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February 27, 2017Book Criticism Is Not Book Promotion
Most people won’t read most books. It seems like a truism, but it’s an important fact to keep in mind if you’re thinking of reviewing a book. Whether it’s a brief write-up in an industry magazine ...
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May 08, 2017Tips from a Festival Director
One of the surprising things to happen when I moved to Yukon was that I became director of an annual writers’ conference. As part of my role, I secure authors, negotiating their fees, even signing their ...
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September 19, 2016
The In Character Interview With Leon Rooke
Leon Rooke has been called "a national treasure" by the Globe and Mail with good reason — his contributions to CanLit over an astounding 50 years of work have been hugely influential. And he's not slowing ...
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December 06, 2017The Striped Scrapper
When I was fifteen, Dad moved my sibs and I from the chilly West Coast to the hurricane belt—Grand Cayman Island. We spent six months living by the Caribbean Sea where Dad, bewigged and robed, practiced ...
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March 21, 2018League of Canadian Poets Announces First Ever Longlists for Book Prizes
In honour of World Poetry Day and the 20th anniversary of Poetry Month in Canada, The League of Canadian Poets has announced, for the first time, longlists for their 2018 Poetry Awards, including the ...
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October 30, 2018SK Dyment on Crafting Characters in Steel Animals, a Smart, Hilarious New Book of Queer Magic Realism
Jackie is a quiet loner who happens to secretly be a badass bank robber. Vespa is a artist who rides motorbikes and obsessively plans her revenge on an ex-partner. Together, they find love and a heap ...
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February 07, 2019Blue Moon Publishers Puts out Justin Bieber Book with Foreword from the Pop Star Himself
Canada is no slouch in supplying some of the most famous actors, musicians, and artists to the rest of the world. But one Canadian in recent years has achieved an almost unprecedented level of fame - ...
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August 27, 2018An Open Letter to the Stranger Who Asked Me, “How Did You Write That Book for Children If You Don't Have Children?”
Dear Stranger,I realize that writing a book is kind of a self-important undertaking. When I write, I sometimes imagine that there are people out there who might actually enjoy reading my words and letting ...
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August 31, 2018On the future of Canlit
You guys, this is my last Open Book column.I have been writing this column for a year now and I’ll admit I didn’t know what I was going to write about when Holly Kent and Kevin Hardcastle asked me ...
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July 16, 2019The Fate of Housing in Toronto: John Lorinc on New Essays, Ideas, and Hope for the City's Future
It's hard to imagine any topic more on Torontonians' minds these days than housing. As the city, like so many other cities around the world, becomes more and more unaffordable and both rent and property ...
