Stories in Conversation with novelist Ed Lin, Julia Lin, and Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho on September 7, at the Annex

 

Join us for Stories in Conversation with novelist Ed Lin, biographer and fiction writer Julia Lin, and memoirist Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho.

How does Taiwanese and Taiwanese diasporic culture play into historical and crime fiction, a biography, and a family memoir? This panel will see three authors—two born in the island nation, and the third in New York City—delve into their heritage while also moving forward to tell their stories. As Taiwan itself sees cultural shifts, what is preserved and what is lost in tales set in North America? Come for a lively discussion, audience Q&A, and book signing.  This session will be moderated by Charlie Smith, editor of Pancouver.

September 7, 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM at the Annex (823 Seymour St, Vancouver).

love bends / the mover: The Roy Miki Issue of The Capilano Review on July 17th at 7pm

The Capilano Review invites you to the launch of its Spring 2026 issue.

love bends / the mover: The Roy Miki Issue brings together new and commissioned work by over 20 contributors to reflect on the enduring legacy of beloved poet, teacher, and organizer Roy Miki (1942-2024).

On Friday, July 17th at 7pm at The Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum (SFU Burnaby Mountain campus), the magazine will celebrate the issue’s release. The evening will feature a casual reception followed by an open-floor reading of Roy’s poems, specially selected for the occasion by The Capilano Review’s editors.

This event is free, and all are welcome. Light snacks and refreshments will be served.

Following the reception, guests are encouraged to visit the free Starry Nights program at the neighbouring Trottier Observatory on Burnaby Mountain for stargazing. (*Note that this program is weather dependent—learn more and follow the latest weather updates here.)

RSVP

Directions for getting to the Gibson Art Museum (Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby) can be found here.

ACWW at Word Vancouver Literary Festival on September 19, 2026 - “Imagining Other Fiction, Democracy, and the Human Cost of Progress”

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The Word Vancouver Literary Festival is happening on September 19, 2026, and ACWW is sponsoring a panel session featuring Asian Canadian writers. Three bold writers explore how contemporary life is shaped by technology, politics, and systems of power. Kawika Guillermo’s Of Floating Isles moves through gaming culture, identity, and coming of age in shifting digital worlds. Sung Ming Chow’s Demotopia examines the uneasy relationship between democracy and artificial intelligence, where human decision-making meets algorithmic influence. Joanne Leow’s Exhumations: Inside the Body of a Petrostate traces memory, extraction, and the hidden human costs of oil economies. Together, these works offer urgent and imaginative ways of understanding the present and the futures still being imagined within it.

Speakers include: Kawika Guillermo, Of Floating Isles: On Growing Pains and Video Games. (Arsenal Pulp Press) | Sung Ming Chow, Demotopia: An Exploration of Democracy and Artificial Intelligence (Electromagnetic Print) | Joanne Leow, Exhumations: Inside the Body of a Petrostate (Penguin Random House Canada), Moderator: Todd Wong.

Saturday, September 19, 2026, 3.30-4.30pm in Room C400, UBC Robson Square (800 Robson Street, Vancouver)

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Registration is free

LiterASIAN Ottawa Festival 2026 Returns!

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Back by popular demand, LiterASIAN is taking place again in Ottawa, bringing together four dynamic voices in Asian Canadian storytelling:

On Monday, September 29, 2026, from 7 pm to 8:30 pm, Perfect Books in Ottawa will host From the Margins to the Centre: Asian Writers Reclaim, a special LiterSIAN reading featuring:

• Leslie Shimotakahara — award-winning author of The Breakwater- explores memory, identity, family histories, and the complexities of Japanese Canadian experiences.
• Chuqiao Yang — her book of poetry, The Last to the Party, is a finalist for the Ottawa Book Awards.  An emerging voice in contemporary Asian Canadian literature, weaving together themes of migration, belonging, cultural inheritance, and the search for home.
• Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho — writer and community builder whose work, The Astronaut Children of Dunbar Street, examines diaspora, language, intergenerational connections, and the evolving landscapes of Asian Canadian identity.
• Moderated by Jamie Chai-Yun Liew — author of Dandelion — the conversation is led by a lawyer and educator whose work bridges literature, social justice, and conversations on migration, equity, and belonging.

Perfect Books, nestled in the heart of Ottawa, provides an intimate space for community engagement and literary exploration, making it the ideal backdrop for an evening of storytelling and connection.
Date & Time: Monday, September 29, 2026 • 7 pm–8:30 pm

Location: Perfect Books, Ottawa [Link]

Format: Short readings, author reflections, and a Q&A to spark meaningful conversations.

Admission: Free (but seating is limited—arrive early to secure a spot).

ACWW Live Readings at TaiwanFest Vancouver 2026

 Join the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop (ACWW) at TAIWANfest Vancouver 2026 for a vibrant weekend of live literary readings featuring Asian Canadian writers sharing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction in the heart of downtown Vancouver.   Join us on Granville Street (700 block) on September 5 to 6, 2026.  

