Reading these novels, it can be hard to tell whether the hairs on the back of your neck are reacting to their shiver-inducing plots, or in recognition of the talent they demonstrate. Elliott Gish probes the uncontainable power of female rage and the horrors of memory in Grey Dog. Yeji Y. Ham’s The Invisible Hotel is a startling, speculative gothic tale about political adolescence in the afterlife of the Korean War. Adam Pottle shares a deeply original story of a Deaf teen who escapes his father’s basement in Apparitions. Together, they will discuss the process of craft: honouring and breaking from tradition; probing what is truly scary, on and off the page; and using fear to explore our shared humanity. Moderated by Jen Sookfong Lee.
This event will include ASL interpretation.
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Event Participants:
ELLIOTT GISH is a writer and librarian from Halifax, where she lives with her partner. A graduate of Simon Fraser University’s Writer’s Studio, Gish’s fiction has appeared in many journals, including the New Quarterly, the Baltimore Review, and the Dalhousie Review, and was nominated for a 2022 Pushcart Prize.
YEJI Y. HAM is a Korean Canadian writer. She received her B.A. in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and M.F.A. in Literary Arts from Brown University. At Brown, she completed a short story collection titled Doraesol, and a part of the manuscript was awarded the Frances Mason Harris’ 26 Prizes in Fiction. Her works have appeared in Shorts (Platypus Press), Wilderness Journal, The Rivet Journal, The Broome Street Review and No Tokens Journal.
JEN SOOKFONG LEE was born and raised in Vancouver’s East Side, and she now lives with her son in North Burnaby. Her books include The Conjoined, nominated for International Dublin Literary Award and a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, The Better Mother, a finalist for the City of Vancouver Book Award, The End of East, The Shadow List, and Finding Home. Jen acquires and edits for ECW Press and co-hosts the literary podcast Can’t Lit.
Born Deaf and raised in a hearing family, ADAM POTTLE spent much of his childhood searching for magical portals and pretending to be Godzilla. He is an award-winning Canadian writer, with books in multiple genres, including the acclaimed memoir Voice and the adult novel The Bus. His groundbreaking fantasy play The Black Drum was performed to rave reviews in Canada and France and is the world's first all-Deaf musical. He has a PhD in English Literature and has taught English and Creative Writing for nearly twenty years. He lives in Saskatoon with his wife Deborah and their goldendoodle Valkyrie.
