Ontario book news, interviews and more

Lucky Seven: James Wilt's New Book Examines Public Transportation's Failings and Possibilities

In cities across North America, public transportation is an essential part of day-to-day life. For many citizens commuting to work, heading to doctor's appointments, or simply running errands, government-funded ...

Kids Club: Craig Battle Explores Competition and Friendship in His New Book

Trouble is once again brewing at Camp Avalon in author Craig Battle's newest book Camp Average: Double Foul (Owlkids), the second in his Camp Average middle-grade series.After last summer's baseball victory, ...

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 ...

Canadian Authors Discuss Pandemic Life in New Kobo/West End Phoenix Collaboration

Rakuten Kobo and Toronto community newspaper West End Phoenix have announced the arrival of Telegrams from Home, a three-volume eBook series featuring prominent Canadian authors as they reflect upon life ...

When My Mind is Frenzied, I Don’t Read—I Listen

Being read to is a luxury.Growing up, there were no bedtime stories in my household, at least none that I can remember. There were true stories traded around dinner tables of course, but there was none ...

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. ...

Keep It Short: Faye Guenther on Outsider Characters, Moving Past Barriers, and Bryan Washington's 'Lot'

The often-unnoticed, inner lives of women occupy author Faye Guenther's short fiction collection Swimmers in Winter (Invisible Publishing).Uniquely told through a trio of paired stories, Guenther's debut ...

"Love and Happiness Live in Freedom" Geraldo Valério on Liberty, the Creative Process, and His Stunning New Book

True friendship and selfless love are examined in critically-acclaimed storyteller and illustrator Geraldo Valério's newest picture book, At the Pond (Groundwood).On a gloomy day, a boy puts his dog ...

Making Time: Finding Healing with Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama. You know her. You took a selfie in the Infinity Mirror Room at the AGO. You’ve seen her polka dots all over the Internet. You’ve seen her sobering gaze, her blunt bob.On April 15, Kusama ...

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, ...