Ontario book news, interviews and more

Contest! Enter to Win Sinister Stories from Porcupine's Quill

If you're feeling sinister (shout out to our readers who are Belle & Sebastian fans), have we got the contest for you! The good people at Porcupine's Quill are greeting our long-awaited spring by ...

Moving On and Holding On: Writing Picture Books as Therapy

Is it just me or is closure overrated and nearly impossible to achieve? It sometimes feels like the more you try to shut out painful experiences, the more they wave their hands around and yell, “Look ...

Getting to Know Coconut Dreams Author Derek Mascarenhas: Bloody Noses, Scars & Cozy Sweaters

Aiden and Ally Pinto, the brother and sister duo of the Pinto family, are at the heart of Derek Mascarenhas' linked story collection Coconut Dreams (Book*hug). Moving from Goa, India to suburban Canada, ...

Facing the Double-Headed Dragon: Perfectionism and Fear

Guys. My last few weeks have been bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed, so I hope you will all bear with me this month. There may be some punctuation errors here and there. Even a typo ...

"Perspective is Everything!" Fran L. Porter on Crafting Characters, Writing Effective Dialogue & More

Fran L. Porter's second book and first novel, The Wrong Brother (Crossfield Publishing), tells the story of Marigold Iona Anderson, who comes under the charismatic sway of neurologist Dr. Damien Sparks. ...

On Perfectionism: Stop it Right Now Thank You Very Much*

“Once you have realized what you need to improve in your piece—either from a writing partner's helpful responses or your own insights—you're ready to begin revising, a process you would be well ...

May 2019 writer-in-residence Alisha Sevigny on Conservation, Editing, & Dancing Her Heart Out

Even though winter seems to be stubbornly holding on, we're excited to get in a summer frame of mind with our May 2019 writer-in-residence, Alisha Sevigny, author of the irresistible young adult novel, Summer ...

Writers' Trust Announces Shortlist for $10,000 RBC Bronwen Wallace Award

Today the Writers' Trust of Canada announced the three finalists for their award dedicated to celebrating emerging writers, The RBC Bronwen Wallace Award. The prize alternates each year between short ...

Lisa de Nikolits Pulls Back on the Curtain on the Writing Life with "Writer for a Year"

We know what a writer's life looks like in the movies: either endless parties and adoration, jet setting and publicity - or gritty whiskey-swilling and existential angst. But how about a more realistic ...

The Fireflies of Poetry

“At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat: the sound of cycles in sync.” (Steven Strogatz, Sync: How Order Emerges From Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life, 2015)What might ...