Alexi Zentner

Growing up in Waterloo, the Governor General's Award wasn't something I even thought to wish for. ”

If you realize early what your influence is, you can have a better understanding of what you are writing about. ”

To map the Governor General's Award is to map both the past and the future of Canadian literature, and to be nominated for my first book is wonderful. ”

One of my oldest friends has a cottage on Smoke Lake in Algonquin Provincial Park, and it's one of my favorite places in the world. ”

For 'The Lobster Kings,' I listened to a lot of Johnny Cash. And it makes its way into the book. ”

As much as I love my daughters, I wasn't happy with only being a stay-at-home-dad, and my wife encouraged me to try, to really try, at being a writer. More than anything, I didn't want to let her down. ”

I get very tired of books that feel emotionally empty. I would much rather have writers err on the side of being overly sentimental than not. I think that the perfect balance is a story that moves you without being maudlin, but I don't enjoy books that are empty of emotion and there's no connection to the characters. ”

If you don't try your hardest, and you're unsuccessful, you always have that excuse. ”

I liked the idea of being a writer more than I liked the idea of writing. ”

I had not expected to ever be in a position to able to say, 'Hey, see the magazine with J. Lo on the cover? They reviewed my book inside.' ”