Search
-
November 25, 2020Read an Excerpt from Will Toffan's Watching the Devil Dance, a Fascinating True Crime Story of Canada's First Spree Killer
For younger Canadians, the name Matthew Charles Lamb may not ring a bell. But those who know it will never forget the man who was dubbed Canada's first spree killer after a bizarre and unprovoked shooting ...
-
February 16, 2021Book Therapy: The Centaur’s Wife
“It isn’t just her own survival she’s thinking about. She’s thinking about everyone else. That’s how they’re all going to survive—by thinking about everyone else.”—Amanda Leduc, The ...
-
January 26, 2021Lorna Poplak on the Notorious History of The Don Jail & How It Failed Its Hopeful, Progressive Roots
An imposing but externally beautiful building on the east bank of the Don River, the Don Jail—invariably known simply as "The Don" to Torontonians—has a long and troubled history. From its opening ...
-
April 14, 2021Ross Breithaupt on Weaving Together Music, Mourning, and the Gritty Reality of Tree Planting in His Moving First Novel
Anyone who's ever tried their hand at tree-planting in Canada knows it's an intense undertaking. For 20-year old Rory Fleck, the intensity is just what he's looking for—a place to forget himself and ...
-
April 14, 2021Book Therapy: Satellite Love
“I think my favourite thing about humans was how they couldn’t fathom the thought of being alone.”—Genki Ferguson, Satellite Love My birthday is in April and I’ll admit I’ve never been very ...
-
May 30, 2021
Poetry: A Healing Tool for Dark Days
I started this month with mental health for writers, and I want to end it with a more personal look at the same topic.One of the many reasons I’ve been grateful to Open Book for offering me this residency ...
-
July 22, 2021Alma Fullerton Uses Literal Plastic Trash to Advocate for a Plastic-Free Future in Her Inspiring New Picture Book
Alma Fullerton's No More Plastic (Pajama Press) goes beyond simply communicating its titular message in words. Instead, Fullerton got down to the nitty gritty and created her illustrations out of literal ...
-
November 23, 2021"Don’t Worry, I Won’t Tell Anybody" Read an Excerpt from Kirby's Unmissable New Book, Poetry is Queer
As the publisher of Toronto's beloved knife | fork | book, Kirby is acclaimed for both for their own poetry, which often celebrates queer love and lust against a backdrop of the stridently heteronormative ...
-
December 15, 2021Robert Rotenberg on His Family's Lost Story of Heroism, A Memorable Opening Line, & Going Back to Chandler
Bestselling crime writer Robert Rotenberg, who is also a prominent criminal lawyer, knows how to craft a good story. But he got a serious surprise when two distant relatives wrote a story he'd never heard ...
-
February 03, 2022Book Therapy: The Music Game
“I was a human being, and human beings needed to say goodbye, to get together, to cry in the same room.”—Stéfanie Clermont, The Music GameThis deep into the seemingly never ending story that is ...