Keep it Short interviewTag
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February 22, 2023
Anuja Varghese on Transformation, Literary Anxieties, and Writing for "Women Who Don’t See Themselves in Most Stories"
When it comes to genre, Anuja Varghese refuses to be penned in. Her debut story collection, Chrysalis (House of Anansi Press) is a highwire feat, balancing the surreal with the realist, the fantastical ...
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August 31, 2022
"They are Warriors, They Bear Witness" September Writer in Residence Martha Bátiz on the Women Who Fill Her New Story Collection
The stories in Martha Bátiz's No Stars in the Sky (House of Anansi Press) are painfully, urgently timely, exploring the objectification and oppression women experience as their rights, bodies, and ...
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August 16, 2022
"What it Means to Be a Palestinian in Diaspora" Saeed Teebi on His Vivid & Wise Short Fiction Debut
Writer and lawyer Saeed Teebi's short story, "Her First Palestinian", an evocative, uncomfortable, brilliant gem of a character study, was shortlisted for the prestigious CBC Short Story Prize in 2021. ...
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July 21, 2022
Camels with Botox, Lizard Overlords, & Salinger as Inspiration: Rod Carley on His Hilarious & Fresh Story Collection, Grin Reaping
CanLit doesn't have a reputation for hilarity, but the third book from North Bay based writer Rod Carley, Grin Reaping (Latitude 46 Publishing), is more evidence that our supposedly serious rep needs ...
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May 25, 2022
"My Life Happened and Then the Stories Followed" Dayle Furlong on Writing Her Gritty, Gripping New Story Collection
The yearning hope and baffled rage of those characters who haven't been lucky in life is a palpable presence in Dayle Furlong's gritty new linked story collection, Lake Effect (Cormorant Books). With ...
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May 17, 2022
Alex Pugsley on How the Title Story of His Striking New Collection Went from Multiple Rejections to Award-Nominated
Journey Prize winner and filmmaker Alex Pugsley's debut novel, Aubrey McKee was hailed as whip-smart and funny, with comparisons drawn to the likes of Robertson Davies, John Irving, and J. D. Salinger. ...
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March 09, 2022
"Our Stories Will Still Be There" Kathy Friedman on Processing Complex Personal & Political History in Her Debut Short Story Collection
A life drawing model, a former political prisoner, a man unpacking his father's complex legacy—the fascinating characters in Kathy Friedman's debut short fiction collection, All the Shining People ...
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November 30, 2021
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 ...
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September 15, 2021
Aaron Schneider's Debut Story Collection Plays with Genre Constraints & Brings Readers Into the Experiment
Aaron Schneider's debut story collection What We Think We Know (Gordon Hill Press) asks readers to consider the genre through the lens of the title. What do we know about the short story? Schneider plays ...
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August 31, 2021
September 2021 Writer-in-Residence Angélique Lalonde Explores "Home" in Her Dazzling Debut Story Collection
Journey Prize winner Angélique Lalonde's short fiction has been praised as evoking the feeling of a "contemporary classic". Her stories, with their humour, wisdom, and insight, showcase a writer who ...