Editor John Metcalf has inspired challenged and championed countless writers over his long career. In Off the Record he encourages six to reveal what one rarely discusses in polite society how they became writers instead of radio announcers or cabinet makers. The essays collected here each accompanied by a short story oampampamp64256er fascinating insight into the relationships between writers their editors and their ampampamp64257ction.Off the Record brings together work by six noted Canadian writers among them the winners of the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize the Butler Book Prize and the Marian Engel Award Caroline Adderson Kristyn Dunnion Cynthia Flood Shaena Lambert Elise Levine and Kathy Page.