Ontario book news, interviews and more

Writers' Trust Announces Major New Prize for Public Policy Books Sponsored by Former Blackberry CEO

Today the Writers' Trust of Canada, the premiere organization for literary awards in the country, announced a major new award in the form of The Balsillie Prize for Public Policy. The $60,000 award ...

Book Therapy: The Centaur’s Wife

“It isn’t just her own survival she’s thinking about. She’s thinking about everyone else. That’s how they’re all going to survive—by thinking about everyone else.”—Amanda Leduc, The ...

Brittany Luby's New Picture Book is a Love Letter to the Natural World and Anishinaabe Family Life

Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh/This Is How I Know (Groundwood Books) by author and academic Brittany Luby (illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley) is warm, colourful story-poem for young readers ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 5 of 9

In the isolation of lockdowns and social distancing where does romance go? For those who are romantically involve it could intensify the bond but for many the opposite has been true since there has been ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9

The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...

"I Like Inhabiting One Character": Philipp Schott on Telling Family Stories, Building Character, & "Invisible Scaffolding"

Philipp Schott's The Willow Wren (ECW Press) follows the complex and harrowing story of Ludwig, a child growing up in Hilter's Germany. Sent against his will to a Hitler Youth Camp, shy and gentle Ludwig ...

Treaty Words Author Aimée Craft on Why She Wants Her Young Readers to Know They are "Part of Something Bigger Than Them"

At the heart of Anishinaabe/Métis lawyer Aimée Craft's wise and engaging Treaty Words: For As Long As the Rivers Flow (Annick Press, illustrated by Luke Swinson) is a question: Just what is a treaty? ...

Read an Excerpt from Russell Banks' Stunning New Novel of Confession and Secrets, Foregone

Russell Banks is one of American letters' most treasured writers, exploring themes of violence, alienation, luck, and justice, often set against the backdrop of seemingly peaceful small towns in novels ...

Contest: Win Sharp, Smart Fiction by Women in Anansi's Heartbreakers Valentine's Prize Pack

If you missed our previous Valentine's contest, don't fret; we've got more great books to love just in time for V-Day. And this set is red-hot – funny, sharp fiction by women writers at the top of ...

LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 3 of 9

As I stated before, the writing process for me is an intuitive one. Some people are afraid or intimidated by the blank page, but I see all kinds of possibilities in it. I am a visual writer, so I have ...