{"id":40296,"date":"2025-08-01T21:32:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T21:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/40296\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T21:32:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T21:32:17","slug":"cbc-books-writers-to-watch-22-canadian-writers-making-their-mark-in-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/40296\/","title":{"rendered":"CBC Books&#8217; writers to watch: 22 Canadian writers making their mark in 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/cbcbooks.ca\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">CBC Books<\/a>\u00a0has announced this year&#8217;s list of writers to watch.<\/p>\n<p>Here are 22\u00a0Canadian writers on the rise in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Rose Sutherland<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with long dark curly hair is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rose-sutherland.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Rose Sutherland is the author of A Sweet Sting of Salt.  (Random House Canada)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rose Sutherland is a writer from Nova Scotia. She has a background as a p\u00e2tissier apprentice in France and is also an occasional bartender. She graduated from theatre school in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Her debut novel,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7316123\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A Sweet Sting of Salt<\/a>,\u00a0is a historical\u00a0novel set in the fictional town of Barquer&#8217;s Bay, N.S.,\u00a0in the nineteenth century. Jean, the local midwife, lives an isolated simple life in her cottage but all is set awry when she finds a woman in labour by the sea. After Jean helps Muirin deliver her child, the two grow affectionate towards one another.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Arley Nopra<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with long black hair is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/arley-nopra.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Arley Nopra is a Filipino comic creator based in Toronto. (Submitted by Arley Nopra)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Arley Nopra is a Filipino comic creator based in Toronto.\u00a0She has adapted and illustrated the Baby-Sitters Club books\u00a0Claudia and the Bad Joke\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7476114\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mallory and the Trouble with Twins<\/a>. She previously worked as the colorist for the second and third Dragon Prince graphic novels. Nopra\u00a0says she&#8217;s\u00a0drawn to stories that explore themes of love, resilience\u00a0and self-discovery.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Her latest, <a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7476114\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mallory and the Trouble with Twins<\/a>, follows babysitter Mallory who\u00a0is confident in her\u00a0skills\u00a0after years of caring for her seven younger siblings.\u00a0But when she starts watching the Arnold twins, Marilyn and Carolyn, she quickly realizes they&#8217;re more trouble than she expected.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ruth Chan<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"An Asian woman is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ruth-chan.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Ruth Chan is the author of Uprooted.  (www.ohtruth.com )<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ruth Chan is a writer and illustrator of comics and children&#8217;s books from Toronto. Her previous children&#8217;s books include\u00a0Thank You, Neighbor!,\u00a0Caboose\u00a0by Travis Jonker and\u00a0Rick the Rock of Room 214\u00a0by Julie Falatko. Chan currently lives in New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her debut graphic memoir\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7289183\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Uprooted<\/a>, Ruth Chan leaves Toronto for Hong Kong with her family after her father gets a new job. Ruth is devastated to leave the city that she loves, and although the rest of her family fit right in once they arrive, Ruth doesn&#8217;t. Ruth slowly adapts and sets down roots in Hong Kong with the knowledge that\u00a0home will\u00a0be where her heart is.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Ruth Chan talks about her graphic memoir Uprooted on The Next Chapter:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Next ChapterUprooted: Ruth Chan reflects on what it was like moving from Toronto to Hong Kong as a teen<\/p>\n<p>Teri Vlassopoulos<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman wearing black framed glasses is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/teri-vlassopoulos.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Teri Vlassopoulos is a Toronto-based author.  (www.terivlassopoulos.com)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Teri Vlassopoulos is the author of the short story collection\u00a0Bats or Swallows,\u00a0which was nominated for the Danuta Gleed Literary Award, and the novel\u00a0Escape Plans. Her work has been published in\u00a0Room Magazine, Catapult, The Millions and her regular Substack newsletter, Bibliographic. She lives in Toronto.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Her latest,\u00a0Living Expenses,\u00a0tells the story of sisters Laura and Claire, the daughters of a single mother who immigrated from the Philippines. Their close bond is put to the test when Claire moves to Silicon Valley for a new job while Laura stays in Toronto and decides to start a family with her husband. While Laura undergoes fertility treatments, Claire has her own run-in with the industry\u00a0\u2014 and the sisters experience a rollercoaster of feelings, both together and apart.