BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Eloquent, poignant and witty, Garry Gottfriedson's new collection of poetry, Whiskey Bullets, approaches an old genre with a new flare that will challenge your expectations of cowboy poetry. This edgy collection explores themes of duality that exist in the parallel worlds of cowboys and Indians.
Often satirical, Whiskey Bullets is a testament to adaptability, turning tragedy into humour and pain into passion. It speaks to the unique experience of growing up aboriginal, on the Tk'emlups Reserve (Secwepemc) near Kamloops, with strong First Nation values and traditions, while at the same time immersed in the cowboy and ranching culture of the interior of BC. Gottfriedson skillfully balances his indigenous vision and contemporary concerns, creating a blend of imagery that stimulates the mind's eye like never before.
Shattering the cowboy's code of ethics, Gottfriedson unveils hidden truths, unspoken and often ignored, bringing to the fore inescapable issues of gender, sexuality, race and politics, infused with aboriginal attitude. Form and content are carefully conceived to celebrate the distinctive aboriginal individuality, the "shape-shifting" attitudes that are required when one lives simultaneously in two cultures - Secwepemc and white - and their two languages. Candid and challenging, Whiskey Bullets is thought-provoking and engaging.
Garry Gottfriedson, from the Secwepemc first nation (Shuswap), was born, raised and lives in Kamloops, BC. He is a self-employed rancher with a Masters degree in Education from Simon Fraser University. He was awarded the Gerald Red Elk Creative Writing Scholarship by the Naropa Institute in Boulder, Colorado, where he studied under Allen Ginsberg, Anne Waldman, Marianne Faithful and others.
His published works include In Honor of Our Grandmothers: Imprints of Cultural Survival (Theytus Books, 1994), 100 Years of Contact (Secwepemc Cultural Education Society, 1990), Glass Tepee (Thistledown Press, 2002 - nominated for First People's Publishing Award 2004), Painted Pony (Partners in Publishing, 2005), Whiskey Bullets (Ronsdale, 2006 - Anskohk Aboriginal Award Finalist), Skin Like Mine (Ronsdale, 2010 - Shortlisted for the CAA Award for Poetry), and Jimmy Tames Horses (Kegedonce Press, 2012).
Gottfriedson has read from his work across North America, Asia and Europe, and frequently gives creative writing workshops and lectures. His work has been internationally anthologized.