2023 Festival Program in Development

Angela Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression and its many sequels. Available in ten languages, her guides are sourced by US universities, recommended by agents and editors, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, and psychologists around the world. To date, this book collection has sold nearly a million copies.
Angela is also the co-founder of the popular site Writers Helping Writers®, as well as One Stop for Writers®, a portal to game-changing tools and resources that enable writers to craft powerful fiction.

Nicole Baart is the author of eleven novels, including Everything We Didn’t Say (an October 2021 Book of the Month selection and Amazon Editor's pick) and The Long Way Back. Best known for her “race-to-the-finish family dramas” (People), Baart is also the cofounder of a nonprofit and mother of five. She lives in Iowa with her family. Website: https://nicolebaart.com/

Tanya Huff lives in rural Ontario with her wife Fiona Patton, five cats, and an increasing number of fish. Her 32 novels and 83 short stories include horror, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, comedy, and space opera. Her Blood series was turned into the 22 episode BLOOD TIES and writing episode nine allowed her to finally use her degree in Radio & Television Arts. Many of her short stories are available as eCollections. Her latest book is INTO THE BROKEN LANDS, a stand alone, created world fantasy. She’s on twitter at @TanyaHuff and Facebook as Tanya Huff. She has never used her Instagram account and isn't sure why she has it.

Stacey Kondla is a literary agent with The Rights Factory. She has a variety of clients with works that include adult literary fiction, science fiction & fantasy, rom-com, historical, nonfiction science, children's picture books, middle grade, and young adult titles. Her background includes working as a Field Representative for Scholastic Book Fairs, managing at two different big box book stores, freelance editing, and serving on the organizing committee of When Words Collide (A Festival for Readers and Writers).

Cathy Ace was born and raised in Swansea, Wales, and migrated to Canada aged 40. Having traveled the world (for business and pleasure) for decades, Cathy put her knowledge of the cultures, history, art, and food she encountered to good use in the Cait Morgan Mysteries—traditional whodunits featuring a globetrotting Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology. These books have been optioned by Free@LastTV (Agatha Raisin). Ace also writes the #1 Amazon bestselling WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, featuring four female PIs (one is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish, one English). They tackle quirky, cosy cases from a Welsh stately home in the rolling countryside of the Wye Valley. Her tale of psychological suspense, The Wrong Boy, also became an Amazon #1 bestseller, and is slated to become a bilingual TV mini-series. Cathy lives on five rural acres in British Columbia, where she works full-time as an author, and also enjoys her other great passion – gardening. She’s been shortlisted for the prestigious Canadian Bony Blithe Award three times, winning once, has won IPPY and IBA Awards, and her work has been shortlisted for Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, as well as Crime Fiction Lover’s Best Indie Novel. Website: https://www.cathyace.com/

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944. He spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same setting for Running with the Demon. He received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and went on to earn his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school and heavily influenced by William Faulkner, it took him seven years to finish writing The Sword of Shannara, which published in 1977. It became the first work of fiction to ever appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
He published The Elfstones of Shannara in 1982 and The Wishsong of Shannara in 1985, both bestsellers.
Since that time, he has written numerous novels in the Shannara, Landover, and Word/Void series, including being hand-selected by George Lucas to write the novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, which hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.
“The Shannara Chronicles,” a first season 10-episode TV show, premiered January 5, 2016 on MTV. It adapts The Elfstones of Shannara and features the creative talents of Jon Favreau, Al Gough, Miles Millar, Jonathan Liebesman, and Terry Brooks as an Executive Producer.
Terry Brooks lives with his wife Judine in the Pacific Northwest and on the road meeting his fans.
Website: https://terrybrooks.net/

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than forty-five books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction, and novellas for adult literacy. She is currently writing the Tea by the Sea mysteries, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year-Round Christmas mysteries, and the Lighthouse Library series (as Eva Gates).
Vicki is a past chair of the Crime Writers of Canada and co-founder and organizer of the Women Killing It Crime Writing Festival. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards. Vicki is the recipient of the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Website: http://vickidelany.com/

Steena Holmes is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author with over 2 million copies of her titles sold world wide, including The Forgotten Ones, Saving Abby and The Memory Child. Named in the Top 20 Women Author to read in 2015 by Good Housekeeping, she won the National Indie Excellence Award in 2012 for Finding Emma as well as the USA Book News Award for The Word Game in 2015. Steena has been featured in various newspapers and magazines, websites such as Goodreads, BookBub, RedBook, Glamour, Coastal Living and Goodhousekeeping. To find out more about her books and her love for traveling, you can visit her Website: http://www.steenaholmes.com/

Fonda Lee is the author of the epic modern fantasy Green Bone Saga, consisting of Jade City, Jade War, and Jade Legacy. She is a winner of the World Fantasy Award, the Locus Award, a four-time winner of the Aurora Award, and a finalist for the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award. The Green Bone Saga has been translated into multiple languages and named to TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Fantasy Books of All Time. Lee is also the author of the acclaimed young adult science fiction novels Zeroboxer, Exo, and Cross Fire. Fonda is an instructor at writing workshops including Clarion West, Viable Paradise, and Aspen Words. A former corporate strategist and black belt martial artist, she hails from Calgary, Alberta and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. Her next book, Untethered Sky, a fantasy novella, releases in April 2023. Website: http://www.fondalee.com/

