Ontario book news, interviews and more

Aaron Tucker Creates an Updated, Nuanced Twist on the Classic Western in His Gripping New Novel

Aaron Tucker's novel Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys (Coach House Books) is a startling and brilliant blend of a book, beginning as a play-like conversation between two ex-partners in which Melanie, a ...

Keep Pride Month Going with an Excerpt from Jake Byrne's Witty & Fiery Collection, Celebrate Pride with Lockheed Martin

Bodies, sex, drugs, queer love, capitalism, war – there's pretty much nothing that Jake Byrne won't tackle in their poetry. With back-to-back collections coming out this year and next, CanLit lovers ...

"Reality is Messier...It’s Vital that Books Reflect That" Kate Blair on Crafting Honest Young Adult Literature

It's often been said that every good story opens in the same way: when something changes. And one of the most enduring and universal story structures is that of "a stranger arrived".Kate Blair puts her ...

On Uncanny Delays, Endings, and Dionne Brand

Last summer I moved houses briefly to work on my novel. A friend was leaving the country for a few weeks and I gladly left my little apartment to take care of his place and write. I came well equipped ...

In Memoriam: Dundurn Press Founder Kirk Howard 1942-2023

Today Dundurn Press shared that their founder and Publisher Emeritus John Kirk Howard, C.M., passed away on June 30th, 2023. Born December 3, 1942, Howard (known as Kirk to everyone who knew him) was ...

Colleen Nelson on Setting Her New Kids' Novel in One of New York's Most Unique Historical Properties

Umbrella House in New York City is a unique urban phenomenon. Abandoned in the late 70s, it was sealed up with cinderblocks and cement until several years later when a group of squatters moved in. Over ...

Read an Excerpt from The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman's Life by Norwegian Literary Star Rune Christiansen

In an increasingly connected but paradoxically lonelier world, the idea of true solitude is a complex one. Finding contentment in a quiet life seems both dreamlike and untenably isolating to many, and ...

Adapting an Adult Book Into a Book for Young Readers

I know that young people are reading my 2019 book, because they’ve written me e-mails and messaged me on various social media platforms to tell me where they got it (thank you, libraries) and who they’re ...

"We Don’t Have to Go Along with the Status Quo" Introducing Assembly Press

This week, poet and publisher Leigh Nash, poet and editor Andrew Faulkner, and veteran literary publicist and communications strategist Debby de Groot announced a new joint venture: a brand new multi-genre ...

Read an Excerpt from Jessica Outram's Historical Métis Adventure Story, Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold

In many ways, Bernice, the heroine of Métis author and teacher Jessica Outram's Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold (Second Story Press), is like any other eight-year-old: she lives with her family, ...