A writer from the age of six, Jenn Ashton was first published when she was fourteen. She has written fiction, non-fiction and children’s books as well as editorials and articles for periodicals and journals. She is a member of The Writers Union of Canada, The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society, The North Shore Authors Collection, […]
A resident of Vancouver, Julie Burtinshaw is an award-winning author who wrote her first novel in 2000, and has been a full time writer since 2007. The author of seven books for young adults and teens, Julie also teaches creative writing workshops and is an active participant in the writing community. She has served […]
As a teenager, Jolie Phuong Hoang escaped from Vietnam with her siblings. Arriving in Canada in 1984, she enrolled in high school and then trained in mathematics, all the while retaining her love of writing. Her work has been recognized by the North Street Book Prize (Winner, Literary Fiction, 2020), the San Francisco Book […]
Emma L.R. Hogg is a born writer. After graduating from the University of Guelph, she began work on the first of six novels she self-published. Her poetry has been published in Carousel magazine and her fifth novel, The Fourth Wall (2015) was shortlisted for the Whistler Independent Book Award for Fiction. Her next book, […]
Darcie Friesen Hossack is a graduate of the Humber School for Writers with roots in the Mennonite and Seventh-day Adventist communities. A career food writer and editor of the online WordCity Literary Journal, her short story collection, Mennonites Don’t Dance (Thistledown Press), was a finalist for the Danuta Gleed Award, and was shortlisted […]
Of Cree and Austrian descent, Joseph Kakwinokanasum grew up in the Peace region of northern BC, one of seven children raised by a single mother. A graduate of SFU’s Writers Studio, his short story “Ray Says” was a finalist for CBC’s 2020 Nonfiction Prize. In 2022, he was selected by Darrel J. McLeod […]
A resident of Erie Beach, Ontario, Ian Kennedy is a secondary school teacher and journalist with a passion for sport and storytelling. In 2011, he founded CKSN (Chatham-Kent Sports Network), an online news outlet covering both amateur and professional athletes. His reporting has been featured on radio, in newspapers and publications that include The […]
Hassan Al Kontar was raised in a prosperous Syrian home, the middle child of a mechanical engineer and nurse. He worked in marketing in the UAE before the war. Now a permanent resident of Canada based in Vancouver, he advocates for refugees around the world and is an Emergency Care Worker with the […]
Monique Layton’s academic background is in comparative literature and cultural anthropology and she is the author of several reports and non-fiction books on a variety of topics. Her last position before retiring was at Simon Fraser University where she directed the School of Criminology’s distance education programs.
JJ Lee is the author of The Measure of a Man: The Story of a Father, a Son and a Suit (2011), a finalist for the Governor General’s, Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust and Charles Taylor prizes for non-fiction. His essays have appeared in publications including Elle, Montecristo, The Georgia Straight, Canadian Architect and more.