Wendy McGrath wins the inaugural Prairie Grindstone Prize

Wendy McGrath is a poet, writer, and visual artist living in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) on Treaty 6 Territory. McGrath’s writing practice embraces multiple genres—fiction, poetry, spoken word, and creative non-fiction. McGrath describes her writing as “Prairie Gothic” and gives voice to working class stories. McGrath holds a Master's Degree in English from York University and a Bachelor […]

Departments of English and Humanities present Patricia Park

8 June 2023 via Zoom 2:30pm-3:30pm Patricia Park is the novelist of Re Jane, a modern-day reworking of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre with a Korean-American Jane, and the new YA novel, Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim. She’s a tenured professor of creative writing at American University. She’s written for the New Yorker, […]

Professor Patricia Keeney celebrates bilingual volume of poetry

Patricia Keeney, a long-time professor of creative writing at York University, has had her fourth bilingual volume of poetry published in France. The author of 10 books of poetry in English, this is Keeney’s eighth volume in another language. Keeney has also taught English and humanities at York for some 40 years. Selected and translated by […]

Introducing our inaugural Writer-in-Residence, Karen Solie!

The Department of English is proud to welcome award-winning Canadian poet, Karen Solie, as our first ever Writer-in-Residence. Between January 7 and April 30, 2023, Karen will be available for manuscript consultations with York students, faculty and staff who are working on prose and poetry projects. She will also be holding a reading at the end […]

Creative writing undergrad student sells debut novel

Matteo L. Cerilli, a York undergraduate student pursuing a BA honours with a double major in creative writing and professional writing from the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies, recently sold his debut novel Lockjaw. The novel is a multiple-perspective young adult horror novel corresponding to Stephen King’s IT and the hit television show […]

York University undergraduate students were recognized for their work in poetry, short fiction, and screenwriting at the annual Creative Writing Program Awards ceremony

The online ceremony held on May 24 honoured the 2021-2022 winning submissions. The event was organized by David Goldstein, creative writing program coordinator and associate professor of English, with support from staff members Kimberly Wilson, Rose Crawford and Marijana Gmitrovic.  “The awards ceremony is one of the highlights of our year in creative writing. Having the opportunity to honour students from […]

Bruce Powe - 2021 MEA Marshall McLuhan Book Award

Prof. Bruce Powe won the Media Ecology Association's annual Marshall McLuhan Book Award for The Charge in the Global Membrane. Read more about Prof. Powe's accomplishment on the McLuhan Gallery's website.

York alumna among prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize winners

Canadian poet and York University alumna Canisia Lubrin was named one of two winners of the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize in poetry. In addition to a citation and award, winners of the prizes receive an unrestricted grant of US$165,000 to support their writing. Lubrin’s first collection of poetry, Voodoo Hypothesis, was nominated for the Gerald Lampert award, the Pat Lowther award and was a […]

Creative Writing Professor, Pasha Malla, publishes new novel

Douglas Adams meets David Lynch in this witty yet horror-tinged fable about one of North America's scariest inventions--the local mall. After writing a letter in praise of "malls," our eccentric narrator is offered a "residency" at a shabby suburban shopping centre. His mission: to occupy the mall for several weeks, splitting his time between "making […]

Former student, Matthew Walsh, is a finalist for the 2020 Trillium Book Award

Matthew Walsh graduated with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing from York in 2013 before going on to complete an M.F.A. at the University of British Columbia. Matthew grew up in rural Nova Scotia and is now living in Toronto. Matthew’s poetry has appeared in The Malahat Review and Arc, among other publications. Matthew […]