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February 12, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 4 of 9
The creation of tension and suspense and mood shifts to me are just as important as creating characters and the plot themselves. Tension and suspense is what makes the story come alive. For the short ...
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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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February 09, 2021Read an Excerpt from Russell Banks' Stunning New Novel of Confession and Secrets, Foregone
Russell Banks is one of American letters' most treasured writers, exploring themes of violence, alienation, luck, and justice, often set against the backdrop of seemingly peaceful small towns in novels ...
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February 08, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 3 of 9
As I stated before, the writing process for me is an intuitive one. Some people are afraid or intimidated by the blank page, but I see all kinds of possibilities in it. I am a visual writer, so I have ...
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February 05, 2021
LOVE IN THE TIME OF COVID: The writing process Part 2 of 9
As an artist of colour, I am acutely aware of how underrepresented our work is in all areas of media. Many times, our work is not funded, ignored, or not reviewed but we forge ahead all the same. I once ...
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February 04, 2021Read an Excerpt from Parliamentary Poet Laureate Louise Bernice Halfe's Newly Re-Released, Iconic Collection Blue Marrow
Louise Bernice Halfe - Sky Dancer is an icon of Canadian poetry, so it was a celebratory moment when, earlier this week, she was announced as the ninth Parliamentary Poet Laureate, one of the country's ...
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February 04, 2021A.G. Pasquella Shows Readers the City's Dark Side in His Compulsively Readable Toronto Crime Novels
Toronto's dark side takes centre stage in A.G. Pasquella's Jack Palace series. Season of Smoke (Dundurn Press), the newest instalment in the series, sees Jack backed into a terrible corner when his past ...
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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 ...
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January 28, 2021Meet Our February 2021 Writer-in-Residence, Acclaimed Writer & Filmmaker Christene A. Browne
Christene A. Browne's powerful novel Philomena (Unloved) (Second Story Press), tells the story of the titular Philomena, from her life as a young girl on the Caribbean Island of Montserrat to her time ...
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January 27, 2021Read an Story from Sea Loves Me, Newly Translated Short Fiction from Booker Prize Nominated Writer Mia Couto
The praise for Mozambican writer Mia Couto's literary talent is so enthusiastic it's almost overwhelming to summarize. With outlets from the Wall Street Journal to Vanity Fair (not to mention the Booker ...
