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July 20, 2023Read an Excerpt from When It All Syncs Up, Maya Ameyaw's Tale of a Dazzling Black Teen Ballerina
In Maya Ameyaw's new young adult novel, When It All Syncs Up (Annick Press), Aisha seems to have everything going for her. She has a coveted spot in an elite ballet academy, a relentless work ethic, ...
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July 18, 2023Lucian Childs on Writing a Funny (and Moving) Book about Grief, Trauma, & Queer Coming of Age
Juggling six different points of view and forty years of cultural history would be an impressive feat for a seasoned novelist, but Lucian Childs managed to pull it off—with style, humour, and pathos—in ...
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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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July 12, 2023Aaron Tucker Creates an Updated, Nuanced Twist on the Classic Western in His Gripping New Novel
Aaron Tucker's novel Soldiers, Hunters, Not Cowboys (Coach House Books) is a startling and brilliant blend of a book, beginning as a play-like conversation between two ex-partners in which Melanie, a ...
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July 11, 2023Keep Pride Month Going with an Excerpt from Jake Byrne's Witty & Fiery Collection, Celebrate Pride with Lockheed Martin
Bodies, sex, drugs, queer love, capitalism, war – there's pretty much nothing that Jake Byrne won't tackle in their poetry. With back-to-back collections coming out this year and next, CanLit lovers ...
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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 ...
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July 06, 2023On Uncanny Delays, Endings, and Dionne Brand
Last summer I moved houses briefly to work on my novel. A friend was leaving the country for a few weeks and I gladly left my little apartment to take care of his place and write. I came well equipped ...
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July 06, 2023Colleen Nelson on Setting Her New Kids' Novel in One of New York's Most Unique Historical Properties
Umbrella House in New York City is a unique urban phenomenon. Abandoned in the late 70s, it was sealed up with cinderblocks and cement until several years later when a group of squatters moved in. Over ...
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July 04, 2023Read an Excerpt from The Loneliness in Lydia Erneman's Life by Norwegian Literary Star Rune Christiansen
In an increasingly connected but paradoxically lonelier world, the idea of true solitude is a complex one. Finding contentment in a quiet life seems both dreamlike and untenably isolating to many, and ...
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June 30, 2023Adapting an Adult Book Into a Book for Young Readers
I know that young people are reading my 2019 book, because they’ve written me e-mails and messaged me on various social media platforms to tell me where they got it (thank you, libraries) and who they’re ...
