Taddle Creek (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Taddle Creek is a literary magazine
based in Toronto
, Ontario, Canada. Published twice a year—in June and December—it showcases the work of established and emerging authors/illustrators who live (primarily, but not exclusively) in the Toronto area. A typical issue of Taddle Creek will feature a mix of fiction
, poetry
, interviews
, comics
, essays
, and photographs
, as well as Editor-in-Chief Conan Tobias's wry editorials
on the often erratic application of grammar and style in media, commerce, and everyday life.
The magazine also has a robust on-line component that features a large archive of previously published material, subscription information, book recommendations, contributor bios, and humorously stringent submission guidelines.
A note on its Web site outlines the magazine's reason for existing: "Every six months Taddle Creek restores the sanctity of the literary magazine, fusing traditional editorial and design values with non-ephemeral, modern-day urban fiction and poetry by Toronto-based writers to create a product unassociated with any one literary movement. Works found in Taddle Creek are not easily categorized: intelligent yet stylish, sensitive yet cavalierly violent, self-absorbed yet socially aware, humorous yet disturbing. In short, Taddle Creek is the journal for those who have come to detest everything the literary magazine has become in the twenty-first century."
neighbourhood and surrounding areas with an annual Christmas issue. But in a fit of millennial optimism, the magazine expanded both its focus and its output—to the whole of Toronto and to twice a year. By 2002, the magazine had found national distribution and national acclaim.
In December 2007, the magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary with an unusually large, 72-page issue, a launch party at Toronto's Gladstone Hotel, and a renewed commitment to nurturing Toronto's literary vigour.
which, according to its Web site, "usually coincide with the launch of a new issue of the magazine, and include a mixture of readings, music, art, food, and alcohol. Happenings generally are not confined to a single location, moving throughout Toronto, from coffee shop
to speakeasy
to bar
to tavern
. Most importantly, readings are restricted to a legendary fifteen-minute maximum." Readers have included Dani Couture
, Hal Niedzviecki
, and Mary-Lou Zeitoun. Venues have included the downtown Toronto establishments Jet Fuel, Rancho Relaxo, Supermarket, and the Cadillac Lounge. Comestibles have included hamburgers
, Steam Whistle Pilsner, and popsicles.
In keeping with its high editorial standards, the magazine is also meticulously typeset
, using the Garamond 3
, Toronto Subway, and TC Stillson typefaces—the latter designed specifically for Taddle Creek by typographers Rod McDonald and Renée Alleyn.
Editor-in-Chief/Publisher
Andrew Daley
Associate Editor
Kevin Connolly
Copy Editor
Joyce Byrne
Proofreader
Alfred Holden
Alex Mlynek
Contributing Editors
Ian Phillips
Illustrator
John Montgomery
Contributing Artist
Mark Lyall
Photographer
Literary magazine
A literary magazine is a periodical devoted to literature in a broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish short stories, poetry and essays along with literary criticism, book reviews, biographical profiles of authors, interviews and letters...
based in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario, Canada. Published twice a year—in June and December—it showcases the work of established and emerging authors/illustrators who live (primarily, but not exclusively) in the Toronto area. A typical issue of Taddle Creek will feature a mix of fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
, poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, interviews
Interview
An interview is a conversation between two people where questions are asked by the interviewer to obtain information from the interviewee.- Interview as a Method for Qualitative Research:"Definition" -...
, comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, essays
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
, and photographs
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, as well as Editor-in-Chief Conan Tobias's wry editorials
Editorial
An opinion piece is an article, published in a newspaper or magazine, that mainly reflects the author's opinion about the subject. Opinion pieces are featured in many periodicals.-Editorials:...
on the often erratic application of grammar and style in media, commerce, and everyday life.
The magazine also has a robust on-line component that features a large archive of previously published material, subscription information, book recommendations, contributor bios, and humorously stringent submission guidelines.
A note on its Web site outlines the magazine's reason for existing: "Every six months Taddle Creek restores the sanctity of the literary magazine, fusing traditional editorial and design values with non-ephemeral, modern-day urban fiction and poetry by Toronto-based writers to create a product unassociated with any one literary movement. Works found in Taddle Creek are not easily categorized: intelligent yet stylish, sensitive yet cavalierly violent, self-absorbed yet socially aware, humorous yet disturbing. In short, Taddle Creek is the journal for those who have come to detest everything the literary magazine has become in the twenty-first century."
History
Founded in 1997 by publisher Conan Tobias, the magazine originally served Toronto's AnnexThe Annex
The Annex is a neighbourhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road...
neighbourhood and surrounding areas with an annual Christmas issue. But in a fit of millennial optimism, the magazine expanded both its focus and its output—to the whole of Toronto and to twice a year. By 2002, the magazine had found national distribution and national acclaim.
