Hello friends, thanks for joining me again! I haven’t had too much time to write fun blog posts recently, as I’ve been working super hard trying to get all the edits completed on my dissertation! I’ve got some fun travel coming up this year though, so I’m hoping to plan some posts around that! Today’s post isn’t about travel or fieldwork though…it’s another publication announcement!

Yesterday, I met with Boulder Books to go over and sign my book contract to write a guidebook to cemeteries and burial sites in eastern Newfoundland. I’m so excited! Boulder is an amazing local publisher here in Newfoundland and Labrador who publishes amazing local guides, memoirs, cookbooks (the Grounds, anyone??), history, and more, and I feel super lucky that they had heard of my work with cemeteries around the province and were interested in going into this project together.

First off, the book is tentatively titled “A Graveyard Guide to Eastern Newfoundland” because a) I love the alliteration of ‘graveyard guide’, and b) because by the time I’d finished listing all the sites I was already aware of and had research on, we realized that we’d not be able to fit the entire province into one book. For the purposes of this book, ‘eastern’ Newfoundland will be from about Grand Falls – Windsor east. Technically that includes a part of Central, but I’m going with as if the province was folded in half like a taco, because there are just too many cool sites on the northeast coast I’d like to include, like Fogo Island and Greenspond! You’ll find sites in this guidebook on the Avalon Peninsula of course, as well as the Bonavista Peninsula, the Burin, and through Bonavista North around to Twillingate and Fogo, going as far west as GFW. If this book does well, hopefully I’ll be able to do a second one in the future that covers the western half of the island as well as Labrador, which would just be a dream!

Never fear, the writing won’t begin on this new project until after I’ve completed my PhD dissertation and defence. That is the number one priority until it’s complete!

In the book, you’ll find histories of the burial grounds, information of significant people buried there, the importance of the sites to their communities, unique gravestone styles and iconography, significant foliage and vistas nearby, as well as photos, and information about what the surrounding area has to offer. I’m hoping to showcase parts of the province and of communities that people might not otherwise immediately think to visit while travelling the island, and hopefully provide some inspiration for future trips and exploring! Newfoundland is stunning, and I’m so glad I’m getting this opportunity to showcase parts of the province that I love so much.

So if you have a local cemetery you’d really like to see included in the book, cool histories about graves near your family cabin, or know of just something cool you’d love to see me include, please email me or send me a message! I’m currently creating a database of sites…which is over 50 at the moment, but there is absolutely room for more. Thanks!