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September 08, 2021
The Books on My Desk, Time, Habits, Children, and Orderliness
I feel like I need to mention that I just found out this morning that Glorious Frazzled Beings has been long listed for the Scotiabank Giller Prize because it has taken up most of my morning with a hullaballoo ...
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March 25, 2023
Was It Worth It?
Was it worth it? I get asked this a lot.I think they are asking if putting in all the time, effort and emotional labour to write a vulnerable and raw memoir about trauma, is worth it. Like, if I say yes, ...
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May 07, 2018
Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards Shortlists Announced, including Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves
The shortlists for the 2018 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Awards include several high profile Canadian authors, including recent Kirkus Award winner Cherie Dimaline, whose The Marrow Thieves was ...
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December 07, 2016
On Writing, with M. Travis Lane
As review spaces shrink and authors and publishers struggle to find a place to engage critically with new writing, working critics have even more significance and weight attached to their reviews. It's ...
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June 26, 2020
Five Reasons Why Children’s Science Books are THE Must-read Books of the 21st Century. For Kids and Adults.
I have been a fan of the scientific method since I first learned what it was (It's only the single most powerful tool humans have ever created, but that’s another post ).I was terrible at doing science ...
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March 02, 2017
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Being a Writer #1 - Q& A With Andrew Sullivan
For the last two months I've been writer-in-residence at U of T in Scarborough. This means I get an office to write in, I run a writing group with creative writing students once a week, and give editorial ...
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September 16, 2015
Daydreaming During the Sixth Mass Extinction: a Conversation with Chris Szego of Bakka Phoenix Books
The most horrifying things that I’ve been reading lately haven’t been horror fiction, but non-fiction. I’ve been reading about climate change that’s accelerating faster than anticipated, potential ...
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May 05, 2022
"Our World is an Amazing Place" Laura Alary on Her New Kids' Book Exploring Photosynthesis, Food, & Connection
It's easy to forget how fascinating the idea that plants can "eat" sunlight and use it to grow and thrive actually is, but in Laura Alary's Sun in My Tummy (Pajama Press, with artwork by Andrea Blinick) ...
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February 16, 2023
Mudlarking, Unexpected TV Appearances, & More: Getting to Know Children's Writer Nancy Cooper
Meeting new people isn't easy. For Amik the beaver, the character at the heart of Nancy Cooper's picture book Biindigen! Amik Says Welcome (Owlkids Books, illustrated by Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley) ...
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March 30, 2016
On Making Connections
In my last post I talked a bit about the importance of connection to others, giving thanks towards and for others, and would like to continue with this theme by focusing on the "how" of connection. No ...