Search
-
October 26, 2020"I Didn’t Realize How Damaged I Had Become" Firefighter Bryan Ratushniak's Memoir is Powerful, Honest, & Moving
The image of a firefighter is an emotionally charged one: a person who literally exists to save us from one of the most inherently terrifying forces in the world. It's a heavy mantle both figuratively ...
-
May 01, 2019"Perspective is Everything!" Fran L. Porter on Crafting Characters, Writing Effective Dialogue & More
Fran L. Porter's second book and first novel, The Wrong Brother (Crossfield Publishing), tells the story of Marigold Iona Anderson, who comes under the charismatic sway of neurologist Dr. Damien Sparks. ...
-
April 28, 2023Literary Secrets
And this is my last post as Writer-in-Residence with Open Book, and I’m grateful to you for reading and revelling in poetry-world with me. I didn’t know how to start this, or how to quantify the month’s ...
-
September 29, 2020Matt James on Last Minute Edits, a Kitchen Table Studio, & How to Get the Most Out of Picture Books
Governor General’s Literary Award winner Matt James is well known for illustrating Northwest Passage (an acclaimed tribute to the Stan Rogers song of the same name) and writing and illustrating The ...
-
October 24, 2022Beatriz Pizano on Why Writing Fast Takes a Long Time & the Slow but Hopeful Evolution She Sees in Canadian Theatre
As a playwright, director, actor, and activist, Beatriz Pizano has made a name for herself creating theatre that is daring and emotionally complex. She's been highly decorated for her incisive, compelling ...
-
September 04, 2021
On Walking with my Dead Dogs as Writing Practice
How should we think about the torrents of interaction that occur between organisms underground? How should we understand these spheres of more-than-human communication? Perhaps running after a dog hot ...
-
July 23, 2018David Ward, Back from 5 Years in a Tiny, Isolated Newfoundland Community, Shares Publishing Highs & Lows
For writers in Canada, Newfoundland is a special place. After five years living in an isolated Newfoundland community, ecologist David Ward understood that intimately. His story of that time, Bay of ...
-
August 03, 2017Kevin MacKay on the Coming Ecological and Social Collapse & How We Can Still Avoid It
If you're feeling overwhelmed in the face of the worrisome changes to our economic and ecological environments, you may want to listen to Kevin MacKay. The Hamilton-based professor and activist has ...
-
September 21, 2023"Memory is a Slippery and Selective Thing" Paige Maylott on Gaming, Writing, & Finding Herself
What is a body in a virtual world? As we move more and more of our socializing, working, and identities online, where does that leave our understanding of our physical selves, in terms of gender, sexuality, ...
-
May 09, 2019A Letter to Writers Who Are Not Writing (Right Now)
Dear Fellow Writer,My life is paused right now. It stutters like a record in a too-worn groove. Morning comes and then night. I’m able to colour in the basics of my day. I go to work. I write my freelance ...
