The East End Rules, An East Van Memoir (Black Rose Books, Montreal, 2026), is acclaimed Montreal author/artist Norman Nawrocki’s newest work where fiction meets memoir and social history. The remarkable coming of age and political awakening story is set in the lively 1960s and 1970s in Vancouver’s gritty East End (a.k.a. East Van) long before it was gentrified. Through the eyes of a young East Ender, Joey, we see the first twenty-two years of Nawrocki’s life from a questioning youth to a rabble-rousing student activist, journalist and community organizer. The East End had always been tagged by better off West Side residents as "the wrong side of the tracks," swarming with riff raff and the underclass. Joey offers an engaging counter narrative where the history and culture, dreams and challenges of this vibrant and beloved once predominantly poor working-class immigrant community are remembered and honoured. And where the influences of a world in upheaval and the city's flourishing radical counterculture, helped transform one immigrant son into a principled anarchist. The book is full of little-known Vancouver history, better known personalities, places, and news-making events, hippies, Yippies, anarchists, rad students, Greenpeace, and more. It's also the first part of Nawrocki's planned memoir trilogy. About the Author "Norman Nawrocki’s life and career would require a shelf full of books to document” Canadian Review of Literature in Performance Norman Nawrocki is the author of 18 books (poetry, novels, novellas, non-fiction) and an internationally acclaimed performing artist, violinist, actor and playwright. He has over 70 albums and dozens of theatrical productions to his credit. Among his books are two novels, CAZZAROLA! Anarchy, Romani, Love, Italy (PM Press), Red Squared Montreal (Black Rose Books), a short story collection, The Anarchist & The Devil Do Cabaret (Black Rose Books), and Rebel Moon: @narchist rants & poems (AK Press). His work has been translated and published in French and Italian and appears in numerous anthologies (e.g., City Lights, San Francisco). One of his novellas, Isabelle Walks With Angels, was turned into an award-winning short film, while his novel, CAZZAROLA!, is currently being adapted for a feature length film. Nawrocki is also one of the co-founders of the Anarchist Writers Bloc, based in Montreal which published the first ever anthologies of anarchist short stories. Nawrocki performs in literary, spoken word and theatre festivals across North America and Europe, produces cultural events in Montreal and receives occasional support from the Canada and Quebec Arts Councils. He tours the world with his books and shows. He also lectures at universities and colleges across North America and gives workshops about Creative Resistance.The Montreal Gazette calls him “a legend . . . one of the most fascinating folks on the cityscape" while The Globe & Mail says he's “a born showman;” his shows “subversively powerful." The Vancouver Sun likened his 2025 novella, Vancouvered Out, to George Orwell's Down & Out in Paris & London, while Rabble.ca called his last book, Squat the City! How to use the arts for housing justice, "a brilliant organizers manual." What People Are Saying “This exciting memoir evokes Nawrocki's personal experience and the atmosphere of the time, to create an authentic account of growing up in the East End of Vancouver during the sixties and seventies. A great read!” Don Stewart, MacLeod’s Books, Vancouver "Tells Nawrocki's story in descriptive, flowing prose. A story of hardship and resilience, of pride and loyalty, set among East Side landmarks, and brought to life through historic and cultural events. Today, it’s trendy to flaunt your affiliation with this iconic neighbourhood, but few have credentials as authentic as Norman Nawrocki’s." Rod Raglin, author of East Van Saturday Night: Four Short Stories and a Novella
