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2024 Festival Program

The festival program is complete. Please see below for instructions on how to get your own copy.

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2024 Final Program

The program is in preparation. Stay tuned for more information.

Master Classes

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2024 Festival Guests

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Angela Ackerman
Angela Ackerman

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
Nicole Baart

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
Tanya Huff

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
Stacey Kondla

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).

2024 Special Guests

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Cathy Ace
Cathy Ace

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/

Vicki Delany
Vicki Delany

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
Steena Holmes

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
Fonda Lee

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
Nicole Luiken

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
Morgan Rhodes

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: https://www.morganrhodes.net/

Edward Willett
Edward Willett

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/

Returning Festival Guests

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Vanessa Cardui
Vanessa Cardui

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://vanessacarduiartist.com/

James Alan Gardner
James Alan Gardner

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

Brian Hades
Brian Hades

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 Hiyate
Sam Hiyate

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/

C C Humphreys
C C Humphreys

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
Mark Leslie Lefebvre

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/


Shirlee Smith Matheson
Shirlee Smith Matheson

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
Robert Runté

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
Robert J Sawyer

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/

Confirmed Presenters / Panelists

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Shannon Allen
Shannon Allen

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.

Faye Arcand
Faye Arcand

Faye Arcand, raised on the west coast of BC, is the seventh of eight children and has been blessed with, and appreciates, an abundance of family and friends.
It was her eldest sister who taught her how to read and write at a young age. Lessons took place in the attic with a chalk board and pointer stick. That was the beginning of something special.
Arcand loves participating in writing conferences, festivals, and literary events. She’s currently organizing the Wine Country Writers’ Festival which takes place September 2023, in Penticton.
Website: http://fayeearcand.com/

Ella Beaumont
Ella Beaumont

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 M Bell
Nancy M Bell

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
Ron Bender

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/

Renee Bennett
Renee Bennett

Renee Bennett is an author, editor, and all-around word nerd. Her degree is in Linguistics and she has done corporate records for lo, many moons. “Oh, THAT’S where I put that” is possibly her favorite thing to say of late. She writes in multiple genres and will talk your ear off about any of them if given any encouragement. Consider yourself warned.

Dorothy Bentley
Dorothy Bentley

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 Berryman
Tony Berryman

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 Bird
Shawn Bird

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
T K Boomer

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
Robert Bose

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

Tom Brookes
Tom Brookes

Tom writes speculative and dystopian fiction. His debut novel Persistence of Vision (London, 2023) tackles mass advertising in surveillance capitalism and asks whether we truly make our own choices when we no longer have privacy or the right to disconnect.

Susan Calder
Susan Calder

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

M.H. Callway
M.H. Callway

M. H. Callway has more than 20 stories and novellas published, many of which have won or been short-listed for leading awards, including the CWC Awards of Excellence and the Derringer. Her novel, Windigo Fire, was a finalist for CWC Best First Novel and the Debut Dagger.
In 2013, she co-founded the Mesdames of Mayhem to promote Canadian women crime writers through social media. They have published five critically acclaimed anthologies: Thirteen, 13 O’clock, 13 Claws, In the Key of 13 and In the Spirit of 13. MoM is now a national organization of 25 leading Canadian crime writers, publishers and film makers, both Mesdames and Monsieurs.
In 2019, the Mesdames were the subject of a CBC documentary, which can be viewed on YouTube and GEM. Website: https://mhcallway.com

R Graeme Cameron
R Graeme Cameron

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. Website: https://polarborealis.ca/

Vanessa Cardui
Vanessa Cardui

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://vanessacarduiartist.com/

Chris Patrick Carolan
Chris Patrick Carolan

Chris Patrick Carolan is an author, editor, and hovercraft enthusiast whose stories have appeared in the Enigma Front anthology series (Analemma Books, ExitZero Books), 49th Parallels: Alternative Canadian Histories and Futures (Bundoran Press), and Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Coffin Hop Press). He is Managing Editor of ExitZero Books and is currently working on revisions to his first novel, a paranormal mystery set in 1880s Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can find him on Twitter as @cpcwrites but–consider this fair warning–it’s mostly just nonsense and Simpsons memes. Website: http://www.cpcwrites.com

Laurie Cunningham
Laurie Cunningham

Editor-in-Chief and a writer at ASAP IMAGINATION, L. A. Cunningham released her debut book, Points of Villainy/Points of Virtue, with co-author, P. A. Hayden in November 2020.
In 2021, her second publication came out as a part of ASAP IMAGINATION’s first charity anthology, Perspectives, which included her short story, Just a Second.
In 2022, L. A. Cunningham released her debut comic book, Sister Grim, followed by Points of Villainy #1 and #2, and her dystopian zombie-esque parenting picture book Babies with Rabies: An ABC Survival Guide. Website: https://asapcomicsuk.com

Erik D'Souza
Erik D'Souza

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
Linda DeMeulemeester

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.

