Our Alumni

Writers who reach for the happiness that comes from mastering their craft can do extraordinary things.

Our incredibly successful graduates are proving it. Take a look below.

If you’re a part of our school and you’ve accomplished something wonderful, please share your success story, too!

xo,

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Our writers finish what they start.

Published Books

Our graduates include these award-winning, critically-acclaimed authors:

Aga Maksimowska

Aga Maksimowska 
(Story Course graduate

Giant

Giant

“Maksimowska offers a engaging young narrator whose viewpoint is edged with ironies…. Coming of age in this book becomes a gauntlet of culture clash, dovetailed smartly with all the usual absurdities of growing up. ”
— The Globe and Mail

🏆 Toronto Book Award (nominated)

Ali Thurm

Ali Thurm

one-schemeOne Scheme of Happiness
Alexis Kienlen

Alexis Kienlen 
(Story Intensive graduate)

mad-cowMad Cow
amanda leduc

Amanda Leduc

DisfiguredDisfigured

“Leduc persuasively illustrates the power of stories to affect reality in this painstakingly researched and provocative study that invites us to consider our favorite folktales from another angle.”
— Library Journal

🏆 Governor General Literary Award Non-fiction (shortlist)
🏆  Aurora Awards (shortlist)

Andrew-Katz

Andrew Katz 
(Story Course graduate)

How-To-Catch-A-BearHow To Catch A Bear Who Loves to Read

“A how-to manual in which a love of reading shines. ”
— Kirkus Reviews

🏆 Forest Reading Award (nomination)

Caroline Harrison

Caroline Harrison 
(Story Intensive graduate)

Finding-the-Me-in-TimeFinding the Me in Time
Christy Ann Conlin

Christy Ann Conlin 
(Story Course graduate)

the-speed-of-mercyThe Speed of Mercy

“Conlin’s characters are fierce, lonely, dangerous, and wild. This is the best short story collection I’ve read in years.”
— Annabel Lyon, author

🏆 The Miramichi Reader’s Very Best Books (gold medal)
🏆  Danuta Gleed Literary Award (shortlist)

🏆 Forest of Reading Evergreen Award (shortlist)

Cindy Matthews
(Story Intensive  graduate) 

took-you-so-longTook You So Long

“It is this decision to dwell in the weirdness of everyday life, to examine with curious interest the bizarre choices people make to carve an unusual edge out of their otherwise conventional lives, that makes Took You So Long a gratifying read.”
— Literary Review of Canada

danielle daniel

Danielle Daniel 
(Story Course graduate)

Daugthters-of-the-deerDaughters of the Deer

“A beautiful book, this is urgent reading for anyone seeking to understand more about the myriad ways European colonization in the 1600s still reverberates today, to devastating effect.”
— The Globe and Mail


the-dependantThe Dependent

“With candour and honesty, Danielle Daniel shares her painful journey as she discovers that marrying a soldier means also marrying the military, and that she is outranked at every turn.”
— Shannon Moroney, author

🏆 Louise de Kiriline Lawrence Award (shortlist)


sometimes-I-feel-like-a-foxSometimes I Feel Like A Fox

“The ideas inside unfurl outside the pages into readers’ own imaginative worlds.”
— The Boston Globe

🏆 Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award (winner)
🏆 Blue Spruce Award (shortlist)
🏆 First Nation Communities Read Award (finalist)

Daphne Gordon

Daphne Gordon 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

Walking-With-WalserWalking With Walser

“Walking with Walser, entertaining as well as profound, should be essential reading for Jane Jacobs fans, city cats and country mice, past and present devotees of Queen Street, dedicated pedestrians, and anyone with a sturdy sense of humour.”
— Zsuzsi Gartner, author

Darrel-McLeod

Darrel McLeod 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

PeyakowPeyakow: Reclaiming Cree Dignity

🏆 Hilary Weston Writer’s Trust Prize for Nonfiction (shortlist)
🏆 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature (shortlist)


MamaskatchMamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age

“...lyrical and gritty, raw and vulnerable, told without pity, but with phoenix-like strength.”
— Jury, Governor-General's Literary Award

🏆 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction (winner)
🏆 RBC Taylor Prize (shortlist)


A Season In Chezgu’un (Forthcoming)
Diana Radovan

Diana Radovan 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

Our-VoicesOur Voices

“Adventurous in spirit, a nature lover, a city wanderer, a photographer, and a bright mind, Diana’s outlook is truly international. In these times especially, her story, her many stories, need to be written and heard.”
— Marianne Rogoff, author

donna costa

Donna Costa 
(Story Intensive graduate)

breathing-with-treesBreathing With Trees
erin robinsong

Erin Robinsong 
(SSWS teacher)

rag-cosmologyRag Cosmology

“This debut explores an intimacy of ecological identities as wild, sensual and rhythmic as the cosmos.”
— The Globe and Mail

🏆 Klein Prize for Poetry (winner)


