Samson Grief
The Seaboard Review
22 July, 2025 Filed in: Reviews
Michael Greenstein’s review of Steven’s novel The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief appears in The Seaboard Review of Books.
The Jewish Independent Review
01 April, 2025 Filed in: Reviews
Review of Steven’s novel The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief on the Australian web site The Jewish Independent.
New Books Network Interview
25 December, 2024 Filed in: Interviews | Novels
Steven was interviewed by Hollay Ghadery about The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief for New Books Network
Shelley A. Leedahl Review
A March 2024 review of The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief by Shelley Ann Leedahl on her book review blog (scroll toward bottom of page).
Get Lit Interview
11 April, 2024 Filed in: Interviews
Steven talks The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief with Jamie Tennant, host of Get Lit on CFMU at McMaster University.
Consumed by Ink Review
01 March, 2024 Filed in: Reviews
Howl Interview with Hollay Ghadery
08 February, 2024 Filed in: Interviews
Stageworthy Podcast
Steven was Phil Rickaby's guest on the Stageworthy podcast, episode #398, to talk about the upcoming world premiere of DION: A Rock Opera, The Island Gospel According To Samson Grief, and more!
TriCity News Article
30 January, 2024 Filed in: Articles
Article in TriCity News about Steven giving a talk on The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief at the Burquest Jewish Community Association in Coquitlam, BC, on February 11th, 2024.
Jewish Independent Review
26 January, 2024 Filed in: Reviews
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief was reviewed by Cynthia Ramsay in the Jewish Independent in advance of Steven's appearance at the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival in Vancouver in February.
Junction Reads
17 January, 2024 Filed in: Interviews
Steven read from The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief and was interviewed by Alison Gadsby on Junction Reads.
Global Television Vancouver Interview
04 December, 2023 Filed in: Interviews | Television
Steven talks about The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief to Jennifer Palma at Global TV Vancouver.
Atticus Review Interview
25 November, 2023 Filed in: Interviews
Multi-genre writer and publicist extraordinaire Hollay Ghadery interviewed Steven on all things Samson Grief for Atticus Review.
Samson Grief Launch
Steven's fifth book, The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief, was launched at The Gallery Coffee Shop & Bistro on October 18, 2023. Keith Burgoyne was moderator for the event. Thanks to everyone who attended, to Jessica Fritz and staff at The Gallery, and special thanks to Lori Cheverie and everyone at The Bookmark for helping to arrange the event and for selling books that evening.
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Carin Makuz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Jessica Fritz
Photo credit: Carin Makuz
Samson Grief Unboxed
After years of writing and rewriting, getting to finally hold your book in your hands is thrilling. Watch the magic as Steven unboxes his copies of The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief.
Miramichi Reader and Book Trailer
Having a busy and interesting week in advance of the October 17, 2023 publication of my new novel, The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief. My short essay was included in the Why I Wrote This Book series in The Miramichi Reader, Issue #16.
And my publishers, Radiant Press, have released a great trailer for the novel. Things are getting exciting!
And my publishers, Radiant Press, have released a great trailer for the novel. Things are getting exciting!
Power Q &A
A Power Q&A with Steven is featured on River Street Writing's blog. He speaks about the symbiotic themes of political autocracy versus spiritual agency in The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief and DION: A Rock Opera.
The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief
31 July, 2023 Filed in: Books
Steven’s new book The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief will be released by Radiant Press on October 17, 2023.
Satirical magic-realism abounds in this modern myth narrated by Samson Grief, a reclusive painter living in Mount Russet, Prince Edward Island. While struggling with a creative block, he is confronted by three redheaded strangers who identify themselves as Judas, Shylock and Fagin, figments of Samson’s imagination and messengers sent by a genderless deity named the Supreme One. Having decreed the Middle East to be a hopeless mess, the Supreme One wants PEI to be the new Promised Land and tasks Samson with building the Island’s first synagogue to get the cosmic wheels rolling. Scared, confused and seriously doubting his sanity, Samson eventually, though grudgingly, accepts the challenge and comes up against political intrigue as well as other obstacles along the way.
Readers of Steven Mayoff’s darkly humorous novel should prepare themselves to expect the unexpected. The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief provides a rollicking journey through an audaciously reimagined Prince Edward Island, a place bubbling over with intrigue, crowded with unforgettable characters both odious and ordinary, and where divine intervention is a daily occurrence. Utterly original and wildly entertaining. . - Ian Colford, author of Witness and The Confessions of Joseph Blanchard, winner of of the 2022 Guernica Prize.
Hilarious ontological and cultural satire canopied by sacred mystery: layered and intelligent, comforting and terrifying, schmaltzy and bittersweet. The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief fuses realism, magic realism, zeitgeist, fear, and love into a most delicious and satisfying novel. - Michelle Butler Hallett, author of Constant Nobody, winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize
Satirical magic-realism abounds in this modern myth narrated by Samson Grief, a reclusive painter living in Mount Russet, Prince Edward Island. While struggling with a creative block, he is confronted by three redheaded strangers who identify themselves as Judas, Shylock and Fagin, figments of Samson’s imagination and messengers sent by a genderless deity named the Supreme One. Having decreed the Middle East to be a hopeless mess, the Supreme One wants PEI to be the new Promised Land and tasks Samson with building the Island’s first synagogue to get the cosmic wheels rolling. Scared, confused and seriously doubting his sanity, Samson eventually, though grudgingly, accepts the challenge and comes up against political intrigue as well as other obstacles along the way.
Readers of Steven Mayoff’s darkly humorous novel should prepare themselves to expect the unexpected. The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief provides a rollicking journey through an audaciously reimagined Prince Edward Island, a place bubbling over with intrigue, crowded with unforgettable characters both odious and ordinary, and where divine intervention is a daily occurrence. Utterly original and wildly entertaining. . - Ian Colford, author of Witness and The Confessions of Joseph Blanchard, winner of of the 2022 Guernica Prize.
Hilarious ontological and cultural satire canopied by sacred mystery: layered and intelligent, comforting and terrifying, schmaltzy and bittersweet. The Island Gospel According to Samson Grief fuses realism, magic realism, zeitgeist, fear, and love into a most delicious and satisfying novel. - Michelle Butler Hallett, author of Constant Nobody, winner of the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize
