Graeme TRUELOVE
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Thanks everyone!

12/4/2019

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Huge thanks to everyone who came out to support the book at the launch events last month! This project took more than a few twists and turns getting to the finish line, so the positive feedback has been very gratifying. To those of you who took the time to tell me that it was a book that needed writing, and that reading it had an emotional impact on you – a most sincere thank you.
 
Particular thanks to Ihsaan Gardee and Barâa Arar for joining me in making remarks and answering questions.  It was truly both a privilege and a pleasure. The time flew by. The questions were very stimulating – exactly the kind of conversations I had hoped the book would inspire, even though, unlike virtually every member of the media I’ve spoken with, no one asked me about no-time Stanley Cup winner Don Cherry.
 
Some standout memories include: a gentleman in Ottawa correctly identifying Janine as the originator of the idea for this book and asking her a question instead of me; my four-year-old daughter bravely asking me a question in front of a roomful of strangers in Toronto; and the story Maria Gruending shared, during her incredibly kind introduction, about having been asked to MC last time but getting passed over for Stephen Lewis.
 
Thanks to Books on Beechwood, Happy Goat Coffee Company, Ben McNally Books, the MCs Dana Truelove and Maria Gruending, my in-laws and the Kenworthy family for all their help in getting organized, and of course, my wife Janine for the tremendous work she put in to make these events a success. Special thanks as well to Rebecca Peng at ZG Communications for her hard work in making these events happen, as well as her help in guiding me through two op-eds, a podcast, and a dozen radio interviews so far while promoting this book. She is a true professional!

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Ottawa and Toronto book launches

9/30/2019

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I'm very pleased to announce that Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North will be launched in Ottawa on Saturday, November 2 at 8:00 p.m. at Happy Goat Coffee Company, 35 Laurel Street.

We will also be holding a Toronto launch on Saturday, November 16 at 5:00 p.m. at Ben McNally Books, 366 Bay St.

There will be light refreshments, readings from the book, a Q+A and book signing. All are welcome.

I'm especially excited to be holding events in these two locations. Ben McNally Books is a Toronto institution, and Happy Goat Coffee Company is a major Ottawa success story. The Laurel St. location is on the outskirts of Little Italy, which I think is fitting. My earliest ancestors to come to Canada came from Italy about 100 years ago. Stories I've heard of the experiences they had, and that so many others like them had, formed a major part of my perception of this country, and part of why I wrote this book. 



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Announcing my new book // Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North

9/9/2019

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I’m proud to announce that my next book, Un-Canadian: Islamophobia in the True North, will be published by Nightwood Editions in October this year.

Details on launch events, and more, to follow.

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I'm still here!

7/11/2018

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​I know it's been forever since I updated this site, but it's actually been a pretty productive year. In between life and parenthood, I've also managed to get a reasonable amount of writing done. So, I'm still around, and I'm still doing this. When I have a better sense of where some of my projects are heading, I'll post some news. 
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Into the Current / Burn

9/26/2016

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A couple of things to tell you about:
 
A few nights ago Janine and I were at the launch of Jared Young’s novel Into the Current (Goose Lane Editions). In conversation with CBC’s Alan Neal on stage at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Jared was funny, confessional and articulate. Readings from the novel promise more of the same, so I’m really looking forward to reading it. What I heard was intimidatingly good writing.
 
Also, I can now tell you that my brother-in-law John Muggleton’s thriller Burn is being performed at the Avalon Studio on Bank Street November 4-6 and 11-13. Janine and I were honoured to be part of a small group who got to hear and offer comments on a live reading of the play while it was still in development. John is a legend in the Ottawa theatre community, known especially for his dedication and humour. The latter is in fine form in Burn, which freely indulges your nervous laughter as the growing tension looms. I’m really looking forward to seeing it live.

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Wow!

7/21/2016

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I love this little kid. Turns out babies are also a lot of work. Still writing. Slowly.
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Further up, and further in!

