Quick note to say … things are going well with the novels, and the rest of life. Am finally immersed in creating a new story world and enjoying it — I am leaving aside my old novels (for now) and starting on something that seems to be piquing interest among professionals I’ve run it by. [...]

The achievements that follow are both grand and modest. Some are mine and some are my friends but I take pleasure in recounting them and hope you might share in appreciating these highlights of 2011 with me.
1. Emily Saso getting an agent. Emily is a fellow aspiring writer, and a fellow blogger who I met through this [...]

This is a guest post by Carolyn Swadron and Bill Wrigley about Toronto’s first Little Free Library at 304 Lee Avenue. If you would like to write a guest post for the Fiction-For A Change blog, please contact Evadne Macedo at evadnekm@gmail.com. Read on to find out more about Toronto’s first Little Free Library … I’ve [...]

Work on my novel has been progressing, with expert advice from my new writing class. It’s been brutal–I read my writing aloud and hear what they think of it. But I’m grateful to have a chance to be part of this group. The calibre is high, and it’s forcing me to grow as a writer [...]

Sunday was International Trans Day of Remembrance, a day on which people around the world meet to commemorate the lives of transgendered people who have been murdered. At these events, a list of names is usually read. This year’s list had 221 names – 221 people killed since 2010. The words blur into each other, a soothing [...]

I write the symphony of my soul in words. It’s a simple act of creation. Me, at my computer, plunking out letters like notes. I need no rented studio space to see my vision come to life–my computer desk suffices. Alone, I select words and hone them until they perform at the right pitch and tone. [...]

Elaine Cougler’s post about the Niagara Algonkian conference sums up the experience. I was happy to meet other writers who had finished manuscripts for one or more books. The focus of the conference was solely on preparing a pitch that would interest a New York editor. Michael Neff (photo below) worked tirelessly with each of us, [...]

Sorry I haven’t been active on the blog lately. Life has taken over–between work and my kids’ activities, I’m running all over the place with hardly any time for writing. When I am writing, I’m crunching through various exercises Michael Neff has sent us in preparation for the New York Comes to Niagara Algonkian conference [...]

Many writers choose not to read other novels while writing. Not me. The process of reading enhances my joy in writing. Novels inspire me to refine my technique and reinforce the value of what I’m doing–trying to create an enjoyable reading experience for someone else. The only trouble is that writing my own novels makes [...]

The shortlist for the Giller Prize was announced today. House of Anansi Press, a small press with a major literary impact, has two books on the Giller shortlist (out of six in total). Love this publishing house for books by Zoe Whittal, Pasha Malla, Julie Booker, Michael Winter and Lisa Moore (just to name the authors who come to [...]