GROWING ROOM A Feminist Literary Festival - March 8 - 17, 2019 Vancouver, BC - Room Magazine
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GROWING ROOM A Feminist Literary Festival March 8 - 17, 2019 Vancouver, BC festival.roommagazine.com // #GrowingRoom2019
Contents
Welcome—Growing Room 2019 ............................................................................................ 3
Welcome—Indigenous Brilliance .......................................................................................... 4
Sponsors and Partners ................................................................................................................ 5
Venues ................................................................................................................................................... 6
Accessibility ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Register for Events ........................................................................................................................ 9
Toxicity Prevention ..................................................................................................................... 10
Friday, March 8 ...................... Opening Night Party (Virago Nation & DJ Kookum) .. 13
Saturday, March 9 .............. Indigenous Brilliance .......................................................... 14
........................................................ Panels and Readings ............................................................. 16
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................ 18
Sunday, March 10 ................. Panels and Readings .............................................................. 19
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................ 25
Monday, March 11 ............... Panels and Readings .............................................................. 28
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................ 29
Schedule at a Glance (March 9 - 16 only) ....................................................................... 30
Tuesday, March 12 .............. Panels and Readings .............................................................. 32
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................. 33
Wednesday, March 13 ......... Panels and Readings ............................................................. 34
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................. 35
Thursday, March 14 .......... Panels and Readings ............................................................. 36
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................. 38
Friday, March 15 ................. Panels and Readings ............................................................. 39
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................. 42
Saturday, March 16 ............. Panels and Readings .............................................................. 43
........................................................ Workshops ................................................................................. 49
March 9 & 16 .......................... Manuscript Consultations ................................................... 50
Sunday, March 17 ............... Keynote: Canisia Lubrin ...................................................... 51
Author Biographies ..................................................................................................................... 52
Support Growing Room ........................................................................................................... 60
1Growing Room: A Feminist Literary Festival is operated by the West Coast Feminist Literary
Magazine Society, a not-for-profit organization and the publisher of Room, a quarterly feminist
literary journal.
Room has published fiction, poetry, reviews, artwork, and interviews by writers and artists
who identify as women (cis and trans), trans men, Two-Spirit and non-binary for forty years.
Work that originally appeared in Room has been anthologized in The Journey Prize Anthology,
Best Canadian Poetry, Best Canadian Stories, and Best Canadian Essays, and has been nomi-
nated for National Magazine Awards. We believe in publishing emerging writers alongside
established authors, and approximately 90% of the work we publish comes from unsolicited
submissions or contest entries.
Festival Staff
Managing Editor / Programming Director: Chelene Knight
Publisher / Marketing and Development: Meghan Bell
Productions Coordinator / Hospitality: Mica Lemiski
Marketing Coordinator: Kayi Wong
Volunteer Coordinator: Yilin Wang
Festival Intern: Isabella Wang
Publicity
ZG Communications (zgcommunications.com)
Consultants
Cicley Belle-Blain, jaye simpson
Festival Programming Committee / Program Writers
Meghan Bell, Jessica Johns, Chelene Knight, jaye simpson, Arielle Spence, Isabella Wang, Yilin Wang
Indigenous Brilliance Team
Jessica Johns, Patricia Massy, jaye simpson, Emily Dundas Oke
Artwork, Graphic Design, and Website
Meghan Bell
West Coast Feminist Literary Magazine Society Board of Directors
Juliane Okot Bitek, Kristin Cheung, Jane Hope, Jessica Somers
Special thank you to: Ian Williams, Assistant Professor, UBC Creative Writing
To learn more about Room magazine and the Growing Room festival, visit us online at
roommagazine.com / festival.roommagazine.com or follow us on social media!
Twitter: @roommagazine | Facebook: /roommagazine | Instagram: @roommagazine
#GrowingRoom2019
2Welcome—Growing Room 2019
For our third edition of the Growing Room literary festival, we went big—with over
100 authors, and ten days of incredible panels, workshops, readings, and more. I am
proud to say that there is no doubt in my mind that this festival is going to be the
best one yet.
What’s different? We focused on care and ethics in the way that we built our pro-
gram. From forming a programming committee where every single author and
event pitch was discussed at length, to making sure we offered our staff and volun-
teers the training and tools they need to feel safe, heard, and respected as they do
this important work; we’ve got it covered.
Growing Room isn’t just for the literary folk; we’ve got something for everyone.
Whether you are a lover of music, podcasts, or art—we’ve got your back. Just like
I said last year, Growing Room is an inclusive festival meant to push boundaries
and think outside the box in terms of what “CanLit” is all about and how things are
forever shifting. I am truly excited about the first ever Black Voices Raised reading,
and the festival keynote speaker, Canisia Lubrin.
Growing Room 2019 has already changed my life, and we are only just getting started.
Sincerely,
Chelene Knight
Managing Editor, Room Magazine
Programming Director, Growing Room 2019
3Welcome—Indigenous Brilliance
Indigenous storytelling is as complex, rich, and vast as Turtle Island itself. So how
can our tender rage facilitate and challenge the systems that have historically sup-
pressed our stories and traditions? How do we respond and grow with the increas-
ing desire for Indigenous voices during a time when these stories are needed most?
We come together to consider these questions and to celebrate our Indigeneity with
fierce decolonial love for one another and our communities.
Join us as we kick off the festival with Virago Nation, an all Indigenous Burlesque
troupe, and DJ Kookum on March 8th at the Fox Cabaret. This will lead into the In-
digenous Brilliance day-long event on March 9th, our one-year anniversary of the
series and our biggest event yet! We will be celebrating with four separate readings
throughout the day, featuring some of the best and most exciting Indigenous story-
tellers, academics, artists, and thinkers across Turtle Island. Additionally, we will be
hosting an all-day market at the event, featuring brilliant Indigenous women and
Two-Spirit/Queer entrepreneurs and artists. And don’t forget to witness Indige-
nous Brilliance: Future Ancestors being held March 11th at Massy Books.
Come celebrate with us, we are only going to grow from here.
