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December 06, 2016"What's Your Story?" OBPO Contest Winners Part 4: Scarborough
We've had a season of amazing original writing on Open Book through the Ontario Book Publishers Organization's inaugural What's Your Story? writing competition. Today is our fourth and final instalment: ...
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November 08, 2017
The darkest of the dark! Short story noir!
Today we’re chatting to M. H. Callway about noir in short stories. Noir has a fantastically rich history when it comes to short stories and writing these tough little fellows is a real challenge. Many ...
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September 12, 2024Rod Carley's Latest Novel is a Theatrical Odyssey Full of Elizabethan Eccentrics
With trademark humour and vivid imagination, Rod Carley is back at it in his latest novel, a Shakespearean romp set in 17th century Stratford-upon-Avon, and in Scotland (and all the roads between). ...
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February 11, 2021"I Like Inhabiting One Character": Philipp Schott on Telling Family Stories, Building Character, & "Invisible Scaffolding"
Philipp Schott's The Willow Wren (ECW Press) follows the complex and harrowing story of Ludwig, a child growing up in Hilter's Germany. Sent against his will to a Hitler Youth Camp, shy and gentle Ludwig ...
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January 17, 2025Why Does Your Story Matter?
It’s the start of a new year, and many of us are taking stock. We’re thinking about what we’ve been through and maybe looking forward with hope and interesting ideas. Whether you have a to-do list ...
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December 23, 2020Indigenous Identity and the Responsibilities of Telling Stories
Writing the stories of your people is the ultimate honour. It is also a privilege, and carries immense responsibilities. This is especially true of Indigenous communities in Canada, who continue to recover ...
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March 10, 2021A "Book Behind Which No Part of Me Could Hide": Andrea Actis' Poetic Memoir of Grief & Loss is Stunning
Content warning: death in the family, grief. It's an unimaginable scene: returning home one night in 2007, Andrea Actis entered her Vancouver apartment to discover her father, lying dead. The aftermath ...
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May 05, 2025Chidori Tells the Story of a Young Person's Resilience in the Face of a Devastating Tsunami
Trying to honestly explore serious topics with young readers can be a challenge, so it is no surprise the Jennifer Maruno leans on her experience as a teacher to broach certain subjects with the respect ...
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August 17, 2022Read an Excerpt from Grace Vanderzande's Story of Life and Love as an Ontario Farmer
Grace Vanderzande didn't set out to be a farmer or a writer, but falling in love led her to become both. When she met her husband and he shared his dream of owning and farming land in eastern Ontario, ...
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October 30, 2020Erin Ruddy on Setting a Dark & Mysterious Thriller in the Bliss of Cottage Country
Cottage country — just the phrase conjures up enviably peaceful images of long sunny days and warm nights, a quaint retreat. But in Erin Ruddy's Tell Me My Name (Dundurn Press), a rustic cottage ...
