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October 17, 2020Fertile ground
Sometimes story ideas seem to come from out of the blue.“I don't know myself where the ideas really come from, what makes them come, or whether one day they'll stop. I used to tell people the not very ...
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October 16, 2020Poets Becoming Novelists: On Trusting Leaps and Fragments
I finished the first draft of my novel in mid-March – in the first week of isolation. I hadn’t grasped the gravity of the pandemic then, so I was grateful for the sudden reprieve from the real world. ...
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October 15, 2020Activist Jamal Saeed's Astonishing Story of a Young Girl Coming of Age in the Arab Spring is Essential Reading
Yara's childhood has been a complicated one: growing up in Aleppo, Syria, as a revolution brewed meant a tense and unpredictable existence. And when the Arab Spring unfurls, it means violence on a scale ...
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October 14, 2020Colleen Nelson on Bringing Playfulness to Picture Books, Her Favourite Canadian Kids' Books, & More
Whether you're a parent or just remembering your own school days, everyone can relate to the jangling nerves that come with starting a new school or new stage as a student. In Colleen Nelson's loveable ...
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October 14, 2020Natasha Ramoutar: On Full Circles and First Books
Less than a month ago, Natasha Ramoutar published Bittersweet, her first book of poems, with Mawenzi House. Less than a month ago, I celebrated the ten year publishing anniversary of my first book, Bleeding ...
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October 13, 2020Cookin' the books
“It ain’t whatcha write, it’s the way atcha write it.” – Jack KerouacThe desire to write had followed me from my teen years. And many decades later I could ignore it no longer; I had stories ...
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October 08, 2020On Querying into an Apocalypse
"I feel so cooped up in my house with this smoke and the moths that keep flying by my window. Is a weekend really a weekend in 2020 if it doesn't include plague, pestilence, and Hell fire?" - @a_h_reaumeI ...
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October 08, 2020Kate Camp on Inspiration, the Beauty of the Ordinary, and Falling Asleep to Robert Frost
One of New Zealand's most treasured poets, Kate Camp's six decorated collections have won her every major domestic literary award and made her a household name in her home country.Now, her seventh collection, ...
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October 08, 2020I cannot not write
“If you wait for inspiration to write you’re not a writer, you’re a waiter.” — Dan PoynterI have this morning routine that involves the perfect cup of coffee, the right music, and showing up ...
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October 07, 2020Eamon McGrath on Exploring the Pressure Cooker of Life in a Touring Band
While there's nothing quite like seeing your favourite band play live, the reality of life on the road for musicians can be complicated, stressful, and sometimes surreal. No one knows that better than ...