Ontario book news, interviews and more

Getting to Know Marion Agnew, Author of the Witty & Poignant New Novel Making Up the Gods

Simone, a widow, lives a quiet life in her cottage by a lake – until one day, when a man named Martin shows up on her doorstep, claiming to be a cousin. He is potentially Simone's only living relative, ...

Michael V. Smith on the Unexpected Journey of His Spectacular Seventh Book, Queers Like Me

Michael V. Smith's seventh book, the poetry collection Queers Like Me (Book*hug Press) was a surprise to him – it wasn't a book he expected to or even set out to write, but it's a gift to readers: ...

30th Annual Scotiabank Giller Prize Awarded to Sarah Bernstein

Last night at a gala event in Toronto, Sarah Bernstein, a Montreal-born writer now based in Scotland, was named the winner of the 30th annual Scotiabank Giller Prize for her novel, Study for Obedience ...

Excerpt: Joe Pete, the Final Book from Ian McCulloch, a Staple of the Northern Writing Community

The star of Ian McCulloch's final novel, Joe Pete (Latitude 46 Publishing) is Alison, an eleven-year-old girl better known as the titular Joe Pete. Devastated by the death of her father Sandy, a descendant ...

2023 Governor General's Literary Awards Announced with Big Wins for House of Anansi Press

Today the Canada Council for the Arts announced the winners of the 2023 Governor General's Literary Awards in both English and French. Whittled down from the shortlist, which included five books nominated ...

Read an Excerpt from The Bliss House, Jim Bartley's Atmospheric Dive into a Strange 1960s Family

Far from town, on a run-down farm, the Bliss family has kept to themselves for nearly 100 years. But something has changed and people are whispering about the strange happenings out at the Bliss place, ...

Cara-Lyn Morgan Navigates the Trauma of Abuse While Building a Better Future for Her Child in Her Fiery New Collection

When Cara-Lyn Morgan courageously disclosed generations of abuse that had been hidden and sheltered in her family, she found herself estranged from people who should have protected her. It wasn't until ...

Get in the Halloween Spirit with an Excerpt from David Neil Lee's Lovecraftian Homage, The Great Outer Dark

After a long voyage through the galaxy, one will certainly be missing the comforts of home. But when Nate Silva, after the adventures of David Neil Lee's The Midnight Games and The Medusa Deep, returns ...

Friday Night Fright Club

I didn’t vote for this. Remote viewing a friend’s funeral was not how I expected two years of reading Goosebumps live on the internet to end, but sitting next to my partner Emma in my office and staring ...

Reading the Veil

When it’s going well, writing feels like magic. You sit in front of a blank page, and against all expectation, open a portal to new people, scenarios, settings, and ideas. Through some synthesis of ...