New short fiction in Queer Little Nightmares
In Queer Little Nightmares, creatures of myth and folklore seek belonging and intimate connection, cryptids challenge their outcast status, and classic movie monsters explore the experience of coming into queerness. Contributors include Amber Dawn, David Demchuk,...
Amber Dawn’s My Art is Killing Me captures the tension in how creative work can both save and harm
Author Amber Dawn's latest book is titled My Art Is Killing Me. JADE COLBERT SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL Title: My Art is Killing Me Author: Amber Dawn Genre: Poetry Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press Pages: 142 Every time I hear that all will be changed now, I...
Amber Dawn takes on Hollywood and CanLit in new poetry collection
Alexandra Valahu April 2, 2020 Toward the end of My Art Is Killing Me and Other Poems, Amber Dawn offers the Poetry 101 course I wish I had been taught in school. "And the wraithy hiss that often visits jaw and ear is poetry./ And the gritty hymns that enchant mending...
REVIEWS: Quill & Quire
In her sophomore poetry collection, Vancouver’s Amber Dawn explores various dissonances in her personal life and career: her poems address Hollywood, academia, the internet, and the poet’s experiences as a queer femme, former sex worker, and writer. As much of...
Vancouver Sun: My Art Is Killing Me REVIEW
Tom Sandborn Publishing date: February 28, 2020 Book review: Amber Dawn’s poetry fights back against sex trade stereotypes “I put it in ink: I write for other survivors. I am listening As well, in ink, presently, on this page: I’m here For the divine and complex work...
David Chau reviews Hustling Verse for The Georgia Straight
Sex workers bring bawdy, care-infused poetry to Hustling Verse by David Chau on November 13th, 2019 at 12:13 PM The “for us, by us” ethos behind Hustling Verse, edited by Justin Ducharme and Amber Dawn, demonstrates real flair and depth of feeling. SARAH RACE...
Hustling Verse and Resisting Canada in Quill and Quire
Last summer, Vancouver-based poet Rita Wong was arrested alongside other environmental activists for blocking access to the Trans Mountain pipeline worksite. She received a 28-day prison sentence this August and was released in early September, having served 18 days....
Yesenia Vargas reviews Hustling Verse for Autostraddle
Lovers, Everywhere: Sex Workers Speak in “Hustling Verse” BY YESENIA VARGAS OCTOBER 15, 2019 “What subjugates a population more than being criminalized? Having our stories told by outsiders.” This is the line Amber Dawn stresses as she takes center stage at Skylight...
Hustling Verse Tour Dates
For more information, find us at Arsenal Pulp Press, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.
Hustling Verse reviewed in the Vancouver Sun
Book Review: Sex workers speak out in anthology of their writings Hustling Verse is an important book, full of pungent, sometimes triumphant verse and often troubling images TOM SANDBORN Updated: September 6, 2019 We live in a culture that doesn’t know how to talk or...
9 Enthralling Period Pieces That Feature LGBT Characters
Title Author 1. The Two Hotel Francforts David Leavitt 2. I Loved You More Tom Spanbauer 3. Summerfield's Angel Kim Fielding 4. An English Heaven Julie Bozza 5. Sodom Road Exit Amber Dawn 6. Revolutionary Alex Myers 7. Confessions of the Fox Jordy Rosenberg 8. The...
Real Vancouver Writers Series – Nov 23
Geist Review
Haunts by Peggy Thompson How are we haunted by the past? And how do we break free? These are the questions posed by Amber Dawn in her marvellous ghost story Sodom Road Exit (Arsenal Pulp Press). Set in Ontario’s lakeside Crystal Beach in 199 0, the novel follows...
The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers Interview
How a highway sign pointed Amber Dawn in the direction of her new novel CBC Radio · October 1 Listen11:52 Originally from Ontario, Vancouver-based writer Amber Dawn goes back to her hometown of Crystal Beach, Ont. as the setting for her novel Sodom Road Exit. 24 works...
Call for Poetry by Sex Workers
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers’ Poetry Edited by Amber Dawn and Justin Ducharme Sex workers are one of the most researched groups in the world (even though sex workers do not accrue or collect any benefit as a result). Can the...
Globe and Mail Review: Amber Dawn’s Sodom Road Exit queers the horror genre
JADE COLBERT SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL PUBLISHED APRIL 25, 2018 Sodom Road Exit By Amber Dawn Arsenal Pulp Press, 408 pages, $21.95 “I’ve submitted to the idea that I will live the rest of my days knowing – no – feeling – no – re-experiencing her hands.” Amber...
GUTS Mag interview
Amber Dawn’s newest book Sodom Road Exit has been described as “part broken family melodrama part lesbian supernatural thriller.” It was this description that piqued my interested, the novel’s enthralling narrative that prevented me from putting it down, and...
TONIC Reading Serious: March 20, Vancouver
Tonic is proud to announce our latest event, quite the spring sizzler, featuring: Ivanna Besenovsky, Amber Dawn, Chelene Knight, and David Ly. We are proud to launch Amber Dawn's novel SODOM ROAD EXIT, David Ly's chapbook STUBBLE BURN, and Chelene Knight's memoir DEAR...
The FOLD Festival – Brampton, Ontario, May 3 & 6
The Festival of Literary Diversity (FOLD) celebrates diversity in literature by promoting diverse authors and stories in Brampton, Ontario – one of Canada’s most culturally diverse cities. The FOLD 2018 Programming Team is pleased to present this year’s Festival of...
