Rat-a-tat-tat … I Smell A Rat
What does a rat even smell like? Well, I have no idea … even though I’ve seen a rat or two in my lifetime…
Rat-a-tat-tat … I Smell A Rat Read More »
What does a rat even smell like? Well, I have no idea … even though I’ve seen a rat or two in my lifetime…
Rat-a-tat-tat … I Smell A Rat Read More »
This past Christmas season, Yukoners were introduced to a new children’s book created by local illustrator Tedd Tucker.
The Simple Joys Of Yukon Count Read More »
Many classic stories have food and drinks intrinsically linked to their narratives. The Whitehorse Public Library has taken this idea and run with it, creating Page to Plate – a series of workshops for youth linking literature and cooking.
Meals inspired by literature Read More »
With over 225 novels to her credit, Nora Roberts is a bestseller by any definition. Wikipedia says the books are all romance novels, so I’m
Murder and romance in small-town Alaska Read More »
When he arrived in Yellowknife, back in 2004, with his wife, Serena, and baby daughter, Janessa, it didn’t occur to John Henderson that he might
John Henderson: Celebrating the Great White North Read More »
“Yukon soldiers are buried in more than 50 cemeteries on four continents.” –Michael Gates Lest we forget … This is why Michael Gates (Yukon historian
For those who answered the call … Read More »
To be, or not to be. For advocates of plain writing, Shakespeare’s most famous monologue is a touchstone. Its opening sentence consists of nine one-syllable
Let be whatever may befall Read More »
Sebastian Fricke and Rose Seguin share their journey, their “inner compasses” with us as they travel and write on their way through Alaska and the
The Northern Seduction Read More »
“I’m a fifty-pager,” says Whitehorse writer Pat Ellis, commenting on her preference for producing short history booklets. Her latest, Financial Sourdough Starter Stories—“The Trump Family,
Where the Trump family fortune got started Read More »
The Wolves of Winter is Tyrell Johnson’s first published novel. It’s set in the Yukon, but he hadn’t actually been here until he came to Whitehorse for last month’s Yukon Writers’ Festival.
A dystopian life near the Blackstone River Read More »
Visual artist Hilary Lorenz will take hand-crafted cards along her art adventure on the Chilkoot Trail in July.
Magic on the Trail Read More »
The Atlin writers’ festival not only offers music but also offers literature, readings and workshops.
Atlin Lit Up! lights up the Yukon writing scene Read More »
“Nature is not something else, isolated, out there; it is as much a part of us as we are of it, and neither can be
The ecological web: A story of salmon caught in the middle Read More »
Marcelle Dubé has written the fifth novel of her Mendenhall Mystery Series titled The Forsaken Men. Her Mendenhall isn’t a subdivision of Whitehorse, but rather a fictive place in Manitoba.
Investigating lost bull semen Read More »
The Northern Review, which is published by the School of Liberal Arts at the Yukon College, describes itself as “a multidisciplinary journal exploring human experience in the Circumpolar North.
The Northern Review looks at literature Read More »
The sad truth was, you could not live in Syria and have a clean heart. How could you, when you live in a place where you’re randomly shot at and car bombs explode outside your home?
A raw and real experience of the war in Syria Read More »
Zsuzsi Gartner built her early career as a writer in journalism, working as a newspaper reporter, then a TV current affairs producer and then a magazine writer and editor, but has been interested in creative writing from an early age.
Zsuzsi Gartner: Aspiring to the darkly tragi-comic Read More »
CBC/Radio-Canada got involved in the Canada 150 sesquicentennial celebrations in a big way, starting about a year earlier with an open call for submissions to be put in a 2017 yearbook.
Putting Canada 150 between two covers Read More »
Owen Laukkanen is unabashedly a writer of commercial fiction, also known as “genre” fiction, having produced a novel every year since The Professionals came out (and was nominated for four major genre awards) in 2012.
Owen Laukkanen: “Keep writing and edit your own work ruthlessly” Read More »
Lots of writers can point to a specific event or person that sent them in the direction of a career in writing; Tyrell Johnson isn’t one of those people.
