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September 27, 2017How I Learned to Write What Scares Me
Three years ago, I wrote a poem.Back then, a few very big things happened in my life. My marriage died. I found a new publisher. And, perhaps most importantly, I started teaching.For my entire publishing ...
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December 29, 2017The Canlit Year in Review: 2017 Can Suck It
I remember the moment when I realized that 2017 was going to irrevocably change Canlit. It was early in June, and I was sitting on a stage, speaking at a panel on diversity and the appropriation of voice. ...
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November 01, 2017
Welcome to 16 Shades of Noir!
Hello Toronto Open Book readers! I am extremely honoured and delighted to be your writer-in-residence for the month of November. During this time, I, accompanied by a hugely talented (and widely varied) ...
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March 02, 2018What to Expect When You’re Expecting: The Editorial Process for New Writers - Part Two
We are back with part two from guest columnist, and top-notch editor, Jen Knoch. Jen dropped some wisdom about the editorial process last month, and has much more to share with our readers, and any and ...
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September 02, 2015On the Sensory Pleasures of Putting Pen to Paper
A few months ago, I lost a pen. A beautiful fountain pen with one of those squeezy ink chambers that you fill from an old-school inkpot. The pen had been a university graduation gift from my parents and ...
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June 06, 2015Could We Can the Cover Copy?
I’m going to tell you something about my fiction-reading habits: I always skip the cover copy. The publisher-penned description printed on the cover and used everywhere from retailers’ websites to ...
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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 06, 2017
Kid Lit Can: Personal "Firsts" In Kid Lit, Part One
My Time To series of three board books– Nap Time, Play Time, and Bath Time – are being published this September. This signifies two “firsts” for me – first board books ever, and first time ever ...
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April 20, 2017The Dirty Dozen, with Jesse Ruddock
Athlete, musician, and writer -- Jesse Ruddock isn't easily pinned down or defined. Much like her debut novel, Shot-Blue (Coach House Books), which has drawn comparisons to Winter's Bone in its sparseness ...
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May 15, 2017
Monopoly on memory
Recently on Instagram, I saw a picture of Warszawa Centralna railway station and I was overcome by the smell and the sound the picture evoked. It smelled of damp concrete, earth, dirt and engine oil, ...
