Grab Bag is comprised of two interrelated novels, Dark Rides and Wish Book, from one of Canada's most important young writers. Both books are set in the same small rural city, in different eras (1950s, 1930s), each characterized by McCormack's spare and elliptical prose.

Derek McCormack's journalism has appeared in many publications across North America, including nest, Saturday Night, and the National Post. In 2001, he was nominated for a National Magazine Award for an article he wrote on Halloween. Wild Mouse, a book McCormack co-authored with poet Chris Chambers, was nominated for the 1999 Toronto Book Award. His new novella, The Haunted Hillbilly, will be published in Canada by ECW Press in Fall 2003.