Columnists

So You Want to Write About Race

Somehow I have become on expert on writing race.This was not something I planned for. When I started publishing, I was writing fiction about Chinese Canadian characters, about families who had been invisible ...

An Interview with Canisia Lubrin

“I think memory, or more specifically, history, plays a role in how we understand ourselves." - Canisia Lubrin. The encyclopedic poetry of Canisia Lubrin simultaneously works on intellectual and cerebral ...

Talking to Picture Book Creators - Part One

Admit it: Don’t you just wish you were me sometimes?Because when I recently came across four super picture books—A Bedtime Yarn by Nicola Winstanley, The Walking Bathroom by Shauntay Grant, Federica ...

On Being an Ill Writer

Every day for a few years now, I’ve had to navigate my fatigue. Sometimes it’s only subtle, tugging at my consciousness as a toddler might. Sometimes it’s pervasive and insistent: clouding my thoughts, ...

In conversation with Margie Wolfe, publisher of Second Story Press

For almost 30 years, Second Story Press has been at the forefront of publishing books that champion feminism, social justice, and diversity. Orchestrating these efforts is publisher Margie Wolfe, who ...

An Interview With Phoebe Wang

“Like jarring a sore bone, you wince, and the poem gasps out of you...” - Phoebe Wang The geography of Phoebe Wang’s Admission Requirements feels like it’s always in a state of flux. The speaker ...

How My Version of the Canlit Community Sustains Me

Two months ago, one of my best friends was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia. She is a mother. She is a prolific, brilliant writer. And she was my very first writer friend.We first met working ...

Chatting With Editors Who Make It Happen - Part Two

Welcome back! In this, the second part of my autumn blog, I continue my chat with some of the amazing editors which help make it all happen in the publishing world of children’s books. So please say ...

On Pseudoscience, Wrestling, and Finding Storytelling in the Unconventional

When I was in university I had to take a science course to complete my undergraduate degree. I decided on “Science and Pseudoscience” – mostly because the title reminded me of the sort of conspiracy ...

Chatting With Editors Who Make It Happen - Part One

Welcome to autumn and the return of my Kid Can lit blog! Because to me, September is a time to look forward to new beginnings, especially new writing projects, I decided to chat with some of the amazing ...