In addition to curating year-round and Festival events, Leslie regularly moderates literary events, acts as juror for a number of prizes, and guest lectures on publishing and festivals at Simon Fraser University.

She lives in Vancouver with her journalist husband and their two awesome little bookworms (aka kids)!

Chelsee is a second generation Canadian and grew up in Calgary. She also studied child development, worked as a preschool educator, and spent four summers mentoring young feminists at the original Girls Rock Camp in Portland.

When not binging Bob’s Burgers, she can be found balancing her ever-growing book collection with garden gnomes of every size, shape, and colour.

Leena is a cinephile and devours the fantasy and sci-fi genre in both books and movies.

She has conceived and executed marketing campaigns for award-winning authors, publishers and charities across North America and writes regularly for publications on both sides of the Atlantic. Zoe is former Co-Chair and Director of The KidSafe Project and a current Director of WISH Drop-In Centre Society. When she is not immersed in books, Zoe travels, walks, and seeks out new varieties of pungent cheese.

During a six-year stint in Japan, Ariel worked extensively with award-winning culture magazine Kyoto Journal as a consultant and designer, helping the team navigate shifting publishing landscapes. She has also worked as a workshop facilitator, teaching authors how to build up their online presence, community manager and marketer for an independent self-publishing community and is currently also the Communications Manager at ZG Stories.

In good weather, Matt enjoys riding his commuter bike to get around town. He also likes to visit independent movie theatres, where he first started to realize the power of art, ideas, and storytelling.

Joyce enjoys books, bike rides, travelling, and basically anything else that could be described as magical.

She comes to the Vancouver Writers Fest as a “born again” reader of fiction, particularly literature in translation from Latin America and Central and Eastern Europe. Outside of work, her interests include eating charcuterie, watching boxing and making some of the best unintentionally lopsided ceramics in the city.

Is it his love for fiction, or the great crew and volunteers he gets to work with? All we know is that he calls the Writers Fest his family.

Ben is passionate about storytelling, Queer studies, ecofeminism and science fiction. He enjoys spending his free time walking in nature, carrying his own kind of “Essentials” in his backpack; a book, a water bottle, coffee, and an almond croissant.

If you see her at a festival, you know that you are in the right place and that the event will be amazing.

Ruth also holds an MA in English from the University of Victoria, where they specialized in 19th-century children’s literature. When they’re not making their way through their massive TBR list, Ruth enjoys attending concerts, knitting, and watching period films and TV shows.

Mostly Keely likes meeting and being around the many wonderful people she finds herself with. Keely also enjoys swimming in the ocean and lakes, running around the trails of the lower mainland, and riding her bike to delicious snack spots. She also buys more books than she can read, and watches more TV/movies than she intends too.

Mikaela’s words have appeared in Room Magazine and Poetry Is Dead Magazine, and she was shortlisted for Geist’s 2018 Erasure Poetry Contest. An appreciator of cinema, literary and genre fiction, graphic forms, and theatre, she has volunteered with various arts non-profits in Vancouver.

Robert is heavily involved with educating youth on the topics of financial literacy and fiscal responsibility. Through seminars, classroom presentations and mentorship opportunities, he looks to engage with students in classrooms and lecture halls around British Columbia.

Actively supporting local sports and charities, you can often find Robert at fundraisers and community events throughout the greater Vancouver area. Robert has a tendency towards reading non-fiction but occasionally dips into his wife’s library of classical literature and modern fiction. He proudly founded the Vancouver Club’s Literary Society.

Michelle spent almost a decade working in the Canadian book publishing industry with Simon & Schuster Canada and has served on several not-for-profit boards, including the Giller Light Bash in Toronto and Ballet BC Up in Vancouver. Living on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm(Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, she is committed to anti-racism, inclusive excellence and is excited about creating more opportunities for meaningful conversations through VWF.

Most recently, she was interim Executive Director at Vancity Community Foundation, where she led the team of twenty-five to establish the 312 Main Centre for Social and Economic Innovation and to renew the Foundation’s strategic direction. Her board experience includes Mt. Pleasant Neighbourhood House, WISH Drop-in Society, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver Chapter. Allison holds a Master of Education and a Bachelor of Social Work. When she’s not reading some of the amazing authors featured at the Vancouver Writer’s Festival, you can find her on her bike, in a garden, on a trail, or playing her ukulele with her partner, family and friends.

Previously, Karen founded and led the Technology Law Group at the Vancouver office of a national law firm, before moving to an in-house legal and operational role at a Canadian book publishing company. She was then VP Legal at a private equity firm, where she also led the creation of a public foundation and was instrumental in the creation of a social enterprise business. Karen has volunteered extensively in the social profit sector, including serving as Board Member and Board Chair of each of YWCA Metro Vancouver and YWCA Canada. Karen has received many awards for her years of service in both the community and the legal profession, including the BC Community Achievement Award.

She believes that public libraries are champions for equity, intellectual freedom, and access and that they connect people with books, ideas, and each other. She is pleased to be on the Board of the Vancouver Writers Fest with its aligned Vision of “A world in which the transformative power of books and ideas is the foundation of an empathetic, inspired and just society.”

Julie holds a Master of Library Science from the University of British Columbia. She is committed to lifelong learning and is excited about opportunities to promote diverse voices including those of xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations and Urban Indigenous Peoples.

During her time articling at PricewaterhouseCoopers, she has performed various assurance services ranging from midsize private clients to large public companies, as well as NPOs, helping them navigate complex financial issues and preparing financial statements and reviews. At the same time, she completed the first draft of a novel in 2020 which was then shortlisted for the JCW Emerging Writer’s Prize, given to an emerging writer of Asian-Canadian descent. She will be joining the Humber College for Writers in fall 2022 in order to further develop this draft and other writing projects. She has participated as a Youth Mentor in the Richmond Youth Media Program and continues to be passionate about creating opportunities for community engagement and fostering connections where writers and readers alike can thrive. During her free time, she enjoys running, hiking, and spending long afternoons in a local bookstore.

She specializes in: curatorial art projects, art education, research, fundraising, policy, events, communications, community building, art consulting, non-profit design and management, organizational development, and anti-racism training.