Brockton Writers Series: May 13, 2026

The Brockton Writers Series (#BWS) is a bi-monthly literary reading series, hosted on the second Wednesday of every second month, funded by the Ontario Arts Council. The reading is PWYC (suggested $3-$5) and features a Q&A with the writers afterward. Books are available for sale. Join us for an exciting hybrid event: in person at Glad Day Lit on Lisgar St in Toronto, ON, Canada, or virtual over livestream. This is a must-attend gathering for all literature enthusiasts!

Guest Speaker: Xio Axelrod on "From Pen to Platform: Author Branding in the Age of Noise"

Readers: James K. Moran, Justin Ancheta, Allister Thompson, Matthew J. Trafford

Xio Axelrod is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes different flavors of contemporary romance and what she likes to call “strange, twisted tales.” She grew up in the recording industry and began performing at a very young age. When she isn’t working on the next story, Xio can be found behind a microphone in a studio, writing songs in her bedroom-turned-recording-booth, or performing as her fictional band, the Lillys. Xio lives in Philadelphia in complete denial of the last five minutes of Buffy with one very patient, full-time, indoor husband and two part-time, supremely pampered, outdoor cats.

Ottawa writer James K. Moran writes across genres, with poetry and speculative fiction in Burly Tales, Bywords, Glitterwolf and On Spec, and reviews in Arc Poetry Magazine, Plenitude and Strange Horizons. Lethe Press published Moran’s short-story collection Fear Itself and horror novel Town & Train.

Justin Ancheta (he/they) is a stuttering Filipino-Canadian passionate about tarot, science, and writing, living in Toronto (Treaty 13 territory). He is exploring his writing voice through lyric essays and creative non-fiction, drawing from his experience being bi+, ace, racialized and disabled. He is @rampancy on Instagram and @jancheta25 on Bluesky.

Allister Thompson is a professional book editor of almost three decades and an eclectic musician. He is author of the cli-fi novel “Birch and Jay.” A former resident of Toronto, he now makes his home near the woods of North Bay, Ontario.

Matthew J. Trafford earned his MFA at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of the critically-acclaimed story collections The Divinity Gene (Douglas & McIntyre) and Runs in the Blood (Arsenal Pulp Press). He is an avid fibre artist in his alternate persona of Fairy Godfather Knits.

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