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June 19, 2020
To Pre-read, or Not to Pre-read?
Should you be vetting your kids’ reading material? For many, the answer seems so obvious, you don’t even need to ask the question. To make sure kids are choosing books that meet their approval, ...
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May 30, 2016The Burden of Positivity
As a writer, reader and reality TV watcher, Canada Reads masterfully combines some of my favourite practices and past-times in a nation-wide, televised battle of the books. And while I enjoyed the 2016 ...
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August 30, 2018Meet our September 2018 writer in residence, short fiction wizard Jessica Westhead!
A Jessica Westhead short story is a magical thing. Her darkly funny, heartfelt stories of misfits, loners, and compelling weirdos have racked up numerous honours, including nominations for the ReLit ...
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November 05, 2018
The Writing Process (For Me, Anyway)
I mentioned in my first post that most people feel they have at least one or two good novels in them. This is something you hear all the time, even more so if you've put out a book and talk to people ...
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March 05, 2020Read an Excerpt from Shani Mootoo's Chilling 'Polar Vortex'
Relationships are exciting. As two people begin to bond, walls are brought down, and vulnerabilities are shown. We invite a person into the sanctum of our private life, developing a sense of security ...
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February 07, 2017
Kid Lit Can: Spotlight on Middle Grade Fiction - Part 1
Happy 2017! This month and next, I’m spotlighting middle-grade (MG) novels -- stories written for readers who are generally within the 7 to 12-year-old age range. I’ve written one MG novel (Island ...
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October 07, 2025Jumoke Verissimo's New Poetry Collection CIRCUMTRAUMA is a Haunting Poetic Reckoning
In the fascinating new collection Circumtrauma (Coach House Books), one of Africa’s most celebrated literary voices turns to poetry to reckon with one of the continent’s most haunting histories. ...
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December 20, 2023Get Cozy with Open Book: The Open Book Team on Our All-Time Coziest Reads
As the end of a busy year full of ups and downs approaches, we decided to focus on cozy comfort for our 2023 holiday feature – to share the books that bring us calm, comfort, and peace. We hope this ...
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June 24, 2017Lincoln in the Bardo
While I admire many, many books, very seldom do I wish I’d written the one I’m reading.I wish I’d written George Saunders’s new novel, Lincoln in the Bardo, It’s his first novel, but of course ...
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January 26, 2017On Writing, with Julie Salverson
Julie Salverson has written plays, operas, scholarly texts, and non-fiction, but her newest book, a memoir, may be her most unique work yet. Lines of Flight (Wolsak & Wynn) traces her ten-year journey ...
