2018 Headliners

Jordan Abel

Jordan Abel

Jordan Abel is a Nisga’a writer from Vancouver. He is the author of The Place of Scraps (winner of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize), Un/inhabited, and Injun (winner of the Griffin Poetry Prize). Abel’s ... Read More 

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Billy-Ray Belcourt

Billy-Ray Belcourt (he/him) is a poet, author, and scholar from the Driftpile Cree Nation. He won the 2018 Griffin Poetry Prize for his debut collection, This Wound Is a World, which was also a ... Read More 

Sarah-Jeanne Bélec

Sarah-Jeanne Bélec

Sarah-Jeanne a grandi au Québec. Elle a commencé à s’illustrer en poésie en 2015 en remportant le premier prix du concours de poésie du Centre de littérature canadienne. Depuis, trois de ses poèmes ont ... Read More 

E.D Blodgett (1935 - 2018), PhD. poet who published close to 30 books of poetry.

E.D. Blodgett

E.D. Blodgett (1935 – 2018), PhD, was a poet who published close to 30 books of poetry, for which he received two Governor General’s Awards as well as awards from the Writers’ Guild of ... Read More 

Ali Blythe

Ali Blythe

Ali Blythe’s first book of poems, Twoism, was released by icehouse poetry to critical acclaim in 2015. He is the winner of the Vallum Award for Poetry, finalist for the BC Book Awards, and ... Read More 

Nicholas Bradley

Nicholas Bradley

Nicholas Bradley is a poet, literary critic, and scholarly editor. He teaches in the Department of English at the University of Victoria. Read More 

Christian Campbell

Christian Campbell

Christian Campbell is the author of Running the Dusk (2010), which won the Aldeburgh First Collection Prize and was a finalist for the Forward Prize for the Best First Collection and the Cave Canem ... Read More 

Margaret Christakos

Margaret Christakos

Margaret Christakos’ recent poetry titles include charger and Dear Birch. Previous books include Excessive Love Prostheses, Sooner, Welling, Multitudes, the novel Charisma, and a multimodal memoir, Her Paraphernalia: On Motherlines, Sex/Blood/Loss & Selfies. Space ... Read More 

Liam Coady

Liam Coady

Liam Coady’s work is special for its ability to foreground the human possibilities of social unity, personal resilience, love and enduring hopefulness. A member of the 2011 National Slam Champion Team and a 2-time ... Read More 

Myrl Coulter

Myrl Coulter

Myrl Coulter is the author of two award-winning books: A Year of Days (UAP) and The House With the Broken Two (Anvil Press). Her new book, The Left-Handed Dinner Party and Other Stories is ... Read More 

Richard Davies

Richard Davies

Richard Davies is a U of A grad who taught senior high English for 30 years. 50 of his textbooks and guides have sold over a million copies and been variously authorized for classroom ... Read More 

Marilyn Dumont

Marilyn Dumont

Marilyn Dumont teaches for the faculties of Arts and Native Studies at the University of Alberta and is proud of Metis family lines from her Mother’s – Vaness / Dufresne families and her father’s ... Read More 

Norma Dunning

Norma Dunning

Norma Dunning is an Inuk professor, grandmother and writer. Her short story collection, Tainna (the unseen ons), received the Governor General’s Literary Awards for 2021. Annie Muktuk and Other Stories received the Danuta Gleed ... Read More 

Shima A. Robinson (Dwennimmen)

Dwennimmen (Shima Robinson)

Shima Aisha Robinson is an amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton) born student, community builder, poet and spoken word artist who embodies, with every literary and scholarly effort, the ancient meaning of her chosen pen name. Dwennimmen is ... Read More 

Omar Farah

Omar Farah

Omar Farah is a 22 year old Somali-Canadian Poet, Engineer-in-training, community builder, and all around “homie”. Although he is relatively new to the spoken word scene, Omar has managed to make a name for ... Read More 

Patrick Friesen

Patrick Friesen

Patrick Friesen has published more than a dozen books of poetry, a book of essays and, with P. K. Brask, co-translations of several Danish poets, including Ulrikka Gernes’ Frayed Opus for Strings & Wind ... Read More 

Evelyne Gagnon

Evelyne Gagnon

Evelyne Gagnon is a Professor of French literary studies at Athabasca University. Her areas of expertise are Poetry and lyricism, as well as Québécois and Canadian literatures. She is also publishing her own creative ... Read More 

Shauntay Grant

Shauntay Grant

Writer and storyteller Shauntay Grant served as Halifax’s third poet laureate. A descendant of Black Loyalists, Jamaican Maroons, and Black Refugees who came to Canada during the 18th and 19th centuries, Shauntay’s love of ... Read More 

