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October 30, 2015
How to Start an Author Blog
A lot’s been made about “author platforms” over the past few years. Marketers love jargon and “platform” is just another word for presence.“The line between writer and creative entrepreneur ...
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October 29, 2015
The Problem with Working for Free
When I first started writing, I took any opportunities I could.First, I interned at a magazine for a high co-op program. Later, I wrote CD reviews for free, got a few poems published in some zines, and ...
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October 28, 2015
The Lucky Seven Interview, with Kevin Hardcastle
We are thrilled to have debut author Kevin Hardcastle on board as our November 2015 writer-in-residence at Open Book. His short story collection, Debris has created tons of buzz, especially after Kevin's ...
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October 30, 2015
Literary Readings: Do You Have to Do Them?
Picking up from where I left off about book launches, today I’m talking about whether writers really need to read from their work to promote it.Books are sometimes (often?) tricky things to sell. There ...
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October 24, 2015
Why Your Book Doesn't Really Need a Launch Party
A couple of years ago, I finally admitted something to myself:I hate organizing launch parties.Like, completely just no.I love coming up with ideas for them. I love talking about them. I love making posters ...
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October 22, 2015
Finding Inspiration in Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol is arguably one of the most quotable artists to have lived.And although much mystery and controversy surrounds his powerful legacy, there is so much inspiration that can be drawn from his ...
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October 21, 2015
Festival like a Pro at Toronto’s Great Big Literary Party
It’s October, the month when pumpkin fills our bellies, ghouls parade our streets and writers from around the globe flock like moths to the literary-festival flame. In Toronto (and many Ontario locations ...
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October 20, 2015
How Tarot Can Help You with Your Writing
I was 13 the first time I tried to see the future in a playing card.I’d been at the grocery store with my parents, and in the checkout line was a small rack of books. I was immediately drawn to one ...
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October 15, 2015
Why Writers Need to Talk About Work
Like a lot of people out there, I used to think that anyone who had a book published must be “making it” as a full-time writer. I didn’t wonder how much they might actually be making, just assumed ...
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October 14, 2015
Kid Lit Can, with Susan Hughes: Q and A with 2015 Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction Nominees, Part II
Welcome! Today I continue my chat with the three terrific authors whose five books have been nominated for the CCBC Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People: Patrick Bowman, Marsha ...