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Graduates of the U of A’s Creative Writing program have transformed from aspiring wordsmiths into some of Canada’s most celebrated authors, collecting prestigious awards and critical acclaim along the way. ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ alumni are making their mark on Canadian literature, reshaping contemporary storytelling through these novels and poetry. In no particular order, here are some of our favourite authors with recent releases.

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If you’re a fan of “ ,” you’ve got to read these “RuPoems” by Matthew Stepanic, ’12 BA. The TV series is a reality competition where drag queens compete in various challenges. Even if you’ve never seen it, Stepanic’s collection of 14 poems explores queer concerns, including male intimacy, internalized homophobia, body issues and sexual assault. More than a companion guide to the show, this chapbook works as a thoughtful meditation on the personal and political conversations initiated by the show’s stars.

Stepanic is a poet, performer, novelist and founder of Edmonton’s Agatha Press publishing house. They’ve worked over the years to further Edmonton’s literary scene through various ventures like Glass Buffalo literary magazine, The Glass Bookshop independent bookseller, and they currently host VERS/E poetry nights at Felice Cafe in Edmonton.

2:

“The work in Empty Spaces is not disconnected from the current political climate in America. I can absolutely see the two in conversation with each other,” says the book’s author, Jordan Abel, ’08 BA, in an . The story takes the perspective of an urban Nisga’a person who has been separated from traditional knowledge and ancestral land. In the book, the land is a knowing being who remembers, and the work takes on subjects that confront chaos and uncertainty.

, Abel describes it as a book with no characters or dialogue, but its experimental nature shouldn’t stop you from reading it. Empty Spaces examines Indigenous diaspora, displacement and relationships to land. And the experiment has paid off: Abel won the 2024 Governor General’s Award for Literature for the work.

3:

A regular on the Edmonton open mic poetry circuit, Bree Taylor, ’23 BA, says her performance is “for the girls and the gays, and that’s it.” Often at Felice Cafe’s queer poetry night on the first Thursday of the month, she works hard to bring the writing community together. After winning several writing awards in her undergrad, she has published Bloody Women, a poetry chapbook through Agatha Press.

While her poetry reclaims mythic women like Athena, at its heart, Bloody Women tells stories about female villains through a vital, evocative queer feminist lens. She captures the voice of young women, questioning and forcefully making herself known, and encouraging others to make themselves known. As she writes in “Strong Female Characters” in Bloody Women, “The only girl with six brothers, you know all about Strong Female Characters and why it had to be you to embody man’s most ancient confessional fear.”

4:

This thrilling novel, by Conor Kerr, ’12 BA, appeared on the 2024 Giller Prize Shortlist. It’s about Ezzy and Grey, two Métis cousins, who decide to capture a herd of bison and let them roam in downtown Edmonton. Bad things happen, people get hurt and Ezzy really wants to get the world’s attention.

The story will make you laugh and cry as you follow the duo as they navigate group homes and the social services system, as they question the meaning of activism and find comfort in friendships. If you’ve ever doubted or found dubious an activist who makes their work a branding project, this book is for you.

Kerr, a Métis-Ukrainian writer from Edmonton wrote the story based on a “what if” daydream he discussed in a : “I started to wonder what it would actually look like for [bison] to shape the landscape again… maybe I could become a hypercapitalist and make $200-billion to buy Saskatchewan and turn it back to its natural prairie state.”

5:

In Humane and its sequel Urbane, self-professed asshole Hazel LaSage steals a dog, becomes an unlicensed private investigator, tries to solve a murder and ends up in the middle of a conspiracy. You’ll love reading these unfolding Indigenous crime novels set in Edmonton, and written by Anna Marie Sewell, ’91 BA(Spec).

Urbane was a runner up for the 2024 City of Edmonton Book Award, as the sequel to best-selling debut Humane, both set in amiskwaciy. Sewell is a multi-disciplinary artist who folds the lyricism of poetry into well-paced murder mysteries laced with mythology and legend. It’s a treat to read through the twists and turns that will leave you thinking about the book long after you’re finished.