Tyrell Johnson: ‘Write the story you would want to read’ Read More »
PHOTO: Dan Davidson The Yukon Writers’ Festival takes place May 2 through 5, with events throughout the Yukon In 1990, a number of organizations
Gearing up to explore ideas and the written word Read More »
A Sea Shell … by Victoria aged 7 [almost 8]. PHOTOS: Nadine Peters
Poetry Corner: Victoria Peters Read More »
Author Kate Harris shucked her space dreams and, with her friend, Mel Yule, picked up the courage to embark on a different trip: to cycle the Silk Road from end to end.
Bridging the Divide Read More »
With I Am Canada – A Celebration (North Winds Press) Heather Patterson has come up with a novel way of assembling an overview of special things about our country.
13 Ways to look at Canada Read More »
In keeping with this column’s focus on Yukon related material, I’m returning this week to a successful thriller that is set in a version of
Strange things won from the midnight sun Read More »
“To most people, the pack ice looked like a cold, endless wasteland that spread across one’s entire field of vision. But, if one watched it
A new narrative on gold rush history Read More »
Yukon author Eva Holland has taken advantage of Amazon’s Kindle Singles format to produce what might have been a 45-page volume about the early history of Arctic exploration.
A tale of Arctic exploration Read More »
On Sunday, December 10, you are invited to come out to the roastery at Bean North Café and listen to readings by several poets and writers.
An afternoon of coffee and fresh ideas Read More »
Winter Child, the first novel by Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau to be translated to English, is a lyrical journey through a mother’s grief of losing and outliving her child.
Through dark to the light Read More »
With over 280,000 visitors and 1,000 authors, the Frankfurt Book Fair is the largest book fair in the world and an important event for international trade deals, with over 7 000 exhibitors from 100 nations, according to the fair website.
Yukon writers gear-up for Frankfurt Book Fair Read More »
Volume 44 of The Northern Review contains the complete list of the papers from The North and the First World War Conference that was held in Whitehorse, and in Dawson City, May 9-12 2016.
The Northern Review remembers World War I Read More »
There’s no need to be a closet comic nerd anymore. The genre has exploded into accepted popularity over the last 10 years and it’s definitely
Canada’s first superheroine saved from obscurity Read More »
The editor at What’s Up Yukon doesn’t often receive handwritten letters, but there were two on file when I arrived. We’ve sent Mrs. Schorn a
What’s your digital footprint? Read More »
“Ship’s logs, myths, stories of quiet exaltation and wrenching lamentations can all become poetry when the experience resonates deeply with the rhythm of the human
It is easy to laugh at the antics of ravens. They are quirky, curious and yes, funny. A well-known title they carry among First Nations
An Unkindness of Ravens Read More »
Once again I was about to die. Like every other literary artist before me I was about to die forgotten in a ditch at the
A Satirical Race Through a Parallel Universe Read More »
Auguries, by Clea Roberts Whitehorse author Clea Roberts newest book, Auguries, is published by Brick Books. The title “Auguries” refers to an ancient practice of
Fresh poetic summer reads Read More »
Every summer, Rose and her family pack up and head to their cottage in Awago Beach. There, the long days melt into lake swims and
Slap on a Hat, Slip into this Book Read More »
The Yukon Imagination Library — non-profit organization that gives free books to Yukon children from birth to age four — is turning 10 this year.
There’s Always a Stack of Books Hidden Under Their Quilts Read More »
During the week that leads to the Discovery Days weekend, the Klondike Visitors Association, Parks Canada and the Writers’ Trust of Canada celebrate the writers
Celebrating the Klondike’s Literary Legends Read More »
When Yukon playwright Patti Flather launched the book of her highly acclaimed play, Paradise, on a warm June evening at Baked Café in Whitehorse, Mac’s
From stage to page Read More »
Simply stated, the best narrative I’ve read about country lifestyle in the contemporary north and the only one featuring Atlin and the Yukon.
