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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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August 02, 2022"The Best Part is Having Someone By Your Side" KidLit Dream Team Fanny Britt and Isabelle Arsenault on Life as Co-Creators
The powerhouse team of writer Fanny Britt and illustrator Isabelle Arsenault, highly decorated for their work both together and individually, is the kind of thing literary dreams are made of. Their newest ...
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September 25, 2019"Intimacy Was a Lost Country" Billy-Ray Belcourt on His Origin Story & Reading Like His Life Depends on It
In 2017, Billy-Ray Belcourt took the poetry world by storm with his debut collection, This World is a Wound. It went on to win the 2018 Griffin Prize (amongst many other honours), making Belcourt the ...
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September 01, 2016Hello 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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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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November 04, 2021"Who Were We, and Why Did We Live?" Diane Schoemperlen on Editing the 50th Edition of Best Canadian Stories
Diane Schoemperlen knows a thing or two about short fiction. The acclaimed Kingston-based author, who has been honoured with prizes including the prestigious Engel Findley and Matt Cohen Awards from the ...
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January 31, 2019A 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 23, 2016For All the Men...A Playlist
Hi Open Book Readers,Music has always been a huge part of my writing process.It helps me tremendously when it comes to entering the mind of a character, or an experience, and staying there for as long ...
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June 29, 2023Read 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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January 10, 2019Daylighting Chedoke Author John Terpstra on Scattering Seeds for a Great Title
Hamilton is well known for its natural beauty, from waterfalls to parks. However, one natural feature in the city is more hidden than the rest: Chedoke Creek runs through Hamilton but is mostly covered ...