Available September 2005 ISBN 1-55380-028-1 BISAC: FIC003000, JUV038000, JUV039020 5 ¼ x 7 5/8 184 pp trade paper $9.95 CDN $8.95 US YA FICTION

Dark Times
Edited by Ann Walsh

The result of a cross-Canada contest for the best short stories about young people’s experience of loss and grief, Dark Times is a superb anthology about a topic that often remains hidden but is crucial in the development of a child’s sense of identity. The stories develop highly contemporary situations: a First Nations boy mourns the death of his mother; a girl copes with the loss of her grandmother to Alzheimer's disease; a boyfriend’s death takes a girl through the five stages of grief; a destitute family loses their home; a daughter loses a parent when her mother leaves; a fetal alcohol syndrome child is lost to his family when he is sent to prison; a boy loses the brother he loves to mental illness; the death of a small child challenges a girl’s belief in God; and a young girl discovers her father in an affair and confronts him – with devastating results. Well-known children’s writer Ann Walsh has chosen the stories and one of her own is included. The other contributors are Sarah Ellis, Lee Maracle, Alison Lohans, Diana Aspin, Carolyn Pogue, Gina Rozon, Jessie Mae Keller, Libby Kennedy, Donna R. Gamache, Patricia McCowan, Betty Jane Hegerat and Carrie Mac.

“A fine collection of gritty and compelling stories for young people about loss and grief, stories that will rivet the reader, and in the end, inspire hope because of the indomitable spirit of youth.” —Norma Charles

Ann Walsh is well known for her many best-selling historical novels and short stories for young adults. She is the editor of Beginnings, Stories of Canada’s Past (Ronsdale Press, 2001), nominated for The Golden Oak Award, and Winds Through Time (Beach Holme, 1998). Both are young adult anthologies of historical fiction. She is also the author of the Barkerville mystery series: Moses, Me and Murder (Pacific Educational Press, 1988), The Doctor’s Apprentice (Beach Holme, 1998), and By The Skin of His Teeth (Beach Holme, 2004). She lives near Williams Lake, B.C.