How Australian Nicknaming Conventions Turn an Afternoon Into an ‘Arvo’
If you watch much television from the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand, you’re likely to run into a naming convention that is completely confounding [Read More]
Blog
How reading fiction has helped my mental health
I’ve been self-medicating with books my whole life. They’ve been my palliatives, my morphine-drips, my adrenaline shot to the chest. Or, less dramatically, I consider [Read More]
The President Who Doesn’t Read
Trump’s allergy to the written word and his reliance on oral communication have proven liabilities in office. Ironically, it was the publication of a book [Read More]
Jon McGregor: ‘I have never been asked how I juggle writing and fatherhood’
I read an interview in the New Yorker recently with Mikaela Shiffrin, one of the world’s leading slalom skiers, in which she talked about how little time she actually spends on the slopes. After accounting for the hours spent travelling between training runs, kitting out, warming up and sitting on chairlifts, even the most dedicated skier will struggle to get more than seven minutes skiing out of a training day. Contrary to the famous Malcolm Gladwell assertion that success requires 10,000 hours of practice, Shiffrin considers it the height of dedication to be achieving 11 hours of skiing over the course of a year.
(Fun fact: I have never been asked how I juggle writing and fatherhood. I’m not complaining; it’s nobody’s business, and nothing to do with writing. But I wonder what assumptions lie behind the question of juggling writing and motherhood coming up so regularly?)
NW Ontario writing contest opens door for new talent
THUNDER BAY – Organizers of the Northwestern Ontario Writers Workshop Writing Contest hope to find some undiscovered gems among the entries to this year’s competition.
Contestants have until March 31, 2018 to submit their work in any of five categories including poetry, short fiction, historical fiction, creative non-fiction and the Bill MacDonald Prize for Prose.
“Each year NOWW’s contest does something bigger and better,” said contest coordinator Jodene Wylie. “If you’re a reader and a writer, we want to impress you and motivate you to pull out that pen, pull up to your computer and get writing.”
Woods Bay Grill holds writing contest to find new owner
KALISPELL, Mont. – The owners of Woods Bay Grill in the Flathead Valley weren’t having any luck selling their property traditionally, so they created an essay contest to find the next owner.
Bacon’s been sizzling at the Woods Bay Grill for 13 years now.
“It’s kind of like your own version of cheers but without the alcohol,” said Woods Bay Grill co-owner Leslie Browning. “People walk in the door and they are like ‘hey, how you doing Pat. How’s it going today?’”
Browning is just one of three owners of the grill. They all decided they are ready to retire, but they want the grill to still be there for the community.
Tome After Tome
Fourth Avenue’s Book Stop is a treasure trove of the rare, old and interesting. The Book Stop isn’t for everyone. For one thing, you’ll want [Read More]
Book cover art is ruined when it becomes a major motion picture
When a popular book becomes a major motion picture publishers change the cover art, or at the very least put a big red sticker one [Read More]
Mental Health Handbook co-authored by Father/Daughter team
There is a mental health crisis facing the nation’s colleges, but Woodstock resident Dr. Philip K. McCullough and his daughter Kristen M. Granchalek, a licensed [Read More]
Controversial ‘Fire and Fury’ book on Trump long gone in La Crosse area
Anyone in the Coulee Region who wants a peek inside the Trump White House via the controversial book “Fire and Fury,” which prompted fiery and [Read More]
Books look ahead 2018: What will you be reading this year?
It’s the time of year to switch your phone off, put the kettle on, grab a blanket and get between the covers – of a [Read More]
Nine classic self-help books to get you through January
‘The market is positively overflowing with books on how to manage anxiety, but Morgan’s sits a cut away from the rest.’ Time once was that [Read More]
Former Child Star Baby Peggy Self-Publishes Her First Novel at 99
Diana Serra Cary — born on Oct. 29, 1918, and best known by her stage name Baby Peggy — was one of the most well-to-do [Read More]
As e-book sales fall and audiobooks rise, print still dominates for local booksellers
Over the last decade, some predicted rising e-book sales would spell doom and gloom for hardcovers and paperbacks alike, and by extension the independent [Read More]
Why young adult fiction — and YA authors — thrive in Utah
SALT LAKE CITY — Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson said publishers have sensed there is “something in the water” in Utah when it comes [Read More]
Tens of thousands without power in Nova Scotia, emergency officials warn worst to come
It’s a wild night here in Nova Scotia and expected to get wilder. We haven’t lost power yet, though it’s flickered a few times Tens [Read More]
Break-out stories: the murderer who hopes writing fiction will set him free
High on vodka and crack, Curtis Dawkins shot a stranger dead. Sentenced to life in prison, he went back to his first love – writing. [Read More]
What Happens When a Science Fiction Genius Starts Blogging?
In 2010, at the age of 81, the acclaimed novelist Ursula K. Le Guin started a blog. Blogs never seemed a likely destination for the [Read More]
Why LinkedIn Should Be The Top Social Media Platform For Influencers In 2018
If someone told me years ago that LinkedIn would become my primary social platform, I would have called them crazy. Like many others, I thought [Read More]
Buy a cat, stay up late, don’t drink: top 10 writers’ tips on writing
Made a New Year resolution to start writing that novel? Take some writing tips from Leo Tolstoy, Muriel Spark, John Steinbeck and other famous authors [Read More]