Tag Archives: Shelf Life

Our Past Matters at Calgary Pride

Posted on August 16, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

In celebration of Calgary Pride 2024, we’re giving away a copy of Our Past Matters. Find it, in one of the inner city Little Free Libraries. {Maybe leave a book for someone else, while you are there!}

*Look for Our Past Matters this weekend!*

Kevin will be doing a book signing from 2-3 PM at the Pride Festival in Prince’s Island Park on Sunday, September 1st, hosted by Calgary Pride at their marketplace booth. Come by and chat about queer history. Book sales support the festival and Calgary Pride.

Finally, Celebrate Pride 2024 at Shelf Life Books on September 4th with a fun-filled extravaganza of local talent including drag performances by Dogiichow & Osmo Cis, literary readings by Skylar Kay and Bret Crowle, hosted by Kevin Allen.

{KA}

1 Comment

Posted in Gay history, Press Release

Tagged bisexual, Bret Crowle, Calgary, Calgary Pride, Dogiichow, gay, Gay history, lesbian, Little Free Libraries, Osmo Cis, Our Past Matters, queer, Shelf Life, Skylar Kay, transgender

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day

Posted on April 25, 2024 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

April 27th is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day. If you buy a book at your favourite indie bookshop this Saturday, you can enter a contest to win a $1000 gift certificate.

We love these stores and thank our hometown favourites: Pages, Shelf Life, and Owl’s Nest, for selling hundreds of copies of our imprint ASPublishing’s award-winning books: Our Past Matters and What Narcissus Saw.

Browsing the bookshelves, talking to informed staff, and bumping into people you know are good reasons to shop in indie bookstores. {Plus: social snacking is good for our health}

Most indie bookstores have online shops, so there is no need to support foreign corporate tech giants and send your hard-earned dollars out of the country.

See you at the indie bookstore this Saturday!

{KA}

1 Comment

Posted in Gay history

Tagged bisexual, Canadian Independent Bookstore Day, gay, Glad Day, lesbian, Our Past Matters, Owls Nest Bookstore, Pages on Kensington, queer, Shelf Life, transgender, What Narcissus Saw

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Kevin Allen | 1 comment

{The Calgary Gay History Project is on hiatus until the New Year. Look for new queer history content in 2024!}

December 6th is Saint Nicholas Day, when Santa comes to visit (in some countries).

Kevin as a moderately jolly St. Nick—sans beard!

If you know someone who has been good all year and deserves a present, check out our two award-winning books from our in-house imprint, ASPublishing.

Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary hit #1 on the Calgary Herald bestseller list in 2019 and has been popular ever since. John Ibbitson, from The Globe and Mail, explains: “You are going to read about some amazing people, places, and times in these pages… There is no one better equipped than Kevin Allen to give us a tour.”

What Narcissus Saw is Gordon Sombrowski’s second book of fiction exploring life in Fernie, BC. It was selected from hundreds of contenders as a finalist in the Whistler Independent Book Awards last October. The awards jury wrote: “Sombrowski’s linked short stories immediately draw in the reader. He deftly breathes life and intrigue into his settings and characters with language to be savoured.”

Books are available in Calgary at Shelf Life Books and Pages.

You can also purchase books and have them shipped from our online store for $24.99 + $6.99 shipping (in Canada).

Happy holidays!

{KA}