The Wednesday interview

Reading time: About one minute Canadian writer Nicholas Ruddock says that writing is neither easy nor hard. Instead, “it’s a million steps between”…. Nicholas Ruddock is a Canadian physician and writer. He has published three novels, The Parabolist, Night Ambulance, and Last Hummingbird West of Chile (audiobook by Gerard Doyle 2025), short stories in How

Reading time: About 2 minutes Mel Williams believes that writing is less a talent and more of a learned practice and a deliberate act… Mel Williams is a Toronto-based writer living with an acquired disability. She practices narrative advocacy — telling stories that quietly challenge societal norms and broaden our understanding of one another. She

Reading time: About 2 minutes When he writes, Dennis Bock tries to keep the two most important qualities of his ideal reader in mind — intelligence and impatience.  Dennis Bock is a Canadian novelist and short story writer. Dennis grew up in Oakville, Ontario and completed a degree in English literature and philosophy at the

Reading time: About 2 minutes Merrie-Ellen Wilcox says she can never restrict herself to reading a single book and can often be found starting whatever shiny new book happens to pass her by… A resident of Victoria, B.C., Merrie-Ellen Wilcox is a partner in West Coast Editorial Associates and has been writing and editing professionally since

Reading time: About 4 minutes Martha Bátiz says she’s never afraid or ashamed of early drafts. “They are the rock that you’ll slowly shape into a statue,” she says….  Martha Bátiz  is an award-winning writer, translator, and professor of creative writing and Spanish language and literature. She is the author of five books, including the

Reading time: About 2 minutes Maryann Kerr likes to live by the Annie Dillard quote, “How you spend your days is how you spend your life”…. Maryann Kerr is a leadership consultant who has dedicated her career to the social impact, nonprofit, and charitable space. She is an author and advocate for social impact sector

Reading time: About 2 minutes Halina St. James endorses the quote, “There’s no such thing as good writing, only good rewriting.” Halina St. James is a former international TV News journalist from Canada, whose assignments included Iraq during the first Gulf War, the Romanian Revolution, and three Olympic Games. When she retired from journalism, she

Reading time: About 1 minute Paige Gant says that writing even 10 bad words is far better than not writing at all…. Paige Gant is a writer living in Vancouver, Canada. She holds a BA in English and History from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and is a graduate of The Writer’s Studio (SFU). Paige has

Reading time: About 2 minutes Writer Beni Xiao urges writers not to adopt the voice of previous generations, but to write so that current-day audiences can understand what they are saying.  Beni Xiao is an artist and author of Bad Egg (2017, Rahila’s Ghost Press). They are queer, trans, disabled, and Chinese. These identities provide