ONE OF THE PLEASURES of working on our twice-yearly preview issues is that Q&Q’s editorial team gets an opportunity to spotlight debut authors months before some of their books go on to receive critical acclaim. Looking back at last fall’s preview, there were several titles that stand out, such as Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq’s genre-defying Split Tooth, which later became a bestselling literary-award winner, and Anne T. Donahue’s essay collection, Nobody Cares, which continues to delight readers. Months after appearing in our spring 2019 preview, Shut Up You’re Pretty, the debut collection of linked short stories by Toronto writer Téa Mutonji, received a starred review in this magazine. (This year’s fall preview, which features more than 150 titles by both debut and veteran authors, begins on page 16.)
This issue I also want to give a shout-out to another debut of note in the magazine. Our cover photo of blockbuster novelist Cherie Dimaline was taken by Alia Youssef, a new contributor to Q&Q. I first encountered Alia’s work through her Sisters Project, a series of 160 photographs of Muslim women taken across Canada. I was struck by the confident power in not just her photography, but in its expression across her wide range of portrait subjects.
Alia’s photos of Cherie Dimaline are not just stunning, they capture the author’s joyful essence and strength, also expressed beautifully in associate editor Ryan Porter’s feature profile on page 12 (which marks the first time axe-throwing has been the activity of choice for a Q&Q feature.) Alia worked closely under the guidance of our new art director, Adrian Doran, whose sharp aesthetic and design skills are apparent all through this issue. Adrian’s selection for the shoot’s location – a line of empty rail tracks in the west end of Toronto –nods to the dark atmosphere of Cherie’s new novel, Empire of Wild.