Hosted by the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW), Words on Rice: Open Mic is a warm, welcoming space for anyone who identifies as Asian Canadian or mixed-race Asian Canadian to share their stories, poems, and creative expressions. Whether you are a seasoned writer, a first-time reader, or simply curious about exploring your voice, this series invites you to step up to the mic and be heard.
Research shows that reading your writing aloud — particularly in front of others in a safe and supportive environment — can dramatically improve clarity, rhythm, and self-editing skills. Hearing your words helps you fine-tune tone, pacing, and flow, while also strengthening your voice and confidence. Reading aloud engages memory and comprehension, and encourages emotional awareness, allowing you to feel and shape your text in powerful ways. Join us to discover how giving your words a voice can make you a more articulate, confident writer.
Held monthly, this virtual series reflects ACWW’s long-standing mission to nurture Asian Canadian voices and to cultivate an inclusive literary landscape where every story matters. Each reading is 5 minutes long. (All participants may ask for feedback on their writing after the session via email.).
Our next hour-long open mic will happen on Saturday, December 20, 2025, at 3.00pm PST / 6.00pm EST.
ACWW and the University of Toronto’s Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library presented LiterASIAN Toronto 2024 to a packed audience with spectacular success. Hosted at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library on May 29, 2025, this year’s theme, “Origins,” explored heritage and resilience—marking both the 30th anniversary of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) and the centennial of the Chinese Exclusion Act. This year’s theme, “Origins”, explored heritage and resilience, reflecting two significant milestones: The 30th anniversary of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) The centennial of the Chinese Exclusion Act
The theme holds particular significance, connecting ACWW’s decades-long commitment to amplifying Asian Canadian voices with a critical period in Canadian history when the voices of Chinese Canadians were institutionally silenced. The festival offered a fusion of past and present, encouraging a renewed appreciation of identity, cultural preservation, and creative empowerment within today’s Asian Canadian literary scene.
Panelists
Leanne Toshiko Simpson is a mixed-race Yonsei writer, educator, and psychiatric survivor from Toronto. She loves writing joyful, messy, laugh-out-loud stories about living with mental illness and the moments of hope that help us get out of bed day after day. Leanne is a graduate of the University of Toronto Scarborough’s Creative Writing program and the University of Guelph’s MFA. She is currently completing an EdD in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto. Leanne teaches BIPOC literature and disability arts seminars at Trinity College. Her debut novel, Never Been Better, was released by HarperCollins Canada and Penguin in the U.S., and was named one of CBC’s Best Books of 2024.
Wayne Ng was born in Anishinaabe land in what is commonly known as downtown Toronto to Chinese immigrants who fed him a steady diet of bitter melon and kung fu movies. Wayne is a social worker who lives to write, travel, eat, and play, preferably all at once. He is an award-winning author and traveller who continues to push his boundaries from the Arctic to the Antarctic. He lives in Ottawa with his wife and goldfish. Ng is the author of Letters From Johnny (winner of the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Crime Novella and Ottawa Book Award finalist); Johnny Delivers (recommended by The Globe and Mail and CBC Books); The Family Code (Ottawa Book Award and Guernica Prize finalist). Mai Nguyen is a Vietnamese Canadian author based in Toronto. Her debut novel, Sunshine Nails—about a Vietnamese family that will stop at nothing to save their ailing nail salon—was longlisted for Canada Reads and selected as one of the best books of 2023 by NPR and CBC. Her second book will be published in Spring 2026.
Moderator
Carrianne Leung is a fiction writer and assistant professor at the University of Guelph in Creative Writing. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Equity Studies from OISE/University of Toronto. She is the co-editor with Lynn Caldwell and Darryl Leroux of Critical Inquiries: A Reader in Studies of Canada. Her debut novel, The Wondrous Woo, published by Inanna Publications, was shortlisted for the 2014 Toronto Book Awards. Her collection of linked stories, That Time I Loved You, was released in 2018 by HarperCollins and in 2019 in the US by Liveright Publishing. It received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, was named as one of the Best Books of 2018 by CBC, and was awarded the Danuta Gleed Literary Award 2019, shortlisted for the Toronto Book Awards 2019 and long-listed for Canada Reads 2019. Leung’s work has also appeared in The Puritan, Ricepaper, The Globe and Mail, Room Magazine, Prairie Fire and Open Book Ontario. She is currently working on a new novel, titled The After to be released by Harper Collins Canada in spring 2026.
