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July 07, 2023"Reality is Messier...It’s Vital that Books Reflect That" Kate Blair on Crafting Honest Young Adult Literature
It's often been said that every good story opens in the same way: when something changes. And one of the most enduring and universal story structures is that of "a stranger arrived".Kate Blair puts her ...
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June 17, 2016Revenge of the Indie Bookstore
In 2014, when I began booking my Crushes and Mountains US book tour with fellow Toronto-based writer Elisha Lim, I Googled “gay bookstore” or “independent bookstore” in cities we were planning ...
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September 18, 2016Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature Shortlist Announced!
Canada's literary heritage is full of talented Jewish authors, including granddaddy (or, perhaps most aptly, zaide) Mordecai Richler, as well as acclaimed writers like Matt Cohen, Irving Layton, and many ...
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October 11, 2019
Daddy Writer To Be – Writing for Children
For many years, I had a dream to write a children’s book. My passion of becoming a father inspired me to write a children’s book. As a child who questioned their own gender identity, I wanted ...
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June 13, 2019Dream Casting Frying Plantain
I know, it's super brave of me to make a post right after the Raptors won the championship (!!!!) but I'm going to do it anyway. The other day I did a talk at the Toronto Public Library (the Annette branch) ...
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March 30, 2019Writer at Work: The Steadfastness of Beauty
Last fall, a few days after my book, Port of Being, was sent to the printer, I met with Juliane Okot Bitek, whom I had asked for a blurb. During that rainy day at a pub, Juliane and I shared our parallel ...
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June 30, 2019Behind the Title: "Frying Plantain"
This is my last post for Open Book and I’ve been thinking about how I should end my June tenure as Writer in Residence. I landed on writing about the title of my book. I’ve been asked a few times ...
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September 08, 2020A Great Year for Independent Publishing: Ian Williams announces 14 Title 2020 Giller Longlist
This morning via livestream, the Scotiabank Giller Prize announced their 14 title longlist. Hosted by 2019 winner Ian Williams (author of Reproduction), the announcement ushered in the 2020 fall literary ...
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March 12, 2021Zoom Class: Omar El Akkad and the Challenges of Writing Resistance
Sometimes there are Zoom meetings that can break you. Last week it took me five days to recover from the nausea, headaches, and light sensitivity caused by one single day of back-to-back virtual meetings. ...