I had an absolutely beautiful evening co-presenting with outgoing CDWP Writer-in-Residence Teresa Wong on Monday night. If you couldn't make it or tune in, you can watch the replay here! Professional captions are embedded in the video. You won't want to miss this glimpse of Teresa's gorgeous forthcoming work; you can find my reading, including a sneaky announcement about my new project at 26:55, and Teresa's presentation at 44:25.
I'm so lucky to be back at Shelf Life Books, a beloved indie who hosted one of the book launches for Moldovan Hotel, on Thursday night! (And with such an excellent line-up!) Livestream is available by registration or you can join us in-person; Zoom auto-captions will be available for the livestream. Full event information is here! The fastest way to find the accessibility information for Shelf Life is to scroll down past the map on this page. Hope to see you then - it's so wonderful to be back.
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So...remember when I said I hoped I'd have a reason to visit Mohkinstis/Calgary again soon? Scant days ago? It's an absolute and total honour to be succeeding Teresa Wong and Marjorie Celona as the University of Calgary Distinguished Writing Program's Canadian Writer-in-Residence. As Marjorie steps down from the role for important reasons, I'm very grateful to them for their kind words and the chance to take on the position for the remainder of 2022-23.
Please get in touch to book a manuscript consultation (they're free!), or an event! Not in the city? Not a problem! I'm conducting much of this residency virtually, with pandemic safety and accessibility in mind. It's important to me to connect with writers and communities in, around, and beyond Calgary. I hope you'll join us on October 17th on the captioned Facebook livestream, or briefly in person (I'm still masking & boosting - I hope you are too) at the cSPACE King Edward Studio Theatre to celebrate Teresa's residency and kickstart mine. I'm so grateful to my referees who supported my application to this program, and I'm so excited to share more with you about my proposed projects soon. Over a year of Moldovan Hotel, now! I was lucky to celebrate with photographer Chelsea Yang-Smith, who took this portrait on a cloudy day in the foothills. I don't know about you, but this wasn't the shmita year I thought it would be. I only wish the themes of this text were less and less immediate for many peoples, everywhere. I'm grateful to readers and reviewers like rob mclennan for their careful devotion to what I know is a difficult collection to visit in a churning news cycle. When I started writing this book in 2017, I couldn't have imagined how poems like Typhus or You Are My Hiding Place would change in resonance. I also didn't imagine the pandemic, which wretchedly continues—so while I loved Mohkinstis/Calgary, I missed my family terribly, and even a quick flight is still a flight! At the end of July, I moved back to Saskatoon, Treaty Six Cree Territory and the homelands of the Métis. It's a joy to be home after twelve years away. Keinayinhora, I'll be able to visit those mountains and frozen waterfalls and wonderful independent bookstores safely again (and friends on Unceded Coast Salish Territories, who I also miss terribly!) soon. Shana Tovah to everyone as we enter a new year on Jewish time. May it be the sweetness we all need, and then some.
It was an absolute pleasure to serve as the National Poetry Month Writer-in-Residence for Open Book Ontario. It was so important to me to approach this residency as a skillshare for emerging writers, whose access to mentorship and opportunities has been just decimated by COVID-19. You can read all the posts in my series here; we cover everything from online safety to performance boundaries to money and admin. Huge thanks to Grace O'Connell and Open Book for this incredible opportunity, and to all of you who shared your thoughts and advice with me all month! I hope this is useful to you in your ongoing efforts to support emerging writers in our industry and community; please share with artists you love & respect!
So looking forward to seeing you tonight for the virtual Saskatoon launch of "Moldovan Hotel," featuring Peace Akintade, Saskatchewan Youth Poet Laureate!
Hope to see you tomorrow night as we celebrate the official release date of my new book! Huge thanks to Jason Purcell & Matthew Stepanic at Glass Bookshop for creating a gorgeous, accessible virtual event. You can find all the details and registration here, and if you haven't already got your copy of "Moldovan Hotel," please consider buying through Glass!
It's here! It's real. We have an early book birthday, with thanks to the tremendous work of Brick Books & Shelf Life Books! I hope you'll join me for a virtual launch event this spring, starting with my co-celebration with Larissa Lai as she launches "Iron Goddess of Mercy" with Arsenal Pulp Press, hosted by our friend Vivek Shraya. I'll also be appearing with the amazing Jason Purcell for Glass Bookshop on April 1st in recognition of the official release date, and with the incredible Nikki Reimer on April 8th. Future events to come with friends at McNally Robinson, and more - hope to see you safely, soon!
What a year, my friends. 2020 was a cyclone that picked me up and plopped me back down on the prairies again—I'm now living in Calgary, thrilled to be closer to my family during the pandemic and under all the winter sunshine. After nearly ten years on the west coast, I miss everyone terribly, but am hopeful for a future of unlimited visits, hugs, and long drives (or quick flights!) through the mountains. In the midst of everything, 'Moldovan Hotel' has received advanced praise from Carmen Maria Machado and Juliane Okot Bitek, and this incredible cover designed by Natalie Olsen. Pre-order your copy now through Brick Books, or order through your favourite local indie! (Here in my new city I love Shelf Life and The Next Page.) Wishing you all a peaceful 2021; may the coming months bring us nothing but safety and recovery.
I'm thrilled to announce that my manuscript "Moldovan Hotel," which explores the impact of the Holocaust in Romania, has been acquired by Brick Books and will be forthcoming in spring of 2021. I'm grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts for fully funding my research trip for this project, to my family for their support & blessing to delve into this difficult material, and to my dear friend Amy Huziak for being the greatest travel companion I could have hoped for. Follow more updates about the editing & polishing process on Instagram @leahhorlick.
I was lucky to have two poems make the Arc Poem of the Year shortlist, and even luckier to learn that my piece "You Are My Hiding Place" has won! You can read the beautiful notes from the jury here, and the entire gorgeous shortlist online. Thanks, Arc team, and congratulations on your 40th anniversary!
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