Ontario book news, interviews and more

"The Pull of Words Had Become Urgent" Read an Excerpt from Music, Late and Soon, Robyn Sarah's Memoir of Her Two Artistic Passions

An out-of-the-blue phone call changed the artistic landscape of Robyn Sarah's life. A decorated poet with 11 collections released over more than four decades, Sarah is an integral part of the poetry ...

"There is Power in Sharing Ideas" Bree Galbraith's Hold That Thought Encourages Kids to Let Their Ideas Shine

In the middle of the night, Finn feels something strange and exciting. Something forming slowly, getting sharper and clearer each moment: it's an idea. And the idea fills Finn with a thrilling kind of ...

Cherie Dimaline's The Marrow Thieves Hits Another Massive Milestone

To say that Cherie Dimaline's debut young adult novel, The Marrow Thieves (Dancing Cat), was a smash success upon its publication in 2017 is an understatement: the beloved novel swept awards in Canada ...

ECW Creates New Speculative Novel Contest, with a Book Contract for the Winner

Speculative fiction writers, take note: ECW Press is doing something unique and interesting in the form of a new contest, called the ECW Press Best New Speculative Novel Contest, and the prize is a biggie: ...

Words in Isolation

For many reasons, I felt conflicted about writing another pandemic piece. After the events of the last year, our everyday lives have been complete coloured by our experiences living in a pandemic. Despite ...

Read an Excerpt from Debut Novelist Pamela Korgemagi's The Hunter and the Old Woman, Featuring a Literal Cougar as Its Protagonist

Pamela Korgemagi's debut novel The Hunter and the Old Woman (House of Anansi Press) features a protagonist unlike almost any other. The titular Old Woman is not a woman at all — she's a cougar, living ...

Guelph MFA Grads Simone Dalton and D.M. Bradford on Family, Loss, Writing, and Community (Part 2 of 2)

Last week we hosted the first half of an in-depth conversation between recent University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA alums Simone Dalton, an author and playwright, and D.M. Bradford, a poet and ...

KidLit Superstars Isol & Milan Pavlović Created a Video Where They Illustrate Together in Real Time

If you love picture books, and especially if you love drawing, this video, created by Groundwood Books with legendary children's writers/illustrators Isol and Milan Pavlović, will seem a bit like magic. Buenos ...

Guelph MFA Grads Simone Dalton and D.M. Bradford on Family, Loss, Writing, and Community (Part 1 of 2)

You've made it into one of the most competitive MFA programmes in the country. Now what? Recent University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA alums Simone Dalton, an author and playwright, and D.M. Bradford, ...

Caroline Adderson's Smart New Story Collection Views the Pandemic from the Perspective of Kids Stuck at Home

Caroline Adderson is one of a few writers who is able to move seamlessly between writing acclaimed books for adults and writing beloved books for young readers, and her newest collection of short stories ...