Renée D. Bondy’s Writing Space

I wrote the short story “Döstädning” (TNQ 172) in my home office. The word ‘office’ makes the space sound more substantial than it is. Bigger than a closet, but smaller than a room, it’s more like a nook. The ceiling slopes, and if I stretch out my arms, I can easily touch the walls. My […]

Renée D. Bondy in

What’s Kevin Irie Reading?

As with people, some poetry books hold your respect, others hold your imagination. I am thinking in particular of a debut collection I bought earlier this year. shima by shō yamagushiku (McClelland & Stewart 2024) is an absolutely compelling achievement, a work set in our time that lives beyond this time, spiralling like his visual […]

Kelly S. Thompson’s Writing Space

My military dad always had a saying: Flexibility is the principle of administration. Not exactly a warm family motto, but when you move around a lot, a necessary one.   Now, as a spouse of a Canadian Forces Officer, I’m used to moving all the time—at least every year or two, which means the space in […]

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Finding the Form with Megan Beadle

I can’t take credit for the idea of a full moon party on a wildflower farm where ladies from the Barrie area go to let loose. In fact, I stole the inspiration from my own generous mother. This fact adds further commentary to this story about the nature of motherhood, but I’ll let you decide […]

The Root Cellars of Elliston: An Interview Between Poet Richard Brait and Consulting Editor Barbara Carter

Barb Carter, Consulting Editor, in conversation with Richard Brait on his poem “The Root Cellars of Elliston,” the runner-up of The Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest for 2024. The poem will appear in the upcoming Issue 172 of The New Quarterly. Barb: What prompted your visit to Elliston, Trinity Bay, “The Root Cellar Capital of […]

What’s Trish Sissons Reading?

This summer, I’m trying to embrace a ‘do it for the plot’ mentality. I’ve always been a fan of doing things on a lark, but this summer it feels important and urgent that everything be mad and seasonally specific. Notably, that has led me to crash a near-stranger’s birthday party, suit up for a 50 […]

What’s Adrian Markle Reading?

I teach a lot of short fiction, and I like to challenge myself to keep the content as contemporary as possible, so I’m always reading litmags from around the world. A high number of those are from Canada, since the quality is reliably high, and because it helps me feel connected to my home country. […]

Launched: Widow Fantasies by Hollay Ghadery

Hollay Ghadery is a multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short […]

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Finding the Form with Nikita Eaton-Luisgnan

I think it was February 2021, deep into the pandemic, and I had to write something for my fiction workshop. I was living in Parc Extension then, and the dépanneur nearby didn’t have a great beer selection, so every time I’d brave the cold to do groceries, I’d pick up a craft beer for myself […]

Nikita Eaton-Lusignan in

Finding the Form with Jean Van Loon

Awake one moonlit night in winter 2022, I wandered through the house, peering from various windows, rejoicing in silence and solitude. I scribbled some notes, wanting to capture the mood. Turning the notes into a poem, I began with tercets, a form I find flexible but also tight enough to compel me to be concise. […]