I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...

"This would push the split between our own ancestors, Neanderthals and Homo longi back by at least 400,000 years and...raises the possibility that our common ancestor – and potentially the first Homo sapiens – lived in western Asia rather than Africa." www.theguardian.com/science/2025...

Hannah Oliver Depp: "For the month of Aug., we were down about 60% year over year... People are in pain, they’re suffering, they’re scared... Not-for-profits who might be aligned with us...fear repercussions if they were seen to support a Black, queer, Asian, disability-owned independent bookstore."

The 38th annual Vancouver Writers Fest lineup is so good. It includes A Trio of Vast Ideas with @clairecameron.bsky.social, elin kelsey, and @niigaanwewidam.bsky.social: writersfest.bc.ca/festival-eve... @writersfest.bc.ca

In June, I visited a book club at Grand Valley Institution for Women, a maximum security prison. After a great conversation, I asked if they wanted to write a poem together. This is the poem: clairecameron.substack.com/p/to-be-good...

Graham Greene helped make the rest of the world see Indigenous people as real human beings. The first time I saw him on screen was in Dances With Wolves and the last time was in The Last of Us. What a tremendous legacy! RIP ✊🏽🙌🏽❤️

Can you fall in love with AI? My piece assembled using online debates, news articles and expert opinion about chatbots in @theglobeandmail.com today. [gift link] www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e51db13...

Tickets are now available for my event with author Lily King. We'll be talking about her new novel, HEART THE LOVER. This will be at the Toronto Reference Library on October 27. Tickets are free but you have to register. www.eventbrite.ca/e/lily-king-... Hope to see you there!

Field notes from our travels to Old Crow, Yukon, to learn about how U.S. politics is threatening food security & cultural identity in Gwich’in communities across the border. Photography by Atsushi Sugimoto and Michael Code.

We can’t wait to hear from these featured authors at the VWF this fall! Otoniya J. Okot Bitek Tanya Boteju Eddy Boudel Tan @eddyboudeltan.bsky.social Holly Brickley Claire Cameron @clairecameron.bsky.social Tim Cook Stay tuned for event details at #VWF2025, taking place Oct 20–26.

EXCELLENT!! "The judge ruled Wednesday that Cycle Toronto and others "have established that removal of the target bike lanes will put people at increased risk of harm and death, which engages the right to life and security of the person." #OnPoli #ToPoli

So thrilled to be sharing a new interview with @clairecameron.bsky.social where we discuss her breathtaking memoir, HOW TO SURVIVE A BEAR ATTACK.

In June, I visited a book club at Grand Valley Institution for Women, a maximum security prison. After our conversation about my book, we wrote this poem together. It’s in @theglobeandmail.com today. [Gift link] www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e51db13...

In @theglobeandmail.com, I wrote about camp & outdoor education: "I can’t shelter my children from everything that’s potentially dangerous. It won’t necessarily keep them safer...learning to recognize and manage risk is an important part of staying alive." www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

"In real life, it is the hare who wins. Every time. Look around you. And in any case it is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market. Hares have no time to read. They are too busy winning the game." ~ Anita Brookner

I can't believe this feature is nearly ten years old. I think about it so often as a benchmark for feature writing in science journalism. It won a Pulitzer too. So good. www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

It’s me!

LOOK at this stunner of an Orangespotted Sunfish! Caught and released from a floodplain lake off the Minnesota River. Yes, freshwater fishes can be quite colorful too!

I have a soft spot for the groovy orange 1970's / 80's Canadian Pacific fleet. (imagine the cigarette smoke in there)

This is a painted grasshopper nymph (Poekilocerus pictus). Gorgeous. Yes, it’s real. I caught and released an adult one of these in Arondizuogu, Nigeria once. 😃 My cousin said it looked like a masquerade and I’ve thought of them like that ever since.

Indigenous sovereignty and Indigenous-led conservation are both crucial to Canada’s future — but they’re also widely misunderstood. @michellecyca.com explains in our latest video: thenarwhal.ca/indigenous-s...

Two bears named Mish and Lucy — 5-year-old siblings — escaped their enclosure at a wildlife sanctuary in Devon, England. They devoured a week’s worth of honey in about an hour.

