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October 13, 2022"Suddenly All the Stories in My Head Made Sense" Heather Camlot on the Books that Guide Her Life and Her Writing
What would you risk to go to school? In Secret Schools: True Stories of the Determination to Learn (Owlkids, illustrated by Erin Taniguchi), Heather Camlot shares the amazing, and at times astonishing, ...
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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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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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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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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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February 09, 2026Joanne Robertson and Shirley (Fletcher) Horn Tell the Crucial Story of a Young Girl's Resilience and Survival
At five years old, Shirley is taken from her family and sent to a residential school, a strange place that she does not understand. The long walk up the school’s stone steps marks the beginning of a ...
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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 ...