Nicole Luiken wrote her first book at age thirteen—on a manual typewriter—and never stopped. She had two novels published while still in high school and over a dozen more since. Nicole writes mostly for teens, including the popular Violet Eyes series, but sometimes dips her toe into adult markets as well. Her books always have an element of SF/Fantasy/paranormal. Her young adult novels have won two Golden Eagle Children’s Book Awards and a Gold-Medal Moonbeam as well as being a finalist for several other Canadian awards including the Monica Hughes Science Fiction and Fantasy Award. Her most recent teen werewolf novel, Feral, received a positive review from Kirkus, calling it a "howling good time" and was a finalist for the Snow Willow Award.
Nicole lives in Edmonton with her family. It is physically impossible for her to go for more than three days in a row without writing. Website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057574333075

Morgan Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of the Falling Kingdoms series. She loves to write about the epic adventures of quirky, interesting characters who inhabit her imagination. Under the name Michelle Rowen, she’s an award-winning author of many paranormal novels. A former graphic designer drawn to sparkly objects and fancy handbags, Morgan lives in Ontario, Canada, where she maintains a very healthy belief in all things magical. Website: http://EssentialEdits.ca

Edward Willett is the award-winning author of more than sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction for readers of all ages, including the Worldshapers series and the Masks of Agyrima trilogy (as E.C. Blake) for DAW Books, the YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, and the YA SF novel Star Song, among many others. He won Canada’s Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English in 2009 for Marseguro (DAW) and for Best Fan Related Work in 2019 for The Worldshapers podcast, where he interviews other science fiction and fantasy authors about the creative process. He has been shortlisted several times. His twelfth novel for DAW Books, the humorous space opera The Tangled Stars, comes out this fall.
Ed is also the owner of Shadowpaw Press, named after his black Siberian cat, which has published two anthologies of short fiction by guests of The Worldshapers podcast, Shapers of Worlds and Shapers of Worlds Volume II. Volume III is planned for this fall. In addition to publishing these anthologies and republishing Ed’s own titles that have been orphaned by other publishers, Shadowpaw Press is now publishing original novels by other authors, and Ed hopes to do more of that in the future.
Ed’s non-fiction titles run the gamut from children’s science books and biographies to local histories to Genetics Demystified, published by McGraw-Hill. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Ed is also a professional actor and singer who has performed in numerous plays, operas, and musicals over the years.
Ed lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Margaret Anne Hodges, P.Eng., a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. They have a college-aged daughter, Alice. Find Ed on Twitter @ewillett, on Facebook @edward.willett, on Instagram @edwardwillettauthor, and on YouTube at youtube.com/edwardwillett. Website: https://edwardwillett.com/

Vanessa Cardui is an outlandish and daring musician with an alarming tendency to swing between the whimsical and the tragic. She has written hundreds of songs in various genres, including rock, folk, filk, and choral music, plays nine different instruments, and has a special love of historical and mythological subject matter. Her debut solo album, Thought Experiment, received high acclaim for its authenticity and bold emotional content. High on the success of Thought Experiment, Vanessa went on to release musical tributes to two Canadian subcultures: The Wine-Dark Sea for the pagan community, and Filk and Cookies for sci-fi/fantasy fandom. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, her 2017 album, Patience, represents a new level of sophistication and production quality. With two decades (and counting!) of songwriting experience, she savours every new challenge as a writer, and enjoys giving talks and seminars to help people crack the craft of songwriting. Website: http://www.vanessacardui.com/

James Alan Gardner got his B.Math and M.Math with a thesis on black holes, then immediately began writing science fiction instead. He has published ten novels and numerous short stories, including finalists for the Nebula and Hugo, and winners for the Aurora, the Asimov's Readers' Choice award, and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. His most recent novels are All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault and They Promised Me The Gun Wasn't Loaded, both from Tor. In his spare time, he plays a lot of table-top role-playing games, and has recently begun writing material for Onyx Path's Scion line. In his other spare time, he teaches Kung Fu to six-year-olds. Website: https://jamesalangardner.wordpress.com

As a boy, Brian Hades took to the family business with precocious fervor, even when it meant wearing a top hat with a rabbit hidden in it.
Yes, more than half-a-century ago, the grey-haired, pony-tailed 58-year-old publisher of science-fiction and fantasy novels began his working life as a magician. Not just any magician, mind you, but a magician from a family of magicians; a child prodigy who was entertaining Calgarians by the age of seven.
He made birds disappear, pulled rabbits from his hat. Then, at the peak of his powers, he gave it all up.
"I retired at the age of 14 after seven years of service," he says, "My father had this idea that I was going to be a star. At 14, I had other plans." Given his early experiences in the spotlight, it's perhaps surprising that Hades ended up in a career that finds him working a less showy form of magic behind the scenes as the head of EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Canada's largest genre book publisher.
"Publishing fits me to a T," says Hades. "I like being behind the scenes, the guy pulling the strings and getting things organized."
As head of EDGE, Hades is leading the Canadian campaign to add respectability to the often ghettoized genres of fantasy, science fiction, and horror. A quick glance of his releases this year--which include titles under Hades' three imprints: EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, Tesseract Books and Absolute XPress--shows that its international roster of authors tackles a wide variety of speculative fiction concerns.
Website: http://www.edgewebsite.com/

Sam worked at the literary magazines Blood & Aphorisms and The Quarterly in the 90s. He ran the edgy micropublisher, Gutter Press, from 1993 to 2002, as publisher. He launched the literary division of The Lavin Agency in 2003, where he built a list of clients and did his first deals.
Sam’s projects for the agency have been in various categories, including memoir, literary and commercial fiction, narrative non-fiction and graphic novels. He’s looking for works of all categories with distinct and compelling voices. He loved to discover and help new writers prepare their works for the market, and to help them build a career with their talent.
Sam is actively speaking about creative writing, publishing and agenting. his newest project is donttalktomeaboutlove.com, a LitSite with writing and art about love.
Website: http://therightsfactory.com/agents/sam-hiyate/

