Author: ALU Editor
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Under the Cover: Finding Calidora
Take a look under the cover of Stella Leventoyannis Harvey’s Finding Calidora – a historical novel that follows the politically-engaged Alevizopoulos family from the time of the Great War down through the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 as they fight to protect their legacy and survive the scars of the past. Stella joins us on the blog to…
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A Mature and Intelligent Period of Grieving: On Death and Humour in Writing
My first job after my mother died was a contract position writing a Joke of the Day calendar. Each day I input approximately ninety jokes into an Excel spreadsheet, selecting which would appear on significant days such as the day my mother died, her birthday, the day she birthed me, her wedding anniversary. Really each…
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In Review: The Week of February 3rd
This week we got our design nerd on, learned about the process behind bringing a novel into braille, recommended a debut novel, and more.
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First Fiction Friday: The Towers of Babylon
Author Michelle Kaeser’s debut novel The Towers of Babylon (Freehand Books) is a literary combo of the all-too-real millennial struggles of Girls and the sibling dynamics of This Is Us with a humorous flair of its own. Set in Toronto, the novel follows a group of millennials and exposes a generation’s struggle to find their…
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Beautiful Books: A Very Special Episode
In this Beautiful Books feature, designer Jared Shapiro talks to us about the joys of getting carried away in his creative design for nathan dueck’s A Very Special Episode (Wolsak and Wynn) – the result of which is an intelligent use of font and form that elevates nathan’s playful, pop-culturally influenced poetry.
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Under the Cover: Fanonymous in braille
After experiencing episodes of momentary sight loss, author M.C. Joudrey was compelled to carefully research and write a blind character into his novel Fanonymous (At Bay Press), which has recently been transcribed into braille by the National Network for Equitable Library Service (NNELS). Below M.C. Joudrey tells us about his experience bringing Fanonymous into this new…
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Where in Canada: The Imperilled Ocean
Author Laura Tretheway takes us out to sea in The Imperilled Ocean: Human Stories from a Changing Sea(Goose Lane Editions), exploring the compelling stories of people across the world and their relationships with the ocean to give a broader picture of its importance, its future, and its fate. In this edition of Where in Canada,…
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In Review: The Week of January 27th
This week we get our philosophy hats on, take up BooRiot’s Read Harder Challenge, recommend weekend reads, and more.
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Weekend Reads: Honouring International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On Monday, Canada recognized International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auchwitz. In honour of both those who survived or were lost, we bring you three reads to spend some time with this weekend that share stories of resistance, heroism and hope in the face of one of the darkest…
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Read Harder Challenge # 1: Read a Book in any Genre by an Indigenous Author
Throughout 2020, All Lit Up-er Tan Light is participating in BookRiot’s Read Harder Challenge—a reading task designed to expand readerly boundaries—and doing so with an indie twist. Each entry in this series will highlight one or two completed challenges along with a list of books from All Lit Up to have you reading harder, too!
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Quoted: How to Die
In How to Die: A Book About Being Alive(Biblioasis), Ray Robertson contemplates death: he argues that it’s neither a morbid nor frivolous to do so, but a fact that is essential to our own happiness. Digging up 1500 years of writing about death, Robertson examines the subject through philosophy and literature asking us to consider mortality in fresh…
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In Review: The Week of January 20th
This week All Lit Up Read the Provinces wraps up with eight authors from the Newfoundland, PEI, Northwest Territories, and Yukon. Plus, bookish Twitter divided again, and more, below.
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Read the Provinces: Clea Roberts
Written during the decade when she became a mother and lost a mother, Auguries (Brick Books) reflects Yukon poet Clea Roberts’ evolving understanding of life and death and the tensions that exist therein. We sit down with Clea to talk more about how the ancient practice of auguries similarly reflects our poetic frameworks and the power…
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Read the Provinces: Terry Milos
Terry Milos’ autobiographical story North of Familiar(Caitlin Press) gives a first-hand account of her departure from city life and her struggle to build a life and family in the Yukon. We chat with Terry in this Read the Provinces interview to hear more about how living off the grid has made her more courageous and allowed…
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Read the Provinces: Laurie Sarkadi
When Laurie Sarkadi moved to the wildnerness outside of Yellowknife, she found lessons, magic, and solace in the natural world. Her memoir Voice in the Wild (Caitlin Press) captures her physical and spiritual journey into the wild spaces of northern Canada beginning with the changing socio-political lives of Dene and Inuit in the late ’80s. We chat…