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November 27, 2024Shenaaz Nanji's Latest Addition to the Alina Series Explores the Beauty in Connecting Different Cultures and Communities
With over a dozen books for children published and admired internationally, Shenaaz Nanji is an author who has found a distinct way to capture the minds of young readers with her imaginative and poignant ...
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November 25, 2019Call for Submissions: The Writers' Union of Canada 27th Annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers
Attention new and emerging short story writers!The Writers' Union of Canada is now inviting submissions for its annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers. Now in its 27th year, the Competition ...
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November 07, 2022"I Had Never Heard His Voice, and Yet I Knew it Right Away" Read an Excerpt from Silence to Strength: Writings and Reflections on the Sixties Scoop
For any parent, the idea of having a child removed from you without your consent is the stuff of nightmares. But for many Indigenous families, that nightmare became a reality in communities across Canada. ...
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December 09, 2015Kid Lit Can, with Susan Hughes: Spotlight on 3 Picture Book Creators (2016 Blue Spruce Award Nominees), (Part 2)
Welcome! Today I continue my chat with the three accomplished creators whose picture books have been nominated for the Ontario Library Association 2016 Blue Spruce Award: Sangeeta Bhadra, Elly MacKay ...
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July 13, 2018
Writing What You "Know"
I’m one of countless writers who found his way thanks to this old standby, and having just published a book of stories set in small Southwestern Ontario towns a lot like the ones where I grew up, it’s ...
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July 10, 2018
Did You Really Go Through All That?
I stole the title of this post from a scene late in the film Sideways, but I could’ve taken a similar line from nearly anywhere—for instance, the second of Orhan Pamuk’s Norton Lectures (collected ...
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June 30, 2020Alex Pugsley Gets to the Heart of Halifax in His Debut Novel
In certain stories, the setting itself becomes a character, containing all the rich history and moody dynamics of the people who occupy it. Such is the case with Alex Pugsley's debut novel Aubrey McKee ...
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April 20, 2016Kid Lit Can, with Susan Hughes: the Magic, the Wonder - Chatting with Ya Fantasy Authors (Part 1)
In my capacity as freelance story coach and manuscript critiquer, I receive many inquiries and, interestingly, I’ve realized that a disproportionately high number of them are from writers working on ...
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February 07, 2017
Kid Lit Can: Spotlight on Middle Grade Fiction - Part 1
Happy 2017! This month and next, I’m spotlighting middle-grade (MG) novels -- stories written for readers who are generally within the 7 to 12-year-old age range. I’ve written one MG novel (Island ...
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October 29, 2019Governor General's Literary Award Winners Announced, including Honours for Book*hug, Playwrights Canada, & Groundwood Books
From a poetic exploration of Indigenous trans identity to the keenly imagined story of a brave young girl and her eagle friend, the 2019 winners of the Governor General's Literary Awards span numerous ...