Chase F. Degenhardt
Chase F. Degenhardt

Chase F. Degenhardt is a writer, entrepreneur, and former professional fighter from Edmonton, Alberta. After several years of writing and enjoying literary conferences, Chase wanted to help other people find the writing community that had become so important in his own life, so he created LitWorld, the events app for readers and writers. Outside of work and writing, Chase enjoys hiking, weightlifting, and woodcarving, among other Website: http://litworldevents.com

Craig Dilouie
Craig Dilouie

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

Danika Dinsmore
Danika Dinsmore

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 NancyAngel Doetzel
Dr NancyAngel Doetzel

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
Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

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.

Adam Dreece
Adam Dreece

Adam Dreece is an international best-selling young adult author and frequent conference speaker. He's best known for his steampunk-meets-fairy tale series, The Yellow Hoods, and his high action, post-apocalyptic dark fantasy series, The Wizard Killer. His latest novel is The King's Horse, a darker return to his Yellow Hoods world.
The father of three, and native Montrealer, grew up reading comic books, playing Dungeons and Dragons, and writing stories and software. These days, loving life in Calgary, he can be found under a mountain of projects and stories.
Website: https://adamdreece.com

Sandra Fitzpatrick
Sandra Fitzpatrick

Sandra Fitzpatrick is bilingual in financial and English. She's been helping artists, writers, actors and other Creative People with their taxes, both Canadian and US, since 2006. Many have not known the deductions available as self-employed people and she does several seminars each year to bring this information and more on the basics of financial planning to them. Coming soon is Financial Sh*t for Creative People. She has been writing fantasy and science fiction for over ten years and is a long-time member of IFWA. As Lee F. Patrick, her novel Alter Egos and several short pieces came out in 2017. Her thriller The Alanyo Heir was published in 2018. Website: https://leefpatrick.ca

Susan Forest
Susan Forest

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/

Ron S Friedman
Ron S Friedman

RON S. FRIEDMAN is an award-winning science fiction author, blogger and a YouTuber, who likes to write about space, technology, and history.
As an international multi-lingual speaker, Ron presented in a number of literary and fan conventions in North America and Asia. His YouTube channel, Sci and SciFi, is a 2022 Aurora Awards finalist. In it, you can find many science and technology topics and how they are represented in science fiction.
Originally from Israel, Ron is living with his loving wife and two children in Calgary, Alberta.

Barb Galler-Smith
Barb Galler-Smith

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.

James Alan Gardner
James Alan Gardner

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

Christy Gibson
Christy Gibson

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.
Website: https://www.christygibson.com/

Michael Gillett
Michael Gillett

Michael Gillett is currently president of IFWA, and as such feels tremendous pressure to write more. As a recently retired worker bee, he is indeed writing more, and has multiple short stories published (with an Aurora nomination for one of them) along with his first novel : The Collection of Jacqueline Melrose – Revenge. His second novel is in final editing, third and fourth novels in various tattered stages…

Jenna Greene
Jenna Greene

Jenna Greene is a childrens/YA author from Lethbridge, Alberta. Her YA fantasy books include the award-winning Reborn Marks series, as well as the Imagine series. Her picture books are titled, Winston, the Well-Dressed Wombat and Bachtavia Bat and the Search for a Hat. Her novel for young readers, An Owl Without a Name, is releasing October 2023 from Heritage House. As well, Jenna Greene has published poetry, short stories, and other works of fiction over the past twenty years.

Brian Hades
Brian Hades

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/

Dee Hahn
Dee Hahn

Dee Hahn lives in Chestermere, Alberta with her family and wily dog. Her debut novel, The Grave Thief, will be released in 2022 with Penguin Random House. When she's not writing, you can find her beekeeping, exploring the wild yonder, and eating pie.

