Haldimand Author Publishes Debut Novel Milksop

At the age of 65, Haldimand author John Van Rys has published his first novel. Released on May 23 by Chicken House Press, Milksop is a coming-of-age story set on a dairy farm in 1979.

Seventeen-year-old Evan Mulder is awkward, angsty, and armed only with a gift for running and numbers when his disappointed parents dump him in a dark farm laneway to spend the summer making up for a disastrous winter term in high school. What follows is anything but simple. Between early morning milkings and mucking out stalls at Logan & Sons Dairy, Evan discovers a family caught between mounting debt, a predatory neighbour, and secrets buried in desk drawers—and is forced to confront the truth he’s been running from all year. In a summer of chickens and calculations, flower gardens and financial ledgers, he’ll find unexpected ways to belong—and discover that being small in a world of big egos might not be weakness, but wisdom.

A tender coming-of-age story set against the rhythms of rural life, Milksop is about the quiet courage it takes to show up, the healing power of honest work, and learning that sometimes the smallest acts of care matter most.

The novel has already drawn praise from prominent voices in Canadian writing. Award-winning author Joe Kertes—founder of the Humber College creative writing and comedy programs—offered this endorsement: “Who’d have thought that there could be a fresh take on the age-old tale of growing up, of finding oneself, of growing into oneself, of falling in love…? That is precisely the journey that Evan, the protagonist of this novel, takes. He is a clumsy city boy, the ‘milksop’ of the title, who is transplanted by his parents into the country only to discover what is good and right about this world, after believing that little of it could be true or possible.” Kertes concludes, “John Van Rys is a bold, honest and eloquent new voice in Canadian letters. We should welcome and celebrate his arrival.”

Author Melissa Kuipers (The Whole Beautiful World) adds, “Tender and hilarious, Milksop follows a young man on a reluctant quest towards self-discovery within a beautiful but unrelenting pastoral milieu… Van Rys’s debut novel is full of description so rich you can smell the hay and feel the rumble of the tractor while reading.”

The novel has also earned the endorsement of the farming community it depicts. Larry Link of Linkhaven Farms near Cayuga, who grew up on a dairy farm in the same era the novel is set, speaks to its authenticity simply and directly: “It is well written and brought back so many memories. I highly recommend reading this book if you grew up on a farm.”

Van Rys describes himself as ‘“old, rural, and pretty square” —and that turns out to be exactly the right credential for this story. He lives on a hobby farm outside Dunnville with his wife April, a menagerie of animals, and the kind of life that supplies plenty of material for fiction. Until his retirement in July 2025, he spent his career as a mild-mannered English professor at Redeemer University in Ancaster; his passion since 2016 has been writing stories. Many of his stories are gathered in his debut collection, Moonshine Promises (Wipf and Stock, 2021). At 61, the Canada Council for the Arts designated him a New and Emerging Artist. He completed Milksop through The Novelry.

Milksop is available to order through the Chicken House Press bookstore, Indigo, Amazon, and independent bookstores across Canada. To learn more about Van Rys’s writing and how to get a copy of Milksop, visit his website at johnvanrys.com.