2018 Submissions

February 1 is quickly coming upon us, and I’m sure many authors who follow Five Rivers are wondering what we’ll be looking for in our 2018 submission window from February 1-14. Here’s a list of what will likely get more favourable consideration. Fiction Historical Fiction: Successful manuscripts will be based on Canadian history, solidly researched, well-defined characters. We will not consider romance disguised as historical fiction. For examples of what we will publish, take a…

D.G. Valdron talks about Stuart McLean

There was a restaurant on a bridge. I suppose I should back it up a little.  When my marriage broke, I was living in The Pas.  It was hard then, coming back every day to an empty house.  I used to leave the lights on when I left for work in the morning, just so that it wouldn’t be dark when I came home. Eventually, after a long while, I met a woman in Winnipeg, and…

Susan MacGregor talks about The Tattooed Queen

Alberta author, Susan MacGregor’s, final novel in the The Tattooed Witch trilogy, The Tattooed Queen, releases December 1, 2016. Susan was kind enough to talk to Five Rivers’ publisher and editor, Lorina Stephens, about the forthcoming fantasy novel, Susan’s creative process, and what’s coming next. LJS: The third and final novel in The Tattooed Witch trilogy, The Tattooed Queen, releases December 1, 2016. It’s a vastly different novel than the first, having transported Miriam, Joachín, and the Tribe across the ocean to…

Melanie Marttila reviews The Mermaid’s Tale, by D.G. Valdron

The Mermaid’s Tale is a fable of personhood wrapped in a murder mystery framed by a fantasy setting, peopled by familiar races that are presented in subtly original ways. Valdron’s protagonist has no name. Most Arukh (orcs) don’t. The few that have been so graced have earned their names by distinguishing themselves from their mad and murderous brethren. Each race has its own name for the Arukh, but all of them translate to either abomination,…