Frank Hardt
Frank Hardt

Frank Hardt is the author of three novels, including The Bachelorette: Murder Island. A former World Muay Thai and MMA Champion, Frank had always dreamed of becoming a novelist and finally achieved it in 2022, after publishing Witch. Now retired from combat sports, Frank loves to explore the mountains near his home in British Columbia.
Website: http://litworldevents.com/frank-hardt/

Julie Hiner
Julie Hiner

ulie Hiner is an author of heavy metal horror. She spent endless hours during her childhood lost in the pages of books and listening to the metal gods of the 80s. To this day, Julie is a hardcore 80s rocker at heart.
After securing a computer science degree, Julie pursued a career working on large scale network systems. On a break between contracts, Julie followed her dream. She published a work of inspirational non-fiction capturing her journey of facing fear and anxiety by cycling up the mountains of the Tour de France. Several years ago, she plunged down a fiction writing path. Following her fascination with the dark mind of the serial killer and finding inspiration at a talk given by a local homicide detective, Julie wrote a serial killer novel. She now writes dark crime and horror infused with rock and metal. She has successfully launched an 80s metal murder series, a nostalgic 90s serial killer novella, and several of her horror short stories have been published. She currently runs killersanddemons.com where she serves up toxic cocktails of 80s metal and raw horror. http://killersanddemons.com/

Sam Hiyate
Sam Hiyate

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/

Faye Holt
Faye Holt

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

C C Humphreys
C C Humphreys

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/

GB Immega
GB Immega

I am a retired aerospace engineer and entrepreneur, living in Vancouver, Canada. My company, Kinetic Sciences Inc. built experimental robots for the space station, robots to clean up nuclear waste and miniature fingerprint sensors for cell phones. In 2005, I sold the corporate intellectual property to a Californian company. Since that time I have published several science fiction short stories, and completed two SF novels: Super-Earth Mother and Eye of the Beholder. Super-Earth Mother was published by EDGE SF&F in the summer of 2023. Website: http://guyimmega.com/

Jessica Jackson
Jessica Jackson

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

Jim Jackson
Jim Jackson

Author, speaker and gentleman Jim Jackson is a Calgary Herald bestselling author, vintage leather jacket enthusiast and dabbler in the dark arts of blues music. Jim’s mission is to show how the stories we all grew up with – the heroes, the monsters, the adventures – are still solid, muscular realities that shape our lives.
He’s the creator of the storytelling guide How to Tell a Really Good Story about Absolutely Anything in 4 Easy Steps, a handful of pulp mythology books and the blues record Flypaper Motel.
Website: http://www.reallygoodstory.com

Bonnie Jacoby
Bonnie Jacoby

Bonnie Jacoby writes science fiction and fantasy novels for teens.
Living in the Pacific Northwest, her love of nature is reflected in her stories. She spent her childhood hiding in the forest, so she could read until she had to go home for dinner. Now she spends her days writing about ordinary heroes who discover just how special they can be.
With a special love of dragons and spaceships, Bonnie’s stories will transport you to a world both familiar and fantastical, where anything is possible if you just believe in yourself.
Website: https://www.bonniejacoby.com/

Calvin Jim
Calvin Jim

Born in French Canada to a Japanese mother and Chinese father, Calvin D. Jim has spent his life going in several directions at once: writer, editor, lawyer, gamer-geek, dad. He is a Prix Aurora Award nominated author of the short stories Rose’s Arm in the anthology Where the Stars Rise; and Breathe in the anthology Prairie Gothic; and nominated co-editor of the anthology Shanghai Steam, the Steampunk-Wuxia anthology. His Asian-inspired stories have appeared in Rigor Amortis, Crossed Genre Quarterly and the Tomorrow anthology. His latest story, Clear Waters, can be found in the anthology Seasons Between Us writing under C.J. Cheung. This short story has also been nominated for the Prix-Aurora Award for Best Short Story in 2022. Calvin lives in Calgary, Alberta, with his wife, two kids, and an ever-expanding army of meeples. Website: http://www.calvindjimauthor.ca

Rena Joy
Rena Joy

Rena Joy is a children's fantasy author, poet and mental health advocate. Her debut short story for children, Make A Wish, published April 2022 with Cloud Lake Literary. Her poems have been featured both online and in print. Rena was a 2021 Alberta Foundation for the Arts literary grant recipient for what she hopes will be her debut novel for children and 2023 Canada Council for the Arts recipient for her YA novel in verse. She spent over a decade working in school and public libraries. She has since retired from the library world and now spends her days enjoying the author life.

Deven Kane
Deven Kane

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.
Website: https://devenkane.com/

Linda Keith
Linda Keith

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/

Val King
Val King

Valerie L. King is interested in too many things. Crime, psychology, music, writing, art, teaching, volunteering with the City of Calgary to aid hoarders. Mainly a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery. Has some short story publications. Currently writing an urban fantasy series and several non-fiction books. If you meet her, you’ll notice one thing right away – she’s trying to do ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’. And we all know how well that works out.

