ESCAPE THE FALL 2019
Janet Elizabeth Chase lives in rural northern Nevada along with her family and numerous freeloading animals. She found her way to writing speculative fiction due to well-placed nudges from a good friend. She has stories in three anthologies edited by Julie E. Czerneda: Misspelled, Fantastic Companions, and Tales from Plexis. She can now add “interviewed on a podcast” to her many numerous accomplishments, though starring in a Godzilla movie is still, sadly, unrealized.
Eric Choi is a Toronto-based writer, editor and aerospace engineer. His work has appeared in over 20 publications. He co-edited the hard SF anthology Carbide Tipped Pens with Ben Bova and the Chinese-themed anthology The Dragon and the Stars with Derwin Mak. His latest story “F. – A Post-Modern Prometheus”, co-authored with Joseph McGinty, appears in Derek Newman-Stille’s anthology We Shall Be Monsters. In 2009, he was one of the Top 40 finalists (out of 5,351 applicants) in the Canadian Space Agency’s astronaut recruitment campaign. Please visit his website www.aerospacewriter.ca and you can follow him on Twitter @AerospaceWriter.
Amal El-Mohtar is an award-winning writer of fiction, poetry, and criticism. Her stories and poems have appeared in magazines including Tor.com, Fireside Fiction, Lightspeed, Uncanny, Strange Horizons, and Mythic Delirium; anthologies including The Starlit Wood: New Fairy Tales (2016); and in her own collection, The Honey Month (2010). Her story “Seasons of Glass and Iron” won the Nebula, Locus and Hugo awards in 2017, while her stories “The Green Book” and “Madeleine” were finalists for the Nebula Award in 2011 and 2015 respectively, and “The Truth About Owls” won the Locus Award in 2015. She is represented by DongWon Song of HMLA. Her first novella, This is How You Lose the Time War, is a collaboration with Max Gladstone and was published by Saga Press in July 2019. Amal frequents Twitter, where she is often very silly. You can also find her at amalelmohtar.com.
(Source: http://can-con.org)
After spending fifteen years learning and honing her writing skills, the last thing Ika Koeck thought she would be was a butler for two very active, very needy cats. Humanitarian by day, fiction writer by night, Ika writes fantasy, science-fiction and the occasional horror story. Ika’s work has been published in several pro and semi-pro rated markets, including DAW Books, Cast of Wonders and Apex Publication. When she isn’t writing or working, Ika can be found slamming down heavy barbells at a crossfit gym, rescuing and re-homing cats, training for a running race somewhere, and sampling the best teh tarik in town as a tea connoisseur.
Alan Neal is host of Ottawa’s favourite drive home show All in a Day, on CBC Radio One, 91.5 FM. All in a Day is music, news, current affairs, culture, theatre, movies, politics, history, humour and conversation – all wrapped up in an engaging and entertaining package. In addition to hosting All in a Day, Alan is a published author, releasing his first children’s book Ava and the Little Folk in 2012, and a past playwright. He is also a frequent host for the Ottawa International Writers Festival, particularly his regular event “Random Play.” Find Alan Neal online: @alannealottawa
(Partially taken from CBC Media Centre)
SEASON ONE
Derek Künsken writes science fiction, fantasy and horror from Gatineau, Québec. His stories have appeared in Asimov’s, Analog, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Clarkesworld, and have been selected for various best of the year anthologies. He won the Asimov’s Award for his novelette Way of the Needle, and his first novel, The Quantum Magician, has been called “Ocean’s Eleven written by Iain Banks” and “Peter Watts on laughing gas.”
The Quantum Magician:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38608575-the-quantum-magician
Kelly Robson is an award-winning short fiction writer. In 2018, her story “A Human Stain” won the Nebula Award for Best Novelette, and in 2016, her novella “Waters of Versailles” won the Prix Aurora Award. She has also been a finalist for the Nebula, World Fantasy, Theodore Sturgeon, John W. Campbell, and Sunburst awards. In 2018, her time travel adventure Gods, Monsters and the Lucky Peach debuted to high critical praise.
Growing up in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, Kelly competed in rodeos and gymkhanas, and was crowned princess of the Hinton Big Horn Rodeo. From 2008 to 2012, she wrote the wine and spirits column for Chatelaine, Canada’s largest women’s magazine. After 22 years in Vancouver, she and her wife, fellow SF writer A.M. Dellamonica, now make their home in downtown Toronto.
