Author: Editor

FORT McMURRAY, Alta. / Oct 22, 2020 — A memoir of the Fort McMurray wildfire has made the shortlist for the upcoming Alberta Reads Book Club.

What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home by local author Therese Greenwood is one of six books to make the shortlist for the online book club’s November-December selection. On Saturday, Greenwood was honoured with Award for Excellence in Literary Arts by Arts Council Wood Buffalo at its annual “Buffy” awards for literary excellence in the local community.

“I am grateful to receive this supportive promotion from both Arts Council Wood Buffalo and the Alberta Reads Book Club,” said Greenwood. “I feel very fortunate to live in a place so committed to actively supporting writers and books.”

Published by the University of Alberta Press, Greenwood’s memoir is an eyewitness account of the wildfire and evacuation, as well as an often-humorous examination of the physical and emotional artifacts we carry with us in times of crisis.

Over the course of November and December, the Alberta Reads Book Club will focus on a non-fiction title from an Alberta-based book publisher. Readers will have the chance to participate in the online book club on Facebook and Twitter using #ABreads and #ABbooks, or through the Alberta Reads Book Club website.

More details on book club events and programming will be available following the announcement of the final title on November 4.

Greenwood won the 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and was a finalist for a 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Award from the Alberta Book Publishers Association. She is also a three-time finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize. Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice,” her short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S.

Media interviews are available by emailing media@therese.ca.

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The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: What You Take With You [JPEG 3.9 MB]

FORT McMURRAY, Alta. / June 22, 2020 — A memoir by Wood Buffalo author Therese Greenwood is a Finalist for the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards from The Book Publishers Association of Alberta (BPAA).

Nominated in the Trade Non-fiction category, What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home was published by the University of Alberta Press. An eyewitness account of the Fort McMurray wildfire and evacuation, the book is also about the physical and emotional artifacts we carry with us in times of crisis.

“It’s an honour for the book to be nominated for a province-wide award by the BPAA,” said Greenwood. “The way people across Alberta rallied to support Fort McMurray evacuees during a time of crisis is a big part of the story.”

“It’s also an acknowledgement of the ongoing commitment by the University of Alberta Press to telling our province’s stories,” added Greenwood.

“At a time in our world when reading and books have never been more important, it’s wonderful to showcase the books published right here in Alberta,” said Kieran Leblanc, the executive director of BPAA. “Please remember most of these books are accessible through our Read Alberta eBooks Collection, available through public libraries throughout the province.”

Greenwood won the 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America and is a three-time Finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize. Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice,” her short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S.

The winners of the 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Awards will be announced in a virtual gala reception. Further details on the virtual gala will be released in the coming weeks.

Media interviews are available by emailing media@therese.ca.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: What You Take With You [JPEG 3.9 MB]

Book Examines the Physical and Emotional Artifacts We Carry With Us in Times of Crisis

KINGSTON, Ont./ May 24, 2019 – A touching portrait of a childhood on Wolfe Island is the narrative cornerstone of a new memoir of the Fort McMurray Wildfire, released by The University of Alberta Press and author Therese Greenwood, and being launched in Kingston, Thursday, May 30, at Novel Idea.

After the April release of What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home, the eye-witness account of the largest wildfire in Canadian history and the 2016 evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta, climbed to the top of Amazon.ca’s Natural Disasters Category. But the book is more than a disaster story: It is also about the physical and emotional artifacts we carry with us in times of crisis and the meaning they attain.

Greenwood’s experience and skill as a journalist and a mystery writer engages and maintains suspense. Her portrayal of how people behave in an emergency and how a community comes together is uplifting. Her stories of what she saved from the fire will resonate with anyone who has lived through a crisis, and help make sense of a life-changing event that garnered interest throughout the world.

“My eyes filled with tears more than once while reading (Greenwood’s) book,” says Diane Schoemperlen, author of This Is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and Other Complications. “So terrifying and so tender, it looks clearly and deeply into how we can survive loss and how our treasured objects can be the priceless vessels that carry the stories of both our past and our future.”

