Coming Soon

Abdulsalam is a Syrian-Palestinian spoken word poet and photographer. His poetry explores themes of exile, homeland, belonging, and love. Before resettling to Canada in 2021, Abdulsalam lived in Malaysia for nine years, finding refuge in the world of metaphors and storytelling. There, he performed at various events, including the well-known George Town Literary Festival. In 2023, Abdulsalam reached the finals at the Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) in Vancouver and featured at Regina Word Up.

Jennilee Austria-Bonifacio's work as a Filipino school board consultant, journalist, Little Manila tour guide, and settlement worker inspired her novel, Reuniting with Strangers. Her stories have been published in Geist, Changing the Face of Canadian Literature, Magdaragat: An Anthology of Filipino-Canadian Writing, and more. She was a finalist for the Jim Wong-Chu Emerging Authors Award. Based in Toronto, Jennilee spends a lot of time thinking about the Filipino community-- and celebrating them, too.

Jes Battis teaches literature and creative writing in the prairies. They are the author of the Occult Special Investigator series (short-listed for the Sunburst Award) and The Winter Knight (long-listed for Canada Reads).

S. Bear Bergman is the author of ten books, the founder of Flamingo Rampant Press, and a frequent consultant on equity and inclusion. From co-founding the first Gay/Straight Alliance at the age of 15 to advising businesses and governments on pathways to justice, Bergman's life work has been dedicated to advocating for and celebrating 2SLGBTQ+ people. Today, Bergman focuses on making trans cultural competency interventions any way he can and navigating the joys and challenges of parenting, including the omnipresent hazard of his children's Lego.

Brent Butt is an award-winning comedian and screenwriter, the creator of TV's CORNER GAS, and author of the debut novel HUGE, a psychological thriller from DoubledayCanada.

Vivian Darroch-Lozowski's writings and visual works cross different genres: scholarly, literary, creative non-fiction, artist books, drawing, and film. Her recent project was restoring 160 acres of agricultural land in Saskatchewan to natural prairie and wetlands. She is Professor Emerita of the University of Toronto.

Tara Sidhoo Fraser is a queer writer and creator of South Asian and Scottish ancestry. She graduated from the University of Victoria with a BA in Anthropology, and her work has been published with Autostraddle and Anathema magazine, among others. When My Ghost Sings is her first book. She lives in Vancouver.

Naomi Hansen is an author, writer, and editor. Her first book, Only in Saskatchewan: Recipes & Stories from the Province's Best-Loved Eateries, was published by TouchWood Editions in spring 2022. Naomi is the recipient of two 2023 Saskatchewan Book Awards for Only in Saskatchewan: the First Book Award and the Book of the Year Award. She is a regular contributor for many publications, including Canadian Living and
Chatelaine, and is also the Saskatoon Bites food columnist for CBC Saskatchewan. Find her online at www.naomihansen.ca.

Holly Hogan is a writer and seabird biologist. She has spent years at sea and her work has taken her from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and every latitude in between. She has provided expertise on seabirds and marine plastic issues for radio and film. Her book Message in a Bottle: Ocean Dispatches from a Seabird Biologist was short-listed for the 2023 Governor-General’s Award for non-fiction and received the 2023 BMO Winterset Award.

dee Hobsbawn-Smith is Saskatchewan’s 10th Poet Laureate. She lives rurally west of Saskatoon in Treaty 6 Territory, and is the author of ten books in several genres. Among the Untamed: poems, was published in 2023. Bread & Water: essays, won the Saskatchewan Book Awards Nonfiction Award and Taste Canada’s Gold Medal for Culinary Narrative. Her novel Danceland Diary was shortlisted for the Saskatchewan Book Awards Fiction Award, and Foodshed: An Edible Alberta Alphabet, won three international awards for its portrayal of small-scale sustainable growers.

Victoria Koops never stopped playing make-believe and often writes while wearing a tiara. Her books are full
of epic adventure and swoony romance, and navigate social issues through the power of fandom and geek
culture. Who We Are in Real Life is her debut novel. As a practicing counsellor, Victoria lives with her family in Treaty 4 Territory. Victoria loves to sing off-key, tease her sisters and pretend that she’ll choose a different romance the next time she plays Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Alice Major has been inspired by science, myth and history throughout her 12 collections of poetry. She is also the author of the essay collection, Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science. This interest has taken her to readings and conferences, including the UN’s COP15 gathering on biodiversity in Montreal. Alice’s previous work has been recognized by numerous awards, most recently the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award.