Anna Blauveldt Signing

Join us on Saturday, December 9 for a book signing with local author, Anna Blauveldt. She will be here between 1:00pm and 3:00pm to sign copies of her new novel, The Leavetaking, and her children’s book, Kat and the Meanies.
About the books:
The Leavetaking is about a terminally ill woman, about betrayal and forgiveness, courage and compassion – but most of all, it is about forging one’s own path to serenity and helping others to find theirs.
Find your path – find your way – find your peace.”
Kat and the Meanies:
“Kat’s Mom and Dad have lots of rules for her to follow…SO many, in fact, she’s sure they belong to a Meany Club!
What’s a girl to do? Kat dreams of slipping away to find fun in all sorts of places…
Who knows where her journeys will take her?”

We look forward to seeing you here!

Maggie Knaus Book Launch

Join us on Wednesday, November 1 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm for the launch of Maggie Knaus‘ beautiful children’s book, Eleanor’s Moon.

About the book:

A girl and her grandfather’s shared love for the moon brings them comfort and keeps them close even when they’re apart

Eleanor is born during a brilliant harvest moon. Moments after her birth, while she lies safely in her grandfather’s arms, he tells her, “No matter where we are, we will always share the moon.”

And they do. As Eleanor grows, her grandpa teaches her to love the moon. Together they observe it in all its permutations as it waxes and wanes. Soon, Eleanor sees the moon in everything, and when she and her parents move away, these moon sightings give her comfort and make her feel like her grandfather is close by.

A debut picture book from author/illustrator Maggie Knaus, Eleanor’s Moon is a charming and cozy story that assures children a loved one can always be connected to them, even when they’re apart.”

Author Dinner with Charlotte Gray

Our second Books on Beechwood Author Dinner of the year will not only feature another beloved Ottawa author, but will also take us to another great local restaurant!

For this Books on Beechwood Author Dinner, we will be joined by the incomparable Charlotte Gray as she treats us to a presentation on her brand new book, “Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons.” Our dinner will take place at Dhruvees Restaurant right here on Beechwood Avenue on Monday, November 6.

Whether you were a regular attendee at our beloved Titles@Table40 events, or are new to the author dinner bandwagon, just scroll down to find out all the details of this new Books on Beechwood Author Dinner series!


How it Works

The evening starts at 6:00pm with dinner, followed by the author presentation and book signing. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the bookstore. The non-refundable cost is $62.00 which includes the cost of the meal (a set menu served family style), tax, and tip. All beverages are extra and will be charged at the end of the evening.

Dhruvees Restaurant can accommodate any special dietary needs if we are informed at the bookstore in advance.


Tickets for this exciting dinner event are on sale now, so be sure to call, visit or e-mail us to book yours today!


About the book:

A captivating dual biography of two famous women whose sons would change the course of the 20th century—by award-winning historian Charlotte Gray.

Born into upper-class America in the same year, 1854, Sara Delano (later to become the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and Jennie Jerome (later to become the mother of Winston Churchill) refused to settle into predictable, sheltered lives as little-known wives to prominent men. Instead, both women concentrated their energies on enabling their sons to reach the epicentre of political power on two continents.

In the mid-19th century, the British Empire was at its height, France’s Second Empire flourished, and the industrial vigor of the United States of America was catapulting the republic towards the Gilded Age. Sara and Jennie, raised with privilege but subject to the constraints of women’s roles at the time, learned how to take control of their destinies—Sara in the prosperous Hudson Valley, and Jennie in the glittering world of Imperial London.

Yet their personalities and choices were dramatically different. A vivacious extrovert, Jennie married Lord Randolph Churchill, a rising politician and scion of a noble British family. Her deft social and political maneuverings helped not only her mercurial husband but, once she was widowed, her ambitious son, Winston. By contrast, deeply conventional Sara Delano married a man as old as her father. But once widowed, she made Franklin, her only child, the focus of her existence. Thanks in large part to her financial support and to her guidance, Franklin acquired the skills he needed to become a successful politician.

