Waiting (by Rona Altrows & Julie Sedivy)

Weyman Chan
Born in Calgary, Alberta, Weyman Chan has published poems and short stories in a wide variety of literary journals and anthologies.

He won the 2002 National Magazine Awards silver prize for his poem “At work,? and the 2003 Alberta Book Awards for his first book of poetry, Before a Blue Sky Moon. His second book, Noise From the Laundry (Talonbooks), was nominated for the 2008 Governor General’s Award for Poetry.

A laboratory technician by trade, Chan distills a unique inner voice in the spiraling, non-sequential and non-temporal syntax of poetry.

Susan Olding was named one of The New Quarterly's "Most Loved Living Writers" alongside authors including Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro. Her poetry and prose have appeared widely in literary journals and anthologies across Canada and the United States. She has been a finalist for a National Magazine Award, two Western Magazine Awards, and a CBC Literary Award; she is also a two-time winner of the Event Creative Non-fiction Contest and a winner of the Prairie Fire Non-fiction Contest. Susan earned a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Toronto, a Bachelor of Education from Queen's University, and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia. She has been a frequent contributor to several discussion groups, workshops, and web resources for adoptive parents. Her work has also appeared in numerous anthologies. Susan Olding currently lives with her family in Kingston, Ontario.

Margaret Macpherson holds a Masters Degree in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and has worked as a teacher and journalist in Halifax, Bermuda, and Vancouver. She currently lives in Edmonton with her husband and four children.

Rona Altrows is the author of two collections of short stories: A Run On Hose and Key in Lock. She lives in Calgary.

Leslie Greentree is the author of two books of poetry, guys named Bill (2002) and go-go dancing for Elvis (2003), shortlisted for the Griffin Award for Excellence in Poetry. Her short story, The Brilliant Save, was a winner of CBC Radio's annual Alberta Anthology competition. Leslie has read across much of Canada and at the Dublin Writers’ Festival. She lives in Red Deer, Alberta. This is her first book of short stories.

Aritha van Herk is a professor at the University of Calgary, where she teaches Creative Writing, Canadian Literature and Contemporary Narrative.

Glen Sorestad was born in Vancouver, but has lived in Saskatchewan most of his life. He taught school for over twenty years, founded Thistledown Press with his wife Sonia, and remained its President until he and Sonia retired from publishing in 2000. Sorestad was appointed the first Poet Laureate of Saskatchewan in November, 2000. He and Sonia have lived in Saskatoon since 1967.

SHARON BUTALA is an award-winning and bestselling author of both fiction and non-fiction. Her classic book The Perfection of the Morning was a #1 bestseller and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award. Fever, a short story collection, won the 1992 Authors’ Award for Paperback Fiction and was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best book (Canada and Caribbean region). Butala is a recipient of the Marian Engel Award, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit, and the 2012 Cheryl and Henry Kloppenburg Award for Literary Excellence. In 2002 she became an Officer of the Order of Canada. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

Alice Major, Edmonton’s first poet laureate, has published 11 books of poetry and essays, many of which explore her long-standing interest in the sciences. She is the recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta 2017 Distinguished Artist Award. Her most recent publications with UAP are Standard candles and Intersecting Sets: A Poet Looks at Science. You can find her online at www.alicemajor.com

Wendy McGrath's poetry has been published in CV2, Prism international, NeWest Review, Tessera, Room of One's Own, Orbis, and Grain. Her verse has been broadcast on CBC Radio and her work has appeared in several anthologies. Previously she published Go Van Gogh, a chapbook of her poetry. In 1998 she received the James Patrick Folinsbee Prize from the University of Alberta's Department of English. She lives in Edmonton, AB.

Lee Kvern is the award-winning author of short stories and novels. Novels: Afterall and The Matter of Sylvie were nominated for the Alberta Book Awards, Sylvie was long-listed for the Relit Award. Her short stories are also well celebrated: "White" was the national winner of the CBC Literary Awards, "I May Have Known You" was nominated for the Howard 'O'Hagan Award, and "Detachment" was a finalist in the Malahat Open Season. Her work has been produced for CBC Radio, and published in Event, Descant, and enRoute, and on Joyland.ca (New York) and Foundpress.com.

Anne Sorbie was born in Paisley, Scotland and she lives in Calgary. Her fiction, poetry, essays and book reviews have been published by The University of Alberta Press, Frontenac House, House of Blue Skies, and Thistledown Press; in magazines and journals such as Alberta Views, Geist, and Other Voices; and online with Brick Books, CBC Canada Writes, Geist, and Wax Poetry and Art. She has taught English and Creative Writing at Red Deer College and Mount Royal University and is a past editor of dANDelion Magazine. Falling Backwards Into Mirrors is her third book.