A WRITER'S LIFE: Recent Episodes
Heige S. Boehm
A WRITER'S LIFE with Heige S. Boehm the author of 'Secrets in the Shadows' offers candid conversations with writers discussing their life beyond the pen. Then there is Short Story Saturday, a mix of all good things written. www.heigeboehm.ca www.awriterslife.co
Curious how family stories shape a writer's voice? Join us with Linda Quennec as we explore her novel Fishing for Birds. Influenced by her grandmother’s life and British Columbia’s coast, Linda's work reflects her rich heritage. She shares her journey from student to writer, inspired by family tales and classic stories.
We'll discuss the highs and lows of writing, from rejection to creating memorable characters like Kate, Nora, and Rachel. Linda also talks about tackling themes of grief and how her academic background influences her writing. If you’re into writing or love a great story, this episode is packed with insights.
https://www.lindaquenneccounselling.com
https://a.co/d/aNhxqF0
https://a.co/d/8gD2Dkw
https://www.inanna.ca/product/fishing-birds/
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Barbara Black’s newest book, Little Fortified Stories, published by Caitlin Press in 2024, is now available in stores. In this episode, Barbara delves into her creative process and shares how a literary workshop in Lisbon, complete with port wine and tiny notebooks, inspired this compelling collection of microfiction and flash fiction.
We explore how memory influences creativity, examining how experiences that feel like amnesia can play a crucial role in storytelling. Barbara, a versatile artist whose talents span writing, editing, and performance, has journeyed from North Vancouver’s natural beauty to the stages of classical and jazz music. Her work includes acclaimed poetry and fiction, alongside recent projects like a song cycle based on the Egyptian Book of the Dead.
Barbara’s artistic spirit extends to her garden, where she finds a blend of order and chaos that mirrors her writing.
https://barbarablack.ca
https://www.facebook.com/barbarablackwriter
https://x.com/BarbaralbBlack
https://www.instagram.com/bblackwrites/
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/barbara-black?list=about
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Fantasy is fun to write and creating magic is so fabulous! Tara Gilboy is the author of Unwritten and the sequel Rewritten published by Jolly Fish Publishing. Tara spills the beans about her writing journey and she has great tips on how to write fantasy.
https://taragilboy.com/for-kids/
https://a.co/d/1DwZMbz
https://www.facebook.com/taragilboy.Unwritten/
https://twitter.com/taramgilboy?
ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Eembeddedtimeline%7Ctwterm%5Escreen-name%3Ataramgilboy%7Ctwcon%5Es2
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17243098.Tara_Gilboy
https://darlingaxe.com/
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So much fun with Michelle Barker! We spoke about her life as a writer, and she has an incredible amount of insight about writing and editing. I loved reading her latest novel My Long List of Impossible Things published by Annick Press 2019. A brilliant historical YA that asks: how do you choose between survival and doing the right thing?
https://a.co/d/8gpdff7
https://michellebarker.ca/
https://www.facebook.com/MichelleBarkerAuthor/
https://www.annickpress.com/Contributors/B/Barker-Michelle
https://www.siwc.ca/presenters/barker-michelle/
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If you love BC history you'll love hearing this interview with Jennifer L. Butler. Jennifer is the great-granddaughter of Mame and Duke Wastell, who bought and named Telegraph Cove in 1912.
Butler's book Boom & Bust: The Resilient Women of Historic Telegraph Cove, published by TouchWood Edition truly is a treasure, and a must read. Jennifer and I spoke about some of her many fascinating jobs, life in Telegraph Cove, and so much more.
https://www.touchwoodeditions.com/
https://jenniferlbutlerauthor.com/
https://www.amazon.ca/Boom-Bust-Resilient-Historic-Telegraph/dp/1771512989
https://www.amazon.ca/Boom-Bust-Resilient-Historic-Telegraph/dp/1771512989
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I love Barbara Blacks work, and we had such a wonderful conversation. We spoke about music, puppets , favourite books and Barbara read from her book Music from a Strange Planet, a striking and genre-bending debut short story collection published by Caitlin Press, 2021.
https://www.barbarablack.ca/
https://www.instagram.com/bblackwrites/
https://www.facebook.com/barbarablackwriter
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSf6wfF1zx0-GbnPcZSK8vQ
https://caitlin-press.com/our-books/music-from-a-strange-planet/
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Eufemia Fantetti, was a delight to talk with, and what fun we had .
