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June 03, 2022On Becoming an Acquiring Editor
For thirty years I was on the other side of the desk: submitting books to editors who didn’t reply or who took six months to reply, who replied with no-thank-you formulae, or who replied with suggestions ...
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January 29, 2017Prizewinner / Prizefighter
I don't know how many people you personally know that have won more than one Governor General's Literary Award, but I know only one. His name is Lazer Lederhendler. A celebrated and much sought after ...
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September 17, 2020To Pandemic or not to Pandemic
Surely any period of upheaval and uncertainty is a difficult one to start a novel. And here we are, seven months into the pandemic and with no end in sight. Let’s say that you’re a novelist ...
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January 18, 2017Get Thee to a Library
You might be forgiven for thinking that Chester Brown immigrated to Toronto from J. R. R. Tolkien's Lothlórien. There is an enigmatic, ethereal quality to his presence. A deep and patient thinker, Chester ...
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January 23, 2017Go Ahead Punk, Make My Art
Jaime Hernandez's characters are to Archie's Betty and Veronica what Anna Karenina is to Snow White. That is, they're both beautiful but one of them has a helluva lot more going on. More so than any of ...
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September 23, 2024Scandal at the Alphorn Factory Brings 40 Years of Magical Gary Barwin Stories Together in a Definitive Collection
Author to over 30 titles in total, Gary Barwin is a mainstay on the CanLit scene and a renowned short story writer. It will come as no surprise to readers of his work that his catalogue includes a considerable ...
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January 20, 2017Son of a Preacher Man
Paul Young is the son of a Lutheran minister. As a good minister will endeavour to bring Heaven and Earth a little closer together, through works and deeds, Paul effectively closes the distance between academic ...
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March 04, 2025Su Chang's New Novel is a Sweeping and Powerful Intergenerational Drama
Born in Shanghai, author Su Chang has long admired certain Canadian writers and their ability to create sweeping, multicultural narratives that bridge gaps and challenge the literary status quo. Now, ...
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December 20, 2021December Gratitude: Check Out 5 of Our Favourite Author Interviews & Excerpts from 2021
For our final instalment of December Gratitude, the series in which we are rounding up of some of our favourite postings from 2021, it's a double-whammy: we're sharing five of our favourite author interviews and five ...
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April 09, 2017My final two columns: Part Two
As rob has mentioned, this is the second part of his final column for Open Book. The staff at Open Book would like to share our appreciation for a decade of columns, and for rob's contributions to the ...