Just before Christmas, The Toronto Star published a list of their twenty favorite fiction reads of 2025. The Gates of Polished Horn was included!

The annual list, curated by Toronto Star critics, represents a cross-section of the most notable fiction published in Canada. The Gates of Polished Horn, a collection of short stories exploring the boundaries between the real and the unreal, was selected alongside titles from major international publishing houses.

Toronto Star contributor Alex Good described the collection as “delightful,” noting that it raises “the sort of moral questions we’ll soon be having to deal with more frequently.” 

I was delighted, too, but so was my publisher, Joe Mahoney! His fledgling press is hanging out with the likes of Knopf and Penguin Random House on this list.

To be on such a short list, when there’s more than 10,000 titles published every year in Canada, is such a lovely compliment.

This was a team effort. Cal Chayce, the original editor of these stories, cover designer Alisha Soulliet of Bibliofic Design, whose professional contributions were essential to achieving this level of national recognition, and my publisher and editor Joe Mahoney all deserve credit for this!

What you haven’t read it yet? Some of my finest short stories are available, so you really should!