An award-winning novelist, playwright and teacher, Chris Humphreys has written 22 novels novels including The French Executioner - runner up for the Steel Dagger for Thrillers, UK - The Jack Absolute Trilogy, Vlad–The Last Confession, and A Place Called Armageddon. Chris adapted his 12th novel, Shakespeare’s Rebel for the stage and it received its premiere in 2015 at Bard on the Beach, Vancouver, Canada. His novel Plague won Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. Chasing the Wind follows the daring adventures of 1930s aviatrix, Roxy Loewen. His modern crime novel, One London Day was published in 2021. He recently completed his epic fantasy series for Gollancz, Immortals’ Blood, beginning with Smoke on the Glass. His novels for young adult readers include, The Runestone Saga Trilogy published by Knopf, as well as The Tapestry Trilogy. His latest novel is Someday I'll Find You, a WW2 epic romance. It was published June on 6th. His novels have been translated into thirteen languages. He holds a Masters in Fine Arts (Creative Writing) from the University of British Columbia, has been Guest of Honour at several conferences and has taught across North America, at the Surrey Writers International Conference, and PNWA amongst many others. A busy audiobook narrator, as an actor Chris has performed on stages from London’s West End to Hollywood… to Salt Spring Island! Website: https://www.authorchrishumphreys.com/

Mark Leslie Lefebvre's lifelong passion for writing and his love of reading led him to the book industry as a bookseller. His journey began in 1992, the same year he sold his first short story. Twenty-five years later, he has published books in print, ebook and audio formats and has worked in virtually every aspect of the book industry, and has been the Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations at Rakuten Kobo since 2011. A hybrid author, Mark self-published his first book One Hand Screaming, a collection of previously published short fiction, and he continues to firmly embrace both indie and traditional publishing. He has edited the anthologies Campus Chills, Tesseracts Sixteen and Fiction River: Editor's Choice and writes a series of non-fiction paranormal books for Dundurn Press that include Creepy Capital, Tomes of Terror and the August 2018 release (co-authored with Rhonda Parrish), Haunted Hospitals: Eerie Tales About Hospitals, Sanatoriums and other Institutions. Website: https://markleslie.ca/

Aviation adventures are featured in eight of Shirlee Smith Matheson’s 21 published books (14 nonfiction books for adult readers and seven young adult novels), as well as short stories and stage plays. She is an alumnus of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and has participated in (and instructed) writing courses and workshops at various schools and organizations. She is a member of The Writers Guild of Alberta, CANSCAIP and Young Alberta Book Society (YABS) as well as several aviation museums and organizations.
Awards include The 99’s Canadian Award in Aviation; Athabasca University Distinguished Alumni; Emerald Award finalist (environmental writing); and Alberta and BC nonfiction awards. Shirlee was employed for a number of years at The Hangar Flight Museum, and also completed a project as Historian for Calgary International Airport.
This Was Our Valley, the ongoing saga of hydro-electric dams on the Peace River, was published in 2019 by Frontenac House). Photo credit: John Chalmers. Website: http://www.ssmatheson.ca

Robert Runté is Senior Editor at EssentialEdits.ca and SFeditor.ca. He has been the developmental editor on over 35 traditionally published books, primarily SF&F. He has published 75+ short fiction pieces in 40+ venues, including Tesseracts, Pulp Literature, On Spec, Neo-Opsis, ELQ, Polar Borealis, The First Line, Fairfield Scribes, and Abyss and Apex. He has won three Aurora Awards for his literary criticism and promotion of Canadian SF, and in 2017, one of his stories was shortlisted for an Aurora. The late Dave Duncan called him "the best editor I've ever worked with", and willed Robert his incomplete manuscripts to finish. The Traitor's Son is the first of these, due out from Shadowpaw press in late 2023 followed by Corridor to Nightmare in 2024. Robert currently reviews for the Ottawa Review of Books.
Website: http://sfeditor.ca

Robert J. Sawyer has won the Hugo, Nebula, and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards for Best Novel of the Year as well as a record-setting 17 Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”). Rob’s 24 novels include the #1 Locus bestsellers The Oppenheimer Alternative, Quantum Night, Triggers, and Calculating God, plus FlashForward, basis for the ABC TV series of the same name. He was one of the initial nine inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and is a member of both the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario. Website: https://sfwriter.com/

Author, Editor and Book Coach Shannon Allen turned her hand to writing science fiction, speculative noir and poetry after a career in community journalism. Her fiction has appeared in Enigma Front: Now Everything Changes, Enigma Front: The Monster Within, Enigma Front: The Stories We Hide. Her work also appears in The Aurora Award finalist, By the Light of Camelot and the recently released The Astronaut Always Rings Twice, both co-edited with J.R. Campbell. Her poetry was included in the 2020 YYC Pop Portraits project run by Calgary Poet Laureate Sheri-D Wilson and Frontenac House. Shannon is also an active member of the Imaginative Fiction Writers Association (IFWA), Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association (CSFFA), writing groups Write On, and Take 24 and an active part of the Calgary writing community.

Ella Beaumont has been professionally involved in the industry in one capacity or another for a decade having worked in sales, marketing, book packaging, and editing. After a year and a half as the acquisitions editor for EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, she branched out on her own to explore self-publishing with her husband, Ron Bender. Ella loves geeking out over all things writing and publishing. Connect with her via email at edgeofspeech@gmail.com

Nancy lives near Balzac, Alberta with her husband and various critters. She is a member of the Writers Guild of Alberta. She has publishing credits in poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Recently her work has been included in Tamaracks Canadian Poetry for the 21st Century and Vistas of the West Anthology of Poetry. Her poetry is also being included by the University of Holguin Cuba in their Canada Cuba Literary Alliance (CCLA) program.