We spoke about life in Italy, cultural differences, and mental illness. Eufemia talked about what it was like for her to write her second book My Father, Fortune-tellers & Me: A Memoir released by Mother Tongue Publishing, in 2019. https://www.eufemiafantetti.com/home-eufemia-fantetti
https://twitter.com/eufemiafantetti?lang=en
https://www.amazon.ca/My-Father-Fortune-tellers-Me-Memoir/dp/1896949754/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwP-Poui--wIV3A-tBh2LYQX4EAMYASAAEgK9o_D_BwE&hvadid=588199164363&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1001898&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7800158378583391204&hvtargid=kwd-308473973504&hydadcr=9230_13546089&keywords=eufemia+fantetti&qid=1669018945&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.ca/Recipe-Disaster-Other-Unlikely-Tales-ebook/dp/B077YR9RJQ/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwP-Poui--wIV3A-tBh2LYQX4EAMYASAAEgK9o_D_BwE&hvadid=588199164363&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1001898&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7800158378583391204&hvtargid=kwd-308473973504&hydadcr=9230_13546089&keywords=eufemia+fantetti&qid=1669018945&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIwLjAwIiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-2
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I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Holly Anna Rose. We had a lovely conversation about writing, she spoke about her writing process, and I was amazed at her story telling skill. I have a new favourite author! If you would like a copy of her story 'The Girl of Peace' by donation, please email Holly's mom.
darcystottwellness@gmail.com
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Last spring I spoke with Caroline Adderson, who is the author of five novels, and many books for young readers.
We spoke about when she joined the youth program, Katimavik. I loved hearing about why, and how she became a writer.
Caroline is the Program Director of the Writing Studio at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, which runs for five weeks every May.
I learned about the Shoe Project, and of course hearing her read, and talk about her lates novel A Russian Sister Published by Harper Collins Canada,2020 it was fascinating. Caroline is not just a gifted writer, a brilliant teacher, but she gives back so much to the writing community.
For more information about Caroline Adderson and her latest writings, take a look at the links below.
http://www.carolineadderson.com
http://www.carolineaddersonkids.com
https://www.facebook.com/carolineadderson.writer/
https://theshoeproject.online/people/caroline-adderson-2
https://thewalrus.ca/the-procedure/
https://notesandqueries.ca/short-fiction/all-our-auld-acquaintances-are-gone/
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=caroline+adderson&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjpvRqNPA-QIVBz6tBh0KGAIaEAMYASAAEgINRPD_BwE&hvadid=208312141173&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1001898&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=b&hvrand=11538835713110648797&hvtargid=kwd-306726153980&hydadcr=23338_10093184&tag=googcana-20&ref=pd_sl_3f6jw1lrwd_b
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What a fun conversation I had with Katherine Fawcett, we talked about her favourite books growing up, naturally we spoke about writing, we laughed a lot and I must say I was spellbound listening to one of her stories from her latest book of short stories ' The Swan Suit' published by Douglas and McIntyre (2020) the book is enchanting, a little wicked and truly magical.
Katherine Fawcett who is a Squamish-based author. Her latest book, The Swan Suit published by Douglas and McIntyre (2020) was a finalist for the ReLit award. She's also the author of The Little Washer of Sorrows published by Thisaldown Press (2015), which was shortlisted for both The Sunburst Award and the ReLit, and A Whistler Bear Story (2010).
http://katherinefawcett.com
https://www.instagram.com/katherinefawcet/?hl=en
https://twitter.com/604fawcett?lang=en
https://douglas-mcintyre.com/collections/katherine-fawcett
https://www.amazon.ca/Swan-Suit-Katherine-Fawcett/dp/1771622601
https://www.facebook.com/Sea-to-Sky-String-Orchestra-1712643938952484/
https://pixabay.com/music/main-title-scary-house-114608/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/047802-meow-63545/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/pouring-drink-into-glasswav-14555/
https://pixabay.com/music/beats-the-long-walk-theatrical-7593/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/baby-noises-60911/
https://pixabay.com/music/scary-childrens-tunes-halloween-4537/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/natural-thunder-113219/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/angry-cats-65018/
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This was an intriguing and fun interview, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little intimidated. Daniel Paisner is an amazing writer and a well-established Ghost writer, New York magazine once called him “the world’s most prolific ghost,”
His bio reads, Daniel Paisner is a journalist, author and podcaster, with more than 70 books to his credit, including 17 New York Times best-sellers. He is the “voice” of Serena Williams, Steve Aoki, John Kasich, Whoopi Goldberg, Denzel Washington, Ray Lewis, Ron Darling, Gilbert Gottfried, Anthony Quinn . . .
We talked a bit about his early childhood, books he grew up with, he spoke about what it is like being a ghostwriter, we did a little surfing, well not actually surfing, but I learned about a very wonderful organization called Surfers Healing, and I loved hearing about his lates book Balloon Dog published by Koehler Books.
