Spring readings aplenty ahead of summer lull

The summer months may be relatively quiet for book launches and related events, but this coming week sees a raft of author events taking place.

McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location welcomes Australian author Janey Stone to the bookstore tonight at 7 p.m. for the launch of The Radical Jewish Tradition: Revolutionaries, Resistance Fighters and Firebrands, which she co-authored with Donny Gluckstein.

The event, co-presented by the Winnipeg chapters of the United Jewish People’s Order and Independent Jewish Voices, will see Stone speak about the book (published May 19 by Verso Books) before being joined in conversation by Winnipeg authors Harriet Zaidman and Tami Gadir.

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On Wednesday, the next Wild & Wonderful Words reading event takes place at Sookram’s Brewing Co. (479-B Warsaw Ave.).

Hosted as always by author (and Free Press reviewer) Sheldon Birnie, this month’s event will see writers Cale Plett, Jeff Miller, Martha Bátiz, Anna Leventhal and Allie Leigh take the proverbial stage to share their work.

The event is free and open to attendees of all ages, and gets underway at 7 p.m.

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Also taking place on Wednesday at 7 p.m., should your tastes lean more towards science fiction, prolific author Robert J. Sawyer returns to Winnipeg (to McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location, specifically) to launch his latest The Downloaded 2: Ghosts in the Machine, published by Shadowpaw Press.

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The sequel to 2024’s The Downloaded, Sawyer’s latest sees an asteroid heading towards Earth, prompting an ex-con and a starship crew to re-upload their consciousnesses into cyberspace — where they encounter old foes and their younger selves.

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A trio of lauded authors join forces on Thursday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location to talk about the unforgettable characters they have created in their work.

Winnipeg’s Zilla Jones (The World So Wide), rural Ontario’s Hollay Ghadery (The Unravelling of Ou) and Toronto’s Alison Gadsby (Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive) will convene at the bookstore at an event presented with support from the Writers’ Union of Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. The event will be hosted by Winnipeg’s Lindsay Wong (Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies).

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On Friday at 7 p.m., McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location welcomes Vancouver Island author Monique Gray Smith to talk about her latest book Sharing the Light: Stories and Reflections, published in January by House of Anansi.

In her book, Smith weaves together reflections, short stories and more in ruminations on five transformative practices — love, joy, gratitude, happiness and hope. She’ll be joined in conversation at the launch by Shelagh Rogers.

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Also on Friday, Lifesshort Gallery and Studios (411 Pembina Hwy.) will host a trio of poets as part of a book launch that gets underway at 7 p.m.

Anna Veprinska will launch her latest collection, Wound Archive, published earlier this month by The Porcupine’s Quill. She’ll be joined at the launch by poets (and Free Press reviewers) melanie brannagan frederiksen and Ariel Gordon, who will also read their respective work.

In addition to coffee/tea and cookies, copies of Veprinska’s and Gordon’s latest books will be available for purchase.

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A reminder: the next Free Press Book Club takes place Tuesday at 7 p.m., and will feature local authors/podcasters Sabrina Janke and Alex Judge reading from and talking about their book Portage and Main: How an Iconic Intersection Shaped Winnipeg’s History, Politics, and Urban Life.

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The book club is presented in conjunction with McNally Robinson Booksellers. Copies of Portage and Main, published in November 2025 by Great Plains Press, are available at the bookstore.

There’s no cost to join the book club; for more information, including future book club picks, see wfp.to/bookclub.

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