Michael Gravel

Michael Gravel

Michael Gravel is a poet, writer, emcee, publisher, and tea afficionado. He believes that art, design, and poetry strive for the same ideal: to say the most with the least. His poetry chapbooks include ... Read More 

Rayanne Haines

Rayanne Haines

Rayanne Haines is an award-winning hybrid author and the 2022 Regional Writer in Residence for the Metro Edmonton Federation of Libraries. Her first full-length poetry collection Stained with the Colours of Sunday Morning (Inanna, ... Read More 

Marina Reid Hale

Marina Reid Hale

Marina Reid Hale can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up (save for a week in grade two when she wanted to be a dolphin). An ... Read More 

Benjamin Hertwig

Benjamin Hertwig

Benjamin Hertwig’s poetry, fiction, and essays have appeared in the New York Times, NPR, the Walrus, Prairie Schooner, Maisonneuve, and Pleiades, among others. He was the recipient of a 2017 National Magazine Award, and ... Read More 

Scott Jackshaw

Scott Jackshaw

Scott Jackshaw studies English and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta. His work has previously appeared in Glass Buffalo, as well as in chapbooks from the University of Alberta’s Graduate Students of English ... Read More 

Penn Kemp

Penn Kemp

Performance Poet, activist and playwright Penn Kemp (M.Ed.) is London Ontario’s first Poet Laureate. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for service to arts and culture in London. Her latest publication ... Read More 

Helen Knott

Helen Knott

Helen Knott is a Dane Zaa, Nehiyaw, and mixed Euro- descent woman living in Fort St. John, British Columbia. In 2016, Helen was one of sixteen global change makers featured by the Nobel Women’s ... Read More 

Ahmed "Knowmadic" Ali

Ahmed Knowmadic

Award-winning Poet Laureate Ahmed Ali, better known as Knowmadic, is a multi disciplinary artist, community organizer, public speaker and youth worker who has dedicated his time to enabling and empowering diverse communities around the ... Read More 

Randy Kohan

Randy Kohan

Hive is Randy Kohan’s third collection of lyric poetry with Ekstasis Editions. His previous works are Rain of Naughts (2015) and Hammers & Bells (2013). Two of his poems, Trains and Northern Monks, can ... Read More 

Sarah-Jean Krahn

Sarah-Jean Krahn

Sarah-Jean Krahn is the editor of the online feminist creative writing magazine S/tick and holds an MA in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory from McMaster University. Her writing appears in the Berkeley Poetry Review ... Read More 

Angela Kublik

Angela Kublik

Angela Kublik is an Edmonton based writer, librarian, editor and publisher. Her chapbook, If I Must Leave, was published in 2017 by House of Blue Skies. With Dymphny Dronyk, she edited two best-selling poetry ... Read More 

Austen Lee

Austen Lee

Austen Lee is completing her BA Honours in English and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta. She is the 2017 winner of the James H. Gray Award for Short Nonfiction, which is awarded ... Read More 

Reinekke Lengelle

Reinekke Lengelle

Reinekke Lengelle, PhD, is a poet, playwright and academic. She is a visiting graduate professor with Athabasca University and a senior researcher at The Hague University in the Netherlands. Reinekke created the Career-Writing method, ... Read More 

Laurie MacFayden

Laurie MacFayden

Laurie MacFayden is an award-winning writer, visual artist and former journalist who has lived in Edmonton since 1984. Her latest poetry collection, Walking Through Turquoise, explores love, desire, and other intimacies mined in her ... Read More 

Portrait of Edmonton poet Alice Major. She has blondish white chin-length hair with bangs and oval-shaped glasses. She is wearing a light blue collared shirt.

Alice Major

Alice Major founded the Edmonton Poetry Festival in 2006 while she was serving as Edmonton’s first poet laureate. (She warns all future laureates to be careful what they start!). Alice has published 12 award-winning ... Read More 

Amy Malbeuf

Amy Malbeuf

Amy Malbeuf is a Métis visual artist from Rich Lake, Alberta. Through utilizing mediums such as caribou hair tufting, beadwork, installation, performance, and video Malbeuf explores notions of identity, place, language, and ecology. She ... Read More 

Manijeh Mannani

Dr. Manijeh Mannani is Professor of Literary Studies and Dean in Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences at Athabasca University. Her research interests include Persian literature, comparative literature, poetry, and life-writing. Dr. Mannani will ... Read More 

Lisa Martin

Lisa Martin

Lisa Martin is the author of two full-length poetry collections, Believing is not the Same as Being Saved (University of Alberta Press, 2017) and One crow sorrow (Brindle & Glass, 2008). Her latest chapbook, ... Read More 

Portrait of poet Medgine Mathurin, a Black woman with medium-length dark hair and wire rim glasses. She is wearing a reddish brown leather jacket and is leaning on a glass countertop.