Wet Dreams

“Erin Robinsong’s Wet Dream is a dazzling torrent of brilliance shot thru with genuinely delicious barbs of disgust, of precision.”
— Ariana Reines, author of A Sand Book


Liquidity
Frances-Boyle

Frances Boyle 
(Story Intensive graduate)

Seeking-ShadeSeeking Shade

“…an unsentimental yet humane collection of short fiction, written with consummate skill and restraint.”
— Danuta Gleed Award Jury

🏆 Miramichi Reader Very Best! Award (winner)
🏆  Danuta Gleed Award (finalist)

🏆 ReLit Award (finalist)


This White NestThis White Nest

“What Frances Boyle does with This White Nest is ask us to sit quietly for a bit, to “contemplate/The life of quiet,” to notice its gifts in a more mindful and grateful way.”
— Prairie Fire


TowerTower

“Boyle draws on her admirable poetic talent to craft the novella in a deeply lyrical style, making Tower a delight to read.”
— The Ottawa Review of Books

Hayley Chewins

Hayley Chewins 
(Story Course graduate)

turnaway-girlsThe Turnaway Girls

“A gorgeous fable about the way societies cage girls’ voices and the revolutionary things that happen when those voices break free.”
— Anne Ursu, author


straygarden-placeThe Sisters of Straygarden Place

“Chewins weaves a vivid, otherworldly tale of family and secrets, with a gothic setting that serves as a character in its own right.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

🏆 Foreword Indie awards (gold winner)

Heather Thorkelson

Heather Thorkelson 
(Story Course graduate)

No-plan-bNo Plan B

“Heather’s book is a lighthouse for anyone who is done living on others’ terms and ready to actually work towards getting what they truly want.”
— Paul Jarvis, author

jen manuel

Jen Manuel 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

the-heaviness-of-things-that-floatThe Heaviness of Things that Float

“Manuel’s writing is revelatory.”
— Vancouver Sun


The Morning Bell Brings the Broken HeartedThe Morning Bell Brings The Brokenhearted
Kathy Martens

Kathy Martens 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

Born-again-againBorn Again, Again

Born Again, Again is a compelling, honest, and thought-provoking story about life detours. This is a wonderful book for anyone interested in living the church experience without stepping foot inside.” 
— Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards

🏆 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (finalist)
🏆  National Indie Excellence Awards (finalist)

kelly fordon

Kelly Fordon 
(Story Course graduate

Garden-For-The-BlindGarden For The Blind

“Each of Kelly Fordon’s stories is perceptive, memorable and moving. I loved this book, and I will be haunted by its recurring characters for some time to come.”
— Julia Glass, author

🏆 Independent Publisher Book Awards, Short Story (bronze)
🏆  Midwest Book Awards (finalist)

🏆 Edward Hoffer Award (Finalist)
🏆 New York Book Festival (Honorable Mention)

Kevin Couture

Kevin A. Couture

lost-animal-clubLost Animal Club

“These stories stuck with me, so consuming that they infiltrated my dreams.... ”
— Worn Pages and Ink

K.Lorraine-Kiidumae

K. Lorraine Kiidumae 
(Story Intensive graduate)

River-of-ForgivenessRiver of Forgiveness

River of Forgiveness is a powerful novel bursting with emotional impact. I loved spending time with these characters.”
— Dennis Bock, author

Kristyn-Dunnion

Kristyn Dunnion 
(Story Course graduate)

Stoop CityStoop City

“Lush with unexpected metaphors that make beautiful the unlovely and unloved.”
— Foreword Reviews

🏆 ReLit Award (winner)


Tarry this night
Tarry This Night

“A beautiful tale of female resistance . .. Tarry This Night is exactly the kind of story we need to remember what it means to endure despite the most dire circumstances.”
— THIS Magazine

🏆 Sunburst Awards (longlist)

Lana-Pesch

Lana Pesch 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

MovingPartsMoving Parts

“Lana Pesch’s stories have one foot in the world of Alice Munro — long, deep, satisfying and unsettling in equal measure — and the other foot in a younger, jazzier world where humour is currency and the sentence is king.”
— Annabel Lyon, author

Leslie-Davidson

Leslie Davidson 
(Story Intensive graduate)

red-canoeIn The Red Canoe

“A warm story of intergenerational companionship and nature's everyday delights.”
— Publishers Weekly

🏆 Shining Willow Award (shortlist)
🏆 CBC Best Books (commended)


dancingDancing in Small Spaces

“Leslie Davidson writes painfully and exquisitely, expressing the rawness of her loss in prose that is nothing short of breathtaking. This book travels her path along with her husband, Lincoln Ford, as they learn almost simultaneously that they are both struck by terrifying incurable diseases: he is sentenced to wandering his last years through the throes of dementia, while she faces a future with Parkinson’s. Such are life’s cruelties.”
— Goodreads

leslie greentree

Leslie Greentree

Not-The-ApocalypseNot the Apocalypse I Was Hoping For

“Haunting and soulful, tender and perverse, this extraordinary collection explores loss and longing and how perilously complicated love can be. Readers drawn to rich prose and gut-wrenching aha moments will devour these riveting tales.”
— Fran Kimmel, author

