Twenty-first century metalheads; twelfth century troubadours and their female counterparts, the trobairitz—what could they possibly have in common?

True Mummy is a compelling drama, which presents provocative ideas and poses difficult questions connected to issues of life and death, morality and art, ritual versus utilitarianism, and the “opposing concepts of creation and desecration.”

Sharon McCartney addresses difficult, emotionally straining subjects head-on with strength, wonder and passion in this fine collection.

From birth, the child was locked away in a minuscule cell, at #804 of level 5969 of the Edifice. Around him … only concrete, without a view of the outside world. And two people: the tyrannical father, slowly killing himself; and the mother, fearing eviction. Unmoving in his roost, the child’s life will be disrupted by a transformation that will reveal an unexpected horizon.

The Underwood is a loss-of-innocence novel set in an atmosphere pervaded with nostalgia and a yearning for a bygone era. Holden Caulfield meets Barton Fink.

Unravel is Armstrong’s follow-up volume to her Governor General Award nominated debut collection, Bogman’s Music.

Mortician Mylène Andrews spends her days dealing with death, but has never quite figured out how to live. After her estranged mother passes away, adult-orphaned Mylène sets out in her hearse to see the graveyards her mother visited before her death, guided by a collection of unsent postcards and the residual wake of a tragedy long-considered buried.

In this, her ninth collection of poetry, Mari-Lou Rowley explores how we, as a species, have moved beyond our search for a union with the cosmos—in the spiritual sense—to the desire to conquer its mysteries and exploit its resources.

Valery the Great is a crackling, electric collection of dark humour that follows the bizarre and beautiful lives of its protagonists. Sometimes sweet and gentle, sometimes sharply sarcastic, the unique narrative voices in this collection are always powerfully touching.

We honour the chorus line behind the star performer, the mug in the mugshot, the victim in the murder, the teens in the gang, and the “slum” in the path of the bulldozer.

By focusing on the stories of the common people rather than community leaders and headliners, Vancouver Confidential shines a light on the lives of Vancouverites that have for so long been ignored.