Selena Mercuri | Writer, Editor, Book Publicist

Today we're highlighting a new novel! Liz Johnston's The Fall-Down Effect is an expansive and moving story about family, environmental activism, climate change, secrets, and loss, set in a small mountain town.

Read an excerpt from the book here: wildroofjournal.substack.com/p/the-fall-d...

The cover of Muttertongue, by Lillian Allen, Gary Barwin and Gregory Betts. The background is lighter and darker shades of cyan/turquoise. The title is in black, with dots separating most of the syllables. There are grey and green circles and typography floating around the cover. In the centre of the black title there is the following phrase in white: "what is a word in utter space"

Read @amandaearl.bsky.social's review of Muttertongue, by Lillian Allen, @garybarwin.bsky.social & @whatisapoem.bsky.social (pub. Exile), in Issue 33!

From the first glimpse of the book cover, it’s clear I’m in for a lot of play ...

www.thetemzreview.com/earl-muttert...

The cover of Notes from the Ward, by Steffi Tad-y. The cover is horizontally-arranged, long blocks of red and green. Peeking out underneath in a few places is white paper with pen scribbles on it

Read @amandaearl.bsky.social's review of Steffi Tad-y's Notes from the Ward (pub. Gordon Hill Press) in Issue 33!

​These minimalist poems are powerful expressions of vulnerability and intense articulations of dreams...

www.thetemzreview.com/earl-tad-y-3...

“The Book of Interruptions resists continuity… what emerges is poetry that begins and breaks, self-dissects, and starts again, offering up language attuned to the ruptures we inhabit, those that insist on remaining open.”

—Selena Mercuri, The Literary Review of Canada

@wolsakandwynn.bsky.social

A graphic reading "Gift Guide Week with Selena Mercuri" There is an inset photo of Selena and her six book picks: There Is No Blue by Martha Baillie; Starry Starry Night by Shani Mootoo; Speech Dries Here on the Tongue by Hollay Ghadery, Resiqra Revulva, & Amanda Shankland; from time to new by Lydia Kwa; Skin by Catherine Bush, and This Report Is Strictly Confidential by Elizabeth Ruth.

Looking for books to gift (or to read)? Writer and reviewer @selenamercuri.bsky.social has you covered with six fantastic book recommendations in this year's #ALUGiftGuide.

alllitup.ca/gift-guide-w...

Under Review: In the Field by Sadiqa de Meijer - The New Quarterly Digital Edition Danila Botha Reviews Sadiqa de Meijer's In the Field, touching on form, authenticity, experiences, and more. Read now!

It was an honour to get to review @sadiqademeijer.bsky.social beautiful and evocative new book, In The Field.
@palimpsestpress.bsky.social
Every essay is a work of art. Thank you so much to @selenamercuri.bsky.social @thenewquarterly.bsky.social
tnq.ca/under-review... 💗📚

As we prepare to open submissions for the #WarlandAward on Nov 1, we extend our deepest gratitude to #AlisonBraid for her wonderful work and wish her all the best in her next chapter. We're delighted to welcome @selenamercuri.bsky.social to the team as the new coordinator for the Warland Award.

Thank you for featuring my poem, Vicki!

Seasonal Affective Disorder | The Innis Herald Snow tires trudge through grey slush as headlights  interrogate the blizzard that has murdered the warmth of the sun and my shadow  melts through the

"I listen to my circadian rhythm on repeat
to drown out the laments of the harsh winds."

#TodaysPoem #poetry
Seasonal Affective Disorder by @SelenaMercuri.bsky.social (2023 The Innis Herald)

“Worldly Girls unfolds like a series of controlled explosions, each essay detonating just enough certainty to reveal what lies beneath...” @selenamercuri.bsky.social reviews the debut memoir from @bokchoygurltjong.bsky.social for @thenewquarterly.bsky.social

tnq.ca/under-review...

