An exciting year ahead in 2016

If you think 2015 was a dynamic year for Five Rivers, wait till you see what’s ahead in 2016.

We presently have in production some truly exciting titles, both fiction and non-fiction. And we’re also giving you a sneak peek at some of the fabulous covers Jeff Minkevics has designed for our 2016 catalogue.

In addition to what we’re previewing below, we will also release several more books in the Prime Ministers of Canada series.

Fans of Mik Murdoch will be pleased to know Michell Plested is beavering away at the revision of the third installment in the series with Crisis of Conscience. You won’t be disappointed.

Ann Marston, author of the much-beloved Rune Blades of Celi series, will have a new release which will take her and her fans in a new direction with the debut of A Still and Bitter Grave, a compelling paranormal crime-mystery which makes its spectacular denouement in the northern reaches of Alberta, Canada. Aviation enthusiasts will love this one.

The third and final book of Susan MacGregor’s The Tattooed Witch trilogy will release later this year with the dramatic tale of The Tattooed Queen. Nefarious designs at sea, expanding power struggles, and a struggle for identity and home will keep fans riveted.

And then off in an adventurous and delicious tangent we’re pleased to present the mammoth and glorious work of Michelle Enzinas in the Annotated Henry Buttes Dry Dinner. Lovers of experimental archaeology and Elizabethan cuisine will revel in this highly detailed and painstakingly researched presentation of Buttes’ theories of nutrition and balancing humours, combined with Enzinas’ research into and redaction of Elizabethan recipes, all in glorious colour and hardcover.

For now, however, take a look at the titles which are presently in production….

May 1, 2016


Canadian Police Heroes, by Dorothy Pedersen.

Superlative bravery, humble heroism, selfless dedication: these are just some of the qualities that informed the actions of the people featured in this collection of Canadian police officers. These heroes did not hesitate to put themselves in the line of fire — from high-speed car chases down busy city streets to perilous rescues in flame-engulfed houses to protect from harm the members of their communities. For this, they are rarely thanked. This book highlights in appreciation their achievements.

7 x 9 trade paperback, 108 pages $16.99
eBook $4.99

July 1, 2016

Eocene Station, by Dave Duncan.

K. N. ‘Cannon’ Ball and his superstar wife, Tempest, are running for their lives. Cannon has exposed a fraud so huge even heads of government are implicated and determined to keep Cannon from ever testifying. Nowhere is safe, so they step out of time to a research station fifty million years in the past. The dinosaurs died out eons ago and there aren’t any people around, so they ought to be safe then, right? Wrong, very wrong!

A new Dave Duncan novel is always a reason to celebrate, and his trademark blend of high adventure, hard science, and wry humour makes Eocene Station a must read.

6 x 9 trade paperback
eBook

August 1, 2016

The Mermaid’s Tale, by D.G. Valdron.

In an age of dreams before the memories of men, the first city is divided by mistrust between the separate races. When a sacred mermaid is found brutally murdered, the elders summon an Aruhk—a creature of violence—to track the killer. Nameless, soulless, but not without intelligence, the Aruhk becomes obsessed with the murder no one else believes concerns them. As the Aruhk begins to piece together the mermaid’s tale, the fragile alliances holding the city together begin to unravel.
6 x 9 hardcover
eBook

The Great Sky, by D.G. Laderoute.

The first time Piper Preach died he was ten years old. But the Anishnaabe spirits thought otherwise.

Now, six years later, Piper struggles with the hard realities of life in a big city. The ancient ways of his people are a distant memory. But the spirits aren’t done with him.

Pulled into their bizarre world, the place the Anishnaabe call The Great Sky, he’s plunged into the middle of a brutal war raging just a step away from reality. And this time there may be no escaping death – or even worse.

6 x 9 trade paperback
eBook

Convoys of WWII: Dangerous Canadian Missions on the North Atlantic, by Dorothy Pedersen.

Nine men tell their personal stories of life at sea during World War II. In extreme danger, they battled seasickness, injury, and less than comfortable living conditions while avoiding floating mines and torpedoes in their efforts to guide ships safely across the Atlantic Ocean.

6 x 9 trade paperback
eBook

Shakespeare for Readers’ Theatre, Book 2. Shakespeare’s Greatest Villains: The Merry Wives of Windsor; Othello, the Moor of Venice; Richard III; King Lear. by John Poulsen.

Shakespeare for Readers’ Theatre, Volume 2 contains four scripts with some of the greatest villains from the world’s best playwright. This book abridges into Readers’ Theatre format the plays Othello, Richard III, King Lear, and Merry Wives of Windsor, with memorable lines the likes of Richard III who states straight up “I am determined to prove a villain.”

Volume 2 holds 20 minute and 45 minute versions of each play as well as a director’s version with suggestions for making productions more audience ready. This book is built for individuals or groups who want to examine or perform Shakespeare in a condensed and dynamic format.

7 x 10 trade paperback

eBook

November 1, 2016

The Empire of Kaz, Book 1: Cat’s Pawn, by Leslie Gadallah.

The Kazi Empire is slowly, inexorably, expanding up the arm of the Galaxy. Only the Oriani see the danger, and only Ambassador Talan recognizes the need to include humans in the alliance to oppose the Kaz. Unfortunately, in the chess of interstellar diplomacy, humans make terrible pawns.
6 x 9 trade paperback
eBook

A Town Called Forget, by C.P. Hoff

A Town Called Forget is Anne of Green Gables turned on its head. But in this tale it is not an over-imaginative redheaded orphan that takes center stage but the off-beat town itself, full of individuals that should be restrained if not medicated. And the poor heroine of this yarn, banished to live with her Aunt Lily whom her parents have never publicly recognized, has to navigate the delicate balance between her aunt’s sanity and neurosis. Amid adventures and misadventures she learns about patience, tolerance and even love.


A tender and often hilarious debut novel from Alberta writer, C.P. Hoff.

6 x 9 hardcover
eBook