I n Mansfield’s 2010 spring list, for the first time ever, poetry, fiction and non-fiction will be represented. One of each, in fact.
First, there’s the long-awaited literary survey by Amy Lavender Harris—Imagining Toronto. The last few chapters are just coming in, and this is going to be a real landmark book, appealing both to the serious reader and to the academic. Amy has gathered an enormous collection of books set in and about Toronto, and her journey through them is absorbing and provocative.
Next, we’re proud to be publishing the debut poetry collection by Peter Norman, a writer who has lived in Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa, and now resides in Halifax. The book is called At the Gates of the Theme Park, and it’s a real mind-twister. Peter is also a writer of short stories and novels, and I believe this book will kick off a very busy and exciting literary career. (OK, actually, the career has already been kicked off with a couple of great poetry chapbooks, one written in collaboration with Ottawa poet Stephen Brockwell, but At the Gates of the Theme Park will kick off the vertebrate part of Peter’s career.)
Finally, this spring will also see the launch of Marianne Apostolides’ second novel, The Lucky Child. Marianne first novel, Swim, was published last year by the very fine publisher BookThug and quickly went into a second printing. The Lucky Child is a very different kind of book, delving into the history of Greece in the last century, but it’s equally smart and compulsively readable. Look for it on March 25—Greek Independence Day!
It’s comforting to know that as the Mansfield team (that’s publisher Denis De Klerck, editorial assistant Leigh Nash and me) work toward the new season, our 2009 books—poetry by Pier Giorgio di Cicco, Jim Smith and Robert Stewart, and a novel by Tom Walmsley—are finding their way into appreciative hands. The December launch at the Monarch Tavern in Toronto was a blast, with guest readings by Corrado Paina and David W. McFadden. Watch for readings by Mansfield writers in a venue near you.
Stuart Ross is Poetry Editor at Mansfield Press. His short-story collection Buying Cigarettes for the Dog (Freehand Books, 2009) appeared on a Top 10 for 2009 list while also being declared the Worst Book of 2009. That makes him happy.
