Kim Hudson Launches Her New Book, The Bridge
Kim Hudson’s highly-varied background looked like indecision in the beginning, but she says it has turned out to be a rich resource…
Kim Hudson Launches Her New Book, The Bridge Read More »
Kim Hudson’s highly-varied background looked like indecision in the beginning, but she says it has turned out to be a rich resource…
Kim Hudson Launches Her New Book, The Bridge Read More »
Blue Camas, Blue Camas is a new children’s book, written by Danielle S. Marcotte and illustrated by Alyssa Koski…
Blue Camas, Blue Camas Read More »
Peter Jickling was part of What’s Up Yukon’s editorial team from 2012–2015, during which he wrote a weekly column…
Hot Takes From Peter Jickling Read More »
The extreme focus on the drama of the Klondike Gold Rush tends to obscure the stories about the gold seekers…
Tales From Before And After The Gold Rush Read More »
Ripple Foundation, a national youth-education charity with a goal of cultivating the next generation’s creative literacy skills…
I don’t know about other languages, but English tends to have names for groups of creatures. These are called collective nouns…
Having Fun With Animal Names Read More »
Every night, at the same time, we begin our toddler’s bedtime routine. And, honestly, more often than not, things tend to go pretty smoothly.
The Never-Ending Bedtime Read More »
This book tests my understanding of the word calamity, which is usually defined as “a state of deep distress or misery.”
There Is Much to Savour In This Memoir Read More »
When the evenings get longer, we enjoy reading a good book. So here we go with the books to hunker down with on a cold, dark night
Books To Read On A Trapline Read More »
This past Christmas season, Yukoners were introduced to a new children’s book created by local illustrator Tedd Tucker.
The Simple Joys Of Yukon Count Read More »
Eleanor Millard’s story is a familiar one. She came to the Yukon in 1965 and got captured. She has mostly been here since…
Yukon authors Kay Deborah Linley and Kathryn Couture wrote books about a kayaking tour, as well as a fantasy series about wolves.
Phil Finds a Friend is a children’s book for youngsters. It tells the story of Phil, who goes adventures around the Yukon, to find a friend.
Yukon Dogs – A Children’s Book Read More »
Love reading? Your local public library would like to make you a proposal – more free access to ebooks, audiobooks and online learning tools.
Throughout the month of February, the Yukon Public Library (YPL) system will be highlighting these new resources, along with ways for Yukoners to access them, with the New Reasons To Love You Library Campaign.
Well-Read Books celebrates a lifetime of books with its 20th anniversary and it’s a labour of love for the partners that own the store, which
From the cradle to the grave Read More »
You are also cold and you need to find a way to make a fire and warm up. If you have followed the motto of the Boy Scouts, “Be Prepared,” then survival is on your side.
Surviving (and thriving) in the great outdoors Read More »
With over 225 novels to her credit, Nora Roberts is a bestseller by any definition. Wikipedia says the books are all romance novels, so I’m
Murder and romance in small-town Alaska Read More »
Yukon-based writer Joanna Lilley has published her first novel, Worry Stones, after 17 years of working on it. “I wasn´t working on it every day,
An author’s dream … Read More »
When he arrived in Yellowknife, back in 2004, with his wife, Serena, and baby daughter, Janessa, it didn’t occur to John Henderson that he might
John Henderson: Celebrating the Great White North Read More »
“Yukon soldiers are buried in more than 50 cemeteries on four continents.” –Michael Gates Lest we forget … This is why Michael Gates (Yukon historian
For those who answered the call … Read More »
Sebastian Fricke and Rose Seguin share their journey, their “inner compasses” with us as they travel and write on their way through Alaska and the
The Northern Seduction Read More »
“Nature is not something else, isolated, out there; it is as much a part of us as we are of it, and neither can be
The ecological web: A story of salmon caught in the middle Read More »
When Beverley Gray started her business, over 20 years ago, it began with filling a need for her own family.
“When we first came to Canada in 1953 [from Friesland, Netherlands], we couldn’t read or write. I went down to the local bookstore and found this book.”
The Northern Review, which is published by the School of Liberal Arts at the Yukon College, describes itself as “a multidisciplinary journal exploring human experience in the Circumpolar North.
The Northern Review looks at literature Read More »
The sad truth was, you could not live in Syria and have a clean heart. How could you, when you live in a place where you’re randomly shot at and car bombs explode outside your home?
A raw and real experience of the war in Syria Read More »
CBC/Radio-Canada got involved in the Canada 150 sesquicentennial celebrations in a big way, starting about a year earlier with an open call for submissions to be put in a 2017 yearbook.
