Search
-
December 04, 2020"I am a Firm Believer in the Need for a Beautiful Cry and a Hearty Belly Laugh" Lose Your Heart to Playwright and Master Puppeteer Ronnie Burkett
Dora Award-nominated playwright Ronnie Burkett is an internationally renowned master puppeteer, known for his ability to create puppet characters for the stage who seem to come truly alive. His latest ...
-
December 03, 2020Travel Back to Toronto in 1949 with an Excerpt from Caro Soles' Dancing with Chairs in the Music House
In Caro Soles's Dancing with Chairs in the Music House (Inanna Publications), a family's life in late 1940s Toronto takes a tragic turn. Ten-year-old Vanessa lives in a rooming house on Jarvis Street ...
-
December 02, 2020Writers' Trust Announces $100,000 of Career Literary Prizes, including Matt Cohen Award for CanLit Icon Dennis Lee
Rounding out a spectacular prize season, the Writers’ Trust of Canada announced today the winners of their four final literary awards of the year.The four $25,000 prizes spotlight exceptional literary ...
-
November 04, 2020"If Someone Feeds Me Wonder, They Have My Heart" Poet Sarah Venart on the Long Road to Her Powerful New Collection
Poet Sarah Venart dives deep into love, family, need, and grief in her powerful new collection I Am the Big Heart (Brick Books). But what is the big heart? In these poems, big-heartedness means being ...
-
October 26, 2020"I Didn’t Realize How Damaged I Had Become" Firefighter Bryan Ratushniak's Memoir is Powerful, Honest, & Moving
The image of a firefighter is an emotionally charged one: a person who literally exists to save us from one of the most inherently terrifying forces in the world. It's a heavy mantle both figuratively ...
-
October 20, 2020Mark Kingwell on How the Pandemic Will Change Our Understanding of Risk and Luck
Professor and writer Mark Kingwell is well known as one of Canada's leading thinkers, and he is almost certainly our most fun one. Whether it's baseball or cocktails, philosophy or futurism, Kingwell's ...
-
October 19, 2020Book Therapy: Lorna Crozier’s Through the Garden
“The world is violent and mercurial—it will have its way with you. We are saved only by love--love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; ...
-
October 08, 2020I cannot not write
“If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” — Dan PoynterI have this morning routine that involves the perfect cup of coffee, the right music, and showing up ...
-
October 01, 2020The sweet spot
First off, it’s an honor to be here. Thank you to Graham and Grace and all the good folks at Open Book for inviting me to sit in this month. I thought I’d start by telling you how I came to writing, ...
-
September 28, 2020
Read Any New Middle Grade Books Lately?
As a certain book tells us, when we become adults we are supposed to put away childish things. And as readers, we move from listening to stories, to struggling through early readers by ourselves, to ...