Vancouver: Incite – Wednesday, May 23
For almost four decades, Arsenal Pulp Press has been at the heart of alternative publishing in Vancouver. From its subversive beginnings as Pulp Press Book Publishers in 1971 to its transformation into a platform for countlessly diverse voices across the country,...
fine Reading Series Vancouver – Monday February 26
Growing Room: A Feminist Literary Festival
Growing Room: A Feminist Literary Festival will return from March 1-4, 2018, and will take place on the traditional, unceded, and ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish peoples. LINE-UP Amber Dawn, Caroline Adderson, Joanne Arnott, Carleigh...
The Georgia Straight announces Growing Room feminist literary festival
Growing Room feminist literary festival returns to build on strong start by Brian Lynch Getting a new, multifaceted literary event off the ground is a challenge, to put it mildly. But the immediate success of Growing Room, the local feminist literary festival that had...
CBC’s 24 works of Canadian fiction to watch in 2018
24 works of Canadian fiction to watch for in the first half of 2018 Mark your calendars! These fine works of fiction are coming soon to a bookshelf near you. Read about all 24 forthcoming works of fiction on CBC Books online. Sodom Road Exit by Amber Dawn Amber Dawn...
CBC’s 18 reasons to be excited for LGBTQ arts and culture in 2018
Happy new queer: 18 reasons to be excited for LGBTQ arts and culture in 2018 By Peter Knegt · CBC Arts - January 2 Out with the 2017 best-of lists, in with the 2018 preview lists — and frankly, when it comes to anticipated LGBTQ film, TV, music and books, the latter...
Autostraddle’s 65 Queer and Feminist Books to Read in 2018 (including Sodom Road Exit)
65 Queer and Feminist Books to Read in Early 2018 By Carolyn Yates on January 2, 2018 What queer and/or feminist books should you read this winter and spring and minute? Early 2018 features new work from Mallory Ortberg, Roxane Gay, Michelle Tea, Andrea Gibson, Zadie...
Poets Not Pipelines
January 12, 2018
Femme4Femme
April 25, 2017 Sounds Like Fire: Femme4Femme 8:00 pm - 10:30 pm In this femme-focussed showcase, we are gifted the opportunity to the bear witness to brilliant magic born of community and coven, care and creativity among four radical, vulnerable, and fiercely capable...
Growing Room Festival
March 12, 2017 March 8-12, 2017 Vancouver, BC (unceded Coast Salish territories) The Growing Room Festival is Room magazine’s inaugural literary festival, a celebration of diverse Canadian writers and artists. Check out the full festival, here I will be appearing on...
Conversation with Maggie Nelson for One Book:One SFU
The Argonauts was chosen for the 2016 One Book: One SFU. Presented by SFU Library, UBC Creative Writing Program, Vancity Office of Community Engagement, SFU Woodward's and Pulpfiction Books What the Video Archive of January 26, 2016 conversation...
One Book One SFU: The Argonauts
January 26, 2017 One Book One SFU: The Argonauts About the speakers Maggie Nelson is the author of nine books of poetry and prose, many of which have become cult classics defying categorization. Her nonfiction titles include the National Book Critics Circle Award...
Five LGBTQ+ Vancouver Fiction Authors You Should Know
by Inside Vancouver in Town on August 31, 2016 Ivan Coyote / Image via cbc.ca By Casey Stepaniuk A few weeks ago we brought you Three New Queer Vancouver Writers. The five Vancouver authors featured in this post are well-established pros from here in Vancouver who...
(K)ink #10: Writing While Deviant: Amber Dawn – The Rumpus
(K)ink #10: Writing While Deviant: Amber Dawn By Amber Dawn August 2nd, 2016 There’s evidence that D.H. Lawrence enjoyed an erotic power exchange relationship with his wife, that James Joyce was into scat (among other things), and that Oscar Wilde—well, most of us...
CBC Books: 100 True Stories that Make You Proud to Be Canadian
I'm listed on CBC Books: 100 True Stories that Make You Proud to Be Canadian. Wow. The list is long to re-post into my website, so please follow the link above.
Queering Poetry: An Interview with the Town Crier
Over the next couple of months, the Town Crier will be featuring short interviews with Canadian authors published by BC publishers, conducted by BC publishing professionals. The fifth in the series is an interview with Daniel Zomparelli of Poetry Is Dead magazine (see...
AWP 2016 Appearances
I'll be in Los Angeles for the 2016 AWP Conference from March 30 to April 3. Find me at these two queer events: Conference Panel F215. Coming of Age Queer Room 410, LA Convention Center, Meeting Room Level Friday, April 1, 2016 1:30 pm to 2:45 pmIn recent...
Winnipeg, Saturday March 5: Reading and Signing at McNally Robinson Books
Amber Dawn -- Reading & Signing Saturday Mar 05 2016 7:00 pm, Winnipeg, Grant Park in the Atrium Reading & Signing How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir and Where the words end and my body begins (Arsenal Pulp Press). Presented by The Centre for...
I spoke at the Options for Sexual Health event for rights and health of sex workers
Options for Sexual Health event highlights rights and health of sex workers by Craig Takeuchi on February 16th, 2016 at 2:30 PM While B.C.'s Options for Sexual Health has run the Sexual and Reproductive Health Day Breakfast for three years, this year, Opt decided to...
