John J. Guiney Yallop is a Two-Spirited writer and academic. His writing and research includes poetic inquiry and narrative inquiry. John is interested in stories of lived experience, identities, emotions, communities and gratitude. His most recent book is OUT of Place.
Shalan Joudry is a writer, performance artist and storyteller. Her poetry has been published in literary journals and the Mi’kmaq Anthology II. Her first book, “Generations Re-merging” was published by Gaspereau Press in 2014. Shalan also works as a cultural interpreter and community ecologist at Bear River First Nation, Nova Scotia, where she lives with her two daughters.
Chad Norman enjoys his life beside the Atlantic, having lived a number of years beside the Pacific.
His poems have appeared in magazines around the world.
He currently has 17 books of poems to his credit.
He loves to read aloud, getting his poems up off the page.
He arranges readings and talks and workshops in all levels of schools. he loves to visit the classrooms.
He gathers other poets and musicians together for his annual event, RiverWords: Poetry & Music Festival.
He is married.
He is a father.
His latest books are Selected & New Poems, and Waking Up On The Wrong Side Of The Sky (anti-bully theme for ages 4-10).
He loves to walk, and explore the seasons.
I am a professional illustrator, who creates artwork for publishers, self-publishers and the children’s market. I can custom design illustrations for any project and I always meet deadlines. I have illustrated over sixty books and covers for publishers and self-publishers.
I have worked with many self-publishing authors who are managing the printing production themselves or publishing through POD companies. I am familiar with the digital file formats required by Print On Demand companies and printing houses. Along with my illustration services, I can provide manuscript layout and planning, as well as cover and title design.
My fees are very reasonable and I do not ask for royalties from self-publishers and small publishers.
Compositions for my illustrations are first drawn with pencil and paper, then scanned and painted digitally using virtual oil paints. Programs I use are Corel Painter, Photoshop and Corel Draw. My favorite and frequent subjects are children, animals, insects, nature, fantasy and fairytales. I can work in many styles from high realism to cartoon, but my style of choice is whimsical with bright colors and lots of action.
I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree and a college degree in Printing Production.
Gloria Ann Wesley is an African Nova Scotian writer. She is a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University and has taught at all grade levels. She holds an Honorary Doctorate from Mount St. Vincent University. She resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia. To My Someday Child (1975), enables her to hold the distinction of being the first published Black Nova Scotian poet. Wesley’s poetry appears in three Canadian anthologies. Her novel’s include Chasing Freedom (2011), short-listed for the Ann Connor Brimer Award. If This Is Freedom(2013) One Book Nova Scotia Award 2016. Abagail’s Wish, 2016) and Righting Canada’s Wrongs Africville (2019) Ontario Library Association’s Best Bets Award. Bringing a unique and interesting perspective about African Nova Scotians, her Black Loyalist history presentation and readings are exciting and designed for students from Grades 3-12.
Journalist, novelist, poet, editor
Carol is a prize-winning journalist. She has published two young adult novels with Canadian publishers. She is a contributor to the recently published non-fiction immigration anthology Coming Here, Being Here (Guernica Editions).
Membrane, Carol’s YA fantasy was published by Fierce Ink Press in July, 2013. Her first novel, a YA story called Charged, was published by James Lorimer in 2008.
UK-born Carol has worked as a magazine and newspaper reporter and editor in Canada, England and Asia. She is a former editor of Celtic Life International magazine and is currently a partner in the Atlantic Canadian business news site www.entrevestor.com.
Carol has an English degree from London University and also studied Mandarin Chinese in Taipei, Shanghai and London’s Ealing School of Languages. She was a poetry finalist in the 2015 Atlantic Writing Competition, and a finalist in the adult novel category of Nova Writes, 2016. She is working on a sequel to her YA fantasy Membrane and an adult novel.
Geoff Butler is a painter, writer and book illustrator. He was born on Fogo Island, Nfld., near Brimstone Head which has been designated by the Flat Earth Society as one of the four corners of the earth.
Geoff practices his art daily so as not to fall over the edge. He has self-published five books: Art of War: Painting it out of the Picture (1990); The Look of Angels: Angels in Art (2004), a collection of poems, songs, stories, paintings and drawings; and With Every Breath We Take (2007), a modern fable in which a snowflake helps put an end to war; Our Own Little World: in paintings and verse (2013); and One Swallow Makes a Summer Meal: allegories in paintings and verse (2016). Every now and then, he strolls down Alphabet Soup Road to write and illustrate children’s books.
He is a graduate of Memorial University of Newfoundland and Syracuse University. He also studied at the Art Students’ League in New York City. His paintings have been exhibited at, and toured by, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. He has been a visual arts recipient of a Nova Scotia Arts Council Creation grant and a Canada Council Established Artist grant. In 2006, he was elected a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. He lives in the small village of Granville Ferry, N.S.
Lesley teaches part-time at Dalhousie University, runs Pottersfield Press and has published over 86 books for adults and kids. His Young Adult novels concern things like skateboarding, surfing, racism, environmental issues, organ transplants, and rock bands. Lesley surfs year round in the North Atlantic and is considered the father of transcendental wood-splitting. He’s worked as a rehab counsellor, a freight hauler, a corn farmer, a janitor, a journalist, a lead guitarist, a newspaper boy and a well-digger. He lives at Lawrencetown Beach overlooking the ocean. He also hosts a nationally syndicated TV talk show on Vision TV. His recent novel, Cold Clear Morning, is currently being developed as a feature length movie. In 2002, Goose Lane Editions published Choyce’s best-selling circumferential history book, The Coasts of Canada. That same year, his animal epic film, The Skunk Whisperer, was broadcast across Canada and heralded at the Maine International Film Festival. Along with the Surf Poets, he has released two poetry/music albums, Long Lost Planet and Sea Level.
To read excerpts from Lesley’s books and download free samples of his music, visit www.lesleychoyce.com.
Andre Fenton is an award-winning spoken word artist & filmmaker who has represented Halifax at 7 national poetry slams across Canada. He is currently on the board of directors of the Writers Federation of Nova Scotia and a member at large on the board of Spoken Word Canada. He is an author of two books. Ode to Teen Angst and his new YA novel, Worthy of Love which was published by Formac. He is based in the Halifax area.
The Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia is based in Kjipuktuk, in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. This territory is covered by the “Treaties of Peace and Friendship,” which Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) Peoples first signed with the British Crown in 1725.
The treaties do not deal with surrender of lands and resources but in fact recognize Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet) title and establish the rules for an ongoing relationship between nations.
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