Books

NYT obit writer makes her exit

Posted by on Jul 1, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog, Canadian history, Irish history, Irish poetry, Journalism | Comments Off on NYT obit writer makes her exit

Writing newspaper obits brings many rewards. Writing books brings even more.

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Why I left The Writers’ Union of Canada

Posted by on May 26, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog | Comments Off on Why I left The Writers’ Union of Canada

I joined because I believed in its goals, which included support for freedom of expression. I’m quitting because it moved to silence me after I submitted for publication a story its magazine editor had commissioned me to write.

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How I responded to being censored by The Writers’ Union of Canada

Posted by on Mar 15, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog, Cultural appropriation, Press freedom | Comments Off on How I responded to being censored by The Writers’ Union of Canada

I was commissioned by the editor of The Writer’s Union of Canada magazine to write an article about a major literary festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The editor killed the piece for no defensible reason. But I will not be silenced!

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The surprise winner of the 2017 Governor General’s Award for nonfiction

Posted by on Nov 3, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog, Literary awards | Comments Off on The surprise winner of the 2017 Governor General’s Award for nonfiction

This year’s Governor General’s Award for nonfiction went to an American-based journalist who writes mainly for American publications. I have a problem with that.

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Don’t let your books go out of print!

Posted by on Sep 23, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog | Comments Off on Don’t let your books go out of print!

My advice for any author whose book has been delisted from a trade publisher’s catalogue.

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The colourful sex life of Con Boland

Posted by on Aug 25, 2021 in Books, Brian's Blog, Celebrities, Justice | Comments Off on The colourful sex life of Con Boland

Edmonton photographer Con Boland died this week of cardiac arrest at age sixty-nine. Here’s some of what I wrote about him in 2003, eight years after his former sex partner, Marilyn Tan, went to court to face an assault charge for injecting him with HIV-positive blood:

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