Putting Canada 150 between two covers Read More »
With I Am Canada – A Celebration (North Winds Press) Heather Patterson has come up with a novel way of assembling an overview of special things about our country.
13 Ways to look at Canada Read More »
In keeping with this column’s focus on Yukon related material, I’m returning this week to a successful thriller that is set in a version of
Strange things won from the midnight sun Read More »
“To most people, the pack ice looked like a cold, endless wasteland that spread across one’s entire field of vision. But, if one watched it
A new narrative on gold rush history Read More »
The discovery of Gold in the Klondike region in 1896, brought huge numbers of people to the Yukon. All these people had to be fed.
Human migrations changed hunting Read More »
Summer, 1972 Pierre Berton recreated a trip he had taken back in the 1930s rafting from Bennett Lake to Dawson City.
Drifting Home covers 3 generations of Bertons Read More »
Volume 44 of The Northern Review contains the complete list of the papers from The North and the First World War Conference that was held in Whitehorse, and in Dawson City, May 9-12 2016.
The Northern Review remembers World War I Read More »
An excerpt of Manfred Hoefs’ recently released book Yukon’s Hunting History. Yukon’s history, time scale & events are unique.
Hunting in the Yukon – Part 1 Read More »
Just for the heck of it, let’s take a look at three English words that, on the surface of things, appear to have a lot in common.
Three little words on the same little page Read More »
The editor at What’s Up Yukon doesn’t often receive handwritten letters, but there were two on file when I arrived. We’ve sent Mrs. Schorn a
What’s your digital footprint? Read More »
Continuing this series of reviews of books that deal with the Canadian identity and, to an extent, with the idea of Canada at 150, we
People who crafted the promise of Canada Read More »
Once again I was about to die. Like every other literary artist before me I was about to die forgotten in a ditch at the
A Satirical Race Through a Parallel Universe Read More »
Every summer, Rose and her family pack up and head to their cottage in Awago Beach. There, the long days melt into lake swims and
Slap on a Hat, Slip into this Book Read More »
The Yukon Imagination Library — non-profit organization that gives free books to Yukon children from birth to age four — is turning 10 this year.
There’s Always a Stack of Books Hidden Under Their Quilts Read More »
Simply stated, the best narrative I’ve read about country lifestyle in the contemporary north and the only one featuring Atlin and the Yukon.
Memoirs of an Atlin School Marm Read More »
Dan Carruthers’ more recent thriller, Anya Unbound (2017), introduces us to Sean Carson, a recovering widower, who stumbles across a 17-year-old Polish girl on the
Yukon’s Fictional Geography Read More »
The Yukon Imagination Library — a local non-profit organization that gives free books to Yukon children once per month from the time they are born
Imagine the Yukon – Part 1 Read More »
MacLeod’s Books in Vancouver is a book lover’s dream. Books are piled up from floor to ceiling. Fortunately, the friendly staff helps you to navigate
An Inspiring Book, Found in a Unique Bookstore Read More »
It occurred to me while watching the 2016 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians with my grandchildren – their first World Series
Grandpa’s Baseball Book – Part 4 of 4 Read More »
I was in Grade 10 in 1967. For some reason my school provided high school students with tree saplings to take home and plant. Why
Remembering Canada’s Centennial Year Read More »
The kids needed “Baseball 101” It was my duty, as a retired sportswriter, to author it, a kiddie book about baseball(work in progress)
Grandpa’s Baseball Book – Part 3 of 4 Read More »
At the age of 82, Peter Steele says he has very little memory of his own parents. That’s partly why he decided a few years
These kids needed “Baseball 101” before their 2nd World Series. It was my duty, as a 70-year-old retired sportswriter, to author it for them.
Grandpa’s Baseball Book – Part 2 of 4 Read More »
An attack leaves two girls hospitalized. Two families looking for answers. In the Break Metis writer, Katherena Vermette tells the stories.
A book Canadians “must read” Read More »
2016 World Series (Chicago Cubs / Cleveland Indians) – I wasn’t doing a good job of explaining baseball to my grandchildren
Grandpa’s Baseball Book – Part 1 of 4 Read More »
Yukon based writer Joanna Lilley has just published her second collection of poetry If there Were Roads by Turnstone Press; she says that there are
All Her Roads Lead to Poetry Read More »
“To come here is to travel into a past that still intrudes the present.” –an excerpt from A Walk With the Rainy Sisters: In Praise
A Contemplative Celebration of Place Read More »
Breasts, boobs, tits, tatas. Mind the title, because, yes, this really is a story about tits, but it’s also, oh! so much more than that.
