WonderShift: Alexandra Writers' Centre Society 40th Anniversary Anthology.

Something wonderful happened: an in-person book event! Back in 2019 this might have been cool, something casual to look forward to. But wonderful? It takes a pandemic filled with virtual meetings, zoom happenings and Microsoft Teams ‘parties’ to fully appreciate how amazing it is so see and hear and spend time with other humans in-person. I know a lot of us are finding it a bit awkward, perhaps, when we are out of practice, but it's a bit magic too, I'd say. 

What brought me out of hibernation was a celebration and anthology book launch for an incredible organization in my city. The Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society (AWCS) provides support, education and community for writers in Calgary, and 2021 marks their forty year anniversary. I first came into contact with AWCS when I went to see their 2016 author in residence, Lee Kvern, for feedback on my debut novel, Out of Play. Lee helped build my confidence and challenged me to go deeper with my project.

To celebrate AWCS’s amazing accomplishment of longevity, they've put together an anthology of local fiction, poetry and creative nonfiction entitled WonderShift: Stories of Transformation and Change. It was a huge honour to have my short story SALT selected for the anthology amongst many other brilliant pieces.

My family, who generally do not spend Friday nights listening to poetry, were particularly blown away by the the poets who shared their pieces at the launch event. And we all enjoyed the hilarious and entertaining emcee duo, Robin van Eck and PJ Vernon.

If you’d like to hear an excerpt of SALT, you can catch me reading at about 1 hour and 47 minutes in the below recording. Or make yourself a nice big mug of tea and listen to the whole thing to discover some amazing talent.
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If you’d like to pick up your own copy of WonderShift, you can do so at Owls Nest. ​