Ontario book news, interviews and more

Read an Excerpt from Commonwealth, a New Poetry Collection by D.A. Lockhart

The poetry of D.A. Lockhart has filled over a half-dozen collections and has been published widely in some of the finest journals. Now the author returns with another series of poems that are sure to ...

Chidori Tells the Story of a Young Person's Resilience in the Face of a Devastating Tsunami

Trying to honestly explore serious topics with young readers can be a challenge, so it is no surprise the Jennifer Maruno leans on her experience as a teacher to broach certain subjects with the respect ...

The Pros and Cons of Beta Readers

I just finished an early draft of a new middle grade novel and realized as pressed “save” that even though it was nowhere near done, I’d taken it as far as I could.It was officially time for a beta ...

Locking In, Letting Go

I’ve thought of myself as a writer who loves revision. I rewrote large chunks of my two poetry collections between the ‘final’ version submitted to my publisher, and the version that ended up being ...

Ben Ladouceur's Eagerly Awaited Debut Novel Depicts the Optimism of Queer Life During Montreal's Expo 67

With so many communities wondering what there futures hold in this modern world, it's always interesting to look back at very specific moments in the history or a people or a country and remember what ...

A Budding Cicada Enthusiast Learns That Some Wondrous Natural Events Are Worth Waiting For in When the Air Sang

It's always special to see authors speak to young readers about the wonders of the natural world, and our featured book today does exactly that. Further, Laura Bontje's latest work digs down to a micro-level ...

The Joys of Rereading

Like any other avid reader, my TBR pile can feel out of control most of the time. For me, it’s partly because I’m a mood reader with an aversion to to-do lists of any kind, but it’s also because ...

Check out This Special Dirty Dozen Interview with Y.S. Lee, Author of the Spectacular New Picture Book, Mrs. Nobody

It's always impressive when writers are able to pivot deftly between forms and genres, and Y.S. Lee has proven to be one of those prolific, acclaimed artists who can do exactly that. Her previous work ...

Acclaimed Author Andrew Forbes Explores the Many Interesting Lives that are Made Around Baseball in Field Work

The work of Andrew Forbes has featured on Open Book a number of times in recents years, and the versatility of the author's work is plain to see. From novels to novellas to short fiction, he has won ...

A Thousand Tiny Awakenings is an Anthology That Carries the Hope and Resilence of a New Generation

Independent Ontario publishers continue to amplify the voices of young and marginalized writers, and one of our most interesting new publishing houses, out of mighty Sudbury, has played a significant ...