A Study in Oils: http://clarkesworldmagazine.com/robson_09_18/
A Human Stain: http://www.tor.com/2017/01/04/a-human-stain/
Marie Bilodeau is an Ottawa-based author and storyteller, with eight published books to her name. Her speculative fiction has won several awards and has been translated into French (Les Éditions Alire) and Chinese (SF World). Her short stories have also appeared in various anthologies. Marie is also a storyteller and has told stories across Canada in theatres, tea shops, at festivals and under disco balls. She’s won story slams with personal stories, has participated in epic tellings at the National Arts Centre, and has adapted classical material.
Marie is co-host of the Archivos Podcast Network with Dave Robison, co-chair of Ottawa’s speculative fiction literary convention Can*Con with Derek Künsken, co-chair of Ottawa ChiSeries with Nicole Lavigne and Matt Moore, and is a casual blogger at Black Gate Magazine. Learn more at
http://www.mariebilodeau.com/
(Marie also appears in Episodes 4 & 5!)
Jay Odjick is an artist, writer and television producer from the Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg community. He created, wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Kagagi: The Raven and later served as Executive Producer, Showrunner and Lead Writer on the animated series adaptation that aired internationally. He illustrated the national bestseller, Blackflies by renowned childrens’ book author Robert Munsch.
Jay has worked in comics for nearly two decades, from creating the webcomic Power Hour for filmmaker Kevin Smith’s website to serving as a National Writing Juror for the 2019 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Jay has recently begun freelance work with The Ottawa Citizen and teaching at the University of Ottawa. His as of January 2019, will begin teaching at the University of Ottawa. His work has been featured in museum exhibits across Canada and the United States, from Phoenix Arizona’s Heard Museum to Canada’s national Library and Archives as part of Alter Ego: Canadian Comics and Identity, and his work leads off the new signature gallery of Canada’s largest museum, the History Hall at the Museum of History.
Check out Jay’s work at jayodjickshop.com
Matt Moore is an Aurora Award-winning author, poet and columnist. His collection It’s Not the End and Other Lies was published by ChiZine Publications in 2018. He’s also a Contributing Editor for AE: The Canadian Science Fiction Review, Co-Chair of the Ottawa Chiaroscuro Reading Series, and a frequent panelist, presenter and instructor. Raised in small town New England, a place rich with legends and ghost stories, he now live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Find more at mattmoorewrites.com and itsnottheend.com.
Lydia Peever is a horror author and journalism professor from Ontario, Canada with short stories in many anthologies and her small collections, Pray Lied Eve 1 and 2. The follow up to her first novel Nightface has also been written.
In her spare time, she helps update the new releases section of the Horror Writers Association website, teaches in between federal web design work, and records a few podcasts like Splatterpictures Dead Air. She also talks about reading horror fiction on Youtube at typicalbooks.http://lydiapeever.ca http://amazon.com/author/lydia
Born in Halifax, N.S., raised (mostly) in Kingston ON, Tanya Huff lives in rural Ontario, with her wife Fiona Patton eight cats and two dogs. Her 32 novels and 79 short stories include horror, heroic fantasy, urban fantasy, comedy, and space opera. Her Blood series was turned into the 22 episode Blood Ties and writing episode nine allowed her to finally use her degree in Radio & Television Arts from Ryerson Polytechnic – a degree she holds in common with Robert Sawyer. They not only attended, and graduated, at the same time but did their third year TV assignment together. Her latest novel is The Privilege of Peace (DAW, June 2018), the last Torin Kerr book. Her next will be a created world fantasy with the working title of Weapons of Mage Destruction, although it’s unlikely she’ll be able to keep it…
From Violette Malan/V.M. Escalada:
“I’m Canadian, but I spent enough of my childhood with my family in Spain to identify culturally as Spanish. I cook Spanish food, I drink Spanish wine, and yes, I listen to (among other things) Spanish music. If you love the blues, and you haven’t yet discovered flamenco, you should give it a try.
I’ve been married for a very long time to a person who’s been married for the same length of time to me. We currently live in south eastern Ontario.
My strongly held opinions aren’t likely to be changed by rhetorical devices, faulty or circular logic, massaged or partial data, or photos of cats on the internet. I assume that’s also true of people who hold the opposite opinions. That’s okay. We’re not required to agree, so long as we don’t kill or enslave each other.
