A Very Merry Writers Showcase and Holiday Party
Thursday, December 4, 2025 | from 6:30pm MT
The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland, 750 9 Ave SE Calgary, AB T2G 5E1 (map)
FREE EVENT
6:30pm - Reception (libations and conversation)
7:00pm - Readings (Showcase of Readers and Featured Author)
8:00pm - Holiday Bonanza (mix and mingle, door prizes, and more festivities)
'Tis the season for good cheer and great stories. Let's usher in a season of festivities with this Very Merry Writers Showcase and Holiday Party.
Enjoy an evening of heartfelt stories and holiday celebrations. Catch up, mix and mingle with friends and fellow writers.
Poignant and joyful, we'll start with heartfelt stories from six talented writers who have completed their Fall courses at AWCS. The readings will be intertwined with anecdotes from the writers about their writing journey so far.
The six readers are: Claire Bonneau, Tracy Duckett, Rosey Hwang, Huck Kahng, Debbie McKenzie, and Hala Nasr.
We're also thrilled to have Bradley Somer as our Feature Author for the evening. He will be reading from his latest book We Are All of Us Left Behind and share insights on the power of community in a writer's practice. Bradley's books will be available on site.
The event will have live music with musical duo Bluebird Telegraph.
Festivities will continue after the readings. We'll toast to the season with fun, laughter, and conversation at this holiday shindig, hosted by AWCS in a historic venue.
This event takes place at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland (750 9 Ave SE T2G 5E1, map).
Nibbles and bites will be served, along with a selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic refreshments at the bar.
Spend an evening catching up with friends and creating new connections. Bring friends and family--let's wrap up the year with stories, joy, and community.
NOTE: We encourage you to register, and let us know your number of guests.
Door prizes will be provided by AWCS and our COMMUNITY PARTNERS: AMPA (Alberta Magazine Publishers Association), Rainsong Studio Creations, Moody Bee, Moon Kitchen, Reality is Optional Publishing, Tawny Stokes, Cindy Morris, and paulo da costa.
ABOUT THE READERS
Claire Bonneau is an operating room nurse turned content writer turned steamy romance novel author. She writes bright, voicey stories that are inspired by her time in healthcare. Currently, she works as a freelance content writer for medical start-ups, brands, and individual creators while also writing her contemporary romance debut — a love story between an OR nurse and orthopedic surgeon.
Rosey Hwang writes binge-worthy contemporary romance novels that are all heart yet unconventional, taking women deeper into the places within themselves that prevent them from living their own fairy tale. Off the page, she guides writers as they bring their stories to life and into the world through her Story Acceleration Coaching and heart-led marketing. When she isn’t writing or supporting her global clients, you’ll find her tucked inside a local coffee shop sipping a cappuccino, curating dreamy playlists for her books, or savouring time with her husband and daughters.
Tracy Duckett crashed around this life trying to understand and fit into the mainstream while navigating a demanding career, child-raising, and a range of relationships from behind a heavily masked existence. In retirement, she feels as though she's come out the other side and is now deeply immersed in writing about her perspectives on neurodiversity, mental health, queer culture, and relationship dynamics. Until recently, she exclusively wrote creative non-fiction, but has now embraced playwriting, poetry, and after last week’s AWCS session with Robyn Diner, autofiction. For Tracy, writing is an exploration of identity and a conduit for human connection.
Huck Kahng is a writer and translator from South Korea who loves fantasy, folklore, and all things magical. He lives in Calgary, where his window looks out toward the distant Rocky Mountains.
Debbie McKenzie's official writing journey began once her five children left the home and she had some unaccustomed time on her hands. She began with Playwriting at AWCS and had two plays read at the 1000 Monkeys Fringe festival in Calgary. She is currently taking the Late Bloomers writing course and is working on a piece called Bedside Manner.
Hala Nasr is a public school teacher, wife, and mom of two grown kids. She loves reading young adult novels, romance, screenplays, and short fiction. She has several unfinished projects which include children’s book biographies about artist Emma Jones Soyer, Alexis Soyer, and Mary Seacole, as well as adaptations of Robin Hood and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes. Hala is currently working on a historical romance novel set during the Crimean War.
ABOUT THE FEATURED AUTHOR
Bradley Somer is the author of three published novels, one upcoming novel, as well as many works of short fiction, which have appeared in tens of literary journals over the years. He lives with his husband of seventeen years at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Between sitting for hours reading and chronic bouts of writing, he enjoys snowshoeing and hiking the outdoors.
His debut novel, Imperfections (Nightwood Editions, 2012) earned a starred review from Quill & Quire magazine and was one of the Canadian Bookseller’s Association Top Picks for 2012.
His second novel, Fishbowl (St. Martin’s Press US & Ebury UK, 2015) has been published in over twelve countries, in more than five language translations, as well as being optioned for film and produced in audio format in several languages. Fishbowl was awarded the Georges Bugnet Award for fiction and was long listed for the Alberta Readers’ Choice Awards. The novel was well-reviewed in the Globe and Mail, The Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Star, Cosmopolitan UK, among many others. It was also selected as one of The San Diego Union Tribune’s Best Books of 2015.
Bradley’s latest novel, Extinction, was acquired by HarperCollins (Commonwealth, 2022) and Blackstone Publishing (North America, 2022). It was a pick of the month for best sci-fi/fantasy by The Guardian UK and has appeared on several similar lists since. Bradley also penned the screenplay for Extinction, which has been acquired jointly by two Los Angeles based production companies and is currently in development.
Bradley has an upcoming novel, We Are All of Us Left Behind (Freehand Books, 2025), which is a queer coming of age story about the powers of truth and lies, of what a family really is, and the persistence of hope when there's nothing else left.
