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November 10, 2023
Excerpt: Joe Pete, the Final Book from Ian McCulloch, a Staple of the Northern Writing Community
The star of Ian McCulloch's final novel, Joe Pete (Latitude 46 Publishing) is Alison, an eleven-year-old girl better known as the titular Joe Pete. Devastated by the death of her father Sandy, a descendant ...
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June 29, 2023
Read an Excerpt from Jessica Outram's Historical Métis Adventure Story, Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold
In many ways, Bernice, the heroine of Métis author and teacher Jessica Outram's Bernice and the Georgian Bay Gold (Second Story Press), is like any other eight-year-old: she lives with her family, ...
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September 28, 2021
"To See the Extraordinary in the Everyday is a Super Power" Eliza Martin on Her Debut Children's Book & Its Hopeful Heroine
In Eliza Martin's Harvey and the Extraordinary (Annick Press, illustrated by Anna Bron), Mimi is determined to become the world's great mime. With her trusty hamster by her side, she practices her act ...
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September 27, 2022
The Joy of Literary Festivals – And Dreams Coming True
It’s hard to believe we’ve come to the end of September and that the time I have been privileged to spend with you on this Open Book platform is almost over. Looking back at what I have shared with ...
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October 27, 2018
Characters like family
One of my favourite parts of the writing process is creating and developing characters. I’ve always believed a story is only as strongly crafted as the people in it. Characters are the pillars of and ...
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January 31, 2019
A Title Should Be a "Dream in Which the Work Lives": Talking with our February 2019 writer-in-residence Deanna Young
Ottawa poet Deanna Young is the author of four collections of poetry, which have earned her praise and nominations for numerous prizes including the Trillium Book Award for Poetry, the Ottawa Book Award, ...
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September 25, 2021
Read an Excerpt from Mahtab Narsimhan's Valley of the Rats, the Story of a Father and Son Lost in a Mysterious Bamboo Forest
Krish has no interest in getting dragged around outside, camping and exploring and muddling in who-knows-what kind of germs. He's much rather stay inside with a good book, but his photographer father ...
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May 20, 2021
Read an Excerpt from Philippa Dowding's Firefly, the Story of a Young Girl Finding Herself through Costumes After Family Trauma
Philippa Dowding has a special knack for exploring tough issues in her kids' books without sacrificing storytelling and imagination. She meets kids and teens where they are to tell fascinating and often ...
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September 01, 2016
Hello Open Book Readers!
I’m incredibly happy to be this month’s Writer in Residence.I’m so honoured to join the list of writers whose work I love, who’ve been writers in residence in the past.The timing is perfect because ...
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March 09, 2018
Author & Illustrator team Susan Hughes & Carey Sookocheff on the Ups and Downs of Publishing
Who hasn't had the feeling that they don't fit in? Despite the universality of feeling excluded, odd, and unworthy, we still struggle to find a way to reach kids experiencing those feelings, to curb bullying ...