For more information about Daniel Paisner and his works, click on the links below. Thank you, Daniel for a fun and informative interview. All good wishes.
https://www.danielpaisner.com
https://twitter.com/danielpaisner
https://www.facebook.com/danielpaisnerbooks/
Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/Balloon-Dog-Daniel-Paisner/dp/164663697X/
Amazon.ca: https://www.amazon.ca/Balloon-Dog-Daniel-Paisner/dp/164663697X/
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/balloon-dog/9781646636983-item.html
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/balloon-dog-daniel-paisner/1141316478
https://vol1brooklyn.com/2022/05/22/sunday-stories-bet-youre-wondring-how-i-knew/
Below is more information about the organization Surfers Healing.💞
http://www.surfershealing.org
Heige's writing is influenced by the stories of her parents who grew up in Nazi Germany, and who at the end of the war, found themselves in East Germany. They escaped with their first two children to West Berlin in 1961, and Heige was born in Euskirchen West Germany on November 11, 1964. Ten years later the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they lived at the Sylvia Hotel for the first few months.
In 1983 Heige's father was murdered in Texas. It was her desire to know his stories, and to understand him, that inspired her first novel. Heige spent 10 years researching and writing
Secrets in the Shadows published by Ronsdale Press 2019.
She holds a creative writing certificate from
The Writers’ Studio of Simon Fraser University and a
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate from Simon Fraser University.
Heige is working on her next novel, and she is the host of the podcast A Writer's Life. www.awriterslife.co She lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEGLvOvqohY
https://bcparks.ca/explore/parkpgs/stein_val/
https://twitter.com/HeigeBoehm
https://www.heigeboehm.ca
https://www.instagram.com/awriterslife.co/
https://www.facebook.com/HeigeBoehmauthor
http://ronsdalepress.com/authors/boehm-heige-s/
https://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Shadows-Heige-S-Boehm/dp/1553805720
https://pixabay.com/music/
https://pixabay.com/music/traditional-jazz-restaurant-music-110483/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/bushmovement-6986/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/rustling-leaves-6875/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects/waterstream-small-30360/
https://pixabay.com/sound-effects music=6875
Crystal D. Mayo is a Native New Yorker, an actress and storyteller. Her repertoire of writing spans from memoirs and poetry to children’s literature. Her literary contributions have been published in the Bronx Memoir Project Volumes 3, 4, and 5 III, IV and V. She most recently performed one of her memoirs entitled, "Teaching Me A Lesson" at the Caveat theater in NYC with the Generation Women ensemble. Additional anthologies she is a contributor to, are, The African Voices tribute to (en·tuh·zaa·kee shaang·gay ) Ntozake Shange and Our Voices Our Stories, an anthology of Writings Advancing, Celebrating, Embracing and Empowering Girls and Women of Color through the National Girls and Women of Council Inc. Crystal’s latest memoir, Wicked Blues is featured in the Connecticut Literary Anthology 2021.
Crystal holds a Masters in elementary education and is the founder and artistic director of My Daughter My Legacy. This entrepreneur’s mission statement is to empower youth to discover their voice and vision through literacy and the arts. She teaches students how to write and perform spoken word in addition to creating collaborative performance pieces.
When Crystal is not writing she serves as a mentor for the New York based organization, Girls Write Now, and can be seen performing her latest spoken word and writing prompts on the virtual mic stage of the NYC Writers Coalition.
https://crystalmayoinfo.wordpress.com
https://www.instagram.com/my_daughter_my_legacy/?hl=en
https://fabulouslyfiftywomenofcolor.com/tag/crystal-d-mayo/
Music by
https://pixabay.com/music/
https://pixabay.com/music/traditional-jazz-restaurant-music-110483/
Heige's writing is influenced by the stories of her parents who grew up in Nazi Germany, and who at the end of the war, found themselves in East Germany. They escaped with their first two children to West Berlin in 1961, and Heige was born in Euskirchen West Germany on November 11, 1964. Ten years later the family immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, where they lived at the Sylvia Hotel for the first few months.
In 1983 Heige's father was murdered in Texas. It was her desire to know his stories, and to understand him, that inspired her first novel. Heige spent 10 years researching and writing
Secrets in the Shadows published by Ronsdale Press 2019.
She holds a creative writing certificate from
The Writers’ Studio of Simon Fraser University and a
Liberal Arts for 55+ Certificate from Simon Fraser University.
Heige is working on her next novel, and she is the host of the podcast A Writer's Life. www.awriterslife.co She lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia.
https://twitter.com/HeigeBoehm
https://www.heigeboehm.ca
https://www.instagram.com/awriterslife.co/
https://www.facebook.com/HeigeBoehmauthor
http://ronsdalepress.com/authors/boehm-heige-s/
https://www.amazon.ca/Secrets-Shadows-Heige-S-Boehm/dp/1553805720
https://pixabay.com/music/
https://pixabay.com/music/traditional-jazz-restaurant-music-110483/
Bonnie Nish, is the Executive Director of Word Vancouver and Pandora’s Collective Outreach Society. Bonnie has a Masters in Arts Education from Simon Fraser University and a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy Education from UBC. Bonnie’s research interest is focused on how those recovering from trauma, specifically Mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (MTBI), are affected by the kind of care they receive in terms of recovery using poetic inquiry and life writing. Bonnie has been widely published worldwide in such places as The Ottawa Arts Review, The Danforth Review, Haunted Waters Press, Illness Crisis & Loss Journal Volume 24 and The Blue Print Review.
