MEET THE AUTHORS

DANI ARIELI

DANI ARIELI is a lover of weird, dark, and archaic literature—coddling eccentricity like stitches to a flesh wound, which is sedulously sewn into her poetry and prose. She has creative works featured in 'Lothlorien Poetry Journal', '7th-Circle Pyrite', 'Beyond Words', and more, with one of her short-fiction pieces having accrued a Pushcart Prize nomination. She is the marketing and publicity specialist for At Bay Press, and is an alumna of Sheridan College’s Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing and Publishing program. If Dani is not obsessing over her diction or syntax, you might find her wandering amidst Gothic architecture or wettish woods. You can follow @daniarieli on Instagram, or, visit her website, daniarieli.com, for further authorial diableries.

ERIN AMUSAN

Erin Amusan is a writer, artist and mother to three amazing people. She has always dreamed of creating stories that inspire people to dream bigger.

JESSICA BARTON

Growing up in a rural town in Niagara, Jessica had a lot of time on her hands as a kid. As the youngest of four, she always followed her siblings' interests and hobbies, leading her to discover a love for narrative video games and their stories. Her fascination with complex characters, human connection and a love of history inspire the majority of her pieces, with every facet chosen with an attention to detail. A proponent of character studies and character-driven narratives, she strives to write about the intricacies of humanity through the lens of the past.

ZAYNAB BAKSH

Zaynab Baksh is an Ontario-based writer whose work focuses on human relationships and the marks we leave on each other. She has had her poems published in the Antigonish Review. She is a member of the Muslim Literary Festival and has volunteered at many literary festivals including WOTS and the Ampersand Festival.

THEODORE-ELIZABETH G. BRENNEN

Theodore-Elizabeth G. Brennen is always for want of the written word. He has spent most of his life writing, inheriting his penchant for storytelling from his father, and initially found his footing with writing transformative works. Since then, he’s gone on to feature in Open Minds Quarterly and The B222 Journal. When he isn’t writing original work, he’s creating and reading fanfiction for his latest fixations, drawing, journalling, or lovingly tormenting his fellow writer and artist friends. Originally from the town of Carleton Place, ON, he currently lives in the Greater Toronto Area with his mother and sister.

MATTHEW BOYLAN

Matthew Boylan is a writer and graphic artist from Guelph, Ontario. In his free time he likes to read, hang out with friends, and play chess. He enjoys reading and writing experimental works. His previous work has been published in the B222 journal, Junq Magazine, and the Ampersand Review.

FILOMENA COZZOLINO

Filomena Cozzolino is a reader and writer with a love of the strange and macabre. Her coffin-shaped bookcase is filled with romance, fantasy, ghost stories and poetry. Although introverted, she connects with the literary community by volunteering at events such as The Word on The Street and The Ampersand Festival. In her down time, she can be found curled up on the couch watching horror movies, reading in the park, or wandering down wooded trails. Her work has been published in the B222 Journal, Alchemy, Exposed Bone Magazine and The Ampersand Review.

NATASHA DAVID

Natasha David is a novelist, poet and screenwriter. She is a long-time lover of fantasy and Dystopian fiction, and spends her free time playing piano and collecting more books than she can read. She has been shortlisted for Augur Magazine and longlisted for CANSCAIP's 2024 Writing for Children Competition. Her work can be found in the B222 Journal and Petal Projections Magazine.

SARAH FRASER

Sarah Fraser is a full-time student at Sheridan College attending her final year in Creative Writing and Publishing. She has worked as a document controller for CANDU Energy at AtkinsRéalis Engineering company. Her aspiration is to work for an imprint of a big 5 publisher and complete the manuscript of her Dracula retelling after she's graduated.

BRANDON GRACE

Brandon Grace is a writer and travel enthusiast who was born in Ontario, Canada. Being half Jamaican and half Newfie, Brandon grew up by the water between two worlds. He is fuelled by a desire to explore and share stories about all he experiences. He enjoys writing and reading creative non-fiction, literary essays, as well as urban fantasy, mystery novels and speculative fiction. He is an avid volunteer for community events and is currently a fourth year student in Sheridan's Honours Bachelor of Creative Writing and Publishing. Brandon hopes to use the skills he gained to pursue a Master's Degree in English and one day work as an Events Coordinator.

CARTER ROBERT HAWKINS

Carter Robert Hawkins is from Hamilton, Ontario.

OCEAN JOHN

Ocean John (he/him), is a Canadian writer of Caribbean descent. His usual writing consists of mystery, sci-fi, and dystopias. His favorite thing to read and write are stories that feature unpredictable plot twists and immersive worldbuilding. For hobbies, he likes studying the folklore and cultural practices of various ethnicities as well as creating small stories of already existing fictional worlds, creating characters of his own within its limits. As of now, he’s a fourth year at Sheridan College in the Honour Bachelors Creative Writing and Publishing program and working his way to gaining scriptwriting experience.

SHAUNA KERNAGHAN

Shauna Kernaghan's work lives through the music she listens to and often never leaves, but lately it's been breaching containment! Her interests include subversion, her esoteric dog, lycanthropy, being skinned alive, etymology, collecting locks, cranberry juice, her Bose noise-cancelling headphones, animation and OUTCOMES, BABY! Every generation thinks it invented depravity and that kids suddenly don't respect their elders, but archaic is synonymous with cyclical and orcas will meet us at the end of the world!

