Glenna Turnbull won the Runner Up Award Winner in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to History chapter for
PICKING UP
A HITCHHIKER ON HER WAY TO WORK
BAM: Hi, Glenna. Where are you located?
Glenna: Kelowna, BC, Canada
Glenna: Wherever I am with my laptop.
BAM: Tell me some random favorites of yours.
Glenna: My favourite authors are Michael Crummey, Michael Ondaatje, Esi Edugyan and Mirian Toews. My favourite drink is water and my favourite place and island is Newfoundland.
BAM: Interesting. Coffee or tea or something else?
Glenna: Tea.
BAM: Okay. Now, about writing. Writers, whether they realize it or not, have a message for readers. Is there something you passionately want the human race to stop doing, which might appear in your writing?
Glenna: There are SO many things I wish we would stop doing, but wars and polluting the planet are key.
BAM: I feel like if humans dealt with pollution, many wars would end. Not all, though. What’s the best way to write?
Glenna: To actually sit and write and accept the fact you will have a shitty first draft.
BAM: True. How do you relax?
Glenna: Knitting and spinning wool.
BAM: Hmm. What's your greatest achievement in writing?
Glenna: I just had my debut novel accepted for publication by the publishing house I was hoping for.
BAM: Great news. Let me know when I can read it. What inspires you to write?
Glenna: It’s not so much what inspires me, it’s more like a compulsion to write. I’ve been writing since I was a child when my grandfather would take me up to his study with my brother and sister, and we’d make up funny stories.
BAM: A wonderful grandfather to push laughter and creativity on you. So, as a writer, what do you do to overcome writer's block?
Glenna: The best way to get over writer’s block is to do something else creative or go for a long walk in the forest with no distractions—no phone, no music, just walking in the trees.
Biography:
Glenna’s short fiction has appeared in many literary magazines. She won the 2023 Jacob Zilber Fiction prize and has a short story in the upcoming Best Canadian Short Fiction 2025. Her novel, Finding Sally’s Cove, is due out shortly with Breakwater Press.
Social media:
@WriteBrainGirl on X
@glennaturn on Instagram
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