Winter Writers Showcase
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 | 7pm-9pm MT
The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland, 750 9 Ave SE T2G 5E1 (map)
FREE EVENT - OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Let's close the chapter on our Winter term by celebrating the art of storytelling and the voices behind the craft with the return of the end-of-term AWCS Writers Showcase.
With a focus on celebrating each other and our creative community, we'll shine the spotlight on eight talented writers from the freshly finished Winter courses. They will be sharing their experiences in the programs and reading some of their work--raw, heartfelt, and in their own uniquely creative voice.
Our Featured Author is Lee Kvern, who will be reading excerpts from her latest book, Catch You on the Flipside, and share thoughts on the impact of being in community to a writer's practice.
And, enjoy raw, heartfelt, and fun readings from:
Beth Backman | Andrea Cole | Rob Custus | Brenda Erskine | Jade Mah-Vierling | Joan Peters | Stephen Price | Marika Smythe
Spend an evening catching up with friends and creating new connections with fellow writers.
NOTE: We encourage you to register, and let us know your number of guests.
This is a social, casual event, centered on the playful celebration of creativity. Bring guests, friends and family.
Thank you to our COMMUNITY PARTNERS for supplying items for door prizes: Owl's Nest Books, Analog Books, Semantics Café, and Alberta Magazine Publisher's Association, Moody Bee, and Moon Kitchen!
ABOUT THE FEATURED AUTHOR
Lee Kvern is a Canadian author of four books. Short stories in 7 Ways to Sunday and beyond have garnered the CBC Literary Prize, Western Magazine Award, Alberta Magazine Award, Hazel Hilles Memorial, Lush Triumph, Alberta Anthology CBC (x2) and Howard ‘O’ Hagan (x2). Afterall was selected for regional Canada Reads. The Matter of Sylvie nominated for Alberta Book Awards, Ottawa Relit. Her work has been produced for CBC Radio and been published in numerous literary magazines across Canada and the US. Her fourth novel, Catch You on the Flipside, an international thriller, comes out 2025 Facebook: Lee Kvern Instagram: @leekvern
ABOUT THE SHOWCASE READERS
Beth Backman: I have written many “work life” biographies but never one about my creative life. I wonder how it should read. Do I talk about my propensity for dancing in my chair to restaurant playlists. I do love the dance arts. Or do I talk about that 1 poem I wrote once in Grade 8. That sure was a long time ago. I write presently because I am grieving, and the pain needs somewhere to go. Better onto the page then elsewhere. When I have fully written the pain away, I may move into writing about something else.
Andrea Cole, writing as Andrea Lukatela, is a Calgary-based writer. Her speculative fiction and creative non-fiction pieces are influenced by her Croatian diaspora identity and a love of folklore (in all its messy historical, contemporary, oral, and written glory). She spends her free time hiking in the Rockies with her family. Instagram: @andrealukatela
Rob Custus enjoys writing about all kinds of stuff. He used to do a lot of business writing in his career, and now recently retired, he spends his time writing about his passions from his home in Calgary, Alberta. Growing up in a military home, Rob spent most of his youth overseas, and the occasional year in Alberta & New Brunswick. As a young man, he returned to western Canada, started a successful career which eventually manifested into a National Manager’s role in Toronto. From an early age, he has been an avid sailor, and is particularly proud of a 4-month trip from the Great Lakes, to the Atlantic provinces, on a very capable 36-foot live- aboard sailboat, which will be the basis of Rob’s first book. Follow Rob at Sail Mo Cuishle.
Brenda Erskine is a third-generation European settler-wanderer, now firmly rooted in Calgary. Armed with a degree in English Literature, she sharpened her writing and editing skills as a reporter for a daily newspaper, then learned how to massage the truth in corporate communications. Her google drive is crammed with unpublished short stories and flash fiction, much of it written late on Saturday nights to share with fellow writers at Sunday morning short story sessions. Random thoughts and quirky photos can be found on Instagram @bmerskine.
Jade Mah-Vierling holds a B.A. and M.A. in English Literature. In her thesis, she explored mixed race identity formation in life writing genres such as biotext, memoir, and documentary. Her short story The Salted Fish Turns Over is a current semifinalist for the Winds of Asia Award. In addition to her work as an editor at OnSpec magazine, Jade is writing a speculative fiction novel that continues her exploration of mixed race themes. People can find me at @jade.aliya on Instagram.
Joan Peters has tutored students, edited essays and position papers, and reviewed assignments for interviewing and interrogations techniques at Mount Royal College. She promotes curiosity in children, new adventures, and lifelong learning.
In the current century, for reasons inexplicable even to Joan, she gained distinction as the oldest woman to successfully complete the police physical endurance test. Joan returned to uniform for seven years with the Alberta Sheriffs. She is recovering from that, too. A certified Adult Educator, Joan has instructed (among other courses): defensive driving, emergency vehicle operations, and, for those who ignore the physics relating to driving, first aid and CPR.
Joan holds herself to high standards and strives to be a positive example in every interaction. Having retired recently, she is ambitiously resuscitating notes and ideas for stories gathered over decades, hoping to eventually compose something worthwhile.
Stephen Price writes and teaches writing on Treaty 7 territory, which he grew up calling Calgary, Alberta. He was a classroom teacher for thirty years. When he retired in 2019, his students, who he often wrote stories for, encouraged him to continue writing. He has been published in The Militant Grammarian, Passengers Journal, The New Quarterly and The Downtime Review. The editors of The Downtime Review nominated his story for a Pushcart Prize.
Marika Smythe: Born in Montreal to Hungarian refugees, Marika’s first spoken words were in Hungarian. After a career in Medical Microbiology, she graduated from Alberta University for the Arts (Painting) and the Professional Writing program at Mount Royal University. She is a previous winner of the Brenda Strathern Writing Prize and once won first place for a play she wrote in 24 hours (Alberta Theatre Projects). Her fiction has appeared in This Magazine, and her poetry in FreeFall Magazine. Facebook: Marika Smythe
