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May 31, 2021June 2021 Writer-in-Residence & Star Debut Novelist Samantha Garner on Skydiving, Kirtles, & Her Spy Passport
In a world where the gift of prophecy can turn you into a second class citizen, Freya loses everything when she has a dream foretelling her mother's death. Not only does she lose her mother when the premonition ...
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May 30, 2021
Poetry: A Healing Tool for Dark Days
I started this month with mental health for writers, and I want to end it with a more personal look at the same topic.One of the many reasons I’ve been grateful to Open Book for offering me this residency ...
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May 28, 2021Michelle Good Wins Amazon Canada First Novel Award for Her Multi-Award Nominated Debut, Five Little Indians
Michelle Good's Five Little Indians (HarperCollins Canada) was undoubtedly one of the biggest books of 2020, snagging nominations for two of the largest fiction awards in the country: the Scotiabank ...
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May 28, 2021Jack Wang Awarded Writers' Union Danuta Gleed Literary Award for His Stunning Story Collection We Two Alone
Jack Wang's debut story collection We Two Alone (House of Anansi Press) made waves as soon as it was published, with Wang widely praised for his authentic, gripping, and finely rendered depictions of ...
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May 28, 2021The Writing Moment with... Word Service
“A waste of skin.”That’s what I am. At least according to the Starbucks customer who hurled this insult (and others) at me, when I informed her we were out of honey.According to various customers ...
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May 26, 2021"Mysteries and Tensions and Splinters of Awe" Poet Michael Lithgow on Craft, Inspiration, & Great Reads
Behind the facade of comfort or beauty lurk questions and uncertainties — the things we're not only unsure if we know, but if we want to know. Such is the tension of Michael Lithgow's haunting second ...
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May 25, 2021"I Felt Like I Had Found a Place" Poet Vanessa Shields on the High Highs and Low Lows of a Life Spent Writing & Publishing
Every family story contains at least one unforgettable character. A person who inspires those who come after with his or her strength, struggles, and legacy. For poet Vanessa Shields, it was her grandmother, ...
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May 25, 2021
The Many Faces of Writer's Block
Despite the fact that I don’t really believe in it, the words Writers’ Block always conjure up a dark, amorphous cloud in my mind. Which is ironic, because the part I don’t believe is that there’s ...
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May 20, 2021Read an Excerpt from Philippa Dowding's Firefly, the Story of a Young Girl Finding Herself through Costumes After Family Trauma
Philippa Dowding has a special knack for exploring tough issues in her kids' books without sacrificing storytelling and imagination. She meets kids and teens where they are to tell fascinating and often ...
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May 20, 2021
Toilets and the Research Iceberg : Bringing History to Life
The best and worst part of writing historical fiction is research. The best and worst part of research is that chasing every bright and shiny object – oops, I mean fact – can be so addictive that ...