In Review: The Week of February 17th

On the Blog

~ For Women in Horror Month, we present three freaky gems, new and old, by women writers and artists from Arsenal Pulp Press, Pow Pow Press, and Biblioasis. ~ Author Marion Agnew, author of Reverberations (Signature Editions) shares some of her best writing advice and art-filled techniques for avoiding Writer’s Block: “I’ve learned two things: let the piece rest, and ask for help.”~ Social activist Gemma Hickey—the first person to be granted a gender-neutral birth certificate in Canada—talks to us about gender equality and inclusivity and her memoir Almost Feral (Breakwater Books): “Consider this: if more than two genders are recognized, the binary is erased, and one gender can no longer be privileged over another.”~ We chat with Montréal-based publisher Metonymy Press about the story behind acquiring Addie Tsai’s debut novel Dear Twin and how the book took shape by working with Toronto-based designer Keet Geniza, who jumped at the chance to work on the design for this life-affirming, queer YA novel about one sister’s yearly letters to her missing twin.

Around the Web

~ Readers gonna read, but should you stay up late to finish your book? Check out these pros and cons from Bookriot.~ The inaugural #IReadCanadianDay – a national day of celebration for Canadian books for young people – had the internet sharing kids and adult books alike. (Exhibit A to the left). ~ The BMO Winterset Award longlist was announced with two ALU favourites on the list: Heather Nolan’s This is Agatha Falling (Pedlar Press) and Lindsay Bird’s Boom Time (Gaspereau Press).

ICYMI

“A Mature and Intelligent Period of Grieving: On Death and Humour in Writing” by Fawn Parker 

“My mother appears with cancer in my first novel, dies in eight poems (to date), dies again in my new manuscript. In writing I relive my mother. I invent reasons why the loss is significant, why despite her months of daily unrelenting suffering, it was an occasion of literary importance. After all, it was her story, and what defines a character more than their story?I can only kill her so many times, over and over, before it becomes a joke. And in jest we are able to die without tragedy—via a punchline—and we are able to experience tragedy with a smile.”