Quattro Books | Spring 2013
New Fiction
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Inheritance Kirsten Gundlack
QUATTRO FICTION
Helena’s disfigured face has defined her since childhood, yet with her older sister Grace’s unconditional love and encouragement, she is able to establish a sense of normalcy. Grace’s sudden death leaves Helena stunned and brokenhearted, but also leaves her with an unexpected inheritance. With only one day to make her decision, Helena becomes increasingly desperate to understand the real motivation behind Grace’s gift. Inheritance is a meditation on the power and fragility of appearances, and how those who love us help us love ourselves. Inheritance weaves a fiercely powerful narrative through human vanity, family, grief, and faith, all in the period of twenty-four hours.
Inheritance Kirsten Gundlack
Kirsten Gundlack found her path into fiction by way of acting, ESL teaching in Tokyo, and freelance writing for creative businesses. She is a graduate of the York University actor training program, the Humber School for Writers and the Creative Writing MFA program at the University of Guelph-Humber. A passionate observer of science and technology trends, she often dreams of electric sheep. Inheritance, co-winner of the 2013 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest, is her first novella.
Co-winner of the 2012 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest
Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-35-4 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
Oatcakes and Courage Joyce Grant-Smith
QUATTRO FICTION
The year is 1773. Anne Grant cannot bear that her father has betrothed her to a man who is as cruel as he is wealthy. Instead, she persuades her life-long friend, Ian MacLeod, to help her flee to Ullapool and get aboard the Hector, a ship carrying Scottish settlers to the new colony of Pictou, Nova Scotia. The voyage begins well and the Scots look forward to a life of freedom in the New World. But as Anne adjusts to the Hector, she begins to realize that life at sea may be more than she bargained for: storms, smallpox and near famine threaten to tear the ship apart.
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Oatcakes and Courage, a tribute to the brave Scots who ventured across the North Atlantic Ocean in search of a better life, is told with harrowing realism.
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Joyce Grant-Smith is a retired elementary school teacher who has always had a thirst for the written word. She lives in the Annapolis Valley, NS, on a small hobby farm with her husband and various pets. Joyce enjoys writing both fiction and nonfiction. In 2004, her novel The Latch: An Acadian Adventure was awarded The Joyce Barkhouse Writing for Children Award and was a finalist in the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Contest. She is the co-winner of the 2013 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest.
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Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-32-3 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
New Fiction Terminal Grill Rosemary Aubert Set in a decade before Twitter and Facebook, Terminal Grill introduces a woman to her perfect stranger. Looks, style and wit make him irresistible and hopping into a cab with him – inevitable. However, first impressions are never what they seem, and she soon finds herself courting darkness, danger, and the unknown in this story of a potentially destructive temptation.
Mystery author Rosemary Aubert’s romantic thriller Terminal Grill explores one woman’s fall into the sensuous trap of a man so mysterious, witty, and slick, he’s just too good to be true.
Rosemary Aubert is the author of the award-winning Ellis Portal mystery series. She is also a published poet, most recently of Rough Wilderness: The Imaginary Love Poems of the Abbess Heloise. Her five romance novels have reached a world-wide audience. Rosemary has won numerous awards for her writing, most notably the Arthur Ellis Award (twice) for Canadian crime fiction. Terminal Grill is Rosemary’s sixteenth published book. Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-43-9 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
World of Glass Jocelyne Dubois After the rupture of her most recent relationship, Chloé begins a new life by taking a job as an advertising rep for an upscale fashion magazine in Montréal. Her reconnection with her French Canadian soul is initially exhilarating, but soon turns out to be disastrous. She loses her footing and enters her own world of glass: a fragile, hypersensitive realm that eventually shatters.
