Mitchell Toews's Blog, page 5
October 11, 2023
Early Praise for “Pinching Zwieback”
Linda Rogers van Krugel
[…] That is the substance of Pinching Zwieback, rhymes with Steinbach, the town of Toews’ awakening. The linked stories in this premier collection from a senior writer describe the apostate Christian community he is growing into and out of now that the skin he was born in no longer fits. This was always true for the narrators born as outsiders in an outsider religion.
—Linda Rogers from her full review of the book. Canadian poet, author, thinker, feminist, and raconteur extraordinaire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Rogers
Zilla Jones
Imbued with the turbulence of an ancestral river, the joy of a toboggan careening down an icy run, and the despair of dreams broken on a distant hockey rink, Mitchell Toews’ stories ask universal questions, about belonging, conforming and dissenting, all the while rooted in the snowdrifts and sun-drenched fields of a small prairie town. The answers emerge hot from the oven, fragrant like the zwieback buns of the title: we find ourselves in our family, and memories, and forgiveness, as familiar and soothing as the worn leather of a much-loved baseball glove.
—Zilla Jones, Journey Prize winner and finalist for the RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers https://www.transatlanticagency.com/2021/08/27/welcoming-zilla-jones-to-transatlantic/
Ralph Friesen
Mitch Toews speaks from the margins of small-town society, claiming a space for the underdog and the undervalued. His characters must go through all manner of tests and challenges, but in the end–love wins. Toews has that rare talent for touching your heart and being funny, too.
—Ralph Friesen, author of Between Earth & Sky: Steinbach’s First 50 Years and Dad, God, and Me. https://www.ralphfriesen.com/
Armin Wiebe
• Mitchell Toews’ stories range from Tom Sawyer-like tales of boyhood squabbles to the heartbreak of family dysfunction to the cruelty of small-town hypocrisy. Hilarious and tragic in turn, Toews explores facets of Mennonite life that other Mennonite writers have not touched.
• Mitchell Toews’ stories add more layers to the world that has given us Patrick Friesen, Lynnette (Dueck) D’anna, Miriam Toews, and Andrew Unger. Racism, class conflict, economic, and religious snobbery form the background for the sometimes comic, sometimes excruciating human dramas experienced by four generations of the Zehen family.
• With a family bakery at the heart of what links them, these are hockey and baseball stories, love stories, drinking stories, father-son stories, mother-daughter stories, outsider stories, getting even stories, in which characters face high stakes perils, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical, sometimes life and death menacing.
• From 1874 Russia to 21st century Manitoba and British Columbia, Mitchell Toews’ linked stories present us with a boisterous and poignant family saga unlike any other in Mennonite literature.
• Oba Jung, you write good stories.
—Armin Wiebe, author of The Salvation of Yasch Siemens and Grandmother, Laughing. http://www.arminwiebe.ca/
September 30, 2023
Early Praise for “Pinching Zwieback”
Pinching Zwieback
Zilla Jones
Imbued with the turbulence of an ancestral river, the joy of a toboggan careening down an icy run, and the despair of dreams broken on a distant hockey rink, Mitchell Toews’ stories ask universal questions, about belonging, conforming and dissenting, all the while rooted in the snowdrifts and sun-drenched fields of a small prairie town. The answers emerge hot from the oven, fragrant like the zwieback buns of the title: we find ourselves in our family, and memories, and forgiveness, as familiar and soothing as the worn leather of a much-loved baseball glove.
—Zilla Jones, fast-rising Canadian fiction writer and Journey Prize Winner
Ralph Friesen
Mitch Toews speaks from the margins of small-town society, claiming a space for the underdog and the undervalued. His characters must go through all manner of tests and challenges, but in the end–love wins. Toews has that rare talent for touching your heart and being funny, too.
—Ralph Friesen, author of Between Earth & Sky: Steinbach’s First 50 Years and Dad, God, and Me.
