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May 17, 2017
Michael Winter's collages
I spent half of March writing a very long abstract (1,200 words) for an essay I was going to present at some conference but I just heard back today and they said no. Two weeks of work for nothing? (Not ...
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November 28, 2019What to Do When Your Story Already Exists in the World
We all know that every story has already been told and our challenge, as writers, is to come up with new, original ways to tell stories. Unfortunately, sometimes you think you’ve done just that and, ...
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August 19, 2015The Lucky Seven Interview, with Austin Clarke
There is only one Austin Clarke — a writer who, at this stage in his career, has gone beyond mere awards and honours (of which he holds many) to become part of the very fabric of Canadian culture.So ...
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May 30, 2017
Ayelet Tsabari's photographs
Hello,Long time no see (well, a few days but that's eons in Open-Book time). I'm reading a really great book of short stories called Lemons by Kasia Jaronczyk and you should all run out and get it. The ...
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September 10, 2021What Big Open Spaces Taught Me About Finishing a Draft
Who doesn’t like writing at home, with the comfort of Maltesers, a perfect sound setup, and being able to write naked? Writing outside of your comfy space is much harder than it seems.In June this year, ...
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October 12, 2022Canada Council for the Arts Announces Nominees for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards
This morning, the Canada Council for the Arts announced the nominees for the 2022 Governor General's Literary Awards. Including French and English nominees, 70 works have been honoured, with writers, ...
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December 12, 20237 Writing Lessons I Learned from Gardening
I am by no means a capital G Gardener, but planning and tending to my little patio garden brings me a lot of comfort and satisfaction. While getting my garden ready for winter, I found my mind wandering ...
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March 01, 2022Bill Richardson on Sharing Writing Space with Irving Layton and Robertson Davies
"In this last week, there are seven days."In Bill Richardson Last Week (Groundwood Books, illustrated by Emilie Leduc), a child knows they've got a week to spend with their grandmother. But unlike ...
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July 22, 2017Inspiration of Old Cree Stories
For years, I have been retranslating a book of old Cree stories. I am presently retranslating a story told by sâkêwêw: the story of opwâsimow kâ-kitimâkisit okimâwipayiw [a poor Stoney/ Nakota ...
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September 22, 2017Award-winning author Méira Cook on Swimming in Shark-Infested Waters, Feeling Canadian, & More
A long and happy marriage is no easy feat, but Max and Maggie Binder are amongst the lucky few. Twenty years after they met, Max is still madly in love with his feisty wife, and wants to give her a 40th ...