Category Archives: OTF

Books

Books have weight. Boy, does that ever come into sharp focus when you have to move a few thousand of them… It’s been a while since I’ve read a manifesto from the latest fanboy burning their books in favour of … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Happy Medium

Well, a lot has happened since we last talked. To get to the elephant in the room – yes, the novel is still alive, though it is mostly asleep. I poke at it every once in a while to make … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Her Name Is…

The dream is always the same, though I don’t know it’s a dream until I wake up. I’m in a crowded café-slash-bookstore. A used bookstore. I think it’s actually the Cronos Café , for those of you familiar with Thunder … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | 2 Comments

A (‘nother) Case For Bookshelves

I’m no Luddite — I see the writing on the wall (or perhaps more aptly, not on the wall…) The physical book is giving way to ebooks. For the most part, there are many advantages (which we all know, so … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Caught on Tape! Fitzgerald Writing “The Great Gatsby”…

…or technically I guess, film. This is supposedly Fitzgerald writing The Great Gatsby, though I’m not sure how you would authenticate a claim like that. Still, it’s obviously Fitzgerald and he’s obviously writing. Kind of exciting in itself (if you’re … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Going (Back) to Sugar Mountain

Thunder Bay isn’t exactly a Mecca of the creative, like London or New York or Paris where you can’t flick a fountain pen without globbing indigo on something of literary importance. I guess though that’s true of most small towns. … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

A Little Snippy…

I walked out into the kitchen and Noël asked me what I was doing ‘cuz I was snipping my fingers in the air like hyperactive scissors (though I wasn’t really conscious that I was doing it) and I smiled embarrassed-like … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , | 2 Comments

“…a cutthroat cottage industry…”

It’s Giller night — do you know what you’re wearing to the party? Perhaps not the most venerable of Canadian lit awards (I believe the Governor General’s Award is still that), the Giller Prize is definitely the hippest. Lately, the … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Difference Between Published Author and Not

I’m an occasional reader of Chuck Wendig’s blog, Terrible Minds. Although I’ve had him in my blog reader for probably around a year, he really caught my attention last week with an interview with Margaret Atwood. Yes, the Margaret Atwood. I … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Publish or Self-Publish? In Canada, the Question May Soon Be Moot…

Found out just today (where was I this week?) that Douglas & McIntyre are “restructuring”. Although they are still operating normally, filing for bankruptcy protection is never a good thing. The question for Canadian writers is becoming more and more, … Continue reading

Posted in OTF | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment