Emily Strempler

It’s gorgeous!

There are little maple leaves all over bookstores to signify Canadian authors lately (and, as with groceries, sometimes they’re missing or on the wrong items). But there’s been no easy way to tell at a glance whether or not the publisher is Canadian (trust me I‘ve tried).

I love this.

💙📚🇨🇦

White text on a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers reads, “[Stylized Li Isprii Logo], Running Toward the Storm: A Review of Kohkom's Babushka by Lianna Makuch and Joleen Ballendine”

In a white frame a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers the poster image for “Kohkom’s Babushka” appears. The cover features the colourful silhouette of a tied Babushka scarf. Inside the silhouette two girls stand on either side of a large tree. The title appears in bold purple lettering.

A quote in white text on a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers reads, “Makuch and Ballendine became 'real-life best friends' after meeting in junior high in 2001, and their decades long friendship can be felt in every line of dialog. There is a realness to the girls, and their friendship, that gives the play much of its weight and strength.”

Jeremy Allard reviews Kohkom's Babushka by Lianna Makuch and Joleen Ballendine. A family-friendly theatrical adaptation of a children's book by the same name, Kohkom's Babushka takes on the challenging subject of Ukrainian-Metis reconciliation.

#metis #theatre

www.liisprii.ca/magazine/202...

Congratulations!

Picture of Baltimore Review fall 2025 main page with photos of the 20 contributors

Our fall 2025 issue is live! Includes a micro section this time along with poems, short stories, and creative nonfiction. baltimorereview.org

White text on a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers reads, “[Stylized Li Isprii Logo], Book Review, Beaver Hills Forever by Conor Kerr”

In a white frame a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers the cover of "Beaver Hills Forever by Conor Kerr" appears. The cover has the look of an ink drawing and features a beaver swimming through a liquid dark enough to be oil with a lit match in its mouth in the foreground, and a city skyline in the background.

A quote in white text on a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers reads, “As poetry, it reminded me more of the popular 'slam' style, with larger-than-life characters baring their hopes and dreams directly to the audience in a way that felt distinctly 'oral, and somehow more real than reality...”

White text on a blue-green background decorated with small, white, dot-painted flowers reads, “Read the full review at liisprii.ca”

Jeremy Allard reviews Beaver Hills Forever, a new "Poetic Novella" by Metis author Conor Kerr, published by @arsenalpulp.bsky.social. Not sure what to expect from a "poetic novella"? Wondering if it's for you? We've got answers.

#metis #indigenous 🌎📚💙

www.liisprii.ca/magazine/202...

TELEPHONE Whispering a message among art forms. Explore the TELEPHONE interactive art exhibition featuring diverse artists and creative expressions.

This is the third game of TELEPHONE and consists of 1,395 individual, interconnected, and original works by artists from 930 cities in 65 countries. What an amazing gift! Kudos to everyone who made this huge ekphrastic art project possible. telephonegame.art

It was!

Absolutely! It’s a great combo

Foreground, in focus, a bowl of tantan ramen topped with greens, green onion, fried garlic, and two pieces of karaage chicken. In the background, a half-empty glass of water and an open book rest on a dark wood table.

Solo dinner and a book ✨👌

Ramen from Ramen Arashi. #currentlyreading Queers at the Table: An Illustrated Guide to Queer Food, edited by Alex D Ketchum and Megan J Elias.

#books #reading 🌈📚💙

Emily Strempler: Newsletter

It’s newsletter time again! This month the emergent themes are travel, exploration, grief, transformation, and escape. Featuring great 🇨🇦 book recommendations you likely won’t find elsewhere.

Sign up to receive it in your inbox, bright and early on the 10th!

#books 🌎📚💙🌈📚✒️

estrempler.com/newsletter

One of these days I should write a compact list of like Book Industry Stuff That Readers Should Actually Know That Isn't Arcane And Boring I Promise. One of those things might be: Amazon is just as awful as you think, and perhaps worse, to which, TODAY IS FREE SHIPPING @bookshop.org and this is COOL

Grey text on a crinkly paper background reads "Spill the Tea, Oct 07, 6pm-8pm, Wild Flour Bakery." A grainy picture of a book sits open amind the text.

