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October 15, 2020Activist Jamal Saeed's Astonishing Story of a Young Girl Coming of Age in the Arab Spring is Essential Reading
Yara's childhood has been a complicated one: growing up in Aleppo, Syria, as a revolution brewed meant a tense and unpredictable existence. And when the Arab Spring unfurls, it means violence on a scale ...
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October 01, 2025Story Sparks and Surprises Interview with Wendy J. Whittingham, author of The Last Last (Illustrated by Brianna McCarthy)
In her debut picture book, The Last Last, author Wendy J. Whittingham invites readers into a tender, sun-soaked farewell to island life through the eyes of a young girl preparing to leave her Jamaican ...
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May 07, 2018
In Praise of … Book Reviewing
I still remember where and when I got into the book-reviewing racket. It was the late 1990s in Halifax, about a year after I graduated with my journalism degree from the University of King’s College. ...
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October 10, 2024Saad T. Farooqi Grasps a Sliver of Hope in the Unique Dystopian Landscape of White World
Inspired by lived experiences, and the geopolitical issues that have gripped the countries that he's lived in, Saad T. Farooqi has always had a desire to write dystopian stories that speak to the heart ...
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October 24, 2019"I Knew it was One of those Moments Everyone of the Time Would Recollect" Lynne Golding on Her Wartime Novel The Beleaguered
In August 1914, Great Britain declared war on Germany and the First World War began. That fateful day also kicks off The Beleaguered (Blue Moon Publishers) by Lynne Golding, the second book in Golding's ...
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February 08, 2023Jonathan Garfinkel on Exploring the Legacy and Traumas of the Soviet Union in His Incendiary First Novel
Jonathan Garfinkel is known for his riveting nonfiction, including his celebrated memoir Ambivalence: Crossing the Israel/Palestine Divide, and his work in poetry and playwriting, which have earned ...
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April 06, 2018
“In my poetry, I make room for what escapes stories,” an interview with Bänoo Zan
Bänoo Zan is one of those incredible poets that give back to poetry and community more than they take. As well as being the author of two collections of poetry, she is also an educator, translator and ...
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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 ...
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December 01, 2015Eighty Feet Without a Net - Conversations with John Irving
About a year ago I got an email that I had to read about twelve times over before it really settled in. That email was from Janet Turnbull Irving, the wife and agent of one of the most famous literary ...
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May 08, 2018"What's Your Story?" Read the Winning Texts of the 2018 OBPO Writing Contest Winners! Part One: Etobicoke
It's that time of year again: when the weather gets warm and we get to celebrate brand new Toronto stories. Start your spring off right with the What's Your Story? literary contest: We've got four never-before-seen, ...
