Sumach Press ushers in Fall 2008 with a wonderful selection of contemporary women's writing that will inspire, invigorate, and entertain.

We start the season with the September launch of two very important works of fiction for young adults:

Edited by Deb Loughead and Jocelyn Shipley, Cleavage: Breakaway Fiction for Real Girls is an inspiring collection of fifteen stories about girls who break away from convention and girls who wish they could. Hilarious, edgy, comforting, intense, Cleavage is about holding back and letting loose, about sex and glamour and common sense. With contributions from both established and emerging writers, the innovative stories in this collection are all about taking pride in wearing our bodies just the way they are.

Our second young adult fiction release this fall will be the much anticipated sequel to Rites of the Healer by Anne Gray. Healer's Touch continues the journey of sixteen-year-old healer/engineer Dovella when she embarks on a task that leads her to discover new and formidable powers within herself. Ancient prophecies, evil ambitions, a powerful sorcerer and his fanatical followers all conspire to defeat the young Dovella, who finds she must come to a new understanding of the world she lives in. A perfect book for teen readers looking for speculative fiction with a strong heroine.

Joining the ranks of award-winning Sumach Press mysteries is Illegally Dead, travel-writer Joan Donaldson-Yarmey's debut mystery novel. Heroine Elizabeth Oliver stumbles upon a crime scene as she researches a new travel article in the Crowsnest Pass area of Southern Alberta. Despite her initial reluctance to turn investigator, events lead Elizabeth into the thick of things as her travel research reveals valuable clues about the disturbing truth of the crimes.

Also in our fall lineup is a new book in our Women's Issues Publishing Program — Whose University Is It, Anyway? Power and Privilege on Gendered Terrain, a critical look at equity in education. These first-hand perspectives from contributors working within academia paint a dynamic portrait of what goes on behind the scenes of the university. The fourteen essays convey the tensions, contradictions and possibilities involved in working and learning within the university, and illustrate ways in which equity and gender shape experience within higher education in Canada.

We hope you enjoy our latest offerings and encourage you to check out our Events page for launch listings, author readings, signings, special events and workshops with our authors!