In Brilliance,
Jess, jaye, & Patricia
Indigenous Brilliance Organizers
4Thank You to Our Sponsors and Partners!
2017 FULL LOGO VARIATION
2017 ABBREVIATED LOGO VARIATIONS
Print Sponsor Bookstore Partner Hotel Partner
Room is published with the assistance of the Canada Arts Council, the
Government of British Columbia through the BC Arts Council, and the Department
of Canadian Heritage through the Canada Periodical Fund:
5Venues
Red Gate Revue Stage Massy Books
1601 Johnston Street (Granville Island) 229 East Georgia Street
The Annex Theatre Cafe Deux Soleils
823 Seymour Street 2096 Commercial Drive
The Boardroom Big Rock Vancouver Brewery
24 West 4th Avenue 310 West 4th Avenue
Native Education College The Fox Cabaret (19+ Only)
285 East 5th Avenue 2321 Main Street
Growing Room takes place on the traditional, unceded, and ancestral territory of the
Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish peoples (Vancouver, British Columbia).
Getting Here
All venues are easily accessible by transit. Information on bus routes and schedules
can be found at translink.ca.
Free parking is available in the parking lot at the Native Education College, and
there is a paid parking lot on 6th and Main near the Fox Cabaret.
There is usually plenty of street parking available on any of the numbered streets
west of Ontario Street, east of Cambie Street, after 4pm on weekdays and on week-
ends, including in front of 24 West 4th Avenue. Big Rock Vancouver Brewery has
free parking in their side lot, and there is free and paid street parking nearby.
Paid and free parking is available around Granville Island, near the Red Gate Revue
Stage. Paid street parking is available near the Annex Theatre and Massy Books.
Paid and free street parking is available near Cafe Deux Soleils.
An Important Note About Alcohol
Please note that drugs and alcohol are not permitted on the premises of the Native
Education College. Failure to respect the wishes of the venue may result in you be-
ing asked to leave your event.
6Accessibility
All venues at Growing Room are on the ground floor or accessible by elevator. Wash-
rooms are available on the same floors as the events. All venues either have sin-
gle-use gender-neutral washrooms or will have signage stating that all washrooms
are inclusive of all genders during the festival.
Detailed accessibility information for each venue is available on our website at:
festival.roommagazine.com/venues-and-accessibility/
ASL Interpretation
ASL interpretation is available at all events at Growing Room by request. The sched-
ule will be available in early January 2019 and tickets will go on sale February 1,
2019. The deadline for ASL requests is February 15, 2019.
Please email Yilin Wang at volunteer@roommagazine.com for ASL requests.
Scent-Free Environment
Help us keep Growing Room a scent-reduced space by skipping the perfume, scent-
ed shampoo, or other products during festival weekend.
7Small classes, award winning faculty.
kpu.ca/arts/creative-writing
@KwantlenCRWRRegister for Events
Online registration opens February 1, 2019, at midnight, and will close 24 hours
before the start of each event.
Panels and Readings
All panels and readings at Growing Room are pay-what-you-can (PWYC) / by dona-
tion to ensure that no one is unable to attend the festival for economic reasons. You
will be given the option to donate when you register for your event(s). Your dona-
tion helps sustain Growing Room and will help us keep our events free or affordable
for those who otherwise cannot afford to attend. Our recommended donation tiers
are: $12.50 (regular), $25.00 (generous), and $40.00 (includes a one-year subscrip-
tion to Room).
Help Keep Growing Room Going!
Our fundraising goal for the 2019 festival is $15,000
Please note that tax receipts will not be issued for PWYC registrations.
When you register, you will be asked for your mailing information. This will be used
for statistical purposes and as the mailing address for sending one-year subscrip-
tions to donors. We will not share or otherwise use this data.
Eventbrite accepts credit cards. If you would like to reserve a spot for a paid
event but prefer to pay the registration fee with cash or cheque, please contact
Isabella Wang at intern@roommagazine.com.
Workshops and Manuscript Consultations
Registration for workshops and manuscript consultations opens February 1, 2019.
Space is limited, so we recommend registering early. Workshops cost $15 (2.5 hour
workshop) or $25 (4 hour workshop). Manuscript consultations are $35 for a half-
hour consult plus notes on up to 10 pages of material.
Sold-Out Events and Walk-Ups
There will be standing room and/or seats available at panels, readings, and the
opening night party for people who have not registered for events (including sold-
out events). Priority seating will be given to elders and disabled people. There are
no wait lists for sold-out events.
Registration is available online at festival.roommagazine.com.
9Toxicity Prevention
At Growing Room, we’re seriously committed to creating and nurturing spaces that
are free from toxicity, harassment, and violence. To meet this objective, we’ve put
together guidelines of how space will be held by our moderators, volunteers, and
staff. We want everyone—from readers to audience members—to feel safe, aware
of their rights, and confident in seeking support.
Aside from all the usual super helpful people at the 2019 festival, you’ll also find our
venue managers who are trained in toxicity prevention. They are equipped with the
ability to professionally and sensitively intervene.
What is panel toxicity?
At a panel event, there are a variety of ways in which this can manifest. Panel tox-
icity occurs when the physical or emotional safety or wellbeing of the panelists,
moderators, organizers, or audience members has been compromised. Toxicity can
sometimes be difficult to notice, especially for those who experience more privilege,
which is why we have invested time in learning the identifiers.
What is a safe(r) space?
Safer spaces are spaces that actively work toward maintaining safety, trust and re-
spect for attendees and participants. These spaces, contrary to some resistant be-
liefs, are not intended to inhibit ‘freedom of speech’ or curb lively and fruitful dia-
logue; rather, they are the very thing that enables people to speak their own truths.
In safe spaces, we tell stories that are enhanced by the ability to speak openly and
an audience willing to listen actively.
Safe(r) spaces must always be cognizant of historically informed and colonially
perpetuated institutional power and privilege. For example, those who have always
held more power and privilege (those who are white, straight, cis, men, for exam-
ple) tend to, even subconsciously and even in social justice-informed spaces, take
up space, interrupt, derail, re-centre and victimize.
