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May 14, 2020Bring Back the Good ‘Ol Days of Getting Lost in Fiction
“The anonymous woman in bed beside me adamantly shakes my shoulder.”—Amber Dawn, Sodom Road Exit“Sometimes we would hide in the closet when the drunks came home from the bar.”—Tanya Tagaq, ...
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May 29, 2023
Bringing It All Back Home
As I write this, I am sitting outside in the backyard of a rowhouse in Toronto’s East End. The wind is stirring the leaves of a big maple tree spreading its branches high above me, and stirring the ...
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April 30, 2024Building a Writing Routine When You’re Bad at Routines
I’ve written before about my bad luck in developing a structured writing routine. I’m happy to report that in the time since I wrote that, I still haven’t developed a structured writing routine—but ...
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April 25, 2023Building an Author Website
You don’t need an author website, but it has helped me to have one. The more you start to publish, the more people will want to contact you for interviews, solicitations, and event invitations—and ...
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May 02, 2016By Way of Introduction
If, as I am given to understand, the point of a writer-in-residence, whether virtual or actual, is in part to hold forth on the mechanics and practice of writing, then let me start by laying bare my understanding ...
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May 06, 2019C'mon Baby Girl, Back that Mac Up...
The first time it happened was a regular Saturday morning. I was sitting down to write at my kitchen table in the middle of chaos. The baby had been up three times that night (and would continue this ...
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November 25, 2019Call for Submissions: The Writers' Union of Canada 27th Annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers
Attention new and emerging short story writers!The Writers' Union of Canada is now inviting submissions for its annual Short Prose Competition for Emerging Writers. Now in its 27th year, the Competition ...
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November 22, 2018Calling All Aspiring Authors: Never Ask an Illustrator to Illustrate Your Picture Book for Free
A few weeks ago, I was in a local tavern with some friends—a few of them are professional illustrators. They were drinking overpriced mocktails and commiserating about the emails they get from aspiring ...
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June 10, 2017Calling All Writers to an Audio Book Project
Once upon a time, audio books were recorded (somewhat mysteriously to a writer) by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.There was always a clause in your publishing contract giving the CNIB the ...
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July 21, 2022Camels with Botox, Lizard Overlords, & Salinger as Inspiration: Rod Carley on His Hilarious & Fresh Story Collection, Grin Reaping
CanLit doesn't have a reputation for hilarity, but the third book from North Bay based writer Rod Carley, Grin Reaping (Latitude 46 Publishing), is more evidence that our supposedly serious rep needs ...
