Dumagrad Books is pleased to announce the publication of Trillium nominee Dane Swan’s debut work of fiction He Doesn’t Hurt People Anymore, scheduled for release on September 24 at the Word On The Street festival in Toronto.

Swan, well-known slam poet and author of two poetry collections with Guernica Editions, was a nominee for the 2017 Trillium Book Awards for A Mingus Lullaby. But he has always considered himself “a writer rather than a poet,” as he said in a 2014 interview, and now he has made an effortless transition to fiction.

The seven stories in He Doesn’t Hurt People Anymore share a contemporary, urban setting, even as they range widely through class, race and milieu. We meet broken down boxers and classical violinists on the rise, small time dealers making their break from the streets and white collar workers drawn by the dangers of the same. In every case Swan’s insight into the human heart is on profound display.

David Hull, publisher at Dumagrad, says: “We’re thrilled that Dane has entrusted us with this book. It’s a real leap forward for Dumagrad, allowing us to build on the success we’ve had with Svetlana Lilova’s Metaphysical Dictionary. Dane is our ideal author, someone with his own artistic vision, independent of passing trends, and whose deepest subject matter is nothing less than the human condition.” Hull adds: “Dane is on the program for this year’s International Festival of Authors, so we’re eager to have his book available for that well-earned showcase.”

He Doesn’t Hurt People Anymore will be available for $9.95 on September 24, 2017 from select Toronto bookstores, from Amazon, and directly from the publisher at dumagrad.com.

About Dane Swan

Dane Swan was born in Bermuda and moved to Canada in his late teens. A classically-trained musician and a veteran of slam poetry stages across North America, his poetry and essays have appeared in numerous print and online journals. He has published two collections of poetry with Guernica Editions, Bending the Continuum (2011) and A Mingus Lullaby (2016), a finalist for the 2017 Trillium Book Award for Poetry.

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He Doesn’t Hurt People Anymore
Dane Swan
City of Words/Dumagrad
978-0-9937909-9-7
96 pp, Trade paper
$9.95 Cdn  (subject to change)
Publication date: Oct 11 2017

Contact/review copies:
David Hull
info@dumagrad.com