The long-awaited shortlists are here! These are the shortlisted entries carefully chosen by our judges--Marilyn Dumont for the poetry category, and Doretta Lau for fiction. We will be announcing the top three winners of each category on Oct 15, the same day our first...
My mother in a rental van idling in the Phoenix Airport parkade. She does a word search, finds “tongue” “bitter” “cochlea” lets a ballpoint pen tell her of her own body. I tap the van window, see her face for the first time in months. It’s been too hot, My mother in a...
The first time, you walk into the night and think, This January wind is like death. Then you laugh at the idea that wind can kill in a city where asphalt is streaked with long stripes of blood or shit or mud. The first time, you walk into the night and think, This...
We are getting so excited and inspired (and hungry) watching your submissions roll in for our upcoming Food issue! In the spirit of the food theme, we put together this collection of Roomies’ favourite cookbooks for writers. These books all feature recipes, but also...
Our 2015 CNF Contest Honourable Mention. It’s my job to iron the napkins. There’s hundreds of them, enough to do two back-to-back weddings in a single weekend, or a three-day golf tournament without re-washing. I don’t mind. It’s quiet down here in the basement...
Doretta Lau is Room’s 2016 fiction contest judge. Who better than the judge herself to inspire you to get working on your contest entry? Read Lau's short story “Best Practices for Time Travel” below, from Room 38.3. Don't forget! The fiction contest closes July 15....
He was the first guy you dated who resembled anything you knew to be familiar. His moustache reminded you of your uncle so you told him to shave it, and he did. He told you not to speak so quickly. Pronounce the sounds of each word, he said. Exactly what your mother...
Mom says she doesn’t know how to twist her tongue in half. Mom says she doesn’t know how to twist her tongue in half. “It’s genetic,” you say as you fold your tongue and stick it out so she can see it. You are sitting at the kitchen table in Brampton. The light from...
i am the flower that grows out of the cliffside overhanging the lake on thin soil birthed by lichen that digested rocks that i might bloom in her body with love to all of us in life, spirit, remembrance, and struggle i. for St. Marsha P and every Miss that took hits i...
CNF Contest shortlist announced! As judged by Kate Braid, the shortlisted pieces from our Annual CNF Contest are finally here! Can you believe this? Oh how proud and excited we are. Thank you to all who submitted!"An Atmospheric Pressure" by Nicole Breit, Port...
ROOM 48.1 WITS END
In times of crisis, we laugh to offer tenderness, to ward off despair— so we can be brave. Gather round ROOM 48.1 WITS END and let humour be a mirror held up to the state of the world as we continue to resist.
ROOM 47.4 FULL CIRCLE
Step back with Room into the past, to parents, to childhood homes, and to people once known and loved; dig into themes of grief and healing; and ultimately explore what it means to come full circle in literature.
Seeking members who love literature, events, merchandise, and supporting marginalized creators.
Wits End | 48.1
$10.00 – $20.00
Full Circle | 47.4
$15.00 – $25.00
Bodies | 47.3
$15.00 – $25.00
Seedpod | 47.2
$12.00 – $25.00
Utopia | 47.1
$12.00 – $25.00
Sponsor a Contributor
$250.00
Sponsor a Writer
$100.00
Sponsor a Poet
$50.00
Fever Dream | 46.4
$12.00 – $25.00
Fever Dream Tote Bag — Limited Edition