Search
-
August 31, 2016The Lower Reaches of Pulp
It’s rare for me to be disturbed by a book: usually, I enjoy being scared or pushed to an extreme emotion within the safety of a page. But I was badly bothered by a pulp novel from the 1980s that I ...
-
October 27, 2016The Journey Prize Writers
The 2016 Writers’ Trust / McLelland & Stewart Journey Prize, the winner of which will be announced on November 2, may be slightly overshadowed by the other prizes given out that night: namely, the ...
-
October 31, 2018
We've always been here
My time here is drawing to a close and I’d like to express great thanks to the Open Book team for inviting me to this space for the past month. It’s been a real pleasure and an immense honour to have ...
-
November 23, 2020
Comparing Myself with May from My Day With Gong Gong
Writing May, the main character in my kids book My Day With Gong Gong, was a joy! It was my first time writing from the perspective of a kid as an adult, and for kids as a main audience. A lot of her ...
-
May 06, 2016Comics in Parkdale - the Draw of a Good Comic Book Store
My interest in superhero movies has plunged to zero in the past couple of years, but I’ve found myself steadily reading more comic books. Thinking about this just after the recent Authors for Indies ...
-
November 09, 2020
Screenwriting Lessons
Sometimes I forget that I majored in screenwriting during my undergrad, even though it ended up playing a key part in what and how I write now. I had chosen this major because I wasn’t sure what to ...
-
September 26, 2014On Pseudonyms: Q&A with Writer "X"
On pseudonyms a.k.a. aliases a.k.a. handles a.k.a. avatars a.k.a. monikers a.k.a. sobriquets ak.a. epithets a.k.a. pen names a.k.a. nicknames a.k.a. noms de guerres, a.k.a. anon.:Q&A with Writer “X”, ...
-
October 01, 2020The sweet spot
First off, it’s an honor to be here. Thank you to Graham and Grace and all the good folks at Open Book for inviting me to sit in this month. I thought I’d start by telling you how I came to writing, ...
-
July 14, 2021A Literary Drum Kit: J.J. Dupuis Takes Us Into His Writing Space & "Musical" Writing Method
If there's still an X-Files shaped hole in your life, you need to be reading J.J. Dupuis, whose delightfully creepy Creature X mystery series follows cryptozoologist Laura Reagan's search for monsters ...
-
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 ...