Medgine Mathurin

Haitian-born spoken word artist and patient advocate, Medgine is a person for whom the love of language and the alchemy of words is second nature. Her multi-lingual upbringing (French, Creole, English) not only prompted ... Read More 

Sharon McCartney

Sharon McCartney

Sharon McCartney is the author of Metanoia (2016, Biblioasis), Hard Ass (2013, Palimpsest), For and Against (2010, Goose Lane Editions), The Love Song of Laura Ingalls Wilder (2007, Nightwood Editions), Karenin Sings the Blues ... Read More 

Mark A. McCutcheon

Mark A. McCutcheon

Mark A. McCutcheon is Professor of Literary Studies at Athabasca University. His poems are forthcoming or published in journals like On Spec, Unbroken, EVENT, and Existere. His poems “The leaf is not the line” ... Read More 

Timiro Mohamed

Timiro Mohamed

Timiro Mohamed is a Somali-Canadian spoken word poet, Edmonton’s former youth poet laureate, and co-author of the chapbook Water. Her practice is rooted in responsible storytelling, centers Black Femmes, and celebrates her many identities. Read More 

Alessandra Naccarato

Alessandra Naccarato

Alessandra Naccarato is writer and spoken word artist living on the traditional territories of the Saanich, Cowichan, and Chemainus First Nations (Salt Spring Island). Her poetry has received the Bronwen Wallace Award from the ... Read More 

Emilia Nielsen

Emilia Nielsen

Emilia Nielsen’s debut book, Surge Narrows (Leaf Press, 2013), was a finalist for the League of Canadian Poets’ Gerald Lampert Memorial Award. Body Work, her second collection of poetry, will be published by Signature ... Read More 

Sofia Parrila

Sofia Parrila

Sofia Parrila is an undergraduate student in Comparative Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Alberta. Her poem To My Childhood Friend won the L. June Kelly Prize for undergraduate poetry and appeared ... Read More 

Nisha Patel

Nisha Patel

Nisha Patel is an award-winning queer and disabled spoken word artist. She was the City of Edmonton’s 8th Poet Laureate, and is a Canadian Individual Slam Champion. Her debut collection COCONUT is available at Glass Bookshop. You ... Read More 

Pierrette Requier

Pierrette Requier

When I carve out time to write, I return to the vast spaciousness of my rural roots out of which my poems arise from some deep core of home in me, a rising up ... Read More 

Angeline Schellenberg

Angeline Schellenberg

Angeline Schellenberg’s first collection Tell Them It Was Mozart (Brick Books, 2016) won the Lansdowne Prize for Poetry, the Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book, and the John Hirsch Award for Most ... Read More 

Grayson Thate

Grayson Thate

Grayson Thate (he/him) is a poet born in amiskwaciy-wâskahikan (Edmonton). He is currently studying heritage management, and hopes to go to law school in the near future. As a past Youth Poet Laureate, he ... Read More 

Josée Thibeault

Josée Thibeault

Josée writes, performs and directs. Based in Edmonton, Alberta, she writes for theatre, film, tv, radio and podcasts, as well as for the comedy troupe Le RiRe. In the last decade, she has developed ... Read More 

Kai Cheng Thom

Kai Cheng Thom

Kai Cheng Thom is a writer, performer, therapist, lasagna lover and wicked witch who divides her heart between Toronto and Montreal. Her writing has been published widely in print and online, with pieces in ... Read More 

Jocelyne Verret

Jocelyne Verret

Jocelyne Verret is a long-time member of the Stroll of Poets and a past President. She is a published poet, novelist, dramaturge, and essayist. The Works Art and Design Festival of 2017 featured twelve ... Read More 

Gisèle Villeneuve

Gisèle Villeneuve

Gisèle Villeneuve is a Calgary-based bilingual writer working in multiple genres. As a novelist, short story writer, poet, and translator, she delights in alternating freely between French and English. Rising Abruptly, a collection of ... Read More 

Brandon Wint

Brandon Wint

Brandon Wint is an Ontario born poet and spoken word artist who uses poetry to attend to the joy and devastation and inequity associated with this era of human and ecological history. Increasingly, his ... Read More 

Ella Zeltserman

Ella Zeltserman is a Soviet-born Edmonton poet. Her first book of poetry small things left behind was published by University of Alberta Press in 2014 and won BPAA Robert Kroetsch prize and Betty Averbach ... Read More 

Jan Zwicky

Jan Zwicky

Jan Zwicky is a philosopher, poet, essayist, and musician. She has published ten collections of poetry, including Songs for Relinquishing the Earth, which won the Governor General’s Award; Forge, which was shortlisted for the ... Read More