The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore

Of everything we have to celebrate from 2025, we're most proud of our sales rate of Canadian contributors. In 2025, almost 23% of our sales had a Canadian author or illustrator, compared to just 13.7% across the industry. Indies always outperform the chains and web giants in this category.

In 2025, our fiction/non-fiction mix remained consistent, and the top genres are subject were similar to 2024. Of note, fantasy overtook crime fiction as our best selling fiction genre. Not pictured is general fiction, including literary, which far exceeds any genres.

Happy New Year! 🥳

As we enter 2026, let's look back on the year that was with our fourth annual Wrapped: 2025 Edition.

The Sea Captain's Wife — Ottawa Public Library The Sea Captain's Wife — Mazzeo, Tilar J., — "Summer, 1856 Nineteen-year-old Mary Ann Patten and her husband, Joshua, were young and ambitious. Both from New England seafaring families, they had already completed their first clipper-ship voyage around the world with Joshua as captain. If they could win the race to San Francisco that year, their dream of building a farm and a family might be within reach. It would mean freedom. And the price of that freedom was one last dangerous transit--into the most treacherous waters in the world. As their ship, Neptune's Car, left New York Harbor and sailed down the jagged coast of South America, Joshua fell deathly ill and was confined to his bunk, delirious. The treacherous first mate, confined to the brig for insubordination, was agitating for mutiny. With no obvious option for a new captain and heartbroken about her husband, Mary Ann stepped into the breach and convinced the crew to support her, just as they slammed into a gale that would last 18 days. Determined to save the ship, the crew, and their future, she faces down the deadly waters of Drake's Passage. Set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush and taking us to the brink of Antarctica, The Sea Captain's Wife finally gives Mary Ann Patten-the first woman to command a merchant vessel as captain - her due. Mazzeo draws on new archival research from nineteenth-century women's maritime journals and on her own expedition to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in search of Mary Ann's route."--Publisher.

I'm only two books into the year, but already a 5/5! Thanks to Nat for this gift, and thanks to @thespanielstale.bsky.social for featuring it in their newsletter so she'd see it! Intelligently written with verve all day, unapologetically feminist: pop rocks for your neurons. Borrow or buy it soon!

When books come to you: innovative ideas for book subscription programmes

A couple of weeks before Christmas, I had the opportunity to chat about @thespanielstale.bsky.social book subscriptions on the Let's Talk Bookselling podcast, by RISE and the European and International Booksellers Federation. open.spotify.com/show/4AOAfkC...

🎉 📚 The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney and The First Thousand Trees by @premeemohamed.com are selections for the inaugural The Booksellers’ List! #TheBooksellersList #IndieBookstore #BookLovers #BooksellersPicks #CanadianBookstagram
www.indiebookstores.ca

Congrats to LPG members whose books have been selected for The Booksellers’ List, celebrating the top 20 books of the season as voted on by indie booksellers across Canada via @indiebookstores.ca!

Find the full list here: IndieBookstores.ca

Ready? Set! Go! 🎉 We’re thrilled to introduce the inaugural edition of The Booksellers’ List! For the first time ever, Canadian readers can look forward to a list of trusted recs—handpicked and voted on by local booksellers.

All titles are available for pre-order now!

We’re looking forward to being members of this community for many more years to come!

Thank you for three wonderful years, neighbours. 5/5

And of course, above all else, we’ve always strived to be a good neighbour by treating our booksellers fairly, sponsoring and donating to dozens of local organizations and causes, and showing up to events in our community. 4/5

We’ve also hosted dozens of events in a variety of formats and on different topics – including the Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl and our always popular Where’s Waldo in Wellington West – and we hope that they’ve helped our community come together. 3/5

Over the last three years, we’ve offered lots of thought-provoking reads – over 94,000 so far! – and we hope what you’ve read has inspired you to keep learning. 2/5

It’s our third birthday! 🎉

Since we opened, our mission has always been to be a good neighbour, offer thought-provoking reads, inspire lifelong learning, and bring our community even closer together. We like to think we’ve made some good progress. 1/5

25 Middle Grade Titles for Pride Month and Beyond This diverse list of titles includes prose novels, novels in verse, and graphic novels. It has solid middle grade books as well as selections more suited for upper middle grade or younger YA tastes.

25 Middle Grade Titles for Pride Month and Beyond

17 Joyful Picture Books to Enjoy on Summer Vacation | We Are Kid Lit Collective A celebration of birding, making new friends, and the power of self-love make these picture books excellent choices for summer reading and all year round.

A celebration of birding, making new friends, and the power of self-love make these picture books excellent choices for summer reading and all year round.

I consume a mix of books, ebooks and audiobooks from the library — but I still buy books for the good karma and to encourage 🫶🏼 independent bookstores 🫶🏼

These came from @thespanielstale.bsky.social in Ottawa 📚 bring them all your money!

And for the last stop at @thespanielstale.bsky.social I got "How to be queer, and ancient guide to sexuality", "Queer heroes of myth and legend, a celebration of gay God's, saphic saints and queerness through the ages", "Sodomy and the pirate tradition", "Witchcraft, a history in 13 trials" 1/2

Books, stickers, activity packs from Canadian independent bookstore day.

Storefront at The Spaniel’s Tale bookstore.

Storefront of Westboro Books

Storefront of World of Maps

Day 2 of the Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl was a blast! Great day exploring @thespanielstale.bsky.social, Westboro Books, and World of Maps for #CIBD2025.

The Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl has started! Rain or shine, pick up your passport and get those stamps! 🐾📚 #CIBD2025

Rule no. 1: Support indie bookshops this indie bookstore day and all year long!

Rule no. 2: Listen to rule number one 🥰

Most Anticipated: Our 2025 Spring Books for Young Readers Preview · Blog Post · 49th Shelf Picture books, middle grade, and YA titles we're looking forward to in the first half of 2025

Have you checked out our "2025 Spring Books for Young Readers Preview"? Exciting titles from @owlkids.bsky.social, @medicinewheelpub.bsky.social, @orcabook.bsky.social, @groundwoodbooks.bsky.social 49thshelf.com/Blog/2025/04... #CanLit

Did a vote, then hit up @thespanielstale.bsky.social for our Saturday book haul. Li Charmaine Anne was there for a book signing. Pretty good Saturday morning date with @jleiper.bsky.social

The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore Hintonburg's independendent bookstore, and Ottawa's proudest indie.

The Spaniel’s Tale - A queer-owned bookstore in Ottawa! A really cute shop with a well-curated selection and carry a lot of local authors. They make it super easy to find Canadian publishers and authors on their website, too, for easy browsing. thespanielstale.ca @thespanielstale.bsky.social

Are you ready for Canadian Independent Bookstore Day? This Saturday, April 26, indie bookstores across the country will host events, offer discounts, & give away free stuff. And have you checked out the #CIBD2025 Contest for Book Lovers yet?

Visit indiebookstores.ca/CIBD for more info. ✨

Canadian Independent Bookstore Day is this weekend and we have lots happening in store!
- Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl (win up to $200!)
- Contest for Booklovers (win up to $1000!)
- Find the @libro.fm Golden Ticket (win 12 free audiobooks!)
- so much more! Visit thespanielstale.ca/cibd
#CIBD2025

Our Indie Bookshop Appreciation Sale starts TODAY! Every purchase supports your indie bookshop. (Can you-know-who say that?) 🥳

libro.fm/sale

Hello, Bluesky! 👋

We're The Spaniel's Tale Bookstore, a queer-owned indie bookstore in Ottawa. Check us out in-store at 1131 Wellington Street West in Hintonburg, or online at thespanielstale.ca.