10Folks who come from marginalized backgrounds (women, people of colour,
LGBTQ2s+ people, people with disabilities, poor folks and so on), rarely have op-
portunities to express themselves freely. As a festival organized by Canada’s oldest
feminist literary journal, Growing Room fervently believes in and commits to the
active uplifting and celebration of marginalized individuals, particularly women,
trans folks and those who are non-binary, genderqueer or Two-Spirit (or identify
otherwise outside of the cisnormative gender binary). In safe(r) space, these voices
are gracefully held and passionately celebrated, to the best of our ability.
How will you see this in action?
• Active celebration of diverse voices
• Trigger warnings for sensitive content
• Separate spaces if you need to step out and speak to someone
• Trained staff and volunteers
• Compassionate call-ins
• A handy guide (this!)
Your role
We are making sure we are as prepared as possible for various forms of toxicity
that may occur at a festival event . . . but we’re not perfect. We need the support of
attendees to build spaces that are safe. Safe spaces allow for vulnerability, emotion,
dialogue and growth—exactly what we strive for at Growing Room. By showing up,
you’re agreeing to be part of this journey of responsibility and accountability with
us. Thank you!
Have questions?
Chelene Knight, Managing Editor
managingeditor@roommagazine.com
Cicely Blain, Diversity & Inclusion Consultant
info@cicelyblainconsulting.com
11A Chatelaine Book of the Year
ApplicAtion deAdline: deceMber 9, 2019
MASTER OF FINE ARTS IN
CREATIVE WRITING
core MFA FAculty
And instructors include:
Dionne Brand • Catherine Bush
Kevin Connolly • Karen Connelly “Renzetti moves effortlessly between
serious systemic inequality and the equally
Russell Smith • Judith Thompson
enraging, if sometimes
• Michael Winter
amusing, everyday absurdities
women face.”
Visit g u e l p h c rea t i vew r i t i n g m fa .co m
— Booklist
for more on faculty, grads, and our program
12Friday, March 8—Opening Night Party
Opening Night Party with Virago Nation & DJ Kookum
19+
Hosts: Jessica Johns and Nav Nagra
Help us kick off Growing Room 2019 with a burlesque show and dance party that
will set the tone for the rest of the festival. Virago Nation, an all Indigenous bur-
lesque troupe, will be performing to DJ Kookum’s original blend of EDM trap, hip
hop, and bass music. It’s a truly amazing collaboration that will blow the lid off all
other dance parties. Come wearing your best dancing shoes. The festival will begin
with a warm welcome by Salia Joseph.
Featuring performances by:
DJ Kookum is a Dene/Cree Filmmaker and DJ. She is a member of the Alexis Nakota
Sioux Nation, originally from Cold Lake First Nations and is based out of Vancouver.
Founded in May 2016, Virago Nation is on a mission to reclaim Indigenous sexual-
ity from the toxic effects of colonization. Virago Nation is a collective of Indigenous
artists creating performance through burlesque, theatre, song, and spoken word,
as well as workshops, and community networks rematriating Indigenous sexuality.
Through humour, seduction, pop culture, and politics, they will show that Indige-
nous women will not be confined to the colonial virgin-whore dichotomy, but will
design a new dynamic and multi-faceted sexual identity rooted in their own desires.
6:00pm – 10:30pm | $15
The Fox Cabaret @ 2321 Main Street | Liquor Sales by Venue
13Saturday, March 9—Indigenous Brilliance
Hosts: Jessica Johns, Patricia Massy, Emily Dundas Oke, jaye simpson
Indigenous Brilliance is celebrating their one-year anniversary as a reading se-
ries with brilliant poets, writers, singers, visual artists, academics, beadworkers,
medicine makers, and more in a day-long event. This major event will feature four
readings, and will host Indigenous women/2SQ vendors, entrepreneurs, and artists
throughout the entire day.
11:15am – 8:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Schedule:
Concrete Roots: Urban Indigeneity // 11:15am – 1:00pm
Officially opening Indigenous Brilliance is Salia Joseph. Concrete Roots dives into
the relation of Urbanization and Indigeneity, and how Indigenous brilliance can
take root anywhere we choose to exist. Featuring Molly Billows, Carol Rose Dan-
iels, Brandi Bird, Lindsay Nixon, and Samantha Nock.
Tender Rage: Keeping the Flame // 2:00pm – 3:30pm
How do we balance our rage with the gentle side of us? These exceptional creators
lend us the privilege of sharing their Tender Rage: ways they love and yell, care and
seethe, comfort and fume. Fire can both warm and burn you, and Eden Robinson,
Valeen Jules, Katherena Vermette, and Arielle Twist know just how to do both.
Kegedonce Press 25th Anniversary Celebration // 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Kegedonce Press is a formidable literary press that has championed and published
Indigenous authors and artists since 1993. Come and hear Jules Koostachin, Kat-
eri Akiwenzie-Damm, and Joanne Arnott as we come together to celebrate their
25th anniversary.
Reinventing Narratives // 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Indigenous brilliance comes from all kinds of places, and that brilliance is big,
bright, and transformative. Join Jónína Kirton, Denali YoungWolfe, Emily Riddle,
and Molly Cross-Blanchard as they share works that subvert and reinvent narra-
tives, and words that open up worlds.
14Samantha Nock Carol Rose Daniels Eden Robinson
Joanne Arnott Jules Koostachin Denali YoungWolfe
Emily Riddle jaye simpson Brandi Bird
Vendors:
The following Indigenous vendors will join us at the Red Gate Revue Stage for
Indigenous Brilliance:
Kihew and Rose: https://facebook.com/Kihewandrose
Raven and Hummingbird: https://ravenhummingbirdtea.com
The Wild Botanicals: https://thewildbotanicals.com
LadyBear Designs: (Instagram) @ladybeardesigns
Too too Soahkomapii: Jakob Knudsen: (Instagram) @2_2_soahkomapii
Cheam Trading Post: https://cheamtradingpost.com
15Saturday, March 9—Panels and Readings
The Dead Book: What Happens When a Book
Doesn’t Take
Alex Leslie, Betsy Warland
Moderator: Amanda Leduc
We always hear about an author’s latest work—what
worked for them, what successes they’ve had. But Alex Leslie
what happens when you’re a writer who has a project
that, though completed, never goes anywhere? What happens when you’re an estab-
lished author with a manuscript that gets turned down by a publisher and suddenly
struggles to find a home? Listen to these writers talk candidly and openly about fail-
ure—the shapes that it can take, the surprises it can hold.
