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April 21, 2022"If You Have a Deep Longing to Write, You Must" Indra Ramayan on Her Debut Novel Set in Edmonton's Dark Underbelly
In Indra Ramayan's Mud Lilies (Cormorant Books), we meet Chanie Nyrider who, at just 18, has already survived four years in the darkest corners of Edmonton. After escaping her abusive parents and with ...
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September 11, 2017
Unsung Heroes of Literature: A "Great" Interview with Quotes
I was leaving for my interview with Blurb when I got the text message, apologizing for the short notice but that, “our interview, that would redefine the modern interview,” would have to be rescheduled. ...
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September 21, 2017The Word on the Street interview with Shannon Bramer
Shannon Bramer understands the strange intersection between the sad and the funny, the strange and the precious. Hence the title of her fourth collection of poetry, Precious Energy (BookThug), which ...
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April 05, 2017Special Feature! Talking Hamilton's gritLIT festival with Shari Lapena
Hamilton occupies a unique niche in Canada - it's a small city with a vibrant arts scene and a fascinating history. One of the mainstays of the thriving literary community in Hamilton is gritLIT, the ...
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May 07, 2017
Madness
I have a lot of neuroses and phobias when it comes to being a writer. We started with the case of WB but that’s only the tip of iceberg (how to avoid clichés is right below the tip of the iceberg).There ...
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April 17, 2018Laurel Croza on Tasty Book Snacks, Finding the Romance, & the Book She Holds as a "Model of What a Kid’s Book Can Be"
Laurel Croza has become a beloved name in picture books through I Know Here (illustrated by Matt James), which won the prestigious Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (amongst many other honours), and ...
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May 06, 2019Moving On and Holding On: Writing Picture Books as Therapy
Is it just me or is closure overrated and nearly impossible to achieve? It sometimes feels like the more you try to shut out painful experiences, the more they wave their hands around and yell, “Look ...
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October 01, 2019
Daddy Writer To Be – Introduction
Hi everyone. My name is Hasan Namir. I’m the author of God in Pink (Arsenal Pulp Press) and poetry book War/Torn (Book*Hug Press).First, I want to express my gratitude to Open Book for inviting me ...
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September 25, 2018It Begins with the Body author Hana Shafi on Halloween, Karaoke, & Whether Die Hard is a Christmas Movie
Hana Shafi is the hilarious big sister you always wished for. Her frank, smart, relatable poems tackle everything from anxiety to unibrows, unemployment to rushing to throw up in a bar bathroom. It ...
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May 21, 2018
In Praise of … Performing Your Work
A passion for public speaking, for public performance, has been with me even longer than the passion for writing. I trace it back to when I won a public speaking competition as an elementary school student ...
