Frank Viva
Viva is a kids’ illustrator who draws gorgeously spare covers for the New Yorker. This new book follows a teenage boy whose parents send him away to spend the summer in a remote Maritime fishing village—it’s part prose, part dreamy graphic novel. May 24.
Julie Doucet
Doucet’s first book in a decade is a collection of glamorous and nostalgic photo comics. She applies the form’s traditional tropes—campy word bubbles, strips and splats—to images culled from 1970s Italian comics, vintage catalogues and housekeeping magazines. March 29.
Teva Harrison
Two years ago, at age 37, writer-artist Teva Harrison was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. To cope with her illness, she crafted a book of heartbreaking cartoons that document the physical effects, the loss of independence, and the strange hopefulness that comes with knowing you’re going to die. April 26.
Chester Brown Professional provocateur Chester Brown has drawn graphic novels about masturbation, prostitution and Louis Riel. His latest delves into full-blown heresy: it’s a collection of potty-mouthed comics about biblical heroines, including Ruth, Tamar and the Mother of God herself. April 12.
Yann Martel
The Life of Pi author’s latest magical acid trip follows three men in three eras trying to decode an ancient Portuguese crucifix. Out now.
Curtis Sittenfeld All of Sittenfeld’s novels have an arch Jane Austenite bite to them. It’s fitting, then, that her newest is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. April 19.
Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney HarperCollins snatched up Sweeney’s debut in a seven-figure deal. It’s a wry farce about siblings fighting to save their trust fund. March 22.
Alissa York The Giller-nominated historical fictionist charts the journey of an amateur Victorian scientist romping through the Amazon with his father’s widow. April 12.
Mona Awad Awad’s sparklingly witty series of vignettes follows a young woman grappling with size and self-worth in Mississauga. Out now.
Andrew F Sullivan Sullivan worked in a meat department and liquor warehouse before hitting the literary big time. His debut novel is a gory gut punch about two friends who hit a lion with their car. Out now.
Amy Stuart A new year, a new thriller about a mysterious woman on the run. This time it’s Stuart’s book, about a femme fatale who shows up in a dreary mining town where a young girl has gone missing. Out now.
Lisa Moore As a kid, Moore wrote fairy tales and mailed them off to a pen pal. She channels that magical energy into a charming fable about a teen girl who creates her own love potion for her high school business class—only to hear rumours that it might really work. May 1.
Cordelia Strube
Strube is the dark horse favourite to succeed Alice Munro as a chronicler of melancholy stories about young girls. Her new heroine, Harriet, is a precocious artist who runs errands for seniors in her ramshackle apartment building, hoping to save enough money to run away to Algonquin Park. April 12.
Mariko Tamaki Race, spirituality and sexuality swirl together in Tamaki’s quirky new novel, about the daughter of a lesbian couple who believes astrology and mysticism will solve all her angsty teenage problems. April 19.
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A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that the daughter in Mariko Tamaki’s novel is adopted.