Ontario book news, interviews and more

Laurel Croza on Tasty Book Snacks, Finding the Romance, & the Book She Holds as a "Model of What a Kid’s Book Can Be"

Laurel Croza has become a beloved name in picture books through I Know Here (illustrated by Matt James), which won the prestigious Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (amongst many other honours), and ...

"Lipstick Day" by Toronto's Leah Mol Wins CBC Short Story Prize

Today CBC BOOKS announced the winner of the 2018 CBC Short Story Prize. The $6,000 award goes to Leah Mol of Toronto for her story "Lipstick Day", which beat out 2200 submissions from across Canada. ...

"A Book is a Window to the World": Biblio Bash Guest Authors on What Libraries Mean to Them

In a city with a lot of charity galas, Biblio Bash stands out, especially for book lovers - it's the only party in town that takes place in the stacks of the Toronto Reference Library.Through the course ...

"I Write to Make Sense of Worries" David James Brock on Finding the Calm in Poetry

Poet, librettist, and playwright David James Brock's second collection Ten-Headed Alien (Wolsak & Wynn), is making an impact as big and bold as its title. Poet Linda Besner called it "a sophisticated ...

Dream Space: on the Reddit Relationships Forum

When I describe the reddit relationships forum to people at parties (which I do a lot), I usually say it’s like mainlining pure, uncut advice column. The basic premise of the site is simple: someone ...

Mark Frutkin on Describing Characters and Writing a Literal Devil's Advocate

In Mark Frutkin's The Rising Tide (Porcupine's Quill), it's 1769 in Venice and things are getting pretty strange. From a man with a skeleton strapped to his back to a courtesan with odd stigmata marks, ...

2018 Griffin Poetry Prize Shortlists Announced

This week, Scott Griffin, on behalf of the trustees of The Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry, announced both the International and Canadian shortlists for this year’s Griffin Prize. Judges Sarah ...

Lenea Grace on Proving Canada Exists in Her Debut Poetry Collection

Lenea Grace's debut collection of poetry A Generous Latitude (ECW Press) leans into Canadiana by mining one of our traditional natural resources: wry wit. Her poems are smart and tight and their humour ...

Contest! Enter to Win an Incredible Poetry Month Prize Pack from Wolsak & Wynn!

Hamilton-based Wolsak & Wynn is publishing some of the most exciting and innovative poetry in Canada today, and we are very excited to say that they're offering an absolutely awesome prize pack of ...

“In my poetry, I make room for what escapes stories,” an interview with Bänoo Zan

Bänoo Zan is one of those incredible poets that give back to poetry and community more than they take. As well as being the author of two collections of poetry, she is also an educator, translator and ...