10:30am – 12:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
Hana Shafi Andrea Warner Jónína Kirton
Body Politics
Lucas Crawford, Jónína Kirton, Arley McNeney, Hana Shafi
Moderator: Andrea Warner
Join Andrea Warner in conversation with four writers who shrewdly challenge our
culture’s fetishization of youth, thinness, whiteness, and ability. What power does
creative expression have to heal and affirm? How do the politics of the body affect
which voices are valued and heard in CanLit and beyond? Has the concept of “body
positivity” been co-opted by capitalism and conventionally attractive celebrities,
and, if so, can it be reclaimed by its radical roots?
1:30pm – 3:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
16Saturday, March 9—Panels and Readings
The Power of Narrative Poetry
Lucas Crawford, Carol Rose Daniels, Adrienne Gruber,
Arleen Paré | Moderator: Mallory Tater
Driving with a poetic voice behind the wheel can be
a thrilling ride for readers and the writers. Listen
to these incredible writers navigate the twists and Arleen Paré
turns of this incredible form and discuss how nar-
rative poetry is gaining speed and getting noticed.
How, when, and why does story belong in poetry?
How does a narrative poem end? Part craft panel
and part epic journey—buckle up!
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can Adrienne Gruber
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
Our Students Make Our Name
BA, BFA, MFA Programs in Fiction, Poetry,
WRITING Film, Playwriting & Creative Nonfiction
The Department of Writing
celebrates the diverse
voices and many successes
of our graduates, such as
Eden Robinson, BFA,
winner of the 2016 Writers’
Trust Engel/Findley Award.
NEW Creative Writing Minor Apply by December 1 for the Master’s program,
Digital & Interactive Media in the Arts Minor March 31 for the Bachelor’s program.
http://writing.uvic.caSaturday, March 9—Workshops
How To Draw a Story You’re Burning To Tell
Instructor: Elaine Woo
Use drawing and text to tell your story with the draw-
ing skills you already have—anything from stick fig-
ures to photo realistic drawing can be an effective
means of storytelling. From the likes of Una, Lynda Elaine Woo
Barry, Dav Pilkey, Sarah Leavitt, to Michael Nicoll
Yahgulanaas, all styles of drawing and text are used to render emotion-filled and driv-
ing stories that pour into the public consciousness and are of the moment.
10:30am – 2:30pm | $25
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
Working Safely with Trauma in Writing and
Performance
Instructor: Rabbit Richards
Writing our own stories honestly means confronting
memories and emotions that may represent painful,
even traumatic, events. In this workshop, partici- Rabbit Richards
pants will discuss and exchange best practices for
writing and performing these difficult topics in ways that are less likely to reinjure
the artist and /or cause the audience undue distress. Participants are encouraged to
bring works in progress to workshop.
3:00pm – 7:00pm | $25
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
18Sunday, March 10—Panels and Readings
Faith, Spirituality, and Religion
Meharoona Ghani, Hana Shafi, Jennifer Zilm
Moderator: Betsy Warland
Moderator Betsy Warland joins three poets in a frank discussion about the com-
plicated relationships between love and community, womanhood and patriarchal
oppression, knowledge and belief, religion and spirituality, and the questions we
have asked ourselves for as long as we can remember.
10:30am – 12:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
The Writing on the Wall: Storytelling in Visual Art
Chantal Gibson, Lindsay Nixon, Arleen Paré | Moderator: Kristin Cheung
Visual art has its own special form of storytelling, a storytelling that exists outside of
words. But how does this form of artistic practice influence creative writing? How do
these forms converse, join together, and open up new worlds? Three writers discuss
how different artistic mediums influence and are often integral to the writing process.
10:30am – 12:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Art and Academia
Juliane Okot Bitek, Triny Finlay, Robyn Maynard,
Lindsay Nixon | Moderator: Emily Riddle
What does it mean to be an artist working within the
rigours of a university? Join us for a conversation about
how research and study inform creative work (and vice Juliane Okot Bitek
versa), the problems with academic gatekeeping, and
the urgency of using poetry, art, and essay-writing to break through these gates and share
knowledge and discoveries beyond the white-male-dominated walls of the academy.
1:30pm – 3:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
19ARSENAL AUTHORS AT
GROWING ROOM!
AMBER DAWN
IVAN COYOTE
LYDIA KWA
LEAH LAKSHMI
PIEPZNA-SAMARASINHA
ARIELLE TWIST
LINDSAY WONG
ARSENAL PULP PRESS
arsenalpulp.com
Banff Centre is
a creative outpost.
Summer 2019
Literary Arts
Programs
Autobiography and Fiction
with Electric Literature
August 12 – 24
Application deadline: March 27
Summer Writers Retreat
July 29 – August 10
Application deadline: April 24
Apply today.
banffcentre.ca
20Sunday, March 10—Panels and Readings
Funny Feminists
Ivan Coyote, Lucas Crawford, Molly Cross-Blanchard, Jo Dworshak, Eden Robinson,
Hana Shafi, Lindsay Wong | Host: Samana Nock
Punch up at the patriarchy with an afternoon of witty poetry and prose featuring
some of the most incisive and hilarious writers in the country.
1:30pm – 3:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Ivan Coyote Jo Dworshak Molly Cross-Blanchard
The Vast Inscape: Writing About Mental Health
Meghan Bell, Triny Finlay, Shazia Hafiz Ramji, Lindsay Wong | Moderator: Lydia Kwa
To write is to reflect and ruminate, to follow the
twists of one’s inscape and mine its vulnerabilities—
this can be healing, but it can also intensify wounds.