Twelve Novel Gifts Praised by Indie Booksellers – The Tyee
Twelve Novel Gifts Praised by Indie Booksellers To aid your holiday hunt, Tyee asks experts what titles made 2015 bright. By Olivia Fellows, 19 Dec 2015, TheTyee.ca When the holiday crush hits, The Tyee is known to list book ideas for everyone on your naughty...
2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Where the words end and my body begins
2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Where the words end and my body begins by Amber Dawn Dec. 5th, 2015 Where the words end and my body begins by Amber Dawn Lesbian Poetry Paperback: 96 pages Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (April 21, 2015) Language:...
“Poetry as a Means to Resist Erasure”: An Interview with Amber Dawn
This month PRISM international is dedicated to looking at Creative Non-fiction as a genre. So, even though your newest book, Where the words end and my body begins, is a (beautiful) book of poetry, I’m curious to hear about how you work with and define Creative...
PRISM International presents The Tuesday Prompt: “Know Thyself” by Amber Dawn
The Tuesday Prompt: “Know Thyself” by Amber Dawn Posted on November 24, 2015 by Claire Matthews With Nonfic November slowly coming to a close and the 2015 Creative Non-fiction Contest extended deadline approaching (Nov. 30!), it feels appropriate to have our final...
Sex City Radio Interview: Archive June 30, 2015
If you want to listen to me sound like a tongue tied sex nerd, here you go ... Sex City Archive June 30, 2015 Host: Dorianne Emmerton Dorianne speaks with great sex writers from Arsenal Pulp Press!Michael V. Smith talks to us about his...
Vancouver’s Renaissance Poet: Review by Mette Bach
Vancouver’s Renaissance Poet: Review of Amber Dawn’s Where the Words End and My Body Begins At the outset of this review, I must admit that I am biased. The truth is I owe a lot to Amber Dawn. She has encouraged and inspired me over the years in such ways that I’ve...
National Post: Three on-trend books of that permanent thing, poetry
Hot tip: Three on-trend books of that permanent thing, poetry Republish Reprint Tara-Michelle Ziniuk, Special to National Post | June 12, 2015 10:45 AM ET Rue Melissa Bull Anvil Press 104 pp; $18 Where the Words End and My Body Begins Amber Dawn Aresenal Pulp...
CBC Thunder Bay: “Amber Dawn speaks at Thunder Pride event”
Amber Dawn, former sex worker, writer, speaks at Thunder Pride event Amber Dawn won the 2012 Writers Trust of Canada Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBT emerging writers CBC News Posted: Jun 09, 2015 11:30 AM ET An award winning author from Vancouver, who is speaking tonight...
June Appearances: Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Montreal, New York, Brooklyn
Thunder Bay: Tuesday June 9 @ 7 p.m. Amber Dawn + Local queer writers – and the winners of the third annual Youth Writing Competition – at Thunder Bay PRIDE! Ottawa: Saturday June 13 @ 7:30 p.m. Venus Envy, 226 Bank Street Kalyani Pandya, Allison...
Rabble.ca: Amber Dawn connects luxury and logic between body and soul
Direct literary influence infused with emotional logic and the everyday By Tiana Reid | June 4, 2015 Where the words end and my body begins by Amber Dawn (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2015; $14.95) The first time I read Amber Dawn's Where the Words End and My Body...
Autostraddle.com: Read a F*cking Book: Amber Dawn’s “Where The Words End And My Body Begins”
Posted by Audrey on June 4, 2015 at 7:00am PDT The telling of queer stories feels necessarily communal — we lift up each other’s voices so we can all be heard, because alone, we can only whisper. In her first collection of poetry, Where The Words End And My Body...
Spring & Summer Appearances (Vancouver, Ottawa, Montreal, New York … )
Vancouver: Wednesday May 6 @ 7 p.m. Book Warehouse Main Street, 4118 Main Street Sassafras Lowrey, Jane Eaton Hamilton, Leah Horlick & Amber Dawn Vancouver: Tuesday May 19 @ 7 p.m. Pulpfiction Books, 2422 Main Street Sigal Samuel, Amber Dawn, Leah...
How a Poem Reads: Lucas Crawford on Amber Dawn’s “Chicken Dance”
“C,” that’s how Amber Dawn’s poem “Chicken Dance,” begins. This “C” is also a “See,” because it marks the beginning of an explanation, that rightfully frequent explanation called how did I become whatever it is I am? This opening C might be a C+...
Amber Dawn on How We Write Each Other, Interview by Matthew Walsh
Writer, filmmaker, and performance artist Amber Dawn has released a new collection of poems this year, titled Where the Words End and My Body Begins. Her previous works, Sub Rosa and How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir, have garnered wide acclaim and...
Verses Festival of Words celebrates five years
Verses Festival of Words celebrates five years Posted on April 15, 2015 by Mark Robins in Arts- See more at: http://gayvancouver.net/arts/verses-festival-of-words-celebrates-five-years/#sthash.QglyE3DC.dpuf Since Shane Koyczan’s performance at the 2010...
Bi Magazine Review: How Amber Dawn Could Save Your Life
By Anil Vora on April 10, 2015 Arts & Literature Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri (Interpreter of Maladies, The Namesake) once said, “Surely it is a magical thing for a handful of words, artfully arranged, to stop time. To conjure a place, a person, a...
