Speculating Canada: Canadian Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

July 11, 2020

An Interview with Terese M Pierre about her Book Look Makeovers and Poetry

Interviewed by Derek Newman-Stille Spec Can: To start our interview, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? Terese M Pierre: Sure! I’m a writer and editor, based in Toronto. At this point, I’m mainly writing poetry, but I also sometimes write essays, about my experiences in the writing community and my family. I’m also the senior editor of...

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June 27, 2020

Speculating Canada Writing Workshop: Creative Writing For Social Justice

Are you ready for another writing workshop? Are you interested in seeing how we can use our creative writing to make the world a bit better? Join us for another of Speculating Canada’s online writing workshops and come together as a community to write together. The workshop is free!! Date: Thursday July 2 at 7:00 PM Location: Online on Zoom....

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June 21, 2020

On The MacGuffin and Exponential Growth Economies

By Derek Newman-Stille For folks who are unfamiliar with the term, a “MacGuffin” is an object, a device, an event, or a character used in fiction as a plot device to advance the story that is unfolding. We see MacGuffins regularly in speculative fiction, whether it be the Infinity Gauntlet, the Death Star, the One Ring, or the Ark of...

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June 10, 2020

A Theory of The Self

A review of Dionne Brand’s Theory (Knopf, 2018) By Derek Newman-Stille Dionne Brand’s Theory is theory given life, a speculation about the nature of beauty, thought, and social interaction. Focussing on a graduate student nearing the end of their dissertation, Theory takes us into the conflicted world of emotion and intellect, exploring the way that passion and dispassionate investigation collide....

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May 23, 2020

Authors in Quarantine – Julie Czerneda

With this this series, I am hoping to capture how this cultural moment is affecting our speculative fiction authors and how our authors are surviving during the COVID-19 outbreak Spec Can: What have you been up to during the COVID-19 outbreak? Julie Czerneda: It’s been work as normal for us in many ways, especially coming out of winter. I turned...

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May 21, 2020

Authors in Quarantine – James Alan Gardner

With this this series, I am hoping to capture how this cultural moment is affecting our speculative fiction authors and how our authors are surviving during the COVID-19 outbreak Spec Can: What have you been up to during the COVID 19 outbreak? James Alan Gardner: Writing, reading, and playing computer games. Lately, I’ve also been playing a lot of tabletop...

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May 20, 2020

An Experiment in Gender

A review of James Alan Gardner’s Commitment Hour (Eos, 1998) By Derek Newman-Stille I was originally trained as an anthropologist (for my Bachelor’s Degree and my Master’s Degree), so I always find books that explore the notion of anthropological researchers fascinating. James Alan Gardner’s Commitment Hour centres on a story of a scientist and his assistant visiting a small town...

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May 19, 2020

Authors in Quarantine – Douglas Smith

With this this series, I am hoping to capture how this cultural moment is affecting our speculative fiction authors and how our authors are surviving during the COVID-19 outbreak Spec Can: What have you been up to during the COVID-19 outbreak? Douglas Smith: Thank you for inviting me to participate in this discussion on Speculating Canada. What have I been...

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May 15, 2020

Speculating Canada Writing Workshop: Art As Inspiration for Writing

Sign up for the third of Speculating Canada’s writing workshop series taught by Trent University instructor Derek Newman-Stille, MA, PhD ABD. Our workshop series allows us connect and write together and maybe to collapse some of the social distance by coming together online as a community. This workshop is free. Date: Thursday, May 21 at 1:00 PM EST Location: Online...

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May 12, 2020

Authors in Quarantine – Ursula Pflug

With this this series, I am hoping to capture how this cultural moment is affecting our speculative fiction authors and how our authors are surviving during the COVID-19 outbreak Spec Can: What have you been up to during the COVID-19 outbreak? Ursula Pflug: Folks have told me they feel as though they are living in one of my stories and...

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