Author Description

Drag kings and sea monsters, switchblade travellers and teacup ghosts—these stories and poems are a mixture of the mundane and the bizarre. Here you’ll find true tales of a son’s death and a girl’s first heartbreak, stories that range from the minutely personal to the transcendently universal. Words are only words until the writer, like an alchemist, blends them with sweat and self-reckoning to create something out of the ordinary. A community of 62 writers combine their words in emerge 17. emerge 17 includes contributions from TWS students mentored by Kevin Chong (Fiction), Eileen Cook (YA/Speculative Fiction), Claudia Cornwall (Creative Non-Fiction), Hiromi Goto (Speculative Fiction), JJ Lee (Creative Non-Fiction), Fiona Tinwei Lam (Poetry), Jen Sookfong Lee (Fiction), Betsy Warland (Poetry) and program director Wayde Compton. CONTENTS Gurjinder Basran — Foreword SPECULATIVE and YA FICTION T. M. Baldwin — Becoming Crow Lis Jakobsen — The Golden Scarab of Bloor Street S. L. Shields — Cedar Tatiana Lee — Fisherman’s Friend Thomas Onstott — Banshee’s Tale Michael Zibauer — The Barmaid’s Adventure Stephanie Gray — Lockhart and Teague Robyn Drage — The Gift Cynthia C. Huijgens — The Novice Collector Samantha Balliet — Bridge World Elecia Chrunik — How the Earth Went from Flat to Round Shilpa Raju — Ties Leslee Silverman — If It Weren’t For You Kids Michelle Stack — Circle Time from Hell Neda Tanha — Mother’s Day Tanya Boteju — Naya in Costume FICTION Neha Puntambekar — Smoke Rings Adriana Louis — Gilded Lorna Carley — Love Again Maureen Butler — The Dance Kathryn Lee — Interval Scott Lear — A First Year in High School Patrick Lucas — Everything You Know Is Wrong Christy Dunsmore — Rose to the Occasion Leslie West — The Year of Other Men Megan Abele — Art and Story Chelene Knight — Junie Josh Keefer — The Bus Stop Gentlemen Sharon Miki — Night Shift Alyssa Hanada — Matched Socks Reese Kim Carrozzini — Two excerpts Urith Hayley — Crocodiles and Crocuses Gina-Lily D’Attil