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Tuesday afternoon book club talks to Teri Vlassopoulos:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here and Now TorontoTuesday afternoon book club talks to Teri Vlassopoulos<\/p>\n<p>Su Chang<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\" A book cover that has a graphic of a woman shown in profile from the shoulders up, wearing a black mandarin collar jacket. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/the-immortal-woman-by-su-chang.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>The Immortal Woman is a book by Su Chang.  (House of Anansi Press)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Su Chang\u00a0is a Chinese Canadian writer born and raised in Shanghai. She uses a pen name.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7415597\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Immortal Woman<\/a>\u00a0is her debut novel. Her writing has been recognized in numerous contests, including Prairie Fire&#8217;s Short Fiction Contest, the Master Review&#8217;s Novel Excerpt Contest and the Canadian Authors Association Toronto National Writing Contest, among the others.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In <a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7415597\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Immortal Woman<\/a>, Lemei&#8217;s daughter, Lin, struggles with distancing herself from her Chinese heritage while studying in America. At the same time, she is taken aback by her mother&#8217;s increasing nationalism toward China \u2014 this shift is especially surprising considering her mother had once been a student Red Guard leader who had witnessed the atrocities of the Tiananmen Square protests.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Rachel Phan<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with long black hair is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/rachel-phan.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/> Rachel Phan is the author of Restaurant Kid.  (Submitted by Rachel Phan )<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Rachel Phan\u00a0is a Toronto-based writer. Her work has been featured in the HuffPost, CBC, the National Post and\u00a0Maclean&#8217;s. She holds a\u00a0Master of Journalism from the\u00a0Toronto Metropolitan University.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Three decades after her family&#8217;s restaurant opened, Rachel Phan&#8217;s parents are considering retirement. In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7458235\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Restaurant Kid<\/a>, Phan reflects on this milestone and shares her experience growing up as the daughter of Chinese immigrants, from living with parents who were building a new life to navigating the challenges of being the only Chinese girl at school.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Rachel Phan\u00a0on The Current:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The CurrentWhat it\u2019s like growing up as a \u2018restaurant kid\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Emma Knight<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A white woman with red hair looks at the camera against a red background.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/emma-knight.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.903225806451613\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Emma Knight is the author of The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus. (Caitlin Cronenberg)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Emma Knight is an author, journalist and entrepreneur based in Toronto. Her work has appeared in Literary Hub, Vogue, The Globe and Mail, The Walrus and The New York Times. She co-hosted and created the podcast\u00a0Fanfare\u00a0and co-founded the organic beverage company Greenhouse. She is the author of cookbooks\u00a0How to Eat with One Hand\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/the-greenhouse-cookbook-1.4427060\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Greenhouse Cookbook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her latest,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/the-life-cycle-of-the-common-octopus-by-emma-knight-1.7430640\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus<\/a>, Pen arrives at the University of Edinburgh, set on uncovering what her divorced parents in Canada have hid from her.\u00a0Not only does she start to uncover the truth about them during a weekend visit with\u00a0a famous writer, an old friend of her father&#8217;s, Pen also experiences the many pangs of adulthood for the first time \u2014 including falling in love.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN\u00a0|\u00a0Emma Knight\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachEmma Knight: &#8216;Bad&#8217; mothers make good stories \u2014 and are more true-to-life<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Chyana Marie Sage<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with long dark hair against a pink background.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chyana-marie-sage.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7744360902255638\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Chyana Marie Sage is the writer of Soft As Bones. (Anneka Bunnag)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Chyana Marie Sage is a Cree, M\u00e9tis and Salish writer from Edmonton. Her journalism has appeared\u00a0in the Toronto Star, Huff Post and the New Quarterly. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University where she taught as an adjunct professor. Sage won first place in the Edna Staebler Personal Essay Contest and silver in the National Magazine Awards for her essay\u00a0Soar. She teaches Indigenous youth about cultivating self-love and healing through the\u00a0Connected North program.