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October 21, 2015Festival like a Pro at Toronto’s Great Big Literary Party
It’s October, the month when pumpkin fills our bellies, ghouls parade our streets and writers from around the globe flock like moths to the literary-festival flame. In Toronto (and many Ontario locations ...
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September 13, 2019The Unbearable Lightness of Being Between Writing Projects
Lately, I’ve felt a bit unmoored. For the last 6 years, I’ve organized my spare time around working on my novel. I’ve either been working on it or worrying about not having time to work on it, or ...
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May 13, 2025Read an Excerpt From The Fun Times Brigade by Lindsay Zier-Vogel
Lindsay Zier-Vogel has shown her valuable insights about writing life each month as an Open Book columnist, and she's been an integral part of the CanLit community for years now. So, it comes as no surprise ...
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June 16, 2018
Tweet Tweet: writing and publishing as acts of resistance: a continuation in three acts
@erica_mojo: “@poetchelene I really appreciated your participation in the closing panel of #BookSummit18. Commanding, empathetic, supportive. Glad I got to hear you speak.” @poetchelene: “Thank ...
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September 12, 2018The Future of WOTS: Maya Baumann of The Word on the Street Takes Us Behind the Scenes of the Festival
It's no secret we're counting down the days to The Word on the Street Toronto (Sunday, September 23!), one of our favourite festivals and a highlight of the Toronto literary calendar. While we wait, we're ...
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September 27, 2022The 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 ...
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October 25, 2017St. Catharines Festival of Readers Ramps Up Literary Engagement in Niagara Region
From November 3rd to 5th, The Festival of Readers: St. Catharines will bring acclaimed Canadian authors to the vibrant Niagara region. With guest authors including Tomson Highway, Kevin Sylvester, and ...
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September 10, 2019
On Reading
Writers need to read— I offered this advice earlier in the summer— and I sincerely hope it’s not news to any writer looking at this post that reading is a most instructive way to learn what does, ...
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May 21, 2018
In Praise of … Performing Your Work
A passion for public speaking, for public performance, has been with me even longer than the passion for writing. I trace it back to when I won a public speaking competition as an elementary school student ...
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September 01, 2022On Shooting Stars and Poetry as Fuel
To live at all is to grieve;but, once, to have it all at onceis to see a shooting star: shooting starshooting star.Arthur Sze (From Shooting Star) I read a poem every morning. Not because I have a pile ...