Top Spring Indie Poetry: Library Journal (USA)
Dawn, Amber. Where the Words End and My Body Begins. Arsenal Pulp. Apr. 2015. 96p. ISBN 9781551525839. pap. $14.95; ebk. ISBN 9781551525846. POETRY Dawn’s Vancouver Book Award–winning How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir and Lambda Literary Award–winning first...
Queer Infinity: Amber Dawn on How We Write Each Other
Queer Infinity: Amber Dawn on How We Write Each Other Interview by Matthew Walsh Writer, filmmaker, and performance artist Amber Dawn has released a new collection of poems this year, titled Where the Words End and My Body Begins. Her previous works, Sub Rosa and How...
49th Shelf: 19 Poetry Collections to Read This Spring
April 6, 2015 by Kerry Clare Confession: this was supposed to be a list of ten books. A nice tidy round number, but it was not a number large enough to contain all the new and noteworthy Canadian poetry titles coming out this spring. 19 really isn't large enough...
Daily Xtra! review: “Where Amber Dawn’s poetic body begins”
Where Amber Dawn’s poetic body begins Arts & Entertainment Literary Where Amber Dawn’s poetic body begins By Trish Kelly Published Fri, Apr 3, 2015 12:00 pm EDT Award-winning Vancouver author on ‘survivorship’ and sexuality Full disclosure: this review of...
CBC’s “12 Canadian women writers you need to read”
Amber Dawn is a writer, filmmaker, and performance artist based in Vancouver. In 2012, she won the $4,000 Dayne Ogilvie Prize from the Writers' Trust of Canada, an annual award given to a lesbian, bisexual or transgender writer who shows promise...
Vancouver Verses Festival in late April = many awesome authors including me
Vancouver Verses Festival of Words runs April 23 - May 3. This year's line up is dreamy. I'm appearing in Jangle & Shout, The Real Vancouver Writers' Series, and also facilitating a Poetry Masterclass. Check out the Festival website ...
My new poetry collection’s first review in CV2!
Mar 4, 2015 This week's Snapshots diverge and intersect with one another. Where the words end and my body begins explores the depths of the body and rewrites her state of being, while Safely Home Pacific Western rewrites the mind in order to uncover the beauty of...
CBC Books: 15 Poetry Collections for 2015
Where the Words End and My Body Begins, Amber Dawn Amber Dawn's first full-length book of poetry is a suite of poems written as an homage to -- and an interaction with -- a number of legendary and emerging queer poets. Among them: Gertrude Stein, Christina Rossetti,...
Interview with Double Dot Magazine
double dot An interview with Vancouver author Amber Dawn Amber Dawn is the award-winning author of the novel Sub Rosa, the memoir How Poetry Saved My Life, and a forthcoming collection of poetry, all published by the Vancouver-based Arsenal Pulp Press. Dawn’s...
January 31 Fernie, BC Reading, Free at Fernie Heritage Library
Booked! Fernie Writers’ Event: Amber Dawn at Fernie Heritage Library Saturday, January 31, 2015 At 7:00pm Time: 7:00pm Bringing top Canadian literary talents to Fernie for readings and discussion at the beautiful Fernie Heritage Library. This is a Free event! Join the...
January 23 Amy Lives! A Screaming Weenie Cabaret
AMY LIVES! A Screaming Weenie Cabaret Vancouver's professional LGBTTQ theatre company does Davie Village! Please join the franksters for this hip-hop-themed cabaret, hosted by the one and only Delica C as the brilliant, doomed Queen of Soul, Amy Winehouse, and...
January 21 Lunch Poems Amber Dawn + Kate Braid (Free Reading at SFU Harbour Centre)
Lunch Poems at SFU | Kate Braid and Amber Dawn When Wed, 21 Jan 2015 12:00 PM Where Teck Gallery in SFU’s Harbour Centre Campus 515 West Hasting Street, Vancouver, BC Featured Poets For 15 years in the 1980s and ‘90s, Kate Braid worked as a construction carpenter, a...
Blog Hop!
Through a series of literary events, I've become friends with the remarkable author/musician/filmmaker Vivek Shraya (God Loves Hair and She of the Mountains). Check out the photo of us at the most recent Lambda Lit Awards in New York! So when Shraya recently tagged me...
My review of A Safe Girl To Love by Casey Plett
Brave the weather for Casey Plett’s debut collection Casey Plett, A Safe Girl to Love (Topside Press, 2014.) Paperback, 216 pp., $16.95. Reviewed by Amber Dawn Let’s hear it for being at the right place at the right time. In early June, I found myself at the right...
My Review of Selling Sex: Experience, Advocacy, and Research on Sex Work in Canada
Listen to the Sex Workers A new essay collection brings their experience and opinions to the fore. Amber Dawn Selling Sex: Experience, Advocacy and Research on Sex Work in Canada Emily van der Meulen, Elya M. Durisin and Victoria Love, editors To be a sex worker is to...
YouTube Video: Mashed Poetics Performance, July 2014
Mashed Poetics invited me to respond to "Gone Daddy Gone" by the Violent Femmes. Here is what happened.
