It may be the back-to-school atmosphere, or the return of cool weather that makes us want to hunker down with a good book while the rain taps at the window. Either way, fall is synonymous with books, an ideal time to discover a new favourite author, dive into a fascinating slice of history, connect with your deeper emotions, or learn something unexpected.
This fall season, British Columbia’s book publishers have an impressive range of new releases lined up for every interest. From Vancouver’s queer history and British Columbia search and rescue missions to Acadian exile, national ghost stories, and one of Canada’s most enduring cold cases, these books are deeply rooted in Canadian and B.C. experiences and perspectives. Readers can journey from the waterways of the West Coast and the close-knit community of Toronto Island to eighteenth-century Acadia and cities around the globe. Along the way, you’ll encounter stories of love, loss, resilience, and belonging; uncover hidden histories and remarkable true accounts; and explore everything from climate change and search and rescue to the origins of modern chemistry. And, as Halloween approaches, there are even a few ghostly tales waiting. Whatever you’re in the mood for, these fall releases offer plenty to discover:
Confluence by Alex Turner and Lucian Childs (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Historical Fiction, Coming-of-age
Published on September 1, 2026
An intimate, deeply moving queer coming-of-age novel set between 1950s small-town life and the surprisingly vibrant pre-Stonewall queer community of 1960s Vancouver.
In 1956, lonely teenager Teddy forms a close bond with Wade as they explore the mountains and waterways surrounding their hometown, but their friendship fractures over Teddy’s sexuality. In the years that follow, Teddy struggles to live openly as a gay man while finding friendship, love, and a chosen family in Vancouver’s gay community. When he returns to his hometown nearly a decade later, he must decide whether to reconnect with the one person who once meant so much to him. Completed by Lucian Childs from the unfinished manuscript of his late husband, Alex Turner, Confluence is a beautifully rendered novel that is at once poetic, humorous, and deeply rooted in the West Coast.
How to Nourish a Cannibal by Jess Housty (Harbour Publishing)
Poetry
Published September 15, 2026
Drawing on kinship, ancestral knowledge, and spirituality, Jess Housty’s latest poetry collection offers nourishment through land-based medicine and ancestral wisdom. Inspired in part by Heiltsuk supernatural beings such as Báxvbakvalan̓usiwa, the Great Cannibal at the North End of the World, these poems explore the figure of the cannibal as both a dangerous presence and a conduit for spiritual gifts. Following their acclaimed debut Crushed Wild Mint, Housty’s new collection taps into themes of wildness, love, tenderness, and the sweet, agonizing anticipation of shared feasts, both from the land and of the body.
Wildfire Verses by Sakiru Adebayo (Harbour Publishing)
Poetry
Published September 22, 2026
Written in the aftermath of the 2023 McDougall Creek Wildfire in the Okanagan, Wildfire Verses chronicles the author’s experience of displacement and explores what it means to feel like a climate refugee during a state of emergency. With an urgent and deeply personal voice, Sakiru Adebayo documents both “the trauma of fire and the fire of trauma” while inviting readers to reflect on climate change, the unequal impacts of global warming, and the limits of the Anthropocene. While unflinching in its portrayal of climate crisis, the collection also emphasizes planetary interdependence, climate activism, and the possibility of collective resilience in an increasingly burning world
The Small Ones by Nazanine Hazar (Penguin Random House Canada)
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Published September 29, 2026
Caught up in a military insurgency along the Iran-Iraq border in the early 1980s, a ragtag group of boys and one small girl are forced to become soldiers and martyrs while yearning for the safety of their lost homes. Together, they create a makeshift family as they navigate a world shaped by conflict and coercion. At the centre of the story are narrator Amir and his best friend Clay, who appears to be both a human boy and a creature of myth, as they follow the ancient Karun River toward freedom at a terrible cost. Through the eyes of its youngest participants, The Small Ones offers an unflinching look at fathers and sons, power and bloodshed, and the enduring hope of escaping cycles of war in pursuit of a better life.
Islanders: A Novel by Adrick Brock (Harbour Publishing)
Literary Fiction, Coming-of-age
Published on October 6, 2026
In this debut novel set in the intimate community of Toronto Island, the discovery of artist Dan Rainier’s body in the harbour ice alters the lives of two families across generations. Moving through multiple timelines in the late 2000s, the novel braids the mid-life reckonings of Yvonne and Dan with the coming-of-age stories of Theo Frith and Maxine Rainier. Years after Dan’s death, Theo and Maxine find themselves in Whitehorse, where a tentative love story begins to take shape, though they remain haunted by the island they tried to leave behind, with its beaches and lagoons, artists and eccentrics, winter isolation and summer crowds. Richly inhabiting the world of Toronto Island, Islanders captures the ache of isolation and belonging against the backdrop of one of Canada’s most unusual neighbourhoods.
Where is Lisa Marie Young? The Disappearance of an Indigenous Woman and Her Family’s Fight to Bring Her Home by Carolann Bosma and Norah Caldwell (Touchwood Editions)
True Crime, Creative Nonfiction
Published on October 6, 2026
On June 30, 2002, 21-year-old Lisa Marie Young disappeared after leaving a birthday party in her hometown of Nanaimo, British Columbia, and no trace of her has been found since. Where Is Lisa Marie Young? explores one of Canada’s most well-known cold cases through the stories and reflections of Lisa’s family and friends, interviews with RCMP officers involved in the investigation, and testimony from others connected to the case. At once a deep examination of the night Lisa vanished and a testament to her family’s decades-long search for answers, the book commemorates Lisa’s life, highlights the ongoing calls for justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S), and invites readers to join the effort to bring her home.
