Who We Are

Patrick Grace, managing editor

Patrick Grace is a queer writer living on the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Peoples. He has published two chapbooks: Dastardly (Anstruther Press, 2021), and a blurred wind swirls back for you (Turret House Press, 2023) – click here to purchase a copy. His first full-length poetry collection, Deviant, will be published in 2024 with University of Alberta Press. Follow him on Instagram for all things poetry and cat-related: @thepoetpatrick

Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin, associate poetry editor

Rhiannon Ng Cheng Hin (she/her) is a writer from Québec. Her essays and poems have appeared in The Walrus, Brick, Grain, The Malahat Review, Arc Poetry Magazine, and elsewhere. Her debut poetry collection, Fire Cider Rain, was released by Coach House Books in 2022 (click here for copies). She studies medicine at McGill University.

L’Amour Lisik, associate prose editor

L’Amour Lisik (she/her) is a queer writer and artist of Chinese Mauritian/Scottish settler descent who lives on the unceded traditional territories of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples (Victoria, BC). She holds a BFA in Writing from the University of Victoria, where she focused on poetry and creative nonfiction. L’Amour also works as Managing Editor for The Malahat Review.

Chris Slater, associate prose editor

Chris Slater is a former reporter turned writer living on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast. He holds a journalism diploma from Langara College. He’s had articles appear in The North Shore News, The Province, and The Vancouver Sun, among others. His breakthrough fiction piece, Adirondack, appeared in Plenitude in 2020. He’s delighted to be able to work with other blossoming writers as he continues to blaze his own fiction writing path.

Shawn Syms, book reviews editor

Shawn Syms (he/him) is a queer author and critic based in Toronto/Tkaronto. His reviews have appeared in the National Post, Quill & Quire, Xtra, Canadian Literature, Our Times, Foreword Reviews, Gay and Lesbian Review, Literary Review of Canada and elsewhere. His fiction has been shortlisted for the Journey Prize.

Britt McGillivray, board member

Bio forthcoming

Julia Peterson, board member

Bio forthcoming

Kirandeep Randhawa, board member

Kirandeep Randhawa (she/her) is a queer Indian settler born and raised in Toronto. Out of an abundance of love for the city and those in it, she has worked in various community health and education-related programs, from supporting racialized young people’s transition into post-secondary education to consulting on projects for improving access to birth control. Kirandeep completed her BA in Political Science at the University of Toronto and her MA in Social Justice & Community Engagement at Wilfrid Laurier University where she researched fertility funding through a reproductive justice lens. She is currently a literacy professional, reproductive justice researcher, and a really big fan of public libraries.

Ari Lord, board member

Ari Lord’s fiction has been longlisted for the 2020 CBC Short Story Prize, 2022 Jacob Zilber Prize and nominated for the 2020 Sundress Press Best of Net Awards. Published in The Malahat Review, The Ex-Puritan, Plenitude, Foglifter, Minola, and elsewhere. They work as a freelance Writer & Editor and are a year-long Writer-in-Residence for an arts organization, Civic, in Nelson, BC (unceded Sinixt territory). They recently finished their first novel and are writing another, supported by the Canada and BC arts councils. They are passionate about queer literature and enjoy being outside with their dog and growing a large garden. @SLordAlmighty arilord.ca

Xen Virtue, board member

Xen Virtue (he/him) is a queer, transgender writer and editor. His writing aims to celebrate the complexities of joy, grief, and lust in queer and transgender people’s lives. He is currently finishing a master’s program at the University of Calgary, where he studies queer young adult HIV/AIDS literature.

Andrea Routley, founding editor

Andrea Routley is the editor of Walk Myself Home: An Anthology to End Violence Against Women (Caitlin Press, 2010). She is the author of Jane and the Whales (Caitlin Press, 2013), which was a finalist for the 2014 Lambda Literary Award. Her writing has appeared in magazines such as The Malahat Review, The Fiddlehead, and Room Magazine. She completed a degree in writing from the University of Victoria, and now lives on the Sunshine Coast, BC, where she works as a piano tuner, library programmer, and serves on the board of Sunday in the Park with Pride Society, an organization dedicated to creating community for LGBTQ2 youth on the Sunshine Coast.