Memoirs of an Atlin School Marm Read More »
It was the summer he turned twelve, after his failed attempts to save the fox kits, that he began collecting bones, scouring the grass and
Ordinary Bones of Extraordinary People Read More »
Dan Carruthers’ more recent thriller, Anya Unbound (2017), introduces us to Sean Carson, a recovering widower, who stumbles across a 17-year-old Polish girl on the
Yukon’s Fictional Geography Read More »
The Yukon Imagination Library — a local non-profit organization that gives free books to Yukon children once per month from the time they are born
Imagine the Yukon – Part 1 Read More »
… A wind was blowing from the mountains, and the surface of the snow was swirling along like snakes, the way it often did on
Wilderness Living with a Canine View Read More »
MacLeod’s Books in Vancouver is a book lover’s dream. Books are piled up from floor to ceiling. Fortunately, the friendly staff helps you to navigate
An Inspiring Book, Found in a Unique Bookstore Read More »
I was in Grade 10 in 1967. For some reason my school provided high school students with tree saplings to take home and plant. Why
Remembering Canada’s Centennial Year Read More »
The Story of Canada in 150 Objects Canadian Geographic & The Walrus Magazine format 130 pages plus pullouts $15 On an older note, there are
Books to Celebrate 150 years of Canada Read More »
His Naturalist’s Guide to Spirituality, The Road is How, is a lyrical account of Trevor Herriot’s three-day, 40-mile journey
A Naturalist’s Guide to Spirituality Read More »
The first volume of Lewisohn’s trilogy The Beatles: All These Years. The main drawback is that at only about 800 pages, it’s over too soon.
“As Jack knelt in the bloody snow, he wondered if that was how a man held up his end of the bargain, by learning and
The Things that Weather You, Shape You Read More »
“Exploring the Frontiers of Language” will be the theme of this year’s edition of the North Words Writers Symposium, which will be held in Skagway
“Think of magic as a tree. The root of supernatural ability is simply the realization that all time exists simultaneously. Humans experience time as a
Playing in the Dark Read More »
Jamie Bastedo is not new to the Yukon. He first came to the territory 35 years ago as a biology graduate student. “Think Never Cry
Sheri-D Wilson, who calls herself The Mama of Dada, is an award-winning spoken word poet, educator, speaker and activist, who has performed in literary, film
Yukon based writer Joanna Lilley has just published her second collection of poetry If there Were Roads by Turnstone Press; she says that there are
All Her Roads Lead to Poetry Read More »
“To come here is to travel into a past that still intrudes the present.” –an excerpt from A Walk With the Rainy Sisters: In Praise
A Contemplative Celebration of Place Read More »
Breasts, boobs, tits, tatas. Mind the title, because, yes, this really is a story about tits, but it’s also, oh! so much more than that.
Of Breasts and Beyond Read More »
I’m very jealous of what Whitehorse based Lily Gontard and Mark Kelly have managed to pull off with their delightful book, Beyond Mile Zero: The
Chronicling the Vanishing Alaska Highway Lodge Community Read More »
James Bernard MacKinnon, commonly bylined as J.B. MacKinnon, will be coming to the Yukon from Vancouver to be the Yukon Public Libraries’ choice as a
Writing as a Full Time Profession Read More »
“Everyone talks about the Goldrush. I’m interested in the gaps in history. The points in between,” says Yukon writer Michael Gates, author of From the
Filling the Gaps in Our History Read More »
This is the second of a five part series by Dan Davidson about the professional authors participating in the Yukon Writers’ Festival and the Young Authors
Using Stories to Make People Think Read More »
Do you or someone you know love books almost as much as their pet? These three books draw on the animals in our outer lives
Growing up is hard. And the microcosm of high school — with its changing expectations and responsibilities and the push-pull of social dynamics, while, at
Superhero Highschool Read More »
Born in England, but transplanted to Newfoundland when she was very young, Kathleen Winter credits libraries with kick starting her interest in writing. “We moved
A Mentor for Yukon Young Writers Read More »
It’s (hopefully) coming to the last wintery blows before the ice breaks; the spring will soon rush in and soon after we can cast our