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Sage&#8217;s memoir,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/soft-as-bones-by-chyana-marie-sage-1.7415585\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Soft As Bones<\/a>, is her quest to better understand the childhood trauma and abuse that scarred her family.\u00a0It&#8217;s also a tapestry of poetry, history, Cree language, traditional ceremony and folklore \u2014 and delves into her experiences and those of her family with compassion and strength.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Chyana Marie Sage\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachWeaving a story of family trauma and celebrating the beauty in survival<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Kate Gies<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A blonde white woman smiles at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kate-gies-1.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Kate Gies is a Toronto-based writer and educator.  (Will O&#8217;Hare)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Kate Gies is a Toronto-based writer and educator. She teaches at George Brown College. Her writing has been published in The Malahat Review, The Humber Literary Review, Hobart, Minola Review and The Conium Review. She was also longlisted for the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/literaryprizes\/kids-of-7c-by-kate-gies-1.4802964\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2018 CBC Nonfiction Prize<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7283650\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished<\/a>\u00a0is her first book and her essay Foreign Bodies\u00a0will be included in the forthcoming\u00a0Best Canadian Essays\u00a0anthology.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">When Kate Gies was born without her right ear, plastic surgeons vowed to make her &#8220;whole&#8221; and craft the appearance of an outer ear. The Toronto author underwent 14 surgeries before the age of 13, many of which failed, leaving permanent scars \u2014 both physically and mentally. Gies shares her harrowing experiences and path to accepting her body through poignant vignettes that form her debut memoir,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7283650\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">It Must Be Beautiful to Be Finished<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN |\u00a0Kate Gies\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachKate Gies: Reclaiming her body after years of medical trauma<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Liann Zhang<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with long black hair smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/liann-zhang.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Liann Zhang is the author of Julie Chan Is Dead. (Claire Lam)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Liann Zhang is a second-generation Chinese Canadian writer who was a former skincare content creator. She holds a psychology and criminology degree from the University of Toronto and splits her time between Vancouver and Toronto.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7441095\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Julie Chan is Dead<\/a>\u00a0is Zhang&#8217;s debut novel.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7441095\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Julie Chan is Dead<\/a>, Julie Chan and her identical twin sister Chloe VanHuusen are polar opposites and barely communicate after being separated at a young age. But when Chloe, a popular influencer, mysteriously dies, Julie steps in to take her place and is thrust into a glamorous world with millions of followers. However, she quickly learns that Chloe&#8217;s seemingly flawless life was far from it, and as she uncovers the sinister cause behind her death, it casts Julie as the next target.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Liann Zhang\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachNOT CLICKBAIT! She stole her dead twin sister\u2019s identity!?<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Iryn Tushabe<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A headshot of a woman in a bun with circle earrings smiling at the camera.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/iryn-tushabe.png\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Iryn Tushabe is a Ugandan Canadian writer and the author of the novel Everything is Fine Here. (Robin Schlaht)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/1.5218151\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Iryn Tushabe<\/a>\u00a0is a Ugandan Canadian writer and journalist based in Regina. Her writing has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, Adda, Grain Magazine, The Walrus and CBC Saskatchewan, among others. She won the City of Regina writing award in both 2020 and 2024, and was a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2021. In 2023, she won the Writers&#8217; Trust McClelland &amp; Stewart Journey Prize. Tushabe\u00a0was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/32-writers-make-the-2016-cbc-creative-nonfiction-prize-longlist-1.4115849\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">longlisted for the\u00a0CBC Nonfiction Prize in 2016<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her debut novel\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7415513\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Everything Is Fine Here<\/a>,\u00a0a younger sister navigates the challenges of family and societal pressures while offering love and support to her older sister, who is gay, in a country with strict anti-homosexuality laws.