Reviewers

Our reviewers are current and past students of the UBC Creative Writing Program and Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Program.

Emily Anctil

Emily is a graduate of UBC’s Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program and holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. Reading picture books is her favourite thing to do. You can find more of her reviews at her YouTube channel, Page Turns.

Juhyun Tony Bae

Juhyun Tony Bae is a Korean-Canadian writer currently studying at UBC. He’s been working on a dystopian YA novel that he says will be completed between the next one to fifty years. His work has been published in Grain, FreeFall, and Wax Poetry and Art. You can follow him on twitter @jTonyBae.

Hooria Bilal

Hooria Bilal is an undergraduate at UBC majoring in Biology and minoring in Creative Writing. She enjoys reading middle grade and YA books in her spare time, her favourite genre being fantasy-adventure.

Louise Brecht

Louise Brecht is a Creative Writing and English Literature student at the University of British Columbia. An avid reader and aspiring author, Louise has published works of non-fiction, fiction and poetry in nineteenquestions, Pearls, Collage, and Sweatink.

Kaitlyn Chan

Kaitlyn Chan is a current student at UBC, studying English Literature and Creative Writing. Fulfilling the typical stereotypes of English majors, Kaitlyn enjoys reading, writing, and tea. She spends her free time training for triathlons, singing songs in her bedroom, and trying not to buy more books.

Belle Cole

Belle Cole is an English Literature and Creative Writing student at UBC from San Antonio, Texas. She is passionate about learning new things and proclaims herself a chronic “hobby-hopper,” regularly jumping from one hobby to the next. No matter her current obsession, her spirited love for reading, writing, and traveling remain ever-constant. 

Jade Courchesne

Jade Courchesne is currently working towards an MA in Cinema and Media Studies at UBC. Her SSHRC-funded research considers identity formation and performativity within the Canadian-Chinese diaspora, especially looking at code-switching and language practices of multiracial individuals on screen. Her published work (Ricepaper Magazine, Film Matters Mag and others) contributes to the expanding body of anti-racist literary media through discussions on ‘good’ representation and ‘performing’ race.

Valeria De La Vega

Valeria De La Vega holds a Masters degree in Children’s Literature from the University of British Columbia. She is a Colombian living in Canada who is interested in stories that encourage empathy. She is drawn to narratives of immigrants, being Latin American, and stories she can relate to her country’s history.

Jane Diokpo

Jane Diokpo is a UBC Media Studies undergraduate who loves films, graphic design, reading, and writing. She also loves petting cute dogs from time to time.

Annalise Fisher

A graduate of UBC with a degree in German and Creative Writing, Annalise writes things, knits, and plays video games while trying to figure out what to be when she grows up.

Sara Francoeur

Sara Francoeur lives with her family in a beachy neighbourhood just outside of Vancouver, B.C. With a degree in comparative religion and a background in fashion, Sara now studies creative writing at UBC. 

Kaileigh Funnell

Kaileigh Funnell is a non-binary student at the University of British Columbia studying theatre design and production with a minor in Creative Writing. They grew up in Clarenville, Newfoundland, and are now based out of Vancouver, BC. They have a passion for writing, specifically young adult novels and comics.

Katie Gaston

Katie Gaston is a Canadian writer. She is passionate about expression and studies English literature and music at the University of British Columbia. When she is not composing bad love songs on the piano, she is attempting to write the next great Canadian novel and is drinking too many iced matcha lattes.

Shubhdeep Kaur Gill 

Shubhdeep Kaur Gill is a first-year student at UBC, hoping to study creative writing. She has had an interest for reading since her sister started teaching her the alphabet and has since developed an equal interest for writing as well. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found painting, playing guitar, or procrastinating.

Jocelyne Gregory

Jocelyne Gregory is a UBC MFA creative writing candidate and a graduate of SFU’s The Writer’s Studio. She’s an author and editor and has provided manuscript consultations with the Sechelt Public Library and the Writer’s Studio. A lifelong gamer and fan of comics, she lives on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

Lauren Hathaway

Lauren holds an M.A. in Children’s Literature from the University of British Columbia and a B.A. in English from Fordham University. She regularly reviews children’s books for School Library Journal and loves sharing books with her eight nieces and nephews back home in Arizona. 

