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November 22, 2018
Inspiration is Inconvenient
I’ve been talking about writing, publishing, YA, comics, and all of these other aspects of being involved in the writing world. Now I’m going to interrupt all of this to talk about inspiration. It’s ...
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May 24, 2023SJ Okemow on Her Heartwarming Debut Picture Book's Unconventional Path to Publication
The humble dandelion rarely gets much love, often cited as a nuisance weed that spreads easily and takes over. But the hardy little plant has many lessons to teach us, and in SJ Okemow's Âmî Osâwâpikones (Annick ...
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December 04, 2017Talking to Picture Book Creators - Part Two
Welcome back! I hope you enjoy part 2 of my Q and A with the creators of four super picture books—Nicola Winstanley, author of A Bedtime Yarn, Shauntay Grant, author of The Walking Bathroom, Scot ...
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May 16, 2025Scholar Cheryl Thompson Unpacks a Crucial Part of our National History in Canada and the Blackface Atlantic
While most Canadians tend to think that the legacy of racism and slavery that forms so much of United States history is separate from ours, there is a far deeper connection that is often ignored. From ...
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May 30, 2015
The Lucky Seven Interview, with Irina Kovalyova
Irina Kovalyova is an Ivy League-educated scientist, a debut author and, we are very excited to say, our June 2015 writer-in-residence at Open Book!Irina's collection of short stories, Specimen combines ...
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November 02, 2020If You've Ever Been in Love, Don't Miss This Excerpt from Charlene Elsby's Affect
Our most intense relationships are sometimes the ones that make the least sense from the outside. But what happens when you try to understand and explain of one of those irrational, intense connections ...
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September 28, 2017October writer-in-residence Canisia Lubrin on Poetry's Vast Possibility, Books She's Loved, and Not Getting Writer's Block
Poet Canisia Lubrin's much buzzed about debut Voodoo Hypothesis (Wolsak & Wynn) is a powerhouse of a collection. Lubrin is endlessly creative in pulling from science, pop culture, news stories, and ...
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September 06, 2017
Unsung Heroes of Literature: Interview with a Semicolon
On Semicolon’s suggestion, we agreed to meet at Future Bakery, a coffee house at the corner of Bloor and Brunswick in downtown Toronto. The location was surprisingly humble, a place where third-year ...
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November 12, 2018
For All Appearances...
If you’ve made it far enough in your writing career to have found a publisher or put in the time and effort to self-publish, then you may think the work is done. Yay! Your book is going to be out there ...
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August 17, 2022Read an Excerpt from Grace Vanderzande's Story of Life and Love as an Ontario Farmer
Grace Vanderzande didn't set out to be a farmer or a writer, but falling in love led her to become both. When she met her husband and he shared his dream of owning and farming land in eastern Ontario, ...