Don’t Ignore that Gut Feeling
“Were the gut solely responsible for transporting food and producing the occasional burp, such a sophisticated nervous system would be an odd waste of energy. […]
Don’t Ignore that Gut Feeling Read More »
Modern-day Cartoons for Historical Folks
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 »
Cedric Wants You
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
Birdie – Tracey Lindberg
“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 »
Writing Down the Soul
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 »
How to Choose a Library Book
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 »
Yukon / Utopia
In “Spell of the Yukon,” Bobby Service suggests, The realm’s Utopia—snock snarls of forests; Avalanches that out-grumble politicos; Gold that outweighs paper dollars backed by
Life Lines
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
Comics capture real life stories
“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 »
The Wonder builds up slowly to a thrilling ending
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 »
Birds and Loss
“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
Writing toward inclusion
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 »
Predator and Prey 14,000 Years Ago
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 »
The Collapse of Family
“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 »
This is Home
Former Yukoner Jerome Stueart and Yukon author Marcelle Dubé will read together form their books. It will be an evening about fantasy novels.
NaNoWriMo Memoirs
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
Write through the winter
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 »
Titles Hot Off the Presses
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 »
Humanity in a Post-Apocalyptic World
“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 »
Book Fair Fever in Frankfurt
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 »
F*ck Feelings
“There’s no ‘should’ or ‘should not’ when it comes to having feelings. They’re part of who we are and their origins are beyond our control.
The Threads that Hold Us Together
“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 »
A Good Read for Halloween Night
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 »
The Importance of Numbers in Our Lives
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 »
What is it About Newspapers?
My first experience working for a newspaper was immediately out of high school. I was hired to be the receptionist at an office in Portage
What is it About Newspapers? Read More »
Long Live Print! Long Live What’s Up Yukon!
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 »
Just Write
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
The Magical Fall Wind
Boreas always tires of summer on the same day each year, the same day a very special baby girl was born. After a bite off
The Magical Fall Wind Read More »
Engaging Historical Fiction
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 »
Doors are Open for Culture Days
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 »
Learning how to Live Joyfully
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 »
Rooted in the Yukon
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 »
Strange things make a great story
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 »
How Two Pierres had an Adventure in the Yukon
Steve Pitt came to the Yukon in 1982 to attend his sister’s wedding. She was marrying Dal Fry, son of Art and Margie Fry. That’s
How Two Pierres had an Adventure in the Yukon Read More »
Searching for Inner Truth on the Chilkoot Trail
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 »
Sharing Words
In 2015 Victoria-based poet Yvonne Blomer paid a visit to Whitehorse and did a reading of her poetry book, As If a Raven. In her
Celebrating Fathers and Gay Pride
June brings summer and Father’s Day, and is also a time of special significance to the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer community (LGBTQ). June
Celebrating Fathers and Gay Pride Read More »
Fresh Words and Deep Roots
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 and the Remittance Men
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 »
The Last Word in Wordsmithing
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 »
The Joy of Haiku
On May 20 to 22 haiku lovers from across Canada will descend upon the Gold Rush Inn for three days of all-things haiku. The Haiku
Literature in the Kluane Country
Kluane Country has long inspired writers. Three such writers will be doing readings in Haines Junction and Whitehorse on May 17 to 19. Whitehorse writer
Literature in the Kluane Country Read More »
A Candide Account of Voltaire
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 »
Nurturing Good Writing
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 »
In praise of Whistle Bend
As I turn from Mountain View Drive and toward our Whistle Bend home, I am yet again gobsmacked by the sudden and looming sight of
In praise of Whistle Bend Read More »
A Very Literate Year (Part 2)
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 »
The Craft of Storytelling
Three of the country’s best storytellers will soon descend on Whitehorse for the Northern Lights Writers’ Conference. The conference features Terry Fallis, author of Best
The Craft of Storytelling Read More »
Literary Fisticuffs
Local Yukoners will face-off to defend their favourite books as part of the Northern Lights Writers Conference, running Jan 23-23. Author of Best Laid Plans
Literary Fisticuffs Read More »
A Very Literate Year (Part 1)
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 »
Books for Armchair Mushers
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 »
The Good Ol’ Days of Squatting
Pat Ellis first arrived in Whitehorse in the early 1950s. She was a 19 year-old art student from Winnipeg and Whitehorse was a much different
The Good Ol’ Days of Squatting Read More »
Poetry in Action
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.
