EVENT celebrates 50 years of publication with a Notes on Writing anthology, featuring more than 70 personal essays with insights into the joys and struggles of the writer’s life and process, written by notable Canadian writers. Order yours now! Weighing in at 284 pages, this special anthology can be bought individually or given as a complimentary gift when you purchase or renew a subscription. Link in bio.
RORY SAY is a fiction writer from Victoria. Stories of his have recently appeared in The New Quarterly, Air/Light, Metastellar and Grain. A chapbook collection, THE MARKSMAN, was published by Red Bird Chapbooks in 2024, while a full-length collection, NOTHING HAS HAPPENED TO YOU, is forthcoming via Lethe Press.
Read his story "Gladman" in EVENT 54/3.
E.S. TAILLON is a queer, neurodivergent writer based in Tkaronto. Their French-to-English translation of SCENES FROM THE UNDERGROUND (House of Anansi, 2022) was short-listed for the Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers. Their most recent translation is THE SEATED WOMAN (House of Anansi, 2025).
Find E.S. Taillon's poems "Sweet Enough to Curl the Tongue" and "Simple Alternating Pattern" in EVENT 54/3.
Did you know that submissions are now open for our 2026 Non-Fiction Contest?
We offer $3,000 in total prizes, and all three winners will be published in EVENT. The entry fee is $34.95 per submission, or $19.95 for students, and includes a one-year subscription (or renewal). Deadline: October 15, 2026.
#writingcontest #cnf #nonfiction #canlit
We’re thrilled to announce that @elliesawatzky 's poems “Truth Serum” and “Vaporwave,” from EVENT 54/2, have been nominated for a 2026 National Magazine Award @magawards in Poetry! Big thanks to our poetry editor Raoul Fernandes.
Also, more congratulations: to Kate Cayley for making the @cbcbooks Short Story Prize shortlist. Read Kate’s story “Running” in EVENT 52/3. And to contributor Rebecca Peng (forthcoming in EVENT 55/1) who is a finalist for the @writerstrust RBC Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers (Short Fiction).
This is QiQi (I pronounce her name as Chee Chee). And she says it’s a perfect night for a show in New Westminster. In fact, she told me to bring extra chocolates to the Famous Last Words show at Centennial Lodge tonight, so I will. See you all soon!
https://famouslastwordsnewwestapril222026.eventbrite.ca
JACK WANG is the author of THE RIVETER (Anansi & HarperVia, 2025) and WE TWO ALONE (Anansi, 2020; HarperVia 2021), long-listed for Canada Reads and winner of the Danuta Gleed Literary Award from the Writers’ Union of Canada for best debut collection in English. He teaches writing at Ithaca College.
Find his Notes on Writing essay in EVENT 54/3.
Our 2nd featured peot for our free Famous Last Words show at Centennial Lodge in New Westminster on Wednesday April 22nd is Elliott Slinn!
https://famouslastwordsnewwestapril222026.eventbrite.ca
Elliott Slinn is a performer who takes listeners on a journey of the heart with his honest song writing and poetry. With a unique style and an emphasis on the musicality of his lyrics, his storytelling and sonic signature weave together as one. Slinn’s haunting and powerful voice carries an air of gentle melancholy, which captivates audiences and leaves listeners spellbound. His work has been described as immediate and accessible, as he aims to engage the soul and transform his personal tale into a shared experience. Slinn was named the Poet Laureate for the City of New Westminster in 2021 and was successfully elected to the New Westminster School Board as a Trustee in 2022.
The tickets for this show are free (thank you @artsnewwest , @tricitiespoetry , @eventmags@canadianpoets and @royalcitylit ) but I encourage everyone who wants to attend to book your tickets through eventbrite to guarantee your seat.
This is no April Fools’ Day joke!
EVENT is celebrating National Poetry Month by opening for poetry submissions from Canadian writers (citizens in Canada or anywhere in the world, or non-citizen residents of Canada) until April 30! Or until we hit our submission cap (so get your work in early).
Fiction submissions will open in July.
Find submission guidelines in the Linktree in our bio.
We're thrilled to announce the winning essays of our 2025 Non-Fiction Contest! Judged by Vinh Nguyen, author of the acclaimed memoir THE MIGRANT RAIN FALLS IN REVERSE, this year's contest saw more than 190 submissions. And the winners are…
FIRST PLACE ($1,500): “Metaphors We Die By,” Jennifer Manuel
SECOND PLACE ($1000): “Waiting for the Bus: a memoir of dementia,” Meredith Quartermain
THIRD PLACE ($500): “The Shrine,” Hannah Roh
The winning entries and judge’s essay will be published in issue 55/1 of EVENT, Spring/Summer 2026. Thank you to all who submitted!
Our current issue, EVENT 54/3, features Notes on Writing essays by Conor Kerr, Bren Simmers, Pablo Strauss and Jack Wang, new poetry from Jade Y. Liu, Kevin Irie and Carolyn Nakagawa, plus fiction by Jason Jobin and Susan Mersereau, reviews of new fiction and non-fiction books, and much more! Cover photo is by Garrick Bassey.
Digital issues are also available online, alongside our ongoing subscriptions. Link in bio to purchase.
CONOR KERR is a Métis/Ukrainian writer, Labrador-retriever wrestler and English professor from the Prairies who has lost every major literary award in Canada—some multiple times. He is the author of five books.
Find Kerr's Notes on Writing essay, Half-Dozen Oysters, in our current issue: EVENT 54/3. Subscriptions and single issues can be purchased through the link in our bio.
