National Network for Equitable Library Service

An adventure story from award-winning author Gary Collins: Newfoundland’s Favourite Storyteller! “There is a feeling that comes to one who goes unafraid into the wilderness.

The Doryman follows the true story of Richard Hanrahan from age nine when he is ripped away from the safety and comfort of the schoolroom to the seasonal shore fishery on Newfoundland's South Coast in the late 1800s. Later, hardening into premature manhood in the Banks fishery, he at once strives to mould himself into the stern shape of his fisherman father, yet longs to escape and find a better life for his own family.

Cut from the Cloth of Fogo is Stewart Payne’s memoir, tracing his humble beginnings on Fogo Island in the 1930s and his journey to becoming one of the most respected Anglican clergymen in Newfoundland and Labrador. With modesty and humour, Stewart describes his early upbringing on Fogo Island, his first trip to the big city to enter Memorial College, his teaching years at Indian Islands and Fogo, and the ministerial calling that put him on the path to a long and rewarding life of humanitarian work. Stewart’s first pastoral charge was Happy Valley, followed by Bay Roberts and St. Anthony.

The inspirational memoir of a Mi'kmaq civil rights leader.

“To succeed at fishing, one must be creative and constantly find ways to outsmart nature.” Newfoundland captain and fisherwoman Tracey Button adds another dimension to her thoughts on the career path she’s chosen: “Fishing is a fine way to exercise my gambling instinct,” she says. That’s why fishing people are among the most interesting people in the world. In Sea Folk, Jim Wellman recounts the stories of twenty-three men and women who make their living from the sea and introduces the reader to some of the most courageous and creative gamblers from Atlantic Canada.

The story of Newfoundland and Labrador is a long and bloody one. In Murder on the Rock, Robert C. Parsons describes some of the most horrific and puzzling crimes and shenanigans that have happened in this province. With tales of kidnappers, cold-blooded murderers, cannibals, and more, these fifty-nine stories of crime and punishment cover the 1700s to present day.

The Yarns We Had is a collection of stories that were handed down to Cyril W. Greenham by his father, Wilbur Greenham, and grandfather, Andrew (Chum) Greenham. Both men were fishermen and seagoing captains from Notre Dame Bay, and in this collection, they relate the wit and humour of outport Newfoundlanders in the early to mid-twentieth century. On the surface, these oral histories are the lighthearted reminiscences of the fun and mischief these rough-and-ready men and their friends got into after their work was done.

Every Newfoundlander and Labradorian knows that Joey Smallwood was “the Father of the Baby Bonus.” He told us so in his own inimitable style—many, many, many, many times. But is that really how Newfoundland’s mothers got their cheques? Or is it another Imperfect Moment from our past—one where the story is simply wrong or incomplete? Did Adolf Hitler ever fight the Royal Newfoundland Regiment during the First World War? Why did William Coaker, champion of Newfoundland’s fishermen, throw an inkwell across the House of Assembly at Alfred B. Morine?

“Part memoir, part history, The Worst and Best of the Premiers and Some We Never Had is Bill Rowe’s most ambitious work of non-fiction to date. The book observes with a critical and humorous eye the landscape of Newfoundland and Labrador politics since Confederation in 1949. Forty-two leaders are presented here, of all political stripes. Bill Rowe, with his inimitable style, examines the professional lives of each leader—from Chesley A. Crosbie in the 1940s to Dwight Ball, present-day premier of the province—and grades them based on accomplishment during their time in public life.

“Because of the scarcity of cod in Conception Bay in the early 1920s, my father decided to go to the Labrador coast and try his luck as hundreds of others were doing. He went as a skipper with his own fishing crew. Mother used to go along to save the expense of a cook so, at an early age I was taken along with the family. By the time I was married, I had spent sixteen summers on the coast.