Taddle Creek

(thanks to Taddle Creek magazine for the use of this image)

It's getting to that time of year again when Torontonians in the know start wondering when the next Taddle Creek happening will be. I am also wondering, and cannot find any info about it on the Taddle Creek Information Superhighway Location on the Internetwork. And so I post this musing, knowing that TC publisher Conan Tobias will be alerted to my question by Google's robots and will answer, at which time I will update this blog with the info and the circle of web life will continue to spin.

Taddle Creek is nothing less than Canada's greatest literary magazine. It appears only twice a year, is always beautiful to look at, and mixes fiction, poetry, essays and interviews in just the right proportions. I am biased, but that hardly matters, since I'm also correct.

For a sample of Taddle Creek you must visit their beautifully text-heavy website -- and what better place to start than this page, which contains an excerpt from my novel.

To give you an idea of how TC manages to be the best, consistently, year after year, you need only look as far as the facts that are presented in my entirely fictional contribution to the magazine. Before it was published, Tobias and I spent many a back and forth e-mail wrangling over the Swedish geography presented in the excerpt. As well, I believe Tobias did intensive research on the American tobacco industry to make sure that, indeed, Kent cigarettes were offered in Swedish cigarette machines in the 1970s. Simply put, the man's obsessive attention to detail always improves the quality of the literary work he accepts for his magazine. If that isn't enough, he launches each and every issue with a party at which there is often free beer.

So fly, Google monkeys, fly -- and tell Mr. Tobias we are wondering when the next great party will be.