Angela Antle is a writer, artist, and documentary maker based in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Antle’s writing has appeared in Riddle Fence, Newfoundland Quarterly and CBC.ca. She wrote and directed Gander’s Ripple Effect: How a Small Town’s Kindness Opened on Broadway, and wrote the feature-length documentary Atlantic: What Lies Beneath, winner of best documentary awards at the Dublin, Wexford, Nickel, and Chagrin Film Festivals. As a journalist, Angela has rowed a dory through the Narrows, taken bumpy komatik rides on the coast of Labrador, hitchhiked from France to Newfoundland on a fishing boat and recorded Ron Hynes singing “Sonny’s Dream” in Ireland. She is an interdisciplinary PhD candidate at Memorial and was recently named the 2025 Rachel Carson Writer in Residence at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Sharon Bala’s second novel, Good Guys, was published in January. Publishers Weekly calls it “quietly profound” and a “blackly comic tale.” Her best-selling debut novel, The Boat People, won a Newfoundland & Labrador Book Award and the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction. It was short listed for several awards and is in translation in four languages. Sharon is the Creative Non-Fiction editor at Riddle Fence and a member of The Port Authority writing group.

Leslie Butt is an Indigenous Canadian, a mother and a writer, painter, poet and musician depending on the day. She is the author of the national Indigenous Voices Award 2022 award winning novel Tanked, novella Fifteen, and poetry anthology Bring on the Dark. She is a contributing author to Carving Space (McClelland and Stewart 2023) and From Grit and Grace 2 (Hive Mind Publishing 2023). Her upcoming novel, Jellybean Reservation, will be available in Spring 2026. She lives in Portugal Cove, Newfoundland with her children and an absurd garden. 

Marjorie Doyle has published five books of non fiction as well as many columns and pieces in literary journals, newspapers and magazines. She has worked as a regional and national broadcaster with CBC radio. In 2017 she was Chair, The Writers' Union of Canada. As a musician she was the first female member of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment Band. Her most recent book is Mary Foley, Mary Doyle: Unravelling A Mother’s Secrets.

Deborah Nkiruka Egbekpalu is an emerging writer whose works explores the notions of displacement and identity oftentimes in the context of familial tensions and conflict. An avid reader and writer pursuing her M.A in English Literature, she often draws inspiration from local culture, stories, events and real-life experiences. In her spare time, she is researching about other cultures and obsessing over interior decorations.

Amanda Marie Hull lives in Conception Bay South, Newfoundland with her husband, Paul and fur-child, Sookie. She is the Executive Administrator of Conservation Visions, an environmental think tank and a doctoral student studying English at Memorial University. An articulate and imaginative eco-socialist, she loves books, wine, Sunday brunch with friends and metaphorical rabbit-holes. Despite evidence to the contrary, Amanda believes that the world is still a good place and that storytelling may save it yet.

Lisa McInerney is the author of three novels: The Glorious Heresies, The Blood Miracles and The Rules of Revelation. She has won the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Desmond Elliott Prize, the RSL Encore Award and the Premio Edoardo Kihlgren for European literature. She is published in 13 languages, has been editor of The Stinging Fly since 2022 and teaches Creative Writing at the University of Galway.

Elizabeth Murphy’s second novel, The Weather Diviner, was longlisted for the 2024 BMO Winterset Award and nominated for the 2026 Dublin Literary Award. Her short fiction has appeared in Nixes Mate Review, Reckon Review, Tiny Molecules, and in other journals. She holds a BA and MA in French language and literature. She has won awards for her academic writing and research on technology-mediated learning. Originally from Newfoundland, she now lives in Nova Scotia.

Otoniya J. Okot Bitek is a writer of three collections of poetry and most recently, a novel. Her 100 Days won the 2017 IndieFab Book of the Year Award for poetry and the 2017 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry. A is for Acholi won the 2023 Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. We, the Kindling was a finalist for the 2025 Atwood Gibson Writers Trust Fiction Prize.

Dave Paddon is well-known across Newfoundland and Labrador for his storytelling and recitations. Nurse Fortescue and Doctor Paddon is his ninth book. He can be found operating the English Harbour Arts Centre with his wife, Kim, regaling audiences at the Crow’s Nest Officers Club in St. John’s, or anywhere folks appreciate a good yarn.

Monique Polak is the author of more than 20 novels for children and young adults. A two-time winner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Monique also teaches English and Humanities at Marianopolis College in Montreal and is a regular contributor to the Montreal Gazette.

Dana Puddicombe fell in love with improv after joining a class to help manage performance anxiety. An accomplished actor, writer and director, everything she valued about performance was discovered in improv: collaboration, communication and creativity. She has played on stages internationally and has coached and led workshops all across Canada.

Nina resides in Mary’s Harbour, Labrador and holds a Political Science/English Degree from Memorial University. Nina Chairs the Board of Empowering Indigenous Women and also sits on the Board of Writers NL and Them Days Magazine. Nina’s first book of three, documenting local humanistic perspectives of the Residential Schools in Labrador, Labrador Patella won the Provincial Percy Janes Award First Novel Award for 2025. It was released by Engen Books in June and became their top-selling title in 2025.

Jen Winsor is an arts administrator who has worked in the Newfoundland and Labrador arts scene for almost 20 years, focusing on music and literature. Jen left the province to travel with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Arts and Entertainment Division, but her plans were cut short when she got pregnant, with a crew member 12 years younger than her. Returning to her home province, she happily became the Executive Director of WritersNL. When she’s not lost in a book or typing up funding applications, you’ll find her hiking the East Coast Trail, enjoying a drag show, or experiencing some live music. Jen lives in St. John’s with her son, Gabriel, and his Brazilian dad, Luiz.

Kayla Williams is an Inuk author, illustrator and muralist from Labrador and founder of Big Land Design. She creates children’s books and public artworks that reflect northern landscapes, culture and storytelling traditions. Her books Aurora’s Journey and Labrador Skies celebrate identity, imagination and belonging. Through illustration, workshops and community projects, Kayla shares stories rooted in place while inspiring young readers to see themselves in the pages of a book. 

Sherry White is screenwriter, director and showrunner in film and television. Her second feature film Blueberry Grunt, is currently delighting audiences at Festivals, aiming for a 2026 release. She previously wrote the award-winning feature film Maudie, and wrote and directed Crackie, which screened at over thirty festivals including Toronto International Film Festival, Karlovy Vary and Torino Film Festival, where it took home the jury prize.

Heidi Wicks has written for Riddle Fence, Newfoundland Quarterly and The Globe and Mail. Her debut novel, Melt (2020), was featured in the Globe and Mail’s Hot Summer Reads list and received a silver medal IPPY (Independent Publisher) award. She also received the 2019 Cox and Palmer Creative Writing Award. She is featured in the short fiction collection Hard Ticket and the creative nonfiction collection Best Kind. She lives in her beloved hometown of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.