In this special holiday season's issue, we offer our insights on seven new books and a special interview with one of Ottawa's finest novelists, Alan Cumyn. We have gone eclectic in the December issue, offering reviews ranging from Roughing it in the Bush by nineteenth-century writer Susanna Moodie to Life and Bronze by one of Canada's most gifted metal scupltors, Ruth Abernethy, to the brilliant prose of David Bergen, Jen Sookfong Lee, John Metcalf, Phyllis Smallman and Sanita Fejzic. We would also like to draw your attention to the launch of Canada's newest literary award, the Frank Hegyi Award for Emerging Authors. The deadline is January 15, 2017, and details about the award, which is sponsored by the Ottawa Independent Writers, can be found in the article below.