Laura Anne Harris

Laura Anne Harris is a writer/performer/director/reviewer, born and raised in Victoria, B.C. She currently is pursuing her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Since 2016, she has contributed reviews and interviews with the online magazines: The Seventh Row, My Entertainment World, and Prism International. 

Evelyn Hussey

Evelyn Hussey is a BA Psychology student minoring in Creative Writing at UBC. She loves reading memoirs/creative nonfiction as well as realistic fiction. When she is not reading or writing she spends her time rock climbing, binging true crime content, or with her beloved dog, Dipsea.

Jennifer Irvine

Jennifer Irvine is currently working towards a BFA in Creative Writing at UBC where she writes fiction, YA and is even dabbling in graphic novel writing. She has been published in York University’s Existere Magazine and UBC’s online Garden Statuary Magazine.

Ciara Javier

Ciara Javier is a Political Science and Creative Writing undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia. She thinks television and books are ridiculously addictive and drinks should always be cold.

Faire Jarvis

Faire Jarvis is an undergraduate student studying English at the University of British Columbia who
enjoys writing and editing essays, and dancing on the weekends.

Kaila Johnson

Kaila Johnson is a creative writing BFA student and has contributed to UBC’s student newspaper The Ubyssey for the past three years. She loves creating stories centred around identity and community. When they’re not writing, she can be found painting, watching reality television, or saying hello to an animal nearby. 

Rachel Jung

Rachel Jung is a fourth-year Korean Canadian undergraduate student majoring in History and minoring in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. She enjoys writing and playing relaxing games like Stardew Valley in her free time!

GiGi Kang

GiGi Kang is a Canadian writer studying English Literature and Creative Writing at UBC. She is a poet and also writes at LA-based creative platform and magazine The Luna Collective where she interviews creatives from around the world and reviews the latest music and film releases. Read more at gigikang.com.

Micah Killjoy

Micah Killjoy is a Creative Writing BFA student at UBC. They like reading and writing about history and daydreaming about decolonization, bad poetry and having manageable hair.

Shanleigh Klassen

Shanleigh Klassen hails from the frozen metropolis of Winnipeg, MB, pursuing an M.A. in Children’s Literature at UBC. She is a bookseller at heart and a scholar in practice. Shanleigh loves anything with a fairy tale spin, some dark magic for flavour, and an anti-hero at the centre, but she’s not picky.

Alicia  L’Archevêque

Alicia L’Archevêque loves to write, talk about movies, dance with friends, and climb trees in good company. She is an art student at UBC and a swimmer on the school’s varsity team.

Avery Lau

Avery Lau is a 2nd year university student in the Faculty of Arts at the University of British Columbia. She hopes to become a teacher after graduation.

Charmaine Lee

Charmaine Lee is a Computer Science major and Creative Writing minor at the University of British Columbia. She enjoys writing for children and thinking critically about the impact of digital media. Visit her at www.charmaineklee.com and @charmaine_klee on twitter.

Jieun Lee

Jieun Lee is a graduate student in UBC’s MA in Children’s Literature. She doodles and scribbles as much as she can and aims to tell stories of children’s experiences in immigrant families and the magical effects of food.

Lonnes Leloup

Lonnes Leloup (she/her) is a trans, Jewish, French-Canadian young adult writer and a creative writing student at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Elizabeth Leung

Elizabeth Leung is a recent graduate of the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Program at UBC. When not editing for Young Adulting, she can be found reading, dancing, or writing her middle grade space opera. In the fall, she’ll be starting her PhD at the University of Cambridge. Follow her on twitter @ezlabeth.

Carolina Leyton

Carolina Leyton is a current MA student in the Children’s Literature program. She completed her BA Honours in UBC Okanagan. From the age of 9, she has been an avid reader and writer, and now hopes to become an author of critical, important, and unique YA novels. 

Tze Liew

Tze Liew is a Malaysian Chinese dodo who is graduating with a BFA in Creative Writing. She grew up on fantasy YA and Studio Ghibli, loves music, squawking, and dancing like a sea slug. Currently growing her wings to become a singer, composer and writer.