Ron Bender is the author of the New White Sands City Cyberpunk series. Ron has been an international business consultant, business process trouble-shooter, and marketing specialist. Besides consulting for the Canadian government and the private sector, he’s had more than four decades of storytelling experience. He enjoys watching formula one racing, tracking a wide array of burgeoning trends and technologies, and researching obscure time periods. For more information about the series and to sign up for his mailing list visit his web site.
Website: http://www.thecyberdeck.com/

Dorothy Bentley was born in Southern Ontario and has made Alberta her home for many years. She has taught creative writing, and written a humour newspaper column. A nature enthusiast, she enjoys outdoor activities and is an advocate of tree planting. Surviving the trauma of a devastating wildfire herself inspired her to research and write about the topic in her new YA novel, Escape from the Wildfire, released in 2022. She is also the author of a picture book for young readers, Summer North Coming, released in 2019. She lives in the country with her family, a Sheltie, Clay, plus a cat, Whitney Mewston, who enjoys singing and punching the dog in the face.
Photo Credit: Rachel Ellen Photography Website: http://www.DorothyBentley.ca

Tony writes mysteries and thrillers. Under the pen name Trigger Jones, he co-writes science fiction and fantasy with his wife, mystery plot expert Juanita Rose Violini. The Night Nurse, a medical thriller featuring a massage therapist hero, is Tony’s first thriller. Trigger Jones writes the Joe Drive space noir series and the Magpie Mountain time travel treasure hunt series. Gravity Doesn’t Lie, the first Joe Drive novel, is available now. Tony narrates his and Juanita’s books into audiobook form in his basement studio. When not writing, he enjoys strolling through nature in his home turf of the Rocky Mountain Trench. Website: http://tonyberryman.com/

Shawn L. Bird is an author, poet, educator, and micropress publisher in the beautiful Shuswap region of BC. Her Arthur Ellis award nominated novella, Murdering Mr. Edwards, was described by Outlander author Diana Gabaldon as "clever, funny, and totally engaging." (Words frequently used to describe Shawn herself). Website: http://www.shawnbird.com

T.K. Boomer lives in Sherwood Park Alberta. He has a degree in theatre and has had several stage plays produced. In 2014 he published a mainstream fiction novel, A Walk in the Thai Sun, written under the name G.J.C. McKitrick. He is a fan of science fiction and, on his retirement in 2012, decided he would devote his remaining days to the writing of it. Planet Song was published in 2016, Alpha Tribe in 2018 and The Will of the Giver should make an appearance in late 2019. Collectively these are known as The Fahr Trilogy. Website: http://tkboomer.com/

Robert Bose grew up on a farm in southern Alberta, Canada spending every free moment reading Fritz Leiber, Karl Edward Wagner, Michael Shea, Brian Lumley and whatever pulp and dark fiction he could get his hands on. He's the editor of a variety of books and anthologies for Coffin Hop Press and The Seventh Terrace, and the author of myriad short stories including the fiendish collection Fishing with the Devil, Terrace VII: Wall of Fire, Terrace VI: Forbidden Fruit, and Terrace V: Penitent’s Gold. When not writing, editing, publishing, and running unfathomable long ultramarathons, he spends his free time working as a software architect for a small economic forecasting software company. Website: www.robertbose.com

Susan Calder is a Calgary writer and the author of five novels. Her current release, Spring Into Danger (BWL Publishing Inc, 2023), is book # 4 of her Paula Savard Mystery Series set in Calgary. Susan’s short stories and poems have won contests and appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. She has attended When Words Collide every year since it began and served on the WWC board for five years. Susan is currently a co-chair for Bouchercon World Mystery Convention Calgary 2026. Website: www.susancalder.com

R. Graeme Cameron lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia. In 2016 he began publishing and editing the online speculative fiction magazine Polar Borealis. In 2021 he added Polar Starlight, devoted to speculative poetry, edited by Rhea E. Rose. He has written reviews of Canadian speculative fiction for the online version of Amazing Stories Magazine since 2014. He has won five Aurora Awards and was inducted into the CSFFA Hall of Fame in 2019. His focus in his retirement years is to promote Canadian speculative fiction. His chief joy is publishing beginning writers for their first time. https://polarborealis.ca/

Alice is the Chinese Canadian author of SHANGHAI IMMORTAL (June 2023 Hodderscape), a xianxia inspired fantasy set in jazz age Shanghai. She's fascinated by the interplay between self-perceived versus imposed identity and how this intersects with belonging and explores these spaces in her stories. A recovering lawyer and xiaolongbao enthusiast, she has a secret yarn stash and is #teamHobonichi all the way. She is grateful for the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. Find her on Twitter and Instagram at @ay_chao. http://aychao.com/

Tracy Cooper-Posey is a #1 best selling Amazon author. She writes romantic suspense, historical, paranormal and science fiction romance, plus space opera and urban fantasy under two other pen names. She has published over 120 novels since 1999, been nominated for five CAPAs including Favourite Author, won the inaugural Emma Darcy Award and a SFR Galaxy Award in 2016. She has been a national magazine editor and for a decade she taught romance writing at MacEwan University. An Australian Canadian, she lives in Edmonton, Canada with her husband, a former professional wrestler, where she moved in 1996 after meeting him on-line. Website: http://storiesrulepress.com/

Erik D’Souza is an author, publisher, and professional speaker. In 2019, he published New Beginnings, a collection of creative writings from BC authors and donated all of its profits to SHARE. His most recent novel, Death in Halfmoon Bay, is a traditional mystery set on the Sunshine Coast of BC. He is the social media and webinar coordinator for Crime Writers of Canada and co-president of the Tri-City Wordsmiths. In addition, he hosts the popular reading series, Writers in our Midst at the Port Moody Public Library.
Website: http://Erikdsouza.com/

Linda DeMeulemeester has published SF, fantasy, mystery and horror short stories. Her first MG book, a spine-tingling fantasy: The Secret of Grim Hill won Ontario’s readers’ choice award, the Silver Birch and the Canadian Toy Testing Best Books. The series has been translated into French, Spanish and Korean, has made it onto the Canadian bestseller list, and was twice optioned for an animated series. Grim Hill is now published by Wandering Fox, an imprint of Heritage Books. The Mystery of Croaker’s Island, an SF mystery for younger readers was published in 2018.