Says Miranda Hill, author of Sleeping Funny: “In What You Take With You, Therese Greenwood tells a very personal story of the Fort McMurray Wildfire. By considering the things that she lost in the blaze and the things that were saved, Greenwood takes the reader with her through her own evacuation, the road to safety, the grief that she experienced on losing her home, and the steps to her recovery. It is a beautiful book, sharply observed in the accounting of a disaster that affected the nation, gripping in the particulars of her own journey, and expansive in the questions it poses for us all: How is memory tied to the things we’ve collected, and what does it mean to make a home?”

Wayne Grady, the author of Up From Freedom, says Greenwood’s “gripping account of the Fort McMurray wildfire evacuation … is told in the deceptively relaxed manner that often masks true tragedy. You’ll read this book with a mounting sense of panic. You’ll look around your own house, imagining flames licking at your doors. You have two minutes: what would you save?”

Greenwood said she is excited for the Kingston launch of her book Kingston — and not just because it is a homecoming. “Like so many of the 80,000 people who evacuated Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016, my husband and I had a long and frightening drive on a jam-packed highway to safety,” she said. “So many people from Kingston and Wolfe Island reached out to us that night and in the weeks afterwards to offer us support. I’m looking forward to thanking each and every one.

Novel Idea is located at 156 Princess Street in downtown Kingston. The 7 p.m. launch celebration will include a presentation, book sales and signings.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS

The University of Alberta Press (USP) is a contemporary, award-winning publisher of scholarly and creative books distinguished by their editorial care, exceptional design, and global reach. UAP contributes substantively to the University of Alberta’s mission, its national and international reputation, and the impact of its research and teaching by means of a diverse and far-ranging scholarly publishing program that is recognized annually with a host of awards for excellence in both scholarship and publishing.

ABOUT THERESE GREENWOOD

Greenwood’s short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has twice been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize, and has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies. Earlier this month, Greenwood was named the winner of a 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for her crossover mystery story about a B-movie cowboy at the Calgary Stampede. She and her husband live in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

For more information about books and events, visit Greenwood online at www.therese.ca or on Facebook. To arrange a media interview, email media@webpaving.com or telephone 587-723-1274.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: What You Take With You [JPEG 3.9 MB]

Book Examines the Physical and Emotional Artifacts We Carry With Us in Times of Crisis

FORT McMURRAY, Alta. / March 21, 2019 — The University of Alberta Press and author Therese Greenwood will celebrate the launch of her new book, What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home, a memoir of the Fort McMurray Wildfire, on Thursday, March 28, at Audrey’s Books in Edmonton.

Weeks before the official April 1 release of this eye-witness account of the largest wildfire in Canadian history and the 2016 evacuation of Fort McMurray, Alberta, What You Take With You had already climbed to the top of Amazon.ca’s Hot New Releases listings in the Natural Disasters Category, but the book is more than a disaster story: it is also about the physical and emotional artifacts we carry with us in times of crisis and the meaning they attain.

Greenwood’s experience and skill as a journalist and a mystery writer engages and maintains suspense. Her portrayal of how people behave in an emergency and how a community comes together is uplifting. Her stories of what she saved from the fire will resonate with anyone who has lived through a crisis, and help make sense of a life-changing event that garnered interest throughout the world.

“My eyes filled with tears more than once while reading (Greenwood’s) book,” says Diane Schoemperlen, author of This Is Not My Life: A Memoir of Love, Prison, and Other Complications. “So terrifying and so tender, it looks clearly and deeply into how we can survive loss and how our treasured objects can be the priceless vessels that carry the stories of both our past and our future.”

Says Miranda Hill, author of Sleeping Funny: “In What You Take With You, Therese Greenwood tells a very personal story of the Fort McMurray Wildfire. By considering the things that she lost in the blaze and the things that were saved, Greenwood takes the reader with her through her own evacuation, the road to safety, the grief that she experienced on losing her home, and the steps to her recovery. It is a beautiful book, sharply observed in the accounting of a disaster that affected the nation, gripping in the particulars of her own journey, and expansive in the questions it poses for us all: How is memory tied to the things we’ve collected, and what does it mean to make a home?”

Wayne Grady, the author of Up From Freedom, says Greenwood’s “gripping account of the Fort McMurray wildfire evacuation … is told in the deceptively relaxed manner that often masks true tragedy. You’ll read this book with a mounting sense of panic. You’ll look around your own house, imagining flames licking at your doors. You have two minutes: what would you save?”

