Two days in Atlanta

Here I am at the Tundra Books booth, American Library Association Conference, signing books for an impressive line-up of dedicated children's librarians. I met people who work in libraries all over the U.S. and as far away as India. I'm signing 'Little Blue Chair,' the new picture book. I was very happy to find out that Madeline Kloepper, the wonderful young illustrator, has won the inaugural May Cutler Emerging Artist of the Year Award for the book. The late May Cutler, who I interviewed back in about 1985, founded Tundra Books fifty years ago.

First reviews for 'Wolfie and Fly'

Publisher's Weekly (Starred Review): "A promising first outing for this memorable odd couple." * City Parent: [A] classic story of imagination, friendship and adventure told by a master." * Reviews in Chalk: "Splendid beginning for a series! Renata is so lovable in her own way...I am already looking forward to more Wolfie and Fly's adventures."

New course: Writing Picture Books

On January 30 I start my course on writing picture books for University of Toronto Continuing Education. The location is at College and St. George. I love teaching this course and the participants are always passionate and interesting. So if you need some help kickstarting the creative impulse of yours, or finishing a manuscript, please join us. * http://learn.utoronto.ca/interactive-course-search#/profile/1718

What I'm Reading Now

"For that moment, she only knew the empty ache beside her, the void where her sister was supposed to be." -Katherena Vermette, The Break

Indie Book Fair

We had fun yesterday standing, leaning, slouching, and sitting behind our table at the Meet the Presses Indie Book Fair in Toronto. We (me, Rebecca Comay, Bernard Kelly) were there for our chapbook press, espresso. I picked up a nice haul of small books and chapbooks, which you can see in the third photo. (The first two were taken by Bernard.) We ourselves

sold 30 books, which was quite satisfactory. The owner of a new bookstore in Dundas Ontario, The Printed Word, bought copies of all our titles for his store. We wish this brave young man much luck and hope to visit it in the not too-too distant future.

Jarrett Lerner on 'Danny Who Fell in a Hole'

The writer Jarrett Lerner has posted a review of 'Danny Who Fell in the Hole' that is the most thoughtful response to the book I've seen. My thanks to him. You can read it at https://jarrettlerner.com/2016/10/13/danny-who-fell-in-a-hole-by-cary-fagan/.

Cleaning house

Cleaning out stuff from my parents' house I came across this manuscript, which I wrote in (I think) 1979. I'd gone to see Timothy Findley, then the writer in residence at the University of Toronto where I was in my last undergraduate year. Tiff (as his friends called him) read a short story manuscript of mine called "Vienna Street" that was loosely based on the street I grew up on until the age of about twelve. He liked it and suggested that I turn it into a script for the CBC. I had my doubts but didn't see any harm in trying. This is the manuscript, which I haven't seen or thought of in decades. Someone at the CBC did read it and say nice things but, of course, passed on it. Timothy Findley, however, continued to be kind in several ways. He introduced me to his agent (who ignored my attempts to get in touch) and later praised my work during a television interview, based on a small chapbook that I'd self-published (100 or so copies). I used that quote on my first books before finally retiring it. Of course I was hardly the only young writer Tiff helped. He was a generous and warm-hearted person who believed it his duty to give the next generation a lift up whenever possible. Timothy Findley was a fine writer and a fine man.