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July 20, 2022To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme
Nothing is as divisive as rhyme in children’s picture books. When it works, it sings, but when it doesn’t, it can turn readers (and editors) right off. Many people have fond memories of their favourite ...
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February 07, 2017
Kid Lit Can: Spotlight on Middle Grade Fiction - Part 1
Happy 2017! This month and next, I’m spotlighting middle-grade (MG) novels -- stories written for readers who are generally within the 7 to 12-year-old age range. I’ve written one MG novel (Island ...
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April 06, 2017
Kid Lit Can: Personal "Firsts" In Kid Lit, Part One
My Time To series of three board books– Nap Time, Play Time, and Bath Time – are being published this September. This signifies two “firsts” for me – first board books ever, and first time ever ...
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March 28, 2018"I Like to Be Surrounded by Objects with a Past": Meet Our Poetry Month Writer-in-Residence, Emma Healey!
Emma Healey is without a doubt one of the most exciting young poets in Canada. Her first collection Begin With the End in Mind earned her a reputation as a brainy, frank, innovative writer with charm ...
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November 18, 2020"As If You Were a Bird, Too" Read an Excerpt from Nina Berkhout's Stunning Novel Why Birds Sing
In poet and novelist Nina Berkhout's Why Birds Sing (ECW Press), opera singer Dawn Woodward has had a pretty tough week. First she melted down completely on stage, her voice failing her and her career ...
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May 19, 2022Frances Koncan on How Playwrighting Gets Her "Closest to the Truth"
Frances Koncan's play, Women of the Fur Trade (Playwrights Canada Press) is the antidote to dull historical renditions of early Canada. Set in "eighteen hundred and something something", it follows three ...
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September 24, 2024Open Book has been down at Harbourfront this week to check out some fantastic OBPO-published writers at the 2024 Toronto International Festival of Authors
The Toronto International Festival of Authors is in full swing now, with the first few days of the fest already in the books. There have been some fascinating readings, discussions, and events throughout ...
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August 24, 2023Eugenie Fernandes on Breaking Down the Extrovert/Introvert Dichotomy in Her Lovable New Picture Book
In recent years, the idea of introverts (those who may enjoy social interactions but find them draining) and extroverts (those who gain energy from social interactions) has been everywhere, from online ...
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March 14, 2018
How to hold a launch.
There comes a time in a writer’s life when, if you are very lucky, you will be published (frequently but not always a book) and you may feel the need to draw attention to it with some kind of hoohah. ...
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June 16, 2016Q&A: Where Life, Art, Childhood, and Nadia Bozak Intersect
Always trust your editor, she reads your words, your inner thoughts – she knows you well. That’s why, when my editor handed me a copy of Nadia Bozak’s newest book, Thirteen Shells, (“I don’t ...