Elena Bentley is a multi-genre writer, editor, and proud Métis aunty from Saskatchewan. Her poetry chapbook, taliped, was published by 845 Press in 2023, and she's the author of the children's picture books The Pickle in Grandma's Fridge (YNWP, 2022) and the forthcoming I Love My Aunty Because (GDI Press, 2026). She was longlisted for the 2024 CBC Poetry Prize, and her poems can be found in Arc Poetry, The Malahat Review, PRISM international, and Room, among others. Elena is the Editor for Grain magazine.

Kihêw Flamont is a Métis student attending the University of Regina and will be finishing their BA Honours in English with a minor in History this year. While primarily working on the academic side of scholarship, they also dabble in Creative Writing. Their Honours thesis explores the reclaiming of Métis identity and trauma narratives through the theoretical lens. Kihêw can always be found with a stack of books and a backpack that is far too heavy. They anticipate continuing their education and Indigenous research pursuits through the U of R’s Master's program.

Maria Giesbrecht is a Canadian poet whose writings explore her Mexican and Mennonite roots. Her work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in The Literary Review of Canada, Queen's Quarterly, CV2, Grain, and Canadian Literature. She won the 2025 Jack McCarthy award and was a finalist in the 2025 Narrative Poetry contest. Her debut collection, A LITTLE FERAL, is forthcoming in 2026 with Write Bloody Publishing. mariagiesbrecht.com

Lorri Neilsen Glenn’s most recent books include The Old Moon in Her Arms: Women I Have Known and Been (Nimbus Publishing) and Following the River: Traces of Red River Women (Wolsak and Wynn), an award-winning work about her Indigenous grandmothers and their contemporaries. The first Halifax Poet Laureate of Métis descent, Lorri is Professor Emerita at Mount Saint Vincent University and a mentor in The University of King’s College MFA program in creative nonfiction.

Connor Lafortune is from Dokis First Nation; he uses his understanding of the world to shape his creations as a writer, performer, and academic. Connor combines the written word with beadwork and sewing to recreate the stories of colonization, showcase resilience, and imagine a new future. In 2023, he released a single in collaboration with G.R. Gritt titled “Qui crie au loup? ft. Connor Lafortune.” He recently co-editing A Thousand Tiny Awakenings with Lindsay Mayhew through Latitude 46 Publishing. Above all else, Connor is an activist, a shkaabewis, and a compassionate human being. Visit nmkns.ca for more!

D.A. Lockhart is the author of multiple collections of poetry and short fiction. His work has been a finalist for the Trillium Book Award, the Indiana Author’s Award, and Raymond Souster Award. He is a graduate of the Indiana University – Bloomington MFA in Creative Writing program. He is pùkuwànkoamimëns of the Moravian of the Thames First Nation. Lockhart currently resides at Waawiiyaatanong

Cassandra Myers (My’z) (they/she/he) is an award winning poet, performer, dancer, illustrator, and counselor from Tkaronto, Ontario. As a queer, non-binary, South-Asian-Italian, crip, mad, survivor of sexual violence, Cassandra’s work has won national literary and spoken word titles including the National Magazine GOLD Award in Poetry and Champion of the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word. Find them @cass.myers.poetry at cassmyers.com, sailing, or riding a horse.

Sarah Sands Phillips (b. Tsí Tkaròn:to, Canada) is a Red River Métis/British-Irish interdisciplinary artist and poet. She holds an MFA from the Ruskin School of Art at the University of Oxford (2019). She has exhibited in Canada and internationally and her writing has appeared in Splinter; tba: Journal of Art, Media and Visual Culture; and Public Journal among others. She is currently based in Japan.

Douglas Sinclair is a member of Peguis First Nation in Treaty One territory in Manitoba, and a full member of the League of Canadian Poets. He has self-published one book of poetry, reflections from a broken stream in 2014. Originally from Winnipeg, Sinclair attended the University of Winnipeg studying Classics and then moved to McGill University in Montreal where he studied poetry and linguistics, graduating in 1978. Douglas Sinclair is married with three adult daughters and currently lives in Hamilton. He is currently working on a new book of poems, Beyond the Edge of Being.

Alycia Two Bears is a member of Mistawasis Nêhiyawak First Nation but calls Mohkinstsis home. A proud mixed-blooded iskwew; her mother, Karen Hines, is a white settler of Swedish descent, and her father is Keith Head. She is a Two Spirit story teller, single mama to five incredible humans, and a midwife in the making who coaxes babies down from the stars with poetry, medicines and songs. Alycia earned her Bachelor of Geberak Studies and Bachelor of Education through the University of Calgary. She is currently attending the Midwifery Program at the University of British Columbia and set to graduate in 2029. Alycia has been published in New Tribe Magazine, Red Rising Magazine, MBC Magazine, Radical Catalyst, Art & Literary Journal, "Resurgence of Indigenous Nationhood: Centering the Stories of Indigenous Full-Spectrum Doulas", and "Wilding and Sprout: Pregnancy Loss, Abortion and Postpartum Poetry Anthology". She has hosted poetry workshops through Red Rising Magazine, Sparrow Artspace, the Writers Guild of Alberta and the Buffalo Spirit Program. Her first poetry collection, "Two Spirit: Stories, Sex and the Ceremony Behind it All" was self published with the support of an arts Grant through the Calgary's Arts Development and is available online. Her second collection, "The Feast" was published through Wild Skies Publishing, available through their website and local book stores.

Tracy Wang is the first place winner of the 2025 Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize for Canadian Youth, senior category.

Angela Xiao is the first place winner of the 2025 Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize for Canadian Youth, junior category.