We are excited to announce that Perry Bulwer’s memoir Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life In a Doomsday Cult publishes today!
Described by Don Lattin as a “detailed, heart-felt look inside the most notorious Christian sect to emerge from the spiritual counterculture of the 1970s” this gripping account details Bulwer’s time with the infamous Children of God cult.

Bulwer takes the reader on an extraordinary trip through the world of biblical literalism, fundamentalist endtime fantasies, paranormal spirituality, evangelical extremism, ritual abuse, and liberally interpreted biblical teachings that were used to justify licentious sexual doctrines, evangelical prostitution, and child sexual abuse.

You can buy a copy here on the New Star site or at Chapters or Amazon!
eBook versions also available on Kindle or Kobo.

You can also find the book at your local friendly independent bookstore. Check out the Shop Local tool by Bookmanager to find a copy close to you.

LAUNCH EVENTS FOR MISGUIDED

The very first launch event for Misguided is set for Perry’s hometown of Port Alberni, down at the wonderful Möbius Books. 

WHERE: Möbius Books
5016 Argyle St, Port Alberni
WHEN: Saturday September 16th, 11 AM

Here on the mainland? You can join us for a Vancouver event in October with our friends at Iron Dog Books! 

WHERE: Iron Dog Books
2671 East Hastings Street
WHEN: Thursday October 12th, 7 PM

Come join us for a book launch event in Perry Bulwer’s hometown of Port Alberni, where the gripping tale told in Misguided began.

WHERE: Möbius Books
5016 Argyle St, Port Alberni
WHEN: Saturday September 16th, 11 AM

Described by Don Lattin as a “detailed, heart-felt look inside the most notorious Christian sect to emerge from the spiritual counterculture of the 1970s  Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life In a Doomsday Cult is a unique first-hand account of a life spent in the Children of God, a/k/a The Family, a millenarian doomsday sex cult under the sway of a charismatic leader, David Berg.

Perry will also be reading from his memoir in Vancouver in October. Be sure to join us:

WHERE: Iron Dog Books
2671 E Hastings St
WHEN: Thursday October 12th, 7 PM

Out in Toronto you can catch Tom Prime joining the line up of fantastic poets in the Art Bar Poetry Series! He will be reading from his forthcoming collection, Male Pregnancy in Reverse, releasing on September 30th! Also reading on the evening are George Elliot Clarke and Jovan Shadd.

WHERE: Free Times Cafe
320 College St, Toronto
WHEN: Monday September 18th, 7 PM

Tom Prime is, as described by Daniel Harris, author of The Posthuman Series, “at the forefront of a new generation of avant-gardists.” His latest work is a long poem “in 5 Acts” that transmutes a disturbing and sometimes horrifying experience—albeit one which is only ever obliquely and allegorically described—into a dazzling and heady literary puzzle.

Tom will also be reading with Mark Laba in Vancouver in October:

WHERE: Cross and Crows Books, 2836 Commercial Drive
WHEN: Wednesday October 18th, 7-8.30 PM

Please note that if you wish to reserve a seat at the event, you may add the FREE ticket below to your cart when purchasing your book at the Cross and Crows website. All Preorders (not-yet-published books) are 20% off, taken at checkout. Preorders must be prepaid to receive the discount.

Misguided: My Jesus Freak Life in a Doomsday Cult :: Perry Bulwer

Misguided is a unique first-hand account of a life spent in the Children of God, a/k/a The Family, a millenarian doomsday sex cult under the sway of a charismatic leader, David Berg.  Perry Bulwer takes the reader on an extraordinary trip through the world of biblical literalism, fundamentalist endtime fantasies, paranormal spirituality, evangelical extremism, ritual abuse, and liberally interpreted biblical teachings that were used to justify licentious sexual doctrines, evangelical prostitution, and child sexual abuse.

PERRY BULWER graduated from the University of British Columbia with a law degree in 2002, after two decades in the Children of God, a doomsday sex cult. After a 2004 diagnosis of PTSD and fibromyalgia, Bulwer retired from the practice of law (though he remains registered with the Law Society of BC). Back home in Port Alberni, Perry Bulwer advocates for second-generation cult survivors, continuing to shed light on the Children of God, a/k/a The Family.

Male Pregnancy in Reverse :: Tom Prime

Wielding a rich and suggestive vocabulary largely drawn from Elizabethan literary texts, but working within a tradition that includes Rimbaud and Mallarme, Tom Prime’s Male Pregnancy in Reverse revels in a lexigraphic bubblebath that combines visual poetry, typographic moves, fragments of a play, a cast of characters that include Brayne-worme, Volpone, Baby and Mother, and uneasy-laughter-inducing silliness.

TOM PRIME is a PhD candidate at Western University (specializing in 17th century female prophesy). His solo debut collection of poetry Mouthfuls of Space (Anvil, 2021) was shortlisted for the Gerald Lampert Memorial prize. He has published 2 collaboratively written collections of poetry with Gary Barwin (Bird Arsonist with New Star Books 2022 and A Cemetery for Holes with Gordon Hill Press, 2019).

