List of Contributors By province and alphabetical order: Editorial Team → Compiled in alphabetical order ALBERTA Luciana Erregue-Sacchi is an award-winning publisher (Laberinto Press), art historian, translator, author (Of Mothers and Madonna, Polyglot 2023) and cultural worker. Luciana has presented at LitFest, Edmonton Poetry Fest, and Banff Centre. She coordinated the WGA Horizons Writers Circle. She has presented at the University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan University. Her work and translations have appeared in academic publications, Polyglot Magazine, AGNI, and others and she has been featured on CBC Edmonton, Radio Canada, Quill and Quire, Literary Review of Canada, Westword, and Edmonton Journal. She is an activist for freedom to read and an advocate for hyphened Canadian literature.* Catalina Morales Vélez Catalina Morales Velez is a Colombian-Canadian holistic storyteller and writer whose work unites professional communications with deep personal inquiry. Drawing on a two-decade career in media, coupled with years studying inner wisdom, Catalina explores how we align our external narrative with our soul's message across genres. Nourished by a Bachelor’s degree in Communications, diplomas in Marketing and Advertising, and a Graduate Diploma in Urban Communication, her creative portfolio spans literary fiction, creative non-fiction, and the forthcoming self-fiction novella, DeepReSeed. Her work has been published in Beyond Touch Sites: an Anthology of the Tangible (2025) and various media outlets, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Revista Cronopio, and Life as a Human. A member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and a Board Member of Litfest, she is a multi-platform creator who hosts the multilingual podcast The Rational Gal Grimoire. Cait Yaga (she/her) is a queer, neurodivergent author, editor, and avid reader who publishes under the pen name Cait Yaga. She is currently attending MacEwan University, where she is completing her Bachelor of Communications with a focus on editing and publishing and acting as the Lead Editor for MacEwan’s creative writing group, The Bolo Tie Collective, for the second year running. Cait has been published in two anthologies. Her poetry piece, “Time,” and flash fiction piece, “Perhaps Tomorrow,” are published in The Bolo Tie Collective’s Volume IX (2025), and her short story, “The Plainest Door,” was published in the War of the Words Volume II (2025). She has always been highly passionate about all things writing and editing. Cait is honoured to be a co-editor for Laberinto Press’s Beyond the Concert Hall: An Anthology of Sound. CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS: ALBERTA: Yasser Abdel Latif Born in Cairo 1969. He obtained a degree in philosophy from Cairo University in 1994. He worked as a journalist for the Egyptian T.V. and the Spanish News Agency until 2009, when he moved to Edmonton, Canada, to pursue his career as a freelance writer and translator. He published 5 books of fiction, 4 books of poetry, and many articles on cultural history in different magazines and websites. He also translated literary classics from French and English into Arabic, including works by Balzac, Émile Zola, and Truman Capote.* Marina Allemano was born and raised in Copenhagen, Denmark, and after a couple of years of hippie-style travelling in Europe, she decided to move to Canada where she has lived, studied and worked ever since. Literary studies became her passion, and she was fortunate to teach comparative literature and Scandinavian studies at the University of Alberta for several decades. Three monographs on Danish women writers were published in Denmark, and her translations of Danish fiction came out in the UK and Canada. Presently she is writing her memoirs from where “The Quiet Boy” has been excerpted. Kimmy Beach's memoir in progress, A Liverpool Echo: Invisible in Mathew Street revisits her many trips to Liverpool, UK over forty-two years, and collects her experiences of growing old in a city where she doesn’t live. Kimmy’s six books include the novel, Nuala: A Fable, which was shortlisted for the Georges Bugnet Award for Fiction. She writes, edits, and mentors from her home in Red Deer, where she lives with her husband, Stu. Gavin Bradley is an Irish writer, musician and palaeontologist from Belfast, living as a permanent resident in Edmonton, on Treaty 6 Territory. His debut poetry collection, Separation Anxiety, won the UNESCO Bridges of Struga International Poetry Award 2023. His play Seanchaí won Best Overall Production and Best New Work