Service Alert
Delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
You may experience a delay in delivery of Direct to Player materials. All requests for materials will be delivered as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Showing 1 - 20 of 25826 items
The highly anticipated annual anthology of the best Canadian and international poetry. Each year, the best books of poetry published…
in English internationally and in Canada are honoured with the Griffin Poetry Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious and richest literary awards. Since 2001 this annual prize has tremendously spurred interest in and recognition of poetry, focusing worldwide attention on the formidable talent of poets writing in English and works in translation. Each year The Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology features the work of the extraordinary poets shortlisted for the awards and introduces us to some of the finest poems in their collections.By Susan Doherty. 2019
For the past ten years, some of the people who cycle in and out of the severely ill wards of…
the Douglas Institute in Montreal, have found a friend in Susan, who volunteers on the ward, and then follows her friends out into the world as they struggle to get through their days. With their full cooperation, she brings us their stories, which challenge the ways we think about people with mental illness on every page. The spine of the book is the life of Caroline Evans (not her real name), a woman in her early sixties whom Susan has known since she was a bright and sunny school girl. Caroline has given Susan complete access to her medical files and her court records; through her, we experience what living with schizophrenia over time is really like. She has been through it all, including the way the justice system treats the severely mentally ill: at one point, she believed that she could save her roommate from the devil by pouring boiling water into her ear ... Susan interleaves Caroline's story with vignettes about her other friends, human stories that reveal their hopes, their circumstances, their personalities, their humanity. She's found that if she can hang in through the first ten to fifteen minutes of every coffee date with someone in the grip of psychosis, then true communication results. Their "madness" is not otherworldly: instead it tells us something about how they're surviving their lives and what they've been through. Winner of the 2019 Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction (QWF). 2019.By Alex Trebek. 2020
A RECOMMENDED SUMMER READ BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY, TIME, AND NEWSWEEK Longtime Jeopardy! host and television icon…
Alex Trebek reflects on his life and career.Since debuting as the host of Jeopardy! in 1984, Alex Trebek has been something like a family member to millions of television viewers, bringing entertainment and education into their homes five nights a week. Last year, he made the stunning announcement that he had been diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. What followed was an incredible outpouring of love and kindness. Social media was flooded with messages of support, and the Jeopardy! studio received boxes of cards and letters offering guidance, encouragement, and prayers. For over three decades, Trebek had resisted countless appeals to write a book about his life. Yet he was moved so much by all the goodwill, he felt compelled to finally share his story. “I want people to know a little more about the person they have been cheering on for the past year,” he writes in The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life. The book combines illuminating personal anecdotes with Trebek’s thoughts on a range of topics, including marriage, parenthood, education, success, spirituality, and philanthropy. Trebek also addresses the questions he gets asked most often by Jeopardy! fans, such as what prompted him to shave his signature mustache, his insights on legendary players like Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, and his opinion of Will Ferrell’s Saturday Night Live impersonation. The book uses a novel structure inspired by Jeopardy!, with each chapter title in the form of a question, and features dozens of never-before-seen photos that candidly capture Trebek over the years. This wise, charming, and inspiring book is further evidence why Trebek has long been considered one of the most beloved and respected figures in entertainment. Bestseller.By Emma Hansen. 2020
“Still is one of those rare books that catches you up and does not let you go. With grace, courage,…
and honesty, Emma Hansen adds an important voice to this tragic and too-often silenced subject. I loved this book.” —Beth Powning, author of Shadow Child: An Apprenticeship in Love and Loss A moving, candid account of one woman’s experience with stillbirth.Emma Hansen is 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant when she feels her baby go quiet inside of her. At the hospital, her worst fears are confirmed: doctors explain that her baby has died, and she will need to deliver him, still.Hansen gives birth to her son, Reid, amidst an avalanche of grief. Nine days later, she publishes a candid essay on her website sharing photos from the delivery room. Much to her surprise, her essay goes viral, sparking positive reactions around the world. Still shares what comes next: a struggle with grief and confusion alongside a desire to better understand stillbirth, which is experienced by more than two million women annually, but rarely talked about in public.At once honest, brave, and uplifting, Still is about one woman’s search for her own definition of motherhood, even as she faces one of life’s greatest challenges: learning to live after loss.By Avis Lang, Neil DeGrasse Tyson. 2019
