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August 25, 2021Read an Excerpt from Mark Frutkin's The Artist and the Assassin, A Retelling of Revolutionary Artist Caravaggio's Life and Death
Italian artist Caravaggio revolutionized painting in the 17th century with his dramatic use of light and shadow (a technique known as chiaroscuro). During his life though, his tumultuous personal affairs ...
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October 21, 2015Festival like a Pro at Toronto’s Great Big Literary Party
It’s October, the month when pumpkin fills our bellies, ghouls parade our streets and writers from around the globe flock like moths to the literary-festival flame. In Toronto (and many Ontario locations ...
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April 13, 2021"I Had Internalized the Belief That the Stories I Could Tell Had No Audience" FOLD Guest Authors on Progress & Process
If you haven't already marked May 1-15 on your calendar, now's the time. The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD), the brainchild of author Jael Richardson, is now in its sixth year and returns again ...
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November 29, 2016
Stone Woman: In conversation with Frances Gage, sculptor of "Woman"
By Bianca Lakoseljac: OB Writer in Residence My novel, Stone Woman, was inspired by two major Toronto artistic achievements: Frances Gage’s sculpture “Woman,” a white Carrera marble piece ...
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March 23, 2014Cormac Mccarthy: "the Ugly Fact Is Books Are Made out of Books"
Before the publication and Oprahfication of The Road, and the Oscar success of No Country For Old Men, Cormac McCarthy was a critically-loved but relatively obscure novelist, unknown outside hardcore ...
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March 27, 2023"I Was Genuinely in Love with This Little Creation" The 2023 Canada Reads Panellists on Strategy, Book Love, & Celebration Trees
Today is the day – this morning, the 2023 edition of CBC's book debate bonanza, Canada Reads kicked off. We'll be covering the debates at tomorrow's halfway point and after the winner is crowned at ...
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May 04, 2023Emily Osborne on Weaving Together Translations of Old Norse Skaldic Poetry with Personal Lyrics in Her Bold Debut
Sometimes in discussing poetry, there is an idea that a collection must swing towards either the personal and emotive, creating powerful connections with readers in that vein, or towards a more form-focused ...
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August 31, 2024Jennifer Maruno Sends a Young Witch and Her Rodent Sidekick on an Adventure in Broom for Two
Prolific children's author Jennifer Maruno may be familiar to readers of Open Book. In fact, as recently as last week, another title written by Maruno was featured on the site.This time we're sharing ...
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February 12, 2025Tea Gerbeza Challenges Ableist Perceptions of Normalcy in How I Bend Into More
Among the many complex themes in Tea Gerbeza's work, reclaiming disabled identity, disability justice, and disabled and queer joy are just a sampling. These concerns and more find their way onto the ...
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October 30, 2019Prize Season
Earlier this summer, I had the chance to do some writing at the Banff Centre. It was a wonderful experience. I wrote, I slept, I went for long walks through the mountains. I ate too many pieces of cake ...