THIS WEEKEND - WRITING NORTH

What an excruciatingly painful few months, my friends. Before I tell you about the events I have coming up this weekend, I wanted to share with you a bit about why the image above is important to me. In November, I joined a group of many, many writers and cultural workers in signing this excellent open letter. Months have now passed and we have only seen continued genocide committed against Palestinians in their occupied territories, like Gaza--as well as humiliating, litigious invective directed against Palestinians and their allies living in the diaspora. If you've read Moldovan Hotel, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that I'm a longtime anti-zionist who feels strongly about Palestinian freedom and self-determination, and about separating the critique of states from antisemitism. I don't believe that the horrific atrocities committed against my ancestors justify or require horrific colonial violence. I won't say much more here, because you don't need to hear this from me; Palestinians themselves have been saying this for over 75 years, and they don't need Jewish approval to be heard, respected, and believed. In a small act of (ongoing) solidarity, all my 2023 royalties & Access Copyright funds from Moldovan Hotel have been donated to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, Doctors Without Borders, and the Toronto Community Defence Fund for Palestinian Organizing. Thank you for reading, buying the book, and for helping me make this very small contribution to something so important.

If you're in Saskatoon on Saturday and can fit it in between (meaningful and authentic and accessible) participation in the global strike for Gaza, I hope to see you at one or both of the events below. Huge thanks to the Saskatchewan Writers' Guild for the invitation to participate! The fantastic SWG organizers have done a tremendous job centering care in an event all about care. All the weekend's events are free; please consider wearing a mask if you're attending the workshop or panel in person. For more information and to se the full list of events on Friday and Saturday, take a peek at the SWG website here.