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ColumnsTag

  • A banner for the column “Embracing Tropes” by Manahil Bandukwala. The image shows an open book on a wooden table with various fantastical and historical objects floating above it, including a telescope, globe, quill, basketball, and ornate artifacts. The background has a dreamy, artistic atmosphere, and the Open Book logo appears in the bottom left corner.
    A banner for the column “Embracing Tropes” by Manahil Bandukwala. The image shows an open book on a wooden table with various fantastical and historical objects floating above it, including a telescope, globe, quill, basketball, and ornate artifacts. The background has a dreamy, artistic atmosphere, and the Open Book logo appears in the bottom left corner.
    November 26, 2025

    Embracing Tropes

    A lot of my summer reading list involved beachy romance novels like Leanne Toshiko Simpson’s Never Been Better and Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After, and, like many twenty-something women, (re)reading ...

  • Column banner titled “Writing Protagonists Who Don’t Care If You Like Them” by Samantha Garner, presented by Open Book. The top half features the title in large beige text on a brown background. The bottom half shows a grid of illustrated characters in black and beige, each expressing different emotions such as boredom, frustration, laughter, and surprise. The Open Book logo appears in a red circle at the center bottom.
    Column banner titled “Writing Protagonists Who Don’t Care If You Like Them” by Samantha Garner, presented by Open Book. The top half features the title in large beige text on a brown background. The bottom half shows a grid of illustrated characters in black and beige, each expressing different emotions such as boredom, frustration, laughter, and surprise. The Open Book logo appears in a red circle at the center bottom.
    October 20, 2025

    Writing Protagonists Who Don’t Care If You Like Them

    As writers, we want our readers to connect with our protagonists, to root for them and relate to them. It makes sense – human connection is at the heart of storytelling. If a reader just utterly hates ...

  • Writing a Cover Letter For Your Manuscript by Manahil Bandukwala banner. Background of creased manila paper, with dark blue header section at top of banner and text overlaid. Blue circular area to bottom left with Open Book logo overlaid. Author's name at bottom centre of banner with an illustrated image of a woman with long brown hair and glasses staring down intently as she writes on pages at her desk.
    Writing a Cover Letter For Your Manuscript by Manahil Bandukwala banner. Background of creased manila paper, with dark blue header section at top of banner and text overlaid. Blue circular area to bottom left with Open Book logo overlaid. Author's name at bottom centre of banner with an illustrated image of a woman with long brown hair and glasses staring down intently as she writes on pages at her desk.
    October 01, 2024

    Writing a Cover Letter for Your Poetry Manuscript

    In the world of Canadian publishing, poets rarely have agents. Poetry collections are often published through small presses, and these presses have open submission periods where anyone can submit a manuscript. In ...

  • December Gratitude: Check Out 5 of Our Favourite Columns from 2021
    December Gratitude: Check Out 5 of Our Favourite Columns from 2021
    December 13, 2021

    December Gratitude: Check Out 5 of Our Favourite Columns from 2021

    Today we're sharing the second instalment of December Gratitude, our round-up of some of our favourite postings from 2021. If you missed the first one, featuring some incredible 2021 writer-in-residence ...

  • Photo by Richard Riordan
    Photo by Richard Riordan
    June 27, 2019

    On Hanging Laundry

    I have an obsession with laundry hung on lines. The image literally stops me in my tracks. There’s so much thought put into the way the sleeves of shirts are pinned just close enough to the hem of a ...

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