Christopher DiRaddo's Blog

I’m not sure if you were following the news a few weeks ago, but our little ol’ book club made quite the stir when we were told we’d be unwelcome at a Montreal city library. The short of it is, I wrote to Bibliothèque Père-Ambroise in January, asking if we could hold our meetings in its space. …

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Writer Carolyn Marie Souaid and I have been invited to lead a joint poetry/prose workshop in Vasto, Italy (Southern Abruzzo) from September 6-13, 2025. Hosted by Vasto Arts Workshops (an initiative of Canadian writer and painter Luigi Monteferrante), “The Sea and The Olive Tree” is open to writers of all levels who are looking to …

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Last month, I appeared on Shawn Mooney‘s YouTube channel, Shawn Breathes Books, to discuss epigraphs, and in particular the one I chose for The Family Way. It’s a quote from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.” Shawn invited me because the same year he read my book he also read Birding by British author Rose Ruane. It, too, …

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Last week I was awarded the Judy Mappin Community Award at the QWF Literary Awards gala. The honorary award goes to someone who has made a significant and longstanding contribution to English-language literature in Quebec (kind of like a cross between a lifetime achievement award and Miss Congeniality). I was awarded the prize for my …

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Last month I had the incredible opportunity to travel to PEI to be the inaugural writer-in-residence at The Hideout. Run by writer Trevor Corkum and his partner, psychotherapist Joshua Lewis, The Hideout offers artists a secluded and inspired place to work on a project, surrounded by pastoral landscapes and PEI’s wide-open sky. I was invited …

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Journalist Pamela Pagono attended last night’s Violet Hour: Here & Now event and interviewed writer Anthony Portulese and me for CityNews about our event and book club. It’s the first time VHBC has appeared on TV. You can watch the report below. CityNews also has an article on its website.

I met Shawn last year after he reviewed The Geography of Pluto for his Youtube channel, Shawn Breathes Books. He’s a smart, kind and thoughtful man, based in the Prairies, who loves literature and wants nothing more than to share his thoughts on the books he reads with his community. Shawn proceeded to read The …

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In-depth interviews with writers about their work are few and far between these days, so I am grateful for two recent opportunities to talk at length about my writing and community engagement. Earlier this year, I spoke with writer and professor Linda M. Morra for her excellent literary podcast Getting Lit with Linda. We talked …

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A writer always dreams to make it in the pages of The New York Times. Imagine my surprise to find The Geography of Pluto mentioned in a feature this month by celebrated Canadian novelist Mona Awad (it’s only a sentence, but I’ll take it). Mona made a number of book recommendations for people looking to …

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The book recommendation site, Shepherd.com, asked me to contribute my three favourite reads of 2023. I read so many books this year, but still, it was an easy selection for me. The three titles are: In Memoriam by Alice Winn Leading Men by Christopher Castellani Dandelion Daughter by Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay (translated into English by Eli …

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