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Iryn Tushabe\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachFighting for an unlawful love in Uganda<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Kyle Edwards<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A headshot of of a man with a goatee and his hair tied back wearing a black shirt and a gold chain.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/kyle-edwards-1.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7744360902255638\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Kyle Edwards is the writer of Small Ceremonies. (McClelland &amp; Stewart)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Kyle Edwards is\u00a0an award-winning Anishinaabe journalist and writer from the Lake Manitoba First Nation and a member of the Ebb and Flow First Nation. His work has appeared in the\u00a0BBC News World, CBC, Maclean&#8217;s, Native News Online and the Toronto Star.\u00a0He has won\u00a0two National Magazine Awards in Canada\u00a0and was recognized as an Emerging Indigenous Journalist by the Canadian Association of Journalists. He has held\u00a0the Nieman Visiting Fellowship at Harvard University and the Wallace Stegner Fellowship at Stanford University.\u00a0A graduate of Ryerson University, he is currently a Provost Fellow at the University of Southern California, where he is pursuing a PhD in creative writing and literature.<\/p>\n<p>Edwards&#8217; debut novel,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/small-ceremonies-by-kyle-edwards-1.7440469#:~:text=Ferociously%20piercing%20the%20heart%20of,that%20doesn&#039;t%20love%20you.&amp;text=Small%20Ceremonies%20is%20available%20in%20April%202025.\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Small Ceremonies<\/a>, follows a hockey team of Ojibwe high schoolers from Winnipeg, who are chasing hockey dreams and coming of age in a game \u2014 and a place \u2014 that can be both beautiful and brutal.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Kyle Edwards\u00a0on\u00a0Bookends with Mattea Roach:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Bookends with Mattea RoachFor Indigenous players, ice hockey is a ceremony of its own<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Gabrielle Drolet<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman with medium length brown hair smiling at the camera.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/gabrielle-drolet.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Gabrielle Drolet is a Montreal based journalist, essayist and cartoonist.  (Gabrielle Drolet)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Gabrielle Drolet is a Montreal based\u00a0journalist, essayist and cartoonist. Her work has been featured in\u00a0The New Yorker, The Globe and Mail,\u00a0The New York Times, The Walrus, VICE and\u00a0Teen Vogue, among others.\u00a0Her essays on disability have been nominated for a Digital Publishing Award and have won gold at the Canadian Online Publishing Awards. She holds an MFA from the University of Guelph.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her debut memoir, Look Ma, No Hands, Drolet reflects on how she discovered new ways to create and express herself after developing a condition in 2021 that left her unable to use her hands. Look Ma, No Hands\u00a0explores both the challenges and the unexpected humour of navigating chronic, life-altering pain in her twenties.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Gabrielle Drolet\u00a0on\u00a0Q:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Suddenly struck by pain, Gabrielle Drolet learned to write and draw again<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Sofia Ajram<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A headshot of a person with black curly hair with their hand in front of their mouth against a blue background.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sofia-ajram.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7744360902255638\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Sofia Ajram is the writer of Coup De Gr\u00e2ce. (Laurence Philomene)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Sofia Ajram\u00a0is a Montreal-based writer, metalsmith and\u00a0a Bram Stoker-award-nominated\u00a0literary horror writer.\u00a0Ajram\u00a0specializes in feverish stories of\u00a0anomalous architecture and gay pining. They are\u00a0the editor of the forthcoming Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Ajram&#8217;s latest novel, Coup De Gr\u00e2ce, is a psychological horror story that follows Vickers, who plans to end his life by throwing himself into the St. Lawrence River in Montreal \u2014 his final escape from a lifetime of depression and pain. But after stepping off the subway, he finds himself trapped in an endless, looping station. Soon, he realizes he wasn&#8217;t brought there by accident,\u00a0and he also isn&#8217;t alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Zeina Sleiman<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman wearing a hijab smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zeina-sleiman.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7664670658682635\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Zeina Sleiman was born in Abu Dhabi and grew up between Montreal, Ottawa and Lebanon, but now lives in Edmonton.  (Submitted by Zeina Sleiman)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Zeina Sleiman is a Palestinian Canadian writer and educator based in Edmonton. With over a decade of experience in post-secondary education, she has contributed to research focused on creating barrier-free communities.