Congratulations to Liz Huntly/Jensch, selected as the first Steven Heighton Fellowship recipient. She will join eight others in the Writer-in-Residence program at the Al Purdy A-frame in Ameliasburgh in 2025.

Huntly is an amphibious artist – creative writer, visual artist, musician, and artisanal baker. She holds diplomas in graphic design and multidisciplinary design, and a degree in communications. She was longlisted for the ROOM Magazine Short Fiction Contest and is a featured poet in Kingston’s Drift/Line series and Quirks of Human Nature series. Huntly will be at the A-frame from August 11 to September 19.

The Heighton Fellowship was created by the Al Purdy A-frame Association, in collaboration with the Department of English and Creative Writing at Queen’s University in Kingston. Steven Heighton was an award-winning writer and artist with a national following. He was a frequent guest at the A-frame and a close friend of both Al and Eurithe Purdy.

Each year, one deserving Heighton Fellow receives a financial award of $10,000, a six-week residency at the A-frame, a further week-long residency at Queen’s University in association with its Creative Writing program and, finally, a profiled position at an event called the Steven Heighton Happening. No other literary Fellowship in Canada can boast such a richly varied and rewarding suite of benefits.

The eight other writers chosen to take up residence in 2025, the 11th year of the program, are:

Mark Goldstein, May 3 to May 30, is the author of six books, including the award-winning Her Process (Beautiful Outlaw, 2021) and Form of Forms (Book*hug, 2012). A multifaceted writer, translator, and editor, Goldstein is also a graphic artist, musician, and the founder of Beautiful Outlaw Press. His most recent book, Paul Celan: Thricelandium, was published in 2024.

Xiao Xuan / Sherry Huang, June 1 to June 27, is a writer, scholar, and educator working in hybrid poetic and autotheory. Her full-length publications are Love Speech, which was published in 2019, and all the time, forthcoming in Fall 2025. She currently teaches English Literature and Creative Writing at Capilano University.

Brenda Leifso & Alayna Munce, June 29 to July 18. Brenda is the CFO and COO at Brick Books – Canada’s premiere publisher of poetry. Brenda has taught yoga for over 20 years and is a certified Relax and Renew® Level One Teacher. She is also a poet, whose books have been shortlisted for multiple awards.
Alayna is the publisher and editor at Brick Books. Her first poetic novel, When I Was Young and in My Prime (Nightwood Editions, 2005) was nominated for the Trillium Book Award and appeared on the national bestseller list. Alayna has also worked as a freelance fiction editor.

Erin Finley & Kevin Mercier, July 21 to July 31.
Erin is a Canadian visual artist who has been interviewed by CTV’s The Social, CBC’s The National, Fox News, Global News, CTV News, and CBC Radio. She is the creator of “Memory Drawing” and “Project Elinor,” both of which help older adults boost brain power through art. Kevin is an educator and writer who has presented writing-based research at conferences held by Carroll University (U.S.); Birmingham University (U.K.); and the Department of English Literature at Concordia University (Canada).

Bren Simmers, Sept 21 to Oct 17, is the winner of the CBC Poetry Prize and The Malahat Review Long Poem Prize. She is the author of five books, including the wilderness memoir Pivot Point. Her latest poetry collection The Work (Gaspereau Press) was a finalist for the 2024 Governor General’s Literary Awards.

Writer Chris Johnson, Oct 19 to Nov 14, is currently Managing Editor at Arc Poetry Magazine, Editorial Assistant at Nightwood Editions, and Contract Instructor at Carleton University. His writing has appeared in literary journals and anthologies in Canada and the U.S.

See here for more information