Speakers for this event

• Anastasia

  Anastasia

  Anastasia (She/Her) is a queer student and writer, born and raised in Toronto and getting her BFA in Creative Writing at OCADU. She has been published in OCADU’s 4th and 5th editions of Pulse, and enjoys writing mind-warping stories surrounding girlhood, nostalgia and the body. She has worked as a journalist for the magazine The Girlhood Project, researching women’s homelessness in Toronto. She enjoys performing original songs on guitar and has performed at the 2025 TIFA Cabaret through Ian Keteku, and has assisted in running Word On The Street during Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour with Lillian Allen. 

• Joshua “Scribe” Watkis

  Joshua “Scribe” Watkis

  Scarborough born emcee, national poetry slam champion and arts educator, Joshua “Scribe” Watkis, has devoted himself to extracting the essence of his experiences; turning them into words worth their weight in feeling. His most recent release “SCENE IN CIN” is available for streaming and purchase on Bandcamp now.

• Kaiden Vella

  Kaiden Vella

  Kaiden Vella (he/they) is a creative writing student at OCAD university who has a heart for all things creative from writing poetry to photography and film. 

• Mohamed Abdou

  Mohamed Abdou

  Mohamed Abdou is a poser poet that invokes a voice from another dimension then lets it growl on and on and on until he must fold or bite his tongue backwards shut, subduing performance and ensuring applause!

• Paul Edward Costa

  Paul Edward Costa

  Paul Edward Costa (He/Him) is an award-winning Canadian poet, spoken word artist, and educator. He directs Toronto’s Outer Haven Poetry Night series and is a former Poet Laureate for the City of Mississauga. He has published in many journals such as The Stanziac Journal and The White Wall Review. He recently published “Vigils of the Night Office” with DarkWinter Press and “Some Half-Human Creature Thing” with Mosaic Press. He has featured at many poetry reading events across Canada.