Craig DiLouie is an author of speculative and thriller fiction based in Calgary. His most notable works include six horror novels published by Hachette and Simon & Schuster in addition to numerous small press and self-published novels. Website: http://www.CraigDilouie.com

Author, educator, spokenword artist Danika Dinsmore has been teaching creative writing for 30 years. She has been working in the realm of speculative fiction for the past 20, with a focus on juvenile and young adult literature. Danika’s early writing career was built on experimental poetry & spokenword. Her inspired performances earned her the Washington Poets Association award for Performance Poetry. She has published three books of poetry and an award-winning spokenword CD. She currently sits on the editorial staff of Reckoning, a literary arts journal of environmental justice. Danika’s middle grade fantasy series (Faerie Tales from the White Forest) launched in March 2011. The 6th and final book is forthcoming Aug 2023. She teaches creative writing & world-building in schools, libraries, conferences & festivals across North America.

Dr. Nancy-Angel Doetzel is an international speaker, author of three books and a recording artist. She is also an awarding-winning instructor researcher and journalist She received a PhD from the University of Calgary. From Lakehead University, she received an MA, HBA, HBSW and BA. She has been teaching at Mount Royal University for 17 years, and hosting a radio show, From The Heart. In the helping profession, for 15 years, she worked as an addictions counselor, family mediator, educator, speaker and researcher. For her doctorate research, she won the Canadian Association of Educational Administration Distinguished Dissertation Award and was granted a Teaching Excellence Award at Mount Royal University. She is also a researcher currently studying Indigenous ways of healing and incorporating spirituality within health care educational models. Her mission is to awaken the latent inherent spirit within whomever the Creator puts on her path.
Website: https://drnancyangeldoetzel.com/

Joan Donaldson-Yarmey began her writing career with a short story, progressed to travel and historical articles, and then on to travel books. Between 1990 and 2000 Joan traveled through and researched the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the territory of the Yukon, and the state of Alaska and wrote seven books them.
She called these books her Backroads series and in them she described what there is to see and do along their back roads. Once she was finished travelling she switched to fiction writing and has had five mystery novels published: A Killer Match is the first in her Dating Coach Mystery Series; Gold Fever is a stand-alone mystery/romance; and Illegally Dead, The Only Shadow In The House, and Whistler's Murder are three novels in her Travelling Detective Series. Romancing the Klondike, Rushing the Klondike, and Sleuthing the Klondike are her Yukon Historical Novels. Joan has also published two Canadian Historical novels for two young adults: West To The Bay and West to Grande Portage. She has had one holiday romance, The Twelve Dates of Christmas, (which was written with her sister Gwen Donaldson) published and they have a second holiday romance coming out in November titled Single Bells. Joan was born in New Westminster, B.C. Canada, and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Since she loves change, Joan has moved over thirty times in her life, living on acreages and farms and in small towns and cities throughout Alberta and B.C. After seventeen years on Vancouver Island she is now back in Edmonton. Joan belongs to Crime Writers of Canada and Writer’s Guild of Alberta.

Susan Forest is the author of dual Aurora Award-winners Bursts of Fire (2019) and Flights of Marigold (2020) as well as over 25 internationally-published short stories (Analog, Asimov's, Beneath Ceaseless Skies). She edits an award-winning anthology series for Laksa Media Groups, was Editor Guest of Honor at Keycon in 2022, and most recently co-edited Life Beyond Us, from the European Astrobiology Institute. Gathering of Ghosts, the third novel of her Addicted to Heaven series (forthcoming, 2023) confronts issues of addictions in an epic fantasy world of intrigue and betrayal.
Website: https://www.speculative-fiction.ca/

Barb Galler-Smith has been a fiction editor with On Spec Magazine since 2008. She's an award-winning writer and co-author of an Aurora nominee novel Druids, Book 1 of an historical fantasy trilogy. She's been a judge for various writing competitions, a freelance editor, and has taught short story writing. She loves costumes, short fiction, and is naturally inclined to fix things.

Dr. Christy Gibson is a family doctor and trauma therapist in Calgary. She has worked in adult addiction, in refugee health, and in every kind of community (including in Uganda, Laos, Nepal, and Ethiopia). Her book, The Modern Trauma Toolkit, is an inclusive primer on trauma – why it happens, what changes occur in the body, and what can be done to achieve post-traumatic growth. She is an avid mental health educator, as @TikTokTraumaDoc on TikTok with >130,000 followers. She has written fiction, poetry, and non-fiction but this is her first major publication. https://www.christygibson.com/

Jenna Greene is a YA fantasy author, known for her IMAGINE series and the REBORN MARKS Series. She also co-hosts a podcast titled "Quill and Ink: A Podcast for Booklovers." Website: https://www.jennagreene.ca/

Frank Hardt is a science fiction and horror author, former professional mixed martial artist, and sales professional. When he’s not writing novels he loves to enjoy the great outdoors near his home in British Coloumbia.

