by Alison Jones

Short fiction roundup: The lowdown on fall’s story collections

The Running Trees Amber McMillan Goose Lane Editions, Sept. Amber McMillan calls the stories in her debut collection “conversations” and presents them in a variety of formats, from dramatic scenes to phone calls to the ... Read More »

November 10, 2021

Can short fiction prizes push a writer’s career forward?

By Alison Jones

Some winners of Canadian short-story contests have gone on to enjoy illustrious careers: Yann Martel won the Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize and 10 years later had a smash with Life of Pi. ... Read More »

November 3, 2021

The role of literary journals in building  a writer’s career

By Alison Jones

Since their first short story appeared in Prairie Fire in 1986, Vancouver writer Hamilton has published at least 60 short works of fiction, not to mention poetry and essays, in esteemed publications like Exile Quarterly, ... Read More »

November 3, 2021

Photos of 2021 Journey Prize judges David Chariandy, Esi Edugyan, and Canisia Lubrin

How the 2021 Journey Prize is encouraging  diversity in short fiction

By Alison Jones

The 33rd Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize won’t be announcing its finalists until 2022, but the prize has already made a reverberating impact on the industry. This year’s prize celebrates short stories published ... Read More »

October 27, 2021

Opinion: The demise of #OwnVoices

By Alison Jones

Come around the campfire and let me tell you the tragic tale of what befell #OwnVoices. In 2014, Asian-American authors Ellen Oh and Malinda Lo started the diversity campaign #WeNeedDiverseBooks. There were way too many ... Read More »

September 29, 2021

KidLit Special: Rap music can be a powerful literary experience

By Alison Jones

I always loved to read but never loved what I was reading. I probably never realized that as a little kid growing up on the Prairies, where my free time for enjoying books was more ... Read More »

September 22, 2021

An interior Illustration from Gord Hill's The 500 Years of Indigenous Resistance Comic Book

2021 Best of Fall guide: Nonfiction

By Alison Jones

NONFICTION Personal stories, rigorous investigations, gorgeous art, and audacious visions of a post-pandemic future “Indian” in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power Jody Wilson-Raybould HarperCollins, Oct. Wilson-Raybould, the first Indigenous justice minister and attorney general ... Read More »

August 25, 2021

The cover and an interior page of John Glenn, Mark Kingwell and cartoonist and book designer Seth's The Adventurers Glossary

Joshua Glenn’s language obsession goes  on an adventure

By Alison Jones

For Joshua Glenn, reteaming with Mark Kingwell and Seth on The Adventurer’s Glossary (McGill-Queen’s University Press) meant another chance to bond over a shared love of jargon and slang. Their day jobs make them an ... Read More »

August 11, 2021

A biography of Anne of Green Gables’ first Japanese translator  has Uzma Jalaluddin reminiscing about her childhood hero

By Alison Jones

When I was nine years old, I was given a copy of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic Canadian children’s novel, Anne of Green Gables. It was the TV series tie-in paperback, the cover featuring a solemn-looking ... Read More »

July 21, 2021

Remote book events likely to continue  after the pandemic

By Alison Jones

“It’s hard to imagine being in a room with 100 people again,” says Alana Wilcox as she ponders a return to the live literary event. The editorial director of Coach House Books in Toronto says ... Read More »

July 7, 2021

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