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September 24, 2019The Art of the Deadline
Every word I’m typing right now is late. Not a month late, or even a week late, but three days late. And with every tap, tap, tap on my keyboard, I feel a pang. Anxiety. Guilt. Racing thoughts. Why ...
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December 23, 2019How You Get Paid Writing Children’s Books or: Math is Fun!
One question I rarely get asked is how you get paid when you write and/or illustrate children’s books. I know people have a lot of questions regarding how much they might get paid, but how does the ...
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August 27, 2018An Open Letter to the Stranger Who Asked Me, “How Did You Write That Book for Children If You Don't Have Children?”
Dear Stranger,I realize that writing a book is kind of a self-important undertaking. When I write, I sometimes imagine that there are people out there who might actually enjoy reading my words and letting ...
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April 22, 2020All of this listening
It was hard to write this column. Like everyone else, I’m all for trying to grasp at normalcy where I can, but I don’t have many writing tips to share right now. (Actually, I do have one writing tip: ...
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May 31, 2016Writing What’s Closest to Home
Last year, when I turned in the first draft of a memoir on rape trauma, my editor had a pretty reasonable observation. Despite divulging various details of violation, illness, and the path to getting ...
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July 13, 2023Jean Rae Baxter on Bringing Canadian History to Life in a Captivating Coming of Age Tale
It's hard to imagine anyone asking a 14 year old to strike out on their own now, but in 1837, when Dory Dickson leaves his Niagara home, he's asked to shoulder all of his family's most desperate hopes. ...
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May 15, 20192019 Forest of Reading Children's Literary Award Winners, Chosen by Ontario Students
The Giller Prize of the children's lit world, the Ontario Library Association's beloved Forest of Reading Awards honour the best fiction and nonfiction writing for young people in Ontario each year. Today ...
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January 10, 2024"We Crave Authentic Stories" Olivia Saunders on Sharing Her Experience Living with Autism with Young Readers
From avoiding sensory overloads to explaining her necessary strategies to friends and teachers, Olivia Saunders' experience of living with autism has impacted her life for more than 18 years. Now, as ...
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November 25, 2019Special Feature: Book*hug Press
On November 2, 2019, a throng of enthusiastic word nerds gathered at Harbourfront Centre to toast Book*hug Press on its fifteenth anniversary. It was an appropriate venue in which to celebrate, given ...
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August 10, 2023Co-Creators Kirsten Pendreigh & Crystal Smith Help Young Readers Find "Comfort and Connection in Natural Spaces"
Finding ways to connect to the people we've loved and lost can be a complex process. In author Kirsten Pendreigh and artist Crystal Smith's gentle and beautiful new picture book, Maybe a Whale (Groundwood ...
