Guest host Kim Mannix, author of the new poetry collection Confirm Humanity, is excited to tell you all that the On Creative Writing Poetry Contest is officially OPEN!

The Poetry Contest is giving $300 Canadian for the first prize, and $100 Canadian for the runner-up!

Here’s what you need to know:

● Who can enter? Anyone, anywhere in the world.

● What are we looking for? Original poems in English. Any subject, any style.

● The fine print: Your poem must be unpublished and no longer than 50 lines.

● Entry fee: Just $5 Canadian per poem, and you can enter as many times as you like.

Now, a few words about the judges and the sponsors. Your poem will be judged by a stellar panel: poet and professor Rob Winger, Kim Mannix, a poet and author of a new collection called Confirm Humanity, and On Creative Writing’s Sheelagh Caygill.

Not least, a big thank you to poetry contest sponsors, Wolsak and Wynn publishers and River Street Writing author and book publicity firm, for making this poetry contest possible.

The entry deadline will be here soon! Mark your calendar, set a reminder, tattoo it on your arm—just don't miss it!

The deadline is Friday, December 19, 2025, at 11 a.m. Mountain Time.

Stop waiting for inspiration and start submitting! We can't wait to read your entry.

If you’re a lover of poetry, we have another contest you’ll want to know about. This contest is for a hard copy of award-winning poet Kim Fahner’s new collection, The Pollination Field. This beautiful book has been provided by the publisher, Turnstone Press. The contest for Kim’s book closes on Friday, December 12, 2025 at 11 a.m Mountain time.

Enter both contests at Oncreativewriting.com.

Thanks, and good luck everyone!

By Sheelagh Caygill

The Writer's Spark Coaching Competition is designed for creative writers who need that extra push, that spark to reignite their passion and move forward with their work.

Have you ever felt stuck in your writing? Maybe you're wrestling with your first draft, or you've lost momentum on a project that once excited you. Maybe self-doubt has crept in, or life has simply gotten in the way. If any of this sounds familiar, this competition might be exactly what you need.

The competition offers one writer a prize including sessions with a writing coach, editing, a one-year free membership with Brain.fm, and a Q & A interview with On Creative Writing. This prize is about transformation. It's about getting the professional support and tools you need to move your writing forward.

If you know you have a bit of talent within you—that unique combination of observation, imagination, and perspective that only you can bring to your work—but your spark is diminished, then I want you to enter.

The prize

First, you'll receive two one-hour coaching sessions with Fiona Fenwick, a professional coach and mentor based in New Zealand who specializes in helping creative writers reconnect with their creative energy, focus, and clarity.

In your first Zoom session with Fiona, you'll discuss and explore your goals, challenges, and any obstacles getting in your way. Are there habits preventing your progress?

Fiona will help you find solutions and provide actionable recommendations.

Then, three to four months later, you'll have a follow-up session for continued support.

Plus, Fiona will be available for email support as needed throughout the process.

Fiona specializes in helping writers overcome self-doubt and build sustainable writing habits. Her coaching is truly a lifeline for anyone navigating the ups and downs of the creative process.

Listen to a simulated coaching session with Fiona in my interview with her in the episode titled How a writing coach helps creative writers become unstuck, released Sept. 23 2025.

You'll receive a free full year subscription to Brain.fm. This isn't just background music. Brain.fm's music is scientifically engineered to work with your brainwaves to help you focus, relax, sleep, or meditate.

The third component is two hours of professional editing and feedback from me. As an experienced journalist and creative writer, I'll tailor the editing to your specific needs.

You might want to divide the time into two sessions—I can review your work first, then we'll discuss my feedback over Zoom. Or you can use me as an alpha or beta reader, and I'll send you a detailed report.

Finally, you'll have the opportunity to be featured in a Writers Reveal Q&A interview here at On Creative Writing. You'll also be promoted through our newsletter and social media platforms. It's a wonderful opportunity to share your story and connect with our community of readers and writers.

To enter you need to have reached the age of majority in your country or jurisdiction.

You'll need to answer two questions. The first question asks why you deserve to win. This is the answer that Fiona and I will evaluate, based on how well it's written—we'll consider spelling and grammar, use of language, persuasiveness, and writing style.

The second question asks you to describe your project in 300 to 700 characters. Tell us about the genre, the subject, whether you've started, and if you have a deadline.

The entry fee is just $6 dollars Canadian to cover administrative costs. You can pay through our Ko-fi page when you submit your entry.

Entries, coaching, and editing sessions will be in English.

Deadline: Friday, December 19th, 2025 at eleven a.m. Mountain Standard Time.

If you're in a creative rut, dealing with writer's block, or need motivation to push through, this prize will help!

Enter here: https://www.oncreativewriting.com/writers-spark-coaching-contest

In this episode of On Creative Writing, guest host and poet Kim Mannix sits down with acclaimed Canadian author C.J. Levigne to explore her post-apolyptic novella, The Drowned Man’s Daughter.

