Each of these authors combine the unexpected—either writing in many genres across works, or blending multiple genres in one book. The result, in every case, is a work as fascinating for its form as for its story. We delve into these kaleidoscopic offerings before a ceremony for the VMI Betsy Warland Between Genres Award. Helen Cova (Autosarcophagy – To Eat Oneself) blends personal history and present-day experiences into a seamless yet complex fabric of short story narrative. Jason Guriel’s The Full-Moon Whaling Chronicles is a mashup of dystopian fiction, poetry, cyberpunk… and more. Daniel Innes and Christina Wong use illustration and fiction in Denison Avenue, a work about gentrification, aging, and grief. Celebrate craft with these talents. Hosted by Elee Kraljii Gardiner.
Presented in partnership with SFU Creative Writing.
Event Participants:
HELEN COVA is a Venezuelan writer in Iceland. Author of Autosarcophagy: To Eat Oneself and the Snulli series, her work has been published in journals including Ós - The Journal, Timarít mál og menningar, Skáldreki and The Polaris trilogy, an anthology meant to arrive on a NASA flight at the Moon’s South Pole.
ELEE KRALJII GARDINER is a creative mentor, editor, and poet. She founded Thursdays Writing Collective, a non-profit organization of Downtown Eastside writers. She is the author of Trauma Head, which won the Fred Cogswell Award, and serpentine loop.
JASON GURIEL is the author of On Browsing, Forgotten Work, and other books. He lives in Toronto.
DANIEL INNES’s extensive portfolio includes painting, installation, graphic and textile design, illustration, sign painting, and tattooing. He uses traditional commercial art techniques, with a focus on the process. He has a special interest in creating works that have the possibility of an immersive physical experience.
Daniel was born in the north end of Toronto and has lived in the Spadina–Chinatown neighbourhood for over 20 years. Watching the neighbourhood change over the years has ended his love affair with Toronto. His time is now spent between Toronto and his studio (an artist residency project) in Hyōgo, Japan.
CHRISTINA WONG is a playwright, prose writer, and a multidisciplinary artist who also works in sound installation, audio documentaries, and photography. Her plays have been performed at Factory Studio, Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, and Palmerston Library Theatre. Her work has also appeared in TOK Magazine, the Toronto Star, and on CJRU 1280AM.
