September is turning out to be very busy, which is a mercy, because my next book releases at the end of the month, and the busier I am, the less chance I have to worry about how well the book will do. The UK release date for The Tapestry of Time is Sept. 26 (hardcover, ebook and audiobook narrated by Frankie Porter). Many export markets will get it that day too. In Canada, the release is Oct. 1, just a few days later.
An update on the U.S. release: it’s going to be June, 2025. Sorry for the delay, U.S. folks! Sometimes publishing works in mysterious ways in different markets.
If you’re interested in suggesting it to your book club, you can download a three-page kit from my website that has an introduction to me, plus discussion questions, suggestions for music mentioned in the book to play before and after, and a list of non-fiction related reads.
One reason I’m so busy is that I’m the new Writer in Residence for the University of Ottawa! It’s pretty surreal to be a writer in residence at all, and it’s especially sweet to have it be at the university where I did my undergraduate degree, a quarter-century ago.
I studied political science, but a lot of my electives were in English, and a few of the professors who taught me are still there. (My office, where I’ll be working on the second draft of Mercutio — the first draft is nearly finished! — is just down the hall from the office of the prof who taught the year-long Shakespeare course that is probably the course that made the biggest mark on me in my entire education.)
Now that the news is public, I’ve had a lot of questions about what a writer in residence actually does. This is my first time doing it anywhere, so I am far from expert! But I get the sense that the job means different things to different institutions — and that any given writer can put their stamp on the position, too. That is certainly the case at the U of O, where they’ve given me a lot of latitude and encouragement to shape my role there according to my interests and expertise.
For the length of this term, Sept-Dec, I’ll be at the university for office hours twice a week. Students are welcome to come by and ask my advice, get some feedback on their work, or just chat. I’m also planning several events and workshops, in close collaboration with the faculty in the English department. I’ll introduce myself to anyone I haven’t met and read from my own work at an awards night this month. And I’ll almost certainly be doing some classroom visits and guest lectures, whenever faculty would like me to. From an administrative perspective, it’s a lot like being a visiting professor.
Whenever my office hours are quiet, I’ll be using the office space to work on Mercutio (I’m so close to the end of the first draft!) and another big project I have in the works. I’ve been a work-at-home freelancer since 2015, so an external office space is a wonderful change of scenery — and having colleagues to chat with in the hallways! I didn’t realize how much I’d missed that. Everyone has been very friendly.
Another little full-circle moment this month: The class I’m giving at the Toronto International Festival of Authors is co-presented by the Humber School for Writers. Way back in 2007, I was a student in the Humber creative writing by correspondence course, in which a mentor (the late Paul Quarrington) gave me feedback on a novel in progress. That novel has never been published, but Mercutio picks up on some of its themes, and that mentorship was an invaluable learning experience. Coach Q, as his students called him, made me believe I had it in me to be a writer, and he continues to be a role model to me now not only as a writer but as a teacher and mentor myself. So it’s really nice to be giving a class associated with the Humber school.
If you’re in Toronto on Sept. 28, I’m also doing a panel for TIFA called “Tea, Cake and Stories of Sorcery” with Anna Rasche, at which there will be actual cake! I’d love to see you.
Here in Ottawa, I’ve got one event planned to celebrate the launch of The Tapestry of Time, and it’s at the Ottawa International Writers Festival on Oct. 24. I’ll be joined by J.M. Miro for a panel moderated by Brandon Crilly. After our panel, you can check out a panel made up of the brilliant legend Nalo Hopkinson, my talented friend and colleague Suyi Davies Okungbowa, moderated by my Carleton journalism school colleague Adrian Harewood. A double feature about speculative pasts and futures not to be missed!
Finally, one other bit of news: I am one of a passel of writers on the interactive fiction project A Death in Hyperspace, which is posted now as part of the competition IFComp, and you can play online for free. It’s a surreal science fiction mystery and it was a great experience to work with such a talented group.