Armin Wiebe
• Mitchell Toews’s stories range from Tom Sawyer-like tales of boyhood squabbles to the heartbreak of family dysfunction to the cruelty of small-town hypocrisy. Hilarious and tragic in turn, Toews explores facets of Mennonite life that other Mennonite writers have not touched.
• Mitchell Toews’s stories add more layers to the world that has given us Patrick Friesen, Lynnette (Dueck) D’anna, Miriam Toews, and Andrew Unger. Racism, class conflict, economic, and religious snobbery form the background for the sometimes comic, sometimes excruciating human dramas experienced by four generations of the Zehen family.
• With a family bakery at the heart of what links them, these are hockey and baseball stories, love stories, drinking stories, father-son stories, mother-daughter stories, outsider stories, getting even stories, in which characters face high stakes perils, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical, sometimes life and death menacing.
• From 1874 Russia to 21st century Manitoba and British Columbia, Mitchell Toews’s linked stories present us with a boisterous and poignant family saga unlike any other in Mennonite literature.
• Oba Jung, you write good stories.
—Armin Wiebe, author of The Salvation of Yasch Siemens and Grandmother, Laughing.
“Pinching Zwieback:” Book, Author, Publication Details
Last UPDATE: Nov 4, 2023
Barn: Guide Meridian, Lynden, Wa.—mjtAuthor Mitchell Toews
After eight years in creative writing, 120 prose pieces placed in periodicals and anthologies (and over 650 rejections 
) Mitch is launching his first book, a collection of short fiction published by At Bay Press of Winnipeg.
So who is this guy, Mitchell Toews?
Mitchell James Toews is the great-great-grandson of Mennonite Delegate C.P. Toews from Molotschna, Russia; the grandson of C.F. (“Roy,” “Schusta”) and Rosa Toews of Steinbach; grandson also to former “Jantsieda” (residents from the “other side” of the Red River) Diedrich and Marie Harder of Steinbach; and son of the Steinbach Bakery family: Norman “Chuck” and Jessie Toews. He is married to Janice Kasper of Steinbach and they have two married daughters.
Among his stop-overs and occupations: a year (1973/74) at UVIC in Victoria, two years at U of W in Winnipeg and (much later) a Master’s Certificate in Marketing Communication from York U. Mitch founded—with his father and uncle Earl Taves—and operated a small overhead door manufacturing company. In 1996, the now solely-owned business, Hanover Doors, was sold by Janice and Mitch and Mitch’s advertising and marketing career began. In 2016 after time well-spent with companies like Smith, Neufeld, Jodoin Law (Steinbach), Loewen Windows (Steinbach), Yarrow Sash & Door (Winnipeg), and Lynden Door (Abbotsford), Mitch devoted himself entirely to creative writing—a lifelong and much-delayed passion.
Janice and Mitch live in their 1950 lakeside cabin at Jessica Lake in the Manitoba territory that is part of Treaty 1 & 3 land and home to the Métis Nation, just north of the Fiftieth Parallel in the Winnipeg River basin. Their daughters Megan and Tere live in British Columbia and trips to see the families, particularly grandkids Ty, Hazel, James, and Floyd are as frequent as circumstances permit.
Mitch is an avid windsurfer, rower, and cross-country skier and the lifelong rigours of climbing ladders and swinging hammers, along with baseball, volleyball, basketball, and golf all contributed in past days to the current sorry state of his joints.
Book Synopsis
Pinching Zwieback comprises stories that recount events and conflicts from the “Mennosphere”—inwardly oriented communities that can generate wonderful characters and practical, often beautiful, solutions to life’s confusion. Other times, a solution may be elusive.
Hartplatz is the imaginary home for many of the recurrent characters. (Also Winkler, Aldergrove or fictive places like them—a small town pastiche.) These are rural Canadian junctures where vectors intersect: faith and doubt; pacifism in a world at war; honour and temptation; fervour and absurdity; the temptations of the wide welt, and of course, humour. Often gritty, it’s K-mart fiction or maybe better yet: schmaundtfat fiction. (A Low German glossary is provided!)
