Hello, Members and Friends:
There isn’t a lot of news this month related to competitions, submission calls, or event to share, which tells me that it’s summertime – time to slow down, breathe, enjoy the beach and the hot sun - and maybe get some actual writing done.
Before you do that, though, scroll down a little and you will see a long list of New Members. Our growing membership is in itself exciting to note, but it never ceases to amaze me how wide a variety of interests and experiences are reflected in our membership. Take the time to look up some of your fellow members’ work and appreciate all the great writing that is being produced here in our province.
To everyone who attended WordSpring (May 29 -31), I hope you enjoyed the event and found it both useful and informative. To everyone who helped make the weekend a success, thank you, and to everyone who responded to the survey, thank you.
The Annual General Meeting was held on June 11, and the board is thankful for the number of people who made the effort to attend and helped us easily achieve a quorum. Much appreciated, thank you.
With that, we present the new slate of executive and board directors:
Executive
Don Bourque President
Ana Larade Vice-President
Cat LeBlanc Treasurer (also serving her second year as Past-President)
Stephen Roney Secretary
Directors
Ramneet Kalra
Donovan Richard
Casey Shelley
Alison Taylor
Jordan Trethewey (pronounced Treth-ooo-eee)
Welcome to the new board and executive! There is plenty of strategic work ahead, but hopefully lots of fun and rewarding experiences, too.
Our programming for the 2025-26 season wrapped up today with an open mic in Saint John. Over the summer, we will be planning our fall/winter program of activities, as well as next year’s WordSpring in Moncton. If you have ideas for guest speakers to invite to key events in upcoming seasons, locations for Open Mics, or topics for professional development workshops, please contact me at info@wfnb.ca. In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine, and I hope you have a restful and restorative summer.
Cheers,
Rhonda
WordWorthy:
“Endings are impossible…That said, write two or three endings: one that is expected, one that is surprising, and one that is experimental. Good endings tend to be bittersweet - in other words, some things are resolved, but life goes on with its problems...” Lesley Choyce, The Craft of Fiction, WordSpring 2026.
Welcome, New Members
Ani Baratram – Ani writes in the genres of Nonfiction, poetry and spiritual from Saint John. Welcome, Ani!
Luke Francis Beirne –(lukefrancisbeirne.com) is an author and journalist with CBC. He was born in Ireland and now lives in Saint John. He is an author of three books: Saints Rest, Blacklion, and Foxhunt. His genres are fiction, historical fiction, journalism and freelance writing.
Emmanuelle Claus-Jackson - (https://substack.com/@mannysabina) Emmanuelle Claus-Jackson is a multidisciplinary artist residing in Fredericton, New Brunswick. They have one self-published poetry book titled Oceanbrained, and have had poems published in online magazines and video formats. They also write plays, with their debut play titled "Playground" being a winner of the 2023-2024 Braver Stages Festival at St. Thomas University. Emmanuelle writes
Creative nonfiction, Non-Fiction, Photography, Playwriting, Poetry, and Young Adult. Welcome, Emmanuelle!
Evan Cook – No details on Evan, but we welcome him!
Angella Cormier – (www.ancorcreativesolutions.com and www.mysteriousink.ca) is a writer from Moncton who is also a is a multimedia designer with over twenty-five years of experience in the field. She has published four books, as well as five short stories in the Seasonal Paths and Elements anthologies. She has also been published in a poetry collection. She is currently working on two novels and many short stories. She loves the genres of Fiction, Horror, Poetry, Mystery, Thrillers, and general Short stories. Welcome, Angella!
Dan Culberson – Dan’s genres are Essays, Photography, Playwriting and Poetry. Welcome, Dan!
Kristina Drake - www.kristinadrake.ca Kristina is a poet, writer and editor living off the beaten path in New Brunswick and Hungary, and writes in a wide variety of genres: Blogging, Corporate, Creative nonfiction, Editing, Essays, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, Copywriting, Website copy, Freelance, Travel Writing. Welcome, Kristina! Check out Kristina on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18579042.Kristina_Drake
And Substack: https://silentquestions.substack.com/
Jocelyn Fraser - Welcome, Jocelyn!