A dispatch from the Frankfurt Book Fair
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 »
Three Books for Adventurous Souls
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 »
Fun fiction from the Klondike
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 »
This place is in my blood
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 »
A scientistʼs letters to the future trace a journey to find optimism
What kind of world will be handed down to my daughter’s generation? That question led conservation ecologist Alejandro Frid to write A World for My
A scientistʼs letters to the future trace a journey to find optimism Read More »
Review Haiku
“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 Shows Her Love for the North in The Birthday Books
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 »
The Ultimate Guide to Yukon Sport
John Firth’s massive Yukon Sport: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, published in November 2014 by Sport Yukon, is a heavy book.
The Ultimate Guide to Yukon Sport Read More »
Grief Writing in Dawson
Jacob Scheier wrote his first collection of poems about the loss of his mother; he was 20. She had gotten sick when he was in
Grief Writing in Dawson Read More »
The Adventures of Suburban Joe
It’s been ten years and three months since we moved to this street. The neighbors are friendly. It’s quiet and neat. The bus and the
The Adventures of Suburban Joe Read More »
Three French Guys and a Moose, Part Four
The following excerpt is based on true events that took place around 1980. What’s Up Yukon’s editorial staff would like to remind you that there
Three French Guys and a Moose, Part Four Read More »
The Sound of Home
I dream of my hometown. Walking through these streets again, listening to music floating from open windows like light. Harmonica, accordion. Walking these streets where
Three French guys and a moose: Part 3
The following excerpt is based on true events that took place around 1980. What’s Up Yukon’s editorial staff would like to remind you that there
Three French guys and a moose: Part 3 Read More »
Brave Old Words
Compared to what I did last time (playing my banjo and singing in front of a rowdy bar crowd) the prospect of reading poetry to
Intimidating but Great
“Writing poetry makes me happy,” Joanna Lilley says. “I am somewhere else when I write poetry. I am an intuitive writer.” The Whitehorse based poet
Intimidating but Great Read More »
Mind Stretching Poetry
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 Poem a Day
If you peruse the 365 poems that make up the Tumblr feed from Lori Garrison’s latest poetry project, Today, In the News, you won’t find
Some Writers
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
One River, Many Maps
At the beginning of his noon hour public lecture David Neufeld said he was working on his book but didn’t want to finish it because
One River, Many Maps Read More »
Three French Guys and a moose: Part 2
Part One was published in the Jan. 29, 2015 issue. It left the three French guys heading out on a big hunting trip. Claude and
Three French Guys and a moose: Part 2 Read More »
The Dream of a Normal Life
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 »
SMRT Pop Ups
“It’s an exploratory adventure,” says Sofia Fortin, one of the masterminds behind the currently ongoing SMRT Pop Ups initiative at Rah Rah Gallery. “A bunch
Three French Guys and a Moose Part 1
Claude, Jacques and Marcel just finished their shifts at the copper mine outside of Whitehorse and decided to go for a beer in town. They
Three French Guys and a Moose Part 1 Read More »
Neil Young’s Wild Ride
If there is anyone left in Canada still interested in figuring out how Neil Young’s brain functions, his second memoir Special Deluxe, A Memoir of
Neil Young’s Wild Ride Read More »
Up Ghost River Without a Paddle
When Edmund Metatawabin’s (Ed) residential school memoir, Up Ghost River, jumped off the new-books shelf of the Yukon Public Library and landed in my book
Up Ghost River Without a Paddle Read More »
Didee & Didoo – Poem “In Heaven”
In Heaven We will never die an’ we’ll never cry. We’ll never be sad an’ nobody gets mad. There is no grief an’ there is
Didee & Didoo – Poem “In Heaven” Read More »
