Hello, friends. Since February, I've been bursting with a secret: I am a juror for the 2016 Governor General's Award for Young People's Literature (Text category)!!!!!!!! (I will stop there, although there aren't enough exclamation points in Canada for how I feel about this.) You guys, it's been so difficult keeping this quiet. I'm used to talking about what I'm reading and why I'm reading it, any … [Read more...]
In praise of…
Hello, friends. I've been reading for a Top Secret Project (I'll tell you more about it in a few months) and it has been both a revelation and a delight. This week and next, I thought I'd share some of the books I've most enjoyed so far. These aren't reviews, in the traditional sense, but I wholeheartedly recommend all these books. You may remember how much I love and admire E K Johnston's … [Read more...]
Adventures in author signings
Hello, friends. This past weekend, I went to Belleville to meet E. K. Johnston. She and I have been friendly on Twitter for a few years, and I became a raving fan of hers as soon as I read her debut novel, The Story of Owen. The Story of Owen, which is shortlisted for an LA Times Book Award, is about dragon slayers in small-town Ontario. It is hilarious and heartbreaking and sly and insane in all … [Read more...]