at both the Edmonton Stage Struck! and ADFA Provincial One Act Play Festivals, and will be produced at Edmonton International Fringe Festival, 2026. You can follow him at: gavinbradleywrites.ca or on Instagram @gavinbradleywrites * Amy Claffey is from Edmonton, Alberta. Her love of poetry started with an unhealthy obsession with Sylvia Plath at a young age, followed by a healthier obsession with Rolf Jacobsen, Rupi Kaur, and Kate Baer. Amy is a textile artist, mother, and burgeoning poet. Her work takes inspiration from everyday life, whether it be a feeling, memory, or experience. Winter is her favourite season, when she can spend time with her family in the snow and be wrapped in layers of knitting. Kayleigh Cline (she/her) has been published in several Canadian literary journals, including FreeFall, CV2, and Funicular. Her work has also appeared on a bus and on a beer. Her poem “American Robin” won the Alberta Magazine Award for Poetry in 2022. She is a member of the Canty Collective of Writerly Women and the Stroll of Poets Society (currently serving as President). She lives in Edmonton, Alberta. Read more about her work at www.kayleighcline.ca paulo da costa: Born in Angola, and raised in Portugal, paulo da costa is a writer, editor and translator living in the Rocky Mountains of Canada. He is thrice the recipient of the James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction (2024, 2023 and 2020), the 2024 Outstanding Calgary Artist Award, as well as the 2003 Commonwealth First Book Prize for the Canada-Caribbean Region, the W. O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize and the Canongate Prize for short-fiction. His poetry, fiction and non-fiction have been published widely in literary magazines around the world and translated into Italian, Spanish, Serbian, Slovenian and Portuguese. His latest work, Trust the Bluer Skies: Meditations of Fatherhood was published in 2024 by the University of Regina Press.* Trisia Eddy Woods (she/her) is the author of A Road Map for Finding Wild Horses (Turnstone Press), which received a 2025 High Plains International Book Award. A former editor for Red Nettle Press, Trisia’s writing has appeared in a variety of literary journals and chapbooks across North America, and is most recently published in the anthology I’ll Get Right On It (Fernwood Publishing). A recognized printmaker and photographer, Trisia’s artwork has been exhibited both close to home and internationally, and is held in the special collection of the Herron Art Library. She and her family, both human and more-than-human, live on Treaty 6 territory. Website: www.prairiedarkroom.com IG: @prairiedarkroom* Renato Gandia, a Filipino-Canadian writer, explores identity, queerness, migration, and the complexity of love across cultures and relationships. A former journalist, he brings a sharp eye for narrative and detail to both his fiction and nonfiction work. His forthcoming projects include the novel Anatomy of Compersion and the memoir Redeeming Renato: A Memoir of a Gay Filipino Wannabe Catholic Priest. His stories and poems have appeared in Magdaragat anthology, Gathering Our Breath anthology, and Ginger & Smoke magazine. and other literary venues. Renato is also the managing editor of Salingpusa, a Calgary-based digital arts magazine that celebrates diverse voices and creative communities. Drawing from his upbringing in the Philippines, his life in Calgary, and his time in the seminary, Renato’s writing is deeply rooted in place, memory, and transformation. When he’s not writing, he works in corporate communications, and shares life with his husband and their dog. Emelda N. Gwitimah is a writer originally from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She holds an MFA in Writing and Publishing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her poetry has appeared in the Ipikai Journal, Our Stories Redefined 2023 Poetry Anthology, and The Flute Journal. Her short stories have appeared in Lolwe, Olongo Africa, Isele Magazine, the Edmonton Capital City Anthology, the Willowherb Review and in the Intwasa Festival anthologies. You can follow her on Twitter (X) @bellaemelda. She currently resides in Edmonton. Lori Hahnel is the author of three novels and two short story collections. Flicker (University of Calgary Press, 2023) was a finalist at the Alberta Publishing Awards. Vermin: Stories (Enfield & Wizenty, 2020) shortlisted for several awards and won the 2022 Alberta Literary Award for Short Story Collection. Her work has been broadcast on CBC Radio and CKUA Radio, and published in The Fiddlehead, Joyland, The Saturday