“God causes it to rain on Chevs and Fords alike,” as Diedrich, the main character in three* of the 20 stories puts it. It’s in this context that the characters resist, pitting their will against that of their foe—the foe they seek to love.
*Other main characters include Matt Zehen, his mother and father, Hart and Justy Zehen, Matt’s grandmother Rosa, and Matt’s close friend, Lenny Gerbrandt. A family tree provides a guide to the cast for readers.
Where to Purchase Pinching Zwieback
“Pinching Zwieback: Made-up Stories from the Darp” 2023 ISBN 9781998779055 by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg). Publication Date October 24, Release Date November 7, Launch Date Nov 8. Contact us for assistance: check with Mitch or Matt on where to buy and also about how to receive signed copies or for information concerning special situations, author appearances, writing workshops, and more.
Requesting “Pinching Zwieback” by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg) at your favourite bookstore or library will get you a copy. Coming soon to libraries in Kenora, ON and Manitoba locations in Brandon, Lac du Bonnet, Pinawa, Altona, Winkler, and Morden. More to follow.
“Pinching Zwieback” 5″X8″257-page quality paperbacks may be purchased:
From At Bay Press: “Individual orders are placed through our website by adding books to your cart and then checking out with our secure online payment. Orders may also be placed over the phone by calling 204-489-6658 and payment will be taken over the phone. You may send an email with any questions or concerns to atbaypress@gmail.com.”
McNally Robinson Booksellers (Pre-order available) all locations.
The gift shops at both Mennonite Heritage Village (Steinbach) and Mennonite Heritage Museum (Abbotsford).
CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre in Winnipeg, MB
Misty River Books in Terrace, BC
Manitoba Made Events & Shop in Lac du Bonnet, MB
Shop in person: Canadian Bookstore Map
Virtually all ONLINE book sources WORLDWIDE including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Thriftbooks, etc.
Libraries and booksellers in Canada and the U.S. may purchase books from At Bay Press’s distribution partners:
Canada: http://www.litdistco.ca/
U.S.: https://www.casemateipm.com/9781998779055/pinching-zwieback/
Aus/NZ: https://peribo.com.au/
For other countries: Please see https://atbaypress.com/ordering or contact Matt Joudrey atbaypress@gmail.com
Events
https://mitchellaneous.com/2023/10/20/pinching-zwieback-events/
Coming Soon
A first REVIEW of “Pinching Zwieback” by the eminent Canadian author, Poet Laureate, and literary leader, Linda Rogers van Krugel of Victoria will be placed shortly. Several other reviews, from Canada and the U.S., are underway.
Early Praise
“Pinching Zwieback Observations” from Canadian literary notables Zilla Jones, Ralph Friesen, Alanna Rusnack, Armin Wiebe and more.
Follow Mitch & Pinching Zwieback
Follow Mitch’s FaceBook page and this blog (Mitchellaneous.com) for unboring updates, news, and other crumbs and chicken feed as “Pinching Zwieback” struts in wider and wider circles around the coop.
“Pinching Zwieback” Book, Author, Publication, & Event Details
Last UPDATE: Sept 30, 2023
BREAKING NEWS!
Mitchell Toews’s short story, “Saskatchewan” has been named to the Longlist in the prestigious, nationwide Nona Macdonald Heaslip $15,000 “Best Canadian Short Story” Competition and Award for 2023. “Saskatchewan” is the latest in a growing list of successes for the Jessica Lake, MB author. Notable major literary contests include strong performances in The Writers’ Union of Canada Emerging Writers, the J. F. Powers Prize for Short Fiction, the Humber Literary Review/(CNFC) Creative NonFiction Prize, and the Dave Williamson National Short Story Competition, as well as three Pushcart Prize nominations.
This award is the successor to the Carter V. Cooper Awards, presented annually for the last ten years.