“Extraordinary.… A feast of history, an expert tour through thousands of years of war and conquest.” —Jennifer Carson, New York…
Times Book Review In this far-reaching foray into the millennia-long relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and co-author Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. Spanning early celestial navigation to satellite-enabled warfare, Accessory to War is a richly researched and provocative examination of the intersection of science, technology, industry, and power that will introduce Tyson’s millions of fans to yet another dimension of how the universe has shaped our lives and our world.By Sarah Ratchford. 2021
According to the World Health Organization, one in three women will be sexually or physically assaulted in her lifetime. These…
rates are very similar for non-binary people and other feminized people, too. This is rape culture, and young adults are living through it here and now. Fired Up about Consent is a practical, survivor-informed primer for young people who want to learn how to build joyful, mutually satisfying sex lives and relationships. In these pages, author Sarah Ratchford defines rape and sexual assault, busts the myths behind toothless messaging and outdated advice, and provides sex-positive scripts on how to ask for and offer a clear, enthusiastic, and freely given “Yes!” Along the way, Ratchford touches on topics such as #MeToo, gender identity, masturbation, virginity, porn, sex work, reporting assault, and more, all through a radically inclusive and intersectional lens. The message is loud and clear: not only is consent sexy, it’s mandatory—and everyone deserves frank and empowering literacy around it. Only with empathy, compassion, and resistance can we move forward into a new culture of consent.By Ian Arthur Cameron. 2007
Quarantine, What is Old is New by Ian Arthur Cameron, MD, Historian and medical doctor Cameron has produced a gripping…
history of quarantine in Canada, the forgotten story of the men and women who worked to save lives and protect the citizens of this land.A story of the early years of immigration to Canada, and of marine transportation with wooden ships sailing reluctantly into the age of steam. It also details significant aspects of the history of Canada, Nova Scotia and Halifax, and recounts the story of contagious disease in the 19th-20th Centuries. But it is much more than the past, dealing with the future of dread diseases we face today, including SARS, West Nile fever, and the feared influenza pandemics, such as those possible with the latest swine flu (H1N1) or potential bird flu (H5N1). Also contains extensive appendices, medical definitions, and is indexed for history and medicineBy Jude Avery. 2019
This manuscript is a culmination of years of effort to reveal a “lost chapter” in Canadian and Maritime history, a…
story that began with a Mi’kmaq and Basque seasonal presence on the NS Eastern Shore as early as the Sixteenth Century, followed by a permanent settlement of Chezzetcook Acadian families in the latter part of the Eighteenth. Did you know Samuel de Champlain visited Tor Baie, Guysborough Co, NS in 1607 before sailing up the St. Lawrence River to found Quebec City the following year? Discover the Acadian Awakening in Nova Scotia and its connections to the “quiet revolution” in Quebec, the first Acadian premier of New Brunswick, and on the federal scene, the emergence of the “Three Wise Men” who changed national perspectives on bilingualism and multiculturalism in Canada forever. It is also hoped that this book will entice readers to visit these “forgotten shores” to uncover a wealth of information at the unique “Parc de Nos Ancêtres” Commemorative Park in Larry’s River, and “Place Savalette National Historic Site”, in Port Félix, Nova Scotia.By Ronald Caplan. 2021
In a winning new book, Pearleen Oliver: Canada's Black Crusader for Civil Rights brings to life a compassionate and passionate…
African Nova Scotian, the story of her growth and activism — a book that shows how one woman's voice changed the course of Nova Scotia's history. Pearleen Oliver pushed open doors that blocked Black girls from nurses' training. She kicked Little Black Sambo out of public schools. She was spokesperson for Viola Desmond's appeal of her 1946 conviction for challenging racist customs. A founder of the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People, the Black United Front and the Black Cultural Centre, she was the first female moderator of the African United Baptist Association, and a founder of the AUBA Women's Institute. Editor Ronald Caplan weaves Pearleen's voice from her interviews and speeches. We experience Pearleen's awareness of injustice as she grew up in segregated New Glasgow schools. A married woman, we see her outrage re-kindled by a bewildered teenager at her door