Craft – Creative Nonfiction Collective

Interview with Linda Trinh

April 14, 2025

Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Members, Members Blog, Publishing, Spirituality

In her memoir Seeking Spirit: A Vietnamese (Non) Buddhist Memoir, Linda Trinh says she had everything she thought an immigrant woman should want: motherhood, career, and security. Yet, she felt empty. Growing up in Winnipeg, Linda helped her mom make offerings to their ancestors and cleaned her late dad’s altar. These were her mother’s beliefs, but what were her beliefs? Via collection of essays, Linda plays with form and structure to show the interconnection of life events, trauma, and spiritual…

Interview with Caroline Topperman

January 8, 2025

Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Members, Members Blog, Uncategorized

Your Roots Cast a Shadow: One Family’s Search Across History for Belonging by Caroline Topperman (HCI Books, 2024) is a fascinating and immersive exploration of mixed-heritage belonging as Caroline and her husband move from Vancouver, BC to Poland, where they both have roots. There, they hope to find a sense of home but after the honeymoon stage of being in a new place passes, Caroline is confronted with the reality of their choice: she grew up speaking the language, but…

Interview with Lucy E.M. Black

September 25, 2024

Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Members, Members Blog, Publishing, Resources

Author Lucy E.M. Black was a corporate trainer before becoming a career educator. She is the author of The Marzipan Fruit Basket, Eleanor Courtown, Stella’s Carpet, and The Brickworks. Her short stories have been published in Britain, Ireland, USA and Canada in literary journals and magazines. She lives with her partner in Port Perry, Ontario, the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of Scugog Island, First Nations. Lucy E.M. Black’s most recent publication, Class Lessons: Stories of Vulnerable Youth (Demeter Press,…

Interview with 2024 CNFC Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson

January 9, 2024

Contests, Craft, General, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Members, Members Blog, Publishing

Interview with 2024 CNFC Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson Volunteer Margaret Lynch interviews 2024 CNFC/HLR Contest Judge, Lisa Bird-Wilson who shares her thoughts on writing, reading, and what she’s looking for in contest submissions. Lisa Bird-Wilson is a Saskatchewan Métis and Cree writer whose work appears in literary magazines, newspapers, and anthologies across Canada. Her most recent book, Probably Ruby (2021), is published internationally and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, for the Amazon First Novel Award,…

Autobiographical Poetry

December 5, 2023

Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Members, Members Blog, Poetry

Autobiographical Poetry: Interview with Kate Rogers About Hollay Ghadery: Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions (2021) and winner of The Canadian Bookclub Award for nonfiction/memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box, came out Radiant Press in 2023 and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, is scheduled for release with Gordon…

Interview with Colleen Brown

November 2, 2023

Craft, General News, Guest Blog Posts, Members, Members Blog

Hollay Ghadery is an Iranian-Canadian writer living in Ontario. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions (2021) and is a finalist for The Canadian Bookclub Awards. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box, came out Radiant Press in 2023 and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, is scheduled for release with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Hollay is a poetry…

2023 Contest Shortlist

May 2, 2023

Contests, Craft, General, Members, Publishing

Congratulations to the five writers who’ve made the CNFC-HLR nonfiction contest shortlist! Our judge, Donna Morrissey, had some tough choices to make. According to her, the finalist selection process was difficult because the calibre of writing in each of the longlisted pieces was quite high. 2023 CNFC-HLR nonfiction contest shortlist: Anita Allen – “Funhouse” Raymond Gariepy – “The Unborn and Born Dead are Yet Among Us” Rayyan Kamal – “Departure Lounge” Dhana Musil – “By Association” Laura Ollerenshaw –…

2023 CNFC-Humber Literary Review CNF Contest Longlist

April 20, 2023

Contests, Craft, General News, Members, Uncategorized

The Creative Nonfiction Collective Society and The Humber Literary Review are pleased to announce the long list for this year’s creative nonfiction contest. Congratulations to the following writers! Anita Allen – Funhouse Carmen Farrell – Closet Full of Monsters Raymond Gariepy – The Unborn and Born Dead are Yet Among Us Rayyan Kamal – Departure Lounge Ivy Lerner-Frank – Mercy Dhana Musil – By Association Laura Ollerenshaw – Of Least Concern Adelle Purdham – Wild Horses Laura Wershler – To…

How to Write About Trauma in Memoir

April 6, 2023

Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Members Blog, Resources

Brittany Foster is a freelance writer and editor living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Publishing from Toronto Metropolitan University and is a student in the MFA in Creative Nonfiction program at the University of King’s College. She’s also writing her first book — a memoir titled You, Me, and the Tree. You’ll find her writing or editing bylines in a wide variety of publications, including a short story anthology, a Canadian historical fiction trilogy, the…

Interview with Donna Morrissey

January 3, 2023

Contests, Craft, Guest Blog Posts, Interviews, Resources

Interview with CNFC Contest Judge, Donna Morrissey In December 2022, CNFC volunteer, Nancy O’Rourke, interviewed the 2023 CNFC Contest Judge, Donna Morrissey. Read about Donna’s thoughts on writing, reading, and advice for CNFC contest writers. – Donna Morrissey has published seven national best-selling novels. She has received awards in Canada, the U.S. and England and her novel, Sylvanus Now, was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize. Donna’s fiction has been translated into several different languages. She was nominated for a Gemini for her script, The Clothesline…