IN PERSON Lit Night - Avoiding the Pitfalls of Writing Disasters and Emergencies
Wednesday, May 13, 2026 | 7pm-8:30pm MT
with Trina-Rae Cuff
MEMBERS: FREE
NON-MEMBERS: $12
Disaster science is terribly intriguing. Just look at the countless stories featuring climate catastrophes, nuclear meltdowns, wars, and societal collapse. So if we can’t seem to take our eyes off these disasters and emergencies, why do a lot of books and movies still get it wrong?
Join us for Lit Night with emergency management professional Trina-Rae Cuff and learn the basics of disaster and emergency management, and the concepts and tools needed to write realistic disaster and emergency scenarios.
With small press publications under her belt, Trina-Rae bridges the crevasse between disaster science and creative writing with her own stories.
The session will also cover:
- proper language use and basic terminologies,
- how emergency operations and emergency response actually works,
- common misconceptions and assumptions,
- and why you should never, ever use the phrase “natural disaster”.
Write catastrophic scenes that stay true to the science and elevate your story with authentic tension and immediacy.
This session is for anyone interested in writing disaster or emergency scenarios, or a wide variety of fiction that may have an emergency or accident component. This can include science fiction, post-apocalyptic fiction, and contemporary fiction.
This session takes place at the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society (AWCS) on the 4th floor of cSpace Marda Loop (460, 1721 29 Ave SW).
Trina-Rae (TR) Cuff is an emergency management professional with over 20 years in the field. She holds a Master of Arts in Disaster and Emergency Management, and focuses her work on social vulnerability theory, evacuation science, and business continuity procedures. She is also a creative writer and has been published in small press publications here and there over the years. https://www.goodneighbourconsulting.ca/
