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August 02, 2016
THE Incredible Shrinking Writer
It’s almost six years now since, after nearly half a century in Toronto, I moved to Cobourg, pop. 18,500. My adopted home — "Ontario’s Feel Good Town" — is just a ninety-minute commute east by ...
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September 12, 2023
The Infinite Library
A few years ago I led a writing workshop and introduced a prompt I called “The Infinite Library.” I had students imagine they had entered a library containing every possible unwritten novel, and could ...
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August 30, 2025
The Insightful and Empathetic Essays in JESUSLAND Explore the Draw and Danger of the Christian Pop Culture Movement
The new collection of non-fiction essays, Jesusland: Stories from the Upside Down World of Christian Pop Culture, is not your typical coming-of-age memoir. Set against the backdrop of early 2000s evangelical ...
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July 18, 2017
the inspiration of Swedish poetry
the inspiration of Swedish poetryI have not written much in this blog yet about my work as a poet. I have two books of poetry out: Gabriel’s Beach and Songs to Kill A Wîhtikow. I have a third book, ...
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August 18, 2025
The Irrepressible Maggie Lou Returns in a New Chapter Book from Arnolda Dufour Bowes
Today, we’re delighted to feature an exciting new chapter book in Maggie Lou Meets Her Match (Groundwood Books), the lively sequel to Maggie Lou, Firefox by Arnolda Dufour Bowes. As we kick off this ...
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November 29, 2018
The Journey is More Important Than the Destination
My hope for every person on this planet is that they die never having completed everything on their bucket list. That may sound strange and morbid now, but please bear with me. I hope by the end of this ...
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October 27, 2016
The 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 ...
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September 01, 2022
The Joy of Building a List
Early on, when I still thought I’d be a writer rather than work in publishing, I remember coming across a lovely quote from Toni Morrison saying something along the lines of “If you can’t find the ...
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September 27, 2022
The Joy of Literary Festivals – And Dreams Coming True
It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of September and that the time I have been privileged to spend with you on this Open Book platform is almost over. Looking back at what I have shared with ...
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November 18, 2016
The Joy of Reading: discussion with Sandy Crawley of the National Reading Campaign
By Bianca Lakoseljac: OB Writer in Residence The importance of literacy in all cultures and societies cannot be underestimated. In Canada, it remains one of our main priorities. However, in some parts ...