some author activity: Aube, Kemp, Kronovet, Earl, Wells + MacEachern,

Gwen Aube has new work up at Maisonneuve; Penn Kemp has a new poem up at Centred.ca, and there's an article on her work in the London Free Press and new work in The Typescript; Arlington poet laureate Jennifer Kronovet took part in a recent event in the county; Amanda Earl has a long poem up at Canto; Christina Wells offers reading recommendations via The Fiddlehead; and a poem by Jessi MacEachern lands on the Room Magazine 2026 Poetry Contest Longlist.

Peter Jaeger is on the 2025 Nelson Ball Prize long list! (along w Stebner, Robinson, Christakos etc

Congratulations to the entire 2025 Nelson Ball Prize long list! Naturally, it is very exciting to see an above/ground press title on the list, by Canadian poet Peter Jaeger, as well as titles by above/ground press authors Margaret Christakos (author of the 2019 title Retreat Diary 2019), Ben Robinson (author of three above/ground press titles, most recently the 2023 title Between the Lakes) and Kevin Stebner (author of the 2023 title AGALMA). In case you aren't aware:

The Nelson Ball Prize, worth $1,000, is awarded annually to a Canadian poet for a published work that features 'poetry of observation.' * The judges this year are James McDonald and Beverley Daurio. Stay tuned for the Short List, and then the announcement of the winning publication.

Here's the full list of longlisted titles:

Margaret Christakos, That Audible Slippage (University of Alberta Press)
Jeremy Clarke, Stone Hours (Rufus Books)
Peter Jaeger, Selected Memoirs (above/ground press)
Dawn Macdonald, Northerny (University of Alberta Press)
Michael Ondaatje, A Year of Last Things (McClelland & Stewart)
Ben Robinson, As Is (ARP Books)
Angeline Schellenberg, Mondegreen Riffs (At Bay Press)
Kevin Stebner, Inherent (Assembly Press)
Michael Trussler, 10:10 (Icehouse Poetry)
Matthew Walsh, Terrarium (Icehouse Poetry)

some author activity: Sandhu, Mellis, Scroggins, Dyckman, Robinson, Witte, Rosenthal + Massey,

Mandy Sandhu has work up in the Spotlight series; Miranda Mellis is interviewed via Nightboat Books; Mark Scroggins has a poem up at the arts fuse; Susanne Dyckman and Elizabeth Robinson and Valerie Witte and Sarah Rosenthal have new work up at Literary Cherry; and Karen Massey is one of ten finalists for the 2024 3-day novel contest!

some author activity: Browne, Maloukis, Saklikar, Manery, Robinson, Boughn + Kemp,

a video conversation of Kate Colby and Al Filreas discussing a poem by Laynie Browne at Kelly Writers House is now online; Rose Maloukis had a poem longlisted for The 2025 Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse contest, via The New Quarterly; Renée Sarojini Saklikar etc read in Vancouver on June 28th as part of Rob Manery's Some Reading; Ben Robinson has some new poems and book recommendations over at Etcetera, as does Michael Boughn; and Penn Kemp has four new poems up at The Typescript.

three above/ground press titles--by Ben Robinson, Zane Koss + rob mclennan--longlisted for the 2024 Nelson Ball Prize!

Very cool to catch today's announcement of the longlist for this year's Nelson Ball Prize! Three above/ground press titles are on this year's longlist: A PANDEMIC INVENTORY, SPRING-SUMMER 2020, BROOKLYN NY by Zane Koss (2023), Between the Lakes by Ben Robinson (2023) and edgeless : letters, by rob mclennan (2023) (all three of which are still in print, by the by). And very cool to see above/ground press author Khashayar "Kess" Mohammadi on there as well for their Pamenar title. Congrats to the whole list! Yay!

2022 NELSON BALL PRIZE LONG LIST : Hajnoczky, Harder, McKinnon + Weaver!

It is exciting to see four above/ground press titles (and three further above/ground press authors) on this year's longlist for the Nelson Ball Prize! Congratulations to all! Oh, and be aware that all four above/ground press titles on this list are still totally in print, yes? As the press release offers:

We're pleased to announce the Long List for the 2022 Nelson Ball Prize, as selected by our dedicated judges, Beverley Daurio and James McDonald. The judges read about 100 submissions of books, chapbooks, and ephemera, looking for the best in "poetry of observation" by a Canadian poet.

Stay tuned for the Short List! The winner will receive $1,000, thanks to our generous donors.