Four writers discuss the complexities and challeng-
es of writing about mental health: how it can be both
a source of inspiration and one of the greatest barri-
ers to a writer’s “productivity” (ugh), how the ways Lydia Kwa
we talk about “mindfulness” and “self-care” in popu-
lar culture can do more harm than good, and how to
write responsibly about mental health in a culture
that stigmatizes, marginalizes, and gaslights people
who are struggling to stay “sane”—if there can be
such a thing—in our mad and maddening world.
Meghan Bell
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
21Sunday, March 10—Panels and Readings
Kinship Bonds: The Love That Holds
Sharon Bala, Jessica Johns, Arielle Twist, Katherena Vermette | Moderator: Amber Dawn
Kinship relations in writing are some of the most powerful and complex relation-
ships that exist in storytelling. Kinship ties exist beyond the romantic; our blood
and chosen family create loves that hold us close and forever. Join Katherena Ver-
mette, Jessica Johns, Sharon Bala, and Arielle Twist as they talk about the strength,
heart, and complexities of kinship bonds.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Sharon Bala Amber Dawn Arielle Twist
Robyn Maynard Siobhan Barker Cecily Nicholson
Black Voices Raised
Siobhan Barker, Cicely Belle Blain, Chantal Gibson, Robyn Maynard, Cecily Nicholson,
Rabbit Richards | Host: Whitney French
Be ready for a powerful bring-the-house-down reading from some of B.C.’s most
necessary Black Voices. Hosted by Whitney French, editor of the anthology, Black
Writers Matter, we bring you an energetic mix of writing across all genres.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
22Sunday, March 10—Panels and Readings
Body & Soul
Sharon Bala, Meharoona Ghani, Amanda Leduc, Betsy Warland
Host: Susan Scott
Join us for the launch of Body & Soul, with featured readings by contributors. Edited
by Susan Scott, the anthology invites women from marginalized or misunderstood
communities to speak to faith, practice, religion, and ceremony, and to confess our
sublimely unconventional modes of spiritual yearning. It’s about asking those who
have been so often excluded from conversations about spirituality, to step up, to
lead, to dare to ask those questions and break that silence.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
Susan Scott Betsy Warland Amanda Leduc
Prairie Fire/CV2 ndncountry West Coast Launch
Joanne Arnott, Molly Cross-Blanchard, Joseph A.
Dandurand, Jessica Johns, Jónína Kirton, Lindsay
Nixon, Samantha Nock | Host: Katherena Vermette
Prairie Fire and CV2 magazines joined together to
create a joint 2018 issue celebrating new work by Katherena Vermette
Indigenous writers. Edited by Métis writers Kath-
erena Vermette and Warren Cariou, this issue is an
astounding collection of
Indigenous writing from
all across Turtle Island.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can Lindsay Nixon
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
23welcomes our authors to
GROWING ROOM
HEATHER O’NEILL
The Lonely Hearts Hotel
KIM FU
The Lost Girls of
Camp Forevermore
CARRIANNE LEUNG
That Time I Loved YouSunday, March 10—Workshops
Writing While Black
Instructor: Whitney French
Writing While Black is a community dialogue series
centering the voices of writers from the African Di-
aspora. With the goal of creating a safe(r) space and
developing a community of Black writers, Writing Whitney French
While Black is an opportunity to foster and enhance
creative writing skills and to engage in immediate and relevant discussions per-
taining to the challenges and triumphs of being a black writer within a Canadian
context. Open to Black writers of all experience levels.
10:30am – 1:00pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
Being Fearless
Instructor: Carol Rose Daniels
We will discuss venturing into storylines that are uncomfortable (because of social
norms and voices in our heads which say—that isn’t proper). We will talk about
fiction and character development and opening up creativity.
10:30am – 2:30pm | $25
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
Listen for the Poem
Instructor: Jen Currin
In this workshop, we will engage in writing, reading,
discussion, mindfulness, and other exercises to give
voice to the poems inside us. No writing experience
necessary. Please bring a notebook, writing instru- Jen Currin
ment, and an extra jacket/shawl/blanket.
1:30pm – 4:00pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
25Sunday, March 10—Workshops
A Chrysalis of Being
Instructors: Anne Riley, Cease Wyss
Anne Riley and T’uy’tanat Cease Wyss will introduce workshop participants to their
current public art project at the Native Education College commissioned by the City
of Vancouver called A Constellation of Remediation, which consists of Indigenous
Remediation Gardens planted throughout the city decolonizing and healing the dirt
back to soil. This project focuses on plants and fungi as remediators. The workshop
will be a tour of the plants on the NEC campus while considering the performativity
of text, and participants will be invited to make poem seed bombs: a love letter to
dirt/soil.
3:00pm – 5:30pm | $15
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
2017 FULL LOGO VARIATIONSunday, March 10—Workshops
Writing Our Relations: Connecting to Territory &
Community
Instructor: Molly Billows
We all have a story, a history, and an ancestry. Using
art and storytelling, we will look at our roots and the
routes that brought us to where we are today. This Molly Billows
workshop aims to spark creativity and connection
while making conversations about reconciliation and territory acknowledgments
more personal and more tangible. Here is a chance to go deeper. Together, we will
explore themes of home and memory, as well as reflecting on our connection to land
and relationship to territory.