Events List for Pinching Zwieback
Thursday, November 2, Noon, “Books and Borscht,” Mennonite Heritage Museum, Abbotsford, BC. A get fed, get read event! Reading and book discussion after lunch in the MHM restaurant. https://www.mhsbc.com/futureevents/mhm_events_planned.php
Wednesday, November 8, 7 PM, Dual Hybrid Book Launch in the atrium at McNally Robinson Booksellers, Grant Park, Winnipeg, MB. Join host Sue Sorensen and authors Ariel Gordon (“Sightseeing,” with co-poet Brenda Schmidt) and Mitchell Toews (“Pinching Zwieback”), both books from Winnipeg’s At Bay Press. https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/event-18468/Ariel-Gordon-&-Mitchell-Toews-Dual-Hybrid-Book-Launch/?
fbclid=IwAR1cprj4KUIqDNjGTfuZHDZjyXKApJQwuZjfmv5_xcZgWISlHq6xbo8RoB8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49xiY1jRSYs
Thursday, November 9, 7 PM, Dual Book Launch, St. John’s Heritage Church and Arts Centre, Lac du Bonnet, MB. Join At Bay Press publisher Matt Joudrey, authors Ariel Gordon (“Sightseeing,” with co-poet Brenda Schmidt) and Mitchell Toews (“Pinching Zwieback”), and special local singer-songwriter guests Lefty Auger (Daryl Reimer), Paul McIntosh, and Bernadette Carlson each of whom will perform during the evening. https://mitchellaneous.com/2023/09/22/dual-author-book-launch-at-st-johns-heritage-church-arts-centre/
Wednesday, November 15, 7 PM, Local Authors Night in the Main Auditorium at the Mennonite Heritage Village, Steinbach, MB. Join host Nita Wiebe with Mitch and authors: Elma Koop, Noreen Jantzen, and Mary-Lou Driedger. https://mennoniteheritagevillage.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/MHV-Local-Authors-Night.jpg
Saturday, November 18, 7 PM, Book Launch at The Public Brewhouse and Gallery, Steinbach, MB. Join emcee Andrew Unger and local co-hosts Dave Driedger & John “Hans” Neufeld for a fun evening of readings, book chat and (probably) some beer and banter! https://thepublicbrewhouseandgallery.ca/
November Date TBA: Book Launch and book chat at the Pinawa Public Library in Pinawa MB. Watch this space for dates and times. Contact: Head Librarian Lois Bernardin
Spring, 2024 Date TBA: Reading and book chat at the Lac du Bonnet Regional Library in Lac du Bonnet MB. Watch this space for dates and times—this event will coincide with the completion of library renovations. Contact: Head Librarian Jennifer Hudson Stewart
Barn: Guide Meridian, Lynden, Wa. Mitch is available and welcomes requests: booksellers, libraries, book clubs, church and social groups, panels, and discussing craft—specifically: Writing Your Culture.
Of particular interest: Mennonite writing and Mennonite author gatherings and events. While the book speaks to many kinds of small town and interpersonal experiences, “Pinching Zwieback” is certainly a piece of the Mennonite collective writing gemeinde (group/community) and the author is interested in opportunities to listen, learn, and participate. “Have books. Will travel.”
Where to Purchase
“Pinching Zwieback” ISBN 9781998779055 by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg) may be purchased at:
From At Bay Press: “Individual orders are placed through our website by adding books to your cart and then checking out with our secure online payment. Orders may also be placed over the phone by calling 204-489-6658 and payment will be taken over the phone. You may send an email with any questions or concerns atbaypress@gmail.com.”
McNally Robinson (Pre-order available) all locations.
The gift shops at both Mennonite Heritage Village (Steinbach) and Mennonite Heritage Museum (Abbotsford).
CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre in Winnipeg, MB
Manitoba Made Events & Shop in Lac du Bonnet, MB
Shop in person: Canadian Bookstore Map
Virtually all ONLINE book sources WORLDWIDE including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Thriftbooks, etc.
