Chicken House Press Announces Acquisition of “Milksop” — The Coming-of-Age Novel That Delivers Everything You Didn’t Know You Were Missing
From City Kid to Farm Hand: A Story of Transformation and Self-Discovery
Coming from Chicken House Press in 2026
Ontario author John Van Rys creates the frame narrative done right—complete, satisfying, and deeply moving
When seventeen-year-old Evan Mulder is dumped in a farm laneway, facing four strangers and carrying only a small suitcase, he has no idea this moment will become the turning point of his life. Like the best frame narratives, Milksop opens with an adult Evan telling his children the real story behind who he became—but unlike other famously drawn-out tales, Van Rys delivers a complete, satisfying journey in one transformative summer.
Following academic failure and personal turmoil that has left him adrift, Evan finds himself exiled from his comfortable suburban existence to spend the summer working on Logan & Sons Dairy—a world as foreign to this city kid as another planet. Set in 1979, Milksop captures that end-of-decade feeling that will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt stuck between who they were and who they’re becoming.
John signing his publishing contract aboard his “midlife-crisis tractor,” using a pen made by a friend from a piece of maple from a tree that split in a storm and fell on his roof, wearing his Canada cap and a t-shirt that says “Easily distracted by chickens and books.” (It seems very serendipitous that he’s arrived at a publishing house that runs out of an old chicken coop. 🐓)
Van Rys masterfully weaves together the intimate details of farm life with the universal struggles of adolescence, creating a narrative that reads like memoir and feels like truth. From the claustrophobic chicken coop to learning the demanding rhythms of dairy farming, Evan’s summer becomes a crash course in the messy, complicated, and ultimately beautiful business of being alive, showcasing Van Rys’s gift for capturing the authentic voice of a teenager grappling with the weight of family expectation, first love, and grief.
This isn’t a simple farm romance or coming-of-age cliché. Van Rys demonstrates clever storytelling through careful pacing and revelations that bring Evan into sharp focus at precisely the right moments. Characters evolve from initial impressions into complex individuals who teach lessons about friendship, identity, and pursuing one’s own path. The novel’s exploration of themes—from the complexities of faith and family to the transformative power of hard work and genuine human connection—speaks to readers across generations.
Van Rys’s prose captures both the poetry and the grit of rural life, never romanticizing the harsh realities while celebrating the profound connections that emerge between people who work the land together. His literary and musical references—from Anne of Green Gables to Joni Mitchell—create layers of meaning that resonate deeply, while his portrayal of figures like the simple, hardworking Niall captures the dignity and wisdom found in everyday rural life.
Milksop represents a significant achievement in coming-of-age fiction. Van Rys—who describes himself as “old, rural, and pretty square”—brings an authenticity to rural life that comes from living it. A Canada Council for the Arts-designated New and Emerging Artist at 61, he writes from his hobby farm outside Dunnville, Ontario, where he lives with his wife April, dogs, cats, horses, free-run egg-laying hens, and Cayuga ducks. Until his retirement in July 2025, Van Rys worked as an English professor, but his passion since 2016 has been crafting stories that explore the complexities of human connection and transformation.
His previous work includes the story collection Moonshine Promises (2021) and short fiction published in The New Quarterly, The Dalhousie Review, and Prairie Fire, where his story “Excavations” won the 2022 MRB Short Fiction Contest. With Milksop, Van Rys has created a story that enriches rather than frustrates, delivering satisfaction alongside profound emotional truth.
For readers seeking both heart and literary depth, Milksop delivers everything you didn’t know you were missing. This is a novel that understands healing and growth, capturing the inner workings of a boy on the cusp of manhood with humour, subtlety, and striking power. Readers will find themselves rooting for Evan from the beginning, following his journey from uncertainty to self-discovery with complete investment in his transformation.
Milksop will be available from Chicken House Press in Spring 2026.
Do you want to be part of the release team? CHP needs early reviewers to help create a stir and to give us marketable blurbs we can use in promotion. Sign up to be part of the review team today and you will be notified when we’re ready to start generating buzz for this incredible book. Reviewers for this particular title should be prepared to read in early 2025.