Hosted by the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW), Words on Rice: Open Mic is a warm and welcoming open mic space for anyone who identifies as Asian Canadian or mixed-race Asian Canadian to share their stories, poems, and creative expressions. Whether you are a seasoned writer, a first-time reader, or simply curious about exploring your voice, this series invites you to step up to the mic and be heard.
Research shows that reading your writing aloud — particularly in front of others in a safe and supportive environment — can dramatically improve clarity, rhythm, and self-editing skills. Hearing your words helps you fine-tune tone, pacing, and flow, while also strengthening your voice and confidence. Reading aloud engages memory and comprehension, and encourages emotional awareness, allowing you to feel and shape your text in powerful ways. Join us to discover how giving your words a voice can make you a more articulate, confident writer.
Held monthly, this virtual series reflects ACWW’s long-standing mission to nurture Asian Canadian voices and to cultivate an inclusive literary landscape where every story matters. Each reading is 5 minutes long. (All participants may ask for feedback on their writing after the session via email.).
Our next hour-long open mic will happen on November 15, 2025, 3.00pm PST / 6.00pm EST.
The Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) marked its 50th anniversary with a joyful dim sum celebration honouring a historic moment in Asian Canadian literary history—the merger of the Japanese Powell Street Revue and the Chinese Canadian Writers’ Workshop. This milestone gathering commemorated the spirit of solidarity and creativity that led to ACWW’s first groundbreaking project, Inalienable Rice (1979), the pioneering anthology that gave voice to a new generation of Asian Canadian writers. The afternoon was filled with food, laughter, and reflection as community members, writers, and elders gathered to celebrate five decades of cultural resistance, storytelling, and collective vision.
Cheuk Kwan opened with a reading from Have You Eaten Yet and Linda Lau Anusasananan’s The Hakka Cookbook: Chinese Soul Food from Around the World, followed by Alyssa Sy de Jesus’ heartfelt poem honouring Jim Wong-Chu, inspired by her archival journey and his lasting mentorship. Sean Gunn and Effie Pow reflected on the groundbreaking collaboration between the Chinese Canadian Writers’ Workshop and the Japanese Powell Revue, whose unity sparked five decades of creativity and activism, and the publication of Inalienable Rice. Other authors who joined us for this event included Henry Tsang (White Riot), Janie Chang (The Porcelain Moon), David HT Wong (Escape to Gold Mountain), and Scott Steedman (Visions of British Columbia). The event culminated in a festive cake-cutting ceremony and group photo, before many attendees continued to celebrate Larry Grant’s remarkable book launch of Reconciling: A Lifelong Struggle to Belong and his 89th birthday at the Chinese Cultural Centre Museum.
Carrying the Light: Inaugural Gathering will open with the warmth of Musqueam storytelling, grounding the evening in the ancestral lands on which we gather. Juxtaposed with this living knowledge, Kathak artist Palak will bring the ancient North Indian storytelling tradition of dance to life, weaving movement, rhythm, and narrative in a performance honoring teachers, renewal, and the triumph of light over darkness. Interlacing these traditions, award-winning poet Tāriq Malik will share new work inspired by fall harvests, flooded rivers, and the luminous poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, reflecting on migration, memory, and the light that carries us forward. Together, these voices will offer an intercultural celebration of resilience, transformation, and shared futures for the Festival of Lights.
Thursday, October 23, 2025 | 6:30–8:30 PM Great Hall, Museum of Anthropology at UBC RSVP required by October 17, 2025
Vancouver’s Chinatown is a vibrant cultural hub, and these two locally published titles capture both its striking visual ambience, which draws countless photographers and visitors to its streets, and the rich and diverse histories contained within. Donna Seto’s gorgeous illustrations of the neighbourhood’s historical buildings are collected in Chinatown Vancouver, alongside interviews with community members and information about these cultural sites. Carol Lee, founder of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation, joins us with Vitality, pairing stunning photographs of Chinatown in the ‘50s, ’60s, and ’70s with interviews and historical insights gathered by the Chinatown Storytelling Centre. This event will be a feast for the eyes while celebrating the resilience and contributions of Chinatown’s communities.
Fri Oct 24, 2025 | 10:00 AM | Waterfront Theatre 1412 Cartwright St, Vancouver
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