Greenwood said she is excited to be holding the official launch celebration for the book March 28 in Edmonton — and not just because it’s home to her publisher, the University of Alberta Press.

“Like so many of the 80,000 people who evacuated Fort McMurray on May 3, 2016, my husband and I made the long drive on jam-packed highways to safety in Edmonton,” she said. “The way citizens of other communities rallied to support Fort McMurray evacuees is a big part of this story and of our own road home.”

Audrey’s Books is located at 10702 Jasper Avenue. The 7 p.m. launch celebration will include a presentation, book sales and signings.

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS

The University of Alberta Press (USP) is a contemporary, award-winning publisher of scholarly and creative books distinguished by their editorial care, exceptional design, and global reach. UAP contributes substantively to the University of Alberta’s mission, its national and international reputation, and the impact of its research and teaching by means of a diverse and far-ranging scholarly publishing program that is recognized annually with a host of awards for excellence in both scholarship and publishing.

ABOUT THERESE GREENWOOD

Greenwood’s short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has twice been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize, and has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies. Earlier this month, Greenwood was named the winner of a 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for her crossover mystery story about a B-movie cowboy at the Calgary Stampede. She and her husband live in Fort McMurray, Alberta.

For more information about books and events, visit Greenwood online at www.therese.ca or on Facebook. To arrange a media interview, email media@webpaving.com or telephone 587-723-1274.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: What You Take With You [JPEG 3.9 MB]

FORT McMURRAY, Alta. / March 3, 2019 — Author Therese Greenwood has won a 2019 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for her crossover mystery story about a B-movie cowboy at the Calgary Stampede.

Greenwood received Best Western Short Fiction recognition for “Buck’s Last Ride,” one of 14 stories in her 2018 collection Kill As You Go, released by Calgary-based Coffin Hop Press.

“On one level, it’s a story about a cowboy who hates his horse,” said Greenwood. “It also explores one of my favourite themes, ordinary people who make split-second decisions with no do-overs. In my stories, people are confronted with the unexpected and rise to the occasion — or not.”

Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice” for her short crime fiction, Greenwood’s collection was her first publication following the loss of her home in the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. Later this month, the University of Alberta Press is releasing her newest book, the memoir What You Take With You: Wildfire, Family and the Road Home. An eye witness account of the wildfire and evacuation, the book is also about the physical and emotional artifacts we carry with us in times of crisis.

Greenwood’s short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has twice been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize, and has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies.

Since 1953, the Western Writers of America has annually honoured writers for distinguished writing about the American West. Spur Award winners in previous years included mystery authors James Lee Burke, Craig Johnson, Joe R. Landsale, and Anne Hillerman.

ABOUT COFFIN HOP PRESS

Calgary-based independent publisher Coffin Hop Press is committed to publishing the best Canadian genre fiction in print and e-book formats. With a commitment to good writing, a savvy grasp of online media, and a feisty approach to championing writers, Coffin Hop is taking the western Canadian literary landscape by storm with an innovative long-range slate of upcoming publications. Visit www.coffinhop.com for more information.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: Kill As You Go [JPEG 4 MB]

KINGSTON, Ont. / Dec. 5, 2018 – The latest book by Kingston native Therese Greenwood includes several locally set stories for the Christmas season, including one nominated for Canada’s top mystery-writing honour.

“A Christmas Bauble,” set in Prohibition-era Kingston, was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story after its initial appearance in The Kingston Whig-Standard.

“It is set on Princess Street in 1920s Kingston,” said Greenwood. “Given the heritage nature of the city’s downtown, it was relatively easy to visualize the setting.”

In “A Christmas Bauble,” Greenwood imagines a local reporter, a jewelry store owner, and a flapper who find their Christmas Eve interrupted by an extraordinary event. Another local Christmas story in the collection, “Marley Was Dead,” imagines a modern-day volunteer fire department trying to solve a crime on the day of the Santa Claus parade.

The stories are among the 14 mysteries, most set in and around the Kingston area, published in Greenwood’s collection Kill As You Go, a 2018 release by Calgary-based Coffin Hop Press.

Greenwood’s newest Christmas story “The Power Man” is set on Wolfe Island in the 1920s. It is also being published this month in a second book, the new holiday collection Baby It’s Cold Outside, at www.coffinhop.com.