In December 2007, the magazine celebrated its tenth anniversary with an unusually large, 72-page issue, a launch party at Toronto's Gladstone Hotel, and a renewed commitment to nurturing Toronto's literary vigour.
The Happenings
Taddle Creek is locally infamous for its semi-annual "Happenings,"Happening
A happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
which, according to its Web site, "usually coincide with the launch of a new issue of the magazine, and include a mixture of readings, music, art, food, and alcohol. Happenings generally are not confined to a single location, moving throughout Toronto, from coffee shop
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
to speakeasy
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
to bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
to tavern
Tavern
A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....
. Most importantly, readings are restricted to a legendary fifteen-minute maximum." Readers have included Dani Couture
Dani couture
Danielle Couture is a Canadian writer.Couture was born on a military base to a Francophone father and an Anglophone mother, both of whom were enlisted in the Canadian Forces. She has lived in ten cities, including North Bay, Vancouver, Windsor and Taichung, Taiwan...
, Hal Niedzviecki
Hal Niedzviecki
Hal Niedzviecki is a Canadian novelist and cultural critic.Born into a Jewish family, he was raised in Ottawa, Ontario and Potomac, Maryland, did his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and his graduate studies at Bard College...
, and Mary-Lou Zeitoun. Venues have included the downtown Toronto establishments Jet Fuel, Rancho Relaxo, Supermarket, and the Cadillac Lounge. Comestibles have included hamburgers
Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
, Steam Whistle Pilsner, and popsicles.
Editorial rigour
One hallmark of Taddle Creek is the care that is taken during production. All of its contents, be they fiction or non-fiction, are subject to a rigorous cycle of editing, fact-checking, and proofing. To maintain such high editorial standards, the magazine has produced two in-house references to which it submits: The Taddle Creek Guidebook to Editorial Style and Its Usage and The Taddle Creek Guidebook to Fact-Checking Fiction.In keeping with its high editorial standards, the magazine is also meticulously typeset
Typography
Typography is the art and technique of arranging type in order to make language visible. The arrangement of type involves the selection of typefaces, point size, line length, leading , adjusting the spaces between groups of letters and adjusting the space between pairs of letters...
, using the Garamond 3
Garamond
Garamond is the name given to a group of old-style serif typefaces named after the punch-cutter Claude Garamond . Most of the Garamond faces are more closely related to the work of a later punch-cutter, Jean Jannon...
, Toronto Subway, and TC Stillson typefaces—the latter designed specifically for Taddle Creek by typographers Rod McDonald and Renée Alleyn.
Masthead (as of December, 2007)
Conan TobiasEditor-in-Chief/Publisher
Andrew Daley
Associate Editor
Kevin Connolly
Copy Editor
Joyce Byrne
Proofreader
Alfred Holden
Alex Mlynek
Contributing Editors
Ian Phillips
Illustrator
John Montgomery
Contributing Artist
Mark Lyall
Photographer
Some notable and/or frequent contributors
- Gil AdamsonGil AdamsonGil Adamson is a Canadian writer. She won the Books in Canada First Novel Award in 2008 for her 2007 novel The Outlander.Adamson's first published work was Primitive, a volume of poetry, in 1991...
- Sandra AllandSandra AllandSandra Alland is an Edinburgh Scottish-Canadian writer, multimedia artist, small press publisher, performer and activist. She has published two collections of poetry, Proof of a Tongue and Blissful Times...
- Jason Anderson
- Suzanne Alyssa Andrew
- Gary BarwinGary BarwinGary Barwin is a Canadian writer, composer, and performer who lives in Hamilton, Ontario. He writes in a range of genres including poetry, fiction, visual and concrete poetry, music for live performers and computers, text & sound works, and writing for children and young adults...
- Moe BergMoe Berg (musician)Moe Berg is a Canadian singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer for the rock group The Pursuit of Happiness.-Biography:...
- Tamara Faith Berger
- Michelle Berry
- Ryan Bigge
- Alex Boyd
- Chris Chambers
- Michael ChoMichael Cho (illustrator)Michael Cho is a Canadian illustrator and cartoonist. He has been nominated for a number of awards and had his work positively reviewed.-Background and style:...
- Kevin ConnollyKevin ConnollyKevin Connolly is an American actor and director. He is best known for his role on the HBO series Entourage as Eric Murphy and his role as the eldest son Ryan Malloy in the 1990s television sitcom Unhappily Ever After....
- Dani CoutureDani coutureDanielle Couture is a Canadian writer.Couture was born on a military base to a Francophone father and an Anglophone mother, both of whom were enlisted in the Canadian Forces. She has lived in ten cities, including North Bay, Vancouver, Windsor and Taichung, Taiwan...
- Lynn CrosbieLynn CrosbieLynn Crosbie is a Canadian poet and novelist. She teaches the University of Toronto.-Life and career:Crosbie was born in Montreal, Quebec, and now lives in Toronto, Ontario....
