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October 22, 2018
Uncomfortable Questions
One of the most common questions any writer from a marginalized background gets is “who did you write this for?” A variation of that is “what audience did you have in mind when you wrote this?” ...
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October 04, 2024Undaunted Ursula Franklin Honours and Celebrates a Truly Remarkable Scholar, Scientist, and Activist
“Peace is not the absence of war, peace is the absence of fear.” The above quote comes from Ursula Franklin, the titular character in a new book for young people that explores the life of this fascinating, ...
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January 14, 2017Valentine's Shadow
The terrible weight of Valentine's Day is exactly one month away. What better way to celebrate its inexorable gravity than to discuss one of those topics rarely discussed in relation to the writing ...
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April 18, 2023Vancouver's Will Richter Wins CBC Short Story Prize for His Gripping Tale of Literary Festival Violence
This morning, CBC Books and the Canada Council for the Arts announced that Vancouver's Will Richter has won the 2023 CBC Short Story Prize. His story "Just a Howl" captured the prestigious $6,000 prize, ...
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July 02, 2025Veena Gokhale Weaves Indian Food Legends into Vibrant Short Stories in Annapurna's Bounty
Storytelling runs through everything that culture carries, from literature to performance arts to traditional ways of making food. So it's certain that Veena Gokhale"s new collection of short fiction ...
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March 25, 2023Was It Worth It?
Was it worth it? I get asked this a lot.I think they are asking if putting in all the time, effort and emotional labour to write a vulnerable and raw memoir about trauma, is worth it. Like, if I say yes, ...
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October 31, 2018
We've always been here
My time here is drawing to a close and I’d like to express great thanks to the Open Book team for inviting me to this space for the past month. It’s been a real pleasure and an immense honour to have ...
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February 01, 2016
Well, hi.
Well, hi. How’s it going? What you up to? Are you having a good evening?I’m talking to you from Open Book: Toronto as the Writer-In-Residence for the month of February. I’ll be taking you through ...
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April 25, 2019What Agents Are Looking For: Interview with Marilyn Biderman
One afternoon, when I was feeling particularly angsty, I tweeted out to my followers, “How do BIPOC writers get agents?” I received some encouraging responses, as well as some that had me questioning ...
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November 29, 2019What Does Work/Life Balance Look Like for Writers?
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”This is a question children are often asked with a bemused smile by teachers, family, or friends. They expect that you’ll reply with some fantastical thing: ...