Tuesday September 23, 6pm at the Caledonian! @emilyweedon.bsky.social's launches her new detective/vampire novel Hemo Sapiens. Q&A with @hvonpalleske.bsky.social. Readings by @mattcahill.bsky.social @selenamercuri.bsky.social @andrewawesome.bsky.social & Brooke Lockyer #CanLit

We're getting closer to 500 subscribers (free & paid)! Join us! www.theseaboardreview.ca

[Image description: A promotional graphic for Vancouver Writers Fest 2025 featuring a headshot of Canisia Lubrin labelled as Guest Curator. The graphic also includes green design accents and the covers of two books by Canisia Lubrin—THE WORLD AFTER RAIN and CODE NOIR.]

Exciting news! Our program coordinator and plenary class instructor #CanisiaLubrin is the Guest Curator for the 38th annual @writersfest.bc.ca, taking place October 20-26, 2025.

See the full schedule and get your tickets here: writersfest.bc.ca/2025-festiva...

Greatl day at the Mississauga Literary Festival! I did a talk on reading poetry and helped with the launch of Issue No. 8 of the @theampersandreview.bsky.social. Great people, great venue, great sense of community, all sorely needed in these brutish times. Thank you, @mississaugalib.bsky.social !!!

Canisia Lubrin: “From ‘The World After Rain,’ II: Twice Awake“ A poem by Canisia Lubrin: “the hour is thick, our tables full, our fields long again with cane”

There's an excerpt from Canisia Lubrin's new book, The World After Rain, in the @yalereview.bsky.social. Check it out!

yalereview.org/article/cani...

Our MFA students had a lovely time reading at the Eden Mills Writers’ Festival yesterday alongside the Read at the Fringe winners!

As writers, one of the greatest challenges is sustaining ourselves over the long journey of creation and publication. Not just perseverance, but an irreducible devotion to the act of writing itself.

#breathingthepage #writingcommunity #amwri̇ti̇ng #authorcommunity #writers #betsywarland #onwriting

I’m so excited to be joining the wonderful TNQ team!

Check out these Toronto literary events happening in August!

#bookevent #booklaunch #toronto #torontoevents #authorcommunity #authorgram #writers

Hi everyone! I thought I would introduce myself now that I’m planning to post on here a bit more frequently. I’m Selena, a #writer, recovering #barista, and #booklover working in the #literaryindustry. 📚

A photo of Myna Wallin's collection The Suicide Tourist, standing up on a park bench outside on a sunny day. The cover is white, with an abstract drawing of a woman in blue tones in the middle

Read @selenamercuri.bsky.social's review of Myna Wallin's The Suicide Tourist (pub. Ekstasis Editions) in Issue 31!

...Rather than writing about survival as a triumph, Wallin describes it as a process that is gritty, repetitive, and nonlinear...

www.thetemzreview.com/mercuri-31.h...

"Your Presence is Mandatory centres around several false narratives..."
The debut review by Olga Stein is up at TSR! Graphic by @selenamercuri.bsky.social www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/your-prese...

Re: Wild Her by Shannon Webb-Campbell Reviewed by Selena Mercuri

Re: Wild Her is "an intimate, itinerant work of lyric poetry that blends the celestial with the sorrowful, the bodily with the political, & the personal with the planetary." @selenamercuri.bsky.social on the latest collection from Shannon Webb-Campbell for @theseaboardreview.ca.
tinyurl.com/32e9vd49

My pleasure and see you on April 9th for the launch! 💕🎉

Myth by Terese Mason Pierre Reviewed by Selena Mercuri

All my thanks to @selenamercuri.bsky.social for this gorgeous and careful review of Myth! 🥹❤️🙏🏾
www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/myth-by-te...

WHITE by @avivarubin-author.bsky.social has been reviewed by @selenamercuri.bsky.social for TSR. www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/white-by-a... #canlit

"antibody" by Rebecca Salazar is reviewed by @selenamercuri.bsky.social (who also designs our social media graphics). #poetry #canlit www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/antibody-p...

tomorrow ✨️ feat. the first review of antibody by @selenamercuri.bsky.social in @theseaboardreview.ca , with many thanks for such a thoughtful read 💜

Review of J.M. Frey's Time and Tide by @selenamercuri.bsky.social @theseaboardreview.ca #CanLit www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/time-and-t...