Within their brief pages, short stories have an immense power to transform perspectives, capture essential truths, and introduce us to unforgettable characters. Enjoy a thought-provoking conversation and readings from three local authors of outstanding new collections. Set on an island in BC’s Salish Sea, Bill Gaston’s Tunnel Island follows characters striving to overcome pasts that often include a catastrophic error. The stories in Welcome to the Neighbourhood by Clea Young explore the labyrinthine inner lives of women, with a distinct Pacific Northwest flair. Jacquelyn Zong-Li Ross incorporates elements of fable, surrealism, satire, art, and cultural criticism to deliver a wonderfully strange exploration of the creative process in The Longest Way to Eat a Melon. Moderated by Holly Flauto.
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HOLLY FLAUTO teaches creative and academic writing at Capilano University. Her book of poetry, Permission to Settle (Anvil Press), was named one of CBC Books Best Canadian Poetry of 2024.
BILL GASTON is the award-winning author of seven novels and eight short fiction collections, including Sex is Red and Mount Appetite, as well as a book of poems and two memoirs, most recently Just Let Me Look at You. He lives on Gabriola Island with his wife, author Dede Crane.
JACQUELYN ZONG-LI ROSS is a writer and editor based in Vancouver. Her fiction, poetry, essays, and art criticism have appeared in BOMB, C Mag, The Ex-Puritan, Fence, Mousse, and elsewhere. She holds a BFA in Studio Art from Simon Fraser University and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph.
CLEA YOUNG’s stories have been included in numerous literary journals, three volumes of The Journey Prize Stories, and Best Canadian Stories 2025. She has twice been longlisted for the CBC Short Story Prize. Her debut story collection, Teardown, was published by Freehand Books. Young grew up in up in Victoria, BC, and now lives in Squamish, BC.