Jennifer Landels
Jennifer Landels

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.

Adria Laycraft
Adria Laycraft

Editor, author, and artisan, Adria once upon a time earned honours in Journalism Arts from SAIT. She co-edited the Urban Green Man anthology in 2013, which was nominated for an Aurora Award. Look for her debut novel Jumpship Hope from Tyche Books this summer, and find her short stories in Orson Scott Card's IGMS, the Third Flatiron anthologies Abbreviated Epics and Only Disconnect, FAE and Corvidae anthologies, Tesseracts 16, Neo-opsis, On-Spec, James Gunn's Ad Astra, and Hypersonic Tales, among others. Adria is a grateful member of Calgary's IFWA, a proud survivor of the Odyssey Writers Workshop, and runs WWC's Hidden Art Show.
Website: http://adrialaycraft.com

Karen Elizabeth Lee
Karen Elizabeth Lee

Karen Lee is a retired psychologist and management consultant and is a lover of different forms of writing – she leans definitely on the non-fiction side but has been known to stray. Her first book was Consulting into the Future (2002) Hodder & Stoughton, and her second was The Full Catastrophe: A Memoir (2016) She Writes Press. She has many non-fiction essays published, some academic, some journal pieces, some history. She has been teaching memoir writing at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre for seven years and is presently working on personal essays and is part-way through a new memoir based on the country village where she grew up. Website: http://karenelee-author.com/

Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Mark Leslie Lefebvre

Mark’s first short story appeared in print in 1992, the same year he started working in the book industry. He has published more than twenty books under the name Mark Leslie that include thrillers and fiction (Evasion, A Canadian Werewolf in New York, One Hand Screaming), paranormal non-fiction (Haunted Hospitals, Spooky Sudbury, Macabre Montreal) and anthologies (Campus Chills, Tesseracts Sixteen, Fiction River: Feel the Fear). As Mark Leslie Lefebvre he is the author of The 7 Ps of Publishing Success, Killing it on Kobo, and An Author's Guide to Working with Bookstores and Libraries.
His industry experience include: President of the Canadian Booksellers Association, Board Member of BookNet Canada, Director of Author Relations and Self-Publishing for Rakuten Kobo, Director of Business Development for Draft2Digital, and Professional Advisor for Sheridan College’s Creative Writing and Publishing Honours Program.
Mark lives in Waterloo, Ontario. Website: http://karenelee-author.com/

Judy Lin
Judy Lin

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
Josephine LoRe

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
Ceallaigh S MacCath-Moran

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

Susan MacGregor
Susan MacGregor

Susan MacGregor is a veteran editor with On Spec Magazine, Canada’s foremost magazine for science fiction and fantasy, having worked with On Spec since 1991. She’s also edited three anthologies, Divine Realms (Ravenstone Press, 1998), Tesseracts Fifteen, A Case of Quite Curious Tales (Edge Fantasy and Science Fiction, 2011) and Tesseracts Twenty-two, Alchemy and Artifacts (Edge Fantasy and Science Fiction, 2019). Her most current work, Elsewhere, Fourteen Fantasies to Take You There (Three of Pentacles Press, 2022), is a collection of her short stories originally published through other magazines and anthologies. Her non-fiction primer, The ABC’s of How NOT to Write Speculative Fiction, is currently in its third, revised edition. Her trilogy, The Tattooed Witch, The Tattooed Seer, and The Tattooed Queen, was published through Five Rivers Publishing in 2013, 2014, and 2016, the first book of which was short-listed for a Canadian Aurora award. Currently, she’s writer, editor, and producer of Writers’ Rx*, a YouTube channel providing editorial advice for writers, both new and experienced.

Arlene Marks
Arlene Marks

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/

Arlene F Marks
Arlene F Marks

Born and raised in Toronto, Arlene F. Marks began writing at the age of 6, and she can't seem to stop. She is a veteran teacher of the craft, as well as the author of two literacy programs for the classroom and From First Word to Last: The Craft of Writing Popular Fiction. She is also the author of Sic Transit Terra, an ongoing series of sf novels set at the turn of the 25th century (from Edge Publishing). Having written four novels during pandemic lockdown, including Adventures in Godhood, her first Brain Lag release, she is currently hard at work on a fifth. Website: http://www.thewritersnest.ca

Chris Marrs
Chris Marrs

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.

Ann Marston
Ann Marston

Ann Marston is an Edmonton writer whose works include the six books of the Rune Blades of Celi series, Diamonds in Black Sand and A Still and Bitter Grave. She is an editor for ON SPEC Magazine and for the occasionally published SLEUTH Magazine. She has taught writing courses for Edmonton Continuing Education and Grant MacEwan University, and mentors a group of up-and-coming writers that grew out of the writing classes.

