Opening Doors through Stories: Community Chapbook Launch

Name: Opening Doors through Stories: Community Chapbook Launch
Start: 2025-05-15T19:00:00-06:00
End: 2025-05-15T20:30:00-06:00
Location: Central Library

Schedule

Thu May 15 2025 at 07:00 pm to 08:30 pm

UTC-06:00

Location

Central Library | Regina, SK

The Saskatchewan Writers’ Guild and the Regina Open Door Society are pleased to launch our chapbook, Opening Doors Through Stories: Community, with our event partners, the Regina Public Library.

Join us in-person at the Regina Public Library – Central, Community Commons Room, 2311 12 Ave, Regina or online from anywhere in the world.
To register for the online event, please visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ktmhl4Q3SN6x-2U7o8T9nA

Participants in our Opening Doors Through Stories series met in-person throughout November 2024 to develop creative writing for inclusion in this chapbook. These writers worked hard to refine their writing for publication with workshop facilitator and chapbook editor, Marie Powell.

This collection showcases the diverse identities and experiences of newcomers to Canada through creative writing and this launch allows us to hear the power of their stories through their own voices. Celebrate with us and these talented chapbook contributors: Abu Zafor Chowdhory, Amira Lotfy, Nazam, Chinedu Ezeala, Ananta (Dimple Mehta), Marwa Abu Eita, Munit Vikram, and Ningning Zhang.

This event is hosted by Marie Powell.

Read the current chapbook here: https://skwriter.com/programs-and-services/publications/other-publications/opening-doors-through-stories

Contributors:
Abu Zafor Chowdhory is from a small port city in Chattogram, Bangladesh. He emerged from a big family with an ambitious dream of legal excellence. As a registered lawyer with the Bangladesh Bar Council, he’s been driven by a passion for justice and good governance. His academic journey through law has revealed the critical need for legal reform in Bangladesh, where regulatory compliance remains a significant challenge. He is currently pursuing his MPA at the University of Regina, where he balances family responsibilities with academic goals. Despite the challenges of studying abroad, he remains dedicated to becoming a policy advocate who can drive meaningful change in international development and corporate sectors.

Amira Lotfy is an Egyptian person with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering. Amira worked in engineering before moving to an Arab country where Amira had the opportunity to first volunteer and then work as a teacher, which she loved. Amira learned how to be a good teacher from her parents. When Amira moved to Canada, she volunteered with RODS as an Arabic interpreter. Amira has published work in Opening Doors Through Stories: Imagine. Amira believes that psychological and emotional support is much more important than material support and is necessary to face life’s challenges and difficulties. This resilience creates communities of healthy people capable of adapting, living, respecting others, and gaining confidence. Amira dedicates her writing to her father’s soul, her loved mother, her siblings, her sons and daughter.

Ananta (Dimple Mehta) hails from India. She calls Canada home now and is grateful for many amazing people and experiences that have come her way. She speaks Gujarati, English, Hindi, and bit of Marathi. She enjoys furniture painting, dancing, and tending to plants. She loves cats and cheesecake. Writing, for her, was an escape into a different world, as a very shy teenager. Soon after joining law school, she stopped writing. A chance enrollment to RODS’ creative writing workshop last year, has allowed her to tap into lost creativity after nearly two decades. She is excited about publishing her first non-fictional work.

Chinedu Ezeala is a creative writer who makes up for his quiet disposition with lots of writing. He has written over 10 books and has a blog where he posts his writings for fun. His story telling style makes his works intriguing and captivating. He hopes to one day become a Global Best Seller.

Marwa Abu Eita was born in Cairo, Egypt. She is an architect with more than twenty years of experience in the design of villas and buildings. She had been working in Dubai and arrived recently in Regina working as a designer in an architectural firm. She is taking steps towards being a registered architect in Canada. She is passionate about reading and writing fictional stories and likes swimming.

Munit Vikram was born in Allahabad, a small city in Uttar Pradesh, India. She currently lives in Regina, Canada and loves the quietness and calmness of the place. She has master’s in Human Resources and Psychology with huge experience in Human Resources. She has an innate interest in human behavior which motivated her to write her first book “Embrace Yourself” about human behavior within the corporate world. this is her second time contributing a short story for chapbook Apart from writing she enjoys baking and crocheting.

Nazam immigrated to Canada in 2023 with her four children to pursue studies in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. With a background in adult education, Chinazam firmly believes that it's never too late to learn. Her journey reflects her dedication to lifelong learning and her desire to make a positive impact on her community.

Ningning Zhang, originally from China, has extensive experience in public service. Currently an active member of the Regina community, she participates in a diverse volunteer program, including providing settlement support for newcomer families, tutoring English for youth and contributing to projects that foster social progress and community unity. Through these efforts, Ningning has gained a deeper appreciation for the value of helping others and the meaning of life.
Passionate about art design, hiking, and outdoor adventures, Ningning finds joy in capturing her journeys and reflections through travel diaries. Guided by her core values of sincerity, justice, fearlessness, and compassion, she firmly believes that even small actions can inspire meaningful change and create a better world.

Editor and Host:
Marie Powell’s castle-hopping adventures across North Wales resulted in her medieval fantasy series Last of the Gifted: Spirit Sight and Water Sight, set in 13th C Wales. Marie is also the author of 40+ children’s books with such publishers as Scholastic Education and Amicus. Her short stories and poetry appear in such literary magazines as Room, subTerrain, and Sunlight Press. This is her third time as an Opening Doors anthology editor. She has served in SWG’s mentorship program and Virtual Writer-in-Residence program, and this summer she will be a Sage Hill Teen Writing Experience instructor for the third time. She holds a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Creative Writing from UBC, among other degrees. Marie lives on Treaty 4 land in Regina, where she experiments in gardening and medieval cooking. Find more at https://mariepowell.ca