World of Glass is a disquieting insight on the internal struggles and stigmas of mental health experienced through the eyes of one woman caught in a vicious, downward spiral. Jocelyne Dubois’ novella, World of Glass, was shortlisted for the 2011 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest. Her fiction has appeared in The Dalhousie Review, Exile, carte blanche, Transition and The Toronto Quarterly, and her poetry has appeared in Canadian Women Studies (York University) and Brèves Littéraires (in English and French translation). Her poetry chapbook, Hot Summer Night, was published in 2008 by Sky of Ink Press. Jocelyne’s visual art has been exhibited in Montréal galleries. Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-31-6 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
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Fiction | Translation
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The Invention of Death Hubert Aquin | Translated by Joseph Jones A hidden treasure of Aquin’s oeuvre, The Invention of Death is a story incubated from the author’s early writing days. An incendiary story of jealousy, adultery and suicide, The Invention of Death toes the line between the contemplations of youth and those of maturity. Published fourteen years after Aquin’s death, this mysterious work casts us into a crisis world where God does not exist, paths are volatile, and humanity is fragile in the grips of a vast and unpredictable darkness. The Invention of Death is strikingly daring, attacking the taboos of our time with unrelenting vigour, mastery, and heartbreaking fragility. Hubert Aquin (1929-1977) is considered by both Québec and Canada as one of our greatest authors. He was offered a Governor General’s award for his second novel Blackout; received the Prix de La Presse for his third novel The Antiphonary; and was awarded the Prix de la Ville de Montréal for Hamlet’s Twin, his fourth and final novel. In 1972, he received the Prix David for his entire body of work. Since his death in 1977, Aquin’s oeuvre has been and continues to be the object of numerous journal articles and academic dissertations, not only in Canada but worldwide. Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-27-9 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
The Sandbar Jean-Paul Daoust | Translated by Susan Ouriou & Christelle Morelli
QUATTRO FICTION
The Sandbar is a collection of vignettes from The Sandbar, a small-town watering hole in Northern Michigan owned by an eccentric couple with a penchant for stiff drinks. At an early age, their nephew gains an appreciation for exotic cocktails and for the quirky intricacies of family relations. The Sandbar follows Nephew’s experiences as a displaced Québécois youth growing up at the bar against the backdrop of such monumental events as the Detroit riots, Marilyn Monroe’s death and the beginnings of the Hippie movement.
The Sandbar Jean -P aul Daoust
The Sandbar is a snapshot of the 1950s and 60s “Golden Age” of America, following a family and the colourful clientele of their privately-owned cocktail lounge. Jean-Paul Daoust is a Québécois poet, essayist, and author. He has published thirty books of poetry and two novels since 1976, including Les cendres bleues which won the Governor General’s Award in 1990. Daoust received the Grand Prix at the Trois-Rivières Poetry Festival in 2009 for Le vitrail brisé and the Gatien-Lapointe-Jaime Sabines Poetry Prize in 2012.
Fiction | 120 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-28-6 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
Poetry Against the Flight of Spring Allan Briesmaster Through a dazzling variety of poetic forms and styles, this book restlessly explores such themes as identity, personal growth, love and friendship, Canadian landscape, climate change, visual art, and the roots of poetry itself, in moods of anxious and impassioned questioning, deep affection, dread, awe, and grateful praise. This is acclaimed poet Allan Briesmaster’s most formally inventive, most philosophical-minded, and most searchingly personal book to date. Often achingly precise in mind and spirit, the authenticity of this voice touches me. —David Zieroth Allan Briesmaster is a freelance editor, publisher, and literary consultant who has been actively involved in the Canadian literary scene for over 20 years. He is the author of 12 books and chapbooks, the most recent of which are Confluences (Seraphim Editions, 2009) and After Evening Wine (Alfred Gustav Press, 2011). His poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies and he has read them in venues from Victoria, B.C. to St. John’s, Nfld. Poetry | 92 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-38-5 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
