Ontario book news, interviews and more

Guest Column: What exactly is a ‘rights sale’?

Have you ever wondered how books rights are sold, and what kinds of rights are in play when a book is published? Many published authors are still mystified by some of these aspects of publishing, so we've ...

Keep It Short: Frances Boyle on Rewrites, Taking Chances, and the Authors That Inspired Her

A haunted mother is terrorized by spectral visions of twins. A young academic reminisces on the past, and a long-lost film, as she watches her apartment building burn. A carefree woman tears through Toronto ...

Poets in Profile: Beatriz Hausner Talks Rimbaud, Growing Up with Poetry, and Canada's Need for International Literature

Toronto-based poet Beatriz Hausner's forthcoming new collection, Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (available April 16 through Book*hug) is an examination of humanity's long-standing love affair with, ...

Ben McNally Books Announces Temporary Closure Due to COVID-19

Amid safety and health concerns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, Toronto's beloved Ben McNally Books will be temporarily closing its doors to the public. McNally's son, Rupert, had been the store's ...

On Emergency Landings

A few years ago, I boarded a crowded plane to Asia. As I reached my aisle seat, I was dismayed to notice that the guy next to me had his arm all over our shared armrest, spilling over to my side. He was ...

Making Time: Blueprinting, or How Durga Chew-Bose Showed Me the Kinship Between Music and Writing

On the first day of social distancing due to COVID-19, I woke up with my synthesizer beside me. I sat up in bed and stabbed some keys for an hour, fed it into my laptop, put it all aside, and returned ...

Writes as Readers: Sherry J. Lee On Her Favourite Books

Sophie, the young protagonist of author Sherry J. Lee's debut picture book, Going Up! (Kids Can Press), lives in a tall apartment building in the city. On the day of her friend Olive's birthday party, ...

Dirty Dozen: Jane Munro Talks Teenage Jobs, Her First Poem, and the Joys of the Upside-Down

Griffin Prize-winning poet Jane Munro's newest collection, Glass Float (Brick Books), is a study of boundaries and connections. The limit of the horizon, of a land-bound glass float, is used to illustrate ...

Griffin Poetry Prize Planning Online Announcement of Shortlist and Winners

The Griffin Trust for Excellence in Poetry has announced that they will be shelving this year's Griffin Poetry Prize shortlist readings and awards ceremony due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19. The events, ...

On Road Maps

Before beginning a project, is it worthwhile to do a detailed outline? Or is it preferable just to dive in? I’ve tried both approaches. In writing my first novel, After the Bloom, I outlined extensively. ...