Bonnie’s first book of poetry ‘Love and Bones’ was released by Karma Press. Her next book “Concussion and Mild TBI: Not Just Another Headline” an anthology of concussion-related stories, was published by Lash and Associates in 2016. Bonnie is an Expressive Arts Therapist with a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies from the Vancouver Expressive Arts Therapy School, where she is a faculty member. Her latest book, Cantata in Two Voices, co-written with Jude Neal was released by Ekstasis Editions. Bonnie is currently working on her next book.
https://www.pandorascollective.com
https://www.wordvancouver.ca
https://bonnienish.com
David Wiseman lived and worked in Oxfordshire most of his adult life but in recent years he has spent more time in Canada and became a permanent resident there in 2016. He currently lives on the unceded territories of the Mi'kmaq people in Nova Scotia in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
Lifelong interests include maps, reading, writing, travel and photography. And for the last 25 years, genealogy.
In 2009 in conjunction with close friend Neil Evans he produced The Further Bank, a memoir of photographic expeditions around the landscape of the upper Thames. A Habit Of Dyingwas his first published full-length novel. It was followed in October 2012 by The Subtle Thief Of Youth – another mystery story but quite unconnected to the themes of A Habit Of Dying. In 2016 he returned to those themes with his third novel,The Death of Tommy Quick And Other Lies. 2019 saw the publication of Casa Rosa, a story with a different setting but returning to some familiar themes. He is currently working on a fifth novel, expected to be published in 2020/2021.
DJ Wiseman also edited and contributed to the Askance short story anthology Positional Vertigo published in October 2012. More recently his short fiction Unforgettablehas won the Retreat West flash fiction award and Double Aspectwon The Ghost Storyaward in autumn 2018. Mystery Weekly, Geist Magazine and Moose House featured stories in 2019 and he has been a finalist for several prizes including the Commonwealth Writers Short Story prize.
Further information, including other writing and outlines of family history, may be found on theauthor’s own web site.
http://djwiseman.ca
https://askancepublishing.wordpress.com/authors/dj-wiseman/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3012342.D_J_Wiseman
https://www.lostcousins.com/newsletters2/dec19news.htm#CasaRosa
http://www.theghoststory.com/double-aspect
https://www.facebook.com/DJ-Wiseman-372292326195720
https://djwiseman816374974.wordpress.com/2021/12/28/a-reading-year-2021/
Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, her essays and poems have appeared in Best Canadian Essays 2019 and Best Canadian Essays 2015, The New Quarterly, Grain, EVENT, Prairie Fire, Malahat Review, subTerrain, carte blanche, Antigonish Review, Room, The Masters Review Anthology X (forthcoming), Queens Quarterly (forthcoming), Syncopation Literary Journal (forthcoming) and The Toronto Star, among other publications. She holds an MA from McGill University and an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC. Tanya’s poetry collection Chaos Theories of Goodness. published with (Shoreline, Press will be out this coming spring ( 2022) She is the author of Peacekeeper’s Daughter: Middle East Memoir, it was published this fall by Thistledown Press, 2021 and nominated for the Quebec Writers’ Federation Mavis Gallant Award for Nonfiction. It is available wherever books are sold.
Peacekeeper’s Daughter is the astonishing story of a French-Canadian military family stationed in Israel and Lebanon in 1982-1983. Told from the perspective of a twelve-year-old girl, Peacekeeper’s Daughter parachutes the reader into the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian crisis, and the wave of terrorism—including the bombing of the American Embassy—that ravaged Beirut at the height of the siege. This novelistic memoir moves from Jerusalem to Tiberius, from the disputed No-Man’s Land of the Golan Heights to Damascus, and on to Beirut by way of Tripoli, crossing borders that remain closed to this day.
It’s June, 1982. Twelve-year-old Tanya and her family are preparing to leave their home in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, to move to Israel and Lebanon, where her father will serve a one-year posting with the United Nations. While they’re packing up, Israel invades Lebanon. The President-elect of Lebanon is assassinated. Thousands of Palestinian men, women, and children are murdered at the Sabra-Shatila refugee camps in southern Beirut. The Middle East’s relative peace explodes into waves of violence.
It is in the midst of this maelstrom that the family arrives in Israel, and settles into an apartment. And one day Tanya and her brother walk to school; yet nothing is ordinary, nothing is familiar. The simple act of walking down the street is fraught with peril. Violence may come at them from any direction at any time.
