Variations on a Dream

a novel

Forthcoming from McClelland & Stewart, February 3, 2026

Angélique dwells on Gitxsan territory among many curious beings. She is the second eldest of four daughters. Many lands have sheltered her.

Representation: Marilyn Biderman and Amanda Orozco at Transatlantic Agency

Glorious Frazzled Beings was shortlisted for the 2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize

Jury Citation

Menopausal gods, procreating droids and boys born as foxes are only a modest few of the glorious frazzled beings that populate Angélique Lalonde’s astonishing story collection. Many of the ever-present concerns of the contemporary world—ecology, capital, conservation, gender fluidity, addiction, inequality, indigenous displacement, and the eternal limits of human perspective—find in Lalonde a beguiling literary voice equal to the age, pushing not only at the boundaries of literature but at those of articulation and being. Lalonde gravitates here to the fable and the fairy tale, familiar and estranging in equal measure, to claw at the divide between our world and others—the animal, the alien—while inevitably falling back on, and forgiving, the ever-flawed human being.

—2021 Scotiabank Giller Prize Jury: Zalika Reid-Benta, Megan Gail Coles, Joshua Whitehead, Tash Aw, and Joshua Ferris

Angélique was the recipient of the 2019 Journey Prize for “Pooka”

Jury Citation

"Angélique Lalonde’s 'Pooka' is a contemporary classic. After a failed attempt at online fame, Pooka, a carpet collector and sculptor, must reconsider his artistic practice and its relationship to his mental health. Deftly weaving explorations of identity, isolation, and displacement with colourful and unexpected imagery, Lalonde tells a powerful story of life on the precipice. There is fear here, and an inescapable loneliness, but there is also a celebration of resilience that utterly defines this moment in literature, and society in general. Told in clean, efficient prose, Pooka’s story is both universal and deeply personal, with surprising twists and moments of dark humour that make it truly unforgettable."

—2019 Journey Prize Jury Carleigh Baker, Catherine Hernandez, and Joshua Whitehead

Conversations:

Short artist feature for a 2024 Banff Centre Leighton Residency.

Angélique in conversation with author and 2021 Scotiabank Giller Juror, Joshua Ferris about Glorious Frazzled Beings for the Giller Book Club.

Angélique in conversation with Anna Ling, Rawi Hage, and Christopher Evans for the Vancouver Writers Fest Incite event: Short Stories: Big Ideas.

Watch a clip of Angélique’s Author Talk for the Mississauga Public Library.

Listen to a chat about Glorious Frazzled Beings for Radio Canada’s Culture et Confiture (in French).

Interview about Glorious Frazzled Beings for 49th Shelf.

Interview with Vicky Qiao at CBC Books about Glorious Frazzled Beings and making the Scotiabank Giller Longlist.

Read excerpt and exploration of “Lady with the big head chronicle” for Prism international.

Interview with Rajni Mana Khelawan for “Crazy Glue,” published in the Malahat Review Winter 2019, Issue #209.

Interview questionnaire for Prism international’s 2018 Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction Winners.