Mitchellaneous Redux

Posted on by Mitchell Toews

For years, I’ve kept a blog at Mitchellaneous.com. Now, with a new site — mitchtoewsauthor.com — it’s time to bring everything under one roof.

Not a diaspora, not a forced march — just a subtle shift.

The new site provides me with a single platform to share my work and, in 2026, to host my debut novel and any subsequent projects. Everything is here: links to buy books or read published stories, a calendar of events, reviews, and more.

You’ll still find me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and X, as usual.

Thanks for reading. I’ll keep posting, and I hope you’ll keep stopping by. As before, my big mouth snookery pairs well with caffeine and is best taken with a grain of salt.

Quiet writing in a noisy era

Three Reviews—Confluence; Trifurcation; Sangam

Posted on by Mitchell Toews

“Pinching Zwieback: Made-up Stories from the Darp” Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, 2023)

Here is a triumvirate of REVIEWS for my debut collection of short stories: Tim Huber, Associate Editor of Anabaptist World…Patricia Dawn Robertson, a familiar Canadian reviewer, critic, and writer with a review from the Winnipeg Free Press…Robert Boucheron, writer and editor/publisher of the Rivanna Review of Charlottesville, Virginia and his review as it appears in Ottawa’s Literary Heist.

New books for 2023: Fiction books
Chekhov of the darp
Stories from the Darp

And, here’s where to buy your copy, and where to send your friends to get theirs: https://mitchellaneous.com/2023/12/17/where-can-i-buy-pinching-zwieback/

WHERE Can I Buy “Pinching Zwieback?”

Posted on by Mitchell Toews
Cover shot of a rooster in a day coat for the book Pinching Zwieback (At Bay Press, 2023)

“Pinching Zwieback” ISBN 9781998779055 by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg) may be purchased:

From At Bay Press: “Individual orders are placed through our website by adding books to your cart and then checking out with our secure online payment. Orders may also be placed over the phone by calling 204-489-6658 and payment will be taken over the phone. You may send an email with any questions or concerns to atbaypress@gmail.com.”

McNally Robinson Booksellers all locations.

The gift shops at both Mennonite Heritage Village (Steinbach) and Mennonite Heritage Museum (Abbotsford).

CommonWord Bookstore and Resource Centre in Winnipeg, MB

At small, independent book stores near you. That may be Misty River Books in Terrace, BC or Mulberry Bush Books in Qualicum Beach, BC, or Prairie Lights Books and Cafe in Iowa City, IA or Fables Books in Goshen, IN, or many, many other bookish places in Canada, the US, the UK or wherever you happen to live. Request a copy and we’ll get it there.

Shop in person: Canadian Bookstore Map or visit the At Bay Press website SHOP LOCAL page to find the Independent bookstore near you.

This SHOP LOCAL link shows all the retail locations in Winnipeg where you can buy PZ! https://shoplocal.bookmanager.com/isbn/9781998779055 or PUT YOUR OWN POSTAL CODE IN to find a bookseller near you!

Virtually all ONLINE book sources WORLDWIDE including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Thriftbooks, etc.

Libraries and booksellers in Canada and the U.S. may purchase books from At Bay Press’s distribution partners:

Canada: http://www.litdistco.ca/

U.S.: https://www.casemateipm.com/9781998779055/pinching-zwieback/

Aus/NZ: https://peribo.com.au/

Other countries: Please see https://atbaypress.com/ordering or contact Matt Joudrey atbaypress@gmail.com

Requesting “Pinching Zwieback” by Mitchell Toews (At Bay Press, Wpg, 2023) at your favourite bookstore or library is also a simple way to get a copy!

DIRECT FROM THE AUTHOR: Contact me to receive a personally signed copy. Mail costs to Manitoba addresses are reasonable! (If you don’t mind a sturdy-but-previously-used envelope.) Payment via beep-beep-boop online magic systems like e-payment and PayPal, etc.

50% BOOK SALE: Act Fast! Nov 16-19

Posted on by Mitchell Toews

Wow! My publisher must have sniffed one VOC too many. For a short while, Pinching Zwieback and, in fact, all At Bay Press titles are up for grabs at HALF PRICE. For American readers (with their powerful US Greenbacks) it’s almost like I’m PAYING YOU to buy my book! That negative income proposition is not the way I was led to believe it worked via my extensive research of Snoopy cartoons. (Ending in a whole Romeo-Juliet thing with me and Peppermint Patty. . .)

No matter. To buy my collection of short stories hit this SALE LINK. USE CODE: BIG50

Here’s a Pinching Zwieback-specific mnemonic device to help you remember the BIG50 sale code. It’s 50% off, which allows you to buy a case of this stuff, which is the brand consumed by characters like Big Johnny Fear (Fehr) and Dick Loewen. Hart Zehen, of course, was a Carling Black Label guy.

“Like a Mennonite ‘Dubliners’ set in the Canadian West, Pinching Zwieback follows the lives of recurrent characters on a rumble strip road filled with pick-up trucks, strong women with sad eyes, and those who were once ‘the quiet in the land.'”—Nope, no one ever said this or wrote this blurb. To see some actual opinions, hit this LINK! https://mitchellaneous.com/2023/10/11/early-praise-for-pinching-zwieback-2/

Miss the sale? Have no fear there are many places to grab a copy: December 3 at the Park Theatre in Winnipeg at the Fireside Book Market https://www.instagram.com/p/CzMQfn_gWL4/ or online from numerous vendor sites including McNally Robinson Booksellers (online or in person in Wpg or Saskatoon) or at one of the many book launch events at which I’ll be reading, signing, and selling. (Pus other Christmasy bookish opportunities coming up!)

Follow my Facebook page for a list of upcoming events or contact me to BOOK me. Here’s the current schedule, with dates in Abbotsford, Winnipeg, Lac du Bonnet, and several in Steinbach already in the rear-view:

Nov 18​ The Public​ Brewhouse, S​teinbach​​​ 7 P.M. with MC award-winning author Andrew Unger |Nov 21​ Altona Library 7 P.M. | Nov 22​ Pinawa Library 7 P.M. | Nov 23​ Winkler Library 7 P.M.​ | Nov ​28 Morden Library 7 P.M.​ | ​Fireside Book Market ​Dec 3​ Park Theatre, Winnipeg​ 10 A.M.-6 P.M. | The Listening Room Dec 13​ Open Mic​, Lac du Bonnet | PLUS events in Kenora, Brandon, Lac du Bonnet, TBA

If you don’t find Pinching Zwieback at your local bookshop or library, request it and/or shoot us a note and we’ll make it easy for them to get a copy or, as Snoopy would have me believe, fifty-five.