BOOK LAUNCH: Please Don't Interrupt

Name: BOOK LAUNCH: Please Don't Interrupt
Start: 2026-02-10T19:00:00-07:00
Location: 1302 4 St SW #100, Calgary, AB, Canada, Alberta T2R 0X8

Schedule

Tue, 10 Feb, 2026 at 07:00 pm

UTC-07:00

Location

1302 4 St SW #100, Calgary, AB, Canada, Alberta T2R 0X8 | Calgary, AB

Welcome to the official launch of Please Don’t Interrupt, an anthology of prose and poetry edited by Rona Altrows and Uchechukwu Peter Umezerike, and published by Griots Lounge Publishing Canada. The book’s theme is interruption, the many roles it plays in our lives. We’ll have readings by some of the writers and a Q&A for both writers and editors. And of course, we’ll be happy to do personalized book signings.
Reserve your copy here: https://shorturl.at/nbWf7
ABOUT THE BOOK
Please Don't Interrupt comprises short works of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry on the subject of interruption. The anthology promotes excellence in Canadian writing, provides an opportunity to emerging writers, celebrates diversity, and builds community. In Please Don't Interrupt, we hear from writers who have immigrated to Canada from South America, from Africa, from Asia, from Europe, for a host of different reasons. We hear from writers living with debilitating illness, from older writers, from Indigenous writers, from Black writers, from writers who are survivors of trauma, from neurodivergent writers. We hear from writers at different points in their lives and in their writing careers.
ABOUT THE EDITORS
Rona Altrows is a writer, editor, and playwright living in Calgary. She is the 2025 winner of the Prairie Grindstone Prize, awarded for her body of work and commitment to supporting both emerging and established writers. She has edited or co-edited three previous theme-based anthologies. Her honours include the W.O. Mitchell Book Prize and the Jon Whyte Memorial Essay. Her third and most recent book of short fiction is At This Juncture. Her book of personal essays, Anxious Kid Makes Pretty Good, will be published this fall.
Uchechukwu Peter Umezurike is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, the 2025-2026 Wayne O. McCready Emerging Fellow at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities, University of Calgary, and the winner of the African Literature Association’s Best Book Award (Creative Writing). He is the author of there’s more, Double Wahala, Double Trouble, Wish Maker, and a co-editor of Wreaths for a Wayfarer. His monograph, Masculinity in Nigerian Fiction: Recptivity and Gender was published by Ediburgh University Press in 2025.
ABOUT THE READERS
Ademola Adesola is an Assistant Professor of Postcolonial Studies at the Department of English, Languages, and Cultures, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Canada. Ademola’s research and teaching interests are postcolonial literatures, African/Black Diaspora literatures, child soldier narratives, war and literature, popular culture, and human rights issues. Ademola has published essays and book chapters on African literature and sociopolitical issues. One of Ademola’s scholarly projects is representations of child soldiers in contemporary African narratives
Clara A. B. Joseph is the author of the long poem, The Face of the Other (IP, Brisbane 2016), and the collections of poems, Dandelions for Bhabha (IP, Brisbane 2018) and M/OTHER (Wipf and Stock, 2024). Her poems have appeared in publications of the League of Canadian Poets and journals such as Literature and Aesthetics, RCLAS E-Zine, S/tick, Canadian Woman Studies, Prosopisia: An International Journal of Poetry & Creative Writing, Mother Earth International, and Toronto Review. She is a professor of English and adjunct professor of Religious Studies at the University of Calgary.
Kelly Kaur grew up in Singapore and lives in Calgary. Her first novel is Letters to Singapore. Her poem and essay were awarded Honorable Mention in the Creators of Justice Literary Awards, New York, and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Kelly is a Preliminary Reader and judged 2 projects for the International Human Rights Arts Movement (IHRAM), New York. She curated/edited From Africa with Love: Voices of a Creative Continent, for IHRAM. Her works are going to the moon in 2024 in the NOVA and Polaris collection. Her children's book, Howdy, I'm Harnam Singh, is out with Red Barn Books Inc.
Wendy McGrath is the winner of the inaugural Prairie Grindstone Prize. A Métis poet, writer, and artist living in amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton), McGrath’s writing embraces multiple genres. Her most recent publication, The Orange Scribbler (Jack Pine 2023) is a chapbook/artist’s book inspired by heirloom recipes. She has collaborated with visual artists and musicians, exploring the relationships between genres. Her latest collaboration, The Beauty of Vultures, (NeWest Press 2025) is a poetry collection inspired by and including the bird/wildlife photography of Danny Miles. McGrath has published four novels, two poetry collections, and two chapbooks/artist’s books which explore a range of forms and approaches.
Alex Rettie writes from Calgary. His poems have been published in journals in Canada, the US, and the UK, have been featured at Calgary's Fairy Tales Film Festival (2022) and in the short film Old Dragon Man (2024). He is the recipient of a 2023 project grant from Calgary Arts Development, which he is using to complete his first poetry manuscript.
Anna Marie Sewell is the author of Humane (2020) and Urbane (2023) (novels, Stonehouse Publishing); For the Changing Moon: Poems & Songs (Thistledown Press, 2018), and Fifth World Drum (poetry, Frontenac House, 2009); lyricist for choral scores At First Light (2023, Hinshaw Music) and Journey Song (2022, Cypress Music). She was Edmonton's 4th Poet Laureate. Her artistic practice features multidisciplinary, intercultural collaborations, and work as a cultural educator. Honouring her Mi’gmaq/Anishinaabe/Polish heritage, she creates resources for formal and community educational initiatives including Japan’s Peace Boat. Ms Sewell lives in Amiskwaciy/Edmonton, and posts at prairiepomes.com
Madelaine Shaw-Wong writes fiction and non-fiction, novels and short stories, and occasionally dabbles in poetry. Madelaine’s writing often revolves around the theme of family, their troubles and complex relationships. In addition to her self-published books, her stories have appeared in several literary journals including Freefall and Mused, and in anthologies. Her passion for travel has taken her to many beautiful locations around the world, but mostly, she can be found at home at her keyboard, hammering out another story. Her works-in-progress involve magic, ghosts, and of course, family.