ORB April Issue – Yes to a Literary Spring

The literary spring has sprung in Canada. So, don’t just peruse your TBR shelf - head out to one of our nation's many literary festivals. A number of the core reviewers at the Ottawa Review of Books will be meeting up in Montreal for the fabulous Blue Metropolis festival at the end of the month. Several of us will be on panels and others just rubbing shoulders with Canada's literary Illuminati. Maybe we will see you there? Look out for Tim Niedermann, Wayne Ng, Caroline Vu and Ian Thomas Shaw. In this issue, we are offering you a preview of the panel Jerusalem, Algiers, Mexico – When Fiction comes to the Rescue of Reality, featuring Sivan Slapak, Claire Messud and Mateo García Elizondo. Check it out. Also in this month’s lineup, Tim Niedermann reviews Ripper: The Making of Pierre Poilievre by Mark Bourrie and Heaven and Hell by Iceland's Jón Kalman Stefánsson. Wayne Ng gives us his insights into Catherine Bush’s first short story collection Skin: Stories, and Robert Runté shares his appreciation for sci-fi and fantasy author Matthew Hughes’ first collection of crime short fiction. Enjoy the issue, and don't forget to vote on April 28.