Winner: 2020 Penguin Random House MFA Prize
I am honoured to be the winner of the 2020 Penguin Random House MFA Prize for best nonfiction book proposal. "Margaret Lynch, who graduated in May from the University of King’s College with her Master of Fine Arts in Creative Nonfiction degree, is the winner of the 2020 Penguin [...]
CMAJ Blog Post
Déjà Vu in the Time of Covid-19 One Monday morning not long ago, I attended my yoga class. We stretched and twisted, breathed and meditated amidst a soundtrack of calming music and the instructor’s soothing voice. It was late January 2020, when we still took for granted our ability [...]
My manuscript is finished
That’s a wrap! 2 years, 4 mentors, 11 chapters, a book proposal, numerous essays, op-eds, book reviews, publications, a finished manuscript and an MFA. I’ve enjoyed every minute of the past 20 months, even (especially?) when I was challenged! Going back to school for my MFA at this stage [...]
Launch Party: untethered Issue 5.1
On January 9th, 2020 I was honoured to share the stage with so many talented writers for the launch of untethered issue 5.1 at the Monarch Tavern in Toronto. What a party! Thanks to intrepid editors Stephanie and Nicole for curating this fabulous issue and organizing this [...]
How I Created My Writer Platform
I’m writing this memoir for those who need to see someone standing strong farther down the road they’re travelling. In February of this year, I stood transfixed in my living room listening to my Camino story on CBC Radio’s The Sunday Edition. I hardly recognized my own voice, which sounded [...]
Camino de Santiago
Six years ago on this day, I arrived at Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Over eleven days, I had walked 275 kilometres in the footsteps of pilgrims dating back to the eleventh century. It was an emotional end to my Camino pilgrimage. At the time, I didn't [...]
Giving back to the place that saved my life
Leaving a Legacy (From the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation 2019 Annual Report) Margaret Lynch was the first in Canada to receive an experimental bone marrow transplant at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Today, she is healthy and thriving, dedicated to giving back to the place that saved her life. Margaret [...]
Back to MFA School
Just finished a wonderful two-week residency in Halifax where I lived, breathed and talked writing. It kicked off the second (and final) year of my MFA program at the University of King's College in Halifax, NS. A big thanks to all the generous mentors and faculty who shared [...]
Scenes from a northern Ontario cottage
Grass and cedars and Canadian Shield rock frame the lake. Sun-dappled waves ripple towards shore, gurgling, keeping time to an invisible metronome, breaking up as they reach land. Mama Duck and her 9 ducklings mesmerize us as they scoot along the shoreline. She’s preparing them for survival—on water [...]
2019 Ride to Conquer Cancer
What a glorious Ride to Conquer Cancer weekend! 4,573 participants raised over $19.2 million for cancer research. Our 60-person Heme Team raised $212,327 to support blood cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Over 2 days, I cycled 221 km. It was my ninth ride and 80 donors [...]