Jordan Greer – (deadlanguagefilms.com) Jordan is a writer and filmmaker. His work includes commissioned feature scripts, independent films, and extensive story editing. He owns and operates a film production company, with over a decade of experience in the industry. Jordan writes essays, plays, poetry, and screenplay. Welcome, Jordan!
Kevin Andrew Heslop – (kevinandrewheslop.com) is the author of several books of non-fiction and poetry, and also writes in a wide variety of genres: Comedy, Creative nonfiction, Editing, Essays, Journalism, Memoir, Non-Fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Screenplay, Flash/Micro fiction, Travel Writing. Welcome, Kevin!
D Bruce Hughes – writes memoir and nonfiction from his home in Douglas. His first memoir, A Stroke of Luck (Purple Porcupine Publishing, 2025) was shortlisted for a WFNB Nonfiction Award in the 2026 NB Book Awards. Welcome, Bruce!
Vaughn McIntyre – (pen name Vaughn McIntyre) Vaughn is retired in St. Andrews, and published Cruising the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas on 50 Words a Day (Independent, 2024). Welcome, Vaughn!
Wendy Moore - Over the span of a 35-year career Wendy developed communication strategies for information technologies, publishing, broadcasting, government, advertising agencies and performing arts. These days, Wendy is retired, and now writes for pleasure, including poetry and a novel in progress. Her specialities are Corporate writing, Editing, Fiction, Poetry, Technical writing, and Website copy. Welcome, Wendy!
Devangana Sharma – Is a student member, having won third place in the Sheree Fitch Prize for Teen Writers in the 2026 NB Writing Competition for her piece, Between Red and Green. Welcome, Devangana!
Scott Stephens – Scott took second place in the Alfred.G. Bailey Prize for poetry manuscript in the 2026 NB Writing Competition. He writes poetry and songs from his home in Shediac, and has two publications: Literary Heist, and Harbinger Asylum. Welcome, Scott!
Carl Stymiest – (pen name Karel Joseph) Is a retired teacher, born and raised in New Brunswick, but living in Vancouver, BC. During his varied teaching career, Carl managed to author no fewer than fourteen published titles. He writes in the genres of Editing, Essays, Historical Fiction, Memoir, Photography, Poetry, Travel Writing. Welcome, Carl!
William Toner – Is a musician and a writer who focuses on Fantasy and Science Fiction from his home in Grand Bay – Westfield. Welcome, Bill!
Jordan Trethewey https://jordantretheweywriter.wordpress.com/ is a new member of our board of directors. He’s a poet from Fredericton with several published collections, and enjoys a wide variety of writing interests: Children's, Corporate, Creative nonfiction, Editing, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Journalism, Non-Fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Science Fiction, Technical, Copywriting, Website copy, Freelance, Spoken Word, and Short stories. Welcome, Jordan!
Member News
Dina E Cox is pleased to announce the launch her new poetry collection, “What Holds,” at Gallery 78 in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Thursday June 25th at 7 p.m. Maritime-born and bred, Dina, who taught English at Fredericton High School before moving to Ontario, is delighted to bring her poetry home to her native province, and to share it in such an inspirational setting as Gallery 78. “What Holds” was published in December 2025 by Aeolus House, and is Dina’s second collection of poetry.
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Pat Carlson will be doing a book signing and reading on July 14th at 6:00 p.m. in Dalhousie New Brunswick. At the Restigouche Regional Museum, 424 Williams St. The former Courthouse.
Anyone wishing to pre-purchase can do so at pennedbypat.ca It takes about two weeks for delivery.
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Robbi Ann Gunter is pleased to announce the publication of "Bad Luck in Cairo", a short story presented as a parable. She recently read from the work at the WFNB Open Mic in Fredericton.
Inspired by a class exercise in Heather Browne's "Writing Well" series and a zine-making workshop at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre, Robbi combined her love of writing and graphic design to create a zine-inspired paperback publication.