4:30pm – 7:00pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
New from Ronsdale Press
Worry Stones
Joanna Lilley
In this captivating novel by Growing
Room author Joanna Lilley, an art
historian struggles to rescue her mother
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27Monday, March 11—Panels and Readings
Invisible Womxn
Sharon Bala, Whitney French, Sara Graefe, Arielle Twist
Moderator: Maureen Medved
Writers discuss why many womxn writers choose to write about those who are ei-
ther derided, commodified, or go unrecognized in our culture’s mainstream. The
invisibility is palpable in the undercurrent of unspoken rage expressed by those
who either do or do not pop with our culture’s fascination with the sexually explicit,
or with standardized conceptions of beauty, behaviour, and identity. In this panel,
creating character becomes an act of insurgency via creativity.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Cut To The Feeling: A Night of Queerotica
Serena Lukas Bhandar, Lindsay Nixon, Hana Shafi, Arielle Twist
Moderator: jaye simpson
The mark of truly great literature is writing that makes you feel feelings you’ve
never felt before. This evening, prepare to feel sparks all over as you are present
to the sultriest literary readings from the hawtest queers around. This night will
have you sweating in your seats, so be sure to wear something breezy.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Indigenous Brilliance: Future Ancestors
Hosts: Jessica Johns, Emily Dundas Oke
Join us for a night at Massy Books for a special edition of Indigenous Brilliance cel-
ebrating the brilliance coming from our youth. This is our opportunity to spotlight
our future ancestors, to hold up our youth where they deserve to be held, and to
catch a glimpse of the brilliance that exists in the next generation.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Massy Books @ 229 East Georgia Street
28Monday, March 11—Workshops
Writing For Young Adults: Opening Pages
Instructor: Lindsay Wong
We will workshop the first five pages (double
spaced) of your YA short story or novel with metic-
ulous attention to the opening. We’ll scrutinize your
language, character development, dialogue, and Lindsay Wong
exposition the way that agents, editors, and slush
readers do before deciding to request more pages. The workshop facilitator will
lead group in a thoughtful and constructive discussion, and answer questions on
finding an agent and publisher.
Please bring the first five pages of your manuscript (total of 13 copies for partici-
pants and instructor), a notebook, and writing instruments.
7:00pm – 9:30pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
“HAUNTING,
POWERFUL, AND
IMPORTANT.”
RAJ PATEL, AUTHOR OF STUFFED AND STARVED
Women Who Dig: Farming, Feminism,
and the Fight to Feed the World
by Trina Moyles, with photographs
by K.J. Dakin
“An invaluable contribution.”
Jennifer Cockrall-King, author of
Food and the City UOFRPRESS.CA
29–7pm
–6pm
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8:30pm
4:30pm
7:30pm
10:30am
10:30am
11:30am
11:30am
12:30pm
12:30pm
Revue
Stage
Indigenous Brilliance
The Power of
Narrative Poetry Body Politics The Dead Book
Sat, March 9
NEC
Working Safely with Trauma in Writing & Performance How to Draw a Story You’re Burning to Tell
Manuscript Consultations
Revue
Stage
Black Voices Raised Kinship Bonds Funny Feminists The Writing on the Wall
Body & Soul The Vast Inscape Art and Academia Faith, Spirituality, Religion
NEC
A Chrysalis of Being Being Fearless
Sun, March 10
24 W
Writing Our Relations Listen for the Poem Writing While Black 4th
ndncountry Deux
8:30-10:30pm Soleils
Revue
Stage
Cut to the Feeling Invisible Womxn
Massy
Future Ancestors Books
Mon, March 11
24 W
Writing for Young Adults 4th
Revue
Transcendent Stage
Massy
Books
Youth Reading
Tues, March 12
An Afternoon of UBC
Indigenous Brilliance
24 W
Page to Performance 4th–7pm
–6pm
–4pm
6pm–
–5pm
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10:30am
10:30am
11:30am
11:30am
12:30pm
12:30pm
Growing Words & Stories Revue
So You Think You Can Slam? Out of a Traumatic Life Stage
Annex
Dream Me A Dream Theatre
Weds, March 13
24 W
The Stories We Are Made Of 4th
Sandwiches: Writers Revue
Poetry as Theatre
As Caregivers Stage
Annex
Place and Inspiration
Theatre
The Shoe Project Massy
Books
Thurs, March 14
On the Subject of UBC
Truth
24 W
Chapbook-Making 4th
The Poetry In Convo w/ Leah Lakshmi Revue
En(Jam)bment Piepzna-Samarasinha Stage
Mother Goose Was A Annex
Feminist Theatre
Fri, March 15
Writing Across NEC
Intersections
24 W
Altars and Avenues 4th
Revue
Close-Up Magic Behind Every Microphone Genre Writing & Pulishing Coming of Age Stage
Whatever Gets
You Through Writing and Politics Journalism: A New Hope
Sat, March 16
Speech Arts for Writers Hard Femme Poetics NEC
Manuscript ConsultationsTuesday, March 12—Panels and Readings
UBC Creative Writing presents: An Afternoon of Indigenous Brilliance
Lindsay Nixon, Eden Robinson, Arielle Twist | Moderator: Jessica Johns
An Afternoon of Indigenous Brilliance brings three of the authors from Growing Room’s
day-long Indigenous Brilliance celebration to UBC’s Vancouver campus. How can aca-
demic settings expand their notions of brilliance through the work of Indigenous writ-
ers and thinkers? Eden Robinson, Arielle Twist, and Lindsay Nixon will read from their
exciting new books. Come prepared to laugh! This event is open to the public.
1:00pm – 2:00pm | Free or Pay What You Can
UBC (see festival.roommagazine.com for details)
Transcendent: Writing & Surviving In A Cissexist Society
Serena Lukas Bhandar, Ivan Coyote, Lorimer Shenher, jaye simspon
Moderator: Morgane Oger
In recent years, readers have been blessed with a profusion of ground-breaking,
skilled writing by transgender authors. These works have helped trans and non-bi-
nary readers feel seen, and helped some cisgender readers understand (at least in
part) what it means to be trans. And yet, sometimes visibility can be a double-edged
sword. Join us as four accomplished trans writers discuss the challenges that come
with daring to be yourself—and the moments of triumph that can make it all worth it.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Room Magazine’s Youth Reading
Host: Isabella Wang
Come hear today’s up and coming writers. How do these young writers draw inspira-
tion and respond to a world that is progressively changing? With readings from seven
diverse and distinctive voices, that of Maya Ramakrishnan, Simone Chnarakis, Angelina
Li, Aziza Moqia Sealey-Qaylow, Chimedum Ohaegbu, Harman Kaur, and Evelyn Danis.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Massy Books @ 229 East Georgia Street
32Tuesday, March 12—Workshops
Page To Performance
Instructor: Dina Del Bucchia
Though writers spend much of their creative time
in solitude when a magazine is launched, a book is
published, or as a result of programmers realizing
that their writing is excellent, writers are also often Dina Del Bucchia
asked to perform their work in front of an audience.