Of Breasts and Beyond Read More »
I’m very jealous of what Whitehorse based Lily Gontard and Mark Kelly have managed to pull off with their delightful book, Beyond Mile Zero: The
Chronicling the Vanishing Alaska Highway Lodge Community Read More »
“Everyone talks about the Goldrush. I’m interested in the gaps in history. The points in between,” says Yukon writer Michael Gates, author of From the
Filling the Gaps in Our History Read More »
Recently, I was meandering through my trusty Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (shorter, as in not quite as gargantuan as the Encyclopaedia Britannica). This is a
Is That Thing Called a Knick-knack, or Bric-a-brac? Read More »
It’s (hopefully) coming to the last wintery blows before the ice breaks; the spring will soon rush in and soon after we can cast our
Books to Spring Forward Read More »
Stories are invaluable teachers, says B.C. author Caroline Woodward, they have the ability to “give us whole worlds.” Old stories, too, are relevant artefacts that
History Offers Timeless Perspectives Read More »
“We imagined ourselves free of the hassles and troubles we’d accumulated in Toronto. We imagined a life without rushing, without the subway, without neighbours at
The Grass is Greener Wherever Convenience Resides Read More »
“… but also they were a family, because this story is all about that. About humans and human-ness. Fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters. Love
A Fable of Feminist Lore Read More »
Each October, the city of Frankfurt in Germany plays host to the second largest literary trade fair in the world, with 7,153 exhibitors representing 106
Bringing Yukon literature to the world stage Read More »
Interest in backcountry skiing in the Yukon has taken off, especially among tourists, says backcountry ski expert and guide Claude Vallier. Vallier recently published a
Adventure and Great Powder Read More »
“Mannering was in the august high noon of his life. He was prosperous, and well dressed, and he owned the largest and most handsome building
A Provocative Gold Rush Mystery From the Other Side of the World Read More »
Vurt (Jeff Noon, 1993) A mad romp through a Trainspotting-like drug culture, Vurt features virtual-reality ‘feathers’ that take you to bizarre and forbidden worlds, shadow-creatures
Double Think Twice Read More »
“Were the gut solely responsible for transporting food and producing the occasional burp, such a sophisticated nervous system would be an odd waste of energy.
Don’t Ignore that Gut Feeling Read More »
How to Survive in the North is a graphic novel where three northern tales — two historical and true, one fictional and set in present-day
Modern-day Cartoons for Historical Folks Read More »
“Maybe she didn’t cry because tears were a currency in her life for so long that holding them back meant she was richer.” Birdie is
Birdie – Tracey Lindberg Read More »
I have been told the “winner writes history.” Taking this idea a bit further and you might think history is all about battles, economic or
McQuesten’s Diary a Historic Treasures in a Box Read More »
You may know Irish Canadian author Emma Donoghue by the fame she has gained from her 2010 novel Room, and its film adaptation. I must
The Wonder builds up slowly to a thrilling ending Read More »
“His mother used to say the soul was a bird that lived in the nape of the neck. At night it flew out of the
“That night I went through my reprimand sentence by sentence, word for word, and it got better each time.” “I put on a CD of
Doubt, Delight and Discomfort Read More »
Every December since 2009, Lise Schonewille, manager of Mac’s Fireweed Books, celebrates Winterval, the start of the holiday season, with local authors in the store.
Titles Hot Off the Presses Read More »
“She was thinking about the way she’d always taken for granted that the world had certain people in it, either central to her days or
Humanity in a Post-Apocalyptic World Read More »
Aislinn Cornett is an art therapist, writer, artist and adventurer born in Whitehorse, Yukon. She currently lives, writes and doodles on the beach in Mexico.
Aisy Doodles, November 16, 2016 Read More »
British artist David Hockney displayed his latest piece here: a complete collection of his artwork in a huge book. The book costs about 2,500 Euro
Book Fair Fever in Frankfurt Read More »
“There’s no ‘should’ or ‘should not’ when it comes to having feelings. They’re part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control.