Patrik Sampler’s Naked Defiance has been taking reviewers for a ride recently, take a peek at what they’re saying in this latest roundup of reviews:

In the Vancouver Sun, Brett Grubisic writes, “A puckish, mirthful fabulist, Vancouver area writer, Sampler (The Ocean Container) ramps up with a tour de force of lies and contradictions. When a solid black redaction bar appears on the first page, he signals his affinity for a wordsmith’s game-playing. ‘I’ll pique your curiosity,’ the author appears to tease, ‘and then completely refuse to help you out.’” 

For BC BookWorld (page 16), Gene Homel calls Naked Defiance, “a jumbled mix of narrative tricks, young adult hijinks, and surreal scenarios, packaged with a bit of mystery story about that fellow hiding behind an animal mask.”

And in The British Columbia Review, Steven Brown writes, “A Comedy of Menace is the subtitle of this fine novel. Although it can be looked at as menacing comedy, there’s a lot else going on. Naked Defiance is also an arcane and elaborate fiction. It’s elusive and complicated. Subversive is another word. The storyline is absurd and the characters are ridiculous, but the reading experience is compelling…Even so, Patrik Sampler makes a brilliant, inventive literary effort.”

Find a copy of Naked Defiance at your local independent bookstore here!

Join us for an informative and fascinating discussion at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus on Thursday July 27, as Marc Edge leads a panel discussion with Professor Robert Hackett, Professor Emeritus of Communication at SFU and Charlie Smith, editor at Pancouver. The panel will use The Postmedia Effect as an anchor to examine topics surrounding Postmedia and its fall from grace, Canadian media, and democratic media policies and what they mean for the future.

Thursday, July 27th, 7:00pm
Room 1400– SFU Harbour Centre
555 W Hastings St, Vancouver

Drinks and snacks will be served after the event.

Not able to join us here in Vancouver? The event will also be broadcast live on Zoom. Be sure to register here.

Click here to find a copy of Edge’s The Postmedia Effect: How Vulture Capitalism is Wrecking Our News at your local independent bookseller!

Panelists

Marc Edge

Marc Edge is media columnist for Canadian Dimension. He has been a reporter and editor for the Vancouver Province and the Calgary Herald, and a professor of journalism in Canada, the US, Fiji, Singapore, and Malta. His doctoral thesis won the annual dissertation award of the American Journalism Historians Association and was published as his first book Pacific Press: The Unauthorized Story of Vancouver’s Newspaper Monopoly. The Postmedia Effect is his latest book.

Charlie Smith

Charlie has more than three decades of experience in the Vancouver media. In that time, he has worked at CBC Radio, CBC TV News, BCTV News (now Global News B.C.),  and private radio.  He was also editor of the Georgia Straight for 17 years and taught journalism at Kwantlen University College (now Kwantlen Polytechnic University) for seven years.

Professor Robert Hackett

Robert A. Hackett is Professor Emeritus of Communication, Simon Fraser University. He is actively engaged in research and writing and has written extensively on media democratization, and journalism as political communication. His most recent collaborative books include Expanding Peace Journalism: Comparative and Critical Approaches (2011), and Remaking Media: The Struggle to Democratize Public Communication (2006).

The Postmedia Effect in the media

Marc Edge was a guest on All in a Day with Alan Neal on CBC Radio, where he  discusses the potential Postmedia-Nordstar merger that has stirred questions about the state of Canadian news media. He also answers the question: is the country’s news industry on the verge of a Postmedia monopoly? Listen to the full interview here: www.cbc.ca

Marc Edge on CityNews

Marc Edge spoke to John Ackermann over at CityNews to discuss “the latest chapter in the long-running saga of consolidation in Canada’s newspaper sector.” He also discusses the failure of the Nordstar merger. Listen to the entire interview here  or read it here.

Marc Edge’s The Postmedia Effect  has been making waves in the media as of late, check below for all the buzz. But first, an event announcement!

Join us for an informative and fascinating discussion at SFU’s Harbour Centre campus on Thursday July 27, as Edge leads a panel discussion on topics surrounding Postmedia and its fall from grace, Canadian media, and democratic media policies and what they mean for the future.

Thursday July 27th, 7:00pm
Teck Gallery Lounge Room 1400 (Updated)– SFU Harbour Centre
555 W Hastings St, Vancouver

Stay tuned for an announcement on the panelists!

In this opinion piece for The Globe and Mail, Edge writes “The hedge funds have unfortunately followed the “harvesting” strategy of cutting costs and selling off assets on the assumption that newspapers are dying. Publications which have instead invested in quality content and developed a loyal base of online subscribers, however, have found that there is still a solid business model for newspapers, even in print. Time will soon grind further upon Postmedia, and it should be allowed to decline. Federal subsidies work only to keep payments flowing to hedge funds, with debatable returns for taxpayers.