Peacekeeper’s Daughter is a coming-of-age story, as well as an exploration of family dynamics, the shattering effects of violence and war—and the power of memory itself to reconcile us to our past selves, to the extraordinary places we have been and sights we have seen.
https://tanyaallattbellehumeur.com/
https://thistledownpress.com/product/peacekeepers-daughter/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59413349-peacekeeper-s-daughter?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=oM75u6RxFd&rank=1
https://www.cbc.ca/books/peacekeeper-s-daughter-1.6126403
https://mobile.twitter.c@TBellehumeurAom/tbellehumeura
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/topics/mental-health-wellness/post-traumatic-stress-disorder.html#a1
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/mental-health-support-in-bc/suicide-and-self-harm
Christina Alagaratnam is a writer from South London.
She studied at the University of Westminster and graduated with a BA in English Literature & Creative Writing in 2014 and with an MA in Creative Writing the following year. Christina’s plays have been performed at the Brighton and London fringe festivals to four star reviews. She also had a performance of her play 'Face to Face' performed at Linklaters law firm, for a special diversity event.
Last year, Christina published a short story called ‘Sanctuary’ on Amazon Kindle. She also launched her own podcast called, ‘The Night Writer’ which can be found on Spotify, Anchor FM and YouTube.
https://chrissysnotebook.com/?fbclid=IwAR00xstVLdfiOlLCP88ymtQ8XKzSXv44Q2fnbfV9jP_UrCuBgafhRXCaGMA
https://chrissysnotebook.com/podcast/
https://twitter.com/ChrissyA_92
https://twitter.com/Face2FacePlay
Bill Arnott is the bestselling author of the suspense/thriller series The Gamble Novellas, all-ages Allan’s Wishes: Illustrated Edition, poetry collection Forever Cast in Endless Time, column-series Bill Arnott’s Beat, award-winning travel memoir Gone Viking: A Travel Saga, and the travelogue sequel Gone Viking II: Beyond Boundaries. He’s been awarded for prose, poetry, songwriting, and for his Gone Viking expeditions has been granted a Fellowship at London’s Royal Geographical Society. When not trekking the globe with a small pack, weatherproof journal and laughably outdated camera phone, Bill can be found on Canada’s west coast, making music and friends.
https://twitter.com/billarnott_aps
https://www.instagram.com/billarnott_aps/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19391591.Bill_Arnott
https://billarnottaps.wordpress.com
https://rmbooks.com/book/gone-viking-ii/
Claire Finlayson lives and writes on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC. After a 25-year career working as a jewellery designer, she now writes full time. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, as an essayist and occasionally as a journalist. Her passion is narrative non-fiction Dispatches from Ray’s Planet, A Journey through Autism, published by Caitlin Press, is her first book.
Claire served for ten years on the board of directors of Sechelt’s Festival of the Written Arts, the last three years as vice president. The Festival, Canada’s longest running literary event, was founded by her mentor, Betty Keller. Claire has been asked to appear as one of the Festival’s “New Voices” in August of this year.
http://www.clairefinlayson.com
RC Weslowski is the author of My Soft Response to the Wars, his debut poetry collection with Write Bloody North Publishing. RC is also a broadcaster, a podcaster, voice actor and clown plus Co Founder and Artistic Director for Hullabaloo: BC's Youth Spoken Word Festival. RC is the 2016 recipient of the Sheri-D Wilson Golden Beret Award and former Poet of Honour for both the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word and the Victoria Spoken Word Festival. RC is also Co Founder of Mashed Poetics a spoken word and music mash-up event that recently celebrated its 50th event since 2009. RC is also co-host of Wax Poetic on Co Op Radio, a radio program dedicated to poetry and poetic pursuits.
www.rcweslowski.com
www.writebloodynorth.ca
https://twitter.com/RCWeslowski
https://www.amazon.ca/My-Soft-Response-Wars-Weslowski/dp/0992024587
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UCdOGkai0A
Richard Till reads his poetry to audiences large and small at public venues in the UK, Alberta and BC. His poetry has a strong focus on nature but can veer off into pieces on social justice, war and irony. But for a few travel articles he has rarely been published but his poem The 6th of June received a $500 first prize (which came in handy at the time).
He describes his attempts at retirement as an abject failure. He still practices his trade as a metalworker and is known to take on projects ranging from marine construction and bridge building to ornate ironwork. He built, launched and sails his 36-foot sloop My Island that continually serves as a platform for film work and as an escort vessel for Tribal Journeys and other canoe voyages. From a young age he engaged in a life of all things outdoors. He has ice climbed, worked grassroots prospecting, built a log cabin in the mountains, co-developed an Adventure Based Counselling degree program and continues to support First Nations Land Based Learning initiatives including ethno-botany and guiding.
His greatest love is for family and his growing clan of grandchildren.
His novel Woven Deep is approaching completion.
