Posts by Ken McGoogan
Contest Time: Playing HARDBALL with 50 Canadians
Last time he held a contest, just over two months ago, Our Hero took a beating. The challenge didn’t last two hours. People were all over him with answers. Obviously, he underestimated his audience. He’ll try not to make that mistake again. Before going further: if you are in possession of, or have access to,…
Read MoreCanada Council report analyzes PLR program for writers
It’s here at last: the Canada Council’s third and final report on this country’s Public Lending Right Program (PLR). Entitled Options for Renewal, it runs to 58 pages. Exhaustive and authoritative, it lays out the array of choices that face the Public Lending Right Commission. Hats off to Roy MacSkimming, the author and ex-publisher who…
Read MoreWhen Amazon cuts book prices, how do authors fare?
As an avid reader, an inveterate “consumer” of books, I welcome lower prices. But when Amazon and overstock.com start slashing list prices of books by 50 per cent and more, I feel driven to give a shout-out to my fellow authors. That’s because most contracts between writers and publishers include a royalties clause that slashes…
Read MoreCircling Calgary with John Rae on board
Those who check this page religiously (hi, mom) will have noticed that Our Hero “updated” his last posting, taking out a reference to venue. Yes, the Scots are still marching to Calgary and we’re on our way, too. Originally, to give our talk about explorer John Rae, called Return to Rae Strait, we were making…
Read MoreThe Scots Are Marching to Calgary
The Calgary Highland Games were good enough for Rick Mercer. He turned up, tossed the caber (admittedly shortened), and generally had a grand old time. You can see for yourself right here. This year, 2013, marks the 100th anniversary of these Scottish games. As luck would have it, this year also marks the 200th anniversary…
Read MoreCanada’s Celtic Connection . . . .
That’s the headline on my column in the latest issue (August-September) of Canada’s History magazine. The piece touches on JFK, the “coffin ships” that brought so many immigrants to Canada, and the new statue in Londonderry that matches one in Halifax harbour. It begins as follows: Some years ago, while driving with friends in Canada,…
Read MoreEastern Canada joins the Creative Nonfiction Revolution
It’s a revolutionary milestone. Two weeks from now, on August 4, 2013, the University of King’s College in Halifax will launch Canada’s first master’s degree program in Creative Nonfiction (CNF). This two-year, limited residency program is designed to help emerging writers turn nonfiction manuscripts into published books. Our Hero is thrilled to be one of…
Read MoreHurrah! All-Time Greatest Facebook Hits . . .
Over on Facebook, Our Hero’s All-Time Greatest Hits, as “liked” by FB friends, include the following . . . Hurrah! My ship is finally coming in. I’ve just received a letter from France. A lawyer indicates that a safe deposit box containing $4.2 million will be opened, and half that total will come to me,…
Read MoreWhat, me worry? It’s just metadata . . .
So it’s just metadata? Forget about it, eh? That, I confess, has long been my mantra. But now I read this piece by John Naughton, one of Britain’s (and Ireland’s) leading experts on all things Internet. Naughton writes for the Observer and teaches at University of Cambridge. At the end of his short, sobering think-piece,…
Read MoreWe Are Ford Nation . . .
OK, it’s far from polished. But I came across this little marching song on YouTube. It’s called WE ARE FORD NATION. The fourth and final verse runs: Never mind the video of Robbie smoking crack/ He says it does not exist, they stabbed him in the back/ We hear that they took his bong and…
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