Death of the American Dream
Dr. Hunter Stockton Thompson was a champion of fun. If he is remembered at all, it is through exaggerated shades of his personality. Bill Murray
Death of the American Dream Read More »
Tibetan Peach Pie
It’s not often I give myself an impossible writing assignment but I’m doing so now because I’m intrigued by the challenge. Book reviews often have
People Will Always Need Stories
“ 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 »
Creativity Boot Camp
Writing a first draft of a novel is like the beginning of a romantic relationship: Everything is exciting, new, and there is a lot to
Creativity Boot Camp Read More »
On Cursive
Cursive writing has gravity, compared to printed writing. Cursive is used for special occasions, like thank you cards and letters to lovers, or to grandparents
Writing With the Ultimate Deadline
Priest is diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and is not able to speak, but her eyes said it all: she was blown away by
Writing With the Ultimate Deadline Read More »
Experiencing Finnish Cuisine
While reading The Boreal Feast, Miche Genest’s second cookbook, I wanted to pack my baggage and travel to Scandinavia. Genest surrounds recipes with stories and
Experiencing Finnish Cuisine Read More »
Keeping Busy On The Berton House Beat
Last evening our current writer-in-residence, Anik See, presented two of her essays to 15 people at the Dawson Community Library. See focuses particularly on landscape
Keeping Busy On The Berton House Beat Read More »
Landscape and Solitude
In 1938, when Anik See’s maternal grandparents wanted to get married, they had to satisfy the authorities in their German homeland that neither side had
Landscape and Solitude Read More »
Dumplings For Your Moose Stew
It’s an unfortunate household that doesn’t occasionally sit down to a simmering pot of delicious moose or other wild-game stew. It’s a meal that can
Dumplings For Your Moose Stew Read More »
Book Reading Season
Every season is book reading season, but the most exciting season to read books is in the fall. The feeling of the change from summer
Book Reading Season Read More »
A Piece of Alaska-Yukon History
On a cold and cloudy February day in 1899 a group of eleven men boarded the City of Seattle, a ship bounded for Skagway, Alaska.
A Piece of Alaska-Yukon History Read More »
Stories Made of Living History
“They can’t be taking that little girl in there — really.” Those were the whispered words that Dawn Kostelnik heard as a child in the
Stories Made of Living History Read More »
A week full of poetry
It was a rainy and windy afternoon in LePage Park on Friday, July 11, when author Jessica Simon started reading her poem, “A Spot to
A week full of poetry Read More »
Sasquatch Love
Looking for a book that fits into a backpack for a camping trip? Rachel and Ursula Westfall`s first self-published novella, Estella of Halftree Village, is
Life Lessons from a Phenomenal Woman
Dr. Maya Angelou lived her life like she wrote her poems: fearlessly, with inner grace and free spirit. When she died on May 28, at
Life Lessons from a Phenomenal Woman Read More »
Love is Easy
If she were to write a love letter to Whitehorse, Lindsay Zier-Vogel says it would be to the Yukon River early in the morning. And
A Book is an Actual Thing
Collecting material possessions fills me with ambivalence. If anything, the accumulation of objects causes stress, and the old adage “the things you own end up
A Book is an Actual Thing Read More »
Breaking Free From the Darkness
Andy Nieman’s first book, called Free Man Walking, is like a train journey through his life. Each chapter starts with a poem and takes the
Breaking Free From the Darkness Read More »
Guided Discoveries
Have you ever wondered about the names of the plants and wildflowers along the Alaska Highway? With the summer outdoor season just around the corner,
Guided Discoveries Read More »
Captain Neely leaves the ship
Tamara Neely, the stalwart editor of What’s Up Yukon since October 2012, is having a kid. As assistant editor, I’ve watched her grow rounder month-by-month
Captain Neely leaves the ship Read More »
Exploring Good Service in Whitehorse
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 »