Marc has also been interviewed for Canada Talks by Arlene Bynon on SiriusXM. He discusses the future of Canadian media in view of the recent Bell layoffs, Postmedia financial troubles, calls to defund the CBC, and the many traditional Canadian media outlets that are struggling right now.

Marc appears as a guest on the Law Bytes podcast with Michael Geist. He helps make sense of Bill C-18 that led Meta to confirm that it will be blocking news sharing on its Facebook and Instagram platforms given the economic costs and uncertainty with the law. Marc discusses this bill as a continuum of lobbying for government support that has resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars, as examined in The Postmedia Effect. Listen to the podcast episode here.

You can also follow along with Marc as he takes over a guest spot on Terry Glavin’s substack, The Real Story for a three part series. The first instalment, The News, Past Tense is up now. Delving into the shaky foundations on which today’s hollowed-out newsrooms are now balanced.

The Postmedia Effect has also ruffled a few feathers over at the Postmedia-owned Financial Post. It seems Terence Corcoran is not-too-chuffed with Edge’s ‘ideological smear job’, give it a read…

Join us in Vancouver to celebrate the launch of Patrik Sampler’s latest book, Naked Defiance. Described by author Angie Abdou as ‘wickedly smart and disarmingly funny’, Naked Defiance is the story of a turn-of-the-century radical art group and its charismatic leader. It is written by one of the group’s members, Florian Moore (probably a pseudonym), and lands on the desk of novelist / editor Patrik Sampler, who is tasked with preparing Moore’s manuscript for publication.

WHEN: Saturday May 20
7:00pm

WHERE: People’s Co-Op Bookstore 1391, Commercial Drive Vancouver 

This event will include a reading and a discussion/Q&A session, followed by snacks and drinks.

RSVP on Facebook

The Postmedia Effect is available today!

Detailing the past two generations of gutted newsrooms, dwindling reporting staff, and funds funnelled to profit margins, Marc Edge takes Canada’s dominant newspaper chain, Postmedia, as a case study laying bare the changes in news economics that have devastated Canadian newspapers. Described by Alexandra Kitty in the foreword as ‘sobering, devastating, shocking, surreal, and maddening’ The Postmedia Effect is a must-read.

Praise for The Postmedia Effect:

‘The mainstream media has been dismantled in recent years. One reason is that it’s been bought up by ‘vulture’ investment funds with no interest in journalism. Marc Edge’s book The Postmedia Effect is a devastating account of what happened to Canada’s largest newspaper chain when such funds got hold of it. It’s a sobering read, especially if one is alarmed about the state of a free and diverse media.’
– Bruce Livesey, author of Thieves of Bay Street

‘Like the Murder on the Orient Express, there were so many perpetrators involved in the murder of our newspapers. Now that Edge has given such a clear explanation, we might have a chance to revive the corpse.’
– Mark Bourrie, author of Big Men Fear Me

‘The Postmedia Effect is one of Marc Edge’s best writing efforts to date. The story is compelling, informative, and maddening. The narrative he crafts has elements of Greek or Shakespearean tragedy, filled with hubris, self-delusion, deception, power-hungry schemers, and, if you’re Canadian, a feast of tragedy.’
– Marshall Soules, author of Media, Persuasion and Propaganda

Click here to Shop Local and find a copy of The Postmedia Effect at your favourite independent bookstore!

Or online at:
Chapters
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Ebooks available on:
Kindle
Kobo

MARC EDGE, a business journalist who worked for dailies in Vancouver and Calgary before completing a PhD in media economics, has been documenting the political–economic transformation of the news business from its mid–century concentration (Pacific Press, 2001), through “convergence” (Asper Nation, 2007), and now, in his new book, the dire effects of the financialization of the news business. His work has also appeared in The News We Deserve (2011) and Red Line, Blue Line, Bottom Line (2004). He lives in Ladysmith, BC.

Naked Defiance by Patrik Sampler is available today!

Following a turn-of-the-century radical art group, this compelling novel unfolds as a report on the mysterious death of the group’s leader while in police custody, as written by one of its members, Florian Moore (probably a pseudonym). Tensions mount as the group, and their public performances, are threatened by increasingly disturbing disruptions.

Laced with paranoia and dark social commentary, Naked Defiance “comes as a welcome and necessary challenge to the miserable logic of capitalism” according to Angie Abdou.

Click here to Shop Local and find a copy of Naked Defiance at your favourite independent bookstore!

Or online at:
Chapters
Amazon.com
Amazon.ca
Ebooks available on:
Kindle
Kobo

PATRIK SAMPLER‘s writing has appeared in a variety of publications including The Guardian, The Millions, and The Scofield. He has been a contributing editor for the surrealist journal Peculiar Mormyrid, and devoted much of a postgraduate degree to the late-career work of Abe Kobo. Sampler’s first novel, The Ocean Container, was published in 2017 by Ninebark Press. He lives near Vancouver.