured The Record. Read here.

December 2020

27/12/2020
Joseph A Dandurand, author of SH:LAM, interviewed by rob mclennan . Read here.

08/12/2020
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar listed in CBC’s round-up of “The best Canadian poetry of 2020.” Read here.

November 2020

26/11/2020
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar included in 49th Shelf’s list of “2020 Poetry Delights.” Read here.

25/11/2020
Natasha Ramoutar interviewed by Page Fright Podcast. Listen here.

21/11/2020
Bittersweet by Natasha Ramoutar reviewed in Canthius, called “superb.” Read here.

17/11/2020
Ayaz Pirani, author of Kabir’s Jacket Has a Thousand Pockets, interviewed by rob mclennan . Read here.

17/11/2020
Hands for Language by Uma Menon reviewed by Kirkus Reviews. Read here.

16/11/2020
Such a Lonely, Lovely Road by Kagiso Lesego Molope reviewed by Herizons, called “a beautiful love story.” Order the issue here.

08/11/2020
Natasha Ramoutar interviewed by Manahil Bandukwala in Canthius. Read here.

October 2020

20/10/2020
Understan by Gavin Barrett reviewed by Patrick Connors at the League of Canadian Poets. Read here.

08/10/2020
Publisher Nurjehan Aziz named to the 2020 Ivy Award, presented by the Toronto International Festival of Authors. Read here.

02/10/2020
The Youth of God by Hassan Ghedi Santur reviewed in Africa is a Country. Read here.

01/10/2020
Hands for Language by Uma Menon reviewed in Ruminate Magazine. Read here.

September 2020

23/09/2020
Natasha Ramoutar’s Bittersweet listed as one of “37 Canadian poetry collections to watch for in fall 2020” by CBC Books. Read here.

23/09/2020
Leslie Roach’s Finish this Sentence listed as one of “37 Canadian poetry collections to watch for in fall 2020” by CBC Books. Read here.

14/09/2020
Blueberries and Apricots and SH:LAM reviewed in Wasafiri.

August 2020

29/08/2020
Joseph A Dandurand’s SH:LAM reviewed in Canadian Literature. Read here.

29/08/2020
My Totem Came Calling and Such a Lonely, Lovely Road reviewed in Canadian Literature. Read here.

17/08/2020
Munira Premji’s Choosing Hope reviewed by India Currents, called “an inspiration.” Read here.

July 2020

23/07/2020
Hands for Language by Uma Menon reviewed by India Currents. Read here.

10/07/2020
Hands for Language by Uma Menon included in Ms Magazine‘s “July 2020 Reads for the Rest of Us.” Read here.

09/07/2020
Maame by Elizabeth Vaah included in 49th Shelf‘s “Most Anticipated: Our 2020 Fall Fiction Preview” Read here.

09/07/2020
Mina Among the Shadows by Edem Awumey (translated by Phyllis Aronoff and Howard Scott) included in 49th Shelf‘s “Most Anticipated: Our 2020 Fall Fiction Preview” Read here.

June 2020

14/06/2020
My Totem Came Calling by Blessing Musariri and Thorsten Nesch is a star selection in Best Books for Kids and Teens. Read here.

10/06/2020
Understan by Gavin Barrett included in CBC Books list of 12 Canadian books coming out in June to check out. Read here.

May 2020

08/05/2020
Munira Premji contributed to Nursing the World to Health, a blog post by Toronto International Festival of Authors. Read here.

April 2020

30/04/2020
Keepers of the Faith by Shaukat Ajmeri included in Great Literary Getaways list on 49th Shelf. Read here.

27/04/2020
Hassan Ghedi Santur chatted with Toronto WOTS on Twitter about The Youth of God. Read here.

20/04/2020
Kagiso Lesego Molope helped the Institute for African Studies at Carleton University celebrate 10 years. Read here.

16/04/2020
Shaukat Ajmeri answered a Q&A and read from his debut novel, Keepers of the Faith, for 49th Shelf’s Launchpad series. Read here.

16/04/2020
Tehmina Khan wrote a guest post on Borderless Journal about her experiences with COVID-19. Read here.

14/04/2020
Keepers of the Faith by Shaukat Ajmeri chosen as an Editors’ Pick on 49th Shelf. Read here.

06/04/2020
Rouge by Adrian De Leon featured during DiscoverVerse, a poetry month celebration on All Lit Up. Read here.

March 2020

10/03/2020
SH:LAM by Joseph A. Dandurand shortlisted for the 2019 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize (BC and Yukon Book Prizes). Read here.

February 2020

28/02/2020
My Totem Came Calling chosen as a Weekend Read on All Lit Up. Read here.

25/02/2020
Sohan S. Koonar interviewed by Anokhi Life on Paper Lions. Read here.

13/02/2020
Kagiso Lesego Molope’s Such a Lonely, Lovely Road mentioned in The Silhouette. Read here.

13/02/2020
Bethlehem Terrefe Gebreyohannes’ Fire Walkers mentioned in The Toronto Star. Read here.

13/02/2020
Hassan Ghedi Santur’s The Youth of God listed by CBC Books as one of “6 works of Canadian fiction to read for Black History Month 2020.” Read here.

12/02/2020
This Book Betrays My Brother reviewed by Canadian Literature, called “a beautifully written and absolutely haunting novel.” Read here.

07/02/2020
My Totem Came Calling listed by 49th Teachers as one of their Black History Month picks. Read here.

04/02/2020
Kagiso Lesego Molope listed by CBC Books as one of “Six Canadian writers of black heritage to watch in 2020.” Read here.

January 2020

27/01/2020
Then There Were No Witnesses reviewed by Himal Southasian, called “at once desperate and assertive, poignant and hopeful.” Read here.

25/01/2020
Ava Homa (Echoes from the Other Land) wrote an article in the Toronto Star. Read here.

20/01/2020
My Totem Came Calling reviewed by CM: Canadian Review of Materials, called “well-written with a good sense of voice.” Read here.

19/01/2020
Lamees Al Ethari interviewed by Open Book about her memoir, Waiting for the Rain. Read here.

13/01/2020
Cyril Dabydeen (Drums of My Flesh) has won the Canute A Brodhurst Prize for best short fiction in The Caribbean Writer Volume 33, for “How Far Do We Go?” Read here.

10/01/2020
Joseph A Dandurand interviewed by Shelagh Rogers for The Next Chapter. Listen here.

08/01/2020
The Youth of God by Hassan Ghedi Santur longlisted for Canada Reads! Read here.