Forest of Reading finalists include Edwards’ debut

Winnipeg-born Kyle Edwards’ award-winning first novel Small Ceremonies is among the 100 finalists in the 2027 Forest of Reading awards.

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The awards, dubbed “Canada’s largeset recreational reading program,” sees books divided into 10 age and genre categories for younger readers in both English and French. More than 250,000 readers pore through the books in one or multiple categories — each category features 10 finalists — before voting for their favourite(s) in April 2027.

Small Ceremonies, which won the Governor General’s Literary Award for fiction in 2025, is a finalist in the White Pine category of fiction for readers in grades 9-12.

Other books among the 100 finalists with Manitoba connections include Chi miigwech, grand merci, written by astra márta and illustrated by Manitoba artist Jordan Stranger, which is a finalist in the French Prix Peuplier category, and The Cedar Mother (Mothers of Xsan), written by B.C.’s Brett Huson (Hetxw’ms Gyetxw) and illustrated by B.C.’s Natasha Donovan and published by Winnipeg’s Highwater Press, which is a finalist in the Yellow Cedar category of non-fiction books for readers in grades 5-8.

To peruse all 10 categories and 100 finalists, see forestofreading.com.

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University of Winnipeg theatre instructor Jamie Paris launches a new book about racial performance at McNally Robinson Booksellers’ Grant Park location tonight at 7 p.m.

Published in August by University of Alabama Press, Clothed Villainy: Acting White in Early Modern Drama looks at the ways in which playing a particular race has erased marginalized identities and upheld white supremacy.

Paris will be joined in converation at the launch by Winnipeg poet, educator and bookseller Kristian Enright.

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Montreal author Anita Rau Badami lands in Winnipeg on Tuesday, when she’ll launch her new novel Asha in her Garden at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location at 7 p.m.

The latest by the bestselling author of The Hero’s Walk and Tamarind Mem sees a woman contemplating the trials of the last 20 years of her life in her backyard garden in Montreal, under a beloved maple tree that has reached the end of its life.

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Badami will be joined in conversation by Charlene Diehl.

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Prolific Winnipeg writer and illustrator GMB Chomichuk returns to McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to launch his latest, Witch Police Cases, published by Winnipeg’s At Bay Press.

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Just in time for Halloween, the graphic novel collection details the paranormal cases tackled by the Witch Police of District 13.

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Former Free Press reporter Geoff Kirbyson is back with his latest book looking back at the history of the Winnipeg Jets.

Published by Winnipeg’s Great Plains Press, The Funniest Man In Hockey: The Life and Times of Tom McVie chronicles McVie’s life and career, which included coaching the Jets to the final Avco Cup in the WHA and working as the Jets’ first coach following the team joining the NHL.

Kirbyson has written two other books about the Jets of old — The Hot Line and Broken Ribs and Popcorn. The Funniest Man in Hockey launches Thursday at 7 p.m. at McNally Robinson’s Grant Park location, where Kirbyson will be joined by Greg Mackling of CJOB 680.

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The author of one of the most popular series for younger readers comes to Winnipeg on Sunday, Nov. 1 in an event presented by Indigo Books and Music.

And while Diary of a Wimpy Kid author and illustrator Jeff Kinney’s 1 p.m. event at the Seven Oaks Performing Arts Centre (711 Jefferson Ave.) is sold out, there’s good news: a second appearance has been announced for 4 p.m. that day.

Tickets are $35.99 plus fees and include admission for two as well as a signed copy of Kinney’s Fight or Flight, the 21st book in the Wimpy Kid series. To get yours see wfp.to/ixz.

For an interview with Jeff Kinney, see Friday’s Free Press.

books@winnipegfreepress.com