Shirlee Smith Matheson
Shirlee Smith Matheson

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/

Alison McBain
Alison McBain

Alison McBain has 200+ short stories, poems, and articles published worldwide, including in On Spec, Flash Fiction Online & Abyss & Apex. Books she’s penned/edited have received gold in the Literary Classics International Book Awards, When Words Count Pitch Week, and National Indie Excellence Awards, as well as winning the Foreword INDIES, Feathered Quill Award, and Readers’ Choice Book Award. When not writing, Ms. McBain is the associate editor for the magazine [Scribes*MICRO*Fiction. https://www.fairfieldscribes.com/], administrator of The Scribes Prize, and writes a silly webcomic called Toddler Times about the puns and perils in raising three daughters. She lives in Alberta, Canada.
Website: https://www.alisonmcbain.com/

Randy McCharles
Randy McCharles

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
Tod McCoy

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.

Alex McGilvery
Alex McGilvery

Alex is the editor behind celticfrogedit. He's content edited over fifty books, more than a few of them Amazon bestsellers, in a wide range of genres. His website has a collection of free articles on writing and editing. He is also the author of fifteen books. Website: http://alexmcgilvery.com

Brent Nichols
Brent Nichols

Brent Nichols is a fantasy, science fiction, and crime writer, bon vivant, and man about town. He likes good beer, bad puns, high adventure and low comedy. He's never been seen in the same room as Batman, but that's probably just a coincidence. He has books with Seventh Terrace and Bundoran Press, and he self-publishes science fiction novels under the pen name Jake Elwood.
Website: http://CoolSeriesCovers.com

Joy Norstrom
Joy Norstrom

Joy Norstrom (she/her) is a fiction writer and social worker residing in Treaty 7 Territory, Calgary Alberta. Her picture book, Marjorie Magic (Dixi Books Ltd) was released in 2023. Joy also writes short stories and novel length work. Her books Flying the Nest (2020) and Out of Play (2016) feature quirky characters and contemporary settings.
Joy enjoys hiking with family, chatting with friends over cold cider, and reading late into the night when she should be asleep.
Website: https://www.joynorstrom.ca/

Katie O'Connor
Katie O'Connor

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/

Virginia O'Dine
Virginia O'Dine

Virginia is a stand-up comic, playwright, founder of Bundoran Press, editor for OnSpec Magazine, and freelance editor. Website: http://www.brilliantfiction.com

Joshua Pantalleresco
Joshua Pantalleresco

Joshua Pantalleresco writes stuff, and podcasts too. Joshua has written the Watcher series (composing The Watcher, Stormdancer, and The Wandering God) for Mirror World Publishing. His current works are Alice Zero - the start of the Greek Alice Saga and his first novel, The Cloud Diver. He writes for First Comics News as a columnist. His podcast, Just Joshing is a 2018 Aurora Award winning podcast in which he interviews authors and other creative people about life, the universe and everything. He lives in Calgary. Website: http://jpantalleresco.wordpress.com

Carol Ann Parchewsky
Carol Ann Parchewsky

Carol Ann Parchewsky is a writer based in Calgary, Alberta. She received her MFA in Fiction at Queens University of Charlotte. She was fiction co-editor for QU Literary Magazine. Carol has been shortlisted for The Bath Flash Fiction Award and The New Flash Fiction Prize. Her fiction is published in Burningword Literary, On the Run, Flash Boulevard, Drunk Monkeys, Stanchion, and more. She was a 2022 Canada Council of the Arts recipient for her novella-in-flash. Carol is an instructor in the writing programs at University of Calgary Continuing Education. She is past president of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. You can connect with her on social media @ca_parchewsky. Website: http://www.carolannparchewsky.com/

Rhonda Parrish
Rhonda Parrish

Rhonda is the editor of many anthologies including, most recently, Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles, Grimm, Grit and Gasoline: An anthology of Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales and F is for Fairy.
In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been in publications such as Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast and Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2015). Her collection of true Edmonton ghost stories, Eerie Edmonton, and her YA paranormal thriller, Hollow, are both forthcoming in 2020. Website: http://www.rhondaparrish.com

Winston Pei
Winston Pei

Winston Pei spends parts of his time as a bookseller, student librarian, book designer, editor, and soon-to-be “reading room supervisor and exhibition docent” for the Bruce Peel Special Collections at the University of Alberta (a fancy name for student helper, but he’s super excited about it and wants everyone to know!). He spends other parts of his time wondering, thinking, strategizing, singing, and playing with LEGO. He also writes stuff, makes things, and occasionally cuts up books for fun. You can find him online at https://butterfliesandaliens.com/. Website: https://blackriders.com/

