My Horse Has Come In

Well, I don't actually own a horse but one helluva a saddle bronc ride appears in my personal essay "The Ballad of Big and Small" so that counts for something doesn't it? "The Ballad" has won The Dave Greber Award for Freelance Writers. I was honoured to receive the award in Calgary at Word on the Street. The award is available to freelance non-fiction writers in Western Canada, recognizing magazine and book writing.

At Last, the Return of the Big Novel

After half a decade of questioning fiction's relevance and assessing the demise of the novel in the post 9/11 world, it's a pleasure to see that instead of pandering and playing it safe, novelists have responded to reader ennui with exuberant risk-taking. Read the full article here...

Catch the Red Eye

My personal essay, "The Ballad of Big and Small" leads off the Summer 2007 issue of Grain Magazine (Vol.35, No.1). The issue's title, Tired of Burning, seems apt for the piece. Here's the opening:

"You woke me on December 25th, a rifle across your knees, barrel pointed toward the flickering Christmas tree. I shook my head, closed my eyes and opened them to see if you were still there. I didn't know you owned a gun. Instinct told me it was loaded. Your breath reeked of booze, but your voice was calm, reassuring.

"Bro, let's go out and shoot some shit.""

Happy May Day!

Seeing as it's International Workers' Day, it seems only appropriate to announce that my short story, "Hops", which won sub-Terrain's 2006 Lush Triumphant Literary Award, appears in Issue 46 (Spring/Summer 07) of said magazine, fittingly themed, "Bad Jobs."

The story, brimming with violence and sex and violent sex, is appropriately accompanied by a shocking and compelling illustration by local artist, Derek Von Essen.