DAVID MCGIMPSEY

David McGimpsey for DESK SPACE



I picked up this desk when I lived in Halifax when I was completing my doctorate at Dalhousie University. It's a banker's desk which was originally stored in the basement of Entitlement Books on Barrington Street. The desk took up more than half the space of my little study room in my apartment at the time but I loved its hugeness and sturdiness - the way it could support shelves and a TV! It's kind of a classic anti-IKEA type desk. It's been my main workplace ever since: the physical center of my work life and a spiffy place to put my Colonel Sanders piggy bank.

ZOE WHITTALL

DESK SPACE Who?

ZOE WHITTALL Zoe Whittall, novelist, poet, unicorn.

DS When did you start writing, publish your first book or when are you publishing your next?

ZW Started writing at 18. Published at 25. Fourth book, Precordial Thump, out in October 08.

DS Where do you write?

ZW At cafes in my neighbourhood, or lately, in the blue chair featured in the photograph.



DS Why do you work where you do?

ZW Right now, I am broke so can't spend tons of cash in a cafe with my laptop, so I've made myself comfortable in this cozy corner. It's a quiet spot, close enough to the coffee maker, far enough from the TV with fairly inconsistent cell reception so I can avoid my text-addiction.



DS What are you working on now?

ZW Final substantive edits on a new novel, copyedits on the poetry book, a book review, homework, my resume and to-do list.

This week on DESK SPACE

Monday: Zoe Whittall

Wednesday: David McGimpsey

Friday: Susan Glickman

ANDREW PYPER

Andrew Pyper for DESK SPACE

DESK SPACE Who (a witty one-liner or a bio)?

ANDREW PYPER I'm a novelist who (obviously) doesn't care about the conditions of where he works.

DS When did you start writing, publish your first book or when are you publishing your next?

AP My first book was a collection of stories, Kiss Me, published in 1996. (God, that sounds like a long time ago).

DS Where do you write (at your desk/outside/in bed)?

AP I work in my basement, at a crappy, "temporary" desk I've been using for seven years. I deserve better, I think - but I'd rather be working than shopping for new office furniture or tidying.

DS Why do you work where you do (at you desk because it is a quiet space/outside b/c it helps you think/in the park b/c you can smoke, etc)?

AP I work at home, in the basement, because it's close, and because it's so ugly here nobody wants to come down to disturb me