Marie Powell
Marie Powell

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
Sarah L Pratt

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

Zanne Raby
Zanne Raby

Zanne Raby is the author of the gripping sci-fi adventure series, The Chronicles of Deneb, beginning with The Flight of the Mayflower, followed by Descent into Darkness, and continuing in Fires of Fury. A military veteran, Zanne served in the Royal Canadian Air Force for over three decades before trading her combat boots for the writer’s pen. Born in Quebec, raised across Canada and Europe, Zanne now lives in the beautiful town of Thornbury, Ontario. Beyond the written word, Zanne enjoys travel, photography, and her small Pomchi , Maximus. Website: http://www.zanneraby.com/

Kritika H Rao
Kritika H Rao

Kritika H. Rao is a science-fiction and fantasy writer, who has lived in India, Australia, Canada and The Sultanate of Oman. Kritika’s stories are influenced by her lived experiences, and often explore themes of consciousness, self vs. the world, and identity. When she is not writing, she is probably making lists. She drops in and out of social media; you might catch her on Twitter, Tiktok, or Instagram @KritikaHRao. Website: http://www.kritikahrao.com/

Rebekah Raymond
Rebekah Raymond

By day, Rebekah is Becca—claims adjudicator, mother and wife. By night, she is a writer, artist, mother and wife. Author of the Thriller Life's Series, she frequents Owl's Nest Books open Mic, and is a participant of NaNoWriMo. Rebekah enjoys exploring a variety of genre's and experimenting in each of them, writing in Horror, grimdark, fantasy, paranormal, and YA. Facebook
Website: http://rebekahraymond.com/

Michaela Ritchie
Michaela Ritchie

Michaela Ritchie is a storyteller, poet, and recovering journalist from Calgary, Alberta. She is currently the Social Media and Digital Content Specialist for the Calgary Public Library, a prose editor for FreeFall Magazine, and serves on the board of the FreeFall Literary Society. Say hello to her online at @wordsbyritchie.

Merrilee Robson
Merrilee Robson

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/

Simon Rose
Simon Rose

Simon Rose is the author of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask, The Time Camera, The Sphere of Septimus, Future Imperfect, the Flashback series, the Shadowzone series, and the Stone of the Seer series.
He’s also the author of The Children’s Writer’s Guide, The Time Traveler’s Guide, and many non-fiction books.
Simon works as a writing instructor at the University of Calgary and served as the Writer-in-Residence with the Canadian Authors Association. He offers services for writers, including editing, coaching, and writing workshops. Simon also provides copywriting services for businesses.
Website: http://www.simon-rose.com

Robert Runté
Robert Runté

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/

Tammy Rébéré
Tammy Rébéré

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/

Cliff Samuels
Cliff Samuels

Organizer, reader and avid collector; these are the best words to describe Cliff. He has been a collector of Science Fiction and Fantasy books and a convention organizer for 40 years. Cliff was a beta-reader for author Dave Duncan and is assisting as an alpha-reader for the estate. He has founded, chaired and organized numerous genre conventions in Alberta. Cliff currently volunteers for two non-profit societies, CSFFA (Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) where he is VP and manages their national literary award, The Auroras. He also is on the board for When Words Collide, managing both guest liaison and the finance team. Website: https://www.claireryanauthor.com/

Robert J Sawyer
Robert J Sawyer

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: http://sfwriter.ca/

Madona Skaff
Madona Skaff

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

Jennifer Slebioda
Jennifer Slebioda

Emerging photo-poet, Jennifer Slebioda, published for the first time in POLAR BOREALIS – Aug-Sep 2021 in the #19, September 2021 issue, resides in Calgary, Alberta, with her two teenagers and two cats. With decades as an amateur photographer, private poet, journal writer, and convention attendee, it was only a matter of time before the two passions became one… photo-poetry.
Jennifer also volunteers with When Words Collide, an annual Calgary festival for readers and writers. When Words Collide features multi-genre authors from all over the world, many of whom are international book best-sellers with works in TV and film media. In 2020, due to the global pandemic, the festival pivoted to a virtual, online presentation and Jennifer hosted 10 zoom webinars, two of which she created and moderated: Cast a Spell: The Power of Poetry, and Birth of a Poet.