Set against one hundred years of history, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons is a study in loyalty and resilience. Gray argues that Jennie and Sara are too often presented as lesser figures in the backdrop of history rather than as two remarkable individuals who were key in shaping the characters of the sons who adored them and in preparing them for leadership on the world stage.

Impeccably researched and filled with intriguing social insights, Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons breathes new life into Sara and Jennie, offering a fascinating and fulsome portrait of how leaders are not just born but made.”

Author Dinner with Roy MacGregor

Our Books on Beechwood Author Dinner series is back and all set to bring you wonderful food, great conversations, and, of course, a very special evening with a very special author!

Our series will kick off later this month with Canadian icon Roy MacGregor as he treats us to a presentation on his brand new memoir, Paper Trails: From the Backwoods to the Front Page, a Life in Stories. He will be joining us for dinner at The Bridge Public House at The Rideau Sports Centre on Monday, October 23.

Whether you were a regular attendee at our beloved Titles@Table40 events, or are new to the author dinner bandwagon, just scroll down to find out all the details of this inaugural Books on Beechwood Author Dinner!


How it Works

The evening starts at 6:00pm with dinner, followed by the author presentation and book signing. Tickets must be purchased in advance at the bookstore. The non-refundable cost is $60.00 which includes the cost of the meal (a set menu served family style), tax, and tip. All beverages are extra and will be charged at the end of the evening.

The Bridge Public House can accommodate any special dietary needs if we are informed at the bookstore in advance.


Tickets for this exciting dinner event are on sale now, so be sure to call, visit or e-mail us to book yours today!

Stephanie Chitpin Book Signing

Join us on Saturday, October 14 between noon and 2:00pm to meet local author Stephanie Chitpin as she signs copies of her memoir, Keep My Memory Safe.
About the book:
“Born in Hong Kong to unwed parents, Stephanie Chitpin was transported illegally to the Island of Mauritius by Ah Pak, the head nun of a Buddhist temple with the help of Mr. Chui, a benevolent Chinese businessman. Ah Pak raised her as an orphan ward of the temple, Fook Soo Am, known as the Pagoda. Encouraged by Mr. Chui and in spite of Ah Pak’s opposition, she did very well at school. The scars incurred by classmates’ name calling (bastard, and more) the shame of being an orphan raised in a temple, tragic deaths, and other obstacles did not prevent her from pursuing her education and finishing high school at the age of 16. Although Ah Pak had other plans for her, Mr. Chui stood by her with diplomacy and tact throughout her school years and onto university in Canada on a scholarship.
Keep My Memory Safe poetically chronicles life in the temple and in Mauritius, and the move to Canada. This immigration story is totally unique as no other orphaned temple nuns are known to have gone on to acquire a topnotch education and become academics.”

Tea, Scones, and Books!

Two great authors, two amazing new books, tea, and scones!
Join award-winning authors, Wayne Ng and Frances Peck, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm on Monday, October 2 as they sign copies of their new novels, The Family Code and Uncontrolled Flight, respectively.
Based on the real-life experiences of aircraft accident investigators and social workers, these two novels are fascinating reads which will keep you hooked to the very last page!

About the authors and their books:
Frances Peck lived, worked, and taught in Ottawa for nearly 20 years before moving to Vancouver in 2005. Her first novel, The Broken Places, about an earthquake rocking the west coast, was a Globe and Mail best book of 2022 and a finalist for the Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize.
Part mystery, part tragedy, Uncontrolled Flight is the “impossible to put down” story of a pilot who dies fighting wildfires in the BC Interior, leaving behind a traumatized colleague, a grieving widow, and a conflicted crash investigator to piece together what happened.

Wayne Ng is a local, award-winning author, newly returned from a prestigious residency at the Joy Kogawa House in Vancouver. His last book, Letters from Johnny, won the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence and was a finalist for the Ottawa Book Award.
A gritty family drama featuring the troubled life of a single mother, dogged by the brutality of past traumas and a code of silence that she must crack in order to be free – or else lose everything. With uncompromising grit and high-voltage prose, The Family Code unabashedly reveals the power and perils of parenting, but also the longing and vulnerability of children.

Tea and scones will be served!

