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August 11, 2020
On Returning to Pen & Paper
The last time I wrote a story in a notebook must have been back in elementary school. I can remember handwriting in the thin cahiers we were given, double spacing my writing as instructed. Because I was ...
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August 23, 2018
"I am Story": Getting to know GG Nominee Harold R. Johnson, Author of a Stunning, Genre-Defying New Memoir
Governor General’s Literary Award nominee Harold R. Johnson's newest book combines his expertise in fiction and non-fiction, in a genre-blending work that is being hailed as the crown jewel of an already ...
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September 15, 2022
Read an Excerpt from Harold R. Johnson's Final Book, The Power of Story
The late Harold R. Johnson was a master storyteller. He published a dozen books prior to his passing in February 2022 and was acclaimed for his fiction, which often drew on elements of his Cree heritage ...
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October 20, 2020
Mark Kingwell on How the Pandemic Will Change Our Understanding of Risk and Luck
Professor and writer Mark Kingwell is well known as one of Canada's leading thinkers, and he is almost certainly our most fun one. Whether it's baseball or cocktails, philosophy or futurism, Kingwell's ...
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March 02, 2020
Acknowledging Fear in Writing
“Don’t tell us what to believe, what to fear. Show us belief’s wide skirt and the stitch that unravels fear’s caul.” – Toni Morrison Fear.Fear of the first draft, fear of spiders, fear of ...
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December 28, 2020
How to Make Your Longest, Darkest Nights Shine
The Winter Solstice is happening as I write this column. It’s the shortest day of the year and the longest, darkest night of the year. But during this time, every night often feels like the longest, ...
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August 12, 2021
Words in Isolation
For many reasons, I felt conflicted about writing another pandemic piece. After the events of the last year, our everyday lives have been complete coloured by our experiences living in a pandemic. Despite ...
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February 11, 2020
"This Was the Perfect Time for Me to Tell the Story" Amanda Leduc Talks Fairy Tales, Disability, and Progress in Her New Book
The often-problematic role of disabled people in fairy tales hasn't been widely studied, but author Amanda Leduc's new book Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space (Coach House) is determined ...
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August 04, 2020
My Attraction to Gritty Stories
Not all stories are romantic or are tied up neatly at the end. Sometimes characters do not have a redeeming quality, and sometimes their experiences have made them hard and difficult to “save.” Gritty ...
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February 26, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 8 of 9
What happens when the unexpected occurs. As a writer, I like to throw unexpected elements in when things seem to be progressing smoothly. The same way I don’t conceive of a beginning or middle before ...