Meaghan Marie Hackinen is a writer and ultra-endurance cyclist from British Columbia's West Coast. Her two-wheeled adventures have taken her from Haida Gwaii to Mexico’s high plateaus, across Canada and the United States, and from North Cape to Tarifa along some of Europe’s highest paved roads. Meaghan is a Trans Am Bike Race, NorthCape4000, and Paris-Brest-Paris brevet finisher, as well as the 2019 24-Hour World Time Trial Champion and current course record holder in the Women’s Division.
Meaghan’s writing explores relationships, experiences on the road, and encounters with wild places. She is the author of South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels (NeWest Press, 2019), finalist for the 2020 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize (non-fiction) as well as a 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Award (trade non-fiction). Meaghan has an MFA in Writing from the University of Saskatchewan and lives on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan People in the Okanagan Valley.
https://meaghanhackinen.com
https://newestpress.com/books/south-away-the-pacific-coast-on-two-wheels
https://www.amazon.ca/South-Away-Pacific-Coast-Wheels-ebook/dp/B07PGXV39H
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/south-away-the-pacific-coast/9781988732633-item.html
https://alllitup.ca/books/S/South-Away
TANYA BOTEJU is a teacher and writer living on unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations (Vancouver, BC). Part-time, she teaches English to clever and sassy young people. The rest of her time, she writes and procrastinates from writing. Her novel, Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens (Simon & Schuster, 2019), was named a Top Ten Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association, as well as selected for the American Librarian Association 2020 Rainbow List. Her next YA novel, Bruised (Simon & Schuster, 2021), has been selected as a Gold Standard book by the Junior Library Guild. In both teaching and writing, she is committed to positive, diverse representation. https://tanyaboteju.com
Meaghan Marie Hackinen is a writer and ultra-endurance cyclist from British Columbia's West Coast. Her two-wheeled adventures have taken her from Haida Gwaii to Mexico’s high plateaus, across Canada and the United States, and from North Cape to Tarifa along some of Europe’s highest paved roads. Meaghan is a Trans Am Bike Race, NorthCape4000, and Paris-Brest-Paris brevet finisher, as well as the 2019 24-Hour World Time Trial Champion and current course record holder in the Women’s Division.
Meaghan’s writing explores relationships, experiences on the road, and encounters with wild places. She is the author of South Away: The Pacific Coast on Two Wheels (NeWest Press, 2019), finalist for the 2020 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize (non-fiction) as well as a 2020 Alberta Book Publishing Award (trade non-fiction). Meaghan has an MFA in Writing from the University of Saskatchewan and lives on the traditional, ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan People in the Okanagan Valley.
https://newestpress.com/authors/meaghan-marie-hackinenhttps://meaghanhackinen.com
Born, raised, and still residing in Vancouver, Daniel Kalla spends his days––sometimes nights, working as an Emergency Department Physician at St. Paul’s Hospital for the past twenty years. He has been the Emergency Department Head since 2013. He is a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia.
Daniel is the author of twelve published novels, which have been translated into thirteen languages. He has had two novels options for film, and his Shanghai trilogy is being developed for a TV series. In his twelfth novel, Lost Immunity, Daniel tackles the issue of vaccine hesitancy and the potential impact on a global outbreak, applying his real-life experience working on the frontlines through the COVID pandemic.
Daniel received his B.Sc. in mathematics and his MD from the University of British Columbia, where he is now a clinical associate professor and the department head of a major urban ER. He is the proud father of two girls and a poorly behaved but lovable mutt, Milo.
https://danielkalla.com
https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Lost-Immunity/Daniel-Kalla/9781982150150
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/lost-immunity/9781982150150-item.html
https://twitter.com/DanielKalla?
ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
https://globalnews.ca/video/7845621/b-c-emergency-physician-releases-new-novel
https://www.facebook.com/DanielKallaAuthor/
Debbie Bateman is a graduate of The Writer's Studio and a former teaching assistant in that program. Her work has appeared in Phoebe, Qwerty, and the "Shy Anthology" published by the University of Alberta Press. Two of her stories will be included in "You Look Good for Your Age", an anthology edited by Rona Altrows, coming out from the University of Alberta Press in May 2021. An earlier version of the story she will read from today was published in Issue 59 of descant. Debbie is currently querying publishers for her first short story collection and working on her second.
http://debbiebateman.ca/
http://phoebejournal.com/secret-workings/
https://www.uap.ualberta.ca/titles/985-9781772125320-you-look-good-for-your-age
Natasha J. Rosewood
Before immigrating to BC from the UK, Natasha traveled and worked internationally as a flight attendant, amassing five languages and acquiring extensive metaphysical knowledge. Since 1995, Natasha has evolved from spirit healer to Corporate Energy Dynamics Consultant. Her other skills include Author, Screenwriter, Intuitive Reader, Manifestation Coach, Ghostbuster, Past Life Regressionist, Speaker, Workshop Facilitator, Fundraiser, TV and radio personality. “My intention is to help my clients experience joy.” Her three books: Aaagh! I Think I’m Psychic (And You Can Be Too), Aaagh! I Thought You Were Dead (And Other Psychic Adventures) and Mostly True GHOSTLY Stories are enlightening, empowering and entertaining. “Love your books. Can’t put them down!” Her latest books, a sequel entitled Flight of Your Life - Short Haul and Flight of Your Life - Long Haul, is in the process of attracting the right publisher.
