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April 25, 2023
Building an Author Website
You don’t need an author website, but it has helped me to have one. The more you start to publish, the more people will want to contact you for interviews, solicitations, and event invitations—and ...
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June 09, 2023
Affirmations for Writers
Pursuing a career as a writer can be hard on your self-esteem. It requires incredible stamina, faith, and unbelievable amounts of patience. Here are some things I like to remind myself of when the urge ...
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July 20, 2023
Read an Excerpt from When It All Syncs Up, Maya Ameyaw's Tale of a Dazzling Black Teen Ballerina
In Maya Ameyaw's new young adult novel, When It All Syncs Up (Annick Press), Aisha seems to have everything going for her. She has a coveted spot in an elite ballet academy, a relentless work ethic, ...
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July 31, 2023
Managing a Writing Career and Mental Illness
As someone who's dealt with chronic depression and anxiety for most of my life, I know how difficult it can be to balance mental illness and writing. Sometimes, the thought of working on my latest book ...
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September 21, 2023
I’ve been invited to present at a literary festival, now what?
From the Brigadoon-esque setting of The Eden Mills Writer Festival to the hustle and bustle of TIFA Kids, it’s literary festival season. Everyone loves an invite to a party, but make sure you have all ...
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October 02, 2023
Book Launch Season, Part 2: Being an Audience Member
In the first part of “Book Launch Season,” I talked about how to enter this period of time as an author. Writers are (I hope) readers. As a poet especially, going to readings and sitting there as ...
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October 18, 2023
Getting to Know Aley Waterman, the Newfoundland Author Whose Debut Novel is Destined to Become a Toronto Classic
In Aley Waterman's debut novel Mudflowers (Rare Machines/Dundurn Press), Sophie's life seems like an indie movie dream from the outside – in her cramped but cool apartment in Toronto's west end, she ...
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January 05, 2024
An Ode to Writing Research
I have realized that second only to holding a bound book in my hands, my favourite part of writing a book is the research. I love choosing worlds that I don’t know much about—rare books libraries, ...
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February 02, 2024
Facing (the Failure of) an Empty Event
There’s a particular kind of feeling to describe preparing and planning for a literary event, only to show up and find the room empty, or nearly empty. You keep looking at the door hoping the passers-by ...
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March 19, 2024
Writing a Love Poem
I’m writing this column on Valentine’s Day, which is important to note because the column will be published well after Valentine’s Day. Writing a love poem isn’t limited to a specific day, however, ...