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Featured Writers:
 
Antoinette Cheung
Antoinette Cheung (張冬眉) is on a mission to rewild her imagination after spending too many years immersed in corporate speak. As an immigrant from Hong Kong whose main language has become English, she is energized by the voices of writers embracing their hyphenated identities. She writes primarily short-form poetry and personal essays. Her poetry has been awarded Top Winner in the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Haiku Invitational (2023, 2025) and Honourable Mention in the Muriel’s Journey Poetry Prize (2026), and has appeared in Ricepaper, Poetry Pause, and international haiku journals/anthologies. Antoinette was previously co-editor for the online journals Prune Juice and confluence, which celebrate the art of Japanese short-form poetry within a contemporary English-language context.

Francis Chang
Francis Chang was born in Tokyo, grew up in Vancouver and has lived in Montreal, New
York, Toronto and Hong Kong. Francis returned to Vancouver at the end of 2019, retired and
recovering from his 25-year legal career. He is a graduate of the Writer’s Studio program at
SFU, and his work has appeared in Ricepaper, CBC First Person, The Fiddlehead and
WordWorks. He is also an impassioned supporter of live theatre, currently serving as Board
President of Urban Ink Production Society and Board Vice President of the Vancouver Asian
Canadian Theatre.

Cynthia C. Farley
A graduate of SFU's Writer's Studio, Cynthia C. Farley's work spans poetry, fiction, and nonfiction stories. Her short story has appeared in Emerge 24, and you can find some of her stories curated on Medium.com, Vocal Media, Vancouver on Ink, and most recently in The New Canadian Stories. She has just completed a thriller novel.

Alyssa Sy de Jesus  

Alyssa Sy de Jesus is a poet in search of the worded-artefacts of her family’s five-generation settlement in the Philippines from Fujian, and eventual migration to Canada. She has ancestral roots in Taiwan via her mother’s lineage. Her work has been featured in: Chinatown Stories, ACAM Tributaries, Living Hyphen, Ginger and Smoke, Liars of Orpheus, Jane’s Walks, the Diasporic Writers Salon, Mashed Poetics, and the Jade Music Festival. She was co-editor of de-comp Journal’s “Translate Me Not” issue and is a graduate of the SFU Writers Studio. She was a programmer and community consultant on “Kuwentong Pamamahay”, an oral history project with members of the Filipino Canadian community. This November, she will be doing a writing residency at the Banff Centre for Arts on Treaty 7 Territory, traditional home of the Niitsitapi from the Blackfoot Confederacy. She lives on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, and səlilwətaɬ Nations.

Allan Cho  

Allan Cho is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, librarian, and community organizer. He is the Executive Editor of Ricepaper Magazine, the Executive Director of the Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop, and the Festival Director and co-founder of the LiterASIAN Writers Festival. Through his literary work, Allan has helped build platforms for Asian Canadian writers and expand the visibility of Asian diasporic literature across Canada. His writing explores cultural identity, intergenerational trauma, and belonging, and his work has appeared in literary journals and anthologies.

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Come listen, connect, and celebrate the rich and evolving voices of Asian Canadian literature at TAIWANfest.  Presented on Granville Street (700 block) on September 5–6, 2026, this special reading series celebrates Asian Canadian voices and creative expression through the written word.  

Fiona Tinwei Lam Receives the 2026 ACWW Community Builders Award

The Asian Canadian Writers’ Workshop is pleased to announce that Fiona Tinwei Lam has been named the recipient of the 2026 ACWW Community Builders Award. This award recognizes individuals and organizations whose work demonstrates a deep commitment to racial equity, inclusion, and advocacy for Asian Canadian communities.

Fiona is honoured for her remarkable literary accomplishments, as well as her generosity, courage, and dedication to community-building. As a poet, editor, educator, and literary mentor, she has made an enduring contribution to Vancouver’s literary life and to the broader Asian Canadian cultural landscape.

During the difficult years of the global pandemic, when anti-Asian racism intensified across Canada and beyond, Fiona was among the voices who spoke with compassion and moral courage. Through her writing and public advocacy, she helped name the harm while offering language that deepened understanding and empathy.

Fiona has also championed poetry as a living public art form. As Vancouver’s sixth Poet Laureate from 2022 to 2024, she expanded poetry’s reach through the imaginative and community-rooted City Poems Project, encouraging new poems and poetry projects that reflected the layered histories, ecologies, and communities of this city.

Previous winners of this award include Roy Mah, Wayson Choy, Paul Yee, Harvey Lowe, Roy Miki, Fred Wah, The Bulletin / National Association of Japanese Canadians, Joy Kogawa, Scott McIntyre, Gim Wong, Evelyn Lau, Tradewind Books, Brian Lam, Barbara Lee, Winnie L. Cheung, Larry Wong, and Bonnie Nish.

Congratulations again to Fiona Tinwei Lam on this well-deserved recognition!