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Tuesday, or Was It Wednesday?—by Joshua Levy
One Tuesday—or was it Wednesday? —I visited my parents. Written anything lately? asked my dad, during supper. I had. I fetched my laptop from my car and read a short story about my brother’s recent engagement to them while we ate. When I was done, my dad said it was very witty, great use of… Continue reading
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Why I Loved Editing a Small Canadian Online Magazine, and Why I’m Leaving—by Laurence Miall
Before I ever joined a magazine, or published a novel, for that matter, here’s how I imagined people who had responsibility over publishing texts. They were working in fancy university offices or in stylishly decorated apartments in artsier parts of town than my own, smoking cigarettes and drinking wine, sporadically casting a disdainful eye toward… Continue reading
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A Book Fair to Emulate by Connie Guzzo McParland
Più libri più liberi: more books, more freedom. Unlike Frankfurt, London, or Torino, Rome’s book fair has been designed for small- and medium-sized publishers. Big fairs like Frankfurt can be overwhelming for a small publisher. You do meet a lot more people there, but by the end of it, it’s all a haze. As the… Continue reading
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Empathy by the Book: How Fiction Affects Behavior by Susan Pinker
When I want to escape I pick up a good novel. But does this habit provide more than a quick getaway? We’ve long known about the collateral benefits of habitual reading—a richer vocabulary, for example. But that’s only part of the picture. Mounting evidence over the past decade suggests that the mental calisthenics required to… Continue reading
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‘Been good, time to be bad’ by Richard Andrews
Divorce, surviving a mass shooting, discovery of cancer at 24, and a walk on the wild side in California. Students enrolled in my Magazine Writing course often want to learn more than catchy leads, pitching stories, dealing with grumpy editors, and the Inverted Pyramid. They’re turning to writing as a form of therapy, closure, or a way… Continue reading
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Death is Why I Write by Kate Henderson
When my grandfather died, it was as if his thoughts were transferred to me. All those years he said I had itchy feet, I’d thought he was criticizing the fact that I changed jobs every year or suggesting I’d had too many boyfriends. But no, he just wanted to see me settle down while he… Continue reading
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Ghostwriter by Peter McFarlane
Working as a ghostwriter is not something you plan for; it is something you stumble into. In my case, it began when an old friend, a political activist who had long spoken about wanting my help in putting a book together, called to say he had found a private source of funding for it. Was… Continue reading
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Monique Polak Reflects Back on Being the Inaugural CBC/QWF Writer in Residence
Deadline to apply for the 2017 position is Thursday, October 13 I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a rough spot or running out of steam, looking back at a joyful moment helps. For me, one of those moments happened last November, when I learned I’d been selected to be the CBC/QWF’s first… Continue reading
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Don’t Blink by Marianne Ackerman
Choosing a book title and cover is a lot like naming a baby. Quite a few people tend to weigh in, so the process can be a serious source of anxiety. Yet somehow, once you settle, the choice seems obvious. In the case of my new short story collection, Mankind and Other Stories of Women,… Continue reading
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Literary Influences: E. L. Doctorow’s Lives of the Poets by John Goldbach
The first time I read E. L. Doctorow’s wonderful Lives of the Poets: A Novella and Six Stories (1984) was in early 2001, after picking up a used hardcover copy at City Lights Bookshop in London, Ontario, at 356 Richmond St. Not City Lights Bookstore, the famed bookstore in San Francisco, California, at 261 Columbus… Continue reading