Andrew Snook
Andrew Snook

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

Nichole Squire
Nichole Squire

Nichole Squire has worked with Marigold Library System, Vancouver Public Library, and most recently, with Sno-Isle Libraries in Washington state. She is passionate about connecting people to resources and using art and literature to foster community. She completed her Master of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alberta as well as her Bachelor’s in English from Mount Royal University where she founded their first student run literary publication, StopGap magazine. In her free time, she plays numerous board and video games and writes fantasy fiction and humour.
Website: http://nicholesquire.com/

David Sweet
David Sweet

DAVID SWEET is an active-duty homicide detective with a large, western Canadian police service with twenty years on the job. He has worked in the Drug Unit and the Organized Crime Section, and he teaches new recruits and presents at law enforcement conferences and various community groups. In addition to a Distinguished Service Award in 2010, Detective Sweet received the Chief’s Award for Excellence in Investigation in 2017. He co-authored the bestselling police memoir Skeletons in My Closet, Life Lessons from a Homicide Detective with Sarah Kades Graham. Website: http://unconventionalclassroom.ca

Diane Terrana
Diane Terrana

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
Carolyne Topdjian

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/

Rena Joy Traxel
Rena Joy Traxel

Rena Joy is a children's fantasy author and poet. She is a mental health advocate and occasional comedian. Her debut short story for children, Make A Wish published April 2022 with Cloud Lake Literary. Her poems have been featured both online and in print. Rena was a 2021 Alberta Foundation for the Arts literary grant recipient for what she hopes will be her debut novel for children and 2023 Canada Council for the Arts recipient for her YA novel in verse. She has retired from the library world, where she spent over a decade working for both school and public libraries. She now spends her days living the author life.

Hayden Trenholm
Hayden Trenholm

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/

Suzy Vadori
Suzy Vadori

Suzy Vadori is Calgary’s bestselling author of The Fountain Series (The Fountain, The West Woods, Wall of Wishes). This fantastical series has received three Aurora Nominations for Best Young Adult Novel. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary Agency.
Suzy is the founder of the Inspired Writing Community, a Resident Writing Coach for Writers Helping Writers, a touring member of the Young Alberta Book Society (YABS) and a Program Manager for When Words Collide (WWC), a festival for readers and writers. Suzy specializes in breaking down complex writing concepts for newer writers into manageable steps, to get the book idea exploding in their minds onto the page in a way that will make readers take notice. She works with both fiction and nonfiction writers, in Memoir, Mystery, Thriller, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Romance, Middle Grade, and of course, Young Adult. Suzy is an Advanced Certified Book Coach from Jennie Nash’s Author Accelerator. Suzy speaks to youth and adult audiences across Western Canada about how writing can unlock doors and help you achieve your goals, whatever they may be. Website: https://suzyvadori.wordpress.com/

Den Valdron
Den Valdron

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)!
Website: http://www.denvaldron.com/

Juanita Violini
Juanita Violini

Juanita Violini has written & produced murder mystery scripts for over 35 years. The Mystery Bones, her method of diagramming a mystery plot and how to create & hide clues are revealed in her book CLUETRAIL - From Whodunnit to Solution. Another book, How to Write a Killer Script, is specific to interactive entertainment. Currently Juanita is collaborating with her husband, author Tony Berryman, on two book series written under the pseudonym of Trigger Jones: Joe Drive, Space Noir and Magpie Mountain, Time Travelling Treasure Hunts. Her book, Almanac of the Infamous, was published by Weiser Books.

Beth Wagner
Beth Wagner

Beth Wagner is a self-published comic creator residing in Burnaby, BC Canada. Her comics include but are not limited to sci-fi, such as Space Trucking, slice of life comics such as Isaac & Lee, and fantasy noir detective, Sam Hawke. With the death of her father (who was an author), Beth has now taken up the mantle of editor and writer in order to publish the books that her father could not. The most recent being the epic fantasy novel The Search for the Unicorns.

Krista Wallace
Krista Wallace

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/

Marc Watson
Marc Watson

Marc Watson is an author of genre fiction of all lengths and styles. His works include the novels Death Dresses Poorly, Catching Hell: Journey, and Between Conversations: Tales From the World of Ryuujin, as well as having short stories in the collections Enigma Front 5: The Stories we Hide, and A Land Without Mirrors. His newest release is the remastered Catching Hell: Destination! He is also a voice actor and narrator, and has made videos to help aspiring writers find their way. He is a lover of camping, baseball, cooking, and and and all Mexican foods. One day ‘World Famous Poutine Aficionado’ will appear on his resume.