Libraries and booksellers in Canada and the U.S. may purchase books from At Bay Press’s distribution partners:
Canada: http://www.litdistco.ca/
U.S.: https://www.casemateipm.com/9781998779055/pinching-zwieback/
Other countries: Please see https://atbaypress.com/ordering or contact Matt Joudrey at atbaypress@gmail.com
Be sure to look out for author and publisher events and check with Mitch or Matt on how to receive signed copies or for information concerning special situations. Requesting “Pinching Zwieback” by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg) at your fav bookstore or at your library will also get you a copy and if not—please let us know and we’ll help out.
Coming Soon
A first REVIEW of “Pinching Zwieback” by the eminent Canadian author, Poet Laureate, and literary leader, Linda Rogers van Krugel of Victoria will be placed shortly. Several other reviewers, from Canada and the U.S., are either engaged via PDF or await their hard copy Advance Reader Copies.
Meanwhile, here is some early praise for “Pinching Zwieback.”
Follow
Mitch’s FaceBook page for updates, news, and other tidbits as “Pinching Zwieback” gets ready (like the author’s fourth grandchild) to enter the world.
P.S.—There’s some loose talk (crowing) about T-shirts, but, that remains to be seen. Or worn.
September 22, 2023
Dual Author Book Launch at St. John’s Heritage Church & Arts Centre
Five-time Manitoba author Ariel Gordon of Winnipeg and Jessica Lake’s Mitchell Toews will join forces on Thursday, November 9 to launch new books! Toews is well-known to regulars at “The Listening Room” in Lac du Bonnet where he has presented many of his short stories on Open Mic Wednesdays.
Winnipeg’s At Bay Press publisher Matt Joudrey will be on hand to support these two authors. Filling out the evening for attendees are local musicians/singer-songwriters BERNADETTE CARLSON, LEFTY AUGER, and PAUL McINTOSH who will perform during the event. Refreshments, poetry, and prose will be available for purchase. Introductions, readings, music, and an author question period are planned. Doors open at 7 P.M.
Siteseeing is a poetry collection, a call-and-response co-written by Ariel Gordon and Saskatchewan writer Brenda Schmidt. The poets wrote about the natural world and people making their way through it all. They wrote home as they found it. Gordon and Schmidt share a pronounced love for nature and their poignant verse is particularly well-suited to boreal and prairie audiences alike.
Pinching Zwieback is the debut short fiction collection from Mitchell Toews. It is focused on recurrent, related characters with a common reality: small town Mennonite life. Toews, who grew up in his parents’ bakery in Steinbach Manitoba, employs a gritty style with ample psychological depth, humour, and a unique slant on the people once known as “the quiet in the land.” He is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee and most recently a finalist for the prestigious 2023 Nona Heaslip $15,000 “Best Canadian Short Fiction” Competition and Award (Exile Quarterly).
The artists are honoured to be performing on Treaty 1 and 3 lands in the homeland of the Métis Nation, the Winnipeg River basin.
September 11, 2023
A Toews Prose Sampler
From the sleepy stubble fields of Manitoba Mennonite country to the shores of the Rivanna River in Charlottesville, Virginia, here are four not-so-sleepy short stories. Besides my stories, the contents of The Rivanna Review are alive with unique literature, pictures, and book reviews. See the contents, here: https://rivannareview.com/
Single copies and subscriptions are extremely reasonable in price!
These four pieces are original works of mine, examples of “the organic story,” according to Print Editor Robert Boucheron. These stories are not in the forthcoming collection, “Pinching Zwieback” from At Bay Press (October 24), so no overlap!
Sweet Caporal: Life presents many unexpected dramas, especially for teenagers.
Hundred Miles an Hour: Set in the same lakeside location as Sweet Caporal; home to a darker drama.
The Sewing Machine: 1931 Winnipeg is the backdrop for unlikely combatants.
The Seven Songs: Pride, desperation, and deception know no one locale, no religious or national boundaries, and no exceptions.
July 29, 2023
McNally Robinson Booksellers Launch of Pinching Zwieback
If you’re in Winnipeg on November 8…
https://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/event-18468/Ariel-Gordon-&-Mitchell-Toews-Dual-Hybrid-Book-Launch.
Join Sue Sorensen, Ariel Gordon and myself for a bookish good time!
