Writer in ResidenceTag

Something on race.

I had planned to post something on race. I was going to look at how it has affected me, including the friendships I have (and don’t have) today in real life. I was going to explore race in story and ...

Writing and the Body.

As I sit at my desk and stare at this screen, I’m reminded of the impact of writing on my body. I recognize being able-bodied carries a tremendous amount of privilege, and there are many others with ...

Am I a Music Vampire?

I usually write to music. More accurately, I write to individual songs. I listen to one song on repeat, for hours, days, sometimes even weeks or months. I’m not sure at what point exactly this became ...

Readings...that feeling never goes away.

I always get that feeling right before reading my work in public. You may know it: the urge to simultaneously faint, throw up, and run out of the room. My first few readings were terrifying. I was fortunate ...

Goals from another time.

I found this piece of paper recently. I’d made it many years back and stuck it to my wall when I was trying to get organized with my linked short story collection, Coconut Dreams.Some observations:I’d ...

Watching a Storm.

There was one anecdote that for some reason didn't evolve into a story in my collection Coconut Dreams. My young sibling characters, Ally and Aiden, are in the garage of their quiet suburban townhome. ...

Writers As Readers: May 2020 Writer-in-Residence Derek Mascarenhas on His Favourite Books

Told through seventeen linked short stories, Toronto author Derek Mascarenhas' debut Coconut Dreams (Book*hug) traces the lives of a South Asian family through a series of shifting voices and timelines, ...

"A Title Is Like a Doorbell, Not a Doorway" April Writer-In-Residence Dani Spinosa On Her Subversive New Collection

It's National Poetry Month! A time for poets, publishers, and fans to read, share, and talk about their favourite poems and authors. The Canadian poetry community produces a wide variety of fearless, ...

On Emergency Landings

A few years ago, I boarded a crowded plane to Asia. As I reached my aisle seat, I was dismayed to notice that the guy next to me had his arm all over our shared armrest, spilling over to my side. He was ...

On Road Maps

Before beginning a project, is it worthwhile to do a detailed outline? Or is it preferable just to dive in? I’ve tried both approaches. In writing my first novel, After the Bloom, I outlined extensively. ...