Ontario book news, interviews and more

Daniel Scott Tysdal Examines the Darkness, Strangeness, & Flickering Hope of Life in the 21st Century in His Spectacular Debut Story Collection

Daniel Scott Tysdal is a beloved creative writing professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and a decorated poet. And of course, Tysdal is also an Open Book columnist and the subject of one ...

I am a celebrationist

I am a celebrationist.I celebrate big things and small things, all the things, really—kids getting their final molars, the anniversary of my fella and I meeting, the first day of summer (and fall and ...

Priti Birla Maheshwari on Her Debut Picture Book & Finding the Joy in Small Moments

With the holidays approaching, we're reminded how intrinsic the connections between food, culture, and family can be. The feelings evoked by the aroma and taste that comes with certain dishes are some ...

Writing + Joy = A Revelation

For years I believed I was only a writer if I wrote every day. I would wake up early and take my laptop to the coffee shop nearby and sit in the corner and write. Words and words and coffee and more ...

Poet Talya Rubin on Glacier Funerals, Sacred Family Books, and "How Deeply a Poem Will Land Inside You"

How does our human connection to the natural world change in a time of climate crisis? In Australia-based poet Talya Rubin's urgent (and spectacularly titled) new collection, Iceland is Melting and ...

"Maximum Curiosity and Maximum Respect" Susan Glickman's Collected Essays are a Hymn to Thoughtful Literary Criticism

For those who worry that thoughtful, long-form literary criticism is becoming a thing of the past, Susan Glickman's Artful Flight (forthcoming from the Porcupine's Quill; available for pre-order now) ...

Vancouver's Lisa Gaston Wins 2021 CBC Poetry Prize for Her Heartbreaking & Powerful Piece "James"

Good news comes in threes, as this morning we had a third literary prize announcement of the day, with CBC Books announcing that Lise Gaston of Vancouver has won the 2021 CBC Poetry Prize for her poem, ...

The Munk School's Dan Breznitz Captures First Ever, $60,000 Balsillie Prize for Public Policy

We've got more literary prize news for you as this morning The Writers’ Trust of Canada today announced the winner for the inaugural Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.The brand new $60,000 literary ...

2021 Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature Winners Announced, Including KidLit Icon Gordon Korman

Last night during a virtual event, The Koffler Centre of the Arts announced the four winners of the 2021 Vine Awards for Canadian Jewish Literature. The unique set of awards celebrates not only Jewish ...

Book Therapy: Good Burdens

“You may feel like you’re behind the rest of the world because you haven’t accomplished your to-do list or gotten to inbox zero or have your side hustle rocking like your neighbour next door. (Newsflash, ...