- Andrew Daley
- Brian Joseph Davis
- John Degen
- Elyse Friedman
- Camilla GibbCamilla GibbCamilla Gibb is a writer living in Toronto.Born in London, England, she grew up in Toronto and studied at the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the Jarvis Collegiate Institute...
- Kristi-Ly Green
- Beatriz Hausner
- Sheila HetiSheila HetiSheila Heti is a Canadian writer.Heti, who was born in Toronto, Ontario, studied art history and philosophy at the University of Toronto and playwriting at the National Theatre School of Canada....
- Alfred Holden
- Kerri Huffman
- Maureen Jennings
- Susan Kernohan
- Dave LappDave LappDave Lapp is a cartoonist who lives in Toronto Canada. He works at a city drop in center, but has been creating alternatve comics for more than ten years.-Works:...
- Alexandra Leggat
- Jennifer LoveGrove
- Derek McCormackDerek McCormack (writer)Derek McCormack is a Canadian novelist and short story writer whose work is characterized by its extreme brevity and its humorous, often distinctly queer forms of sexual darkness....
- Susan Mockler
- Jim MunroeJim MunroeJim Munroe is a Canadian science fiction author, who publishes his works independently under the imprint No Media Kings.Munroe was managing editor at the magazine Adbusters in the 1990s, before publishing his debut novel Flyboy Action Figure Comes With Gasmask in 1999...
- George Murray
- Hal NiedzvieckiHal NiedzvieckiHal Niedzviecki is a Canadian novelist and cultural critic.Born into a Jewish family, he was raised in Ottawa, Ontario and Potomac, Maryland, did his undergraduate studies at the University of Toronto and his graduate studies at Bard College...
- Kathleen Olmstead
- Ian Phillips
- Jay Pinkerton
- Emily Pohl-WearyEmily Pohl-Weary- Biography :She is the granddaughter of science fiction writers Judith Merril and Frederik Pohl. Her 2002 biography Better to Have Loved: The Life of Judith Merril won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book in 2003 and was a finalist for the Toronto Book Award...
- Stan Rogal
- Stuart RossStuart RossStuart Ross is a Canadian fiction writer, poet, editor, and creative-writing instructor.Ross was born in Toronto's north end in 1959 and grew up in the Borough of North York. He began writing at a very young age and was first published at age 16 by Books by Kids . This book, The Thing in Exile,...
- Emily Schultz
- Kate Sutherland
- Susan SwanSusan SwanSusan Swan is a Canadian author. Born in Midland, Ontario, she studied at McGill University. Her list of works includes The Wives of Bath , and What Casanova Told Me . The Wives of Bath was made into the film Lost and Delirious in 2001, starring Piper Perabo, Jessica Paré, and Mischa Barton...
- R. M. VaughanR. M. VaughanRichard Murray Vaughan is a Canadian poet, novelist and playwright.A graduate of the creative writing program at the University of New Brunswick, Vaughan currently lives in Toronto. He was playwright-in-residence at Buddies in Bad Times in 1994-95, and has published numerous works, including...
- Paul VermeerschPaul VermeerschPaul Joseph Vermeersch is a Canadian poet.Born in Mississauga, Ontario, he grew up in Southwestern Ontario and lives in Toronto.His first collection, Burn , was a finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award...
- Myna Wallin
- Darren Wershler-HenryDarren Wershler-HenryDarren Wershler aka Darren Wershler-Henry is a Canadian experimental poet, non-fiction writer and cultural critic.A former grave digger, he was the senior editor of Coach House Books between 1997 and 2002, where the works he edited included several highly acclaimed books of contemporary innovative...
- Jessica Westhead
- David Whitton
- Alana Wilcox
- Mary-Lou Zeitoun
Commendations and shortlists
- 2000 National Magazine Award (Honourable Mention)—Profiles—Alfred Holden, "The Streamlined Man"
- 2001 Heritage Toronto Certificate of Commendation—Alfred Holden—"For writing that illustrates Toronto’s architecture and its contribution to the quality of the city."
- Compuserve Canada Featured Canadian Site (2002)—taddlecreekmag.com
- 2002 National Magazine Award (Honourable Mention)—Poetry—John Degen, "Bicycles"
- 2003 Now magazine Best of Toronto Critics’ Pick—Best T.O. Lit Mag—Taddle Creek
- 2004 National Magazine Award (Honourable Mention)—Words and Pictures—Michael Cho, "Night Time"
- 2005 National Magazine Award (Honourable Mention)—Fiction—Elyse Friedman, "Lost Kitten"
- 2006 Journey PrizeJourney PrizeThe Journey Prize is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short story published by an emerging writer in a Canadian literary magazine. The award was endowed by James A...
(Long List)—David Whitton, "The Eclipse"