Kamloops authors you should know about

After a year marked by the U.S. tariffs, ongoing support for local and Canadian-made products grew across industries.

BookNet Canada found an increase in the consumption of Canadian books, noting in August the sales of Canadian books increased by approximately 8 per cent compared to the same period in 2024. 

An article on Publishers Weekly highlights the branding certain publishers have used in the last year to also support books published by Canadian-owned presses. 

When someone purchases a Canadian book it not only contributes to the local economy but it is an opportunity to explore the local culture and Canada itself, and local authors bring new perspectives to life.

Kamloops has a wide variety of local authors who write in different genres. Here’s a few to explore.

Braden Hallett

For a short period of time Braden Hallett worked as a substitute teacher during which he started making art. When he pitched his art to a publisher, he got the opportunity to send a script for his first book. Later on his first book Teddy vs. the Fuzzy Doom became one of three in the series Secrets of Ravensbarrow for youth nine to 12 years old. 

“It’s about a kid with high anxiety who moves to a new town up north somewhere into a new school and new friends,” Hallett says. “He’s super anxious about it and then it turns out the school is infested with monstrous flesheating hamsters.”

The first book Teddy vs. the Fuzzy Doom was shortlisted for the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award and the Jean Little First-Novel Award. His books are available at Indigo and other retailers. 

Bailey Hannah 

Born and raised in Kamloops, Bailey Hannah is a romance author. Since she was young she was an avid reader and always loved writing. One of her bucket list items for a long time was to write a novel and a couple years ago she just decided to go for it. 

“I didn’t know if anybody would read it,” Hannah says. “I didn’t tell any of my family or friends that I was doing it, because I just wanted to do it for myself.”

Her first self-published book took off and she got a book deal. The books she has written are inspired by the environment she grew up in, like her grandparents cattle ranch in Northern B.C.

“My main series is the Wells Ranch series, and they are all cowboy romances set in a fictional town in B.C.,” Hannah says. 

The books have a grittier aspect with the mention of branding, along with more complicated aspects of ranching she explains. 

“I wanted it to stay true to what ranching is actually like with the early mornings and cold weather. All of the things that these men and women in B.C. are actually having to deal with,” Hannah says. 

The first book in the series is Alive and Wells and you can find signed copies at Indigo in Kamloops. This series made Hannah a USA Today bestselling author.  

Rebecca Jones-Howe

Rebecca Jones-Howe grew up in the North Shore and has been writing for two decades. She  published two short story collections, Vile Men and Ending in Ashes.

Writing has been a tool for Jones-Howe since she was a pre-teen to help navigate certain social situations.

“Submitting stories is both a fun and grueling process. It comes with a lot of highs and lows, seeing a series of rejections, but occasionally an acceptance,” Jones-Howe says.

The two short story collections she has published so far are what she describes as “neo-noir” fiction.

“It’s a genre of contemporary dark fiction known for subverting classic noir and hardboiled fiction with elements of magic realism, transgression and horror,” Jones-Howe says. 

Her work has elements from gothic and romance genres too and she has written a lot of domestic stories. 

“If you’re into raw unhinged weird girl lit, or if you had a Girl, Interrupted phase in high school, you’ll probably be into what I write,” Jones-Howe adds. 

Copies of both of her short stories are available at Haus of Misfit and other retailers. She is working on writing a novel and she currently has a Substack called Female Hysteria sharing how she balances a writer’s life with being a mom.

Tamara Macpherson Vukusic

Born in Manitoba Tamara Macpherson Vukusic has lived in Kamloops for more than 20 years and is the author of Obittersweet: Life Lessons from Obituaries. Macpherson Vukusic identifies as Metis and is also part of the Two Rivers Metis Society. 

Before she wrote Obittersweet: Life Lessons from Obituaries she studied journalism but always loved creative writing, she tells The Wren.

“Community and literacy is so incredibly important to me,” Macpherson Vukusic says. “My brother took his own life, my parents went through a divorce, and writing for me was how I digested what was going on and make sense of the world.” 

Obittersweet: Life Lessons from Obituaries is a collection of some of her favourite obituaries she has read over the years. 

“I know this is a little bit unusual, but I started reading obituaries in my early 20s,” Macpherson Vukusic says. 

She found obituaries had a lot of information about a person’s life story and she would find valuable teachings by reading them. 

“I would say obituaries from the time I was 20 and continuing have been like sort of a mentor for me,” Macpherson Vukusic says. 

There are many obituaries that she loved and kept which made it to the book and she has shared her own reflections on them. The book was published in 2021 and it is available to order on Indigo and from other retailers.

Naomi Tiessen

Kamloops-based Naomi Tiessen is a romantasy author and an operating room nurse. 

“I have always been drawn to telling stories,” Tiessen says. 

When she was younger she would write her dreams down or write about her favourite video game characters.

Her debut novel The Hunt was published this June and Tiessen describes it as a “heart-wrenching tale about a boy who is officially of age to participate in a bloodthirsty competition that he wants no part in, and a mermaid willing to do whatever it takes to keep her pod alive in a world that wants them extinct.”

Her stand-alone novel is a coming-of-age story following forbidden love, betrayals and survival. Tiessen recommends her book for those who love slow-burn romances and action. 

The Hunt is available on Amazon.ca, at Love & Lore mobile bookstore in Kamloops, Mosaic Books in Kelowna and The Frayed Page in Enderby. 

Richard Wagamese

Richard Wagamese was a journalist who later on moved into writing. He lived in Kamloops for many years and became one of the leading Indigenous writers in the community. While he passed away in 2017, his work is still relevant today. 

His book Indian Horse was made into a movie and was showcased in the Toronto International Film Festival. Other books include Medicine Walk, Embers and Starlight. Wagamese was cherished and loved by many in the Kamloops community and he was originally from Ojibway Wabasseemoong in northwestern Ontario.

His books are available at Indigo and other retailers.

Katie Welch

Katie Welch is a Kamloops based author and music teacher. Around 15 years ago Welch started writing and started pursuing a career in fiction. 

Welch came to B.C. to do tree planting many years ago and fell in love with the province, making her move permanent. Her experiences as a tree planter and her concerns with the climate crisis have bled into the ways she writes fiction. 

“When I invent a story, I’m thinking that the characters are dealing with these kinds of issues,” Welch says. 

Mad Honey, her first novel, is a mystery following a beekeeper who vanishes and returns after three months set in Lanark County, near Ottawa.

“He claims that all his cells underwent a quantum transformation, and he’s been living as a bee colony. Everyone thinks he’s crazy and then gradually it unfolds,” Welch says.  

Her latest release Ladder to Heaven just came out this October and is set in British Columbia after a big earthquake goes through the Pacific Coast affecting the lower mainland. The protagonist of the book is living in Vernon and has three kids, her husband is a first responder who travels to help survivors, along with one of their kids. 

“In the background of that book, there’s a lot of thinking about what has happened to the planet and how we are, how we deal with our own personal crises and in parallel with the crises on the planet,” Welch says. 

Ladder to Heaven showcases the personal connection Welch has with the environment and both are contemporary adventure stories. 

“When I started Ladder to Heaven I got sober. I am an alcoholic and I got sober at the exact same time I found this article by Kathryn Schulz in the New Norker, Pulitzer prize winning article called The Really Big One,” Welch says. 

The article is about this huge earthquake that is expected in the Pacific Northwest, offering inspiration for her book. After this Welch adds the recovery community in Kamloops was instrumental in her journey as an author and they supported her while she followed her dreams.  

Both of Welch’s books are available at Indigo and other websites. 

If we missed any other local authors in this list please let us know.