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77 ratings | 34 reviews | avg rating:4.69

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Mitchell Toews

Goodreads Author

Born

in Steinbach, Canada

Website

https://mitchtoewsauthor.com/

Twitter

mitchell_toews

Genre

Fiction, Poetry

Influences

Miriam Toews, Hemingway, Kesey, Vonnegut, Richler, Patrick Friesen, St ...more

Member Since

September 2018

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/mitchellaneous

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*NeWs!*
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~ 🍁 Nov/2025: Short story "All Our Swains Commend Her" nominated by Pulp Literature for the 2025 Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart JOURNEY PRIZE... more on my AUTHOR BLOG: https://mitchtoewsauthor.com/

~ Author of "Pinching Zwieback" (At Bay Press, 2023), A proud member of The Writers' Union of Canada, Mitchell Toews is published by At Bay Press (Winnipeg).

I SCREEN ALL REVIEWS FOR AI OR FRAUDULENT CONTENT AND REPORT SUSPICIOUS REVIEWS TO GOODREADS. This ain't no disco! ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Any Plautdietsch?

Mitchell Toews Eva! Oba jo! I'm kind of a Mennonite imposter, though. My mom is a Plautdietsch master and she loves the language. Dad, on the other hand, was the thi…moreEva! Oba jo! I'm kind of a Mennonite imposter, though. My mom is a Plautdietsch master and she loves the language. Dad, on the other hand, was the third gen of, "English is the language of Canada..." believers, and so, our household lingo stayed uni. Except, thankfully, for all the rude sayings and funny slang I was taught by my awesomely sketchy-dietschy high school friends. Like, for example, how a really tall volleyball team was, "a bunch of vedaumt Schanzenfelders!"

My father-in-law's well-thumbed Wörterbuch (beautifully written by his Grünthal buddy, Jack Thiessen) sits always on my writing desk and lots of old päpanät nuggets work their way into the stories. Like some of the greats—Roth and Hemingway for instance—I just stick those words right in there, splinta noaktijch with no italics, no gloss. I try to lay them in a bed of appropriate context, but sometimes they are just a little reward for Plautdietsch Redna. Sometimes the translations are more fun: like "pepper nuts", "crack maker" or "it goes to hold out" (as a reply to "How are you?")

My editor is an English dude (Englander!) and he is fast becoming a Plautdietsch wannabe.

Cheers,
Mitch(less)

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How do you deal with writer’s block?

Mitchell Toews I don't get blocked much. My issue is more often too many spigots open at once. Still, the leader of the Writing Circle I belong to suggests this: Whe…moreI don't get blocked much. My issue is more often too many spigots open at once. Still, the leader of the Writing Circle I belong to suggests this: When you're stuck, consider the characters in your WIP and, in your notebook, build rich character profiles for them. What's in their pockets? What verbal ticks ("schwas") do they have? What do they look like, in great detail? etc. This works because your brain chews on these jazz-like bits and bytes and niggles with them like a mental fidget-spinner and tries them on for size with your characters... interactions happen in your mind and before you know it, you are LEAPING from your cozy bed and cracking open that laptop with the same frantic urgency as that time your friend called and asked, "Why did you post all those naked pictures of yourself on Facebook? And, who's 'Gordy'?"(less)

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Mitchell Toews’s books

Average rating: 4.72 · 71 ratings · 17 reviews · 33 distinct works • Similar authors

	Pinching Zwieback 4.50 avg rating — 18 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rivanna Review it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pinching Zwieback 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pulp Literature Spring 2023: Issue 38 by Mitchell Toews (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Anat Rabkin (Illustrator), Mel Anastasiou (Goodreads Author) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2023 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Pulp Literature Autumn 2025: Issue 48 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2025	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chiron Review Issue 137 Summer 2025 it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Other Journal: Vice and Virtue it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blank Spaces (June 2020) it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Immigrants - River Poets Journal Special Edition it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rhubarb (DIS/ABILITY) Magazine it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Mitchell’s Recent Updates

Mitchell Toews is now friends with Dianne Pearce
Jul 01, 2026 08:16PM · like
Mitchell Toews is now following Lauren McManamon Author of Good Society: A Jane Austen RPG
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Mitchell Toews wants to read The Meaning of It by Black M.D. (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 05, 2026 03:45PM · 1 like · like
Mitchell Toews is now following Karen Schauber Author of The Group of Seven Reimagined: Contemporary Sto...
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Mitchell Toews rated a book it was amazing A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
A truce that is not peace By Miriam Toews Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 174 pages Non-fiction—Memoir/Literary A Wabi-sabi Book from a Mennonite Knower Review by Mitchell Toews ***FIND THIS REVIEW IN ITS PUBLISHED FORM ONLINE. Check https://mitchtoewsauthor.com/l ...more
Jan 02, 2026 09:18AM · 3 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Truce That Is Not Peace by Miriam Toews <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mitchell Toews is now following Royden Loewen and Louella Lester
Nov 21, 2025 02:19PM
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Mitchell Toews wants to read Sayulita Sucker by Craig Terlson (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 20, 2025 12:04PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Sayulita Sucker by Craig Terlson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Sayulita Sucker by Craig Terlson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mitchell Toews rated a book it was amazing The Salvation of Yasch Siemens by Armin Wiebe (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Are Mennonites all the same? Are men like Armin commonplace? Are minutes a dull and dragging dronsel while reading this book? Are my answers above all a buckling, busting, brüllen, "NAY!" They are, but. . . Are Mennos afraid to cool in his shade? Are minu ...more
Nov 20, 2025 11:40AM · like · see review

More of Mitchell's books…

Quotes by Mitchell Toews (?)

“Grab a root and dig! Ken Kesey, from 'Sometimes a Great Notion'.”
― Mitchell Toews

tags: determination, inspirational, life-force

1 likes

Mitchell’s Quotes

“The darker the shadow, the brighter the light.”
― Mike Skinner, The Story of The Streets

tags: gritty, prickly, realism, truculent

0 likes

“The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location.”
― Flannery O'Connor

59 likes