Allan Weiss
Allan Weiss

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/

Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
Liz Westbrook-Trenholm

Liz Westbrook-Trenholm is a retired federal public servant and freelance writer who has published or aired non-fiction and mainstream and speculative short fiction on radio, in magazines and in anthologies, most recently in Seasons Among Us (Laksa Media), Over the Rainbow (Exile Press), Tesseracts 22 (Edge), Amazing Stories, Neo-Opsis and On Spec. She won the Prix Aurora Award for short fiction in 2018, had stories nominated three times since. She lives in Ottawa with her husband, retired policy advisor, writer, editor and inductee into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, Hayden Trenholm.

Johnathan Whitelaw
Johnathan Whitelaw

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.

Elizabeth Whitton
Elizabeth Whitton

Elizabeth Whitton is an award-winning author who writes speculative fiction. Her debut contemporary fantasy Young Adult (YA) novel, HOUSES OF THE OLD BLOOD, was winner of the 2018 Aurora Award for Best YA Fiction. Her YA novel THE GOLD FLAME OF SENICA was an Aurora finalist, along with several of her short stories. Her story, GREEN WITCH, has been short-listed for a 2023 Aurora Award. Her work has been published in many anthologies and magazines.
Elizabeth was a past Speculative Fiction Program Lead for the When Worlds Collide Festival, past Program Lead for the Alberta Romance Writers Association and has been the Prejudge Reader Manager for the Robin Herrington Memorial “In Places Between” short story contest. She was a panel judge for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence 2023 Short Story Winner. Elizabeth is a member of IFWA, ARWA and AWG.
Elizabeth lives with her husband in Calgary, Alberta, just an hour’s drive away from the spectacular Rocky Mountains. Follow her on:
Twitter @EAGWhitton
Instagram elizabeth_whitton
Facebook EAGWhitton
Website: http://www.elizabethwhitton.com/

Leslie Wibberley
Leslie Wibberley

Leslie Wibberley lives in a suburb of Vancouver Canada with her very tolerant husband and an overly enthusiastic cocker spaniel named Pepper. Her work has placed first place in Writers Digest’s Annual Competition and Popular Fiction Awards and is published in multiple literary journals and anthologies, including seven editions of Chicken Soup for the Soul, the Bram Stoker nominated Not All Monsters, and the Aurora-nominated Prairie Witch. She is represented by Naomi Davis of Bookends Literary.

Sandra Wickham
Sandra Wickham

Sandra Wickham is the author of the Death Coach paranormal mystery series and the Founder of Feel Write Again. She coaches authors to focus on their physical, mental and emotional health in order to write more, is a full-time single mom, Special Olympics coach and Down Syndrome advocate. Her friends call her a health guru, crafting aficionado and ninja-in-training. Website: http://www.sandrawickham.com

Lisa Wilde
Lisa Wilde

Lisa has been crafting stories for over 35 years. She dabbles in multiple genres, though her first two novels (due to be released in 2024) are both fantasy. She was a participant at the Clarion Writers Workshop for Science Fiction in 1984 and that experience helped shape how she approaches the process of writing and workshopping. Helping other writers with their own writing journeys has become part of that process, as well as something she enjoys very much.
Something new to her is her presence on social media, through Facebook and a website. Though only just starting out on her social media journey as an author, she is eager to connect with readers and writers of fantasy, sword and sorcery, science fantasy and science fiction, as well as those who enjoy mixing genres as much as she does! Website: http://www.lisadwilde.ca/

Edward Willett
Edward Willett

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

PD Workman
PD Workman

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/

David Worsick
David Worsick

David Worsick is a retired technical writer and active fiction writer who has some short stories and one children's book (Henry's Gift) published. He has a B.Sc. Geology and an MBA (be afraid, very afraid).

Vivian Zenari
Vivian Zenari

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.

Monica Zwikstra
Monica Zwikstra

Monica Sagle Zwikstra is a member of the Crowsnest Writers critique group in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta.
Born on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, Monica has always had a vivid imagination and a passion for exploring new worlds through her writing.
She is the author of two epic fantasy novels, Dragons Flight and Alban’s Choice, both of which are available on Amazon.
Monica’s writing skills extend to short stories as well, with her story Storm House being published in the anthology A Haunting of Words and her flash fiction Humanity appearing in Polar Borealis Magazine #7 and the Best of Borealis Magazine Anthology Stellar Evolutions under her pen name Monica Sagle.
Besides writing, Monica loves gardening, caring for cats, exploring the world of dragons, and learning sign language. She lives with her husband in a tiny Hamlet nestled within the rolling foothills of the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta.
Website: http://www.monicazwikstra.com