Books to Spring Forward Read More »
Stories are invaluable teachers, says B.C. author Caroline Woodward, they have the ability to “give us whole worlds.” Old stories, too, are relevant artefacts that
History Offers Timeless Perspectives Read More »
“We imagined ourselves free of the hassles and troubles we’d accumulated in Toronto. We imagined a life without rushing, without the subway, without neighbours at
The Grass is Greener Wherever Convenience Resides Read More »
“… but also they were a family, because this story is all about that. About humans and human-ness. Fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters. Love
A Fable of Feminist Lore Read More »
Each October, the city of Frankfurt in Germany plays host to the second largest literary trade fair in the world, with 7,153 exhibitors representing 106
Bringing Yukon literature to the world stage Read More »
“This is how you want to talk about your beers — with pride and a bit of humour too — and to do that, you
A Pioneering Memoir to Keep the Brew True Read More »
“Mannering was in the august high noon of his life. He was prosperous, and well dressed, and he owned the largest and most handsome building
A Provocative Gold Rush Mystery From the Other Side of the World Read More »
How to Survive in the North is a graphic novel where three northern tales — two historical and true, one fictional and set in present-day
Modern-day Cartoons for Historical Folks Read More »
Whoooo the heck is Cedric, anyway? We’ll come back to that later. About a year after Beth Hawkes moved to Salt Spring Island with her
“Maybe she didn’t cry because tears were a currency in her life for so long that holding them back meant she was richer.” Birdie is
Birdie – Tracey Lindberg Read More »
Parents and teachers, do you have a budding Jack London in your midst? Kids in Grades 1-7 are invited to enter the Yukon Quest Short
On the Quest For A Good Story Read More »
Anyone who has ever put pen to paper knows it can be a daunting experience. To stare at a blank page waiting for the strike
Writing Down the Soul Read More »
Libraries are the most thrilling silent spaces to walk into; to me, they’re goldmines of intrigue. But when going in blind, the variety and selection
How to Choose a Library Book Read More »
Faye Ferguson understands the value of documenting one’s life stories, for both the writer and the eventual reader. Ferguson is a personal historian based in
“People always blame strange occurrences on a full moon, but I think shit is weird every single day.” “That’s a lie.” “I’m going to get
Comics capture real life stories Read More »
You may know Irish Canadian author Emma Donoghue by the fame she has gained from her 2010 novel Room, and its film adaptation. I must
The Wonder builds up slowly to a thrilling ending Read More »
“His mother used to say the soul was a bird that lived in the nape of the neck. At night it flew out of the
Practically unheard of – the top 10 books reviewed last year were evenly split between male and female authors. And never before: the number of
Writing toward inclusion Read More »
Zhoh, the Clan of the Wolf: Fiction of the first humans to inhabit The Yukon. I knew Bob Hayes novel would be physically accurate.
Predator and Prey 14,000 Years Ago Read More »
“While a part of me was glad I wasn’t like my brother, no part of me wished to be more fortunate than my mother. To
The Collapse of Family Read More »
“That night I went through my reprimand sentence by sentence, word for word, and it got better each time.” “I put on a CD of
Doubt, Delight and Discomfort Read More »
About the same time as I was reading Elle Wild’s very entertaining mystery novel, Strange Things Done, I happened to watch a discussion between best
Dawson in a Fictional Sense Read More »
Former Yukoner Jerome Stueart and Yukon author Marcelle Dubé will read together form their books on Dec. 13 at Baked Cafe. It will be an evening about fantasy novels.
It was one of my former writing students who managed to shame me into signing up for NaNoWriMo this year. If you’re not familiar with
While others hunker down against winter’s wrath, the local literary scene is hotter than ever. The winter Writers’ Roundtable organized by the Friends of the
Write through the winter Read More »
Every December since 2009, Lise Schonewille, manager of Mac’s Fireweed Books, celebrates Winterval, the start of the holiday season, with local authors in the store.
