Interviews:
Clues & Reviews, Interview June 28, 2017
The National Post, Interview/Review June 23, 2017
CBC’s Magic 8 Interview June 20, 2017
“Strong Beginning” Interview for CBC Canada Writes June 11, 2013
Queen’s Alum returns to discuss debut novel, March 13, 2013
CBC Canada Writes Reader interview, February 19, 2013
Taddle Creek profile, January 2013
Salty Ink interview December 6, 2012
Hazlitt, “Shelf Esteem” column interview, November 20, 2012
The One Question Interview with Alex Boyd, November 16, 2012
Open Book: Ontario (For IFOA Ontario) October 19, 2012
Mississauga News October 10, 2012
IFOA Blog interview September 26, 2012
CBC The Next Chapter (podcast) September 24, 2012
Hazlitt, “If It’s Fiction, It Better Be True” – Steven Heighton & Grace O’Connell in Conversation August 23, 2012
Canada Arts Connect July 17, 2012
Zoomer Magazine July 16, 2012
The Three Rs Interview with Slightly Bookist July 13, 2012
CBC Music: Words & Music with Tony Dekker & Grace O’Connell (part one) July 5, 2012
CBC Music: Words & Music with Tony Dekker & Grace O’Connell (part two) July 5, 2012
The Globe & Mail CanLit Fab Five June 30, 2012
Celtic Life International
This Magazine June 8, 2012
Blog Post & Interview with Indigo Fiction Blog May 31, 2012
Reviews & Recommendations:
Be Ready for the Lightning
Review: The Toronto Star July 2017
Review: The Bookshelf (Independent bookstore in Guelph, Ontario) July 2017
Review: The Globe & Mail June 2017
Review: Clues & Reviews June 2017
Review: Quill & Quire June 2017
CBC Books: What We Can’t Wait to Read in June June 1, 2017
Chatelaine Book Club: Best Summer Books May 29, 2017
Magnified World
Salty Ink: Dozen Most Dazzling Debuts of 2012, December 20, 2012
Review: Buried in Print October 15, 2012
Women’s Post: Fiction for You August 1, 2012
CityLine’s Friday Reads Book Club July 27, 2012
CBC Books Writers to Watch 2012 June 29, 2012
Review: The Globe & Mail June 22, 2012
Review: Magnified World, The Toronto Star June 16, 2012
Review: Magnified World, Indigo fiction blog, May 30, 2012
CBC Books Recommended Summer Reading May 17, 2012
Review: Books Under Skin May 17, 2012
Review: Literary Treats May 1, 2012
Review: Quill & Quire May 2012
Selected Blurbs:
Be Ready for the Lightning
“Be Ready for the Lightning is gripping, tense and full of fear, but also generous, true, and full of heart. By holding a crackling tension between the two, O’Connell takes us on a captivating exploration around the boundaries of family love.” — Claire Cameron, author of The Neanderthal
“A gripping story of an indelible life in all its vivid turmoil and everyday beauty. With wit, empathy, and wonder, Grace O’Connell has crafted a terrifically assured novel about how words can fail us and also how they can save us. I didn’t want it to end.” — Elan Mastai, author of All Our Wrong Todays
“Grace O’Connell is a writer of fierce precision and her novel is enthralling. It captures the random traumas of living, and dying, in New York City with poetry and adrenalin.” — Emily Schultz, author of Men Walking on Water
“Tense and razor-sharp, Grace O’Connell’s writing crackles. This book will stay with you long after the last page.” — Tanis Rideout, author of Above All Things
“Be Ready for the Lightning is both a gripping page-turner and a heartfelt examination of what it means to be compassionate, even in the most extreme situations. Cinematic and timely, you will not be able to put this book down.” — Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People
Magnified World
“Seductive, subtle and stunning all at the same time… O’Connell’s writing is such that you’d follow her anywhere. You’ll want to live inside this language, wrap yourself up in it; She really is that good.” — Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall, author of Ghosted
“Magnified World brims with life and magic… O’Connell’s belief in the power of stories to save us shines through at every turn.” — Catherine Bush, author of The Rules of Engagement and Claire’s Head
“At once funny and deeply disturbing, Magnified World will remain with the reader long after the book is closed and put aside.” — Rabindranath Maharaj, author of The Amazing Absorbing Boy
“Magnified World is a powerful debut that tackles the fears and joys of the heart. There is poetry on the path that lies beyond loss, and Grace O’Connell has found it.” —Ami McKay, author of The Virgin Cure and The Birth House
“Be glad you found this book. It’s magical.” —Lisa Moore, author of February
“Grace O’Connell’s debut, Magnified World, bristles with energy… A smart, dark, funny, puzzle box of a book that is as much about hope as it is about grief and the grip of a mother on her daughter.” — Alexi Zentner, author of Touch
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