about the book room

Hi. I'm John Degen, a novelist, poet, and freelance writer living and working in Etobicoke and Thessalon, Canada. I work as chief executive officer of The Writers' Union of Canada, and volunteer as chair of the International Authors Forum in the United Kingdom. I've written extensively about writing and publishing, especially about legal and economic issues related to being a writer (specifically copyright law).

I’ve done a few things with this site — mostly blogging and podcasting. The audio is on hold for now while I renew my love of photography and expand my knowledge of the natural world.

Thanks for visiting. Feel free to leave a comment if you please.*

*Please be sure to identify yourself in good faith when leaving comments. I've had more than my share of the vileness of Internet commenting - did I mention I write about copyright a lot? - and have no patience for it. As a result, I actively moderate comments on my site. Anonymous and pointlessly negative comments will simply not be published. Instead, I encourage those folks who need to be anonymous and/or pointlessly negative to put in the work of building their own Internet presence so they can publish their views on their own digital property. Fill your boots.