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October 27, 2021
The 2021 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Finalists Each Share Their Favourite Part of the Writing Process
It's book prize season in Canada and for fiction lovers, one of the most exciting prizes has just gotten a fresh reboot. The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize has gotten a new lease on its venerable ...
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November 14, 2017
Onwards, to poetic noir
This evening we move from noir horror to poetic noir and we are chatting with tremendously talented Catherine Graham. Catherine is Winner of IFOA’s Poetry NOW, the author of six poetry collections ...
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February 08, 2016
Kid Lit Can, with Susan Hughes: Sex, and Drugs, and Rock and Roll: Writing Edgy YA (Part 1)
Drugs, gambling, sexual harassment, suicide, sexual abuse, physical abuse, cutting, death, sex, drugs, body image issues, bullying, STDs, abduction...between them, YA authors C.K. Kelly Martin, Don Aker ...
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November 17, 2021
Shane Goth on Exploring the Excitement of "Little Things That Adults Overlook" in His Enchanting Debut Picture Book
There's something magic about being awake when everyone else is asleep. Sisters Milly and Becca know that to be true when they form The Midnight Club, which meets, of course, at the stroke of midnight ...
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March 04, 2018
Oh, the horror!
Here's some self-gossip for you: A few years ago, in the months leading up to the release date of my book, I was pleased to take part in Naked Heart, Toronto’s LGBTQ literary festival, and to read as ...
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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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July 07, 2023
"Reality is Messier...It’s Vital that Books Reflect That" Kate Blair on Crafting Honest Young Adult Literature
It's often been said that every good story opens in the same way: when something changes. And one of the most enduring and universal story structures is that of "a stranger arrived".Kate Blair puts her ...
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October 19, 2022
Sid Sharp's Graphic Novel The Wolf Suit is a Gloriously Dark Modern Fairytale about Deceptive Appearances & Community Connection
We've all heard the term "wolf in sheep's clothing", but what about the opposite? Award winning Toronto artist and writer Sid Sharp's funny, deliciously dark, and gently thoughtful graphic novel The ...
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June 21, 2021
Playwright Makambe K Simamba on Fearlessly Exploring "How Far Characters are Willing to Go in Order to Live Their Truths"
CW: discussion of anti-Black violenceIt's a gutting image: a seventeen-year old Black boy, a child in a hoodie, dead far too soon because of hateful and unchecked anti-Black racism. Makambe K Simamba's Our ...
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March 22, 2023
"Raw and Real and Blunt" Hannah Green on Getting Sober & Her Semi-Autobiographical Long Poem, Xanax Cowboy
The long poem that is Hannah Green's electric Xanax Cowboy (forthcoming from House of Anansi Press in April) is like nothing most poetry readers have encountered. When an early version of the poem was ...