Contemporary Canadian Literature with a Distinctly Urban Twist

Anvil Press

Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing

Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing

  • canada orders CAD $22
  • us orders US $17
  • world (outside Canada/US) orders US $17

Through forty-three personal essays, Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing brings together insights from writers and publishers across Canada on the practices that fuel their work, and invites readers to join the conversation through a series of engaging writing prompts. The essays collected here include strategies for pre-writing, writing and revision, as well as thoughts on the writing life and the world of writing. Resonance is for any writer of fiction, non-fiction or poetry who has ever wanted a helping hand, a quick chat, or a word of encouragement along the lonely road from blank page to published work. 

Resonance seeks to build community and extend the practice of creativity to writers everywhere. 

Contributors (in order of appearance):
Janet Fretter, Raoul Fernandes, Katherine McManus, Andrew Chesham, Christina Myers, Renée Sarojini Saklikar, Reg Johanson, Kayla Czaga, Joseph Kakwinokanasum, Peter Babiak, John Whatley, JJ Lee, Leanne Dunic, Jónína Kirton, K. Ho, Claudia Cornwall, Paul Headrick, Rob Taylor, Joanne Arnott, George Bowering, Madeline Sonik, Joan B. Flood, Candie Tanaka, Maria Reva, Jen Sookfong Lee, Eileen Cook, Joanne Betzler, Janie Chang, Caroline Adderson, Aislinn Hunter, Betsy Warland, Wayde Compton, Claudia Casper, Stella Harvey, Laura Farina, Carleigh Baker, Brian Payton, Fiona Tinwei Lam, Kevin Spenst, Leigh Nash, Brian Kaufman, Andrew Steeves, and Brian Lam.

Praise for Resonance:

“Make room on the bookshelf between Strunk and White’s Elements of Style and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird because Resonance: Essays on the Craft and Life of Writing deserves a place among these writing classics.”
— Winnipeg Free Press

“Full of wise experience, frank advice, and dozens of useful prompts, Resonance lays bare the challenges and joys of writing and editing. Exploring topics across genres and from a diversity of perspectives, it is an essential anthology to urge and inspire writers at every stage.”
~ Saleema Nawaz, author of Songs for the End of the World

“A book for the shelf of every aspiring and working writer, written by some of our most thoughtful and powerful literary voices. Carleigh Baker on memory and autofiction, Kayla Czaga on the endless return of reading and re-reading, Wayde Compton on the productive rupturing of the writer’s best laid plans. These are just a few examples. Resonance will earn its title by echoing with meaning and inspiration long after you’ve finished the final essay.”
~ Timothy Taylor, author of The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf


  • Publication: February 20, 2022
  • ISBN: 978-1-77214-184-9
  • Pages: 248 pages
  • Size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches

Books by Andrew Chesham & Laura Farina (Eds.)