“I’ve always enjoyed writing Christmas stories,” said Greenwood. “It’s a good time of year for providing all of the dramatic elements of good mystery, a gathering of people, a dynamic setting, and a ticking clock counting down to the celebration.”

Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice” for her short crime fiction, Greenwood’s collection was launched earlier this year at Alberta’s Words Collide Festival. The 14 mystery stories in Kill As You Go present an intimate portrait of small-town Canada. Setting is destiny for the characters who amble through Greenwood’s fiction, whether they are Prohibition bootleggers in a Canadian border town, a B-movie cowboy at the Calgary Stampede, Catholic nuns on a begging tour in 18th century Ontario, or a Fort McMurray bylaw officer with a barking dog complaint on the morning of a wildfire.

Greenwood grew up on Wolfe Island, Ontario, the largest of the Thousand Islands, and that region also forms the backdrop for much of her work. Her short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has twice been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize, and has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies.

For more information, visit her online at www.therese.ca and @WolfeIslander on Facebook and Twitter. Kill As You Go is available in print and e-book formats at www.coffinhop.com and on Amazon.ca.

ABOUT COFFIN HOP PRESS

Calgary-based independent publisher Coffin Hop Press is committed to publishing the best Canadian genre fiction in print and e-book formats. With a commitment to good writing, a savvy grasp of online media, and a feisty approach to championing writers, Coffin Hop is taking the western Canadian literary landscape by storm with an innovative long-range slate of upcoming publications. Visit www.coffinhop.com for more information.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: Kill As You Go [JPEG 4 MB]

Calgary-based Coffin Hop Press has just released the short story collection Kill As You Go from two-time Arthur Ellis Award nominee Therese Greenwood.

Called “a master storyteller” and “a pure Canadian voice” for her short crime fiction, Greenwood is publishing for the first time since losing her family home in the Fort McMurray wildfire of 2016.

“It was interesting to look back at the stories I wrote before the wildfire and compare them to my writing after,” said Greenwood. “It inspired me to explore the disruption that a natural disaster of this type brings.”

In her story “Cry Havoc,” set in Fort McMurray on the morning of May 3, 2016, the day of that city’s mass evacuation in the face of an out-of-control wildfire, Greenwood addresses an ordinary day interrupted by cataclysmic events.

“It’s a twist on an idea I’ve been exploring for some time, about ordinary people making split-second decisions with no do-overs,” said Greenwood. “In my stories, people are confronted with the unexpected and have to rise to the occasion — or not.”

“Solid, sharp, tight, entertaining story telling.”
— Peter Sellers, Derrick Murdoch award-winning author of This One’s Trouble.

The 14 stories in Kill As You Go, the latest offering from Calgary publisher Coffin Hop Press, present an intimate portrait of small-town Canada. Setting is destiny for the characters who amble through Greenwood’s fiction, whether they are Prohibition bootleggers in a Canadian border town, a B-movie cowboy at the Calgary Stampede, Catholic nuns on a begging tour in 18th century Ontario, or a Fort McMurray bylaw officer with a barking dog complaint on the morning of May 3, 2016.

Greenwood grew up on Wolfe Island, Ontario, the largest of the Thousand Islands, and that region also forms the backdrop for much of her work. Her short fiction has appeared across Canada and in the U.S. in such publications as the Crime Writers of Canada’s Over The Edge anthology and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. She has twice been short-listed for the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s top mystery writing prize, and has co-edited two short crime fiction anthologies.

Kill As You Go is available now on Amazon in paperback and for Kindle readers.

ABOUT COFFIN HOP PRESS

Calgary-based independent publisher Coffin Hop Press is committed to publishing the best Canadian genre fiction in print and e-book formats. With a commitment to good writing, a savvy grasp of online media, and a feisty approach to championing writers, Coffin Hop is taking the western Canadian literary landscape by storm with an innovative long-range slate of upcoming publications. Visit www.coffinhop.com for more information.

HI-RES MEDIA DOWNLOADS

The following media are available for use by reviewers:

• Photo: Therese Greenwood [JPEG 22 MB]
• Cover Art: Kill As You Go [JPEG 4 MB]