Marrow Review: Two Collections of Essays & Poems by Dawn & Lemay
Marrow Review: Two Collections of Essays & Poems by Dawn & Lemay 22 Tuesday Jul 2014 Posted by catherine owen in Uncategorized ≈ Leave a comment I love experiments with genre for the most part as in French novellas like Blais’ Three Travelers that read like...
Lettering Project with Thursdays Writing Collective
Amber Dawn is a writer from Vancouver and the author of the memoir How Poetry Saved My Life and the Lambda Award-winning novel Sub Rosa, and editor of the anthologies Fist of the Spider Women: Fear and Queer Desire and With A Rough Tongue. Amber Dawn was 2012 winner...
Interview with Shannon Webb-Campbell for “The Halifax Coast” – June 2014
Amber Dawn’s poetic justice Her book How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir illuminates serious issues. By Shannon Webb-Campbell click to enlarge Author Amber Dawn visits Halifax for the first time to share her Hustler’s Memoir. Poetry is renegade. Poetry is...
Tin House forum interview on sex writing – yes sex writing
The Vulgar and the Divine: A Conversation about Erotic Literature By Whiskey Blue | May 6th, 2014 – 09:00 am The magic of encountering the erotic in literature occurs when the reader bears witness to a character’s essence: to the marrow of their inner life....
Lambda Finalists reading in Seattle on May 9
See Also: How Poetry Saved My Life Amber Dawn: Lambda Finalists reading in Seattle (May 2014) Amber Dawn (How Poetry Saved My Life) is part of a Lambda Literary Awards Finalists reading at Seattle's Elliot Bay Book Company on May 9. Amber Dawn's book is...
Canadian Literature reviews Catherine Owen and Me
Book Review “Language to Live By” Catherine Owen (Author) Catalysts: Confrontations with the Muse. Wolsak and Wynn Publishers Ltd (purchase at Amazon.ca) Amber Dawn (Author) How Poetry Saved my Life: A Hustler’s Memoir. Arsenal Pulp Press (purchase at Amazon.ca)...
SISTER SPIT 2014: Vancouver show! – guest reading March 26
TICKETS! http://sisterspit2014.eventbrite.ca/ WISE HALL, 1882 Adanac Street 19+ Doors 7pm, show 7:30pm $15 advance/$20 door SISTER SPIT is setting off on their 2014 spring fling, spreading queer and feminist literature and spoken word performance all across North...
37 is the Perfect Age- Chapbook Launch – guest reading March 29
Saturday March 29th -7pm Join Trish Kelly at the Heartwood Cafe in celebration of the release of her new chapbook. "37 is the Perfect Age" is a collection of poetry and creative nonfiction exploring some of Trish's great passions: music, neighbourhoods, love and the...
Book Launch for “Artificial Cherry” – guest reading March 23
Come celebrate the launch of Billeh Nickerson's smart, sweet, and saucy new collection of poetry. Sunday, March 23 Cafe Deax Soleils, 2096 Commercial Drive Featuring special guests: AMBER DAWN (How Poetry Saved My Life, Sub Rosa) LEAH HORLICK (Riot Lung) DANIEL...
Vancouver Verses Festival, two April appearances
Jangle & Shout, April 6 @ 8:00 pm This literary soirée showcases five of Vancouver’s* best wordsmiths who are redefining what it means to be a writer in the 21st century. Doors at 7pm. Show starts 8pm. Brendan McLeod will host and perform, along with: Geoff Berner...
Canadians among finalists for 26th annual Lambda Awards
The finalists were announced today for the 26th annual Lambda Literary Awards, which honours LGBT books published in 2013. Out of more than 700 submissions in 24 categories, at least 11 Canadian publishers and authors made the list. The winners will be announced in...
Amber Dawn and S. Bear Bergman: Lambda Literary Award finalists
The 2014 Lambda Literary Award finalists were announced today, and we were thrilled to see recognition for Amber Dawn’s How Poetry Saved My Life (in the category of lesbian memoir/autobiography) and S. Bear Bergman’s Blood, Marriage, Wine & Glitter (in transgender...
Canadian writers to watch – I nominate Kevin Chong
11 Canadian writers to watch On February 27, 2014 8:13 AM 0 Looking to discover some new Canadian literary talent? We asked the writers who helped us determine the longlist for the 2013 CBC Short Story Prize to introduce us to a new writer or two who we may not have...
The Winnipeg Review review
‘How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir’ by Amber Dawn Posted: February 27, 2014 Book Reviews Reviewed by Miranda Poyser If you think you know something about the life of a sex worker, How Poetry Saved My Life will make you think again–unless of course you’ve...
Galiano Literary Festival appearance w/ Dina Del Bucchia – Sunday February 23
Amber Dawn is a writer from Vancouver, Canada. Author of Lambda Award-winning novel Sub Rosa, and editor of the anthologies Fist of the Spider Women: Fear and Queer Desire and With A Rough Tongue: Femmes Write Porn. Until August 2012, she was director of...
Sad Mag interview
Q&A // Vancouver Book Award Winner Amber Dawn Posted on February 2, 2014 by Shazia Hafiz Ramji | Leave a reply After attending the 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards in December, Sad Mag correspondent Shazia Hafiz Ramji caught up with the fiery but modest writer,...