https://www.natasharosewood.com
natasha@natasharosewood.com
Rosella Leslie is an active member of BC’s writing community having served as a member and director of the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts. She was a founding member of the Quintessential Writer’s Group and has recorded oral histories for the Sechelt Community Archives. Her writing has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Western People Magazine and The Leader. She writes both fiction and non-fiction and is the author of The Sunshine Coast: A Place to Be, and has co-authored Bright Seas, Pioneer Spirits: The Sunshine Coast, and Sea Silver: Inside British Columbia’s Salmon-Farming Industry with Betty Keller. Leslie is also one of the authors of Stain Upon the Sea: West Coast Salmon Fishing, which won The Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize at the 2005 British Columbia Book Awards. Her first solo novel, The Goat Lady's Daughter, was published in the Fall of 2006, and her second novel, Drift Child was released in September 2010, and her third novel, The Federov Legacy was published in April 2013. In 2014 she published The Cougar Lady: Legendary Trapper of Sechelt Inlet. Rosella currently lives in Sechelt with her husband, John.
https://www.rosellaleslie.com
https://harbourpublishing.com/products/9781550173178
https://newestpress.com/authors/rosella-leslie
https://twitter.com/mossyroof
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00OJHVLHQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
Some resources on being a caregiver and dementia.
https://resourcecentre.ca/caregivers
https://alzheimer.ca/en
https://www.anne-basting.com
https://www.thecreativelyengaging.com
Montana Rogers is a writer and educator. She received her undergraduate degree in Creative Writing & Literature from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, USA. After graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in Bulgaria and spent two years working and living in a small city in the Balkan Mountains. She graduated from Simon Fraser University's The Writer's Studio in 2019 and began publishing her work that same year.Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in The Sea Letter, Dream Noir, Reflex Fiction, Verity LA, and other journals. Currently, she is querying her first novel and at work on her second.
https://montanarogers.com
Isabella Mori is a mother, grandmother, wife, friend, sister. She also writes: poetry, novels, short stories and non-fiction, and has published two books of and about poetry, A bagful of haiku – 87 imperfections, and isabella mori’s teatable book. She has published and blogged over 1,000 articles online and in traditional media, is currently working on The Writers Studio certificate at Simon Fraser University, and has recently won the 2018 Cecilia Lamont first prize in poetry. Isabella Mori lives in Vancouver in a way-too-big house, enjoys being surrounded by houseplants, and takes long walks. She grew up in Germany in a chaotic artists’ household and has lived in Paraguay and Chile. Isabella has a Masters Degree in Education and works in the mental health/addiction field.
https://twitter.com/moritherapy
https://www.facebook.com/murielsjourney
https://www.amazon.ca/Bagful-Haiku-87-Imperfections/dp/0995902100
https://counsellingresource.com/features/author/isabella-mori/
https://twitter.com/moritherapy?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
http://moritherapy.org
https://www.dreamerswriting.com/isabella-mori-2/
Jenn Ashton is an award-winning author and visual artist living in North Vancouver, BC. She is the author of the prize-winning article “Siamelaht” in British Columbia History (52.4 Winter 2019)
Her debut novel People Like Frank, and Other Stories from the Edge of Normal was published by Tide Water Press in 2020. Jenn is currently working on numerous projects, including a book about the history of her family in the lower mainland. Jenn just completed a year as a teaching assistant at Simon Fraser University's Writers Studio. She is the writer in residence at British Columbia History Magazine, and is studying at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Jenn Ashton is a woman of indigenous ancestry her great-great-great grandmother was Siamelaht who came from a pre contact Squamish Nation family. Jenn fancies herself as an amateur historian, and on her frequent journeys through the past, she tries very hard to look for truths hidden behind the facade of exploitation.
