In 1996, photographer Don Denton set out to create a photographic archive of Canadian authors that would draw attention to the writers as individuals and to their work. First Chapter collects a sampling of his project to date, including well-known writers such as Margaret Atwood, George Bowering, Karen Connelly, and Michael Turner, as well as the newer faces on the Canadian writing scene. Each of the 50 photographs is paired with a statement about the writing life from the profiled author, with advice that ranges from quirky, tongue-in-cheek quips to serious contemplations of the creative process. First Chapter shows faces of CanLit in a revealing light.