Evening Post and many other journals and anthologies. She is at work on a novel about pianist and composer Clara Schumann. Kelly Kaur is a writer, author, speaker and educator who lives in Calgary. She was awarded the 2025 South Asian Inspiration Award for Achievement in Arts and Culture (SAIA). She was a recipient of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award in 2024. Her children’s book, Howdy, I’m Singh Hari, came out in April 2025. She has a novel, Letters to Singapore. Her poems, short stories and nonfiction have been published on the moon, on beer cans, danced on stage, travelled to galleries and museums around seven cities in North Dakota, and published in Canadian and international journals and anthologies, to name a few. She is a reader and judge for the International Human Rights Art Movement, New York. She has presented two TEDx talks for Western University and McMaster University in 2025.* Ryan Lacanilao is a sometimes poet (IG: @ooakosiryan), sometimes musician (@thecalamansiclub), and sometimes podcaster (@whatsthetsismis on CJSR) living on Treaty 6 Territory. As a songwriter, radio show host, and parent, sound plays a huge role in his life. Ryan is published in both English and Kapampangan, and you can find his writing in The Polyglot, Hungry Zine, POV Publications, and elsewhere. He's currently writing a book of letters to his 4-year-old son. Wendy McGrath (she/her) is a Métis poet, writer, and artist living in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). Winner of the inaugural Prairie Grindstone Prize, McGrath’s writing embraces multiple genres. Her latest poetry collection, The Beauty of Vultures, (NeWest Press April 2025) is inspired by and includes the bird/wildlife photography of Danny Miles, drummer for the band ‘July Talk.’ Her most recent chapbook/artist’s book, The Orange Scribbler (Jack Pine Press 2023) is a hybrid work inspired by heirloom family recipes. She has collaborated with visual artists and musicians, exploring the relationships between genres. McGrath has published four novels, two poetry collections, and two chapbooks/artist’s books which explore a range of forms and approaches. Broke City, the final book in her Santa Rosa Trilogy, continues her exploration of the prairie gothic. She has collaborated with visual artists and musicians to explore the relationships between genres. She is an established member of the writing community, enriching it through mentoring, teaching, and engaging in literary events.* Marco Katz Montiel, proper noun. a) recording artist with Charlie Palmieri and other salsa musicians; b) character who appears in La leyenda de Mon Rivera y otros relatos, a book by Jairo Grijalba Ruiz; c) composer of songs, poems, stories, and essays published by International Music Company and in Copihue Poetry, Camino Real, Lowestoft Chronicle, and Ploughshares; d) author of Salsa Sensations—Salsero Life in the Seventies, from which “Dulce” has been excerpted. Marco Katz Montiel, verb. a) a nearly complete biography of his life as a musician appears in the December 2012-January 2013 edition of the Puerto Rican cultural journal Herencia Latina*; b) his life of writing still has a long way to go… Mila Philipzig is originally from the Philippines. She is a writer, visual artist, and community organizer. Her children's books, poems, essays and podcasts have been published in Canada, USA, the Philippines, and Germany. The diaspora of the global majority is a recurring theme in her writings, as well as her advocacy for social and human rights. Bev Ross: As Alberta’s first certified therapeutic harp practitioner, Bev shared healing music with patients at Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute for 10 years, including envisioning and facilitating North America’s first therapeutic harp circle. From 2007 to 2024 she was a staff therapeutic musician at the University of Alberta Hospital. Bev is a composer and songwriter whose scores and songs have appeared in TV and radio broadcasts, film and theatre productions, and club, concert and festival stages across the country. Jaspreet Singh’s most recent books are “How to Hold a Pebble” and “Dreams of the Epoch & the Rock,” both with NeWest Press. Maitham Salman (born 1970, Iraq) is a fiction writer who has lived in Canada since 1998. A graduate of the University of Baghdad, College of Arts (1994), he is the author of three Arabic books: Husks as Big as My Country (novel, 2011), The Dirhams of Caliphate (short stories, 2012), and Iraqi Romeo (short stories, 2022). His English contributions include Home: Stories Connecting Us All (2018) and