who was barred from nurses' training by her skin colour. Pearleen began to speak out before civic and religious and community groups, Boards of Trade, Rotary luncheons, B'nai B'rith and Baptist services and nuclear disarmament conferences. Newspapers carried her voice?a voice of reason and determination and common sense — across the province, and then across Canada. While raising five sons and carrying on the duties of a minister's wife, Pearleen mentored young girls and women in summer camps, church groups, continuing education, and women's groups. She was the organist in her churches, and she wrote histories of Black communities. In this eye-opening book Pearleen Oliver tells stories of activist journalist Carrie Best who published Nova Scotia's first Black newspaper, of successful businesswoman Viola Desmond who was sidetracked by petty racism, of Black soldiers who fought Nazi racism in the Second World War and then came home to racial discrimination in Canada. This book keeps alive a determined fighter for social justice who should not be forgotten. Pearleen Oliver demonstrated what one person, one voice, can do.By National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. 2019
The National Inquiry’s Final Report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root…
cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA people. The two volume report calls for transformative legal and social changes to resolve the crisis that has devastated Indigenous communities across the country.By Benjamin Perrin. 2020
NATIONAL BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED for the 2021 BC Book Awards' George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in LiteratureSHORTLISTED for the BC and…
Yukon Book Prizes, for both the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize and Jim Deva Prize for Writing That ProvokesSHORTLISTED for the 2021 J. W. Dafoe Book Prize“Overdose is a necessary and searching investigation into a devastating epidemic that should never have happened. Benjamin Perrin painstakingly shows that it need not continue if we, as a society, heed the evidence.”—Gabor Maté M.D., author of In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters With AddictionAn astonishing and powerful look at the ongoing opioid crisis North America is in the middle of a health emergency. Life expectancies are declining. Someone is dying every two hours in Canada from illicit drug overdose. Fentanyl has become a looming presence—an opioid more powerful, pervasive, and deadly than any previous street drug. The victims are many—and often not whom we might expect. They include the poor and forgotten but also our neighbours: professionals, students, and parents. Despite the thousands of deaths, these victims have remained largely invisible. But not anymore. Benjamin Perrin, a law and policy expert, shines a light in this darkest of corners—and his findings challenge many assumptions about the crisis. Why do people use drugs despite the risk of overdosing? Can we crack down on the fentanyl supply? Do supervised consumption sites and providing “safe drugs” enable the problem? Which treatments work? Would decriminalizing all drugs help or do further harm? In this urgent and humane look at a devastating epidemic, Perrin draws on behind-the-scenes interviews with those on the frontlines, including undercover police officers, intelligence analysts, border agents, prosecutors, healthcare professionals, Indigenous organizations, activists, and people who use drugs. Not only does he unveil the many complexities of this situation, but he also offers a new way forward—one that may save thousands of lives.By Kirsteen MacLeod. 2021
By Drew Hayden Taylor, Richard Wagamese. 2021
By Joel A. Sutherland. 2020
The tenth book in the bestselling series of hauntingly true Canadian stories - back, and scarier than ever! Even more…
chilling ghost stories from all across our spooky land. Moody black-and-white illustrations and photographs enhance the hauntingly eerie read. In Victoria, British Columbia, the spirit of a killer haunts Fan Tan Alley. The ghost of a little girl with long dark hair inhabits a hockey arena in Canmore, Alberta. Mysterious knocking at the door of a home in Halifax, Nova Scotia, signals the start of a series of strange happenings. With its first volume published in 2002, the Haunted Canada series is now an award winning ten-book series with over 400,000 copies in print. Kids can't get enough of these spooky tales that allow them to learn about the eeriest corners of our country. "JOEL A. SUTHERLAND IS QUICKLY BECOMING CANADA'S ANSWER TO R.L. STINE." - QUILL & QUIREBy Michelle Good. 2023
#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLERA bold, provocative collection of essays exploring the historical and contemporary Indigenous experience in Canada.With authority and insight,…
