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Callista Markotich has enjoyed a life-long career as a teacher, principal and Superintendent of Education in Eastern Ontario. Her first collection, Wrap in a Big White Towel (2024) was published by Frontenac House. Callista's poems appear in numerous Canadian reviews and quarterlies from The Antigonish Review through Vallum and in several American and British magazines and journals. Callista's poetry received awards and a placement in the League of Canadian Poets Poem in Your

The world of creative writing was the centre of focus in March 2025 when ChatGPT's Sam Altman posted on X.com that OpenAI trained a new model that, he said, is good at creative writing and he was "struck" by what its short story called 'A Machine-Shape. On Creative Writing analyzes this AI short story, looks at the enthusiasm from fans of artificial intelligence, where lines were plagiarised, and then seeks English Professor Sam Waterman's views on the OpenAI short story.

Lindsay Mayhew (she/her) shares her writing journey in this interview, and reminds writers to always value their work. Lindsay is a spoken word poet and author from Sudbury, Ontario. She is the editor of A Thousand Tiny Awakenings with Connor Lafortune. Lindsay is Hamilton’s representative for CIPS 2025, the multi-year champion of Wordstock Sudbury’s poetry slam, and a runner up in the 2024 Womxn of the World poetry slam. She has featured with the YWCA, JAYU Canada, and N

Pratap Reddy immigrated to Canada from India in 2002 with the dream of becoming a writer. The challenges which newly arrived immigrants in Canada face gave him the stimulus to weave tales of fiction on the subject of immigrant experience. His latest collection of short stories is Remaindered People and Other Stories. His collection Weather Permitting and Other Stories was selected by Diaspora Dialogues for their mentoring program and later in 2016 Guernica Editions published

Tim Welsh was born in Ithaca, New York and raised in Ottawa, Canada, where he completed an MA in English Language and Literature at Carleton University. He now lives in Toronto. Ley Lines is his first novel. Tim shares how he fully committed to being a creative writer and began saying he was writing book. These things were significant in a psychological shift that made it possible to write Ley Lines.

Are you a writer looking for inspiration, guidance, and a supportive community? Then you've come to the right place! On Creative Writing is your go-to resource for everything you need to hone your craft and navigate the writer's life. We're excited to announce the upcoming launch of our new newsletter! Why subscribe to On Creative Writing By subscribing to our newsletter, you'll be the first to know about all the exciting things happening at On Creative Writing.

Vicky Ball is the author of Powerless and Abandoned, both young adult thrillers. Vicky went viral after posting on X that she sold two books at an event in December. The post was viewed 25 million times and received more than 740,000 likes. This tweet helped propel Vicky's thriller novel, Powerless, to the top of Amazon's teen and young adult fiction chart. Vicky's talent and the four and five-star reviews from readers (many of whom are now die-hard fans) pushed sales higher.

Poetry Doesn't Need a PhD: Beyond the Classroom: Hollay Ghadery and Rob Winger on making poetry accessible to all and why school can spoil poetry. Rob and Hollay's conversation is like a call to reclaim poetry and make poetry for everyone.

Bruce Hunter is an active writer, editor, speaker and mentor. His award-winning novel, In the Bear’s House, is re-released by Frontenac House. Last year, the book was released in Italy as Nella casa dell’orso, (In the House of the Bear), published by iQdB edizioni. His advice to writers is to stay fit and have fun. Most of us have day jobs, kids or grandkids and other responsibilities. Writing can be draining work. Keeping fit is key to a healthy heart and creative brain.

Natalie Lim (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian poet living on the unceded, traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples (Vancouver, BC). She is the author of a chapbook, arrhythmia (Rahila’s Ghost Press, 2022), and Elegy for Opportunity, her debut book of poetry, is forthcoming from Wolsak and Wynn in 2025. Her writing is political and she want to open questions about how grief and love intertwine to shape our time on earth.

Alison Chambers is the pen name of author Sandra Koehler, who first started writing when she was a teenager. Sandra was sparked by an interest in Nancy Drew books and a desire to tell a good story. Her latest novel is The Magician's Daughter, a thrilling novel of conspiracy, espionage, and intrigue which takes place on a US Army Air Force Base outside London in 1942 and published by Holand Press.

Paul Dettmann, AKA Crime Guy, details his path to publishing through social media, and how social media has helped him understand his audience and better connect with them. His advice to writers is to never edit when you a writing, because writing and editing require different brain processes.