In a world that worships productivity, creating for art's sake is seen as romantic and nearly indefensible. For anyone who has ever struggled to honour their artistic impulses, Bad Artist offers an antidote to this toxic productivity narrative. This collection of essays features 21 Canadian and international writers from a breadth of backgrounds and experiences whose lives are not always proscribed by predictable work schedules or reliable support systems. They fit creating into the cracks of their lives, and through their stories show us all how to keep creating—not producing.

As artists, many of whom have faced systemic barriers, the collection's contributors offer pragmatic reflections on resisting the culture of productivity, reminding us that creativity can take many forms. Taken together, the essays present a comprehensive rumination on creativity in late capitalism, providing warmth, support, comradery, and empathy. It's The Paris Review meets the Billfold's "Doing Money" with a generous dash of the friend who knows you're an artist even on the days when you're not so sure. (From Brindle & Glass/TouchWood Editions)

Nellwyn Lamper is a Toronto-based writer, editor, bookseller and teacher. She is the author of Every Boy I Ever Kissed. She has written or edited for CBC First Person, She Does the City, The Huffington Post and The Ex-Puritan Literary Magazine.

Pamela Oakley is a Toronto-based writer, editor and educator. Her work has appeared in Canadian Running, Canadian Cycling, Today's Parents and the Kingston Whig-Standard.

Christian Smith is a biologist and the manager of research operations at the Brain Tumour Research Centre in Toronto. He is also the writer of the nonfiction book The Scientist and the Psychic: A Son's Exploration of His Mother's Gift.

Gillian Turnbull is the writer of Sonic Booms: Making Music in an Oil Town. She is the director of Writing and Publishing at the University of King's College in Halifax and has written for Chatelaine, Maisonneuve, The Walrus and The National Post.