Said the Gramophone

My First Novel is Out!

Hi! It's Jeff here, Said the Gramophone's punk correspondent. Today is the day that my first novel Temporary Palaces is officially out!

My book is about three ambitious punks in their twenties making art, dreaming of a better world, and getting into trouble. Ten years later, two of the friends reconnect and reckon with the wreckage of their radical dreams. It's all made up, but set in the scene I grew up in. It's about how everything changes. It's a real deal novel with drama and laughs and characters I hope will steal your hearts. And it's full of music!

Temporary Palaces is published by the House of Anansi Press. On their website, Canadians can order the book in paperback and ePub formats. Please consider ordering or buying from your local independent bookstore. In Canada, this website will help you locate your closest indie. Friends in the United States can order my novel through Bookshop.org. If you are a bookseller and want to stock the book, Anansi is distributed by UTP in Canada and Publishers Group West in the US.

Checking out Temporary Palaces from your local library, or requesting that they acquire it for their collection are also great ways to support the book, and help it find its way in the world.

I am doing book launches! Check the handy calendar graphic below, and please come out if you live nearby :)

I am at Halifax Central Library on April 26, with Jaime Forsythe, who is launching her latest volume of poetry, Yield. I'm very excited to dig into it!

In May I will be in Quebec and Ontario. I'm tabling at the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair with Sheer Spite Press on May 16. On May 18 I will be launching the book at De Stiil Booksellers on the Plateau with Said the Gramophone founder Sean Michaels. On May 19 I'll be in Ottawa at Spark Beer & Pizza in Chinatown with Jennifer Whiteford. This event is presented by Octopus Books, you can RSVP here. I'll be in Peterborough at Take Cover Books on May 21 with Devon Code. May 25 I'll be at Flying Books College in Toronto, with Niko Stratis and STG alum Emma Healey. I'm thrilled to share the stage with so many incredible writers!

I've also just added dates in Winnipeg on May 27 and in Charlottetown June 3rd. More details on those events will be posted on the events page of my website soon.

As for recent music, some of my favourite 2026 records so far include: Neurosis, Robyn, Sunn O))), Avalon Emerson, and Joyce Manor. Today I can't get enough of the new Dillinger Four song.

Thanks so much for reading! Sending my love and hope to you in these totally weird times.