https://www.jenniferashton.ca
Danial Neil was born in New Westminster, British Columbia and grew up in North Delta. He began writing in his teens, journaling and writing poetry. He made a decision to be a writer in 1986 and took his first creative writing course in Langley with Alive magazine editor, Rhody Lake. While working for the City of Delta, he authored the motto, Ours to Preserve by Hand and Heart for the city’s coat of arms in 1988. Danial worked steadily at his craft. His short story Grace was published in the 2003 Federation of BC Writers anthology edited by Susan Musgrave. He went on to participate in the Write Stretch Program with the Federation of BC Writers, teaching free verse poetry to school children. As well participant in Word on the Street Vancouver. He won the Poetry Prize at the Surrey International Writers' Conference four times, and went on to study Creative Writing at UBC. His first published novel was The Killing Jars in 2006, and then Flight of the Dragonfly in 2009, my June in 2014, and The Trees of Calan Gray in 2015. Dominion of Mercy is his fifth published novel. He has completed twenty novels since beginning his writing journey. His prose has been called hauntingly beautiful and lyrical. His poetry and fiction articulate a close relationship with the land, its felt presence in his narrative and vision. His characters arrive like guests and leave an edible presence in a reader’s experience. Danial lives in Oliver the South Okanagan of British Columbia
https://twitter.com/DanialNeil?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
http://www.newestpress.com
https://newestpress.com/books/dominion-of-mercy
https://danialneilwrites.blogspot.com/2021/04/dominion-of-mercy-interview_9.html?spref=tw
Del Lobo lives on the Sunshine Coast and is a student of the Creative Writing Program at the University of Guelph. Her stories have appeared in Canadian Stories and an Anthology titled Constellations. She has recently completed a full-length novel.
Mary Duffy is a transplant from the east to the west coast of Canada where she works as a librarian. Her poetry has been published in various journals and anthologies including Quills, Leafpress, Blueprint Review, High Altitude Poetry, The Return of the Downtown Eastside Poets, The Soul of Vancouver and online at the Globe and Mail. Her poetry comes from connection with community - whether that be the Red Island Newfoundland community from which she was resettled as a child or the community of poetry she has found here in Vancouver through events created by groups such as Pandoras Collective. During the pandemic this community connection has become more important than ever.
https://www.pandorascollective.com/
https://phonebook.gallery
Stella Harvey was born in Cairo, Egypt and moved to Calgary as a child with her family. Stella founded the Whistler Writers Group, which each year produces the Whistler Writers Festival and other literary programming under her direction. For her substantial contribution to the literary arts in Whistler, Stella won the Champion of Arts and Culture Award given by the Whistler Chamber of Commerce. Stella is a fiction writer whose short stories have appeared in The Literary Leanings Anthology, The New Orphic Review, Emerge Magazine and The Dalhousie Review. Her non-fiction has appeared in Pique Newsmagazine, The Question and the Globe and Mail. She currently lives with her husband in Whistler, but visits her many relatives in Greece often, indulging her love of Greek food and culture and honing her fluency in the language. Signature Editions published her first novel, Nicolai's Daughters, in 2012 and Psichogios Publications of Athens published the Greek translation in 2015. The Brink of Freedom was published in October 2015. Finding Callidora is Stella's third novel.
Finding Callidora was released in October 2019. Look for it in all independent bookstores, Signature Editions, Amazon, and Chapters Indigo.
https://www.sfu.ca/continuing-studies/instructors/e-h/stella-harvey.html
http://stellaharvey.com
https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-arts/stella-harvey-writes-most-personal-novel-yet-2509713
https://festival.whistlerwritersfest.com/harvey-stella/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG0mxnBrb8M
Montana Rogers is a writer and educator. She received her undergraduate degree in Creative Writing & Literature from Wheaton College in Massachusetts, USA. After graduation, she was awarded a Fulbright grant to teach English in Bulgaria and spent two years working and living in a small city in the Balkan Mountains. She graduated from Simon Fraser University's The Writer's Studio in 2019 and began publishing her work that same year.Her short stories and flash fiction have appeared in The Sea Letter, Dream Noir, Reflex Fiction, Verity LA, and other journals. Currently, she is querying her first novel and at work on her second.
https://montanarogers.com
Jenn Ashton is an award-winning author and visual artist living in North Vancouver, BC. She is the author of the prize-winning article “Siamelaht” in British Columbia History (52.4 Winter 2019)
Her debut novel People Like Frank, and Other Stories from the Edge of Normal was published by Tide Water Press in 2020. Jenn is currently working on numerous projects, including a book about the history of her family in the lower mainland. Jenn just completed a year as a teaching assistant at Simon Fraser University's Writers Studio. She is the writer in residence at British Columbia History Magazine, and is studying at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Jenn Ashton is a woman of indigenous ancestry her great-great-great grandmother was Siamelaht who came from a pre contact Squamish Nation family. Jenn fancies herself as an amateur historian, and on her frequent journeys through the past, she tries very hard to look for truths hidden behind the facade of exploitation.
https://www.jenniferashton.ca
https://twitter.com/raveonstudio
https://www.instagram.com/jennashton2020/
https://www.instagram.com/raveonstudio/
Betty Keller is an author, playwright, historian editor and mentor. She has helped launch many writers careers, including mine. Betty is the original founding member of the Festival of the Written Arts in Sechelt. Betty has written seventeen books and served as one of B.C.'s most prolific book editors. She has won many awards, including this year’s George Woodcock Lifetime Achievement Award for an outstanding literary career in British Columbia.
https://quintessentialwriters.com/keller.html
http://www.vpl.ca/library/news/2021/george-woodcock-lifetime-achievement-award