Linda Quennec

Linda Quennec 
(Story Intensive graduate)

Fishing-for-birdsFishing For Birds

“[the] novel offers an astute examination of the despair engendered by solitude and of the paradoxical consolations it delivers.”
— Kirkus Reviews

🏆 American Book Fest Best Book, Women's Literature (winner)
🏆  American Book Fest Best Book, Literary Fiction (finalist)

majo molfino

Majo Molfino 
(Story Intensive and Story Workshop graduate)

Breaking-the-goodgirl-mythBreak the Good Girl Myth

“Inspiring! Majo’s insightful words help fortify your creative confidence so you can discover and share your gifts with the world!”
— Jessica Hische, author

Marcia Nathai Balkisso

Marcia Nathai-Balkissoon 
(Story Course graduate)

Lighting-The-PathLighting The Path
Margaret Nowaczyk circle

Margaret Nowaczyk 
(Story Intensive graduate)

chasing-zebrasChasing Zebras

“As a geneticist, Margaret Nowaczyk has seen ‘the enduring misery of the human condition.’ But as a writer, she has turned that misery into pure art. Chasing Zebras is a brilliant testimony to the healing power of words.”
— Wayne Grady, author

Marissa Kennerson

Marissa Kennerson 
(Story Course graduate)

TarotTarot

Tarot is a mind-bending tale that unfurls in a whirl of colorful characters and landscapes, like one of Anna’s dazzling tapestries.”
— Romina Russell, author

marnelle tokio

Marnelle Tokio

more than you can chewMore Than You Can Chew

“Marnelle Tokio’s semi-autobiographical book shows the tremendous ups and downs Marty faces, accurately depicting the behaviour and speech of teenagers. Watching the evolution of Marty’s attitude is satisfying.”
— The Calgary Herald

🏆 White Pine Awards, Fiction (winner)
🏆Society of School Librarians International’s Best Book Award (winner)
🏆  Saskatchewan Young Reader's Choice Awards (nominated)

🏆 Canadian Library Association’s Young Adult Canadian Book Award (nominated)

mary macdonald

Mary MacDonald

thecrookedthingThe Crooked Thing

“17 pieces that showcase creative inventiveness as well as the unbridled possibilities of the short-story genre itself.”
— The Vancouver Sun

michelle yee

Michelle Yee 
(Story Intensive graduate)

After-that-augustAfter That August
Paige-Cooper

Paige Cooper
(Story Course graduate)

zolitudeZolitude

“[A] spikily surreal debut collection...vivid, complex ... brilliant.”
— Library Journal (starred review)

🏆 Concordia University First Book Prize
🏆 Scotiabank Giller (finalist)
🏆 Governor General’s Award for Fiction (shortlist)
🏆  Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction (finalist)
🏆 Danuta Gleed Award (runner-up)

Seyward-Goodhand

Seyward Goodhand 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

eventhatwildesthopeEven That Wildest Hope

“Whimsical and beguiling... just the perfect degree of oddness and sincere storytelling.”
— Quill & Quire

Sidura-Ludwig

Sidura Ludwig 
(Story Intensive graduate and SSWS teacher)

you-are-not-what-we-expectedYou Are Not What We Expected

“...expertly crafted but seemingly effortless prose.”
— Danuta Gleed Award Jury

🏆 Danuta Gleed Literary Award (shortlist)
🏆 Vine Award for Canadian Jewish Literature (winner)


Holding-my-breathHolding My Breath

“Compelling and richly drawn? ... Ludwig has the gifts to launch beyond the predictable.”
— The Globe and Mail

Sonja Boon

Sonja Boon 
(Story Course graduate)

What-The-Ocean-RemembersWhat The Ocean Remembers

“…Unrelentingly honest, sometimes harrowing, steeped in rich and startling insight, and conveyed in transparent prose – elegant as silk, tough as steel.”
— Lisa Moore, author

🏆 Foreword Indie awards (finalist)
🏆  BMO Winterset Award (longlist)

🏆 Miramichi Reader’s Very Best Books (Honorable Mention)

Stormy-Sweitzer

Stormy Sweitzer 
(Story Course graduate)

drowning-sharkThe Drowning Shark
Susan Buis

Susan Buis

GatecrasherGatecrasher

“[Buis’] observations about the landscape and its seasonal changes are bracingly vivid.”
— Toronto Star

Traci Skuce

Traci Skuce 
(Story Course graduate)

Hunger-moonHunger Moon

“Skuce has an obvious ease with language, and she writes with confidence.... reading these stories, it’s easy to see why they found favour with the editors of literary journals in Canada and the U.S.”
— The Ormsby Review

🏆 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize (finalist)

Vicki Alkyne Bradley

Vicki Alayne Bradley 
(Story Course graduate

Finding-HomeFinding Home

Write What You Want To Read


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