Ontario book news, interviews and more

"I Know Exactly What Made Me a Poet: Impatience" Grant Loveys on Being a Writing Addict, Killer Endings, and the Thunder of Yates

As its title suggests, the things, people, and situations in Newfoundland poet Grant Lovey's newest collection, Miscreations (ECW), are far from perfect. But that's precisely what makes them so fascinating.An ...

All of this listening

It was hard to write this column. Like everyone else, I’m all for trying to grasp at normalcy where I can, but I don’t have many writing tips to share right now. (Actually, I do have one writing tip: ...

It's a Long Story: Brian Van Norman on His New Novel and Class Struggle's Past and Present

While the characters of author Brian Van Norman's new historical fiction novel Against the Machine: Luddites (Guernica Editions) exist within the hardscrabble manufacturing towns of 19th century Britain, ...

Read an Excerpt from Patti M. Hall's Touching Memoir 'Loving Large'

When her son was diagnosed with gigantism after the discovery of a tumour, author Patti M. Hall's life flipped upside down. Career and relationship goals were pushed to the sidelines, with every ounce ...

Love Letter to Lyric Poetry (!) and the Academic Adjacent

As a part of the promotional work for OO, I did a quick interview with Steven Beattie at Quill & Quire and one of the questions Beattie asked me was how my creative work relates to or reflects my ...

Live Stream Today: Writers' Trust Fellows Discuss Writing During a Pandemic

Wondering how the current pandemic is affecting Canadian writers?Today, the Writers' Trust of Canada is hosting "Inside Voices", a one-hour conversation with recipients Michael Crummey, Miriam Toews, ...

KiPoWriMo

Remember February? It was a whole lifetime ago in this pandemic moment. In retrospect, it seems innocent to have hated on winter so hard, to have been holding out for March and the advent of spring when ...

Poets in Profile: Conyer Clayton on John Berryman, Seeing the Big Picture, and Finding Acceptance

Originally from Kentucky, poet, multi-disciplinary artist, and gymnastics coach Conyer Clayton is a freshly-minted Canadian citizen who now calls Ottawa home. Her debut full-length collection, We Shed ...

It's A Long Story: Sharon Johnston on Family Connections, Confronting the Past, and Writing Her New Novel

Patchwork Society (Dundurn), the newest novel by author Sharon Johnston and the second in her Bread and Roses trilogy, takes place against the backdrop of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario during the Depression ...

Simina Banu Explores Love's Messy Aftermath in Her New Collection

When the acrid smoke of a painful breakup finally clears, what can be salvaged in its wake? It's in this new wasteland of junk food, lies, and other detritus that author Simina Banu's debut full-length ...