Allister Thompson: Inspired by Le Guin, grounded in Canadian landscapes

Author Allister Thompson

YA writer Allister Thompson

Allister Thompson spent his youth dividing his time between working as an editor for Toronto-based publishers and touring with a rock band. He is also the author of an alternate history sci-fi novel, The Music of the Spheres.

He currently runs his own freelance editorial business out of his home in North Bay, Ontario. Allister’s highly-anticipated new YA novel, Birch and Jay, is out with Latitude 46 in May 2025.

Allister Thompson: Exploring humanity's folly

On Creative Writing: Can you trace any common themes across your writing?

Allister Thompson: Most definitely. I have completed three novels, and I have outlines for about three more, and certain themes dominate pretty obviously. Or maybe one overarching one: the folly of the human species. While that’s understandable in the time of climate grief and impending doom, the theme goes all the way back to my first writing in 1998—sheer amazement that we can be this BAD all the time, yet so arrogant and certain of our superiority to other forms of life. Puzzling that out and

trying to figure out if we have the capacity to be better, collectively, seems to be the thing I’m compelled to explore.

On Creative Writing: Which authors and/or types of books do you like to read?

Allister Thompson: Further to my last response, most of my pleasure reading in the area of fiction is the more thoughtful end of sci-fi and fantasy. I grew up on classics like Ray Bradbury and children’s books like Susan Cooper’s The Dark Is Rising books, Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain books—things with serious moral content but expressed in a humanistic and empathetic way.

My adult life was changed by reading Ursula Le Guin’s work. She taught me that you can have very grown-up, high-level discussions of politics, sociology, ethics, and spirituality within the confines of an absorbing and even exciting piece of speculative fiction.

I also read a lot of nonfiction history, nature, and science books. Everyone on Earth should be reading Masha Gessen’s books right now. I just read all of Adam Shoalts’s books about his travels around Canada, which help make me feel connected to the land I live in.

The pain of pantsing

On Creative Writing: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Allister Thompson: I want to be a pantser but have to be a plotter. I wrote my first novel without an outline, and it was extremely painful for me, sitting there racking my brain. Outlining, at least the basic plot, helps me get all the pieces in place in advance, and then I can just sit down and fill in the gaps.

Read, and absorb like a sponge!

On Creative Writing: What advice/guidance would you give to writers?

Allister Thompson: There are lots of things I can tell writers. As an editor, I say: outline! It helps. Then I say, if you get stuck, want opinions, and can afford it: hire an editor! The experience we offer is invaluable. And: read! It’s harder to be a truly great composer of music if you don’t love all kinds of music and absorb their influences like a sponge, and that applies to being a writer too.

Writers shouldn’t necessarily connect their satisfaction or self-esteem to “getting published.” It’s hard to get published by a traditional publisher or get a literary agent. Don't spoil what could otherwise be a very fulfilling creative journey by worrying too much about the results in the marketplace. Just love doing it!

On Creative Writing: Do you edit as you write, or write and edit later?

Allister Thompson: I edit as I write, probably because I’m an editor! My first draft is therefore pretty clean, though I do go back several times in redrafts and find lots of things I didn’t fix the first time around.

Thanks to River Street Writing for co-ordinating this interview with Allister!