As the early days of the New Year kick into gear, there is no better time than now to start a new book.
The 2024-25 North Shore Authors Collection is on display at the North Vancouver City Library, North Vancouver District Public Library and West Vancouver Memorial Library.
The collection features 46 titles from 51 local authors – with three titles having co-authors. This year marks the fifth year of its running, and the second year the collection showcases authors from Bowen Island and Lions Bay.
“I think it’s a really good community initiative supporting the local writing community here,” said North Vancouver City Library spokesperson CJ Pentland. “It can be easy to get lost in the shuffle of all the best-selling books and all the big authors that come through – obviously, those are super important, and always will be – but there is a lot of great talent here, and [it's nice to be able] to show it prominently.”
The collection ranges from literary fiction and children’s books to poetry and memoirs. But it also includes local perspectives of the community such as author Lindy Pfeil latest work on West Vancouver residents.
Pfeil’s book, West Vancouver Stories: 2024, dives into 18 West Vancouver residents who “share their stories of resilience, compassion, and hope” in a collaborative work.
“We are all writers, we’re human beings, what we do is tell stories,” Pfeil said. “So when I heard the book was in the collection, I was just really excited. It feels like every single one of those writers now is a real writer, and that’s such an exciting feeling.”
Pfeil and the group worked together to create the book, spending countless hours telling each other’s stories in the library in West Vancouver, she said.
Perspectives range from as early as six-years-old to 85, she said, and it’s been beautiful hearing the retellings of people’s lives.
“I learned a lot when I went into the editing phase of these stories,” Pfeil said. “There is a lot of kindness in this community and a lot of really interesting [stories].”
This marks the second book of her series telling residents’ stories. The first one, West Vancouver Stories: The Pandemic Project, was released in 2021 and was featured in the 2021/22 North Shore Authors Collection.
She received funding from the West Vancouver Foundation's neighbourhood small grants program to work on the series. The grants help bring the community together by offering events or other projects for West Vancouver residents.
Other books on this year’s list
If you’re a fan of mystery and thriller books, local authors have you covered.
On the Surface by Rachel McGuire is a psychological thriller about a couple who document their international travel journey on a 42-foot sailboat on their YouTube channel, but things turn sour when one of them goes missing.
Also included in the list is You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook – where a woman’s class trip to London takes an unexpected turn after an encounter with a stranger, leading to blackmail and a game of survival.
Readers can also find Nobody Important Just a Renegade Cop, a memoir by retired RCMP officer Mervin Korolek about his career and life in B.C, and Cathy has Bears in her Orchard, children’s story poems by North Vancouver author Patti Ricketts.
Authors selected for the 2024/25 North Shore Authors Collection were celebrated at a special reception at the West Vancouver Memorial Library Nov. 15.
The collection will be on display until November 2025.
“Encourage people to read local books and support local authors,” Pentland said. “If you’re looking for your next read, just stop by those displays and take a look.”
Author bios and more information about this year’s collection can be found on the North Shore Authors Collection website.
Abby Luciano is the Indigenous and civic affairs reporter for the North Shore News. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
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