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Read Alberta Books

In case you missed it, November 7 was Alberta Book Day! This day shines a light on the outstanding book publishers in Alberta that contribute to the economy and culture of our province. Alberta Book Day may be over, but we’re keeping the recognition going! Below you will find titles from Alberta publishers that feature stories about Alberta or by Alberta authors.

Alberta publishers work hard every day to Tell Alberta’s Story— learn more about our publishers here and view other book lists and articles!

ALL THE WORLD’S A MALL
By Rinny Gremaud; Translated by Luise von Flotow

All the World’s a Mall details a whirlwind world tour in five stops: Edmonton, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, and Casablanca, chosen because they are home to some of the biggest malls on the planet. With a curious, critical, and sometimes ironic eye, Swiss journalist Rinny Gremaud recounts her travels to and through these fake gold and marble realms.

All the World's a Mall

Rinny Gremaud

Published: Sep 22, 2023 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772127126

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

FRANK
By Ben Rankel

This graphic is a historical mystery set in the tragedy of the Frank Slide, one of Canada’s deadliest natural disasters. Eve Lee is in a self-destructive spiral—her big plans for a new life in Frank have not at all turned out how she had planned. As Eve hits the bottom she’s forced to confront her expectations when her former lover disappears under questionable circumstances. But is there something sinister at play or is she simply being obsessive and self-centred? And will she be able to put her past behind her before she finds herself buried under it?

Frank

Ben Rankel (CA)

Published: Oct 17, 2018 by Renegade Arts Entertainment
ISBN: 9781988903354

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

WE NEED TO DO THIS
By Alexandra Zabjek

This is the story of Alberta women’s shelters. Based on in-depth interviews, We Need to Do This traces the evolution of a progressive social movement in a traditionally conservative province. These are stories of women whose voices may otherwise never have been heard: entry-level workers at fledgling shelters struggling to become established, small-town directors striving against negative assumptions, and Indigenous women fighting to serve their sisters in Indigenous spaces. It is a story of hope and survival for the women’s shelter movement and for the mothers, sisters, aunts, cousins, and daughters the ACWS continues to serve.

We Need to Do This: A History of the Women's Shelter Movement in Alberta and the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters

Alexandra Zabjek (CA)

Published: Sep 15, 2023 by University of Calgary Press
ISBN: 9781773854922

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

BLOOD RED SUMMER
By Wayne Arthurson

From award-winning author Wayne Arthurson, Blood Red Summer is a mystery novel which follows métis journalist Leo Desroches as he gets dragged between a deadly conflict between mining companies and a murderous Native street gang.

Blood Red Summer: A Leo Desroches Mystery

Wayne Arthurson (CA)

Published: May 15, 2016 by Eschia Books
ISBN: 9781926696270

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

THE RANGELAND DERBY
By Glen Mikkelsen

The Calgary Stampede’s Rangeland Derby brings together a unique community of men, women and horses for the toughest teamster competition in the world! Every summer, drivers and outriders with their horses and wagons have dashed, yelled and thundered around Calgary’s racetrack. Craving excitement and speed, cowboys and their horses have stoked their version of hell on wheels, creating an electrifying uniquely western event. This book takes its hat off to this incomparable contest and gallops into the lives, stories and true tall tales of the men and women in a community that has no equal.

Rangeland Derby, The: 100 Years of Chuckwagon Racing at the Calgary Stampede

Glen Mikkelsen (CA)

Published: Mar 01, 2023 by Folklore Publishing
ISBN: 9781773110134

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

BIRDS OF ALBERTA
By Chris Fisher and John Acorn

Discover the birds of Alberta! This illustrated field guide helps readers identify, understand, and appreciate the birds of Alberta. It contains full-colour illustrations and detailed descriptions of 388 species, with each account including information on size, status, habitat, and more.

Birds of Alberta

Chris Fisher (CA), John Acorn (CA)

Published: Jun 01, 1998 by Lone Pine Publishing
ISBN: 9781551051734

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

POURIN’ DOWN RAIN
By Cheryl Foggo

Cheryl Foggo came of age during the 1960s in Calgary, a time when a Black family walking down the street still drew stares from everyone they passed. As Cheryl explores her ancestry, what comes to light gives her the confidence to claim her place in the Canadian west as a proud Black woman. In this beautiful, moving work, she celebrates the Black experience and Black resiliency on the prairies.

Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West

Cheryl Foggo (CA)

Published: Jan 24, 2020 by Brush Education
ISBN: 9781550598339

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

KINK BANDS
By David Martin

In his second book of poems, David Martin digs deep into an examination of the world using the lens of geology. The collection veers from the Rocky Mountains and explorations of “fossilized” towns to family histories and myth-soaked theories, all while seeking a balance between disruptive poetic techniques and the centred lyrical voice.

Kink Bands

David Martin (CA)

Published: Sep 01, 2023 by NeWest Press
ISBN: 9781774390771

THE DEFINITION OF BEAUTIFUL
By Charlotte Bellows

The Definition of Beautiful is a stunning memoir of coming of age and recovering from anorexia in the 2020s from a Calgary-based author. In 2020, fourteen-year-old Charlotte’s lifelong drive to achieve ‘perfection’ distorts into an all-encompassing obsession. Living between the suffocating world of lockdown and an uncanny dreamscape inhabited by competing avatars, Charlotte faces a parade of masked faces in hospital rooms, the aftermath of first love, the erosion of lifelong friendship, and the agony of seeing her illness devastate her family as it threatens to destroy her; as the world reopens, she finds new connections and mentors, new joy, new ways of thinking, new ways to be.

The Definition of Beautiful: A Memoir

Charlotte Bellows (CA)

Published: Sep 01, 2023 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601460

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook

TRANSCRIBING MOONLIGHT
By Skylar Kay

Transcribing Moonlight by Skylar Kay, an emerging writer from Calgary, is a collection of autobiographical haibun which outlines the life of a trans woman from December 2018 to December 2019. The author explores the haibun form in a delightful manner, and, as the title may suggest, the moon is a point of focus for the collection, as the phases of the moon often match up and echo the phases and transitions of the narrator.

Transcribing Moonlight

Skylar Kay (CA)

Published: by Frontenac House Ltd.
ISBN: 9781989466346

MIDNIGHT STORM MOONLESS SKY
By Alex Soop

Blackfoot storyteller Alexander Soop plunges readers into a shocking well of imagination in his debut collection of short stories, Midnight Storm Moonless Sky. From hauntings on the Highway of Tears to fearful gatherings of ghosts and the sorrows of racism, Soop combines the social anxieties of Indigenous life with spellbinding flights and frights of speculative fiction.

Midnight Storm Moonless Sky: Indigenous Horror Stories

Alex Soop (CA)

Published: Oct 31, 2022 by Durvile Publications
ISBN: 9781990735127

RACISM IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA AND ANTI-RACIST ACTIVISM FOR CHANGE
Edited by Caroline Hodes and Glenda Tibe Bonifacio

Drawing on reflective personal narrative, experiential research, and critical theoretical engagement, this collection connects localized experiences with broader structural and systemic forms of intersectional racism. These detailed examinations of the various forms of racism faced by immigrants and Indigenous people living and working in Southern Alberta reveal how institutional racism continues to saturate modern Canadian culture and practice.

Racism in Southern Alberta and Anti-Racist Activism for Change

Published: Apr 18, 2023 by Athabasca University Press
ISBN: 9781778290008

Accessible icon: a stick person inside a circle. Available as an accessible eBook