Here is the Long List of 10 titles, in alphabetical order by the poets' names:

Lines – Cameron Anstee (St. Andrew Books)

Undoing Hours – Selina Boan (Nightwood Editions)

wind – Guy Ewing (Puddles of Sky Press)

a grain of sand – Helen Hajnoczky (above/ground press)

Zero Dawn – Shelly Harder (above/ground press)

A Number of Stunning Attacks – Jessi MacEachern (Invisible Publishing)

Gone South – Barry McKinnon (above/ground press)

Rain's Small Gestures – Pearl Pirie (Apt. 9 Press)

Ghosthawk – Matt Rader (Nightwood Editions)

So/I – Andy Weaver (above/ground press)

some author activity: Brown, Mody, Tucker, Melançon + Dennis,

Simon Brown has some new poems and a short statement in the Spotlight series; Monica Mody is interviewed over at Touch the Donkey; Aaron Tucker is on the longlist for the CBC Non-Fiction Prize; Jérôme Melançon was interviewed for the Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec Views and Voices podcast series, to talk about poetry, translation, and living in French outside Québec, including a bonus reading of "Solidarité", from En d'sous d'la langue, as well as a bonus reading of "Irregularities" from Tomorrow's Going to Be Bright; the late Michael Dennis' "Shelf Portrait" (writ in 2019) is newly posted at The Richler Literary Project.

some author activity: Hogg, Mody, Carpenter, Earl + Niespodziany,

Robert Hogg is interviewed over at poetry mini interviews; Monica Mody is featured in Episode 223, S3 of the podcast Jazz Ready, hosted by Magdalena Gómez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA; J.R. Carpenter was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize; Amanda Earl writes on the artist statement, and revisiting old ones; and Benjamin Niespodziany has new work up at HAD.

the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize longlist: Stephanie Bolster + Franco Cortese,

above/ground press authors Stephanie Bolster and Franco Cortese are among the thirty-three writers included in the 2019 CBC Poetry Prize longlist! Hooray! Stephanie Bolster is the author of the above/ground press chapbooks Three Bloody Words (1996), Biodome (2006), Three Bloody Words: Twentieth Anniversary Edition (2016) and Ghosts (2017), and was also included in the 2012 shortlist and the 2017 longlist! Franco Cortese is the author of, among other items, the 2019 above/grond press chapbook uoiea. Congratulations to all! And good luck!

CBC Poetry Prize longlist : Bolster + mclennan,

above/ground press authors Stephanie Bolster and rob mclennan made the 2017 CBC Poetry Prize longlist, alongside thirty-one other Canadian writers. Hooray! Congratulations to all! Stephanie Bolster is the author of more than a couple of above/ground press titles still in print, including Three Bloody Words: Twentieth Anniversary Edition (2016) and GHOSTS (2017), which is made up of poems from the same work-in-progress as her poems on the longlist; and rob mclennan is the author of far too many items that remain in print, but most recently include King Kong (2014) and It's still winter (2017), which is also made up of poems from the same work-in-progress as his poems on the longlist.

CBC Poetry Prize Longlist: Brockwell + Elmslie,

above/ground press authors Stephen Brockwell and Susan Elmslie are among the longlist of thirty-eight writers on this year's CBC Poetry Prize. Congratulations to you both! You can see the entire longlist, here.

Stephen Brockwell is the author of five trade poetry collections, and has had three chapbooks produced through above/ground press over the years: Marin County Poems (2001), Impossible Books (the Carleton Installment) (2010), and Excerpts from Impossible Books, The Crawdad Cantos (2012). Susan Elmslie, the author of a trade poetry collection through Brick Books, has a wee chapbook produced through above/ground press many moons ago, her I, Nadja (2000), which, if you can imagine, might even still have a few copies left, lying around.

The 2014 CBC Poetry Prize shortlist will be announced on Monday, September 8.

above/ground press authors Bolster, Young + mclennan on the 2012 CBC Poetry Prize longlist,

above/ground press authors Stephanie Bolster (author of two above/ground press chapbooks, most recently the 2006 chapbook, BIODOME), Deanna Young (author of the 2012 chapbook, Mediterraneo) and rob mclennan (author of too many things to count, but some recent above/ground press items include This, circular tower, goldfish: studies in fine thread, Sextet: six poems from Songs for little sleep, The underside of the line, the interview chapbook ECONOMIES OF SCALE, and (with Christine McNair) prelude: selections from a collaboration) were announced as part of a list of thirty-six on this year's CBC Poetry Prize longlist. Congrats to all!

Apparently we have to wait for September 17th to see what the shortlist looks like, and then another week or so to see who may have won...