Critically acclaimed for its ambition and scope, The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature is considered the authoritative reference of its kind. The original concise version appeared in 2001, retaining the Companion's informative coverage of major writers, significant works, and other aspects of the Canadian literary scene, while omitting regional and genre surveys and francophone writers whose works have not been translated into English.

Now available in paperback, its successor treats the explosion of publications by "new" writers of fiction and poetry as well as by authors who already had entries in the Companion - all these recent works described in considerable detail by William Toye. There are 42 new entries on subjects that include Christian Bök, Joseph Boyden, CNQ: Canadian Notes and Queries, Cormorant Books, Michael Crummey, Yann Martel, Lisa Moore, Michael Redhill, and Miriam Toews. With more than 1,000 entries that include many books published in 2010, this new edition offers a comprehensive look at the wealth of literature produced by Canadian writers.

William Toye's profile page

William Toye was the general editor of the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature and co-editor of the second edition. He wrote The St Lawrence (1959) and William Toye on Canadian Literature (2005); edited the popular anthology The Book of Canada (1962); co-edited, with Robert Weaver, The Oxford Anthology of Canadian Literature (2nd edn, 1981); and was a founding editor of The Tamarack Review. He was editorial director of Oxford University Press Canada from 1969 until his retirement in 1991. In 1995 he was awarded the Order of Canada, in 1996 he received an honorary M.A. from Oxford University, and in 2004 he was given an honorary doctorate by Victoria College, University of Toronto.

"The Concise Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature is an indispensable tool and guide for anyone interested in Canadian culture. William Toye has done a superb job of updating entries in the first [concise] edition, which appeared in 2001, and in adding many new entries. ... He is one of Canada's finest editors, and this always elegant and often eloquent volume, combining necessary information and insightful evaluation, clearly bears the mark of the master editor's hand." --Professor Zailig Pollock, Department of English Literature, Trent University

"A masterful achievement from the indefatigable William Toye." --Eleanor Wachtel, host of CBC's Writers and Company

"William Toye has expertly marshalled and written a rich, hugely informative compendium of knowledge about the astonishing diversity of Canadian writing. No library, public or personal, can afford to be without it." --Roy MacSkimming, author of The Perilous Trade: Book Publishing in Canada, 1946-2006

"For breadth, accuracy, and insight, The Concise Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature is still the best quick reference guide to Canadian literature in any medium." --Nino Ricci, award-winning author of The Origin of Species

"An indispensable guide to all things CanLit." --Globe and Mail

"Handsome, ... arranged in readable and elegant columns. The prose [is] sharp and effective, crackling with literate enthusiasm. Toye has been working this beat for decades and it may be that in studying, selecting, and analyzing this material he's become more knowledgeable about the breadth of Canadian writing, English and French, than anyone else alive. ... An essential work of reference." --National Post