Curtains on 2025
The Genesis of Creativity Cavern
I’ve been lax in my updates again. Consider this my resolution to give a proper wrap up and send off to 2025, which has been a great, albeit busy, year. To start, I’m most thrilled about my creative collaboration with Vanessa Shields. While my website bears the evidence of these changes (see the Creativity Cavern menu for options), I’ve not formally made mention on my blog about our wonderful co-teaching venture.
In late 2024, I was laid off from a job I’d been working since relocating back to Windsor. While this news was sudden, it wasn’t entirely unexpected and I eventually learned to welcome the new circumstances. And so began the “unemployment era,” as some dear friends called it. I kept busy with family commitments, with holiday preparations and festivities, with writing manuscripts, and with working on house projects—including transforming my unused and fully finished basement into a space I could utilize instead of keeping a junk zone. My mother had already equipped me with a large laundry table; I invested in some folding chairs, and other decorative furniture pieces that were picked up from the curb or very cheaply at second-hand stores. While rearranging my large book collection, I found affordable bookshelves to add to the basement, and I relocated texts about effective writing, editing, and the creative process into the space.
I’d been wanting to offer creative writing classes from my home, as that’s how I began with my writing mentor, Zilka Joseph, in Ann Arbor a decade ago. Writers met weekly in the basement of her home to discuss craft and to get and give feedback on writing. It’s a formative time in my writing career I continue to cherish; our groups were intimate, engaging, and taught me so much. I wanted to bring that same energy to the Cavern (even though it didn’t have a name yet).
Cue Vanessa Shields: We crossed paths at a poetry reading we both performed at in the summer of 2024. She later reached out and invited me to participate on a writing panel she moderated at Balanced Life Wellness Centre, in addition to teaching workshops through the Writers’ Assembly. We became fast friends. If you’ve ever met Vanessa, her energy is infectious and pure—she’s such a powerhouse! Warmhearted, inviting, and generous, Vanessa is the steward of Windsor-Essex County’s writing community. In many a conversation, she shared she’d been missing her previous space, Gertrude’s Room, and wanted to begin another venture to support writers in all stages of their journey. That’s when Creativity Cavern was truly born.
We’ve co-hosted so many events in such a short period of time! The first six-week installment of the Creative Writing Feedback Forum; a full-day retreat on How to Get Started Writing; and a Virtual Prompt-a-thon we offered just a few short weeks ago. The turnout and support we’ve received from fellow students has been tremendous and gratifying and we look forward to continuing this momentum in 2026.
In the first quarter, we’re excited to present two events: a full-day Erotic Writing retreat on Valentines and our second six-week installment of the Creative Writing Feedback Forum (Poetry) beginning in March. Our class sizes are small, intimate, and tailored to the needs of individual writers. We offer a variety of creative prompts, reflective questions, and—most importantly—community support. Food and beverage are a staple in all our classes, in addition to laughter and all-around good vibes. We hope you’ll make the commitment to craft and join us in 2026! Please see the Current Offerings page or Events & Classes for further details.
Publication Roundup
Although I didn’t submit work to as many journals as I would’ve liked to, I was fortunate to have a great publication year, especially with prose. Since my summer update, MoonPark Review published “Running Errands Together During Our Separation” in issue 34. Editors Mary Lynn Reed and Lesley Weston also nominated this piece for consideration in 2026 Best Microfiction, an annual anthology printed by Pelekinesis. This year’s judge is distinguished poet Diane Seuss!
The journal 101 Words published “Blind Spot”; Paragraph Planet accepted ”Loudness”; The Chrysalis BREW Project took “Nite Bikes”; and Six Sentences published “Breaking the Brass Hourglass.” Thanks to Neesha Hosein (101 Words), Richard Hearn (Paragraph Planet), the editorial team at The Chrysalis BREW Project, and Robert McEvily (Six Sentences) for the feedback and the opportunity to share these pieces with their readership.
This year also marked some other new firsts for me: I was a juror for a Canadian literary prize! I developed an artist statement and submitted grant applications!