Titles Hot Off the Presses Read More »
“She was thinking about the way she’d always taken for granted that the world had certain people in it, either central to her days or
Humanity in a Post-Apocalyptic World Read More »
British artist David Hockney displayed his latest piece here: a complete collection of his artwork in a huge book. The book costs about 2,500 Euro
Book Fair Fever in Frankfurt Read More »
“Stories are not only words, you know. Words are just the clothes that people drape on stories.” – Brian Doyle, author of Mink River I
The Threads that Hold Us Together Read More »
Do ghosts exist? For some they do. The main character in Marcelle Dubé´s novel, Shelter, moves into a haunted house in a small town in
A Good Read for Halloween Night Read More »
Welcome to What’s Up Yukon’s first mad libs. With winter on the horizon, it’s time to renew our
Celebratory Mad Libs Read More »
As humans we are obsessed with counting things. We keep track of the numbers in our lives. We are always keeping score, measuring, recording and
The Importance of Numbers in Our Lives Read More »
Ever since the advent of the internet, pundits of all description have been predicting the demise of print journalism. Traditional newspapers and magazines, once so
Long Live Print! Long Live What’s Up Yukon! Read More »
I have been writing for this paper for three years, now. I remember the day my first piece was published. It was my first publication
I am not one who likes to read dry historical tomes. I like to absorb my history through the sugar coated pill of historical fiction, written
Engaging Historical Fiction Read More »
The Yukon is recognized for its rich cultural diversity, and you are invited to experience it during the seventh national Culture Days and Doors Open
Doors are Open for Culture Days Read More »
Ever since she was a little girl, Teva Harrison drew. She studied art after high school. But, as it often goes, “needing to make a
Learning how to Live Joyfully Read More »
Toronto-based poet Claire Caldwell’s role as writer-in-residence at the Berton House in Dawson City ends this month. Caldwell is no stranger to the Yukon. She
Rooted in the Yukon Read More »
Though best known for his 15 collections of verse (a term he preferred to poetry in reference to his own work) Robert Service also wrote novels.
The Trail of 98 Shows Another Side of Robert W. Service Read More »
Inspired by the Yukon winter and the road closures that lead to a feeling of isolation, Elle Wild wrote her first crime novel and set
Strange things make a great story Read More »
Whitehorse resident Maureen McCulloch wrote her debut novel to bring a message into the world. She wrote the book under the pseudonym, Maureen Senecal. “I
Searching for Inner Truth on the Chilkoot Trail Read More »
Jack London’s The Call of the Wild is not a particularly long book. A mere 70 pages, perhaps a few more in a version with
The Joys of Reading Aloud Read More »
Writing poetry since she was a child, Nova Scotia based author Shauntay Grant says she has always loved creative writing. “The oldest poem I’ve kept
Fresh Words and Deep Roots Read More »
Mark Zuehlke grew up in the Okanagan, hearing tales of Remittance Men – those eccentric British immigrants sent here in the late 19th century by
Mark Zuehlke and the Remittance Men Read More »
Most writers would be delighted if something they wrote could survive 10 minutes after they shuffle off this mortal coil. But 400 years? To use
The Last Word in Wordsmithing Read More »
For years I have heard the name Voltaire and have not had a chance to locate any of his works. Then the fateful day came
A Candide Account of Voltaire Read More »
Unlike many a published author, Saskatoon writer Sandy Bonny didn’t study to become one. It just happened. “I haven’t got an English degree,” she says,
Nurturing Good Writing Read More »
I’ve been enjoying a couple of relatively new books about the work of the latecTed Harrison. They are Ted Harrison Collected (Douglas & McIntyre) and
Dawson and the Harrison Effect Read More »
July: The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (American, 1951) Hopefully hopeless, Anna Karenina details the rise and fall of a Russian beauty
A Very Literate Year (Part 2) Read More »
Dark satire about one of the most hopeful and ultimately oppressive revolutions in history, Animal Farm cuts deep into the heart of Soviet communism while
A Very Literate Year (Part 1) Read More »
Mushing season has begun. While waiting for the Yukon Quest or the Iditarod, here are some suggestions for armchair mushers. Racing Toward Recovery by Mike
Books for Armchair Mushers Read More »
Poetry, spoken, plays and short stories at Brave New Words. An evening of music poetry and cocktails. The brave can get up, it’s an open mic.
