Our short fiction showcase features the work of two accomplished and unique writers, Corinna Chong and Andrea Routley. Expect to be illuminated by their readings and discussion on the craft of writing. Moderated by Megan Cole.
Corinna Chong’s first novel, Belinda’s Rings (NeWest Press), was published in 2013, and her reviews and short fiction have appeared in magazines across Canada. She won the 2021 CBC Short Story Prize for “Kids in Kindergarten.” A collection of stories, The Whole Animal (Arsenal Pulp Press), was published in 2023. Corinna lives in Kelowna, BC, on the traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx/Okanagan people, where she teaches English and fine arts at Okanagan College. She’s currently working on a novel called Bad Land, set in the Canadian badlands of Drumheller, Alberta.
Andrea Routley‘s fiction and non-fiction have appeared in literary magazines such as Geist and The Fiddlehead Review. In 2020, the title story of her new collection, This Unlikely Soil (Caitlin Press), was shortlisted for the Malahat Review Novella Prize, while her debut collection, Jane and the Whales (Caitlin Press), was a finalist for the international Lambda Literary Award in 2014. She holds an MFA in creative writing from UBC (Okanagan) and is currently completing her third book of fiction, a novel entitled Field Guide to Bats and Other Damage.
As a journalist, moderator Megan Cole has worked for community newspapers, CBC Radio and Canadian Press. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in The Puritan, The Fiddlehead, Hungry Zine and more. As a podcast and event host, Megan has interviewed Michelle Good, Steven Price, Billy-Ray Belcourt, Ivan Coyote and more. Her first narrative nonfiction book titled Nice Boys Don’t Kiss Like That: Womanhood Explored through 90s Rom-Coms, MSN Messenger, and First Loves is out on submission. When Megan isn’t writing, reading, knitting or cooking, she’s working as the director of programming and communications for the BC and Yukon Book Prizes. She lives and works on the territory of the Tla’amin Nation in BC.