Shot in Vancouver: Adventures in Hollywood North by Sam Wiebe (Arsenal Pulp Press)
Nonfiction, Pop Culture
Published on October 6, 2026
For decades, Vancouver has served as one of North America’s busiest production centres, standing in for locations ranging from Seattle and Smallville to Russia while hosting countless film and television productions. In Shot in Vancouver, Sam Wiebe traces the city’s rise as “Hollywood North,” from its early days as a filming location in the 1970s to its emergence as a global production hub with a thriving domestic industry. Blending film history with local storytelling, the book celebrates Vancouver’s remarkable contributions to screen culture and explores the unique role of a city that is often seen on screen, but rarely as itself.
Canada’s Most Haunted: Ghostly Tales and Paranormal Encounters Across the Great White North by Ian Gibbs (Touchwood Editions)
Supernatural, Travel
Published on October 6, 2026
In his fourth collection of ghost stories, Ian Gibbs guides readers to some of Canada’s most haunted locations, from coast to coast to coast. Featuring never-before-told stories alongside fresh perspectives on well-known hauntings, Canada’s Most Haunted explores eerie encounters in places ranging from 108 Mile House in British Columbia and Dawson City’s Palace Grand Theatre to Nahanni National Park’s infamous “Valley of the Headless Men.” Guided by the author, ghost-walk guide and host of the Ghosts ‘N Bears podcast, readers will discover thirty-two chilling tales of ghosts, mysteries, and paranormal encounters from every province and territory.
An Acadian Oddysey: The Return of Ange Amirault by Debra Amirault Camelin (Ronsdale Press)
Historical Fiction
Publishing date: October 16, 2026
After years of forced exile, Ange Amirault returns to Nova Scotia in 1766 determined to reclaim his place in the land he loves. Reunited with Nathalie, the woman from whom he was separated during the Acadian expulsion, Ange faces the challenge of rebuilding a life under British rule and amid the growing influx of New England Planters. Weaving Acadian lore with eighteenth-century history, An Acadian Odyssey: The Return of Ange Amirault follows the couple as they endure hardship, persevere against adversity, and help bring the proud history of the Acadians to life in this passionate sequel to Nathalie: An Acadian’s Tale of Tragedy and Triumph.
Searching for the Best Place on Earth: 52 Countries in 52 Weeks by Justin McElroy (Harbour Publishing)
Nonfiction, Travel Memoir
Publishing on October 20, 2026
Vancouver journalist Justin McElroy set out to answer a deceptively simple question: does British Columbia truly deserve its reputation as the “best place on earth”? In Searching for the Best Place on Earth, he spends a year visiting nearly every “world-class” city on the planet, comparing everything from cuisines and museums to public transit systems while reflecting on how Vancouver measures up. Along the way, McElroy writes candidly about travelling as a neurodivergent person and adapting to life on the road, offering a witty and thoughtful exploration of what makes a city exceptional and what makes a place feel like home.
The Age of Alchemy: The Secret History of Chemistry from Ancient Magic to Modern Science by Kit Chapman (Greystone Books)
Nonfiction, Science, History
Publishing date: October 20, 2026
Beginning with the story of Tappūtī, a Mesopotamian perfumer widely considered the world’s first chemist, The Age of Alchemy traces the transformation of alchemy into modern chemistry across four thousand years of human history. Journeying from Egyptian tombs and the workshops of Alexandria to the courts of Chinese emperors, Kit Chapman brings to life forgotten innovators, artisan experimenters, and ingenious fraudsters while challenging Eurocentric myths about scientific discovery. Blending history and science with vivid storytelling, the book explores how chemical knowledge has shaped societies, inspired medical breakthroughs, transformed economies, and fuelled humanity’s enduring quest to understand and manipulate the material world.
A Refined Cruelty: The Nine Deaths of Robert Sproule by Chad Reimer (Caitlin Press)
Nonfiction, True Crime, Canadian History
Publishing on October 23, 2026
A single gunshot on the shores of Kootenay Lake in 1885 set in motion a legal saga that would stretch from southeastern British Columbia to the Supreme Court of Canada and draw the attention of political and diplomatic officials in Ottawa, London, and Washington. In A Refined Cruelty, historian Chad Reimer reconstructs the case of Robert Sproule, who endured eight reprieves and nine execution dates while awaiting his fate on death row. Drawing on court records, government files, diaries, correspondence, and diplomatic documents, the book brings this remarkable story to life while offering fresh insight into the early years of B.C.’s justice system and raising enduring questions about fairness, due process, and the risk of human error within any legal system.
Echoes on the Wind: Fifty Years of Search and Rescue in British Columbia’s Coast Mountains by Brad Sills (Harbour Publishing)
Nonfiction, Memoir, Mountaineering
Publishing on October 27, 2026
Drawing on fifty years of experience in British Columbia’s search and rescue services, Brad Sills reflects on the teamwork, strategy, courage, and compassion at the heart of landmark missions to recover people lost or imperiled in some of the province’s most challenging terrain. Through gripping accounts of hikers lost in deep forests, kayakers caught in powerful currents, and skiers swept away by avalanches, Sills brings readers into the high-stakes world of search and rescue while illuminating the techniques, risks, and dedication involved in every operation. Part memoir and part history, the book chronicles the evolution of search and rescue in B.C. and serves as a powerful testament to preparedness, resilience, and what can be achieved when ordinary people take extraordinary action.
Looking for even more great reads? Visit Read Local BC for recommendations, author features, and locally published books.
