Matt Cahill's blog
My year-of-years continues with blessings – I was profiled in the December issue of Quill & Quire, the major trade publication for publishers and booksellers in Canada. Although the feature isn’t likely to be posted online, I’m attaching a photo below taken from my smartphone. The December issue is still on newstands if you are interested in picking up a copy.
I am proud to put new works out into the world. My short fiction piece, There Is This Thing Of You, is something I’ve been polishing for a number of years and I’m happy that it found a home with the online literary journal The Rusty Toque.
While it’s free to read, please consider donating to The Rusty Toque if you like what you see (and please check out the other great authors – like poets Madhur Anand and Eva H.D.)
I was contacted by rob mclennan (he spells it lowercase, and who am I to argue with this?) to take part in his ongoing 12 or 20 (second series) Q&A. He asks some great (and sometimes challenging) questions about writing, the process, and influences. Any writers out there might find this interesting. Please enjoy.
I was interviewed by Lisa de Nikolits for All Lit Up about my novel, The Society of Experience (along with authors Andrew Battershill and Erna Buffie) as part of a series on emerging authors explaining their craft and process. I try to be candid (and I think it comes across). Read the Q&A here.
I recently did an interview with The Brantford Expositor, talking about the The Society of Experience and the recent media attention. Link: here.
Just a quick note to say that there is now a website for my novel – available now and launching tomorrow night in Toronto – The Society of Experience. You can find it here. It comes complete with a streaming audio playlist of songs and artists featured in the novel, as well as a map showing where much of the book takes place. Please enjoy responsibly.
I cannot believe how the stars aligned for this, but Harper’s Bazaar – a massive, Hearst-owned fashion and lifestyle magazine – put out a list of their Top 15 “must-reads” for the fall of 2015. And I’m #11. Along with Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, Patti Smith, Isabel Allende, David Mitchell, and I’ve lost my mind. It’s the only debut novel on the entire list (and the third Canadian title)!
Link: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/g6211/best-fall-2015-books/
In anticipation of Word On The Street (September 27th, Harbourfront) and the release of my book, The Society of Experience, I was asked todo a Q&A with Open Book. It was a refreshing exercise, seeing as they were just as interested in Ontario as where I lived, Toronto. The thing is I’m qualified to speak of both: I moved a lot as a kid, from town to town. I’ve only lived in Toronto since 1995 (20yrs this month). It got me thinking about my influences growing up, among other things.
Have a read here: http://www.openbooktoronto.com/news/word_street_interview_series_matt_cahill
My debut novel, The Society of Experience, is a mere month away from being available in print (the exact date, I’m unsure of). I’m supremely excited. I’m particularly pleased with the two endorsements I received:
“Matt Cahill’s debut novel The Society of Experience explores the dangers of magical thinking in a most entertaining way. Both thoughtful and humorous, twisty and fun, this is transporting storytelling (in more ways than one).”
— Andrew Pyper, author of The Demonologist and The Damned.
“A swirling confident debut, supported by crisp prose without misstep, and containing many more original ideas than books three times its slender size. Sly and slippery fun – I thought of Ben Marcus and JG Ballard… writers who say don’t worry I know what I’m doing as they break from the pack.”
— Tony Burgess, author of Pontypool Changes Everything and The n-Body Problem
I’m going to be presenting The Society of Experience at Toronto’s Word On The Street festival, on September 27th. This year it will be at Harbourfront, which I think is a wonderful new environment for it.
The official launch will be October 8th–details to come. My author site will also have details on this and other works.
So much has happened…
– sold house (add to this: renovated house)
– bought condo (add to this: mourning house, moving)
– moved psychotherapy practice to newly-leased office (add to this: find office space, renovate, move)
– had my application to the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario accepted
– began intense revision process on novel (coming out in September)
So there you have it. I also hope to have a new short story published around the time my novel comes out, so yeah. All hands on deck at the moment.
I leave you with the cover for my novel, The Society of Experience:
