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January 16, 2017
Canadian Melancholy
During the nineties, barely out of teenagehood, I walked up to the run-down apartment building in Cabbagetown where Seth lived. I rang the bell and when he answered, in shirt sleeves and suspenders naturally, ...
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May 10, 2022
Genres You Didn’t Learn About in Kidlit 101
One of the most formative experiences in my development as a writer was working in a bookstore. For four glorious years I was the manager of the award-winning, much beloved Flying Dragon Bookshop in Toronto. ...
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November 22, 2016
Black Tie Scribes: Guest Authors on the clothes, books, and glam at the Writers' Trust Gala
The Writers' Trust of Canada is one of the biggest supporters of authors in Canada, giving out a staggering $500,000 each year directly to writers. Known for their awards (including the Journey Prize ...
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April 13, 2018
Dream Space: on the Reddit Relationships Forum
When I describe the reddit relationships forum to people at parties (which I do a lot), I usually say it’s like mainlining pure, uncut advice column. The basic premise of the site is simple: someone ...
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May 04, 2021
Governor General's Literary Award Shortlists Announced, Including Another Nomination for The Dyzgraphxst by Canisia Lubrin
This morning, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the Governor General's Literary Award shortlists. It's an exciting set of lists, with strong representation for independent publishers, including ...
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January 24, 2017
Teaching Teens to Write
Nora Ohanjanians is a retired high school English teacher who taught the Grade 12 Writer's Craft course at the school where I teach. One of my favourite people, Nora is a very warm, giving person. She ...
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January 19, 2017
'Putting Descartes Before the Horse'
You don't measure Alan Moore's writing in words; you measure it in Faradays. You measure it in Roentgens. After dropping five hundred megatons of creativity into mainstream comics ...
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October 06, 2021
Book Therapy: The Light Streamed Beneath It
“I soon learned that therapy is not like slowly cleaning out a closet; it is not a process of quickly sorting and pitching everything over the course of a rainy afternoon…It is a week-by-week process ...
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March 31, 2021
"Writing Poetry... Means Companionship for Your Whole Life" April Writer-in-Residence Leah Horlick on Composting Poems, Favourite Reads, & One Hero Teacher
Dayne Ogilvie Prize winner Leah Horlick's third poetry collection, Moldovan Hotel (Brick Books), has been hotly anticipated for a reason: it showcases a poet at the top of her game, delving into deeply ...
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May 11, 2016
Posthumous Lit: How Do You Capture a Dead Author’s Voice and Intentions?
You all know the saying. It goes something like this. The only three things guaranteed in life are death, taxes, and the Toronto Maple Leafs not making the playoffs. Okay, so I tacked on the latter Leafs ...