Beyond the Food Court (Laberinto Press, 2020). Salman's stories and essays have been featured widely in Arabic publications and in The Malahat Review. A former participant in the Borderlines Writer-in-Exile program (2013–2014), he received an Edmonton Arts Council grant in 2013 to complete a short story collection. He is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta. Dr. Leslie Vermeer, author of Last But Not Least and The Complete Canadian Book Editor, teaches grammar, editing and publishing, and arts management courses at MacEwan University in Edmonton. She has worked as an editor for more than twenty-five years and has been extensively involved in Alberta’s cultural industries. After giving up poetry for more practical communication during graduate studies, she is delighted to return to creative writing at last. ONTARIO Gary Barwin is a writer, musician and multimedia artist and the author of 35 books including Scandal at the Alphorn Factory: New and Selected Short Fiction 2024-1984. He has been shortlisted for the Giller Prize and the Governor General’s Award and, twice, the League of Canadian poets Spoken Word Award. He has won the League of Canadian Poets’ Lifetime Membership Award, the Leacock Medal and, three times, the Canadian Jewish Literary Award. Recent work includes Bird Fiction, an interactive poetry multimedia work (with Sarah Imrisek) featured in Hamilton Arts Week June 2025 and a poetry book and recording with Lillian Allen and Gregory Betts, Muttertongue. A novel, The Comedian’s Book of the Dead is forthcoming from Book*Hug Press in 2026. Recordings of his work are available at https://garybarwin.bandcamp.com and https://muttertonguetrio.bandcamp.com/ He lives in Hamilton with an evidence-based envy of better poets. garybarwin.com* Ramón Sepúlveda Escritor nacido en Santiago de Chile, vive en Canadá desde 1974. Miembro fundador de Ediciones Cordillera y de varios talleres literarios. Colaborador de diarios y revistas canadienses. Sus textos forman parte de diversas antologías, entre otras: Literatura Chilena en Canadá, Cruzando la Cordillera (México), Retrato de una Nube, Las imposturas de Eros (Canadá) y ¡Oh, Canadá! Tiene además poemas publicados en varios números de las revistas Alter Vox y Apostles Review en Ottawa y Montreal respectivamente. Publicó en inglés el libro Red Rock en Canadá, y su versión en español en Chile. Su relato The Reception figura en el texto de enseñanza de inglés: Pens of Many Colours, publicado por Seneca College. Es coautor con Roxana Orué y Carlos Andrés Torres del libro de cuentos A tres manos. Es además el antologador de Relatos entrecruzados (Ed. Mapalé 2020). Es cofundador y coorganizador de FILibro Canadá.* BRITISH COLUMBIA George McWhirter lives in Vancouver. He grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, left for Spain, then emigrated to Canada. His poetry, fiction and translations have appeared in Ireland, the U.K., and North America. He was awarded The Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize at the BC Book Awards for his novel, Cage (Oberon Press), his stories have been anthologized in Best Canadian Short Stories (Oberon Press), THE SECOND Blackstaff Book of Short Stories (Blackstaff Press, Belfast), Stories of Pacific and Arctic Canada (Macmillan), the CVC (CARTER V. COOPER SHORT FICTION ANTHOLOGY SERIES, Exile Editions) and Cli-Fi: CANADIAN STORIES OF CLIMATE CHANGE (Exile Editions). Exile Editions also published his short story collection, The Gift of Women, in 2015. On a visit to his son and family in Espoo, Finland, he was inspired to write “Snow: The Symphony.”* QUEBEC Carlos Andrés Torres: Carlos Andrés Torres is a Bogotá-born writer based in Canada whose work has focused on short fiction and travelogues. He was the editor of several magazines at the Universidad Distrital de Bogotá, where he also taught the free writing course for engineers. His works include A tres manos (co-author, 2016), Ficciones de la vida real (2019), and Toques por agudezas (2021). Several of his writings appear in anthologies such as Relatos Entrecruzados (2020) published by Mapalé Publishing House, Oh! Canada (2020) published by Editorial Artística, and Beyond the Gallery (2021) published by Laberinto Press. He received the International Latino Book Award in 2018 and 2021. He is a member of the organizing committee of the Ibero-American Book Fair in Canada. In addition to teaching Spanish and guitar, he is passionate about hiking and nature photography. Carlos Andres is a Graduate in Industrial Engineering, International Relations and Library Sciences.* *Award Winning Authors.