Work forthcoming in the next issue of Carte Blanche.

Montreal is a great place for writers to be in 2020. From their Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival in May to the Festival International de la Litterature in September, this beautiful spot will be full of authors from all over the world.

If you find yourself in the area, be sure to spend some time in Librairie Drawn and Quarterly (literary bookstore), and also The Word for used books and rare books. There are many other booksellers walking distance from there.

When we were younger my sister and I abandoned the rest of our family on a cruise ship and ran off to explore Montreal. What an odd place these ships are, you are floating in the middle of an ocean but there are multiple gaudy tourist bars, and piles of absurd amounts of food at all times. We were underage, and took full advantage of the international waters, ringing up enormous bar bills on our grandmother’s account and later blaming it on our father. Then we would practice shooting discs off of the side of the ship. My sister would roll her own smokes in the bathroom, which I would try but they hurt my throat. She was dressed like a train hopper because we had watched The Journey of Natty Gan, which was also the reason I had told the kids in my class that I had a pet wolf. Anyway, the appeal of this area lured us off that strange spot of self-indulgence. And I think if our arrival had coincided with one of these festivals, we never would have made it back.