ACCEPTANCE: short story in The Fiddlehead

I am jacked to announce that I will have a NEW SHORT STORY in an upcoming issue of The Fiddlehead, one of Canada's longest running and most august literary journals. My piece, called "Fall Back," is slated to appear in the magazine's Summer Fiction issue, which, I've been told, will also be The Fiddlehead's 300th issue.

While I've published a couple of book reviews in this journal over the years, this will mark the first time I've had my own creative work appear in its pages. I've been a long-time reader of and submitter to The Fiddlehead - off and on probably since the late 1990s - so I can't tell you how tickled pink I am having received this acceptance. This also marks my second short story acceptance so far this year, and it's beginning to feel like I'm finally getting my short fiction mojo back.

Anyway, I'll post more news when I have it, including when the issue hits the news stands.

M.

My Review of Clark Blaise's This Time, That Place: Selected Stories in Canadian Writers Abroad

I'm happy to share with all of you that I'm back in the digital pages of Canadian Writers Abroad magazine, this time reviewing Clark Blaise's most recent short story collection, This Time, That Place. 

Here's an excerpt from the piece:

"Blaise, like many of his fictional doppelgangers, has led an almost preternaturally peripatetic life. He is both an American and a Canadian, with stints in Montreal, Florida, New York, Iowa, and other places during his long life. He has also maintained close ties to India, thanks to his decades-long marriage to fellow author Bharati Mukherjee before her death in 2017. Much of Blaise’s earliest stories, including “Broward Dowdy,” “A North American Education,” and “A Class of New Canadians” are intentionally autobiographical – Blaise was doing auto-fiction before it was trendy – and his overarching theme is clear. A peripatetic life can lead to a fragmented identity, and the quest for a sense of belonging often competes with one’s other desires, and, in some cases, better judgment."

Enjoy!

ACCEPTANCE: Inclusion in forthcoming short story anthology

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that a short story of mine will be part of the recently announced anthology, Devouring Tomorrow, edited by A.G. Pasquella and Jeff Dupuis, and forthcoming from Dundurn Press in Fall 2025. My piece, called "Unlimited Dream," fits with the book's theme of imagining food of the future in the face of climate change, food insecurity, and other looming menaces. The anthology will also include works by Gary Barwin, Anuja Varghese, Lisa de Nikolits, and many more.

This is especially exciting for me since, according to my literary CV, I haven't published a new short story in just about a decade. (I've been a little busy writing novels and poetry instead.) Anyway, I'm very pleased to have this bit of news to share. Here's the formal announcement that appeared in Publishers Marketplace earlier this week:

Launch event for Big Wilson

ANNOUNCEMENT: I will be reading from Big Wilson, my new poetry chapbook, as part of an online launch party for Emergency Flash Mob Press, run by the wonderful Ian LeTourneau. The event is happening next weekend, Sunday, November 26, at 2 pm EST. My fellow EFMP authors, Sue Sinclair and Kim Fahner, will also be there to read from their amazing books, and you'll also get to learn about this new chapbook press as well. Please come! See the Facebook invitation for more details, and email emergencyflashmobpress@gmail.com to register and receive the Zoom link to attend.

Big Wilson Is Here!

Well, I've done it - I have published a chapbook! Big Wilson, a narrative long poem, was published last week by Fredericton, NB's Emergency Flash Mob Press, run by the tireless Ian LeTourneau. Here's a little description of what this little book is about:

Music and literature collide in this long poem about grief, loss, and the family bonds that constrain us as much as they hold us together. The hero of this narrative-in-verse rejects the siren call of the stage for a solitary life of authorship, even as he grapples with death – first his brother’s, then his wife’s, and finally his own. Big Wilson is a tender examination of how place, ambition, and those we choose to love ultimately shape who we become. 

Interested in ordering a copy? The best way to do so is through EFMP's website above. This limited-edition chapbook comes hand-numbered and beautifully designed by Ian himself. Don't delay - order your copy today!  

Upcoming Event: Tartan Turban Reading Series #40

Upcoming event alert! Folks, I'm back at the Tartan Turban Reading Series on Friday, September 22 at 7 pm. The evening, hosted and curated by fellow author Lisa de Nikolits, will include readings from Dr. Anita Jack-Davies, myself, and Rummana Chowdry, as well as an interview with Deaf visual artist Peter Owusu-Ansah. 

This will be a hybrid event. If you're in Toronto, you have the option of joining us in person at Barrett and Welsh, 577 Kingston Road Suite #301. The event will also be live-streamed for those who cannot attend in person. Either way, register by picking up your (FREE) ticket from Eventbrite here. 

Hope to see you all on September 22!

Virtual Launch: Rebecca Rosenblum's These Days Are Numbered: Diary of a High-Rise Lockdown

It's been a (slightly) crazy and (very) action-packed summer around here, and I'm excited to plug an event for my wife's new nonfiction book! The virtual launch for Rebecca Rosenblum's These Days Are Numbered: Diary of a High-Rise Lockdown is just about a week and a half away. Join us on Sunday, September 10 from 2 to 4 pm EST when I interview her about the memoir she wrote about the pandemic, in which I'm a major character! It's going to be wild!

Pick up your FREE ticket using the Eventbrite link here. We'll send out the Zoom link a day or two beforehand. See you there!