Stay in the know: Our monthly newsletter is here! May events, news & updates
May brings a new Real Vancouver Reading Series, podcast episode, Can Lit books, and more!
Salutations, Fellow Travelers
Welcome to the Real Vancouver newsletter!
It has been a long time coming and we’re thrilled to be sharing news and info about our upcoming events, including stuff that’s happening in the community in the coming weeks and months, and spotlights on writers and books that we’re excited about.
Also very excited to welcome two new team members to our group. Please welcome Jazeen Hollings and Taylor Zantingh. They’re two super-talented writers who have joined Dina and I to help us with things like making sure that this newsletter is out there in the world. So, basically: immediate success! We’re thrilled they agreed to join us and look forward to whatever weird locations they take us.
You can probably meet them at our event at the end of the month. More info on that below.
Thanks for reading!
Please share with your friends and if you have ideas for writers or events that you’d like for us to consider please leave a note in the comments below.
Happy Spring!
~Sean
Join Us Thursday May 30th at 7PM at the Russian Hall! Â
600 Campbell Ave, Vancouver, BC V6A 3K1
This month’s Reading Series features a star roster: Anaheed Saatchi, Hank Pine, Jay Ritchie, Courtney Bates-Hardy, Michelle Cyca & Paul Dhillon.
Anaheed Saatchi (they/them) is an emerging talent in the field of screenwriting for film and television. With a background in journalism, their work has a strong focus on tackling systemic issues at a grassroots level. Their first script was commissioned by PBS for a digital series showcasing the achievements of historically excluded athletes. As a trans non-binary writer, they advocate for gender sensitivity and collective wellness through a blend of journalism, drama and humor. As a ghostwriter, they’ve been accepted into the NYU Stern School of Business and the University of British Columbia Pharmaceuticals masters programs.
Hank Pine is an illustrator, director, actor, and comic book artist who channels all of this experience into his storyboarding skills. Hank Pine has offstage fright, and feels much safer when on stage performing. Hank lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Jay Ritchie is a writer, editor, teacher, and English PhD candidate at McGill University. His work has been featured in Maisonneuve, SAND, The Dalhousie Review, on CBC radio, and at the PHI Centre in Montreal. Listening in Many Publics (Invisible Publishing, 2014) is his most recent poetry collection.
Courtney Bates-Hardy is the author of House of Mystery (ChiZine Publications, 2016) and a chapbook, Sea Foam (JackPine Press, 2013). Her poems have been published in Grain, Vallum, PRISM, and CAROUSEL, among others. She has been featured in Best Canadian Poetry 2021 (Biblioasis) and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is queer, neurodivergent, and disabled, and one-third of a writing group called The Pain Poets. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Michelle Cyca is a journalist and essayist living on the unceded homelands of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She is an editor with The Narwhal and a contributing writer to The Walrus. Her writing can often be found in Maclean's, Chatelaine, The Globe & Mail, and any outlet that will let her write about roller skating. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief and co-publisher of SAD Mag. Her feature story, The Curious Case of Gina Adams, received a National Magazine Award in 2023 for investigative journalism, and was published in April 2024 as a limited-edition hardcover. She's a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Treaty 6, Saskatchewan.Â
Paul Dhillon’s is a second-generation Punjabi Canadian and his writing has appeared in The Malahat Review and Prairie Fire. His work has been a finalist at the National Magazine Awards. He currently lives on the unceded and ancestral territory of the hÉ™nÌ“qÌ“É™minÌ“É™mÌ“ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xÊ·məθkÊ·É™yÌ“É™m (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and sÉ™lilwÉ™taɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He is a high school English teacher.Â
The poster is still in the works but it’s gonna be awesome and colourful and lovely just like the incredible artist working on it: Ali Bruce. Her work below!
Watch Our Last Event Here! Â
Check out this recorded event to celebrate our 14th year anniversary! Featuring six incredible authors from Vancouver and across Canada.
Listen here to Can’t Lit’s Latest Episode: Triple Threat Book Launch!
Welcome to the chaos of a book launch! Are all book launches like this? I hope so! Jen Sookfong Lee was the host and books by Dina Del Bucchia (You’re Gonna Love This), Daniel Zomparelli (Jump Scare) and Andrea Warner (The Time of My Life) were launched and feted and were sold by the amazing Iron Dog Books!Â
Don’t forget! You can find Can’t Lit wherever podcasts podcast.
Engage With the Local Scene!
Check out a local lit event! Book launches, signings and talks!
Writer’s Fest Incite Incite: Unforgettable Short Stories - May 15 - Discover some of the season’s best in new short fiction at this Incite event featuring three intriguing releases from Vincent Anioke, Carleigh Baker & Shashi Bhat.
Dead Poets Reading Series - May 12 - Contemporary poets read the work of their favourite dead poet in the quaint and cosy Massey Arts Gallery.
Voices of the Street Launch - May 17 - The launch for an anthology that features work from 29 writers based in the Downtown Eastside.
Featured Book-from-the-Vault:
From Shoreline by Steffi Tad-y
This debut poetry collection is at the intersection of the diasporic experience and mental illness.
Steffi Tad-y is a poet and writer from Manila and currently lives in Vancouver on the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.