“Stories are not only words, you know. Words are just the clothes that people drape on stories.” – Brian Doyle, author of Mink River I
The Threads that Hold Us Together Read More »
Just a week or so ago the newly published Atlas Obscura, subtitled, “An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders,” arrived on my desk sporting an
The Sourtoe celebrated as a “Hidden Wonder” of the World Read More »
A Late Middle Ages hunting fraternity began a game of inventing animal group names. Some were collected in The Book of Saint Albans
Collective Nouns For Animal Groups- Near and Far Read More »
Do ghosts exist? For some they do. The main character in Marcelle Dubé´s novel, Shelter, moves into a haunted house in a small town in
A Good Read for Halloween Night Read More »
I am not one who likes to read dry historical tomes. I like to absorb my history through the sugar coated pill of historical fiction, written
Engaging Historical Fiction Read More »
After you’ve picked your first few batches of mushrooms, and haven’t landed in the hospital, you’ll find the mushroom conversation branches into themes of field
Not for Novices: Beyond Beginner Picking Read More »
Steve Pitt came to the Yukon in 1982 to attend his sister’s wedding. She was marrying Dal Fry, son of Art and Margie Fry. That’s
How Two Pierres had an Adventure in the Yukon Read More »
Whitehorse resident Maureen McCulloch wrote her debut novel to bring a message into the world. She wrote the book under the pseudonym, Maureen Senecal. “I
Searching for Inner Truth on the Chilkoot Trail Read More »
June brings summer and Father’s Day, and is also a time of special significance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer community (LGBTQ). June
Celebrating Fathers and Gay Pride Read More »
Writing poetry since she was a child, Nova Scotia based author Shauntay Grant says she has always loved creative writing. “The oldest poem I’ve kept
Fresh Words and Deep Roots Read More »
Mark Zuehlke grew up in the Okanagan, hearing tales of Remittance Men – those eccentric British immigrants sent here in the late 19th century by
Mark Zuehlke and the Remittance Men Read More »
For years I have heard the name Voltaire and have not had a chance to locate any of his works. Then the fateful day came
A Candide Account of Voltaire Read More »
I’ve been enjoying a couple of relatively new books about the work of the latecTed Harrison. They are Ted Harrison Collected (Douglas & McIntyre) and
Dawson and the Harrison Effect Read More »
No, this is not a book of maps to the McDonald’s in your area. Or a guide to the best Chinese food takeout combinations (that’d be
What We Eat When We Eat Alone Read More »
I love to travel; seeing new places, meeting new people. Experience, after all is priceless. I also love to knit. Imagine my delight when I
July: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (American, 1951) Hopefully hopeless, Anna Karenina details the rise and fall of a Russian beauty
A Very Literate Year (Part 2) Read More »
There are six bookcases in my study, and two of those are arranged so that I can shelve paperbacks on both sides of them. On
The (Book) Case for Real Books Read More »
Local Yukoners will face-off to defend their favourite books as part of the Northern Lights Writers Conference, running Jan 23-23. Author of Best Laid Plans
Literary Fisticuffs Read More »
I was very pleased to read recently that the L.A. Times reported 571 million print books were sold in 2015, 17 million more than in
So much for the death of the printed book Read More »
Dark satire about one of the most hopeful and ultimately oppressive revolutions in history, Animal Farm cuts deep into the heart of Soviet communism while
A Very Literate Year (Part 1) Read More »
Pat Ellis first arrived in Whitehorse in the early 1950s. She was a 19 year-old art student from Winnipeg and Whitehorse was a much different
The Good Ol’ Days of Squatting Read More »
Mark Zuehlke was a writer-in-residence at Berton House in 2003. At the time he had just finished several books on the history of the Canadian
Marching in remembrance of things past Read More »
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book fair in the literary world. Publishers, agents, authors and readers from all over the world come to
A dispatch from the Frankfurt Book Fair Read More »
I don’t mean to alarm you, but it’s almost Hallowe’en, which, as all Yukoners know, means winter will soon descend upon us with the stumbling,
Three Books for a Haunted Hallowe’en Read More »
John Firth’s massive Yukon Sport: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, published in November 2014 by Sport Yukon, is a heavy book.
The Ultimate Guide to Yukon Sport Read More »
Imagine it’s the year 2036 and the Government of Canada is bankrupt. This is the stage Norm Hamilton has set for his first novel, From
New Novel Portrays Dire Future Read More »
I’ve come to realize that atheism sure ain’t that sexy. When you compare all the trappings and incentives that other belief systems have, we come
The Atheist Doth Protest Too Much Read More »
The departure of yet another Berton House writer, Jeanne Randolph, brought to my mind the number of writers in residence who have come and gone
They Keep Coming Back Read More »
Watching visitors to town wander about taking pictures of things that seem quite ordinary to those of us who live here is a reminder that
Early Adventures in Yukon Tourism Read More »