\u00a0Sleiman, a former mentee in the Writers&#8217; Union of Canada&#8217;s BIPOC Connect Program, was awarded the 2024 Silk Road Creative Arts Grant. Sleiman was shortlisted for the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize for her story <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/1.7479644\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">My Father&#8217;s Soil<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her debut novel\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7445061\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Where the Jasmine Blooms<\/a>,\u00a0Yasmine returns to Lebanon to escape a messy divorce and reconnect with her cultural roots, having been raised in Toronto. During her visit, she reunites with an old lover and uncovers long-hidden political secrets within her family, all while grappling with the effects of grief, displacement and war.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Zeina Sleiman discusses making the 2025 CBC Short Story Prize shortlist:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Radio Active2025 CBC Short Story Prize shortlist<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Matteo L. Cerilli<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A black and white photo headshot of Matteo L. Cerilli smiling. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/matteo-l-cerilli.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Matteo L. Cerilli is the author of Something&#8217;s Up with Arlo.  (Penguin Random House Canada )<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Matteo L. Cerilli is a transmasc writer and activist based in Toronto. He is the author of the YA horror novel,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/lockjaw-by-matteo-l-cerilli-1.7253657\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Lockjaw<\/a>.\u00a0A founding member of the city-wide, student-led organization Students for Queer Liberation in Toronto, he also works with the No Pride in Policing Coalition.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7508347\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Something&#8217;s Up with Arlo<\/a>\u00a0is his first novel for middle-grade readers.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7508347\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Something&#8217;s Up with Arlo<\/a>, 12-year-old Nero&#8217;s best friend is a ghost called Arlo. Nero has relied on Arlo to look out for her\u00a0\u2014 especially when the kids at school aren&#8217;t being kind to her and her parents don&#8217;t seem to notice. But when Nero is moved to a\u00a0prestigious private school and is given the chance to &#8220;start over,&#8221;\u00a0something weird and unsettling happens with Arlo.\u00a0Nero worries that her best friend is transforming into something scary.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sarah Mughal Rana<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman wearing a white hijab is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sarah-mughal-rana.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Sarah Mughal Rana is the author of Dawn of the Firebird.  (sarahmughalrana.net)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Sarah Mughal Rana is a Muslim writer, BookTok personality and co-host of the podcast On The Write Track. She holds an honours bachelor&#8217;s degree from the University of Toronto and is currently studying at Oxford University, focusing on the intersection of economics and policy. Her debut young adult novel was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/hope-ablaze-by-sarah-mughal-rana-1.7143104\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hope Ablaze<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In her forthcoming novel, Dawn of the Firebird, Khamilla Zahr-zad \u2014 the daughter of an emperor&#8217;s clan \u2014 has been raised on violence and vengeance, spending her childhood training to protect her father&#8217;s throne. But when her clansmen are assassinated by a rival empire, she infiltrates the enemy&#8217;s army to outmaneuver them.\u00a0As war looms between the two kingdoms, Khamilla is confronted with a history that challenges everything her father taught her.<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Sarah Mughal Rana on The Next Chapter:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Next ChapterSarah Mughal Rana\u2019s debut novel Hope Ablaze combines poetry and speculative fiction to celebrate Pakistani culture and Islamic faith<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Amal El-Mohtar<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A woman wearing glasses and a blue flower in her hair is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/amal-el-mohtar.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Amal El-Mohtar is the author of The River Has Roots.  (Jim C. Hines)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Amal El-Mohtar\u00a0is a Ottawa-based author, editor and critic. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, NPR Books, among others.\u00a0El-Mohtar&#8217;s short stories\u00a0Seasons of Glass and Iron\u00a0won Hugo, Nebula\u00a0and Locus awards. Her novella\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/this-is-how-you-lose-the-time-war-1.5214675\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This Is How You Lose the Time War<\/a>\u00a0co-written with\u00a0Max Gladstone\u00a0has been translated into over ten languages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7442551\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">The River Has Roots<\/a>, a mysterious family known as the Hawthorns lives in a magical world.\u00a0The family care for\u00a0enchanted\u00a0willows and honour an ancient and mystical\u00a0compact. But when a daughter of the family decides to seek her own path to find love and happiness, the fate of the entire world just might be at risk.