I am always looking to discover new women authors and this book does that. The author has presented a broad collection of Canadian Women authors including many long forgotten ones. Anyone with an interest in women's literature will enjoy this book.

Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Women’s Writing in Canada is an intense academic-oriented overview of, as the title states, women’s writing in Canada. The book examines various forms of writing (fiction, film, poetry, music, drama, writing for children, non-fiction, cookbooks, and comics), reaching from the establishment of the Massey Commission in 1951 to present times. Each category is broad-stroke introduced with notable examples of female writers’ contributions to the Canadian literary landscape examined in more detail. Weight is put on contributions of feminist, indigenous, political, familial, and national merit. Some time is spent as the book opens – particularly in a lengthy, informative introduction – exploring the concept of ‘nation’, and the delineations Demers decided to use in the conception and compilation of the book.

Having an interest in Canadian history and literature, I found this book fascinating. While, unfortunately, some of the works referenced in the book seem to be somewhat of a challenge to obtain, the lists that I walked away with of authors that I wanted to read were extensive. The summarizing details were very helpful, so I didn’t quite feel that I had to experience every work explored, though there were so very many interesting artists introduced. Demers did give extra space and consideration to some bigger-name Canadian authors and artists, which was educational, and I appreciated the fact that she included both English and French-language works in her lists. The book is more academic than conversational in tone, particularly the introduction, but if you have an interest in Canadian women writers, this is definitely a book to savor, as well as a great place to start a reading (listening, watching!) list.

A very interesting book dedicated to multiple facets of women's writing in Canada, including not just the "usual suspects" (Atwood, Munro), but many less known writers and creators.

Extended bibliographical essay about women's writing in Canada that spans the period from mid-twentieth century to the early twenty first. Demers has been fastidious in her selections and includes genres not usually covered in reference works such as songwriters, filmmakers, children's book and cooking writers. She is inclusive in her choices and covers the contributions of immigrants, bilingual, French, metis, English, and indigenous voices. Though some of the authors discussed were new to me, there were also many familiar to U.S. audiences, such as Kate McGarrigle, Shania Twain, Alice Munro, Jill Ker Conway. The book includes a helpful introduction and other useful features, including a cultural-historical timeline, list of works cited and sources used, and index. Essential for Canadian literary scholars, as well as for avid readers and those who serve them in Canada and the U.S.