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February 01, 2017
Introduction, Academic Language & my dislike of genre
Greetings,My name is Dane Swan and I'll be your Writer in Residence for February. I'm sure that it's just coincidence that I'm the Writer in Residence for February, but since it is Black History month ...
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March 06, 2014
Novels vs. Serial Television
Novels are big. It’s something you recognize when you’ve got a draft and you need feedback – what a big favour it is to ask someone, a friend or acquaintance or agent, to spend a dozen or more hours ...
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September 01, 2016Hello Open Book Readers!
I’m incredibly happy to be this month’s Writer in Residence.I’m so honoured to join the list of writers whose work I love, who’ve been writers in residence in the past.The timing is perfect because ...
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September 11, 2020Stories of the North
There’s no consensus on where Southern Ontario ends and Northern Ontario begins. Some say the French River north of Parry Sound is the unofficial border. Others believe the north begins at the town ...
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October 13, 2020Cookin' the books
“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” – Jack KerouacThe desire to write had followed me from my teen years. And many decades later I could ignore it no longer; I had stories ...
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July 19, 2022Getting to Know Sara Flemington, Author of the Surprising and Brilliant Debut Novel Egg Island
Most kids had a daydream at some point about heading out on their own, finding a new and better home, preferably with a cool friend along for the adventure. But for Julia, the wary teenage lead in debut ...
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June 12, 2023Research, Research, Research
I thought I had mended my ways. I thought I had discipline. The evidence is clear: I don’t put all my digital research materials into one folder on my desktop computer anymore. I actually have sub-folders! ...
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July 04, 2025More Tips on Writing Book Reviews
One year ago, I wrote a column on getting into writing book reviews. The topic of book reviews remains ever-important, especially in a media climate where outlets to review grow smaller and smaller. In ...
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December 11, 2023Read an Excerpt from Tim Bowling's Raw & Atmospheric Return to the 1970s, The Marvels of Youth
The Vietnam War, hippies, Watergate. The mid-to-late 70s were a time of turmoil and change, and the last days of a pre-Reaganomics, tech-boom world that was lurking around the corner, with Star Wars: ...
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February 10, 2017
The absurdity of literary prizes part 2 of 2
“ I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it.”For my most recent book, I had a reviewer who skewered me for quoting Shakespeare, and then citing it in my end notes. Because, everyone who reads ...