Today's #1000wordsofsummer letter comes from the great @clairecameron.bsky.social and it's on the magic of KENNINGS, perhaps our nerdiest letter yet 1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/p/day-10-100...

they cast long gleams of light over the turbid sea

More recommended reads: @clairecameron.bsky.social on how her skin cancer diagnosis turned her noctural. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/03/m...

I did not wake up this morning looking for profound insight into MrBeast’s whole deal but @mrkocnnll.bsky.social has provided it

Also, Mark Carney & I were on The Current via the @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social yesterday. This is a replay of my interview with @mattgalloway.bsky.social, probably one of best interviews I've done? You can listen here: www.cbc.ca/player/play/...

Saving the best for the last: In support of my memoir, HOW TO SURVIVE A BEAR ATTACK, I'm doing a short 3-leg tour along the shores of Georgian Bay: 1. Meaford, ON This is tomorrow, Wednesday June 4th @ 1 pm | Meaford Public Library -- info here www.meaford.ca/en/explore-p... #booksky #booktour

A good if tough read. I appreciate the Guardian’s commitment to reporting on this. Also: a banger of an opening anecdote!

Estimated numbers of caribou in the Beverly herd rose by nearly 50,000 from 2018 to 2023, according to figures published by a board that helps manage the herd.

“How to hurdle these tariff difficulties? Canada cannot afford to sit down meekly and hope for the best should and must at least retain her self-respect” My piece using quotes from reporting about the 1930 Tariff Act @theglobeandmail.com [gift article] www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e51db13...

Breaking news from Iceland: The ewe Viðja from Haugar í Skriðudal á Fljótsdalshéraði gave birth to six lambs on Monday.

I didn't ask for it, so why is Gemini is all of a sudden in my email? It asked if I wanted any help. I said yes, turn this off. It wrote a sample letter for me, "Dear Google, I do not wish to participate in the Gemini AI features..." I asked where to send this letter. The answer?

“The word “agency” gets at the idea that plants are not passive recipients of the world. They take into account their surroundings, the conditions, and shape themselves accordingly.” On plant intelligence.

These are always just the longest posts ever but everyone always has so many questions. I hope this covers it all! Good luck everyone! Starts May 31! 1000wordsofsummer.substack.com/p/1000wordso...

For years, author @clairecameron.bsky.social was consumed w details of a rare but deadly #bear attack in #AlgonquinPark. Then she wrote a book about it... She will speak in #GreaterSudbury on May 21 at the annual Celebrate Women event. Tickets are $20 each. www.thesudburystar.com/news/local-n...

Take note of this, Ontario 😡

Best-selling author Claire Cameron (@clairecameron.bsky.social) joined me to talk about her book, How to Survive a Bear Attack, an infamous bear attack, how much bears and humans are alike, and how her life has changed since a cancer diagnosis. #podcast #betterme podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/e...

I open my eyes and I am dreaming that I am in a tin can like a little fish. The Bear ~Claire Cameron #SundaySentence

A case challenging Ontario's weakened climate policy could be on the verge of a precedent-setting victory after Canada's Supreme Court denies government's leave to appeal, while a suit against the Canadian federal government is set to go to trial next year www.climateinthecourts.com/youth-climat...

Dog park

This is a great article about the peaceful co-existence with bears — especially noting bird feeders at this time of year.

NEW: The Great Lakes hold 95% of all the surface freshwater in the United States. Severe cuts have decimated the NOAA Great Lakes lab. Scientists worry they’ve lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people. My story for @propublica.org

A beetle, ash trees and basketmaking. We partnered with @duncanmccue.bsky.social's Reporting in Indigenous Communities class at Carleton University for a story about one Mohawk community’s fight to protect black ash trees and a long tradition of basketmaking from the invasive emerald ash borer.

For today's #pypermaynia post, we have the wonderful Claire Cameron! Thank you, Claire!

The details in this possible bear attack in Florida aren't yet clear, but it's worth inserting a note about dogs. Many people feel safer with a dog in bear country. However, there's evidence that dogs may actually trigger attacks. I'll link to a study next. www.naplesnews.com/story/news/2...

McGill Climate Data Refuge Academics at McGill University in Montreal set up a database hub that has saved thousands of climate change data sets from ideologically-driven government destruction in the United States. What a changing world, natural and political.