Reviews and more.
Articles, Reviews, etc.:
“A cubist collage in transition which captures the dynamics of contemporary Jewish Diaspora.” (The Miramichi Reader, May 2023)
“Each of the dozen short stories in Kathy Friedman’s debut collection, All the Shining People, stands alone, but the interconnected characters that recur in many of the stories lend additional structural complexity so that the whole volume is weightier than the sum of its parts.”
MP Charlie Angus, poet Cliff Cardinal among Trillium Book Award nominees (Toronto Star, May 2023)
Also in contention for the $20,000 award are Kathy Friedman for “All the Shining People: Stories,” Emma Healey for “Best Young Woman Job Book: A Memoir” and Stuart Ross for “The Book of Grief and Hamburgers.”
Rawi Hage, Kim Fu among finalists for $10K Danuta Gleed Literary Award (CBC Books, April 2023)
Canadian writers Nada Alic, Kathy Friedman and Saeed Teebi round out this year's shortlist.
Kathy Friedman takes a stirring, up-close look at where our many identities intersect in this short-story collection.(Apple Books Review)
“Hard to put down. All the Shining People offers 12 different windows into the human experience and all of them are deeply moving.”
Kathy Friedman’s All the Shining People is a raw, moving collection of stories. (Jewish Book Council, July 2022)
“All the Shining People features a diverse set of characters, including characters who are queer and struggling with their mental health, whose complexity makes them come alive on the page.”
15 Canadian books to read for Jewish Heritage Month in 2022 (CBC Books, May 2022)
“May is Canadian Jewish Heritage Month. In recognition of this month, here's a reading list of poetry, fiction and nonfiction by Canadians of Jewish descent.”
Editors' Picks for April 2022 (49th Shelf, April 2022)
“There are SO many good Canadian books being released this month ... here are just a few of the best!”
Radio Appearance on Here & Now w/Gil Deacon (CBC, April 2022)
For her debut, Kathy Friedman puts Toronto’s South African Jewish community in the spotlight. (Canadian Jewish News, March 2022)
“While the individual tales shine on their own, each is enriched by the ones that follow, forming a beautiful constellation of work.”
"Our Stories Will Still Be There" Kathy Friedman on Processing Complex Personal & Political History in Her Debut Short Story Collection (Open Book, March 2022)
"These twelve stories hail a bright new voice in CanLit, expertly teasing out the deep and achingly human experience of feeling like an outsider.”
80 Queer and Feminist Books Coming Out Spring 2022 (Autostraddle, March 2022)
“It’s been a few years since I’ve started doing these seasonal queer and feminist book preview lists and it is getting harder and harder each time to choose which books to feature. There is just so much good stuff!”
23 New And Upcoming Novels With Disabled Main Characters (Buzzfeed, March 2022)
“All the Shining People . . . beautifully capture[s] the intersections of identity, immigration, and mental health.
Kathy Friedman and InkWell Workshops offer struggling writers a chance to turn the page (Toronto Star, July 2021)
“InkWell Workshops offers a safe space for writers who have experienced mental health and addiction issues to hone their craft — and to connect with Toronto’s literary community.”
InkWell writing series launches its first book, The Double World (NOW Magazine, May 2017)
“Toronto writer Kathy Friedman first experienced depression and anxiety in early childhood. She recalls her feelings of functionality punctuated by ‘difficult’ times.”
Podcasts, Blogs, etc.:
28 Short Story Collections I Can’t Recommend Enough (49th Shelf, Danila Vernon Botha, May 2023)
“Friedman does an exceptional job.”
31 Days of Stories 2022, Day 9: “An Orchid, Blooming” by Kathy Friedman (That Shakespearean Rag, Steven W. Beattie, May 2022)
“The title of Friedman’s story, which has nothing to do with flowers, is indicative of her canny and subtle approach.”
Releasing the Past (Passage to Wonderland Podcast, Mary Ito, April 2022)
“We are all a product of our past. But how do we deal with troubling events that have shaped us — and move on to find acceptance and our place in the world? This is an excerpt from the book of short stories All the Shining People from Kathy Friedman. In this story called ‘Seeing Clearly,’ Martin Romm tries to do just that with his life.”
13 Fiction Faves (49th Shelf, Kerry Clare, April 2022)
"I think that CanLit is everything—rich and literary, fun and commercial, regionally focused with universal appeal, hilarious, heart-wrenching, gripping, sweeping, popular, obscure, genre-pushing, and fantastic. These 13 fiction releases run the gamut!”
Episode 6: Kathy Friedman (Parallel Careers Podcast, Claire Tacon, June 2021)
“Many people have lifted me up and have given me a helping hand in my career and I wouldn't be here without them. And so the more I can do to pull up the next generation, the more I will do. And that's what teaching is all about.”
