This Is a Stickup

October 11, 2022
80 PAGES | ISBN 978-1-989496-56-5

**Long-listed for the 2023 Fred Cogswell Award for Excellence in Poetry**
**Shortlisted for the 2023 Fiddlehead Poetry Book Prize**

This Is a Stickup is a heart-stopping second collection of poetry from Amber McMillan. In fierce, lonely and elegant lines McMillan writes of violence, of the sea and of love. Fish and sparrows crowd in the edges of these poems where grandfathers are lost at sea and friends are lost along the way. A strange man peers in her window and flames consume swing sets, while McMillan unravels some of the deep griefs of the world, creating space for the reader to grieve alongside her. Intimate and powerful these poems are unforgettable.

Reviews

This Is a Stickup: Poems by Amber McMillan (James M. Fisher, Miramichi Reader, 05/08/2022)
"This Is a Stickup should prove to be one of the major poetry releases for the fall of 2022."

Articles

Best Poetry of 2022 (James M. Fisher, Miramichi Reader, 07/12/2022)
Amber's book is chosen as one of the Miramichi Readers' best poetry of 2022!

Two Poems from This is a Stickup (All Lit Up, 23/09/2022)
Amber shares two poems from This Is a Stickup.

Poem of the Month (Atlantic Books, September 2022)
Amber's poem "September" is the Atlantic Books poem of the month!

48 Canadian poetry collections to watch for in fall 2022 (CBC Books, 15/09/2022)
Amber's collection makes this great roundup!

The Miramichi Reader Fall Preview Part One (Nathaniel G. Moore, Miramichi Reader, 11/07/2022)
Amber's collection is part of the Miramichi Reader's fall preview.

About the Author

Amber McMillan is the author of the short story collection The Running Trees (Goose Lane Editions, 2021), the memoir The Woods: A Year on Protection Island (Nightwood Editions, 2016) and the poetry collection We Can’t Ever Do This Again (Wolsak & Wynn, 2015). Her work has won a Penguin Random House award for fiction and been shortlisted for the Montreal International Poetry Prize, the New Brunswick Book Awards and the Atlantic Book Awards. She lives in New Brunswick on the unceded and unsurrendered territory of the Wolastoqiyik, Mi’kmaq and Peskotomuhkati people.