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April 29, 2025Check out This Special Dirty Dozen Interview with Y.S. Lee, Author of the Spectacular New Picture Book, Mrs. Nobody
It's always impressive when writers are able to pivot deftly between forms and genres, and Y.S. Lee has proven to be one of those prolific, acclaimed artists who can do exactly that. Her previous work ...
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May 23, 2025Unlocking Out of Editing
In my April 2025 column for Open Book, I wrote about the difficulties of locking into editing. Coming back to a manuscript you feel you’ve completed is tricky, especially when you’re at the stage ...
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June 30, 2025Let’s Talk Books: Five Tips for Starting Your Own Book Club
I love talking about books. A lot. And for years, I wanted to be part of a book club. But there was one small problem: after taking too many English classes in university, I hate being told what to read. ...
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November 14, 2025Seven Major Prizes and More Than $375,000 Awarded at an Inspiring Writers’ Trust Celebration
The annual Writers’ Trust Awards lit up Toronto this week with a full evening of literary celebration. With seven major prizes presented and more than $375,000 invested directly into the hands of Canadian ...
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April 30, 2026Maggie Helwig wins 2026 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing
The Writers’ Trust of Canada has named Maggie Helwig the winner of the 2026 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing for her book Encampment. The prize, presented at the annual Politics and the ...
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June 30, 2021Brain Fog: An Essay
Brain Fog: An Essay[1]“I am…” I type.But then a thought fords the sentence. My fingers hover above the keyboard, like soldiers awaiting a command. I have… forgotten something. But what?I can ...
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January 30, 2017Exit Interview
For my last interview, I thought I'd turn the tables and ask someone else to interview me. Since he was also in the midst of leaving a position (admittedly one of much vaster scale), I sent my books ...
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October 13, 2020"Writing is One Way to Help to Build a More Livable World" A Conversation with the 2020 Dayne Ogilvie Prize Finalists
The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers was established by Robin Pacific to honour a beloved friend. Ogilvie was a respected editor, writer, and literary manager and his death was devastating ...
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April 19, 2021Play to your strengths: a short guide to arts admin for emerging artists
And we're back! As promised, these last two weeks of Careful Inventory are a bit lighter, more directly applicable in the pandemic—thanks for sticking with me so far! We’ve covered online safety, ...
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April 21, 2023Read an Excerpt from Gregory Koop's The Donkey Cutter, a Gritty, Moving Tale of Early 20th Century Canada
In Gregory Koop's The Donkey Cutter (Guernica Editions), Mareika Doerksen and her distant father are Mennonite in name only. Both mourning the loss of Mareika's mother, they bide their time until Mareika ...