The Frankfurt Book Fair is the biggest book fair in the literary world. Publishers, agents, authors and readers from all over the world come to
A dispatch from the Frankfurt Book Fair Read More »
It’s the fall season, which means two things: the slow-creep of cold weather and a near-existential dread of the aforementioned. It also means, for thousands
Three Books for Adventurous Souls Read More »
As the crew who came here to film an episode of the Canadian television series Murdoch Mysteries a few years ago told me, Dawson is
Fun fiction from the Klondike Read More »
It’s a dark and rainy night, when Kate Williams finds an injured stranger on the Highway. She pulls over to help him, not knowing that
This place is in my blood Read More »
The kaleidoscope of memory is a wondrous thing. A quarter twist, and tiny fragments tumble themselves into a startling pattern of perception. Another twist, another
A word or two about memory, memoirs and waterfowl Read More »
“We want to freshen up the image of the library … as the cool place that it is,” Sarah Gallagher tells me with a sideways
Joanna Lilley’s craft extends beyond poetry. With the publication of her new book, The Birthday Books (Hagios Press), the author shows she can write prose
Joanna Lilley Shows Her Love for the North in The Birthday Books Read More »
By the time you read this I’ll be “Exploring the Frontiers of Language” in Skagway, attending this year’s edition of the North Words Writers Symposium.
Off to Skagway to Explore Language Read More »
What does knitting have in common with writing poetry? Both must be done carefully. One mistake can ruin the whole image. Jamie Sharpe knitted a
Mind Stretching Poetry Read More »
A voice in her periphery, one that was indelibly twisted into her memories, rose above the unfolding dialogue in her mind and, like the instinct
Living in the suburbs, having children and a husband, driving a minivan: for some this may sound boring, but it is Cea Sunrise Person’s dream
The Dream of a Normal Life Read More »
“ One hundred writers from around the world in 86 events”, was the motto of the 2014 Vancouver Writers Festival. It kicked off with an
People Will Always Need Stories Read More »
When I first travelled to Canada and the United States I was impressed with the service I got — from the smallest breakfast restaurant, to
Exploring Good Service in Whitehorse Read More »
A good poem can be a flower seed planted in the mind of the reader. Everything is in the poem; it just needs fertile ground
Poems Like Flower Seeds Read More »
I’ve come to realize that atheism sure ain’t that sexy. When you compare all the trappings and incentives that other belief systems have, we come
The Atheist Doth Protest Too Much Read More »
The Klondike has been the inspiration for a great deal of fiction since the Gold Rush, beginning with Jack London, who came with the Stampeders
The Klondike Echoes Down through the Literary Years Read More »
Perspective, use it or lose it. I pulled that one from my dog-eared copy of Illusions, by Richard Bach. It’s a fun read that takes
Farewell, We Hardly Knew Ye … Heck, He Hardly Knew Ye-self Read More »
I once made the happy mistake of surfing on eBay, shall we say, under the influence. I say “mistake” as I found out, in a
Comic Books – Fun and Free for All! Read More »
Before your vocal chords burst into the chorus from Julie Andrews’ “My Favorite Things” (dash it all, I hate to spoil your fun), I’m not
These are a few of my favourite things … Read More »
Imagine children, some as old as 17, who have never held a book – never read a book in their own language … Liesel Briggs
Putting hope in the hands of children Read More »
??BY DAN DAVIDSON The snowplough went by at noon today; I think it’ll go by again. The reason I think this is plain to the
The Snowplough Went By at Noon Today Read More »
I have been voraciously reading David Sedaris’ books for a few weeks now. There are few writers who can make me laugh so hard that
I Am In Love With David Sedaris Read More »
There are many gravesites marked on the downhill side of Mary McLeod Road, but the only one with a beaten path to it belongs to
A Teller of Tall Tales Ended his Journey in Dawson City Read More »
The departure of yet another Berton House writer, Jeanne Randolph, brought to my mind the number of writers in residence who have come and gone
They Keep Coming Back Read More »
Watching visitors to town wander about taking pictures of things that seem quite ordinary to those of us who live here is a reminder that
Early Adventures in Yukon Tourism Read More »
One thing his early journalism career taught author Lawrence Hill was to pursue the adventure of his stories. Alongside working on final drafts of his
Process of Imagination Read More »
Being in Dawson City for a residence at the Berton House is a dream come true for Winnipeg writer Joan Thomas. This is not the
The story of bones Read More »
If you were to write about the northern hairy-nosed wombat, each paragraph would reveal something new about it. A paragraph contains one facet of a
Knowing when to begin again Read More »