Ontario book news, interviews and more

The Legend of Howard Stroud

Sometimes when I’m feeling sad or needing inspiration I think of Howard.  I met Howard in 2016 when I travelled out west to research the family homestead and to walk the same land my mother did as ...

Plain Tired

Part I 4:35 p.m.I’m just plain tired.  I don’t usually write exhausted, but I want to be in the ‘best’ space to describe the chronic fatigue that bears on me.  Not one spoon left today. (Spoon ...

Best Advice

Good morning folks,Besides reading as much as you write, the best advice I received from other writers was to observe people.  To watch them, to note their body language and actions, and if you can, ...

About that Award

Several months ago, I was sent an e-mail sharing the good news from the Alumni team at Algonquin College that I was to receive an Alumni Award of Distinction for Apprenticeship.  I graduated from the ...

Let's Get Started

Hello Open Book ‘ers, My name is Lorrie and it’s my privilege to be the Writer in Residence for the month of October.  I’m honoured and truly humbled.  I’ll pass on a big introduction as it’s ...

On Listening to Music and Writing a Novel

Do you listen to music as you write? I often do, particularly when writing a short story, but it has been several months since I typed the night away with a melody playing in the background. At this moment, ...

The Joy of Literary Festivals – And Dreams Coming True

It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of September and that the time I have been privileged to spend with you on this Open Book platform is almost over. Looking back at what I have shared with ...

A Thousand More Lives: On Reading

I recently stumbled across an article written by Umberto Eco in Rome in 1991, translated into Spanish by Jorge Cruz and published in the Argentinean newspaper La Nación, explaining why he believed that ...

Plant a tree, have a child, write a book? Not so fast!

“Plant a tree, have a child, write a book.” Whether it was Cuban poet and freedom fighter José Martí or some other worthy who first uttered this maxim is irrelevant. What matters is its message: ...

On Translation

My favourite assignment during my time as an undergraduate student at the English Literature Department in Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM), was the translation of a short story of my ...