Francesca Segal transports The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton‘s Pulitzer Prize-winning tale of scandal among the upper classes in 1870s New York, to the Jewish community of modern-day north-west London in her novel The Innocents. This is the author’s first novel, and it has already captured worldwide attention, including being shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award in the …
Imagine a classroom full of high school students reading silently to themselves. So engulfed in their books that lightning could strike the building and not a single teen would bat an eyelid. Can’t picture it? Well, Durham region high school teacher Kerry Craven says USSR is one of the greatest tools in promoting reading for …
But has anyone stopped to consider just how much thought and research needs to be done in order to achieve that fine line of fact and fiction?
In the past, fan fiction has been criticized for being derivative of original work, been denied recognition as a creative outlet in its own right. Many authors such as J. D. Salinger, Anne Rice, and Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin have said that they see fan fiction written about their work as an invasion of their copyright. Fan fiction has even had its fair share of parody in the press for the odd “Professor Snape from Harry Potter versus the Teletubbies” stories. But recently, more than ever, it has been getting recognition as a legitimate literary activity.
The Toronto Women’s Bookstore is set to close its doors on Nov. 30, leaving the feminist community’s need unfulfilled for the first time since 1973. The store will be following in the footsteps of over 10 women’s bookstores across Canada that have been forced to close over the past few years. The only bookstore of its kind left in the country is Thunder Bay’s Northern Woman’s Bookstore. But why?
Starlight Books is one of over 10 specialty used bookstores of its kind in the GTA that sell old and rare books. The store poses an antithesis to the open, bustled feel of a big business store, instead harkening to a calmer, more personal era of book buying.
Literary attractions are in places all over the world and millions of fans will pilgrimage to these locations every year to feel a deeper connection to the books and authors which they love.
“Book swag,” which can easily described as items produced that are inspired by books and characters, is not a new thing. It has always been around; just not everyone knows where to find it. Continue reading
“Will the ease of publication make literature more popular than ever, more read and more written? Will interactivity break down the lines between author and reader, making literature more democratic? Will multimedia forms like video games absorb literature, effectively killing it off? Will all these new types of Internet fiction make us nostalgic for more traditional literature, and drive us back to realist fiction and print books?” Continue reading
The act of reading might be a private activity for many people, as we live in a world now where even friendships and relationships are often sought online from the comfort of our homes. But book clubs are as popular as ever, and as they get more and more specific in the demographic they target, … Continue reading
Memoirs have been increasingly popular in the literature world. It seems like every celebrity now has an autobiography. Memoirs connect well with the readers, and give the same effect of reading the line “based on a true story” at the start of a movie giving us chills. The fact that a story is based on … Continue reading
You may have noticed it: a missing comma on the back of a cereal box, or misplaced apostrophe on some store signage or an article headline. In more severe cases, perhaps a misspelt or misused word published by a relatively credible source for all of society to see and perpetuate as the proper form. Was it merely overlooked, or did some terribly misguided individual produce this mistake under the impression that it is correct? Even worse, was it multiple individuals? Does the adult population have a lower literacy competence than you once assumed? Continue reading
I was a self-proclaimed self-help skeptic. Working at a bookstore, thousands of well-being books have passed through my hands, but I never thought about actually reading one. I would quickly glimpse at their titles, merely for inventory purposes. While looking for a spot on the shelf to stack these books, I would think, “Natural Cures? … Continue reading
Ka-pow! The popularity of graphic novels and comics books are rising faster then a speeding bullet. No longer available solely through speciality comic book shops, these works are available in mainstream bookstores, public libraries, as eBooks, and are even becoming course material in the classroom. Graphic novels are undergoing a legitimization of literary merit. Continue reading
“No publisher will look at anything that someone hands them and says, ‘Oh, I have a good idea for a book.’ Never. It doesn’t happen that way,” said an animated Michael Ennis, author and former business Journalist. Ennis, dressed in a conservative black suit hadn’t touched a single bite of his salmon and tossed green … Continue reading
We attended a round table event at the IOFA in Toronto about science in fiction. Here is a short video: Continue reading
On Tuesday night, Canadian author Will Ferguson graciously accepted what is argued to be Canada’s most prestigious award, The Giller Prize. Continue reading
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