10/26/2015

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I'm not sure how to write this blog post. When you're a writer, people expect everything you write to be ... good.  Janine gets that because sometimes I'll bug her to take a photo of me making some silly face in front of a monument or something, and she will, but there's no way she's publishing it. Sometimes, like anyone else, writers have to fire off that two-line Christmas card to a fourth cousin twice removed, or jot down instructions about feeding a cat or something. And if the instructions suck or are boring or predictable or derivative, they might get a little judged. And other times they'll be going through the most incredible, biggest and best adventure of their lives and find, on four hours' sleep, that nothing comes forth but cliches. 

But what can I say? So many of the cliches are true. Janine and I have fallen in love with our daughter. She is a wonderful little person. I don't feel particularly insightful at the moment and certainly not witty. I just want to say that I love her, that I can't wait to see every little step of her life, and that I am more in awe of her mom than ever. 

So, I'm going to be busy for the next while. I hope that I do a better job of this than anything else I do. But along the way, I'm going to keep working as well. Stay tuned on this site for updates on the different projects I'm working on: I'm still helping to edit the E.M. Delafield biography, I'll be contributing a chapter to a book on LGBT politics being published by the University of British Columbia Press, and I've started my next book. More about that later.

In the meantime, wish us luck! And hug your mom. And a nurse. They are angels. 
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Thanks, Galiano, I love you, too.

3/4/2015

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What an incredible weekend! I’m back from the Galiano Literary Festival feeling refreshed and inspired. I enjoyed attending readings by Elizabeth May, Andrew Nikiforuk, the great George Bowering and many others. It was also great to meet fellow BC Book Prize nominee Arno Kopecky, poet Gillian Wigmore and authors Suzanne Fournier, Sandra Djwa, Cea Sunrise Person, Christine Smart, M. H. Callway, John Vaillant and many others. I also got to meet master carver Luke Marston, whose “Shore to Shore” sculpture is a permanent installation in Stanley Park. Meeting these people and chatting about writing, and comparing methods and challenges, was a valuable learning experience. I'm sure I walked off the ferry at the Tsawassen terminal a better writer...or at least with a longer reading list!

My reading went well, too. It was fun speaking more about voice and technique this time, rather than just politics. People asked informed and insightful questions, and I continue to be thrilled at the reception the book has received. It’s wonderful to know that the work has meant so much to people.

Of course, it’s always great to spend time with family and friends in BC, too (including Svend, in a cameo appearance!). My parents were able to attend the festival as well, which helped make it all even more special. When we got back to their place in North Delta afterward, with Galiano as our muse, my mom and I  immediately dove into her manuscript for her biography of E.M. Delafield. The all-important first draft is done, and I have to say, it’s shaping up very nicely!

Thanks to Jim Schmidt, Lee Trentadue and Mary Trentadue and everyone involved with the festival for the invitation and for putting on such a great event. It will be a treasured memory for me.

What a journey all this has been...


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Galiano Literary Festival

2/5/2015

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I should have posted this much sooner, but later this month I'll be speaking at the Sixth Annual Galiano Literary Festival, which will be held February 20-22, 2015, on Galiano Island in BC. Other authors speaking at the festival include Elizabeth May, George Bowering, Cea Sunrise Person and many others.

I'll be discussing my biography of Svend Robinson, but I'll be focusing more on the literary side, rather than the political this time. I thought that appropriate, given the nature of the festival. There will also be a bit more of a focus on Svend's personal life; he still spends a fair amount of time on the Island, and a lot of people there know him well.

Tickets are still available through their website - sorry to be so late in posting this!
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Canada's Parliament

10/27/2014

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I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the Cirillo family, and a speedy recovery to Constable Son. I feel tremendous gratitude to the staff that keeps us safe here on the Hill. Thank you. Let us all respond to this tragic event with a renewed commitment to Canadian values: tolerance, love and respect for all peoples of the world. Let us reject fear, racism, and hate.

And let Parliament Hill, this symbol of what we stand for as a nation, remain an active representation of our civil liberties and commitment to free speech: a place for democracy, for peaceful protest, for celebrations, and yes, for soccer, picnics and yoga.

Peace on Earth.


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    Graeme TRUELOVE

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