Feb 7th – Grand Mamas: artists and allies talk about their grandmothers, mothers and sisters – a fundraiser
Each year, the February 14th Women’s Memorial March creates an opportunity to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, remember the women who are still missing, and to dedicate ourselves to justice. The March also affirm support for family members and...
AfterEllen’s 2013’s Lesbian/Bi Books
2013: The Year in Lesbian/Bi Books by Jill Guccini | December 31, 2013 When wrapping up the year 2013 in the world of lesbian and queer literature, one word comes to mind: variety. It was a great year in non-fiction; graphic novels once again made their way to the...
Autostraddle’s Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2013
Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2013 Posted by Carolyn on December 31, 2013 at 9:00am PST 2013 has been truly awesome for new queer and/or feminist things to read. Here are some of the best ones. The Top 10 Queer/Feminist Books of 2013 10. How Poetry Saved My Life,...
Video Review of How Poetry Saved My Life. Wow!
I found this humbling video review of How Poetry Saved My Life posted on YouTube on December 28 by a poster called "Queer Trauma Studies". The review thrilled and honoured me. Wow.
I’m a Top Queer: nos personnalités de l’année 2013!
Top Queer: nos personnalités de l'année 2013! Impossible de s’arrêter sur l’année queer et les réalisations d’une panoplie d’artistes inspirants sans souligner les grandes avancées (et dans certains cas, les troublants reculs) sur le plan des droits LGBT. À plusieurs...
“Ghetto Feminism” memoir wins civic honour – BC Book World
“Ghetto Feminism” memoir wins civic honour Amber Dawn records isolation, violence, missing women and fear. November 26th, 2013 Amber Dawn has won the 2013 City of Vancouver Book Award for her frank portrayal of years spent hustling sex on the streets of that city, How...
My acceptance speech at the Vancouver Book Award –
Here is how I composed my speech in my mind. Whether or not I delivered it as such ... ? I should also add that I tried t use a tiny podium lamp as a microphone (oops) To the Book Award Jury: Your job was not easy. Thank you for your work. To authors Jancis, Brad,...
Amber Dawn wins Vancouver Book Award – Globe and Mail
Amber Dawn wins Vancouver Book Award MARSHA LEDERMAN The Globe and Mail Published Friday, Nov. 22 2013, 11:30 PM EST Amber Dawn’s book How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir has won the 2013 City of Vancouver Book Award. The book recounts – in poetry and prose...
The Mayor’s office Tweeted me – Vancouver Book Awards
Celebrating the Arts: 2013 Mayor’s Arts Awards recipients announced 19 Nov, 2013 Share This Vancouver’s outstanding creative talents, who represent disciplines ranging from performing and visual arts to literary and culinary arts, will be recognized for their...
What’s Up Yukon review – Four Books that Will Make You Feel Human – November 2013
By Elke Reinauer November 07, 2013 Four Books that Will Make You Feel Human Would you pay $250 to feel human? In Amber Dawn’s new book How Poetry Saved My Life is a poem called “What’s My Mother F***ing Name.” In it, she describes how a client had sex with her and...
5 books that will change your perspective on the future, according to CBC’s Canada Reads
There are 40 books on the Canada Reads longlist. Where should you begin? How should you cast your precious votes? Don't worry: we're here to help. Each one of the books on this list will change your perspective on some aspect of the world, and all week, we'll be...
Four week Intro to Non-Fiction with Amber Dawn, coming Feb. 2014!
Introduction to Non-Fiction “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn't.” - Mark Twain Truth may be strange, but can it also be compelling and imaginative? How do craft and truth come together on the...
Vancouver Writers Fest blogs “In the Beginning” with Priscilla Uppal, Helen Humphreys & Jowita Bydlowska
"That girl that I was" - Moving memoirs at Event 49 “I didn’t need a mother but I wanted to know who my mother was,” Priscilla Uppal candidly declared during In the Beginning (Event 49). When Uppal was seven years old her mother fled to Brazil. Her father had become a...
Vancouver Weekly reviews Beyond Queer
Reading Between the Queers By Heidi J. Loos on October 26, 2013 Amber Dawn, Nancy Jo Cullen and Abdellah Taïa at The Vancouver Writers Festival, October 23, 2013. “You can’t be afraid to read your own writing,” Amber Dawn says. The local poet and award-winning author...
Sub Rosa long listed for Canada Reads. VOTE!
Canada Reads Top 40: Explore the books Thursday, October 24, 2013 | What is the one novel that could change Canada? That's the question we put to you, Canada, earlier this year. And you answered! Thousands of recommendations poured in from across the country. We ran...
Interview with Marsha Lederman at the Globe & Mail – October 2013
Poet recalls her earlier struggles MARSHA LEDERMAN VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail Published Friday, Oct. 18 2013, 7:22 PM EDT A straight-up cup of coffee will cost you almost $3.50 at the chic café next to Pigeon Park, where Amber Dawn sits marking her students’...
Vancouver Book Award Nomination!
City of Vancouver Book Award nominations announced by Shawn Conner in Events on October 3, 2013 The 2013 City of Vancouver Book Award nominations have been announced. The 25th annual City of Vancouver Book Award will be presented at the Mayor’s Arts Awards Gala at...
Word Vancouver’s Awesome Automated Poetry Project
Automated Poetry Project The team at Word Vancouver is thrilled to announce an innovative new festival event: the Automated Poetry Project. Word Vancouver will transform ordinary vending machines into poetry dispensers! Poems will be placed in vending machine capsules...
