Animals in Captivity

International award-winning writer Kate Segriff’s debut short story collection is a sleeper hit in the making, loaded with fierce, unapologetic writing about women struggling against poverty, addiction, and a world that wants to drag them down. With hope and hilarity, Segriff transports us from speakeasies to heavy metal concerts on Hudson’s Bay, where we meet neurodiverse miners, opiate-dependent, train-riding teens, and a tree-murdering grandma.   

In her unyielding debut story collection, Kate Segriff’s characters are fierce, unapologetic, and not afraid to plunge headfirst into chaos. Animals in Captivity takes us from the 1930’s to the present day, from Fogo Island, NL, to Lethbridge, Alberta, from speakeasies to heavy metal concerts on Hudson’s Bay, where we meet neurodiverse miners, opiate-dependent, train-riding teens, and a tree-murdering grandma. With matter-of-fact prose and dark humour, Segriff guides us through desperate times and unusual circumstances toward hope in an imperfect world.

For fans of We Want What We Want by Alix Ohlin, David Huebert’s Chemical Valley, and Cary Fagen’s Great Adventures for the Faint of Heart, Animals in Captivity feature a motley cast, each ready to snatch their due from the clenched hand of the universe.