Faye Reineberg Holt has authored 13 adult nonfiction books as well as a mid grade book. All explore western Canada’s fascinating past. She has written articles, short stories and poetry for all ages and co-authored a travel book. Faye is a member of The Writers’ Union of Canada, Writers Guild of Alberta, Young Alberta Book Society, Alexandra Writers’ Society and Canadian Authors Association, and she is a friend of CANSCAIP.
A Calgarian with experience as editor, writer-in-residence and manuscript reviewer, she gives feedback on manuscripts for individuals and thorough organizations. As well, she offers writing-related readings and workshops. Website: http://www.wordsandhistory.ca

Jessica lives in Southern Alberta with her English husband and pets. She’s been a member of the Alberta Romance Writers’ Association for over 12 years. She has twice been its president. She has published five novellas, fifteen novels, and a collection of short stories as Jessica Lund. She enjoys writing in a variety of romance sub-genres. “There are no genres out there that cannot be turned into a romance. That is what I like best about writing them. The world, as they say, is our oyster. And the pearl is the romantic core.” Website: http://www.jessicaljackson.com

Deven Kane plays a mean bass and loves to tell stories. His novels include the dystopian Tracker trilogy, and urban fantasies Darkwood and Treehawke. “Speculative fiction lets me explore human nature, interpersonal conflicts, the desire to rise above our circumstances, and the obstacles holding us back,” he says. “No matter the setting—Earth’s future, past, or an alien culture on another planet—the most compelling stories are about our interactions: the good, the bad, the ugly, and our need to transcend.” Deven and Wendy live under the benevolent supervision of their bemused dog.
https://devenkane.com

Linda Keith is an award-nominated indie author from Edmonton, Alberta. Her Black Iris trilogy (including Black Iris, Scrimshaw, and Drowning Girl), a psychological thriller, has been hailed as innovative in its genre, and her debut novel, Black Iris, was shortlisted for the 2021 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in Mystery. Not only does Linda write and publish her own books, as a trained graphic designer, she also creates her own cover art. Linda is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and the Crime Writers of Canada. Website: http://www.lindakeithauthor.com/

JM Landels, writer and illustrator of the Allaigna's Song trilogy and co-founder of Pulp Literature wears far too many hats. The strange mix of a degree in Mediaeval English Literature, a misspent youth fronting alternative punk bands Mad Seraphim and Stiff Bunnies, and a career as a childbirth educator and doula informs her work. She's currently working on the historical thriller The Shepherdess, about a shepherdess-turned-spy in 17th century France. These days, when she isn't writing, editing or drawing, she can be found heading up Academie Cavallo, her school of mounted combat in Langley BC, where she swings swords and rides horses for fun and profit.

Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Book of Tea duology (A Magic Steeped in Poison and A Venom Dark and Sweet), was born in Taiwan and immigrated to Canada with her family at a young age. She grew up with her nose in a book and loved to escape to imaginary worlds. She now works as an occupational therapist and still spends her nights dreaming up imaginary worlds of her own. She lives on the Canadian prairies with her husband and daughters.

Josephine LoRe has shared her poetry live and in international zoom-rooms. Her words have been put to music, danced, interpreted in ASL, and integrated into visual art.
She has two collections,Unity and the Calgary Herald Bestseller The Cowichan Series. Her poetry has been published in literary magazines and anthologies in four languages and fifteen countries from Canada to New Zealand, and she has been invited to be Feature Poet in Calgary, New Mexico, New York, and San Francisco. She was shortlisted for the Room Poetry Prize and her poem Enough was selected for use in a global Public Service Announcement for Feed the Children. Josephine participates in a panoply of poetry societies. Now retired from the classroom, she serves as editor, instructor, panelist and judge. She enjoys mentoring emerging writers and continues to take workshops to continue to learn and develop her craft. Website: https://www.josephinelorepoet.com/

Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran (C.S. MacCath) is a PhD candidate in the Folklore Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland, an author, a poet, and a musician. Ceallaigh produces and hosts the Folklore & Fiction podcast, dedicated to creative applications of folkloristics for storytellers. Work from her two fiction and poetry collections has been shortlisted for the Washington Science Fiction Association Small Press Award, nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and nominated for the Rhysling Award. Most recently, she was commissioned by the Odyssey Theatre in Ottawa to write a fantastical radio play for The Other Path podcast series, which aired in November 2022. Her music is both old and new, inspired by the English and Scottish ballad tradition and rooted in contemporary Paganism. She lives in Atlantic Canada. Website: https://csmaccath.com

Arlene F. Marks has been writing since the age of 6, and she has no plans to stop. A veteran teacher of the craft, she has authored two literacy programs for the classroom. Her short stories have appeared online and in print, notably in an anthology of reimagined fairy tales, Grimmer Tales Volume One. She is also the author of the Sic Transit Terra space opera series (from Edge Publishing) and Adventures in Godhood, her first of several recent releases from Brain Lag Publishing. Short story collection Imaginary Friends and paranormal mystery Weekends Can Be Murder came out last year to great reviews, and a new series, The Nash'terel, launched in May with the release of The Earthborn. It will continue in November with The Bloodstone. Arlene lives with her husband on the shore of beautiful Nottawasaga Bay in Ontario, where she dreams of one day having a tidy, well-organized office. Website: https://www.thewritersnest.ca/

Chris Marrs lives in Calgary, Alberta where it's a lot drier and colder than the West Coast she's used to. She's had short stories and novellas published in various anthologies, most notably the Bram Stoker award winning The Library of the Dead (edited by Michael Bailey 2015) and the Bram Stoker award nominated A Darke Fantastique (Edited by Jason Brock 2014). She's an active member of the Horror Writers Association.You can find her lurking on Facebook at christ.marrs.14, on Twitter as @Chris_Marrs, or Instagram as hauntedmarrs.