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>LISTEN | Bridget Raymundo discusses The River Has Roots\u00a0on The Next Chapter:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The Next ChapterWhat we\u2019re reading: Bridget Raymundo gives her staff pick<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Phillip Dwight Morgan<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A Black man wearing a white dress shirt is smiling at the camera. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/phillip-dwight-morgan.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.6573033707865168\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Phillip Dwight Morgan is a Toronto-based freelance writer of Jamaican heritage. (Phillip Dwight Morgan)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Phillip Dwight Morgan is a first-generation Canadian writer of Jamaican heritage. His work has been published on\u00a0CBC News and in Maclean&#8217;s and The Walrus.\u00a0Morgan, who lives in Toronto, was one of the winners of this year&#8217;s RBC Bronwen Wallace Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Morgan is currently working on an essay collection about Blackness, nature and memory.<\/p>\n<p>Anthony Oliveira<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A man with short brown hair looking to the right side of the screen. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/anthony-oliveira.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Anthony Oliveira is the author of Dayspring.  (Mike Meehan )<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Anthony Oliveira\u00a0is an author, pop culture critic and\u00a0podcaster\u00a0who holds a\u00a0PhD. He lives in Toronto and has won multiple National Magazine Awards and GLAAD Media Awards. His novel\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7175151\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dayspring<\/a>\u00a0won the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/1.7386578\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">2024 Writers&#8217; Trust of Canada&#8217;s Dayne Ogilvie Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7175151\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dayspring<\/a>\u00a0is a genre-bending reimagining of biblical tales that weaves together stories of passion, grief and destruction that echo through time.\u00a0The work plays with themes of sexuality and its narrative examines contemporary queer culture&#8217;s relationship with faith and religion.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chase Joynt<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A closeup of a man's face in white, pink and purple halftones.\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chase-joynt.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Chase Joynt is the author of Vantage Points.  (Wynne Neilly)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Chase Joynt is a Canadian\u00a0director and writer. His most recent film,\u00a0Framing Agnes,\u00a0won the NEXT Innovator Award and the NEXT Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. His book\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/books\/you-only-live-twice-1.4006818\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">You Only Live Twice<\/a>, co-written with Mike Hoolboom,\u00a0was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In his latest book,\u00a0Vantage Points, Joynt uncovers a previously unknown connection to Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan after the death of his family&#8217;s patriarch, discovered through a box of\u00a0family documents. Blending memoir and media analysis through a trans lens, Joynt uses McLuhan&#8217;s Understanding Media as a framework to explore difficult personal histories and their ties to contemporary politics and ways of being.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Val\u00e9rie Bah<img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"A black and white photo of a Val\u00e9rie Bah wearing a black t-shirt and baseball cap. \"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/valerie-bah.jpg\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7771084337349397\" data-cy=\"image-img\"\/>Val\u00e9rie Bah is the author of Subterrane.  (Rafael Alexandre)<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Val\u00e9rie Bah is an artist, filmmaker, documentarian, photographer and writer. Their collection\u00a0The Rage Letters\u00a0was translated from French by Kama La Mackerel. Their first English language novel,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7278674\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subterrane<\/a>,\u00a0won the Amazon First Novel Award.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">In\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/cbc.ca\/1.7278674\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Subterrane<\/a>, a documentary filmmaker named Zeynab is working on a project about\u00a0Cipher Falls, the last affordable area on the margins of New Stockholm, a major metropolis and North American city. Cipher Falls is a polluted, industrial wasteland where artists and anti-capitalists are forced to work dead-end jobs to survive. When a construction project threatens Cipher Falls&#8217; gentrification, some residents want to sabotage the plans.\u00a0Zeynab focuses her documentary on Doudou Laguerre, an activist who mysteriously died \u2014 and the potential that his death had something to do with his dissent against the project.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CBC Books\u00a0has announced this year&#8217;s list of writers to watch. Here are 22\u00a0Canadian writers on the rise in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[353,49,48,75],"class_list":{"0":"post-40296","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-entertainment"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40296"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40296\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}