Diana Kolpak is a story-teller who uses photography, poetry, theatre and music as her media. Published written work includes the children’s book Starfall, the play Bedtime Stories and poetry in several online magazines. Her most recent theatrical work is BLUE, an interactive solo clown musical for adults. Born and raised in southern Alberta, Diana lived in Toronto for a few decades, where she ran her own independent theatre company, Whetstone Productions. She has directed and helped develop over a dozen original shows that have been performed across Canada. She also teaches poetry, clown and creativity workshops. www.dianakolpak.ca

Susan Juby’s most recent novel is Mindful of Murder is a bestselling cozy mystery. It was shortlisted for the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour. She has, in fact, been short- and long-listed for the Canada’s national humour writing prize more times than any other woman in Canadian history. Fortunately, she has also won it once, for Republic of Dirt, saving her from becoming the Susan Lucci of the Leacock. Her first book, Alice, I Think, was a national bestseller adapted into a TV series on CTV and her bestselling book, The Woefield Poultry Collective remains an international fan favourite. Susan lives on Vancouver Island, where she teaches creative writing at Vancouver Island University. For hobbies, she does a lot of walking and fretting. Susan is an unskilled but earnest practitioner of Buddhism and a notably unsuccessful amateur dog trainer.

Sonnet L’Abbé’s written two books of poetry, A Strange Relief and Killarnoe and has also worked in media relations and issues management before deciding to get their PhD in English Literature at UBC. They have since taught creative writing at U of T, UBC Okanagan and VIU. Sonnet was guest editor of the 2014 edition of Best Canadian Poetry, and were the 2015 Edna Staebler Writer-In-Residence at Wilfrid Laurier University. Their chapbook, Anima Canadensis, won the 2017 Nichol Chapbook Award, and their most recent book of poems, Sonnet’s Shakespeare, was nominated for multiple awards and named a Quill and Quire Book of The Year for 2019. Their poetic practice has recently turned to songcraft and voice. Sonnet had a solo show of songs and poems at the Port Theatre in 2021, and they will be a keynote performer at the New Sonic Poetries conference in Toronto in 2024.

Debbie Anderson – FriesenPress Born and raised in Northern Ireland, Debbie Anderson joined the FriesenPress publishing team in 2012 after a career in the financial services industry. As a Publishing Consultant, she has helped hundreds of authors start their publishing journey and fully realize their literary aspirations.

Judy LeBlanc is a writer from Fanny Bay, BC. She is the founder of the Fat Oyster Reading Series and has taught creative writing at North Island College. Several of her stories and essays have been published in literary journals and magazines, the most recent in Geist, Fall 2025. She co-edited the non-fiction anthology Barren, An Exploration of the Journey to Motherhood, published December 2025. The Promise of Water, a collection of short stories, published in 2017 was followed by a novel, The Broken Heart of Winter. Of Permission to Land, published in 2024, Lorri Neilsen Glenn writes, “Judy LeBlanc’s intimate yet sweeping memoir affirms the pull of place and kin in finding one’s footing. In beautiful prose, she delves into family stories and complicated truths, touching the tender wounds of disconnection and estrangement. Insightful and candid, these interconnected pieces are a compelling call to belonging.”

Sylvia Bourgeois grew up on northern Vancouver Island, in some of British Columbia’s most beautiful small communities. Sylvia now lives in Fanny Bay and considers her family, friends, and time outside to be most important to her. When she isn’t working her day job or on a boat with her husband, she is creating fine foods in her kitchen. Her novels are stand-alone stories featuring strong women in untraditional roles, celebrating the vibrant setting and industry of the Pacific Northwest, past and present.

Claire Mulligan is the author of two acclaimed historical novels, The Reckoning of Boston Jim (nominated for the Giller Prize and the BC Book Prize) and The Dark (nominated for the Canadian Author’s Award). Her multi-award-winning short stories have appeared in over thirteen literary journals, including Writers Magazine, The Hourglass, Grain, The Tulane Review, Canadian Author, The Dalhousie Review, and The Antigonish Review. In 2017, she earned an MFA in screenwriting with a focus on adaptation. Her most recent script, Obscura, won the 2024 Leo Award for screenwriting, as well as Best Film and the VAFF Award for Best Canadian Short Film. Claire offers online writing courses, editing, and story consulting, helping writers develop their craft and bring their stories to life. She is based in Victoria, BC.

Jessica McDiarmid is a Canadian journalist and author who has worked across Africa and North America writing for the Toronto Star, the Associated Press, the Canadian Press, Chatelaine, the Harvard Review, Maisonneueve, Canadian Business, and others. Her first book, Highway of Tears, was a finalist for the 2020 RBC Taylor Prize and the BC/Yukon Book Prizes’ Hubert Evans Prize. She can be found at @jessmcdiarmid and www.jessicamcdiarmid.com.

Trevor McMonagle is a Vancouver Island-based editor whose first career as a high school English teacher helped him develop the knowledge and skills that are essential to editing: current awareness of language style and conventions, a quick and perceptive eye for written material, and the ability to articulate an insightful and helpful response to a writer. He understands that when people present their writing, they have exposed their soul. In the last ten years, he has helped writers to craft pieces as short as a eulogy and as long as a multi-volume travel memoir, has edited in fiction and nonfiction prose as well as in poetry, and has worked with writers across Canada and the US as well as in Britain.

James Krause Interested in audiobook production? Author and producer James Allan Krause, PhD will present an information session from 12 pm to 12:45 pm on January 18, 2026 in NIC’s Tyee Hall. This will include presentation of an updated DIY template for audiobook producers, along with other noteworthy developments. A limited number of free promotional copies for the newly released audiobook Wetion (2nd edn) will be available.