Ontario book news, interviews and more

Making Time: Making Randomness & #SSCLUB

When 2020 began, I’d been off most social media for about twenty-two days. My decision wasn’t deliberate. In fact, it was reactive. The night before I went offline, I read a short story: “Innards” ...

It's a Long Story: Ian Hamilton Goes Back In Time in His Newest Novel

At the start of the 1980s, China sits on the precipice of a new era of economic growth and prosperity, but not everyone is welcoming it.This exciting and tumultuous time is the setting for best-selling ...

Rugged Beauty, Stolen Horses and Tragic Circuses: Nick Tooke Takes a Trip to BC's Great Depression in his Debut Novel

Set in the ragged B.C. interior during the Great Depression, British-Canadian author Nick Tooke's debut novel The Ballad of Samuel Hewitt (Porcupine's Quill) tells the story of a teenage boy who, fueled ...

The Entitled Interview: David Ly Dissects Masculinity in His Debut Collection

In Mythical Man (publishing April 2020 via Palimpsest Press), his debut collection of poetry, author David Ly explores themes of masculinity, sexuality, race, and personal identity, shattering preconceived ...

Special Feature: Annick Press

The roots of Annick Press extend back to 1975 when Rick Wilks and Anne Millyard founded Books By Kids with the aim of publishing books that children would choose for themselves. The following year, Books ...

Canadian Illustrator Isabelle Arsenault Shortlisted for Hans Christian Andersen Award

No stranger to awards already, esteemed Montreal-based illustrator Isabelle Arsenault has been shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, widely considered the most prestigious prize in children's ...

League of Canadian Poets Announces Theme, Event Information for National Poetry Month 2020

We're getting closer to April, which also means we're getting closer to National Poetry Month!The League of Canadian Poets have formally announced that this year's theme will be "A World of Poetry". Organizers ...

Don't Adjust Your Antenna: nathan dueck Channels a Pop Culture Obsession Into Poetry in His New Collection

You certainly don't have to be a child of the 80s to appreciate poet nathan dueck's newest collection, A Very Special Episode (Wolsak & Wynn), but it doesn't hurt.Inspired by the Saturday morning ...

The Craft of Reading: How Reading 260 Books This Year Made Me a Better Writer

I was making a care package for a writer friend recently and wanted to include a book in it.“What have you been dying to read?” I asked her before heading out to the bookstore.“Fever Dream by Samanta ...

"I Felt It Was Time to Collect the Pieces and Document Them" Lamees Al Ethari Confronts the Past in Her New Memoir

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was, ostensibly, a mission of liberation. For the Iraqi people, however, the end result was years of displacement, painful separation, and a sudden dissolving of the structure ...