While fictional, "Bad Luck in Cairo" explores perception, blind spots, and the unseen ways our lives affect others.
Learn more about Robbi and her work at https://linktr.ee/robbi.ann
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Kathy Mac is pleased to announce that she was one of 50 writers featured in celebration of the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia’s 50th birthday. Here is the feature: ️ Kathy Mac has published three poetry books (with Roseway Publishing), two on writing (with Wording Around), and one of essays (with Wolsak and Wynn). She retired from teaching Creative Writing at Saint Thomas University in Fredericton, NB, and now lives near Kjipuktuk in the territory of the Mi'kmaq. Swipe for more on Kathy's work and inspirations—and her recommendation of Open Book Coffee (Halifax | @openbookcoffee).
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Jennifer Shelby is delighted to announce the publication of her speculative short story collection, Borrowed Wings and other stories. This collection is the terrestrial counterpart to the collection of her published work being archived at the south pole of the Moon as part of the Lunar Codex Polaris Archive. Borrowed Wings and other stories collects 22 of Jennifer's published short stories and 4 brand new tales where wonder walks hand in hand with hope. Here is the universal book link: https://mybook.to/Borrowed-Wings
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Ramneet Kalra's book Stranded Immigrant, first published in Fredericton NB, has now been published in India. Stranded Immigrant is one of the ten top recommended books for summer reading in The Hindu, a leading Indian newspaper, with approximately 247,000,000 readers.
https://www.thehindu.com/brandhub/pr-release/best-10-recommended-book-for-summer-2026/article70978448.ece
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/brandhub/pr-release/best-10-recommended-book-for-summer-2026/article70978484.ece
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Kevin Andrew Heslop is a new WFNB member, a NB Film Co-op member, and host of the twice monthly NBFC Screenwriters’ Café . He’s passing through Saint John for a book signing and book launch on Tuesday, June 16th—4pm at the Library and 6pm at The Write Cup—and he’d love to cross paths with Saint John writers, as perhaps you’ll be able to work together on a book, film, television, or theatre project someday!
25% of all book sales will go to CHCO-TV and The Courier in St. Andrew’s, and another 25% to be divvied up among actors reading a couple of vignettes from a theatre adaptation of the book. He has three of six actors committed at this point, so if you or someone else might be wiling to join, let Kevin know!
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Happy Publication Day to Valerie Sherrard and ABSOLUTELY NO BODY PARTS!
Valerie Sherrard #IReadCanadian #kidlit #publicationday
Newsy Bits
Request for Beta Reader: Franky Corcoran, a playwright and aspiring author from Miramichi, New Brunswick, has written a new draft for a crime novel, his first. Franky is looking for a beta reader to provide feedback on his draft. If anyone is interested in helping Franky, please contact him by phone at (506) 624-3315, or his email, fcorcoran10@yahoo.com
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With Allan Hudson taking a step back from producing the Greater Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe Book Fair (GMRD), and seeing as no one wants GMRD to close its doors, we're happy to announce that GMRD will continue into 2027 and beyond!
A huge thank you to Allan for trusting us enough to hand over the reins!
So, who are we exactly? We're a team of three dedicated book dragons with a love of New Brunswick and the bookish community here. Let us introduce ourselves! First, there's Tharis, owner and operator of Fabled Books, a consignment service for authors. Second, there's Lou Spaccio, author of Tails of Us and seasoned freelance book editor at Sunflower Chronicles. And lastly, say hello to Katherine Bogle, author of over 20 titles and talented cover designer.
All three of us are thrilled to continue Allan's wonderful legacy. We don't plan on changing much, besides how we market. Our plan is quickly building with each passing day and we hope to have you with us at our first time hosting GMRD. It'll be the 5th annual celebration and we hope to make it one to remember!
With that being said our 2027 date is May 1st!
More information will follow as soon as it's available, including the sign up form. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reply to this email.
Warm Regards,
GMRD Coordinators
gmrd@gmrd.ca
