Here’s a round-up for today…

As most of you know, I’ve always been partial to the “pregnant belly” covers of The Birth House. So, when the cover proof for the upcoming US trade paperback from Harper Perennial arrived the other day, I placed it next to “the bellies” to see how I felt about it. And, now that I’ve seen it, up close and in person…I’m loving it! It’s fresh while still carrying a sense of historical depth – and, the font for the title, rocks. (I’m such a font junkie…)

As the nifty little widget to the lower right of this page says, the due date is October 9. (but you can always pre-order it from An Independent Bookseller, Barnes and Noble, or Amazon.com.)
A big THANKS to my readers in the US who picked up the book in hardcover and have already been spreading the word about the paperback to family, friends and book clubs!

Motherhood Unplugged

Between Interruptions: 30 Women tell the Truth About Motherhood, is a new collection of essays by Canadian mothers. I’m so glad writer and editor Cori Howard asked me to contribute a piece about my struggles with keeping track of time, and my fear of calling myself a “writer” after becoming a mother for the second time. The confessions that make up this bold collection range from raw to revelatory and it’s been a pleasure to dive into the words of other Canadian writer-moms like Christy Ann Conlin, Marina Jiminez, Karrina Onstad and others. It’s had some great reviews so far, including a starred review from Quill and Quire. Way to go, Cori!

Have you visited your local library lately?
If you live in Ontario, you’ve got yet another reason to go and check it out!
Voting for the 2007 Evergreen Award starts October 15 – so there’s still time to check out the titles that are on this year’s shortlist.
Nominees include:
Absolute Honour – C.C. Humphries
By The Time You Read This – Giles Blunt
Can You Hear The Nightbird Call – Anita Rau Badami
Causeway: A Passage from Innocence – Linden MacIntyre
Charles The Bold – Yves Beauchemin
Cockeyed: A Memoir – Ryan Knighton
Dream Wheels – Richard Wagamese
A Good Death – Gil Courtemanche
Still Life – Louise Penny
The Birth House – yours truly.

(I had the pleasure of hearing Anita, Linden and Louise read during the past year and they were amazing. And, knowing librarians as I do, I have no doubt that there’s something for everyone on the list!)

For descriptions of all the titles on this year’s list, please visit:
The OLA’s Evergreen Reading Award Page.