Search
-
June 23, 2020
The Male Default in Children's Literature - What It Is and Why It Matters
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Bechdel Test for movies. A film that passes the Bechdel Test must have at least one scene in which two female characters are talking to each other – and not about a man. ...
-
December 28, 2020How to Make Your Longest, Darkest Nights Shine
The Winter Solstice is happening as I write this column. It’s the shortest day of the year and the longest, darkest night of the year. But during this time, every night often feels like the longest, ...
-
October 26, 2020"Say what?"
“All the information you need can be given in dialogue.” — Elmore LeonardAnytime dialogue carries the story it’s pure joy. Sometimes it’s straight up, other times it’s slippery with manipulation. ...
-
April 07, 2020Poets in Profile: Irfan Ali on Vulnerability, Strong Endings, and His New Collection
12th century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi created an iconic, seemingly indestructible work when he birthed the tale of Layla and Manjun. Over the years, the re-telling of the classic story has become ...
-
September 01, 2020When Your Father is Your Biggest Fan
I don’t believe that any father was more proud of having a son for a writer than my own dad. Whenever I met somebody who knew him—it might be a waiter in a restaurant—the person would say, “Oh, ...
-
May 06, 2016Comics in Parkdale - the Draw of a Good Comic Book Store
My interest in superhero movies has plunged to zero in the past couple of years, but I’ve found myself steadily reading more comic books. Thinking about this just after the recent Authors for Indies ...
-
March 02, 2017The WAR Series: Writers as Readers, with Anne Fleming
The Kid thinks it might be a tiny white cloud. The rumours say it's a goat. All we know for sure is there is something up there on the roof of the NYC apartment building where the Kid has just moved with ...
-
April 03, 2019Small Victories: How to Keep Writing When the Odds Seem Stacked Against You
Everyone thinks that once you get a book deal it’s all sunshine and rainbows: a beautiful book, great reviews, book launches! … But it’s not. Getting published often introduces you to a host of ...
-
April 01, 2014
Welcome to National Poetry Month
I always feel a bit uncomfortable when Poetry Month commences. It’s like I’ve had a secret for the last eleven months, no one really interested in how I’ve spent my days, successfully managing to ...
-
November 07, 2019
Where Ideas Begin
Questions every writer is familiar with: “Where did you get the idea?” or “How did you decide what to write about?”How did Denis Johnson decide to make a character obsessed with Elvis Presley’s ...