MADDY LEE

Maddy Lee is an aspiring author and avid reader who can be found with a book in hand at any spare moment. A soon-to-be graduate from Sheridan's Creative Writing and Publishing program, she has a strong passion for creative expression. When not reading or writing, she loves spending time with animals and proudly volunteer with The Niagara Dog Rescue, helping pups find their forever homes.

KURT LEWIS

Kurt Lewis (he/him) is a queer, transgender man who reads textbooks for fun and dreams of travelling the world. His writing specialties include nonfiction, lyrical prose, and poetry. After graduation, he hopes to live near the ocean with his partner and their rabbits, and teach English as a Second Language.

NICOLE ABIYO MAKU

Nicole Abiyo Maku is an artist whose work excavates diasporic identity, cultural erasure, and Black Canadian belonging with musicality and precision. She holds two undergraduate certificates in creativity, resilience, and ethics. Her poem 'Skin Deep' was awarded 2nd place in the Sheridan Black History Month Creative Reflection Contest (2023). 'Parallel Lines' placed 3rd in the Debwewin Allyship Poetry Contest (2023), presented by Gimaa Laforme of the Missisaugas of the Credit First Nation. A mentee of AGA Wilmott, she serves as Sheridan College's co-representative to the Black Undergraduate Coalition – securing its inaugural place as the first college admitted to the coalition.

CHRISTINA MANSERRA

Christina Manserra is a Canadian poet and freelance news reporter, reporting events for the Markham and Stouffville Review. While studying in the Creative Writing and Publishing program at Sheridan College, Christina has cultivated poems that have reached manuscript potential. After college, she will develop her poetry collection with a seasoned author as her mentor at Humber College while completing a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing. When Christina is not writing, she enjoys reading poetry and articles, cooking, filming, and spending lots of time with family.

CONSTANZA PAEZ-SILVA

Constanza Paez-Silva is a Chilean-born, Toronto-based fiction writer with a passion for speculative worlds, sci-fi reimagined realities and distortions in the matrix. Her stories often blur the line between the strange and the familiar, written to provoke strong emotional responses in readers. A lover of all forms of storytelling, Constanza draws inspiration from real life experiences, oral traditions, folklore, and the quiet, yet powerful force of the imagination.

SATURN METSELAAR

Saturn Metselaar is a young non-binary author born in the GTA, who enjoys writing horror, science fiction and fantasy. Their favourite genre to read currently is horror, with a focus on the limitations, expansion and transformation of the human form. Their included work focuses on the human psyche, experiencing the unfathomable horrors of their cursed form.

KARINE MABROUKEH

Karine Mabroukeh is a Palestinian-Canadian author and poet in her final year of Honours Creative Writing and Publishing at Sheridan College. She began writing as a child, scribbling stories in old notebooks, and has been finding her voice ever since. She writes poetry to carry others’ stories and novels that mirror the people she loves, with a soft spot for fantasy and romance.

AVA RAHIMPOUR

Ava Rahimpour is a writer and poet who dreams of one day publishing a fantasy novel. She has pieces published in Arc Poetry and Arrival Magazine. Apart from writing, she plays piano, writes music, works part time as a music teacher and freelance copy editor, and dreams of gently drifting into an early retirement.

RAYANNA RICHARDS

Rayanna Richards is a Canadian writer from Alliston, Ontario. She writes poetry that welcomes weirdness and explores themes such as dreams, mental health, and identity. When she is not hunkered down trying to figure out the best order of words to string together, you can find her reading or playing video games.

BEN SCANGA

Ben Scanga is an author, journalist, editor, and creative writer from Oakville, Ontario. After years of freelance film criticism when he was a teenager, he can now be found as a resident writer/editor for publications such as: Dude I Watched That, and The Spill Magazine. He is also on the programming team for Ottawa’s annual Genre Gems Film Festival. While Ben is most noticeably active in the worlds of art criticism, he also has works of creative writing and musical art available online.

JACKLYN TACCOGNA

Jacklyn Taccogna has been a student of Sheridan's Creative Writing and Publishing

Program since 2022. She has always had an infinite imagination since childhood and took the path of a writer to tell the stories she wants to tell. She is an avid fan of sci-fi, fantasy, and animation.

C.J MONIZ-THOMAS

C.J Moniz-Thomas is an aspiring author from Toronto, Canada. C.J has been a passionate daydreamer from a young age, spending most of her youth inside the worlds she built inside her mind. Now, she strives to put those worlds onto paper, bringing her imagination to life on the page. C.J lives at home with her family and her mischievous high-energy dog, Diego.

DIXIE TRUDEL

Dixie Trudel is a resident of her imagination–where characters and worlds are always under construction. She's worked in accounting and recruiting, gathering writing fodder, though no characters are based on real people...allegedly. She's a connoisseur of dark chocolate and ginger cookies. Find her on Instagram @dixietrudel.

MISHA WILKIE  

Misha Wilkie is a 21-year-old author who prominently enjoys writing stories that are passionately devastating, and in the realm of body horror. She considers herself to be a creative individual with an array of hobbies, such as painting, sewing, playing instruments, as well as crocheting. She also enjoys collecting antiques, and the strange, especially very old dolls that most people would avoid looking at if they saw them.