RANDY MCCHARLES is a full-time author of crime and speculative fiction. He is the recipient of several Aurora Awards (Canada's most prestigious award for speculative fiction), and in 2013 his short story Ghost-B-Gone Incorporated won the House of Anansi 7-day Ghost Story Contest. His most recent publications include the Connecticut Gumshoe Trilogy from Tyche Books and the Peter Galloway soft-boiled detective series. Previous publications include Much Ado about Macbeth (also from Tyche Books), Capone's Chicago, a multiple-dimensional alternate history romp, and the YA Sci-fi novel The Day of the Demon. In addition to writing, Randy organizes various literary events including the award-winning When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers. Website: http://www.randymccharles.com

Tod McCoy’s work has appeared in Asimov’s, Felix Futura, Starward Tales II, The People’s Apocalypse, Bronies: For the Love of Ponies, and AntipodeanSF.com, as well as others. He is a graduate and board member of the Clarion West Writers Workshop, and is the publisher behind Hydra House Books. He lives in Montana with his wife the witch, a goblin child, and a variety of animal familiars.

Katie O’Connor lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She married her high school sweetheart and is living her happily ever after.
She’s dabbled in writing since high school because something drives her to create stories. She swears that it’s impossible for her NOT to write. Katie's primary genre is contemporary romance though she dabbles in many genres.
She believes in all things magical; including dragons, fairies, UFOs, ghosts, and house pixies. But most of all she believes in love, romance and hope. She lives life with humor, hope, and copious quantities of caffeine. Website: https://katieohwrites.com/

Marie Powell’s castle-hopping adventures across North Wales resulted in her award-winning medieval fantasy series Last of the Gifted, set in 13th C Wales. Marie is the author of more than 40 children’s books, along with short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from UBC, and she’s recently been Virtual Writer-in-Residence for the Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and an instructor for the Sage Hill Teen Writing Workshop.
Website: https://mariepowell.ca

Sarah L. Pratt is a curly hair gladiator, ultra marathoner, literary events wrangler, and queer fictioneer. Her stories have appeared in Vastarien, Room Magazine, Plenitude, On Spec, Shock Totem, Crossed Genres, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror Vol. 2 (Red Room Press), and the Bram Stoker Award nominated Dark Visions 1 (Grey Matter Press) and Twisted Book of Shadows (Haverhill Press). She’s the author of Suicide Stitch: Eleven Tales (EMP Publishing) the blasphemous apocalyptic thriller, Infractus (Coffin Hop Press), and co-author of Wall of Fire and co-author/co-curator of Forbidden Fruit and Penitent's Gold (The Seventh Terrace). Website: http://www.the-seventh-terrace.com

Merrilee Robson has published over two dozen short stories in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, the People’s Friend, Mystery Magazine, and other magazines and anthologies. Her traditional mystery, Murder is Uncooperative, is set in a non-profit housing co-op. Merrilee has served on the boards of Sisters in Crime – Canada West and Crime Writers of Canada. She is a member of the Vancouver Police Board, which provides civilian oversight to the Vancouver Police Department. She lives in Vancouver and spends a lot of time with at least one cat on her lap. Website: https://merrileerobson.ca/

Tammy Rébéré is a published author and poet with the recent release of her narrative poetry book, The Echo of You, and is also known as the author, Elizabeth Hope, for children’s fiction. Tammy project managed and assisted in editing the anthology, Misfits & Unusual Heroes, of more than forty writers and artists from around the globe, and is the former editor and contributing writer for the nation-wide food magazine, Nourish.
Tammy is a certified holistic mentor and meditation trainer, recognized for her coaching with Superpower Dojo and Soul Basics. She loves nature and lives for the sun to rise each morning and is often found with her camera in hand in those wee hours traipsing across her Alberta ranch just to capture a glimpse of it. Website: http://www.tammyrebere.com/

Madona Skaff-Koren is the author of the Naya Investigates series, featuring a young woman disabled by multiple sclerosis, who turns sleuth to solve crimes. She also has a science fiction thriller, Shifting Trust, which is set 25 years in the future. She has several mystery and science fiction short stories to her credit. She has also self-published a science fiction novel, A Handful of Earths, for a friend who has passed away. Book 2 will be available soon. Website: https://madonaskaff.com

Andrew Snook is the owner/operator for Snookbooks Publishing, a content creation company based in Mississauga, Ont. He has more than a decade of experience as a business-to-business magazine editor. His articles have won him three B2B National Magazine Awards (2019, 2020 and 2022) and two Tabbies International Editorial & Design Awards (2020 and 2022).
Snook is also an accomplished independant fiction writer and has released three full-length novels: Remy's Dilemma (2015), Remy's Dilemma: Special Delivery (2019); and Dungeon Jest: The Ruby of Power (2022), as well as his first children's book, The Snookie-Cookie Crew and The Cranberry Cookie Cruncher (2022).
Remy's Dilemma: Special Delivery won the 2022 Comedy Book of Year at the Independent Press Awards, 2022 Distinguished Favourite at the NYC Big Book Awards and a Bronze Medal for Best Regional Fiction (Canada-West) at the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPYs). His fantasy game book, Dungeon Jest: The Ruby of Power won the 2022 Specialty Book of the Year at the NYC Big Book Awards. Website: http://www.snookbooks.com

Diane is the Executive Editor at The Rights Factory and an award-winning instructor at University of Toronto SCS in the creative writing program. She is also the author of a YA novel The World on Either Side.
Website: https://www.dianeterrana.com/