Grey text on a crinkled paper background reads, "Hosted by local author, Emily Strempler, this event invites you to spill the tea by sharing your favourite read and enjoy delicious selections from Wild Flour Bakery."

Bookish in the Banff area? Join me at Banff Pride's first ever book event! Bring a book to swap, sign up to share a personal favourite with the group, socialize, and enjoy a little something tasty from the cafe. All books, and book-lovers, welcome.

estrempler.com/banff-writer...

Rows of book covers line the top and bottom of the image. In the centre, white text on a light blue background reads, “[Stylized Li Isprii Logo], Metis Reads, October/November 2025”

The October/November edition of Metis Reads is here! Featuring books by Brittany Penner, Emily Grafton, and other titles of interest. Jump in and find a few great books available for pre-order!

#Metis #Indigenous 🌎📚💙

www.liisprii.ca/magazine/202...

White text surrounded by white dot painted flowers on an orange background reads “[Li Isprii stylized logo] 5 Indigenous-Owned Options for Orange Shirt Day.”

A small roundup of indigenous-owned shops selling orange shirts for Orange Shirt Day, and a few thoughts on a hard day.

#indigenous #metis

www.liisprii.ca/magazine/202...

Small correction: Grace Flahive not Flavie. Literally have the book next to me, not sure how I managed to get that wrong.

Joined briefly by this confident little magpie, who strutted around the place picking up snacks like they owned the joint. 😆

On a restaurant table in the foreground, a hand rests on an open book next to a hazy golden beer. Through the open wall, patio tables can be seen, and beyond them a mountain view.

Spent a lovely afternoon/evening reading Palm Meridian by Grace Flavie in a local Banff restaurant with walls open to the warm autumn breeze. Good beer, a good book, delicious snacks. What more can you ask for? ✨

#reading #booksky 🌈📚💙

@bulbculture.bsky.social is great and specializes in republishing stories that are inaccessible. If it’s been out since at least 2023, it probably meets their guidelines.

Relatable

A hand holds a paperback book. The cover fills most of the frame. The image shows stylized video game worlds as floating islands against a blue sky filled with soft clouds. Black text reads, “Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games.”

“The threat of games is not in telling us who we are, but in telling us how the systems around us operate, revealing their hypocrisies, our own complicities, and how we are in fact produced through that system.”
- Of Floating Isles by Kawika Guillermo (p156)

#booksky 🌎📚💙🌈📚💡

Sounds excellent!

I suspect a lot of people are busy with the start of the new school year and suspended their holds. I got four at once, and passed the problem on by deferring three of them because I also didn’t have time to read them.

But nah, it’s definitely the universe telling you to curl up and read. 😉📚

I very very rarely DNF books (maybe one or two a year, if that), mostly because I’m an author and editor and read books for work, not just fun. When I do DNF something, it’s because it’s utterly intolerable. 🤷‍♀️

If they have a publisher, you might be able to follow the publisher either through their newsletter or social media. They will usually make an announcement when they make a book available in paperback.

Otherwise, I know bookbub does preorder alerts, but only if publishers/authors have set them up.

I have a tab group on my phone just called “books” that is basically this. I’m supposed to go through it periodically and sort things into my TBR and to-buy lists, but I never get around to it until it’s absolutely enormous. It’s currently sitting at… 🫣 …44.

Thanks! 😊

Emily Strempler: Newsletter

Very sick, but still at work, finishing up my newsletter. Some great recommendations in this one: a Palestinian novel and nonfiction about the US-Mexico border, plus a relaxing puzzle game, because we all deserve a break. Subscribe today to get it tomorrow!

#Booksky 🌎📚💙
estrempler.com/newsletter

Godsend - Emily Strempler — Bulb Culture Collective Is it because she isn’t the first? 

This morning, @bulbculture.bsky.social gave "Godsend" a new home online! This story is close to my heart and it's wonderful to see it made available again.

Read it here: www.bulbculturecollective.com/read/godsend...

The story was accepted by CLOVES at their next submission call and published online in November of 2022. Just a few months later, the magazine announced a hiatus, then, shortly afterwards, silently went offline, taking "Godsend" with it.