Selected Writing & Creative Stuff
General interviews with me about writing, etc can be found here.
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Awards & Grants
- 2025-2026 – I am a grateful recipient of an Artistic Creation grant from the Canada Council of the Arts, and two Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grants for Writers for Corrode the Song, recommended by House of Anansi Press and Wolsak and Wynn Publishers
- 2022-2023 – I am a grateful recipient of two Ontario Arts Council Recommender Grants for Writers for Seeker of the Lost Song (now known as Twist the Branch), recommended by ECW Press & Diaspora Dialogues
- 2022 – Shortlisted for the Kobo Emerging Writer Prize for The Quiet is Loud
Author Panel Appearances
- Panelist on “World-building and Cultural Research for Storytelling” at the Filipino-Canadian Book Festival, July 13, 2024
- Moderator for the panel “Worldbuilding the Real World: Creating the Fictional Here” at AugurCon, November 26, 2022
- Panelist on “Fabulist Fiction: Identity Exploration Through Magical Realism” at Word on the Street, September 25, 2021
- Panelist on “Writers on Mystery and Magic” at the Festival of Literary Diversity, May 4, 2021
Short Stories & Poems
- 2025 – “The Chariot” | Poem, Tiny Wren Lit #10
- 2025 – “Learn the New Light” | Short story, Ginger & Smoke #1
- 2020 – “The Dreamers” | Short story, The Quarantine Review #5
- 2020 – “When You Don’t See Me” and “Words for a Heart” | Poems, The Quarantine Review #1
- 2014 – “An Island” | Prose poem, Sundog Lit, The Kissing Booth
- 2012 – “Breathing Underwater” | Short story, WhiskeyPaper
- 2011 – “Sorry Every Day” | Short story, Storychord #22
- 2006 – “& I kind of” and “winter wheat” | Poems, The Fiddlehead #229 (as Samantha Marcelo)
- 2004 – “Our Game” | Short story, Kiss Machine #8 (as Samantha Marcelo)
- 2001 – Short story, Broken Pencil (as Samantha Marcelo)
Articles
- 2023-2025 – Monthly columnist at Open Book
- 2024 – Character Development Lessons From Video Games at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) Blog
- 2023 – We Need More Older Protagonists in Speculative Fiction – and Beyond at All Lit Up
- 2022 – Things I Didn’t Know About Publishing a First Book Until I Published My First Book at Invisible Publishing
- 2021 – June Writer-in-Residence at Open Book
- 2021 – “9 books for getting into speculative fiction” at Rakuten Kobo
- 2021 – “Speculative Fiction: Vast and Thrilling” at 49th Shelf
Selected Zines, Handmade Books & Writing
- 2025 – Guest edited “Creativity + Convergence,” the March 2025 edition of author Katie Li’s monthly zine The Beautiful Worst.
- 2025 – Undone Rituals literary mixtape project on Patreon, featuring the Undone Rituals zine, exclusive poems, and creative non-fiction.
- 2016 – Completed National Novel Writing Month with the novel The Quiet is Loud.
- 2008 – WestWord Magazine: My Do-It-Yourself Writer’s Retreat (PDF)
- 2001-2004 – Pinpoints | Zine – 3 issues
- 2001-2003 – Telectric | Zine – 4 issues
- 2001 – Blinking Is Just Blinking | Very small print run handmade book
- 2001 – Laundry | Very small print run handmade book
Education and Other Activities
- 2025 – Present – Volunteer, Strong Women – Strange Worlds online speculative fiction reading series
- 2012 – Worked on a collection of short stories in the 30-week Humber School for Writers’ Creative Writing by Correspondence program, mentored by Donna Morrissey
- 2006 – 2010 – Guild member, Writers’ Guild of Alberta
- 2006 – The Alexandra Reader 25th Anniversary Edition | Editorial committee
- 2004 – 2006 – Member and Secretary of Board of Directors, Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society
Oh, and in 2012, a tweet of mine ended up in Reader’s Digest (which went on to form the foundation of my fantasy novel Twist the Branch). It made my mother very proud:
