Erin Frey
Erin Frey has always loved stories. Her first love was the stage and while studying theatre at the University of Toronto she first tried her hand at writing plays. She went on to study Journalism— and learn some grammar— and has since written for many outlets including Mirvish Productions, where she got to indulge her love of writing and theatre; and The Canadian Encyclopedia where she got to share many stories about Canadian arts and artists. After years as the Associate Editor of Programme Magazine she decided to pursue life as a novelist. She earned her certificate in creative writing from the University of Toronto where an excerpt from her debut novel, The Midwife’s Apprentice, was a finalist for the Penguin Random House Award for Fiction.
She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association and the Historical Novel Society and is excited to be part of Creative Works.
Cassidy McFadzean
Cassidy McFadzean is the author of three books of poetry: Crying Dress (House of Anansi, 2024), Drolleries (McClelland & Stewart 2019), shortlisted for the Raymond Souster Award, and Hacker Packer (M&S 2015), winner of two Saskatchewan Book Awards and finalist for the Gerald Lampert Award. Her fiction has appeared in Joyland, The Walrus, Hazlitt, and Dead Writers (Invisible Publishing, 2025). Her chapbook Third State of Being (Gaspereau Press 2022) was a finalist for the bpNichol Chapbook Award. Cassidy was born in Regina, earned an MFA in poetry from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, an MFA in fiction from Brooklyn College, and now lives in Toronto.
Esteban Powell
Esteban Powell (he/him) is a Mexican-Canadian artist based in Scarborough, ON. His work focuses on the Gothic, delving into spiritual and folkloric aspects of our inner dark. Through painting, writing, and filmmaking, he believes in casting a light on the often unseen, to better understand ourselves and each other. His written works have been published as non-fiction (literary), and fiction in film (screenwriting), having been nominated and awarded for his works. He has instructed youth & various ages over the years in the crafts of Screenwriting, Painting, and Film Production for Filmspace, Workman Arts, and Fresh Paint Studio. He finds a deep passion in nurturing and supporting everyone's artistic development through expression, and uplifting those who lay their hearts bare on their works.
Aaron Yeung
Aaron Yeung is an award-winning screenwriter, producer, and sound designer from Toronto. He is a current participant in the Warner Bros Discovery Access x Canadian Academy Writers Program.
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Specializing in dramatic fiction feature film writing, he has always been fascinated by the potential of genre storytelling, particularly the intersection of speculative fiction and intimate dramas in unlocking and expressing otherwise inaccessible truths.
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Always looking forward to new avenues of storytelling, he has worked in various mediums of multimedia, including VR, podcasting, graphic novels, film criticism, short stories and game design. Projects he has been involved with have premiered at festivals around the world including Cannes, Berlinale and TIFF.
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When not writing, he spends his days producing music, petting animals he meets in the street, watching pro wrestling, and pretending he doesn't know anything about time travel.
Alanna Cardarelli
Alanna Cardarelli is a passionate advocate for the arts. She is an award winning singer and actor but has found a deep passion for writing in more recent years. She published her first book, a memoir, in 2023 titled “Well... That was a lot”, exploring her life's journey through a range of topics including struggles with body image, love and heartbreak, and the deep grief that comes with loss. She is currently working on a collection of poetry which she hopes to have published in 2026.
Alanna shares her experiences through written word to help heal not only herself, but to give others permission to do the same. In art she has always found comfort and a feeling of being less alone in this great big world. Through sharing her own words, she hopes to provide that same feeling to anyone who explores her work.
When not immersed in creative endeavours, she finds herself exploring nature and raising a tiny human whom she falls more in love with each day.
Allison Bothley
Allison Bothley is a writer and MFA grad (The New School) who lives in Orangeville, Ontario. Her work has appeared in The Globe and Mail, White Wall Review, Sad Girl Diaries, Literary Review of Canada and elsewhere. She is the creator and publisher of Bangs Zine, an independent space hot for big feelings, emerging writers, and lazy Sunday readers.