June 28, 2023
Prosetry 2023
“The great thing about a short story is that it doesn’t have to trawl through someone’s whole life; it can come in glancingly from the side.” —Emma Donoghue
Hear some stories, some songs, some poems, and smore, around the campfire at Jessica Lake, on July 22. Contact me for info whether you wish to perform, listen, or both! Or just show up: via microbus with flowers in your hair, in a flatbed Ford, on a horse with no name…it’s your call.
It’s an informal Open Mic Convivial under the Winnipeg River basin sky. Come early, stay late, bring some food and beverages, your gitbox, and your dancing crocs. See my Facebook page and this post in particular for more information: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid02VPjeTa1msEkxFsYGvKJToxWR8YBGaBZVE4bexWhMrYnL7ByokTeYUvmQVm7xDmq3l&id=531352832&mibextid=Nif5oz
April 25, 2023
Reprised: “The Spring Kid” —Macrina Magazine
https://macrinamagazine.com/general-submissions/guest/2022/09/10/the-spring-kid/
One of my favourite stories as it appears in
PLEASE NOTE: “The future of Macrina depends on whether we can establish a base of monetary support and grow our editorial and administrative team. Until then, our website will remain active, so you can read and share what we have already published.”
—The Associate Editors of Macrina Magazine
As the above indicates, it’s been a tough spring for this exceptional publication. If you can help out in any way, please contact Editor-in-Chief Micah Enns Dyck. https://www.facebook.com/MacrinaMagazine
April 18, 2023
Reblog: I Used to be an Animal Lover
An INTERVIEW with contributor, Mitchell Toews.
Where did you hear about the I Used to be an Animal Lover anthology? What does the title mean to you?
I stumbled across D.A. Cairns’ anthology call on the internet and submitted my story “The Margin of the River” almost immediately, followed soon after by “I Am Otter.” I was intrigued by the anthology’s title, especially since it was a reprise of a book of his by the same name.
Three fun facts—in the writerly domain, related to the animal kingdom, or otherwise—about you?
1—When our kids were young, we owned (were owned by?) a gentle, runt-of-the-litter beagle the girls named “Knuckles.” One frigid Canadian winter, frustrated by Knuckles’ frequent requests for out-in-out, I rigged a backyard doghouse made of hay bales. The shelter was warmed by a 40-watt bulb coated with stove black. All systems were go until we received a late-night wake-up: It was Knuckles howling in joyous excitement as her hated winter exile went up in leaping, orange flames. A design flaw, or Knuckles the arsonist beagle? 2—I have built and lived in two geodesic domes, one at a water-access-only boreal forest location. 3—a favourite quote, “Forgive the weak for they are always fighting.” —Layne Coleman, from “Tony Nappo Ruined My Life” in “Carter V Cooper Short Fiction Anthology: Book Ten by Joyce Carol Oates”
Where can I buy your work and what’s the one piece that I ABSOLUTELY must read?
My forthcoming collection of short stories is probably the best I can offer. “Pinching Zwieback” (At Bay Press) will be out October 24, 2023, and news of the launch, readings, and so on will be announced on my social media links. (Ask for it at your library or local bookshop—and remember, it’s a small world.) https://atbaypress.com/books/creator/mitchell-toews
Bio
Mitchell Toews lives and writes lakeside in Manitoba. His work appears in print and online, in places near and far. He is working on a novel. A collection of short stories focused on a Russian Mennonite community in Western Canada, “Pinching Zwieback” will be launched in the fall of 2023 by Winnipeg’s At Bay Press. You may follow Mitch on the trails or out on the water or ice, or more conveniently at Mitchellaneous.com and https://www.facebook.com/mitch.toews/
“I come to fiction from the storyteller’s places: the campfire, the backseat on a long drive, the bar stool.” —MJT
Reblogged from Australian Author David A. Cairns and his blog: Square Pegs https://dacairns.com.au/blog
NOTE: PRE-ORDER LINKS for I Used to be an Animal Lover are here:
Amazon Kindle
everywhere else