And the cat says... Susan L. Helwig A love-you-love-you-not daisy petal game for the 21st century, And the cat says… is a whimsical, delectable treat; a poetry collection which weaves in some strange haircuts, flying carpets and two sets of twins. Oh, and did we mention the horses? Delicious. Entertaining. Susan L. Helwig’s And the cat says… (her best collection so far) is so readable it makes poetry seem like a naughty pleasure. —David Gilmour
Susan L. Helwig grew up on a dairy farm in southwestern Ontario just outside of Neustadt. From 1994 to 2002 she interviewed Canadian and international authors for the radio programme “In Other Words” on CKLN 88.1. Her poems have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies in Canada and abroad, and she has two previous poetry collections: Catch the Sweet (Seraphim Editions, 2001) and Pink Purse Girl (Wolsak and Wynn, 2006). Poetry | 88 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-40-8 | $14.95 | April 1, 2013
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Fourfront Editions Jack Layton: Art in Action Edited by Penn Kemp Jack Layton: Art in Action is a collection of anecdotes about Jack Layton’s involvement in Canadian arts and culture, and how his spirit continues to influence activism in Canada today. His interest in the Canadian cultural landscape was an underlying presence throughout his career. Art in Action encourages readers to be proactive and, as Jack would say, “Never turn down an opportunity to serve!” Jack Layton: Art in Action commemorates Jack Layton’s influence on Canadian arts and culture to encourage readers to actively effect positive change. Heralded by The Writers’ Union as “a one-woman literary industry,” activist, performer, and playwright Penn Kemp is the League of Canadian Poets’ 2012 honorary Life Member and inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of London, Ontario (2010-12). She has received the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Award for contributions to Canadian arts and culture. Penn has published 25 books of poetry and drama, and has had six plays and ten CDs of Sound Opera produced. Penn currently edits poetry for Pendas Productions and hosts her Lit-on-Air program, “Gathering Voices”. Non-fiction | 125 pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-37-8 | $24.95 | April 1, 2013
Steve Driscoll: Intelligence with the Earth With Essays by Gary Michael Dault Steve Driscoll: Intelligence with the Earth is an exuberant, luxuriously produced book of over fifty paintings – reproduced in full colour – by the much heralded Canadian painter Steve Driscoll. This handsomely designed volume showcases his most recent work as a maker of brilliantly conceived, gloriously opulent, epically vast landscape-paintings – most of which are derived from his vigorous hiking and camping trips through the Canadian wilderness. The book features text by well-known Canadian writer and art critic, Gary Michael Dault, who has provided an incisive, lyrical prose-poem text to accompany each of the works. Painter Steve Driscoll exhibits widely within Canada, with galleries in Ontario, British Colombia, and Newfoundland. He also shows his work internationally, having exhibited recently in New York, Miami, and Copenhagen. Driscoll is an awardwinning graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design. He currently lives and works in Toronto.
Non-fiction | 132 Pages | ISBN 978-1-927443-26-2 | $24.95 | Feb. 1, 2013
Recent Backlist
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Texas Claudio Gaudio 978-1-927443-09-5 $18.95
Abundance of the Infinite Christopher Canniff 978-1-927443-07-1 $14.95
Tea with the Tiger Nathan Unsworth 978-1-927443-05-7 $14.95
The Proxy Bride Terri Favro 978-1-927443-06-4 $14.95
Painting Circles Luciano Iacobelli 978-1-927443-70-1 $14.95
Fermata Dennison Smith 978-1-927443-03-3 $14.95
parterre elĂas carlo 978-1-927443-22-4 $14.95
Night-Eater Patricia Young 978-1-927443-01-9 $14.95
nunami Barbara Landry 978-1-927443-99-2 $14.95
Little Empires Robert Colman 978-1-927443-02-6 $14.95
Too Much Love Gianna Patriarca 978-1-927443-04-0 $14.95
The Unquiet Ian Burgham 978-1-927443-24-8 $14.95
Nevermore David Day 978-1-926802-68-8 $20.00
The Rules of the Game Ludwig Zeller trans. by A.F. Moritz 978-1-927443-19-4 $16.95
Teachers at Their Best | Enseignants sous leur meilleur jour Gina Valle 978-1-927443-08-8 $24.95
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Allan Briesmaster: allan@quattrobooks.ca Beatriz Hausner: beatriz@quattrobooks.ca John Calabro: john@quattrobooks.ca Luciano Iacobelli: luciano@quattrobooks.ca Maddy Curry & Sarah Beaudin: info@quattrobooks.ca
Allan Briesmaster Beatriz Hausner John Calabro Luciano Iacobelli Russell Smith A. F. Moritz
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