Columnists

Painting a Story: Danila Botha on Writing and Painting

Since I was a kid, I’ve always painted. I’ve painted through every age of my life, through every possible emotion. I’ve painted when I was ecstatic and needed to share the feeling, I’ve painted ...

You didn’t get a grant…now what?

It’s grant notice season, and while some writers will be happy dancing all over their kitchens (if you are one of them, this column is for you!), some of us, well, won’t be dancing in the kitchen. ...

I got a grant…now what?

It’s grant notification season which can mean one of two things: You didn’t get it (which, to be honest, is the norm!) or…you did!If you didn’t receive funding, be sure to come back tomorrow for ...

6 Social Media Tips for Authors

I get it. You’ve written, rewritten, and edited your book, and now you have to go out and promote it? Isn’t that someone else’s job? Marketing and publicity teams have all sorts of connections and ...

Book Therapy: Workday Warrior

“Your work likely presents you with one challenge after another. Your personal life, no doubt, does the same. All are sources of stress. And then there are other big-picture stressors—the pandemic, ...

5 Questions with an Established and Emerging Writer

Authors Chelene Knight and Sophie Jai explore novel writing, community, and social media in the respective stages of their differing careers.Chelene Knight is the author of Junie (2022), Dear Current ...

Writing Goals for 2023

I love the clean slate of a new year—the new, unsullied notebooks, the expanse of the year stretching out full of potential, and how everything feels possible. As I was thinking about what I wanted ...

Shake Up Your Writing Routine

January is full of messages about intention setting and challenges. Personally, I do not go in for unwieldy resolutions, but prefer to think of the new year as a good time to shift into something a little ...

Abdulrazak Gurnah and the Rupture of Beauty

As snow fell over Vancouver and Calgary, it was hard not to think about beauty. When we see something beautiful, why do we become still? Why do we feel so calmed? What exactly happens in that moment when ...

Book Therapy: Favourites From My Favourites

“It was the book I was always meant to read. It spoke directly to me, braiding so many currents of my own life—messy motherhood, literary research, poetry—into a rich river of language and rhythm ...