Haven’t you bought the new issue of Taddle Creek yet? What are you waiting for? Fine—if all the stories further down this page aren’t enticement enough, here are two more:

“Corey Was a Danger Cat,” a short story by Heather Hogan; and

“See You Next Tuesday,” a short story by Stacey May Fowles, Taddle Creek’s Favourite Girl™.

Please go buy the issue now?

Taddle Creek being on Facebook is so 2009. If you really want to keep up with the magazine in this futuristic decade of the tens, you need to follow The Taddle Creek Twitter Feed of Tweets. Now you can get that special Taddle Creek wit you so enjoy at the beginning of every issue on a daily basis, one hundred and forty characters at a time. If lots of chatter about absolutely nothing important is your bag, you’ll love following Taddle Creek on Twitter. Tell your friends. (Even the Facebook kind.) 

Taddle Creek’s winter issue isn't usually very wintery, but this year, winter-type things just sort of crept in when Taddle Creek wasn’t looking. It’s a very arty issue too (also not planned). The issue is now on newsstands, so why not have a look for yourself. For a mere $4.95, you can even take one home with you.

And with a lineup like this, you won’t regret it. The Christmas, 2009, number of Taddle Creek (which features a lovely wraparound cover by Maurice Vellekoop) contains a comic by Jason Kieffer on the local legend Zanta, an essay on the sculptor Merle Foster by Terry Murray, alleyway illustrations by Michael Cho, a thoroughly bizarre art project by R. M. Vaughan (wait and look at that one after you've bought the issue), Dave Lapp’s People Around Here, and all-new fiction and poetry by Chris Chambers, Evie Christie, Dani Couture, Cary Fagan, Stacey May Fowles, Heather Hogan, Rose Hunter, Lindsay Zier-Vogel, and, of course, Nathaniel G. Moore.

And just because Taddle Creek loves to give, where are a few pieces to preview for free:

“Toronto’s Lady Santa Claus,” a profile by Terry Murray,

“Why, Zanta? Why?,” a comic by Jason Kieffer,

“Visiting Ours,” a poem by Chris Chambers,

“Pumpkin Patch,” a poem by Dani Couture, 

“Handful,” a poem by Evie Christie, and

“Savage,” an excerpt from a work-in-progress by Nathaniel G. Moore.

Yes, Taddle Creek has finally slipped south of the Canadian border, adding three U.S. newsstands to its distribution list. The magazine is now available at McNally Jackson, in New York City; Quimby’s, in Chicago; and City Lights, in San Francisco. Tell your friends! And check out the Where To Buy page for a complete list of where to find Taddle Creek. (Want Taddle Creek in your store? Drop the magazine a line!)

Very well. You browbeat Taddle Creek, you called it names, and you’ve won. Taddle Creek now has a page on the Facebook, and the magazine truly would love it if you visited and became a fan. It only takes a second. It takes little more time to tell your friends, if not in person then by E-mail or tweet or blog or smoke signal.

Please—feed Taddle Creek’s newfound obsession to have more fans than any other literary magazine. In just three days hundreds of people came to know the inner peace that only fans of The Taddle Creek Facebook Page on the Facebook know. So won’t you please be Taddle Creek’s Facebook friend?

Oh, the times that are sure to be had now that both you and Taddle Creek are on Facebook. It really is a era of change . . .

(And don’t forget—you can keep on top of both the Taddle Creek home page and the protégé blogs via the Taddle Creek Really Simple Syndication feed.)

Taddle Creek’s Volume 13 protégés, Kasey and Jen, are now well into the intensive portion of their internmentship, absorbing, sponge-like, all the knowledge they can on the world of magazines from the two dozen industry professionals who have volunteered their time as mentors to the deserving duo. From writing, editing, and fact checking to publishing, circulation, and ad sales, they’re getting the full treatment.

Now you can follow the adventures of Kasey and Jen on—wait for it—the first-ever Taddle Creek Weblogs. Yes, Taddle Creek knows it said no blogs, but Kasey and Jen practically begged to have blogs of their own (Kasey seemed especially excited), so the magazine relented. The blogs are light on editing, heavy on fun! Follow Jen, follow Kasey, or, ideally, follow both. You won’t be sorry.  

Kasey recently finished an internship at the Walrus and is working on her first novel about a place that has no addresses. Jennifer is a recovering lawyer and the past editor-in-chief of two legal periodicals. She now works as a freelance writer and dabbles in the book arts. Kasey and Jen are also both decent bowlers, despite a lack of experience.

(Thanks to the Taddle Creek Protégé Internmentship sponsors Steam Whistle Brewing and Magazines Canada.)