Carolyne Topdjian is author of The Black Moth (forthcoming October 2023) and The Hitman’s Daughter (Agora/Polis Books), a gothic thriller which Library Journal calls a “fast-paced, haunting novel of survival” (starred review). In addition to writing suspense novels, Topdjian has published short fiction in PRISM International, Dreamers Magazine, and Firewords Quarterly. She is a professor in the Faculty of Media and Creative Arts at Humber College and currently lives in an old haunted house. You can connect with her on social media @TopdjianC.
Website: http://www.carolynetopdjian.com/

Hayden Trenholm is an award-winning editor, playwright, novelist, and short story writer. He was formerly publisher and managing editor of Bundoran Press. His first novel, A Circle of Birds, won the 3-Day Novel Writing competition. His trilogy, The Steele Chronicles, were each nominated for an Aurora Award. Stealing Home, the third book, was a finalist for the Sunburst Award. Hayden has won five Aurora Awards – thrice for short fiction and twice for editing. In 2022 he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association Hall of Fame. Website: https://www.haydentrenholm.com/

D.G. Valdron is an aboriginal rights lawyer, and science fiction, fantasy and horror author based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has several novels, including Axis of Andes and the Mermaid's Tale. His short stories have appeared in numerous publications including Interzone and On Spec, and he has released several short story collections including Drunk Slutty Elf (fantasy humour), No Doors in Dark Places (horror) and Dawn of Cthulhu (alternate history). Nonfiction books include LEXX Unauthorized, about the Canadian cult sci fi series, and The Pirate Histories of Doctor Who. He likes interesting people and boring food, and is perfectly harmless (really)! https://www.denvaldron.com/

Krista is a fantasy writer, jazz & rock musician, audiobook narrator, actor, podcaster, mother, Gran, lover of pie, dark chocolate, and fine single malt scotch. She hails from Port Coquitlam, BC, where she writes and records in a closet, emerging occasionally to sing with the big band FAT Jazz, or her duo, the Itty Bitty Big Band. She is the author of the Gatekeeper fantasy series, and has short stories published in Pulp Literature, Heart's Kiss, electricspec, and 49th Parallels (an Aurora nominated anthology). She can often be heard humming a tune, or tap dancing. Website: http://kristawallace.com/

Allan Weiss is a Toronto fiction writer and Professor of English at York University. Among his genre publications are the fantasy story collection Making the Rounds (2016) and stories in On Spec, the Tesseracts anthology series, and, most recently, Other Covenants: Alternate Histories of the Jewish People. His other story collections are Living Room (Boheme 2001) and Telescope (2019); other stories have appeared in various periodicals and anthologies. He is Chair of the Academic Conference on Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy, and has edited three volumes of proceedings from the conference. Website: http://www.allanweiss.com/

Jonathan Whitelaw is a writer, award-winning journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics, he moved into journalism, covering everything from sports to music to radioactive waste – and everything in between. His latest novel, The Bingo Hall Detectives, is a cozy mystery set in the Lake District of England. And the follow-up, The Village Hall Vendetta will be released in August from HarperCollins Canada. He moved to Alberta from the UK in May 2022.

Edward Willett is the award-winning author of more than sixty books of science fiction, fantasy, and non-fiction for readers of all ages, including the Worldshapers series and the Masks of Agyrima trilogy (as E.C. Blake) for DAW Books, the YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, and the YA SF novel Star Song, among many others. His most recent novel fr DAW Books is the humourous space opera The Tangled Stars.
He won Canada’s Aurora Award for Best Long-Form Work in English in 2009 for Marseguro (DAW) and for Best Fan Related Work in 2019 for The Worldshapers podcast, where he interviews other science fiction and fantasy authors about the creative process. He has been shortlisted several times. Ed is also the owner of Shadowpaw Press, named after his black Siberian cat, which publishes new work by new and established authors and new editions of notable, previously published work. Among the new titles is the series of Shapers of Worlds anthologies featuring guests of The Worldshapers podcast. Shapers of Worlds Volume IV will be out this fall.
Ed’s non-fiction titles run the gamut from children’s science books and biographies to local histories to Genetics Demystified, published by McGraw-Hill. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Ed is also a professional actor and singer who has performed in numerous plays, operas, and musicals over the years. Ed lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, with his wife, Margaret Anne Hodges, P.Eng., a past president of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. They have one daughter, Alice, and a much younger black Siberian cat, Shadowpaw. Find Ed on Twitter @ewillett, on Facebook @edward.willett, on Instagram @edwardwillettauthor, and on YouTube at youtube.com/edwardwillett.
Website: https://www.edwardwillett.com

P.D. Workman is a USA Today Bestselling author, winner of several awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody and the InD’tale Magazine’s Crowned Heart award, and has published over 90 mystery/suspense/thriller and young adult books, including stand alones and these series: Auntie Clem's Bakery cozy mysteries, Reg Rawlins Psychic Investigator paranormal mysteries, Zachary Goldman Mysteries (PI), Kenzie Kirsch Medical Thrillers, Parks Pat Mysteries (police procedural), and YA series: Medical Kidnap Files, Tamara's Teardrops, Between the Cracks, and Breaking the Pattern.
Workman loves writing about the underdog, who the reader may love or hate. She has been praised for her realistic details, deep characterization, and sensitive handling of the serious social issues that appear in all of her stories, from light cozy mysteries through to darker, grittier young adult and mystery/suspense books. Website: http://pdworkman.com/

Vivian Zenari has published prose and poetry in Canada and the United States. Her novel Deuce, a sibling rivalry story set in Edmonton and Montreal, was published by Inanna Publications in 2022. She teaches writing and literature at Athabasca University. She lives in Edmonton with her husband, son, and pets.