In which Joe Mahoney reflects upon the creative process for his debut novel, A Time and a Place. I wrote the first words of the novel that eventually became A Time and a Place in July 1988. I made the final correction to the manuscript about a week ago, in April 2017. So technically it took me almost 29 years to finish the novel. I hasten to add, I haven’t been working on it all that time….
The WGA Golden Pen Award is presented to acknowledge the lifetime achievements of an outstanding Alberta writer. Past recipients are: Greg Hollingshead, Alice Major, George Melnyk, Fred Stenson, Aritha van Herk, Robert Kroetsch, Merna Summers, Myrna Kostash, Grant MacEwan, W.O. Mitchell, Rudy Wiebe, and Betty Jane Hegerat. This year’s recipient is Candas Jane Dorsey. Candas Jane Dorsey is known as a writer of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. Ursula K. Le Guin has described Dorsey as, “brilliant as…
Competing against both large and indie publishers, in a field of 68 entries, C.P. Hoff’s charming and deliciously madcap novel, A Town Called Forget has been longlisted for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. C.P. Hoff is the nom de plume of Connie Penner, who Connie grew up as a gypsy. Well, she could have been a gypsy if her family could have afforded the wagon. Her parents were pragmatic and raised her not to…
Jessica Allain sent along her thoughts on the vision behind the moody and dynamic cover she created for Ann Marston’s engaging new YA fantasy, Diamonds in Black Sand. After reading some of Ann’s manuscript, as well as speaking to her about aspects of her book, I began picturing the scene I wanted her cover to reflect. Growing up beside the ocean, I had a good idea of what a maritime scene should be. Ann described a…
Cover artist, Ann Crowe, shared with us the creative process behind Timothy Gwyn’s dynamic new YA fantasy, Avians. I’ve always wanted to do illustration for books, be they book covers or children’s picture books or otherwise, so when I was approached to illustrate the cover for Avians, I was ecstatic. This project was a dream come true for me. After being introduced to the author, Timothy Gwyn, my first order of business was to find out…