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December 16, 2020
"Theatre is Collaborative at its Core" Norman Yeung on Writing for the Stage, Shower Thoughts, & Going Full Carnival
In the age of social media and lives lived partially online, the issue of free speech is perhaps more heated than ever. When Isabelle, a film professor, creates an unmoderated online discussion for her ...
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May 05, 2017
An attempt to reclaim the selfie
I don’t hate writing. Except sometimes I get so sick of it that I need an antidote. My brain has a hard time shutting off so meditating rarely works and I’m not very sporty, plus this antidote needs ...
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March 15, 2021
A Behind the Scenes Glimpse of How Picture Books are Illustrated with Nathalie Dion
Have you ever dreamed of illustrating a children's book? Montreal-based artist Nathalie Dion has shared a fascinating glimpse of the work that goes into every element of every page of the books she illustrates. Groundwood ...
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October 06, 2023
Sara Truuvert Explores a Child's View of Japanese Internment in Her Moving First Picture Book
In Japanese folklore, a baku is a chimeric creature that children can call on to protect them from bad dreams – an eater of nightmares. In fiction writer and poet Sara Truuvert's first picture book Mira ...
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July 19, 2015
At the Start of a New Creative Writing Class
I’m about to teach a new class, “Writing That Resonates,” starting tomorrow at Haliburton School of the Arts and, as happens each time, I pause.The students in the room will be diverse. Some will ...
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April 25, 2018
On respectable narratives and why diversity on the page matters
Growing up, I was very particular kind of Chinese girl. I attended Chinese school on Saturdays. I took piano lessons. My report cards were always the best in my class. I played first clarinet in my school ...
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August 31, 2024
Jennifer Maruno Sends a Young Witch and Her Rodent Sidekick on an Adventure in Broom for Two
Prolific children's author Jennifer Maruno may be familiar to readers of Open Book. In fact, as recently as last week, another title written by Maruno was featured on the site.This time we're sharing ...
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September 12, 2019
Marie-Louise Gay's Celebration of Young Readers' Imaginations in Fern and Horn: "You Have Your Unique Wonderful Way of Seeing the World"
In Fern and Horn (Groundwood Books), the titular twins Fern and Horn might be small, but their imaginations are huge. Fern loves drawing and helps Horn unlock his love of drawing too - the only trouble ...
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December 21, 2021
"I Did Not Choose to Become a Poet" Nduka Otiono on Ghost Writing Love Letters, Negotiating with Poems, & More
DisPlace: The Poetry of Nduka Otiono (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, edited by Peter Midgley with an afterword by Chris Dunton) gathers powerhouse poems from one of Canada's most insightful and timely ...
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March 14, 2023
"We Approach the Mystery [of Art] in Bafflement... Not in Sureness": A Conversation with Award-Winning Poet Kate Cayley
Decorated multi-genre writer Kate Cayley's new poetry collection, Lent (forthcoming from Book*hug Press) is one of her most exciting books yet, and that is saying something, given that her previous ...