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February 21, 2022
*Well, excuuuse me, Princess
Welcome back, Open Book reader. Lovely to see you again, hope you’re doing well. As promised, I’m going to give some insight into what fuels all this nerdiness I’m brimming with. The relatively ...
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February 14, 2022
Valentine's Day! (and one or two other things I don't really like)
Hello, Open Book reader. Glad to have you back. So…remember that promise I made early on to curb the sass mouth? Well, apologies in advance because I’m breaking that promise today. Originally, I wasn’t ...
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February 17, 2022
Where the magic happens...sorta? Kinda? (Sometimes?)
Warning: I fully embrace my nerd status in this one. If I remember correctly there's a Latin term for this...yup, found it:Hey there, Open Book reader. Welcome back! Hope you've been having an awesome ...
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November 30, 2023Zain Bandali Uses Mehndi to Talk About Gender, Creativity, and Being Your True Self in His Delightful Debut
In Zain Bandali's Mehndi Boy (Annick Press), Tehzeeb loves to draw. He practices his clouds, patterns, stars, and more, as whole galaxies of beautiful and intricate designs swirl across his notebooks. ...
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February 03, 2020Blogpost #1: Meet Nadia L. Hohn, or selected musings of a Black-Canadian djeli
Here ye! Here ye! My name is Nadia L. Hohn and I am proud to be the February 2020 Open Book writer-in-residence. Not only do you get to read my posts about writing, #kidlit, and Canadian publishing ...
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March 17, 2022A Great Kids' Book is "a Kind of Graffiti": Sara Cassidy on Why Wonder, Not Instruction, is at the Centre of Her Writing
A little girl tosses a snack to some birds at a bus stop. It's a small gesture, but in Sara Cassidy's Flock (Groundwood Books, illustrated by Geraldo Valério), it becomes the jumping off point for a ...
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April 07, 2023I Just Got Published - So, Why Don't I Feel Great?
When I was 18, I resolved to be a published writer one day. It was something I’d dreamed of even before then. As a younger teenager I wrote simple books inspired in varying degrees by The Outsiders. ...
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July 31, 2023Managing a Writing Career and Mental Illness
As someone who's dealt with chronic depression and anxiety for most of my life, I know how difficult it can be to balance mental illness and writing. Sometimes, the thought of working on my latest book ...
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May 22, 2025How I'm Adjusting My Writing Routine For Spring and Summer
A few months ago I wrote about how I’m adjusting my writing routine for autumn & winter. Now that we’re well into spring where I live, I’ve been strategizing for the warmer months ahead. My ...
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September 26, 2023Elizabeth Ruth on Exploring Coincidences in Her Mesmerizing, Icy New Novel
Anyone who lived in Toronto in 2013 remembers the ice storm of that winter, which brought the city to its knees. It's against this dramatic backdrop that celebrated writer Elizabeth Ruth's new novel Semi-Detached ...