CALGARY BOOK LAUNCH: We Are Busy Being Alive by Rishi Midha

Come celebrate the launch of my debut story collection! All are welcome.

I'll be reading some work from the book and having a conversation with Kirti Bhadresa, whose debut story collection, An Astonishment of Stars, was a 49th Shelf 2024 book of the year, a 2025 Alberta Fiction Award finalist and was longlisted for a 2025 Giller Award.

There will be an afterparty nearby. Details TBA.

About the Book

Set in a North American milieu of detachment and alienation, the stories in We Are Busy Being Alive document the attempts of disillusioned characters to re-enchant themselves with a seemingly indifferent world. Their flailing quests after a sense of purpose are equal parts tragic, absurd, frivolous, and touchingly human.

A drug-fuelled romance with a stolen painting; a sexual awakening at the dentist’s; a crisis of personality from the months-long haze of a forest fire. Small spectacles dangle outside the confines of the everyday, keeping the restless characters reaching.

The stories are a nudge out the door and into the lonesome night, with a wink and a shrug as if to say—what else to do? Through each quiet inflection of hope, mischief, and despair, We Are Busy Being Alive reacquaints readers with the magical qualities of their miserable, monumental lives.

Where Can I Buy the Book?

Thanks for asking! The book will be on sale at the event, but can also be purchase and read today (!!) from Shelf Life Books (order here), your favourite local bookstore, or via the Calgary Public Library (link).

About the Author

Rishi Midha’s short fiction has appeared in Biblioasis Press’ Best Canadian Stories 2026, subTerrain, and The New Quarterly. We Are Busy Being Alive is his debut story collection.

More details: https://www.rishimidha.com/