Truth Telling examines a wide range of Indigenous issues framed by Michelle Good’s personal experience and knowledge.From racism, broken treaties, and cultural pillaging, to the value of Indigenous lives and the importance of Indigenous literature, this collection reveals facts about Indigenous life in Canada that are both devastating and enlightening. Truth Telling also demonstrates the myths underlying Canadian history and the human cost of colonialism, showing how it continues to underpin modern social institutions in Canada.Passionate and uncompromising, Michelle Good affirms that meaningful and substantive reconciliation hinges on recognition of Indigenous self-determination, the return of lands, and a just redistribution of the wealth that has been taken from those lands without regard for Indigenous peoples.Truth Telling is essential reading for those looking to acknowledge the past and understand the way forward.By Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. 2015
The Final Report of Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its six-year investigation of the residential school system for Aboriginal…
youth and the legacy of these schools. This report, the summary volume, includes the history of residential schools, the legacy of that school system, and the full text of the Commission's 94 recommendations for action to address that legacy. This report lays bare a part of Canada's history that until recently was little-known to most non-Aboriginal Canadians. The Commission discusses the logic of the colonization of Canada's territories, and why and how policy and practice developed to end the existence of distinct societies of Aboriginal peoples. Using brief excerpts from the powerful testimony heard from Survivors, this report documents the residential school system which forced children into institutions where they were forbidden to speak their language, required to discard their clothing in favour of institutional wear, given inadequate food, housed in inferior and fire-prone buildings, required to work when they should have been studying, and subjected to emotional, psychological and often physical abuse. In this setting, cruel punishments were all too common, as was sexual abuse. More than 30,000 Survivors have been compensated financially by the Government of Canada for their experiences in residential schools, but the legacy of this experience is ongoing today. This report explains the links to high rates of Aboriginal children being taken from their families, abuse of drugs and alcohol, and high rates of suicide. The report documents the drastic decline in the presence of Aboriginal languages, even as Survivors and others work to maintain their distinctive cultures, traditions, and governance. The report offers 94 calls to action on the part of governments, churches, public institutions and non-Aboriginal Canadians as a path to meaningful reconciliation of Canada today with Aboriginal citizens.By Justene Dion-Glowa. 2022
The poems in Trailer Park Shakes are direct and vernacular, rooted in community—a working-class Métis voice rarely heard from. These…
poems, while dreamlike and playful, bear unflinching witness to the workings of injustice—how violence is channeled through institutions and refracted intimately between people, becoming intertwined with the full range of human experience, including care and love. Trailer Park Shakes is a book that seems to want to hold everything—an entire cross-section of lived experience—written by a poet whose courage, attention, and capacity to trace contradiction inspire trust in her words' embrace. Dion-Glowa's poems are quietly philosophical, with a heartfelt, self-possessed politic. "Dion-Glowa's voice crackles with frank, startling insight." — Sachiko Murakami, author of Render "A collection that should and will rattle your cage and shine a light where it is needed." — John Brady McDonald, author of KitotamBy Tyler Pennock. 2022
Blood follows a Two-Spirit Indigenous person as they navigate urbanity, queerness, and a kaleidoscope of dreams, memory, and kinship. Conceived…
in the same world as their acclaimed debut, Bones , Tyler Pennock's Blood centres around a protagonist who at first has difficulty knowing the difference between connection and pain, and we move with them as they explore what it means to want. Pennock weaves longing, intimacy, and Anishinaabe relationalities to recentre and rethink their speaker's relationship to the living—never forgetting non-human kin. This book is a look at how deep history is represented in the everyday; it also tries to answer how one person can challenge the impacts of that history. It is a reminder that Indigenous people carry the impacts of colonial history and wrestle with them constantly. Blood explores the relationships between spring and winter, ice and water, static things and things beginning to move, and what emerges in the thaw. "A music as sensitive as it is revelatory." — Canisia Lubrin, author of The DyzgraphxstBy Richard Wagamese. 2021
Richard Wagamese, one of Canada's most celebrated Indigenous authors and storytellers, was a writer of breathtaking honesty and inspiration. Always…
striving to be a better, stronger person, Wagamese shared his journey through writing, encouraging others to do the same. Following the success of Embers, which has sold almost seventy thousand copies since its release in 2016, this new collection of Wagamese's non-fiction works, with an introduction by Drew Hayden Taylor, brings together more of the prolific author's short writings, many for the first time in print, and celebrates his ability to inspire. Drawing from Wagamese's essays and columns, along with preserved social media and blog posts, this beautifully designed volume is a tribute to Wagamese's literary legacy