I'm pleased to have received a creation grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec this summer to draft an experimental novel, "Introverts R Us." The novel is about two men: a wealthy professor who retreats to the woods to finish a paper on the lies we tell ourselves; and the salt-of-the-earth… Continue reading Thanks for Supporting Introverts
Are writing prompts really useful -- or just pleasant procrastination? My short story "Get Away," freshly published in DarkWinter Literary Magazine, opens with a first-line prompt from my Tarot Prompts for Writers page: "The road lay behind him in the darkness...." I would never have come up with the story without that prompted first line.… Continue reading Writing with Prompts (New short fiction: “Get Away”)
[May 2026 Update: This year's contest is done and you can Meet the Awesome Authors Youth Writing contest winners on the OPL website. Their works will be published in the fall; more on that later.] Original post: The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is open for entries! Young writers of the nation's… Continue reading Awesome Authors 2026 is on!
March Update: The 2025 contest is now closed and the judges are reading your entries. Good luck! Original post: The Ottawa Public Library's Awesome Authors Youth Writing Contest is open for entries! Young writers of the nation's capital, we want to read your stories, poems, and comics. Send them in before midnight on February 28th… Continue reading Awesome Authors 2025 is on!
Back to school and bored already? Liven up the year with a visit to your school from a teaching artist -- like me. In Quebec, we have two great programs to help fund an author or artist visit to your school: Culture in the Schools and ArtistsInspire. Culture in the Schools The Ministry of Education's… Continue reading Funding for Writing Workshops in 2024-25