Keh Liu

Keh Liu is in the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program at UBC. He is also a television writer based in Vancouver and Toronto. When he’s not writing scripts or researching fairytales, Keh likes to do Maggie Smith impersonations when no one is around. He is doing one right now.

Hannah Luppe

Hannah Luppe is currently completing her MA in Children’s Literature at UBC. She is the managing editor of Young Adulting Review.

Lauren Maguire

Lauren Maguire recently completed her master’s degree in Children’s Literature at the University of British Columbia. She currently works as a tutor and writing mentor for middle school and high school students.

Lisa Matthewson

Lisa Matthewson is a sixth-generation New Zealander and a first-generation Canadian. She teaches Linguistics at the University of British Columbia. She is taking creative writing courses in the hope of one day writing historical fiction for middle-grade readers.  

Holly Maurer

Holly Maurer is a UBC Creative Writing student living in Burnaby, BC. She adores poetry of all sorts, baking confections of her wildest dreams, and being a teething toy for her misguided yet ravenous cat.

RJ McDaniel

RJ McDaniel is a writer.

Emily-Anne Mikos

Emily-Anne Mikos is a graduating student from the UBC Creative Writing BFA. She is currently writing her own novel and hopes to continue writing stories about women that don’t involve saviour complexes. She has decidedly abandoned real life for fictional worlds where bees are still thriving. #Savethebees.

Kelsey Elisabeth Moorhouse

Kelsey Moorhouse is pursuing an MA in Children’s Literature, with a focus on Young Adult fantasy and the magic of creativity, emotion, and art. Her work has been published in NoD Magazine and Contiki 6-2. Having worked as a piano teacher, lifeguard, archival assistant, and barista, she is now dedicating her time to writing her YA novel.

Tessa Mouzourakis

Tessa Mouzourakis is an undergraduate student at the University of British Columbia studying History and Creative Writing. As a massive book worm, Tessa aspires to be a published writer of poems and stories. In the summer, Tessa spends her time in Nashville, Tennessee, writing songs, seeing shows, and avoiding honky-tonks.

Charlotte Mundy

Charlotte Mundy completed her undergraduate with a BSc in Nursing. Living with the curse of creativity while working in a scientific field, she has been taking writing courses at UBC to satisfy her appetite for literature. She has always enjoyed reading and writing and hopes to one day become an author.

Logaine Navascués

Logaine Navascués is a Peruvian artist, writer, creative director, teacher and book maker, currently living in Vancouver. She is the proud mother of a beautiful daughter and two artist’s books. You can find her reading, collecting picturebooks and eating chocolate while pursuing her MA in Children’s Literature at UBC.

Shyamala Parthasarathy

Shyamala Parthasarathy is an MA Literature graduate, currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at UBC. Hailing from Chennai, India, she is currently working on a young adult urban fantasy novel, and can be found in her natural habitat: the corner of a room, typing away on her laptop or angrily glaring at it.

Hira Peracha

Hira Peracha is a Psychology and Creative Writing student at the University of British Columbia. She enjoys reading and writing both fiction and poetry.

Sye Perry

Sye Perry (she/her) is a cis, white, pansexual student at the University of British Columbia. Sye typically enjoys reading fantasy, poetry/verse, and romance novels. A good book for her has to either be really pretty with words and descriptions, have an edge-of-your-seat crazy exciting plot, or give happy romantic stomach butterflies.

Joseph Pooley

Joseph Pooley is a vile creature from the depths of the ocean that somehow crawled its way up onto the shores of Vancouver. It now spends its days shambling aimlessly about the University of British Columbia in a perverse mockery of human existence.

Sasa Popovich

Sasa Popovich is an undergrad student at UBC in the English Literature program, focusing primarily on contemporary and children’s literature. He has taken several creative writing classes as electives, and writes long form fantasy and children’s literature.

Ahmad Danny Ramadan

Ahmad Danny Ramadan is an award-winning Syrian-Canadian author. His novel, The Clothesline Swing, continues its success, and is translated to multiple languages. He is currently working on his next novel, The Foghorn Echoes, and a collection of short fiction, The Syrian Survival Notebook. His children book, Salma the Syrian Chef is forthcoming in 2020.