ARC Poetry Review: “From Coping to Community,” September 2013
From Coping to Community: Amber Dawn’s How Poetry Saved My Life Thursday, September 19th, 2013 Amber Dawn. How Poetry Saved My Life. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013. ~Reviewed by Jennifer Delisle In a striking moment in How Poetry Saved My Life, Amber Dawn...
Vancouver Writers’ Fest: Vancouver Sun Sneak Peek
Fall book preview: Festivals and big releases highlight the upcoming book season Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Fall+book+preview+Festivals+releases+highlight+upcoming+book+season/8909183/story.html#ixzz2etSZBQWv Vancouver Writers' Festiva; Oct. 22...
October 13: Litquake San Francisco
Off the Richter Scale: Oh, Canada! October 13, 2013 - 3:30 PM Hotel Rex 562 Sutter St. Free Off the Richter Scale looks north for a session focused on Canadian authors. Blaise, Clark Dawn, Amber Robertson, Ray Part of Off the Richter Scale, Day Two Join us for a full...
September 29: Word on the Street reading
I am thrilled to be appearing at Word on the Street on Sunday September 29, 2013 at 11:45 a.m. I've posted the entire Poetry Tent Sunday Schedule because I'm reading alongside the most magical poets I can imagine. Check out the line up and be sure to visit the Poetry...
October 5, 2013: Amber Dawn performs new work at that Vancouver Art/Book Fair
I'm thrilled to be performing new work at the Vancouver Art/Book Fair. Here is a teaser interview by Stephanie Fung of Project Space: Project Space Artist Profile: Amber Dawn Sky Cathedral by Louise Nevelson, inspiration for Amber Dawn’s performance at VA/BF Artist...
In Toronto Magazine interivew: August 2013
Poetic License Written by Alice Lawlor. Personal meets political in Amber Dawn’s memoir of a hustler How do you follow a debut novel that was dubbed a cult classic in the making? If you’re Amber Dawn, acclaimed author of Sub Rosa, it’s with a brilliant warts-and-all...
The Story Circle Network review: August 2013
How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir by Amber Dawn Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013. ISBN 978-1-551-52500-6. Reviewed by Mary Ann Moore Posted on 08/17/2013Nonfiction: Memoir; Nonfiction: Lesbian/Bisexual/Transexual (click on book cover or title to buy from...
The Coast (Halifax) review: August 2013
How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir Amber Dawn (Arsenal Pulp) by Whitney Moran click to enlarge I can say without a doubt that Amber Dawn is the only author I’ve ever read who’s quoted Sylvia Plath while using a Sharpie to colour in the scuff marks on her...
Tiffany Johnstone for womensufferage.org Review, “Writing is Activism:* The Feminist Poetics of Amber Dawn”
Dayne Ogilvie Prize Winners (from left to right): Farzana Doctor, Amber Dawn, and Debra Anderson. Amber Dawn (1974-) is quickly becoming a Canadian icon as a Vancouver-based award-winning experimental writer, filmmaker, performance artist, and outspoken advocate for...
Friday July 26, 6-8:30 PM and Saturday July 27, 2-4:30 PM: Free Memoir Writing Workshop
Tough Language & Tender Wisdoms: with Amber Dawn Organizer:Pride in Art SocietyVenue:Roundhouse, Room C181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 2V5 A Memoir Writing Workshop for Trangressive Voices led by author Amber Dawn This workshop invites...
I *heart* subTerrain #64 (on newstands Summer 2013)
#64 on newsstands now! BysubTerrain #64 (HEAT) features commentary by Peter Babiak, new fiction from Grant Buday, Caroline Szpak, Evie Christie, Stephanie Dickinson, Tamara Faith Berger, and Bonnie Bowman; poetry from Lucy Biederman, Karen Green, Tom Wayman, Brad...
Heather Cromarty’s Review (June 2013)
Heather Cromarty on How Poetry Saved My Life by Genevieve on Jun 8, 2013 • 10:42 am No Comments Review by Heather Cromarty TO WRITE Given the task of writing a lecture on women and fiction in 1928, Virginia Woolf, while searching for first-hand historical...
June 6: Seattle reading with Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
In 2003, Amber Dawn and Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore read together at a strip club in Vancouver. Now, 10 years later, they reunite for a reading in an auditorium at an STD clinic in Seattle. Do you sense a theme? Yes, darling — glamour — it’s all about glamour! Bring...
Globe and Mail review (May 2013)
For The Globe and Mail Amber Dawn’s new memoir a subtly pitched call to arms JIM BARTLEY Published Friday, May. 24, 2013 10:00AM EDT I’ve never met Amber Dawn, but a few years ago, she sent me a box of chocolates. This was not to seek friendship or court favour, but...
May 23 & 24: San Francisco Sex Workers’ Fest!
Amber Dawn joins a line up of outstanding authors, artists and activists at the 8th San Francisco Sex Workers Film and Arts Festival.
Wednesday May 22: San Francisco Launch
Amber Dawn reads from and discusses her new book, "How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler's Memoir" *Joined by Special Guest Sinclair Sexsmith* Wednesday, May 22nd: 7PM Modern Times Bookstore Collective 2919 24th St (at Alabama) www.mtbs.com Guest bio: Sinclair Sexsmith...
