Canadian literary journal The New Quarterly (TNQ) is bucking the trend of declining book review coverage by expanding it’s mandate to include reviews for the first time.

The St Jerome’s University/University of Waterloo–based non-profit journal, that for more than 40 years has been publishing short fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction by Canadian writers, is introducing a book review section as part of its online content starting in September. The plan is for one monthly review with the potential to expand and increase in frequency depending on response.

Writer, editor, and reviewer Selena Mercuri, who is a publicist with River Street Writing and a social media associate at The Rights Factory, is taking on the new role of reviews editor. She will be working with freelance reviewers from across the country.

Mercuri says that expanding to include a reviews section aims to “fill a gap,” with a focus on titles from all genres from small presses across Canada. In a press release, TNQ states, “the new addition aligns with TNQ‘s renewed commitment to supporting writers who may face barriers regarding race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, or age.”

In addition to print and digital editions and the website, The New Quarterly also runs three writing contests – for poetry, personal essays, and short fiction – and the Wild Writers Retreat, facilitates mentorship/writer in residency for Indigenous writers, and runs the annual Wild Writers Literary Festival (Nov. 7–9 in 2025) in partnership with Words Worth Books and the Balsillie School of International Affairs.