The Seaboard Review of Books
Issue Date: Monday, July 6, 2026
In this issue:
Those Are Pearls by André Narbonne (Fiction)
Almost English by Barbara Sibbald (Fiction)
Breakaway by Karissa Donkin (Non-Fiction)
Hymns of New Jerusalem by Andreas Gripp (Poetry)
Elegies and Other Poems by Flavia Cosma (Poetry)
The Nicholas Racz Interview
Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review of Books!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
Fiction
Those Are Pearls by André Narbonne
The origins of André Narbonne’s fascinating and bracingly original novel, Those Are Pearls, can be traced to years of research into his own family’s history. The resulting novel has an expansive geographical reach and encapsulates a period from the last few years of the 19th century to 1977.
Almost English by Barbara Sibbald
Stephen Turner, son of a prominent English gentleman and educated at the finest schools in England, longed to escape his menial position as a railroad clerk but one manifest obstacle stood in his way: Stephen’s maternal grandmother was native. In 1880s India, that placed him in a no-man’s land, neither fully native, nor fully English, and certainly inel…
Non-Fiction
Breakaway by Karissa Donkin
The opening puck-drop at the start of the New York-Toronto women’s hockey game on January 1, 2024, was loaded with significance. The face-off marked the culmination of months of activity to establish and launch the Professional Women’s Hockey League.
Poetry
Hymns of New Jerusalem by Andreas Gripp
Andreas Gripp is a “people’s poet.” Over decades, he has devoted himself to a prolific practice of accessible, participatory poetry. Not only has he published 45 books of his own verse, many of which are available for free in PDF format on his website
Elegies and Other Poems by Flavia Cosma
Author of more than fifty books of poetry, award winning poet Flavia Cosma continues to delve into the invisible intricacies and mysteries of the heart. An attentive, sensitive spirit seeking eternity in the tangible manifestations of reality and of love’s multifaceted essence, she gifts us with poems that lead from loss, grief and dark nights of the so…
Interview
The Nicholas Racz Interview
Nicholas Racz is an international award-winning writer, producer and director for film, television and podcast. He is the host of THE GREAT UNTOLD, a YouTube series that features great untold stories. He created and wrote the international television series CONCORDIA. He has also created and written TV series for leading networks including FX, Fox and A…
June’s Saturday Short
Verona, Summer by M. G. Turner
In recent days a fancy has crept upon my vision which I at first tried to cast onto a canvas of immense size, but after much struggle, I saw was a simpler, and indeed shorter, story. That story concerns a private fantasy in which the work of the two greatest poets is co-mingled: that is to say, the talents of Dante…
I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue
This is a highly entertaining read about a checked-out office worker who suddenly —by some fluke —has access to all her coworkers' and boss's emails and messages. This changes everything. Up until now she was just barely hanging on, keeping her head low, sending passive-aggressive responses to coworkers' emails. And now she's on top of things, she knows ahead of everyone else what's going on behind the scenes, and she knows what people are saying about her and everyone else. She uses this information to her advantage, but doesn't count on the fact that she might actually enjoy being more engaged with work and her coworkers. Now it's a matter of Not Getting Caught. She especially wouldn't want to ruin the good thing she has going with the new human resource guy - she really likes him. This is a smart, darkly funny, entertaining debut from an Iranian/British-Canadian author from Calgary, Alberta. (Naomi MacKinnon)