Writers of any experience level will be afforded the opportunity to hone or develop a
performance style that suits their work and comfort level. Through discussion, video
examples and performance practice, writers will, ideally, find a mode of reading or
performance that works for them. Participants will read existing texts as well as their
own to determine the variety of ways a text can be interpreted for performance.
7:00pm – 9:30pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
Proud to support
Growing Room:
A Feminist
Literary Festival
The Writer’s Studio
Mentorship in a supportive community
Vancouver | Online
Carys Cragg • Author, Dead Reckoning
sfu.ca/creative-writing Graduate, the Writer’s Studio 2014
33Wednesday, March 13—Panels and Readings
Growing Words and Stories out of a Traumatic
Life
Juliane Okot Bitek, Elee Kraljii Gardiner
Moderator: Maureen Medved
Life can be filled with many shades of light and shad-
ow, joy and trauma, contributing to deeper, richer, Maureen Medved
more meaningful writing. This panel will explore
how personal experience of trauma can become a tool for writing and resiliency.
These panelists are living a writer’s life while mitigating or processing extreme life sit-
uations, and will discuss how they not only survived, but thrived to write about them.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Estíqw David Ly Valeen Jules
So You Think You Can Slam?
LJ Weisberg, Rabbit Richards, Estíqw, bassam, David Ly,
Molly Billows, Valeen Jules | Host: jaye simpson
Growing Room presents the festival’s first ever Poetry Slam! showcasing some of
the most sharp-tongued and quick-lipped writers, poets, and performers in the
game! Forget what you thought Poetry Slam was all about! The theme for this slam is
“Tender”, and the competitors are vying for the title of being the first ever Grow-
ing Room Slam Champion. This two-round slam will feature LJ Weisberg, Rabbit
Richards, Estíqw, bassam, David Ly, Molly Billows, and Valeen Jules. Hosted by jaye
simpson.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
34Wednesday, March 13—Panels and Readings
Dream Me A Dream: Literary Futurisms
Serena Lukas Bhandar, Brandi Bird, Eden Robinson
Moderator: Jessica Johns
The future is just a dream that hasn’t happened yet.
Sometimes, these dreams are nightmares, things we
have to reckon with. And sometimes, these dreams Jessica Johns
imagine futures with joy, celebration, and love. Join
Eden Robinson, Brandi Bird, and Serena Lukas Bhan-
dar as they show you their dreamed realities and
imagined futures beyond the world we live in now.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Annex Theatre @ 823 Seymour Street Serena Lukas Bhandar
Wednesday, March 13—Workshops
The Stories We Are Made Of
Instructor: Ruby Smith Diaz
What stories do you tell about yourself? How have
they shaped who you are, and the way you see the
world? We often think of story as a medium to share
something important about the world around us, or to Ruby Smith Diaz
make meaning out of something that we don’t quite yet
understand. But how often do we examine these stories critically? In this blend of arts-
based, experiential learning rooted in anti-oppression, participants will take a radical
look at the power that story holds within ourselves, and also as a society at large.
7:00pm – 9:30pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
35Thursday, March 14—Panels and Readings
On the Subject of Truth: Telling True Stories in Fiction and Non-Fiction
Alicia Elliott, Kim Fu, Doretta Lau, Elizabeth Renzetti | Moderator: Amber Dawn
How do writers decide how to use their truths? Can fiction create more space for
emotional honesty than non-fiction? What happens when a writer who works in
multiple genres gets celebrated for one genre over another? Why are audiences ea-
ger to believe anything in non-fiction but quick to question a story’s credibility in
fiction? Join four authors as they consider the borders between objective fact, emo-
tional truths, and what is considered “believable.”
1:00pm – 2:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
UBC (see festival.roommagazine.com for details)
Poetry As Theatre
Cristina Holman, Danielle Janess, Carolyn Nakagawa,
Ann-Bernice Thomas | Hosts: Marita Dachsel, Nancy Lee
Poetry is Dead is launching their Drama issue! Enjoy readings that explore the in-
tersection of poetry and theatre: voice, character, a mimetic stylizing of reality, po-
etry that acknowledges its audience, uses sleight of hand to conjure time and space,
plays with authenticity and artifice, and demands to be seen as well as heard.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Place and Inspiration
Brandi Bird, Kim Fu, Carrianne Leung, Joanna Lilley | Moderator: Shazia Hafiz Ramji
The writing of authors Carrianne Leung, Kim Fu, Joanna Lilley, Brandi Bird, and
moderator Shazia Hafiz Ramji take readers to near and far locales ranging from city-
scapes to the wilderness to everywhere in-between. Follow them on a journey to
discover their favourite real-world and fictional settings as writers and readers, as
well as listen to discussions of how these places have influenced and shaped them.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Annex Theatre @ 823 Seymour Street
36Thursday, March 14—Panels and Readings
Sandwiches: Writer As Caregivers
Marita Dachsel, Jennica Harper, Elaine Woo
Moderator: Sarah Leavitt
Traditionally, women are the caretakers, not only for
children, but also for aging and dying parents. This
panel explores the art of the caregiver, the ethics of Marita Dachsel
writing about our children and our parents, and the
ones that got away—projects that couldn’t happen because we were too busy with
the messy, beautiful work of tending to early and late lives.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Caroline Adderson Nabila Huq Shanga Karim
The Shoe Project
Fanus, Akberet S. Beyene, sonam chozom, Nabila Huq, Shanga Karim, Rawan Nassar
Host: Caroline Adderson
The Shoe Project is a program in which immigrant and refugee women, coached by
senior writers and theatre artists, tell their own stories through the central meta-
phor of a pair of shoes. The first Vancouver class ran in 2018 culminating in a sold-
out performance. Six of the participants, from Eritrea, Kurdistan, Bangladesh, Syria,
and Tibet, join writing coach Caroline Adderson to perform their pieces and talk
about their settlement experiences and their perspectives on life in Canada.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Massy Books @ 229 East Georgia Street
37Thursday, March 14—Workshops
Chapbook-Making: Basics and Beyond
Instructors: Onjana Yawnghwe, Hazel Jane Plante
In this hands-on workshop, you will explore the pos-
sibilities of the chapbook. We will focus on elevating
the chapbook into a hand-made, beautiful object
that tells a story through its form. You will learn how Hazel Jane Plante
to make basic types of chapbooks and gain ideas on
how to transform your chapbooks into unique works of art. This workshop focuses
on book-making, not writing. No experience necessary, but the ability to work with
your hands is essential.
