All the Canadian books we’re excited about in the second half of 2025
Looking for your next read? Check out the Canadian fiction, nonfiction, poetry, comics and children’s books to read in the second half of the year.
If you’re interested in writing fiction, the 2026 CBC Short Story Prize is accepting submissions until Nov. 1. You can submit your original, unpublished short fiction for a chance to win $6,000 from the Canada Council for the Arts, a two-week writing residency at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and have your story published on CBC Books.
Our top pick: Pick a Colour by Souvankham Thammavongsa
Pick A Colour tells the story of the day in the life of Ning, a retired boxer who works at a nail salon. Ning paints and polishes customers’ nails, falling into the routine and rhythms. But despite her anonymous exterior, she’s an intellectual, a deep thinker and is haunted by the roads not taken.
Pick A Colour is a finalist for the 2025 Giller Prize.
Souvankham Thammavongsa has written the short story collection How to Pronounce Knife, which won the Giller Prize and the Trillium Book Award. She’s also the author of four poetry collections and stand-alone stories that have been featured in The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, The Paris Review, The Atlantic and Granta. She was born in a refugee camp in Thailand and raised in Toronto.
Our top pick: Worldly Girls by Tamara Jong
In Worldly Girls, Tamara Jong reflects on growing up with an emotionally distant father and an alcoholic mother, and how she once believed the Jehovah’s Witness faith would protect her from pain — including infertility and mental health struggles. It was only after rejecting that belief system that she began her journey toward healing.
Jong is a writer of Chinese and European ancestry, born in Montréal. Her work has appeared in Humber Literary Review, Room Magazine and The Fiddlehead, among others. A graduate of The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University, she now lives in Guelph, Ont. Worldly Girls is her debut book.
Our top pick: NMLCT by Paul Vermeersch
Paul Vermeersch pulls from fairy tales and fables, virtual reality, artificial intelligence and monstrous myths. Vermeersch’s eighth collection of poetry, NMLCT, grapples with the distinction between what’s real and what isn’t and seeks to examine how we view reality in the age of algorithms and a “post-truth” society littered with misinformation and computer generated images.
NMLCT is out now.
Vermeersch is a poet, artist and editor from Toronto. He currently teaches at Sheridan College. Vermeersch holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph for which he received the Governor General’s Gold Medal. His other poetry collections include The Reinvention of the Human Hand, Self-Defence for the Brave and Happy and Shared Universe.
Our top pick: Fela by Jibola Fagbamiye and Conor McCreery
Fela: Music is the Weapon is a graphic novel about the life of legendary musician Fela Kuti. Known as the father of Afrobeat, the Pan-African frontman was a multi-instrumentalist and sociopolitical powerhouse. The book tells the story of how Kuti became one of Nigeria’s most celebrated musicians while navigating a charged political period for the African nation. Fela focuses on the moment Kuti and his mother, Nigerian suffrage activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, were attacked in their own home by soldiers for their outspoken criticism of the country’s military.
Jibola Fagbamiye is a Nigerian-born Toronto-based visual artist inspired by African history and North American pop culture. He is the illustrator of the New York Times bestseller Black AF: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America and Promise That You Will Sing About Me: The Power and Poetry of Kendrick Lamar.
Conor McCreery is a former journalist and comic writer whose work has been published by DC Comics, IDW and Dark Horse. Originally from Toronto, he now lives in France.
Our top pick: Wavelength by Cale Plett
In the YA novel Wavelength, a young pop star and the lead singer of an alt-rock band are drawn to each other. Sasha is a 17-year-old nonbinary artist, famous by name but kept anonymous because of the way they cover their face during performances. When Sasha decides to finish out their senior year of high school in a midwestern city, they meet Lillian, the lead singer of Wavelength. As Sasha and Lillian contend with their growing feelings for each other, Sasha worries what will happen if everyone finds out who they really are.
Wavelength is for ages 12 and up and is out now.
Cale Plett is a nonbinary, genderfluid writer from Winnipeg. They are a Lambda Literary fellow and have participated in the Emerging Writers Residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Wavelength is their debut novel.
Our top pick: The Bloodstone Thief by Sabina Khan
A middle-grade fantasy inspired by Islamic mythology, The Bloodstone Thief is an adventure story with a young girl at its centre. Laila Habib is struggling to accept that she and her family will be staying in Houston, Texas, instead of going back to her old life in Mumbai. When she opens what she thinks is a birthday present, Laila accidentally releases an evil jinn from an amulet once trapped by her father. When the jinn captures Laila’s father and brings him to a world called Qaf, Laila must save him. With her world turned upside down, Laila must find a magical Bloodstone that gives her the power to send them both back to their world.
The Bloodstone Thief is for ages 9-12 and is out now.
Sabina Khan is a B.C.-based writer born in Germany, who has lived in many places like Bangladesh and Texas. She writes about Muslim teenagers who move between cultures and her other books include What a Desi Girl Wants and Zara Hossain Is Here.
Our top pick: Labrador Skies by Kayla Williams, illustrated by Kayla Williams & Thamires Paredes
Labrador Skies is a beautiful picture book for babies and toddlers. Written in rhyming text, the bedtime story celebrates the beauty of Labrador — from snowmobiles gliding through silent forests to the auroras dancing in the sky — while gently helping young children to fall asleep.
Labrador Skies is for ages 0 to 4 and will be out on Oct. 7.
Kayla Williams is a mixed Inuk artist, writer and designer from Goose Bay, N.L. Williams also wrote and illustrated the picture book, Aurora’s Journey.
Thamires Paredes is an artist and illustrator from Brazil. She previously illustrated the picture book My Ittu, which was written by Laura Deal.
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