Canada Arts Connect interview (May 9, 2013)
Poetry Saves Lives: A conversation with Amber Dawn posted by Dina Del Bucchia | May 9, 2013 | In Featured, Literature HowPoetrySaved-400How Poetry Saved My Life is a memoir, a call to action and a celebration of poetry. It’s honest and heartbreaking, it’s funny and...
Autostraddle interview (April 2013)
Amber Dawn's Memoir, "How Poetry Saved My Life": The Autostraddle Interview Ali Posted byAli on April 23, 2013 Amber Dawn is the author of Sub Rosa, the smash-hit novel of ghosts, magic and prostitutes. When I had the opportunity to read and review Dawn's new work,...
Vancouver Sun review (April 12, 2013)
Poetic reflection exposes a dark side Former sex worker tells her intriguing tale in three sections: Outside, Inside and Inward By Brett Josef Grubisic, Special to The SunApril 19, 2013true ‘Survival may be the most radical thing I ever do,’ says Amber Dawn, a former...
Tulia Thompson’s review (April 2013)
Tulia Thompson's review (April 2013) Ghost Stories: A Review of Amber Dawn’s ‘How Poetry Saved My LIfe’ Amber Dawn spoke at the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at UBC recently. In person, she was self-confident, directing questions back to the...
LPG’s Coast-to-Coast Poetry Project highlights How Poetry Saved My Life (April 2013)
Poem 4: How Poetry Saved My Life (and could save yours!) Although poem 4 of our Coast-to-Coast Poetry Project keeps us on the west coast, it takes us far from the quiet, isolated islands to the densely populated urban core of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. This is the...
Georgia Straight review (March 28, 2013)
Amber Dawn's How Poetry Saved My Life shows fierce resolve by David Chau on Mar 28, 2013 at 3:00 am How Poetry Saved My Life By Amber Dawn. Arsenal Pulp, 160 pp, softcover On the opening page of How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir is a quote from the...
Xtra! interview (March 2013)
Monday March 25 – UBC Launch
Join award-winning writer, filmmaker, and performance artist Amber Dawn for a reading from her new book How Poetry Saved My Life: A Hustler’s Memoir (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2013). A Q&A and reception will follow. Books will be available for sale sold by the UBC...
Amber Dawn interviewed by Leah Horlick
Poet Leah Horlick interviewed me for RADAR Productions: Amber Dawn came to my house for an interview one rainy February afternoon during the last term of my MFA in Vancouver. “It’s so weird to be here,” she told me. “I used to have friends who lived in this house. It...
Monday April 22: Guelph Launch
Sunday April 21: Toronto Launch
Thursday April 18: Montreal Launch
Tuesday March 19: What I LOVE About Being QUEER Vancouver Launch
Vivek Shraya and Our City of Colours present: What I LOVE about being QUEER, and Other Stories. Join Our City Of Colours for the Vancouver book launch of "What I LOVE about being QUEER" by Toronto-based artist, Vivek Shraya. Vivek is joined by local filmmakers and...
February-September 2013: Sex Talk in the City exhibit
I've had the distinct pleasure of working with the curator team of Sex Talk in the City -- a multifaceted exhibition that teases out how people in Vancouver learn about sexuality, define pleasure, and respond to particular politics. Sex isn’t only biological, it’s...
Friday April 12: Vancouver Book Launch
Join Amber Dawn in launching her new memoir. Pat's Pub 7 pm Hosted by Billeh Nickerson ( The Titanic Poems, McPoems), with special guests Leah Horlick (Riot Lung) and Fiona Tinwei Lam (Enter the Chrysanthemum) Book sales by Little Sister's Bookstore How Poetry Saved...
Saturday March 9: Imogen Binnie’s NEVADA launch
More Shows for the Ladies & Homos presents: Saturday, March 9th, 2013 Imogen Binnie (Portland, ME) reading from her forthcoming book "Nevada" - Topside Press with special guest readers Sarah Pinder (Toronto, ON) - Coach House Books Amber Dawn (Vancouver, BC) -...
Wednesday March 6: San Francisco RADAR Reading Series
The RADAR Reading Series Underground + Indie Writers + Artists Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 RADAR welcomes the Winner of the 3rd Annual Eli Coppola Memorial Chapbook Prize, Amber Dawn. Eli Coppola was a San Francisco based poet who was an important part of...
Saturday March 2: Berkeley RADAR Reading
RADAR Productions Presents EAST BAYDAR A Quarterly Literary Cabaret @La Pena Cultural Center Saturday, March 2nd Starring: NOVELLA CARPENTER, AMBER DAWN, CHERYL DUNYE, MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH, NIA KING, and VIRGIE TOVAR Hosted by Michelle Tea Free Cookies if you submit an...
Friday February 15: GenderFest Winnipeg-Queerlore
Pull up a blanket, get cozy, and join us for a night of community that celebrates the queer experience through written and spoken word! This Genderfest Winnipeg event is being put on through the Winnipeg DykeMarch and featuring award-winning queer author, Amber Dawn,...
Thursday February 14: GenderFest Winnipeg
Celebrating Under-Told Stories: Writing Workshop & Reading University of Winnipeg, Bulman Student Centre, 7:00 pm This event is FREE, fully accessible and open to anyone! Genderfest Winnipeg would like to thank both The Institute for Women's and Gender Studies at...