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June 06, 2017On Writing, with paulo da costa
The idiom "small is beautiful" is often true in fiction - from short stories to microfiction, sometimes the briefest glimpses into an imagined world are the most arresting. The Midwife of Torment & ...
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November 10, 2020"My Mind Instinctively Starts in Halloween Mode" Peter Counter on Horror as a Safe Space
Just because spooky season is over doesn't mean you have to pivot to Lifetime movies and all things feel-good. If you're someone who loves a good shiver up your spine in any month, you won't want to miss Peter ...
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September 10, 2020"Great Books Will Find a Way In" Jon-Erik Lappano on His New Picture Book & the Magic of Writing for Kids
Remember the collection you had as a kid? Maybe it was seashells or marbles, Barbies or bandanas, but nearly every kid went through a phase of excitedly collecting something - and every new acquisition ...
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June 19, 2020
To Pre-read, or Not to Pre-read?
Should you be vetting your kids’ reading material? For many, the answer seems so obvious, you don’t even need to ask the question. To make sure kids are choosing books that meet their approval, ...
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November 12, 2020Susan Perly on Writing Grief, Reading Don Quixote, and Why Her Favourite Character is a Talking Octopus
Susan Perly's Giller Prize-nominated Death Valley drew comparisons to everything from Twin Peaks to Alice in Wonderland for its dark humour and compelling beauty. So her follow-up, Stella Atlantis ...
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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 ...
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November 25, 2020Read an Excerpt from Will Toffan's Watching the Devil Dance, a Fascinating True Crime Story of Canada's First Spree Killer
For younger Canadians, the name Matthew Charles Lamb may not ring a bell. But those who know it will never forget the man who was dubbed Canada's first spree killer after a bizarre and unprovoked shooting ...
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April 20, 2021"Children are Born as Little Scientists" Erin Alladin's Outside, You Notice Captures the Wonder of Exploring the Natural World
Erin Alladin's Outside, You Notice (Pajama Press, illustrated by Andrea Blinick) is just the sort of book we could all use right now. Thoughtful, joyful, and gentle, its celebration of the outdoors, ...
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April 21, 2021Read an Excerpt from Meghan Bell's Short Stories, Erase and Rewind, An Insightful, Darkly Funny Debut Collection
The young women of Erase and Rewind (Book*hug Press), the debut story collection by Meghan Bell, are funny, flawed, gutsy, and wonderfully compelling to listen to and witness.From the story of a superhero's ...
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February 01, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 1 of 9
When I was first approached by Open Book about doing the author residency for the month of February, my first thought was that I would do a serialized short story and write a piece of fiction in the same ...