Karen Christie Book Launch and Signing

Be sure to join us in mid-May to celebrate the release of Karen Christie‘s new book, Six Continents Over Five Decades: An Intrepid Woman’s Memoir.
On Thursday, May 18 from 4:00pm to 5:30pm, Karen will be here in the store to launch her book with an intimate talk about her travels and adventures around the world. Refreshments and snacks will be served.
If you can’t make it to the launch (May 18), you can always pop by between 3:00pm and 5:00pm on Saturday, May 20 when Karen will be paying us a second visit to chat with customers and sign copies of her book.
We hope you’re able to come out to one (or both) of these exciting events. Karen’s story is a fascinating one and we know you’ll love both hearing about it and reading about it!
Read on to find out a bit more about Karen and her book!
About the book:
“In her first 66 years, Karen Christie lived and worked on 6 continents, moving at least 32 times. Every decade provided unique opportunities for a rich and rewarding life. Karen’s 20s took her from Norway and northern Canada to Down Under, circling the Pacific Ocean, both by plan and bicycle. By the end of that decade, Karen had learned to say “Yes!” to life, and “No!” to fear. This set her up with work assignments for the next four decades in these challenging places: famine-ridden Ethiopia in her 30s, post-conflict Bosnia in her 40s, war-torn Kandahar and Kabul, Afghanistan in her 50s and 60s, and Haiti after its horrific 2010 earthquake. How did it all come about? Hop on for the journey.”
About the author:
“Karen is an intrepid adventurer, whose innate curiosity has taken her around the world. She began that life-long journey as a teacher in remote corner, and ended her career as a diplomat representing Canada in a couple of tough, insecure countries. She is now happily retired in Victoria, BC, Canada, by the Salish Sea.”

The Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl

Guess what’s just around the corner! Canadian Independent Bookstore Day!!
In addition to celebrating in-store with freebies, grab bags, discounts, and door prizes, we have a special treat for Ottawa area book lovers this year – we’ve joined forces with our fellow independent bookstores, Octopus Books, Perfect Books Ottawa, The Spaniel’s Tale Bookstore, Singing Pebble Books, and World of Maps to bring you the first ever Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl!
From Friday, April 28 to Sunday, April 30, book lovers from the Ottawa area can collect stamps from each of our city’s six independent bookstores for their chance to win a $150 bookstore shopping spree! You can pick up your stamp card at any of the six stores, collect your stamps from the 28th to the 30th, and then hand in your card at your last bookstore stop!
Entries must be submitted at a participating store before closing time on Sunday, April 30. Be sure to check individual stores’ hours of operation before heading out!
Please note that here at Books on Beechwood, we will be CLOSED on Sunday, April 30 so will only be able to give out stamps and collect completed entries on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29.
We can’t tell you how excited we are about celebrating Canadian Independent Bookstore Day with you all this year!! Even if The Ottawa Indie Bookstore Crawl isn’t something you think you can swing, we hope you’ll still able to make the trek out to your local indie to show them some love and partake in the celebrations!
As booksellers, we all dearly love what we do and we know that none of it would be possible without all of you and your deep and abiding love of books! So, here’s to you, dearest Book Lovers! Happy Canadian Independent Bookstore Day! We look forward to seeing you on Saturday! ❤️📚🥳

Susan Taylor Meehan Signing

Local author, Susan Taylor Meehan, will be here from 1:00pm to 3:00pm on Saturday, April 15 to sign copies of her new book, Loyalty.

About the book:

“An innocent favour for a friend draws Jane Davis, a young employee of the Department of Justice, into the biggest spy scandal of the 20th Century: the Gouzenko Affair. This is the story of how her increasing entrapment in the high-stakes world of early Cold War espionage takes her from a high-security wartime intercept operation to a series of increasingly high-risk assignments for a cause she barely understands. As she struggles to balance the conflicting loyalties that surround her – her deep-cover contact, her friendships, her work colleagues, even her family relationships – she has to sort out right from wrong, friend from enemy, and belonging from rejection. A violent confrontation in an isolated rural diner finally brings clarity: she must escape, leave without a trace, and never look back.”