Board of Directors

Colin Martin is a literature and writing instructor who lives in Calgary. He has contributed to the local writing communities for the past two decades in myriad ways including as the founding editor of NōD Magazine, former editor and long-time President of filling Station Magazine, President from 2017-2021 of the Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, and as freelance editor, instructor, writer, grant jurist, and arts and education administrator. He seeks always to advocate for writers and writing communities, and is more than comfortable reading financial statements; after all, they’re just another way of writing the story of a place and its people.

Dorothy Bentley: Growing up in Southern Ontario with preoccupied parents gave Dorothy a love of nature, books, and scribbling words. Transplanted to Alberta, she is a previous freelance writer of articles, cartoons, and columns, yet she now limits herself to poetry and fiction. Her writings regularly appear in literary journals, and she is the author of a picture book, Summer North Coming (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2019) and a YA novel, Escape from the Wildfire (Lorimer Kids & Teens, 2022). In the time period BC (before children), she won the WBRL Excuses Excuses contest. Recently, she was a winner of the RMWB Words in Motion poetry contest (2016); and she was short-listed for an Excellence in the Arts Award, Literary Arts category, by Arts Council Wood Buffalo (2022). She lives with her family in the Foothills which are never too quiet with their excitable sheltie and a cat named Whitney Mewston who likes to sing.

Nicolas Brown is a Chartered Professional Accountant, military reservist, and experienced non-profit director. Mr. Brown has over 6 years of accounting & payroll experience, and over 10 years of experience in volunteer and governance roles. As an aspiring author, his current projects include sci-fi, fantasy, and short story collections.

Moorea Gray: As an active member of the WGA since 2004, Moorea has participated in workshops, attended Alberta Literary Awards events, and has written for WestWord. The WGA has provided her with many long-lasting opportunities, and she feels it is her turn to give back to this important writing community. Moorea has great interest and involvement in Alberta literature—both past and present. In 2019, Moorea published an anthology containing the works of Icelandic-Canadian writer Stephan G. Stephansson. She is president of the Calgary Women’s Literary Club and sits on a committee for the Leif Eriksson Iceland Club. In June 2021, Moorea completed a two-year term as a committee member with the Calgary Distinguished Writers’ Program at the University of Calgary. Moorea holds an Education Degree and a master’s degree in English Literature.

Moni Brar was born in rural India, raised in northern British Columbia, and now gratefully divides her time between the unceded territories of Treaty 7 and Metis Nation Region 3 (Calgary) and the Syilx Okanagan Nation (Oliver). She has multiple nominations for Best of the Net and the Pushcart Prize and was the winner of the 2022 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award. She has received writing awards and honours from PRISM international, Room, Arc, Blood Orange Review, and Subnivean. Her writing appears in Best Canadian Poetry, The Literary Review of Canada, Passages North, and Hobart. She is an alum of Tin House, The Banff Centre, and The Humber School for Writers.

Nicole Hill is a lifelong Albertan and has been a member of the WGA board as a member-at-large since 2021. She teaches sociology and gender studies and is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. One of Nicole’s most recent publications is the co-edited collection, Obstetric Violence: Realities and Resistance from Around the World (2022), in which she is also a chapter author. Nicole has a BA in sociology and an MA in integrated studies from Athabasca University. In 2023, Nicole will complete her PhD in sociology from the University of Alberta, and a certificate in editing from Simon Fraser University. Nicole has a passion for writing that enriches and challenges our ways of thinking and doing.

Anne Bailey: Anne’s writing career has two main trajectories. First, in 1993, she earned a PhD in English from Western University and published two books of literary criticism on Timothy Findley in 1998. Then, after a 12-year academic career, she moved into strategic communications at the University of Alberta and began a second career as a professional writer. Over 20-plus years, Anne held leadership roles in several key strategic communications units and served as speechwriter for three successive university presidents. She is now a self-employed professional writer and communications consultant.

Anne recently joined the WGA to reconnect with her roots as a literary writer as well as to develop more connections to the non-academic writing community in Alberta. Although a new member, she feels serving on the Board is an exciting opportunity to unite the two parts of her career—the literary and the professional. Working closely with the executive team at the U of A, she gained extensive experience in board and committee governance and has an excellent understanding of board roles and responsibilities. She brings expertise in strategic communications to the Board (from strategic planning to group facilitation to fundraising), and most importantly, to supporting and promoting Alberta writers and their work. It is her privilege to serve this thriving community. 

Anna Shannon (she/her) is a writer with publications in Existere Journal of Arts & Literature, NōD, Regulus Press, Remington Review, The Coachella Review, and more. She holds credentials in psychology and professional writing from the University of Calgary and lives in Treaty 7 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. To learn more, visit annawordsgood.com.

Anna Shannon is currently writing a novel based on the life of a 19th century Canadian photographer, Alice, who travelled from Victoria to St. John’s with her photographer husband, Oliver Brown Buell. Her next book will be a creative nonfiction account of Oliver, delving deep into the research she’s conducted on their lives and work. If she ever finishes these books, she plans to give feature writing a try. Anna has had several short stories and essays published, and has fun experimenting with genre and narrative. Turns out she likes writing stories with dread, guilt, vigilantism, and quests to change lives with the power of meatloaf.

When she’s not writing with her feline companion, she’s playing Pickleball, running her condo board, and solving the latest murder on Brit Box. Anna has a background in corporate governance, technical writing, post-secondary administration, and costume construction. She enjoys her volunteer role as a reader for a national literary magazine, and the opportunities she’s had to support the work of the WGA.

Kendall Bistretzan was born and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, before moving to Calgary in 2017. In 2021, she received her degree from Mount Royal University, majoring in journalism and minoring in creative writing. She’s worked as an investigative fellow for the Institute for Investigative Journalism, an editorial intern for Avenue Magazine, and is currently employed as a chase producer for QR Calgary. Outside of work, Kendall is the Co-Founder and Director of Communications for Sask Girls United, a non-profit that provides free online programming to youth across Saskatchewan. In her free time, Kendall writes prose and reviews that have been published in FreeFall Magazine, Understorey Magazine, Blue Marble Review and more. She is also working on her debut novel. As someone who enjoyed and appreciated the youth programming provided by her local writer’s guild growing up, Kendall is excited for the opportunity to facilitate experiences and connections for other young writers across Alberta.

Blaine Newton is a playwright, sketch and fiction writer, improviser and sometime engineer. His recent theatre productions include The Kyleness of Kyle and The Thin Grey Line, Cursive Writing Productions; Bravo, Shadow Theatre; Five Stages of Death, Cursive Writing Productions; and Oral Fixations (co-written with author Leslie Greentree), Ignition Theatre. His recent publications include the stories By the Numbers, Freefall Magazine, and Life in a Bottle, University of Bristol 2021 Anthology.