FOLD Challenge Archives

White rectangular graphic with a dark purple border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD September Challenge: An audiobook by an Indigenous author. Titles are THE BERRY PICKERS by Amanda Peters; KUKUM by Michel Jean, translated by Susan Ouriou; MAKING LOVE WITH THE LAND by Joshua Whitehead; and TRUTH TELLING by Michelle Good.

September FOLD 2023 Challenge: An audiobook by an Indigenous author

Sep 1, 2023

By Monica Tang This month we are highlighting books by Indigenous authors that are accessible as audiobooks. We’ve also included a few bonus titles that will be releasing this Fall! The land in so-called Canada is home to many diverse Indigenous peoples and cultures. The following titles feature authors from different nations, cultures, and geographical...

White rectangular graphic with a dark purple border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD August Challenge: A book that explores the justice system by an author with lived experience. Titles are HARVESTING FREEDOM by Gabriel Allahdua, MY ROAD FROM DAMASCUS by Jamal Saeed, FIVE LITTLE INDIANS by Michelle Good, and SOLITARY by Albert Woodfox.

August FOLD 2023 Challenge: A book that explores the justice system by an author with lived experience

Aug 1, 2023

By Anita Ragunathan It is widely acknowledged that experiences with the in/justice system are not equal. As a system built on colonial and class violence and for the protection of property, people on the margins of society who come into contact with the in/justice system are often victims of unspeakable brutality. In these harrowing accounts,...

White rectangular graphic with a dark purple border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD July Challenge: A book by a Black author from the East Coast. Titles are HOLD MY GIRL by Charlene Carr, ABOLITIONIST INTIMACIES by El Jones, SOCIAL OBLIVION RAISED BLACK IN CANADA by Thandiwe McCarthy, and UNSPOKEN TRUTH by Angela Bowden.

July FOLD 2023 Challenge: A book by a Black author from the East Coast

Jul 24, 2023

By Alexandra Yeboah This month as we pave the way for the observance of Emancipation Day in Canada, we’ve selected books from Black Atlantic Canadian authors that center the experiences of Black individuals all over the African Diaspora. These individual and collective narratives touch on themes relating to racial identity, motherhood, prison justice, family and...

White rectangular graphic with a dark purple border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD June Challenge: A book that celebrates queer joy by a BIPOC author. Titles are LOVE AFTER THE END: AN ANTHOLOGY OF TWO-SPIRIT AND INDIGIQUEER SPECULATIVE FICTION edited by Joshua Whitehead, THE FOGHORN ECHOES by Danny Ramadan, THE LOST CENTURY by Larissa Lai, and JADE IS A TWISTED GREEN by Tanya Turton.

June FOLD 2023 Challenge: A book that celebrates queer joy by a BIPOC author

Jun 1, 2023

By Lavanya Narasimhan Joy is a healer; it’s a connector; it’s as necessary to a person and community as food and water. Oftentimes, narratives for marginalized people focus on trauma or overcoming hardships. But joy is just as compelling of a storytelling element – the attaining of it, the celebration of it, the maintaining of...

White rectangular graphic with a dark pink border, showcasing Four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD May Challenge: A recently released young adult novel by a BIPOC author. Titles are TAHIRA IN BLOOM by Farah Heron, IRON WIDOW by Xiran Jay Zhao, WRONG SIDE OF THE COURT by H.N. Khan, and SUMMER OF BITTER AND SWEET by Jen Ferguson. For full list, visit thefoldcanada.org/readingchallenge2022

May FOLD 2022 Challenge: A recently released Young Adult novel by a BIPOC author

May 1, 2022

By Fiona Ross Young Adult novels, affectionately referred to as YA, are aimed at the 12-17 age group and will usually have protagonists of a similar age. They can be any of the genres included adult writing and can offer many similar themes and conflicts, but tend to be explored in a different way. One...

White rectangular graphic with a dark pink border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD April Challenge: A book of poetry by a writer over 50. Titles are CANE | FIRE by Shani Mootoo, BROKEN DAWN BLESSINGS by Adam Sol, NOTHING WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE by Nancy Jo Cullen, and WALKING IN THE TALL GRASS by Chief R. Stacey Laforme. For full list, visit thefoldcanada.org/readingchallenge2022

April FOLD 2022 Challenge: A book of poetry by a writer over 50

Apr 1, 2022

It can be easy, in a culture that sometimes seems to give more space to young writers and young accomplishments than not, to forget that writing is a career that lasts a lifetime. There is no age limit to brilliance–writing can sing and reach readers regardless of the age of the person who pens it....

White rectangular graphic with a dark pink border, showcasing four book covers for the titles chosen for the FOLD March Challenge: A fabulist novel by a disabled author. Titles are THE BOI OF FEATHER AND STEEL, by Adan Jerreat-Poole, WHAT WILLOW SAYS, by Lynn Buckle, SORROWLAND, by Rivers Solomon, and PIRANESI, by Susanna Clarke. For full list, visit thefoldcanada.org/readingchallenge2022

March FOLD 2022 Challenge: A fabulist novel by a disabled author

Mar 1, 2022

By Alex Platt In many ways, fabulism is a catch-all term for many of the genres readers may be more familiar with: magic realism, fantasy, sci fi, mystery, horror and speculative fiction. But fabulist stories weave between and across genres, blurring categorical attempts to pin them down. This is why they are so often hard to...

Four titles chosen for the FOLD February Challenge: A novella or a short book by an author from the LGBTQ2SIA+ community. Titles are THE GOOD ARABS by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, OUR STORY: COMING OUT IN THE TIME OF HIV AND AIDS by Robert Hamilton, SUTURE by Nic Brewer, and ON PROPERTY by Rinaldo Walcott. For full list, visit thefoldcanada.org/readingchallenge2022

February FOLD 2022 Challenge: A novella or a short book by an author from the LGBTQ2SIA+ community

Feb 1, 2022

By Alex Platt If you’ve been looking for a slim read you can finish in an afternoon or evening, are stuck in the middle of too many books, or have fallen out of the habit of reading daily, this month’s FOLD challenge has you covered. We’ve selected four novellas and short books by authors from...

Four book covers for four titles chosen for the FOLD 2021 December Challenge: A book by a marginalized author from British Columbia.

December FOLD Challenge: A book by a marginalized author from British Columbia

Dec 1, 2021

This December, we’re taking a trip to the West Coast, via books, and reading books by marginalized authors from British Columbia. From poetry through to graphic novels and memoirs mixed with storytelling, these books offer stories and lessons we can all appreciate and love. If you’ve recently read and loved work by a BC author,...

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