Amber McMillan is the author of the memoir The Woods: A Year on Protection Island and the poetry collection We Can’t Ever Do This Again. Her work has also appeared in PRISM international, Arc Poetry Magazine, and the Walrus. She lives in Fredericton.

On CBC Books' list of 65 Canadian works of fiction to watch for in fall 2021
Shortlisted: New Brunswick Book Award (Fiction)
Shortlisted: Alistair MacLeod Prize for Short Fiction

“Energetic, often hilarious, and endlessly surprising. Reading this collection feels like eavesdropping on a series of engrossing conversations. McMillan skillfully inhabits the voices of this cast of characters, in situations that range from the suspenseful and unsettling to the deliciously absurd. The people in this book are flawed and human, prickly and curious, and remarkably distinct. Through their questions, complaints, arguments, and apologies, The Running Trees explores the intricacies of human interaction, and the difference between what we say and what we mean.” — Shashi Bhat, author of The Most Precious Substance on Earth

“A rare kind formal experimentation — overheard dialogue, speculative lists, metaphysical zingers, short fiction so natural it feels transcribed from a voice memo. Rare because you just can’t read fast enough to keep up with the appetite it stimulates. The first read is a binge, but the second is an addiction.” — Tony Burgess, author of The n-Body Problem

“Piercingly sharp and spare, beautifully touching. Amber McMillian’s characters are sometimes vulnerable, sometimes sly, sometimes in love, or betrayed by love, wry, witty, or wonderfully funny. Some are very sophisticated cats. These elegant conversations are charged with that magical, mercurial quicksilver — the human voice. Stories that hit the ear drum and head straight to the heart. Joyfully experimental.” — Lisa Moore, author of Something for Everyone

“Amber McMillan calls the stories in her debut collection ‘conversations’ and presents them in a variety of formats ... and approach that enables her to probe the inherently imperfect nature of conversation and communication across media.” — Quill and Quire

“An anthology of unique stories that ... delve into the chaotic, tangled aspects of imperfect yet quintessentially human characters. A brisk read that lingers long in the memory, The Running Trees is highly recommended.” — Midwest Book Review

“McMillan catches characters in the act of being themselves, to sometimes comic effect, wrestling with the deeper meaning behind everyday dramas.” — CBC News

“McMillan’s 15 ‘conversations’ plunge the reader into slices of life as disparate as a cat trying to convince a fellow there are indeed ‘running trees.’” — Oakville News