I don’t care who wrote Shakespeare. As far as I’m concerned, the play’s the thing. This whole interest in the author as a person stuff was started up by literary critics in the 18th-century (I know, I have a PhD in 18th-century lit), and it’s led to things like my writing this, and your reading it.
One more thing. Remember, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.”
EPISODE 6
‘Nathan Burgoine grew up a reader and studied literature in university while making a living as a bookseller. His first published short story was “Heart” in the collection Fool for Love: New Gay Fiction, and he hasn’t stopped with short fiction since. His first collection of short fiction, Of Echoes Born, is now available through Bold Strokes Books. ‘Nathan’s first novel, Light, was a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Since then, he’s written three more novels, Triad Blood and Triad Soul (contemporary urban fantasy), and Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks (a YA), available from Bold Strokes Books. For novella lovers, ‘Nathan’s wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey gay romance In Memoriam is available on Kindle and Audible, and his gay holiday chosen family romance Handmade Holidays is available from NineStar Press.
A cat lover, ‘Nathan managed to fall in love and marry Daniel, a confirmed dog person. Their ongoing “cat or dog?” détente ended with the rescue of a six year old husky named Coach, who gave them four wonderful years before crossing the rainbow bridge. Since then, they’ve rescued Max, another husky, who is much younger and very determined to be a bed dog. They live in Ottawa, Canada, where socialized health care and gay marriage have yet to cause the sky to cave in.
Linda Poitevin is an Ottawa-area author writing romance, romantic suspense, and dark urban fantasy (under the pen name Lydia M. Hawke). In her other-than-writing life, she is an ally, wife, mom, friend, walker of a giant dog, keeper of many (many) cats, gardener, and avid food preserver. You know…just in case the Zombie Apocalypse actually happens. Linda published her tenth (!) book this year, and can be found hanging out on her website, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, where she is prone to posting many pictures of her many pets.
EPISODE 7
Kate Heartfield writes fantasy, science fiction, historical fantasy and non-fiction, including the historical novels Armed in Her Fashion (ChiZine Publications 2018) and The Humours of Grub Street (ChiZine Publications 2020), and the time-travel novellas Alice Payne Arrives (Tor.com Publishing 2018) and Alice Payne Rides (Tor.com Publishing 2019). Her novella The Course of True Love was published by Abaddon Books in 2016. Choice of Games released her interactive novel, The Road to Canterbury, in 2018. A former newspaper journalist, Kate now teaches journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and is a freelance editor and writer.
Website: heartfieldfiction.com | Twitter: @kateheartfield
Rich Larson (patreon.com/richlarson) was born in Galmi, Niger, has studied in Rhode Island and worked in the south of Spain, and now lives in Ottawa, Canada. He is the author of Annex and Cypher, as well as over a hundred short stories — some of the best of which can be found in his collection Tomorrow Factory. His award-winning work has been translated into Polish, Czech, French, Italian, Vietnamese and Chinese. Besides writing, he enjoys traveling, learning languages, playing soccer, watching basketball, shooting pool, and dancing kizomba.
EPISODE 8
For over twenty years, Canadian author/ former biologist Julie E. Czerneda has shared her curiosity about living things through her science fiction, published by DAW Books, NY. Julie’s written fantasy too, the first installments of her Night’s Edge series (DAW) A Turn of Light and A Play of Shadow, winning consecutive Aurora Awards (Canada’s Hugo) for Best English Novel. Having completed her Clan Chronicles series with To Guard Against the Dark, Julie’s latest SF novel is Search Image, Book #1 of her new SF series, The Web Shifter’s Library, bringing back her beloved character Esen the Dear Little Blob. Julie’s edited/co-edited numerous award-winning anthologies of SF/F, including SFWA’s 2017 Nebula Award Showcase, but nothing prepared her for the sheer joy of opening her Clan Chronicles to fans of the series to produce Tales from Plexis, out December 2018. This year, Julie is delighted to a guest of honour at ConStellation, April 26-28th. What’s coming next? Her new fantasy standalone, The Gossamer Mage, out August 2019, and so much more. Visit www.czerneda.com.
Kevin Hearne hugs trees, pets doggies, and rocks out to heavy metal. He also thinks tacos are a pretty nifty idea. He is the author of A Plague of Giants, Kill the Farm Boy with Delilah S. Dawson, and the New York Times bestselling series the Iron Druid Chronicles.