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July 28, 2015
"...My Reading Pile Inevitably Grows: Books to Read, and Books to Read Again"
Several years ago a talented and passionate writer friend said to me, when I complimented her work, “Yes, but I want to be Virginia Woolf.”I said that if she wanted to be Virginia Woolf, then she ...
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September 19, 2018Talk to Me
My little sunroom office at home (which is also our dining room) faces a fairly busy street, so when the weather’s good and our windows are open, bits and pieces of random conversations drift up to ...
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December 19, 2023Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu on Collecting 21 Answers to the Question "What is the Future of Blackness?"
In 21 Black Futures: The Anthology, Obsidian Theatre, Canada's leading theatre for Black art, imagines the future of Blackness. Gathering 21 of the country's most talented writers, the anthology collects ...
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July 11, 2018Being Prime Minister author J.D.M. Stewart Takes Us Behind the Scenes
With just 23 members, it may be the country's most exclusive club. Canadian Prime Ministers, seven of whom are still alive in addition to our current PM Justin Trudeau, have shaped the course not only ...
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September 13, 20172017 Journey Prize Shortlist Released: Bala, Kemick, and Naponse Tapped for Top Short Fiction Prize
The Writers’ Trust/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize has an almost uncanny track record of singling out emerging writers who will go on to become the heavy hitters of CanLit. This year, the three ...
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July 06, 2015
“…Writing Was a Nasty Habit or Addiction That I Would Have to Support.”
This quote, which comes at 2:35 of the attached interview with Guy Vanderhaeghe, sums up a pragmatic approach to the early years of a writing life, years that for many of us can stretch for decades, or ...
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July 01, 2015Keep Going
This is my last post as the writer-in-residence for this website. It’s been a lot of fun. I hope that you’ve enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I’ve enjoyed writing them.What remains to be said? ...
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April 10, 2014
Perfection
I’ve been running a writing workshop all winter and, once again, marveling at the courage that it takes to tackle the tricks and complexities of the English language. The writers are exposing themselves ...
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September 30, 2014Eppur Si Muove / And yet It Moves
Eppur si muove. And yet it moves. This is what Galileo supposedly said, speaking of the earth, upon being found guilty of heresy in 1633 for promoting the Copernican model of heliocentricity. In its move ...
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October 07, 2015
An Etiquette Expert Weighs in on How to Handle the Most Awkward Questions Authors Get
“So is being a writer what you really want to do some day?”This is a question that someone asked me when they found out I had just had a book published.“Well, I’m doing it now, actually,” I ...