Verena Rodriguez

Verena recently graduated from the MA in Children’s Literature at UBC. Before that she did a BA in Visual Communication at the UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico). She specialized in illustration and has been working as a graphic designer since 2014. She also works as a freelance illustrator for children’s books and textbooks and occasionally does animation projects.

Britt Runeckles

Britt Runeckles is an English Literature and Creative Writing student at the University of British Columbia, where she writes fiction, non-fiction and screenplays. She is currently working on her first novel and loves writing stories about characters with weird hobbies and intersectional identities.

MacKenzie Sewell

MacKenzie Sewell lives in Coquitlam, BC with her girlfriend and their two cats. Somewhere in between studying creative writing at UBC and working as a barista, MacKenzie loves to read — novels, cereal boxes, you name it.

Shalon Sims

Shalon Sims is a writer and teacher candidate at UBC. She writes middle grade and young adult science fiction, and hopes to work with those same ages when she becomes a teacher. Visit her at shalonsims.com and learning2grow.org.

Peter Takach

Peter Takach is a writer and teacher whose works have surfaced in some of the nation’s finest magazines, literary festivals, and recycling bins. Banished from his hometown for crimes against humanities, he can be found at the University of British Columbia toiling away at his MFA in Creative Writing or perched on driftwood staring out at great Neptune’s ocean.

Elina Taillon

Elina is earning her MFA in Creative Writing at UBC to accompany her MA in French Literature from U of T. She enjoys books, fanciful thinking, cats, and teatime.

Sophia Thomson

Sophia Thomson lives and writes from North Vancouver. Her focus of study is TV writing and YA fiction at the University of British Columbia School of Creative Writing. She’s currently writing her debut YA novel. Primarily, she writes funny love stories. Find her on Instagram @sophiathomsonreads.

Gabrielle Tselos

Gabrielle Tselos is a UBC student, from Saint Paul, Minnesota. In her free time, she enjoys writing, photography, and baking delicious treats for her friends and family.

Deborah Vail

Deborah Vail writes YA, adult fiction, creative non-fiction, book reviews and interviews with notable authors. Her short fiction has appeared in Grain Magazine, The Antigonish Review and The New Quarterly. Her review of Sonja Boon’s memoir, What the Oceans Remember is forthcoming in The Antigonish Review. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia.

Makenna Vanegas

Makenna Vanegas is a UBC student, originally from Lake Oswego, Oregon. Between ballet classes, she spends her time creating music, digital art, and perfecting her Flock of Seagulls hairstyle.

Audrey Wahking

Audrey Wahking is a lover of well-told stories, whether they come packaged as films, TV shows, or novels (though books remain her first love). She is currently studying at UBC Vancouver and living her own coming-of-age story.

Laura Ward

Laura Ward finished her undergraduate at UBC with a focus in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice and Creative Writing. She hopes she can bridge these two subjects in her writing, especially for younger readers. Laura enjoys going for walks in quiet forests, eating copious amounts of pasta, and watching cartoons, in no particular order.

Claudine Yip

Claudine Yip is studying Creative Writing with an Art History minor at UBC. She is currently drafting her way through a YA contemporary novel and sporadically blogs about food as an excuse to post all the pictures she takes at bubble tea shops. Visit her at cyieat.wordpress.com and @cyieat on Instagram.

Ayşe Lara Yildirim

Ayşe Lara Yildirim (she/her/they/them) is a UBC Creative Writing student, studying, working, and living on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam people. They identify as a queer woman & first-generation Turkish immigrant. Her poems have been published in an anthology of student writing at Trent University called Chickenscratch (Coach House Books, 2020 & 2021).

Charis Young

Charis Young is a Creative Writing Undergrad at UBC. Reading and writing have been one of her passions for as long as she can remember. She often has to read passages to her cat who gets interested when she has a big reaction.

Natasha Zippan

Natasha Zippan is a graphic designer and art director who has gone back to school to study psychology, gender and sexuality, and (hopefully) write stereotype-busting stuff for kids and teens. She loves social justice and magical realism, and is currently working on a time-travel YA romance with a gay protagonist.