Ontario book news, interviews and more

#WritingTips Mondays: Sir Andrew Motion on How to be a Successful Poet

Sir Andrew Motion is one of the UK's most influential and acclaimed poets. He served as Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1999 to 2009, and was one of Philip Larkin's literary executors (later ...

The Proust Questionnaire, with Teva Harrison

May 31, 2016 - Teva Harrison's unique and powerful graphic memoir In-Between Days (House of Anansi) has been making waves since before it was even published. It began its life as a popular comic series ...

Smoky Garden Songs - a playlist for writing

So much of writing is creating the right mood, the right place. Do you need absolute silence? Do you like a bustling coffee shop?Well, I asked Damian Rogers, whose recent book of poetry Dear Leader blew ...

Author as Musician

I have a healthy respect for multi-disciplinary arts; from dance, literature and film, to visual art, theatre and music. Having dabbled in more than a few of these disciplines myself, in different capacities, ...

Debut Poet Liz Howard and American Norman Dubie Awarded the 2016 Griffin Poetry Prizes

Last night in Toronto, American poet Norman Dubie and Canadian — and debut — poet Liz Howard were awarded the prestigious Griffin Poetry Prizes.Dubie won the International Prize for his collection ...

On Writing, with Nadia Bozak

Nadia Bozak's gorgeous collection of linked short stories, Thirteen Shells (House of Anansi), is drawing tons of praise, including comparisons to Alice Munro, for its deft rendering of a young girl coming ...

A Perfect Dinner Party is Just Like a Good Book

A perfect dinner party is just like a good bookSo you wrote a book. Amazing! Ready or not, it’s now time to be among people. It’s very possible that you are going to have to plan events. You’re ...

The Proust Questionnaire, with Sofia Banzhaf

Sofia Banzhaf's Pony Castle (Metatron) was the winner of the 2015 Metatron Prize and was selected by Amazon.ca and published a Kindle Single in November 2015. It has garnered praise from the likes of ...

Special Feature! Talking About Poetry with the Griffin Prize Finalists

The Griffin Poetry Prize is a career-making honour, and has built itself into one of the most prestigious literary prizes in the world, honouring the best in both Canadian and international poetry for ...

Writing What’s Closest to Home

Last year, when I turned in the first draft of a memoir on rape trauma, my editor had a pretty reasonable observation. Despite divulging various details of violation, illness, and the path to getting ...