Make sure you change your bookmark and check out our new blog address at http://simonandschustercanada.wordpress.com/

So here it is, the final Pendragon cover.

It’s all been leading up to this. Get ready for the final showdown on May 12, 2009.

Want to talk about it? Visit The Soldiers of Halla forum here.

The final showdown between Bobby Pendragon and Saint Dane is coming May 12, 2009, but the art for the final book jacket is coming a little sooner.

The cover for Book 10: The Soliders of Halla will be posted on the Pendragon website at 6 PM EST tonight, Tuesday March 3rd, 2009.

Stay tuned!

Check out Robert Rotenberg’s Old City Hall book trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN3N7T4AYFg

Want a sneak peek at the new Pendragon series Before the War? Well, look no further. We’ve embedded a web-readable version of Book One of the Travelers from Scribd right here, on our very own blog.

Pendragon: Travelers: Kasha’s Story

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Fiction & Literature eBooks pendragon d.j. macha

Bryan Gruley’s Starvation Lake is coming soon (March 3rd) and already has some great reviews from people in the hockey biz as you can see above.  He also has some super-fans sporting his book cover on their shirts.

It’s a great small-town mystery set in Michigan with lots of secrets and…hockey!  Bryan will be at the World Pond Hockey Tournament in Plaster Rock, NB this month:  http://www.worldpondhockey.com/.

 For more on Bryan, check out www.bryangruley.com.

Today, Allison van Diepen’s third YA novel, RAVEN, hits stores. This is van Diepen’s first foray into writing fantasy and so far, the pre-pub buzz has been overwhelmingly positive. One librarian at OLA even went so far as to say that (and we quote) “it’s better than Twilight!”. Oooh lala, let the mayhem begin!

Check out a fantastic Q&A with Allison for Open Book Toronto here.

Listen to the RAVEN soundtrack compiled by Allison:

Still Alice is your must-read of 2009.  This originally self-published novel by first-time author Lisa Genova just hit the Globe and Mail bestseller list this weekend. 

It’s the story of a woman descending into early-onset Alzheimer’s and is simply heartbreaking.  Oh yeah, and she’s a cognitive psych prof at Harvard, so she knows exactly what’s happening to her and can’t do a thing about it. 

Check out an excerpt here:  http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=25&pid=636329&agid=2

 And if you do decide to take my advice and buy this book, then please check out the reading group guide here:  http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=25&pid=636329&agid=10

 We are giving away 5 copies of the book so email books@simonandschuster.ca with “Alice” in the subject line and your mailing address in the body of the email to win.

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I have to share about a new book by Spencer Quinn.  Dog On It is the first in a cute, light-hearted mystery series where the detective is a DOG!  Yeah, I know, crazy, right?  Well I have this theory that in the coming tough times, people will be opting for lighter, less-serious choices for entertainment.  That’s why you all need to get on board with Chet the dog now. 

 I generally don’t read mysteries, and I’m not even what you’d call a dog person, but I loved this.  Also, if you become a super-fan, you can go to www.ChetTheDog.com - it’s Chet’s blog.  HE’S A DOG, AND HE’S BLOGGING, PEOPLE!  There’s also the Chet Appreciation Group on Facebook, and www.twitter.com/ChetTheDog, for more doggy detective love.  �

On January 29th and 30th, S&S Canada participated in the 2009 Ontario Library Association Superconference. The annual conference was buzzing with very keen delegates from both public and school libraries.

We had signings by three authors this year: Robert Rotenberg for Old City Hall, Sherri Smith for The Virgin’s Tale, and Allison van Diepen for Raven. All three authors drew long (and enthusiastic) lineups — we even ran out of Advance Reading Copies!

Robert Rotenberg signing Old City Hall:

Sherri Smith signing The Virgin’s Tale:

Allison van Diepen signing Raven ( and her long lineup!):