The How-Tos

The beside stacks reaching tallest right now are filled with rom coms, the descendants of unfairly maligned ‘chick lit’. Explore writing interpersonal relationships with humour and verve, through this accomplished threesome (sounds delightfully racy, huh?). READ MORE

There is nothing as powerful as a young mind engaging with a picture book. Here’s how to take that experience to the next level, with insights from the exquisitely versatile Kyo Maclear (Julia, Child; Bloom; The Big Bath House) and two-time Governor General’s Literary Award winner David A. Robertson (When We Were Alone and On the Trapline), who is also the editorial director of a new Indigenous-focused children’s imprint at Tundra Books. READ MORE

NEW SHOW! Join University of Calgary Distinguished Writer in Residence Francine Cunningham and celebrated award-winner katherena vermette (The Circle) in a frank talk about barriers: race, gender, class, even genre. (Why does literary fiction often trump speculative fiction?) As an example of powerful change, vermette was on the jury of the inaugural Carol Shields Prize for Fiction, which selected Cunningham's God Isn't Here Today as one of 15 long-listed books from works by 250 Canadian and U.S. women and non-binary authors. What is possible – and what work still has to be done? READ MORE

We all do more than one thing to stay afloat, especially writers. Learn how to extend your reach by maximizing a myriad of creative outlets. Yes, you too can be crazy multi-talented like actor and yoga instructor Alexandra Auder; filmmaker and illustrator Arizona O’Neill; and Dave Hill, who is also a stand-up comic, musician (his band Valley Ridge wrote The Daily Show’s theme song), clothing designer (thebunnyshops), host of Dave Hill’s Podcasting Experience, and street gang leader (okay, they’re just Danger Snakes Who Hate Bullshit). READ MORE

Comedian Dave Hill doesn’t like sports. He likes sport, singular, and that sport is hockey, the greatest game of all-time. He likes hockey so much that he went on a pucking pilgrimage from Kenya to Poland to Peterborough, Ontario, just to be able to write The Awesome Game: One Man’s Incredible, Globe-Crushing Hockey Odyssey, his fourth book. You and host Zain Velji should encourage him to share his road stories, including the NSFW ones. Oh, and pre-order the book to make Dave’s dad back in Cleveland proud of him, even though he says he already is. READ MORE

It ain’t easy writing bleak or dystopian, even if it’s a hell of a good time – and results in an unputdownable book. Just ask Catherine Leroux (The Future) about her vision of Detroit. Or Andrew F. Sullivan about his interpretation of city planning (The Marigold). Then come back to Sullivan and his co-writer Nick Cutter, a master of unease, and their new novel The Handyman Method. You’ll never turn to YouTube for DIY tips again. READ MORE

There is no one whose paintings are as quietly, powerfully luminescent as Mary Pratt’s. But what are we meant to see when we look at her work? What might we miss? What needs to be elaborated upon with regard to complex issues of gender, feminism, and realism? We’ve paired the perfect visual guides: Mount Allison’s Anne Koval, who collaborated closely with Pratt for her new book Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision, and Canmore curator and author Mary-Beth Laviolette, who continually situates female Canadian artists at the centre of the art world. READ MORE

The academic road is long, relentless, and pitched as a straight line: BA, MFA, PhD, tenure. But the reality of pursuing this path is anything but straightforward, as these multi-degreed writers will share. Is a Creative Writing major the way to go? What about becoming a sessional instructor? Are Arts Faculties doomed to be the forgotten child in these times of education only for the sake of learning a trade? Anne Koval supplements her position in the Art History department at Mount Allison as an independent curator and now author of Mary Pratt: A Love Affair with Vision. Richard Kelly Kemick earned his doctorate and is focused on writing, while working a series of unrelated gigs. Amanda Peters is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Theatre at Acadia University, while Michelle Porter teaches Creative Writing and Métis Literature at Memorial University. READ MORE