Search
-
July 30, 2025Renowned Journalist Halina St. James Pens a Powerful Memoir in The Golden Daughter
Today, we're featuring a moving and crucial memoir on Open Book, in anticipation of the official release next week. The Golden Daughter is a powerful mother-daughter memoir by Halina St. James that uncovers ...
-
March 03, 2022Jen Lynn Bailey's New Picture Book Celebrates Both Northern Nature & The Cumulative Story Form
A cumulative tale is a story, song, or folktale that uses repetition, rhythm, and often humour to build to a story's conclusion. You may not have heard the term, but you know the form–think "There Was ...
-
March 19, 2019Joel Adam Struthers' Memoir Offers a Fascinating, Myth-Busting Account of the French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion, a branch of the French army, is one of the most famous military organizations in the world. Joel Adam Struthers tells his story of six years as a legionnaire (and more specifically ...
-
February 20, 2018Adam Garnet Jones on Finding the Story in his Powerful New Novel Fire Song
Filmmaker Adam Garnet Jones started writing and making movies in his teen years, and even in those early works, he never shied away from difficult, complex storytelling. So it's no surprise that his ...
-
April 20, 2021"Children are Born as Little Scientists" Erin Alladin's Outside, You Notice Captures the Wonder of Exploring the Natural World
Erin Alladin's Outside, You Notice (Pajama Press, illustrated by Andrea Blinick) is just the sort of book we could all use right now. Thoughtful, joyful, and gentle, its celebration of the outdoors, ...
-
July 05, 2012Filling in the Blanks: Photography, Inspiration and Max Dean’s Albums
I have an album. It isn’t mine, but I am taking care of it. For how long, I’m not sure. I’m not even sure for whom.The album tells a story, but the narrative is fragmented. It’s set in the US ...
-
July 27, 2021A Message of Hope: Silmy Abdullah's Debut Story Collection Spins Beautiful Tales of Migration, Family, & Self
When home is in flux, our sense of who we are can feel unanchored too. Enter writer and lawyer Silmy Abdullah's debut collection of short fiction, Home of the Floating Lily (Dundurn Press), which, ...
-
August 16, 2018J.E. Barnard on Her New Mystery Series, Julius Caesar, & How Floods Change People, Towns & Stories
Everyone in J.E. Barnard's When the Flood Falls (Dundurn Press) is having a tough time. From ex-RCMP corporal Lacey McCrae and her old university roommate, Dee, to even the Calgary foothills town they've ...
-
December 23, 2020Indigenous Identity and the Responsibilities of Telling Stories
Writing the stories of your people is the ultimate honour. It is also a privilege, and carries immense responsibilities. This is especially true of Indigenous communities in Canada, who continue to recover ...
-
July 07, 2023"Reality is Messier...It’s Vital that Books Reflect That" Kate Blair on Crafting Honest Young Adult Literature
It's often been said that every good story opens in the same way: when something changes. And one of the most enduring and universal story structures is that of "a stranger arrived".Kate Blair puts her ...
