InterviewsTag
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August 23, 2023
Don Gillmor on Families, Secrets, & the Lockpicking Mom in His Brilliant New Novel
In Don Gillmor's new novel, Breaking and Entering (Biblioasis), Beatrice Billings is stuck in the middle-est of middles. At 49, she's dealing with a stagnant marriage, an ailing mother, and a son who ...
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July 18, 2023
Lucian Childs on Writing a Funny (and Moving) Book about Grief, Trauma, & Queer Coming of Age
Juggling six different points of view and forty years of cultural history would be an impressive feat for a seasoned novelist, but Lucian Childs managed to pull it off—with style, humour, and pathos—in ...
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July 12, 2023
Aaron Tucker Creates an Updated, Nuanced Twist on the Classic Western in His Gripping New Novel
Aaron Tucker's novel Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys (Coach House Books) is a startling and brilliant blend of a book, beginning as a play-like conversation between two ex-partners in which Melanie, a ...
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July 07, 2023
"Reality is Messier...It’s Vital that Books Reflect That" Kate Blair on Crafting Honest Young Adult Literature
It's often been said that every good story opens in the same way: when something changes. And one of the most enduring and universal story structures is that of "a stranger arrived".Kate Blair puts her ...
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July 06, 2023
Colleen Nelson on Setting Her New Kids' Novel in One of New York's Most Unique Historical Properties
Umbrella House in New York City is a unique urban phenomenon. Abandoned in the late 70s, it was sealed up with cinderblocks and cement until several years later when a group of squatters moved in. Over ...
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June 23, 2023
Marta Balcewicz on Jim Jarmusch, Rural Peace and Terror, & Her Electrifying Debut Novel
Debut novelist Marta Balcewicz's electrifying Big Shadow (Book*hug Press) is a tale with an indie movie feel, following an isolated teenager desperate to find her way out of a claustrophobic existence. Set ...
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June 20, 2023
Frieda Wishinsky Uses the Hidden Secrets of Gardens to Explore Community in Her New Picture Book
Plenty of people enjoy the beauty of a flower in a garden, but when was the last time you asked yourself what a flower was actually doing? In Frieda Wishinsky's A Flower is a Friend (Pajama Press, illustrated ...
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June 15, 2023
Marcus McCann on Writing the Ethics and History of Park Cruising (Plus Some Helpful Advice from Dionne Brand)
Many Torontonians will know lawyer and writer Marcus McCann from his 2016 defence of several people charged in Project Marie, an undercover sting operation where Toronto police targeted people—mostly ...
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June 13, 2023
"It is For and Of Him, All of It" Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer on Writing Her Stunning, Autobiographical New Novel
All families have stories. Whether funny, strange, or sad, the stories we tell about ourselves and to each other—or refuse to tell—irrevocably shape our families.In acclaimed author Kathryn Kuitenbrouwer's ...
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June 07, 2023
Shane Neilson & Roxanna Bennett's Collaborative Poetry Collection Explores Ableism in the Pandemic & CanLit
The pandemic lockdowns were an isolating, complex time that were difficult in myriad ways for everyone effected. But for people with disabilities, mental health challenges, and neurodivergence, there ...