Hope takes flight

Contributors

Dana Hansen is a writer and reviewer, and an English

A shock to the system

ASK ANYONE in the CanLit community about “the letter” and

Fighting words

Monia Mazigh embraces fiction as a political act and as a means of inserting the “humorous into the tragic”

Hard copying

Authors and publishers await more shrinking royalty payments from educational institutions

Best of times, Worst of times

Nathan Whitlock on great and terrible news from the book world

Point of order

Technology is fine, but a writer’s best tools are discipline and determination

Branding Anne

Canada’s most famous red-headed orphan gets a merchandising revamp

Stirring words

A new west-end Toronto bar gives cocktail culture a literary twist

Trial by fire

Writing a book about New Brunswick’s most notorious murder case involved walking some thin lines, says

Laughing matters

The lighter tone of Eden Robinson’s new novel, Son of a Trickster, parallels a postive uptick in the author’s life

The accidental bestseller

Montreal author Sylvain Neuvel followed a highly unlikely route to success as a science-fiction author

Truth and consequences

Marianne Apostolides’s intimate memoir combines aquatic imagery and words to examine themes that are now more relevant than ever

Books for Young people

Gambling on middle-grade

The big chill

Ed O’Loughlin’s new novel about the Franklin expedition serves to deepen mysteries rather than solve them

The art of living

Kyo Maclear’s memoir delves into her experience bird watching as a balm for her grief

Star-crossed lovers

Heather O’Neill’s third novel displays the author’s trademark combination of melancholy and whimsy

Open wounds

Two indigenous authors offer books on trauma and healing, with varied results

The writing life

John Metcalf’s new book is charged with the author’s trademark catty, dulcet tone

Opinion of the court

Playwright Anton Piatigorsky’s debut novel examines the conflicting forces that buffet U.S. Supreme Court justices

Mothers and daughters

Joëlle Anthony’s story of a girl reconnecting with her absentee mom rings true

Saw that coming

Susin Nielsen aims for an older YA audience with her new novel, which – no surprise – is superb

What doesn’t kill you

There’s a lot to like about Danielle Younge-Ullman’s wounded, sarcastic heroine in this tale of self-discovery

Full medal jacket

Winning multiple literary awards can be a publishing dream, but all those accolades bring unique design challenges