Author: carte blanche

Brad De Roo on June 14, 2016

Waiting for Candy—An interview With Author Mark Foss

Mark Foss is the author of the short-story collection Kissing the Damned and the novel Spoilers. His new novel Molly O (Cormorant Books, 2016) follows Montreal film professor Little Joe’s obsessive search for his missing sister Candy, who may or may not be Molly O, the lead in a series of erotically charged silent, experimental films. When a death sets the stage for reconnecting with his brother Hoss and his father Joseph at the family homestead, Little Joe must relive the rural auctions and wastelands of his past to get to the truth about Candy. Brad de Roo got some cinematic answers from Mark for carte blanche this May.

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on May 25, 2016

Paid Literary Bloggers? Whaaaaaaaa?

carte blanche seeks to expand its pool of bloggers in support of our regular literary magazine. We want writing that explores some aspect of literary and artistic culture in Montreal, Quebec, Canada or the wider world. You can feature an event, a trend, a movement, an anecdote, an experience or whatever you think might engage the public in a literary topic. Dug that poetry reading last night? Irritated at that famous writer’s new interview with Book Riot? Up in arms about a literary feud? Give us the skinny!Read more →

Monique Polak on May 5, 2016

INSIGHT: Saying Yes

I am bad at saying no. As part of a better-late-in-life-than-never self-improvement exercise, I try to turn down extra work—especially the non-paying variety.

So last summer, when Michelle Sylvestre of the Make A Wish Foundation phoned to tell me about a volunteer opportunity—Raphaëlla Vaillancourt, a young survivor of a life-threatening illness, wished to publish a book and needed mentoring—I referred Michelle to Lori Schubert at the Quebec Writers’ Federation.

A few days later, Lori contacted me. If the QWF could fund a mentorship for Raphaëlla, would I take the job?



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Brad de Roo on April 29, 2016

Punk, Pranks and Parallel Lines—An Interview with Author Kembrew McLeod

Kembrew McLeod is a Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa.  He is a prolific author, filmmaker, and prankster.  His latest book is Blondie’s Parallel Lines (Bloomsbury, 2016) the 111th book in 33 1/3’s series on classic albums.  Brad deRoo nerded out via email to get to some intersecting lines from Kembrew McLeod for carte blanche this April. Read more →

Peter Richardson on April 20, 2016

FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT: Gadfly at the Festival

In the hospitality room at the Hôtel Gouverneurs in Trois-Rivières, you are greeted by two perky volunteers whose first question after introductions is: “Will you three be reading the French translations of your poems yourselves, or will you be requiring the services of a French reader?” Oh, my, you think. What translations? The hotel carpet begins to yaw under your chair. What was I thinking coming to a poetry festival in a city whose population is 97 percent French—without translations?




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Brad de Roo on March 14, 2016

“If the bad side of CanLit were a criminal operation, Omertà would be in full effect” — An Interview with Author Kris Bertin

Kris Bertin is from Halifax. His stories have appeared in The Walrus, The Malahat Review, TNQ, and PRISM International. He has twice won the Jack Hodgin’s Founder’s Award for Fiction and has appeared in The Journey Prize Anthology. His first collection of short stories Bad Things Happen (Biblioasis, 2016) has received very good reviews in the Toronto Star and Quill & Quire – good thing too, because it is it a gritty, funny, and memorably weird book. Brad de Roo avoided a lot of bad things on the internet to interview Kris Bertin for carte blanche this March. Read more →