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September 30, 2021
"Stories Find Those Who Believe in Them" Welcoming Our October Writer-in-Residence, Acclaimed Novelist Yejide Kilanko
Yejide Kilanko's new novel A Good Name (Guernica Editions) tells the complex story of a tumultuous marriage. Frustrated after twelve unfulfilling years in America, Eziafa returns home to Nigeria to ...
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November 23, 2021
Book Therapy: Good Burdens
“You may feel like you’re behind the rest of the world because you haven’t accomplished your to-do list or gotten to inbox zero or have your side hustle rocking like your neighbour next door. (Newsflash, ...
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December 20, 2021
Book Therapy: Favourites from my favourites
Every year, in the back of my agenda, I keep a simple running list of the books I’ve read. More than anything, it’s a handy way to remember what exactly I consumed and when, but it also offers a useful ...
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August 11, 2022
"Never Patronize or Hide Things" Nancy Vo Shares Her Philosophy of Writing for Kids & Her New Picture Book, Boobies
Why are we still so uptight about boobs? Long after Canadian women won the right by precedent (if not technically by law) to be topless in public anywhere men can be, we've still got debates raging about ...
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October 25, 2022
Guest Essay: A.G. Pasquella on Slipstream, New Weird, and the Wonderfully Strange History of "Weird Fiction"
A.G. Pasquella knows weird. He can do straight-laced and tightly plotted fiction, like his celebrated Jack Palace noir series, but he's equally known for his experimental, offbeat, and wonderfully wacky ...
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April 20, 2023
"Conflict is the Engine that Drives Fiction" Leanne Lieberman on the Magic of Writing for Teens
When her dad hits rock bottom—again—Jess finds herself determined to change her stars and avoid going down the same dark path. She takes a job cleaning a beautiful country house, where part of her ...
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August 18, 2023
Picture Book Trends
Picture books, like all art forms, are subject to trends and shifts in theme, style and format. I don’t necessarily recommend writing to trend, but it’s always good to be familiar with what’s working ...
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September 14, 2023
The Pull of Two Needles
My first version of this essay was about how my two obsessions, knitting and writing, don’t compete with each other. I wrote at length about how they spin together in my brain in complicated steps, ...
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November 30, 2023
7 Ways to Develop Secondary Characters
Many authors do a good job at developing their protagonist or POV characters. After all, readers will be in these characters’ heads throughout an entire book. But as many readers can attest to, sometimes ...
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August 12, 2024
Rajinderpal S. Pal Explores Family Secrets, Painful Compromises, and the Promises We Break in However Far Away
Already a critically acclaimed stage performer and poet, Rajinderpal S. Pal has distilled a secret love affair, cultural complexities, and family drama into his new novel. It's a stunning debut by the ...