Canadian Writer's Guide. 12th ed.

Description

757 pages
$30.00
ISBN 1-55041-191-8
DDC 808'.02

Year

1997

Contributor

Edited by Murphy O. Shewchuk
Reviewed by Janet Arnett

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

 

Review

I can’t believe there’s no index. There’s an article on how to
write an index. But no index. And if there ever was a book that cried
out for an index ... . Obviously getting the goodies out of this mass of
material isn’t going to be easy. There is structure, however, and as
most of the content has reference potential, that structure is the
saving grace.

The first half of the work is a jumble of 123 articles/essays on
writing. It would be hard to find an aspect of writing not included.
There’s technical how-to material; motivational bits; items on
fiction, nonfiction, children’s books, theatre, TV, radio, journalism,
and memoirs, as well as on every other type of writing, including
college essays, writing for the Internet, and writing for government.
Anything you need to know about writing is probably in there somewhere.

To give all this some form, the essays are grouped in blocks:
inspiration, business, style, fiction, writing for children, poetry,
newspapers and periodicals. This section comprises the work of nearly 90
writers; it is inevitable that the quality is uneven, in both usefulness
of content and style.

The second major section of the book consists of lists and directories.
All the details needed to make the initial contact are listed for
grants, awards, contests, writer’s organizations, literary agents,
periodical markets, and book publishers. This material is clear, clean,
and easy to access.

This is the most comprehensive source available for Canadian
information relevant to writers, and an essential tool for any writer
aspiring to be published in Canada.

Citation

“Canadian Writer's Guide. 12th ed.,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed October 6, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/2426.