J L Witterick

JL Witterick is an international bestselling author. Her books are enjoyed in 10 languages around the world.  She loves to tell stories that are inspirational and moving. My Mother’s Secret, her first novel, has been selected to teach courage and compassion in many schools.

The ideas for her stories can come from anywhere. Her latest creation, It Was Always Her, was the result of a dream that was so astonishing that she felt compelled to write it down.  Time travel and the question of what we would do with a second chance have always fascinated her and she wove these concepts into this novel.

Writing is a joy for her and she hopes that readers will enjoy her books as much as she enjoyed writing them.  She cherishes her family, her friends, her dog, her cats…and her stories.

Colleen Winter

Our own Colleen Winter, the award-winning author of the Gatherer series joins us a a panelist. She was short-listed for the 2020 Rakuten Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in Speculative Fiction, has received two Writer’s Reserve grants from the Ontario Arts Council, won first prize in the CAA Leacock/Simcoe Erotic prose contest, received a SLS Fellowship from the Unified Literary Contest, and is an alumni of the Humber School of Writers. She is the past-President of the Writer’s Community of Simcoe County and is a current organizer of Word Up Barrie. When she’s not putting pen to paper, she spends her time exploring the world through hiking, climbing, and cross-country skiing.

You can find her on her website colleenwinter.ca

Trevor Ferguson

Trevor Ferguson is the author of sixteen novels and four plays. The latter have been produced in both Montreal and New York. The film of his novel, The Timekeeper, was released in 2009. His thrillers, under the name John Farrow, have received extraordinary acclaim around the world, and are published in twenty-four countries. His most recent novel is Lady Jail (John Farrow, 2021, Severn House/ Canongate, U.K.) He lives in Victoria, BC.

Jessica Hamilton

Jessica Hamilton was born in Australia but grew up in Canada. She has lived and worked in the Czech Republic, Taiwan, India and Japan. She studied writing at the Humber School for Writers as well as George Brown College. She lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, son and daughter. What You Never Knew is her first novel.

Judy Penz Sheluk

A former journalist and magazine editor, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: the Glass Dolphin Mysteries and the Marketville Mysteries. Her short crime fiction appears in several collections, including The Best Laid Plans and Heartbreaks & Half-truths, which she also edited.

She splits her time between Alliston and Goulais River, Ontario, with her husband, Mike, and their golden retriever, Gibbs.

Find more about her here.

Rosanna Battigelli

As a teenager, Rosanna Battigelli loved reading historical, suspense, and romance novels, and dreamed of writing for Harlequin one day. She is thrilled that her early dream has come true, with two Harlequin Romances published in 2018 and one in 2020, and two more that will be released in March and July of 2021. Rosanna’s first romance, Swept Away by the Enigmatic Tycoon, is set Parry Sound and Georgian Bay, places she loves to visit. Captivated by Her Italian Boss takes place in Calabria, Italy, where Rosanna was born. Her third book, Caribbean Escape with the Tycoon, is set in the Caribbean and was written after going on a cruise. Rescued by the Guarded Tycoon features the hero’s cousin from the first book and takes place again in Parry Sound with scenes in Toronto. Rescued . . . will be released in March 2021. Rosanna’s fifth book, Falling for the Sardinian Tycoon, is set on a private island off the coast of Sardinia. It will be released in July 2021. The books are available at amazon and Chapters

MJ Moores

MJ Moores is a hybrid author who has traditionally e-published 2 non-fiction industry guides and 1 marketing guide. She has completed her self-published Sci-Fi/Fantasy series The Chronicles of Xannia, and now plays in the sandboxs of Romantic Suspense, Steampunk Superheros, and lite Urban Fantasy. Her writing articles have appeared in Authors Publish Magazine, Indyfest Magazine, Easy Writer, and in the Writers Guide: The Writing Spiral published by Sunshine in a Jar Press. MJ taught high school English, was a genre writing coach, freelance writer, and is currently an acquisitions editor for DAOwen Publications. She loves nothing more than helping writers through this crazy journey.

Learn more about here here: http://mjmoores.com

Tracey Richardson

Tracey Richardson is an Essex County girl and University of Windsor graduate who has called Owen Sound, Ont., home for the last 30 years. A now-retired daily newspaper journalist, Tracey is the author of 13 romance novels published by Bella Books. She is a two-time Lambda Literary Awards finalist as well as a first-place Rainbow Romance winner (Romance Writers of America) for contemporary romance. She is also a Word By Word (short story) second-place recipient and a finalist numerous times for the Golden Crown Literary Society. Tracey is a founding member of the Ascribe Writers group in Grey-Bruce. In her spare time, Tracey enjoys spending time with her wife and dogs as well as activities such as hockey, golf and other outdoor pursuits. And reading. Always reading!

Visit her website at www.traceyrichardson.net

Sherry Coman

Sherry Coman is a writer, educator and story editor with more than thirty years experience in theatre and film as the author of her own plays, screenplays and fiction and as the consultant on story editing and film production for clients ranging from young new filmmakers, to emerging playwrights and established international film producers. As a playwright, she has been produced in Canada, the US and Great Britain and in 1991 was nominated for the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn prize.

James Dewar

James Dewar teaches fiction and poetry workshops in Canada and internationally. His short fiction and poetry have been published in several anthologies and literary journals. He edits poetry and prose in a mentorship capacity and enjoys his role as the publisher of Piquant Press. He is currently working on a novel and a new collection of poetry.

James has performed his work live on CBC Radio, on several university radio stations, particularly the HOWL Radio show on CIUT 89.5 FM in Toronto.

He has been producing and hosting the Hot-Sauced Words Poetry Performance Series in Toronto since 2006.

Susan (Deepam) Wadds

Winner of The Writers’ Union of Canada’s 2016 short prose contest, Susan Wadds’ short fiction and poetry have been featured in literary journals and anthologies, including Room and carte blanche magazines. The first two chapters of her novel, “What the Living Do,” won Lazuli Literary Group’s writing contest, and was published in Azure’s winter 2017 issue.

A graduate of the Humber School for Writers, Susan is certified in the Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA) method of writing workshop facilitation. She leads writing workshops and retreats virtually, in Canada, and internationally.