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March 25, 2023Was 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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April 22, 2021CBC Short Story Prize 5-Writer Shortlist Announced, Including a Second Shortlist Appearance for Brooks McMullin
This morning, CBC Books announced the narrowing of their 33-writer longlist to the final five writers contending for the coveted CBC Short Story Prize. Three nominees from Ontario, one from Saskatchewan, ...
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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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January 15, 2020The Craft of Reading: How Reading 260 Books This Year Made Me a Better Writer
I was making a care package for a writer friend recently and wanted to include a book in it.“What have you been dying to read?” I asked her before heading out to the bookstore.“Fever Dream by Samanta ...
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March 31, 2017
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Being a Writer #10: Amy Jones
I was so happy to meet Amy Jones several years ago in Thunder Bay, and then again when our books were released in the same season, and we shared the stage at a few literary festivals. What is the one ...
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May 23, 2023The Word on the Street's Sienna Tristen on Programming 100+ Writers to Create an In-Person Version of Bookstagram & BookTok
The Word on the Street returns to Toronto this weekend, May 27 and 28, for their second year back in Queen's Park after a long absence. The two-day schedule is packed with programming that would make ...
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September 16, 2015Daydreaming 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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March 30, 2016On 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 ...
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June 29, 2021How a Filipino Breakfast Changed My Writing
June is Filipino Heritage Month, and to close out the month and my time here as writer-in-residence, I wanted to talk about Filipino breakfast. Specifically, one that influenced both my novel and my life.The ...
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September 02, 2015
An Interview with Bibliotherapist Susan Elderkin: the Science of Better Living Through Literature
I’ve used books to help me survive every difficult period in my life, and I can always remember the book that got me through. I read Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice and Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s ...