C.J. shares the origins of the book, which came out of her experiences with climate grief and a sense of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. She describes how these experiences, combined with her fascination for the rugged beauty of the Nova Scotia coastline, shaped the novella’s evocative setting—a small, weather-beaten fishing village teetering on the edge of environmental collapse.

C.J. offers listeners a behind-the-scenes look at her writing process, revealing how she balances meticulous research with moments of creative spontaneity. She discusses the challenges of editing The Drowned Man’s Daughter, particularly when it came to maintaining narrative tension and emotional resonance in a shorter format.

Kim and C.J. discuss the novella’s unique blend of speculative genres, including elements of magical realism, folklore, and eco-fiction. C.J. explains how she wove together these threads to create a story that feels both timeless and urgently contemporary, reflecting anxieties about climate change while also drawing on the mythic traditions of the Atlantic coast.

The episode also highlights C.J.’s experience working with NeWest Press’s Barbour Books imprint, which is focused on acquiring speculative fiction. C.J. talks about collaborating with Barbour’s new editor, Jenna Butler, whose keen editorial eye and passion for innovative storytelling helped shape the final manuscript. She shares anecdotes from the editing process, including tough decisions about what to cut and what to expand, and how Jenna’s feedback pushed her to deepen the core of the story.

C.J. works full-time and mentions the "bl**dy mindedness" she employed to finish The Drowned Man’s Daughter, working from initial drafts through rounds of revision and the uncertainties of submitting to publishers.

She emphasizes the importance of research—not just into the environmental science that underpins the novella’s world, but also into the folklore and oral histories of coastal communities. Kim and C.J. touch on the role of community in the novella and on how isolation and connection are mirrored in both the story and the author’s own creative journey.

Listeners will come away with a richer understanding of blending genres, including dystopian fiction, building immersive settings, and working with a supportive editorial team. It is a must-listen for anyone interested in the intersection of literature, place, and pressing contemporary themes.

Host Kim Mannix is a poet who has just released her debut collection, Confirm Humanity. Read Kim's interview with On Creative Writing.

Author Saad Omar Khan, a Pakistani Canadian writer and the author of the acclaimed debut novel Drinking the Ocean, joins host Sheelagh Caygill for a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about his writing and his book.

Saad was born in the United Arab Emirates to Pakistani parents and lived in the Philippines, Hong Kong, London, and South Korea before immigrating to Canada. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics and has completed a certificate in Creative Writing from the School of Continuing Studies (University of Toronto) where he was a finalist for the Random House Creative Writing Award (2010 and 2011) and for the Marina Nemat Award (2012).Saad shares insights into his multicultural upbringing and how his cosmopolitan upbringing has shaped both his view of the world and his writing. He reflects on the complexities and richness of navigating cultures, and how these experiences inform the characters, settings, and themes in his writing.

Listeners will hear a reading from Drinking the Ocean, where Saad brings to life the emotional depth and lyrical prose that have won him praise for this debut. He reflects on the literary influences that have shaped his voice, and discusses how he sought a balance of perspective for the characters of Murad and Sofi in Drinking the Ocean.

Saad strives to authentically portray the nuances of faith, mental health, and culture in his fiction. He discusses how he aims to represent these themes with honesty and sensitivity, avoiding stereotypes and instead offering multidimensional characters who grapple with real-life challenges. He shares his writing process, through to revisiions, and talks about the authors and books that have influenced him.

We touch on balancing a full-time professional career with creative writing. Saad offers advice for writers who are juggling multiple responsibilities, emphasizing the importance of discipline, time management, and self-compassion. He also highlights the role of literary communities—both online and in-person—in providing support, feedback, and a sense of belonging for writers at all stages of their careers.

The episode also explores the complexities of love, identity, and belonging, as Saad discusses how fiction can be a powerful tool for empathy and understanding. Saad offers a look at the challenges and rewards of writing about topics that are deeply personal yet universally relatable.

Find Saad Omar Khan online.

Drinking the Ocean is published by Wolsak and Wynn.

Read Saad Omar Khan's interview at On Creative Writing.

Guest host and poet Marco Melfi (author of Routine Maintenance) joins poet and professor Chris Hutchinson to explore the intricacies of Chris’s latest poetry collection, Lost Signal. Marco and Chris have a thoughtful discussion about the intersections of creativity, technology, and culture in contemporary poetry. They reflect on the enduring power of poetry to connect people across differences, create moments of shared understanding, and inspire both joy and critical thought.

The poets unpack the origins of Lost Signal, with Chris sharing the inspirations and experiences that shaped the collection. He discusses how the rapid evolution of technology and the omnipresence of digital culture have influenced not only the themes of his poems but also his approach to language and form.

The conversation explores the role of place and personal experience in Chris’s poetry. He describes how his sense of identity is shaped by the landscapes he’s inhabited, from urban environments to more rural settings, and how these places inform the emotional and imagistic texture of his poems. Chris emphasizes the importance of observation and presence, explaining how paying close attention to the world around him fuels his creative process and helps him capture moments of beauty, uncertainty, and transformation.

