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July 04, 2019"For Me, Voice is Everything" Talking with Michael Libling About Writing, Advice, & His Debut Novel, Hollywood North
Michael Libling's Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels (Chizine Publications) mines the rich - and largely unknown - history of a surprising Canadian film hotspot: Trenton, Ontario.Dark, smart, and ...
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July 13, 2017formal Cree, slangy Cree
nêhiyawêwin (Cree language) has a long history of being a written language. If we think of “written" in the widest sense possible, then the rock paintings along the mamâhtâwi-sîpiy (Churchill River) ...
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October 24, 2017Getting to Know Fantasy Author S.M. Beiko: Cancelling Plans, Smashing the Patriarchy, & Keeping it Weird
Creating an entire mythology from scratch is no small feat. But S.M. Beiko pulls it off with style in her epic fantasy novel Scion of the Fox (ECW Press), the first of a planned trilogy. Set in Winnipeg, ...
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March 27, 2018CBC Canada Reads the Halfway Mark: And Then There Were Three
(If you aren't caught up on CBC Canada Reads, this post contains up to date information on the competition, aka spoilers!)Today marked the halfway point for CBC Canada Reads 2018. In a tie-breaking upset, ...
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October 30, 2018SK Dyment on Crafting Characters in Steel Animals, a Smart, Hilarious New Book of Queer Magic Realism
Jackie is a quiet loner who happens to secretly be a badass bank robber. Vespa is a artist who rides motorbikes and obsessively plans her revenge on an ex-partner. Together, they find love and a heap ...
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June 14, 2018Father's Day at Open Book: Six Unforgettable Fathers in Literature
Just as in real life, there are no two dads exactly alike in literature. From the terrifying to the brave, the disinterested to the inspiring, father characters have been some of the most interesting ...
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July 09, 2020
On Kendrick Lamar's good kid, m.A.A.d city
Music has always been part of my DNA. I consumed it with the same intensity as I did literature, and at no less voracious a rate. Large swaths of my adolescence were spent lying on the floor, eyes closed ...
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May 07, 2021
Kids' Books - More than just learning to read
In my previous life as a pediatric occupational therapist, I’ll guarantee I was never asked, ‘Do you think you’ll ever work with real patients?’ But as a children’s author, I’m equally sure ...
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June 09, 2023Affirmations for Writers
Pursuing a career as a writer can be hard on your self-esteem. It requires incredible stamina, faith, and unbelievable amounts of patience. Here are some things I like to remind myself of when the urge ...
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February 28, 2019Poetry School: Dana Gioia on the matter of poetry
Twenty-eight years ago US poet Dana Gioia’s essay “Can Poetry Matter?” was published in the Atlantic, sparking “a firestorm of debate and discussion” over the role of the poet in contemporary ...