I had the privilege of reading long-listed works for the 2025 AICW-Bressani Literary Prize in poetry, an award that has been in existence since 1986 and is currently managed by The Association of Italian-Canadian Writers. The wide range of styles I encountered in the nominees reconnected me with my own Italian heritage, which I’m grateful for. The winners will be announced in January 2026.
As for the artist statement and grant apps, both processes were intimidating at first, given that they’re a style of composition I’m wholly unfamiliar with. It’s difficult to write about your own work objectively or to know whether your aims are actually achieved in the finished product. I’m still awaiting word regarding my applications and am hoping for good news in the near future.
Teaching in the Community
It’s been a banner year for teaching! In addition to launching Creativity Cavern, I hosted my first Jane’s Walk (“Perambulating Prompts”); I taught two specialty workshops with the Writers’ Assembly (“Poetry: The Art of Line & Stanza” and “Another Person’s Treasure: Found Poetry”); I collaborated with Julien’s House to present a couple sessions of a therapeutic writing workshop (“In Celebration & Remembrance”); and I began offering a new weekly course through the City of Windsor’s Recreation & Culture department (“Poetry & Play”), all in addition to my regular creative writing course at Mackenzie Hall.
In April, I’ll be hosting another Writers’ Assembly interactive workshop titled “Poetic Hues: Colour & Creativity,” which I’m really excited to develop and share (more info here).
Additionally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that my adult creative writing courses with the City are currently enrolling for Tuesday, January 13, 2026. These classes are limited to ten participants and are low-commitment and low-cost. Either of these options (or both, as some students have taken) are a great way to learn craft techniques, experiment with various genres, and generate new material. And if you’ve taken any of the city courses with me before, I always have new readings, prompts, and discussion topics for the group to explore.
Editorial Work
After having a great experience at my first-ever writer’s retreat in January (“Mérida Writing Retreat with The Chestnut Review”), I joined the staff of The Chestnut Review as a volunteer prose reader. It’s been such an enlightening and rewarding experience! I love when I come across multiple, unrelated submissions that touch on the same image or metaphor without intending to, when I can peek behind the curtain and see the threads that connect us all. I love learning what makes me lean forward as a reader, and what challenges my assumptions and preconceived notions about the human condition, or the act of writing itself.
We’ve heard the adage that the best writers read. Well, if you want to fast-track your writing education, I highly recommend volunteering for this, or any other literary journal in need of readers. My experience has taught me that, quite often, work is submitted without being ready (and I’m guilty of this!): the idea’s there but the execution lacks finesse. Or, there’s style without substance and the writer isn’t sure what they’re trying to convey. Readers can and do have wildly different views on the same submission, which also makes rejections sting a whole lot less. I love debating the merits and defects of a writer’s choices and having to articulate what I see as a reader and why. I’m absorbing all of these invaluable lessons as I incubate, create, and release new work.
This fall, I also had the opportunity to begin working with local poet and open-mic champion Benny Alexander on his debut chapbook. He’s written a collection of golden shovel poems based on the lyrics of his favourite band, The Wonder Years, to explore the lessons of young adulthood on middle age. This process has reinvigorated my passion for shepherding and supporting writers through the stages of publication. Whether its line edits, ordering, layouts, or capturing the conceptual framework, my one-on-one coaching services are designed to help writers see their work with fresh eyes. I offer comprehensive assessments, suggestions to strengthen choices and themes, and craft roadmaps tailored to a writer’s unique storytelling journey. Please visit my Specialties page if you’d like to work together on making your writing dream a published reality in 2026.
Life News
I want to welcome my new niece, Lennox, to the world! She was born in mid-November and her cuteness (and appetite) grows exponentially by the day!
I cycled 3,750 km this year, an immense feat I’m incredibly proud of considering I began tracking my rides in mid-April. My goal next year is to surpass 4,000 and achieve my first cento (100 km in a day). I’d also like to ride the entire Herb Grey Parkway and Chysler Canada Greenway systems, which I’ve only completed in part. Hopefully another cycling trip is in my future.
A follow-up to Demimonde is happening in the coming months. Details about the volume 2 installment will be posted to the Events page when finalized, so stay tuned.
Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year! May all your intentions be realized in 2026!