Chris reads several poems from Lost Signal, offering listeners a glimpse into his poetic voice and sensibility. Each reading is accompanied by a discussion of the poem’s origins, themes, and craft. Chris shares insights into his writing process, highlighting his use of intuition in writing first drafts and the necessity of revision in refining his work. He talks about the challenges of balancing spontaneity with careful editing, and how he strives to keep the energy of an initial idea while shaping it into a finished poem.

Marco and Chris delve into broader questions about the function of poetry in society. Chris believes in poetry’s unique ability to critique cultural norms, question dominant narratives, and foster empathy among readers. He discusses the pleasure he finds in the musicality and playfulness of language, as well as his commitment to engaging with social and political issues through his art. The conversation touches on the responsibilities of the poet in an era of rapid change and uncertainty, and how poetry can serve as both a mirror and a catalyst for personal and collective reflection.

Chris offers advice to aspiring poets and writers, encouraging them to trust their instincts, embrace revision, and remain open to the world’s complexities.

He explains: "My process as very intuitive. I honestly haven't had an idea for a poem or a book. Other people have ideas and schemes, and I admire that . . . you know, you travel to museums or do interviews and compile all this information and you kind of know where you're going. I think that's a very mature and sophisticated kind of creative process that I envy. And unfortunately, or maybe for better or for worse, I just don't. I've never been able to. Or maybe I haven't even bothered to try to do anything quite like that.

"I love sitting down and having no expectations and not really knowing what a poem is. If I have preconceived ideas or assumptions about what am I going to do, then I won't make any discoveries. It's no surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader, as Robert Frost once said.

"I like the idea of clearing one's mind and turning off one's internal editor, self-criticism, and doubts, in order to just allow language to kind of gurgle up from your unconscious or wherever it comes from and spontaneously spill out onto the page."

Thanks to Marco Melfi for hosting this episode, and to Chris for his time as a guest!

Chris Hutcinson

Lost Signals

Marco Melfi

Routine Maintenance

Novelist Susan Wadds presents an audio essay for this episode of On Creative Writing. She discusses her debut novel, What the Living Do. The title is from a poem by Marie Howe, which addresses someone who has passed away, and tells what the living is doing with their day.

Susan's novel centers on Brett Catlin, a woman navigating the complex terrain of grief, guilt, and a cancer diagnosis, all while coming to terms with a haunting childhood tragedy. The story looks at how the past continues to shape the present, and how healing can emerge from even the deepest wounds.

Many years ago, Susan had cancer and felt that there was a psychological underpinning to the disease. She shares her experiences with illness and how it informed both the emotional landscape of her protagonist, Brett Catlin, and the broader themes of her novel. She describes the challenges of writing authentically about pain and vulnerability, and how drawing from her personal journey allowed her to create a character who feels both real and relatable. Susan also discusses the cathartic power of storytelling, and how writing became a means of processing her own grief and uncertainty.

A significant part of Susan’s writing journey involved participating in supportive writing workshops. She shares how these creative communities provided not only technical guidance but also much-needed encouragement and camaraderie.

She wrote What the Living Do after years of not writing, even though she had been writing since before her teenage years. But after spending a lot of time in India and raising a family, she had stepped away from writing seriously. She had lost her confidence in being able to write a story, but was introduced to a woman named Sue Reynolds, who uses the Amherst Writers and Artists method of writing and workshop facilitation to help writers write what they need to write. Susan went to Sue's workshops and with the support of other writers and celebrating one another's successes, she found her voice and the confidence to complete her novel.

When it came to the creation of the novel's protagonist, Susan listened to Sherry Coalman, a writer and theatre person, who talks about a sacred image in writing. This can be can epicenter of what it is you're going to write about. For Susan, the sacred image was noticing women on roads, crews who actually weren't down in the ditches with the men, but just holding stop slow signs. And as most writers do, she asked the question, what if, what if what? What kind of person would she be if she was down there, scraping roadkill and filling potholes and taking down trees? Who would that be? Well, she'd be a little bit tough, able to hold her own in a misogynistic landscape or job. Susan flipped the script and gave Brett a younger lover. She has a work partner named Mel, who's indigenous, and Brett projects all of this wise Indigenous wisdom onto Mel.

Susan reflects on the role of positive feedback in a writer’s development. She recounts moments when a kind word or thoughtful critique made all the difference, motivating her to keep going during periods of self-doubt. She encourages aspiring writers to seek out communities that foster growth and to be generous with their own encouragement.

Listeners will come away with insights into the intersection of life experience and fiction, the value of creative support networks, and the transformative potential of writing through pain. Whether you’re a seasoned writer or just starting out, Susan’s story is about the resilience of the creative spirit and the healing power of narrative.

Susan is based in Sebright, Ontario, Canada. Find on Substack and Instagram.