7:00pm – 9:30pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
CHELENEKNIGHT.COM/ECOURSES
WRITE YOUR STORY AUTHENTICALLY
38Friday, March 15—Panels and Readings
In Conversation with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Nav Nagra, Kayi Wong
Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha is a queer dis-
abled femme writer of such works as BodyMap,
Love Cake, and Care Work: Dreaming Disability Jus-
tice. Leah’s newest books, Tonguebreaker and Ex-
ploring Transformative Justice: A Reader (co-edited
with Ejeris Dixon), will be out in 2019. Nav Nagra Leah Lakshmi
and Kayi Wong will sit down with Leah to discuss Piepzna-Samarasinha
her upcoming works and the themes that appear in
them, including disability justice, surviving the unsurvivable, and, of course, love.
4:30pm – 6:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Meharoona Ghani Fenn Stewart Kim Trainor
The Poetry En(Jam)bment
Cicely Belle Blain, Meharoona Ghani, Adrienne Gruber, Taryn Hubbard, Joanna Lilley,
Cecily Nicholson, Fenn Stewart, Kim Trainor, Onjana Yawnghwe
Host: Dina Del Bucchia
Poetry is for everyone. With this powerhouse line-up of fabulous poets, come enjoy
an evening of sensational words, wrapped up in one hell of a rhythmic flow. From
themes of family, place, community, and more, these poets promise to delight and
redefine what poetry is all about.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
39ndncountry an issue of Indigenous
writing from across Canada
I am the birthmark on my daughter’s back
the earth that colours her bones
The letters in her name encase my heart
like a tree ring, each a different poem
—from “nitânis” by Paige Cardinal (ndncountry, page 43)
To order ndncountry, check out contemporaryverse2.ca or prairiefire.ca.
40Friday, March 15—Panels and Readings
Mother Goose Was a Feminist: Crafting the Modern Day Fairy Tale
Cody Klippenstein, Ruth Daniell, Heather O’Neill, Elizabeth Renzetti
Moderator: Kim Snowden
If the recent trend of re-making animated Disney movies as live-action, high-budget
blockbusters is any indicator—we still love a good fairy tale. Fairy tales continue to
be a great source of inspiration for writers, with endless variations and re-tellings.
What draws us to these stories? Do their core ideas hold up to modern feminist
criticism? And is it possible to write a completely modern fairy tale? Four writers,
led by feminist fairytale scholar Dr. Kim Snowden, discuss.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Annex Theatre @ 823 Seymour Street
Elizabeth Renzetti Ruth Daniell Cody Klippenstein
Writing Across Intersections: Asian Canadian
and Diaspora Writers in Conversation
Tania De Rozario, Kim Fu, Carrianne Leung, Yilin Wang
Moderator: Shazia Hafiz Ramji
Asian Canadian and diasporic literature is much
more than a singular narrative of immigration sto- Shazia Hafiz Ramji
ries. It’s a multitude of voices and experiences.
It encompasses writers from intersecting identities, working across genres that
range from literary fiction and personal essays to speculative poetry and transla-
tion. Come hear these writers talk about their writing, the books that shaped them,
emerging voices they love, and their experience navigating labels and boundaries.
7:30pm – 9:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
41Friday, March 15—Workshops
Altars and Avenues
Instructor: Adèle Barclay
This poetry workshop will focus on writing and cre-
ating a generative and exploratory atmosphere. We
will work on making literary magic for folks of all
interests and levels. The workshop is an open invita- Adèle Barclay
tion to anyone interested in writing in a setting that
draws on creation, experimentation, and sharing. We will work through on-the-spot
writing exercises and prompts to jolt us out of our habits. We’ll connect over what
inspires and frustrates us in the process. We’ll read aloud writing that moves us and
work through those connections in writing. Please bring paper, writing utensils, po-
ems and sections of prose by authors who inspire you (to read aloud), and beloved
objects for a communal altar.
7:00pm – 9:30pm | $15
Board Room @ 24 West 4th Avenue
42Saturday, March 16—Panels and Readings
Coming of Age (On The Page)
Kim Fu, Carrianne Leung, Heather O’Neill
Moderator: Eileen Cook
There’s no doubt that young adult fiction is a hugely popular genre—but what does
it mean to be an adult writing stories about young people for a majority adult au-
dience? Heather O’Neill’s multi-award-winning novels often feature young girls as
their protagonists. Kim Fu’s The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore paints intimate por-
traits of five girls. And readers witness the dark side of the suburbs through the eyes
of young June in Carrianne Leung’s That Time I Loved You.
10:30am – 12:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Red Gate Revue Stage @ 1601 Johnston Street, Granville Island
Heather O’Neill Kim Fu Carrianne Leung
Journalism: A New Hope
Alicia Elliott, Elizabeth Renzetti, Emily Riddle, Lorimer
Shenher, Andrea Warner | Moderator: Joanna Chiu
Journalism is in a precarious position: Local news-
papers are vanishing, politicians are accusing jour-
nalists of spreading ‘fake news,’ and conservative Lorimer Shenher
pundits are permitted to spread their vitriolic opin-
ions as though they are fact. It’s enough to make anyone want to abandon the field—
and yet, there is hope. As these five writers demonstrate, feminists are still fighting,
and turning the tide, in this battle for the future of journalism. Join them as they
share stories from the trenches and offer a way forward.
10:30am – 12:30pm | Free or Pay What You Can
Native Education College @ 285 East 5th Avenue
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