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Subject Experience » Entertainment (film, television, theatre) »

• Barbara K. Adamski

  Vancouver, British Columbia

  A writer, editor, and certified proofreader, Barb has worked on educational manuals, annual reports, brochures, newsletters, and web copy. She writes for several magazines and trade publications and has written and recorded for CBC Radio. A stickler for facts, she is a regular contributor to The Canadian Encyclopedia. Barb has a B.A. in French Literature, a diploma in professional writing and editing, and an M.A. in Integrated Studies (specializing in cultural studies). An avid lacrosse fan, Barb's thesis is on the history of lacrosse, a topic she has written about extensively. She also speaks Japanese.

• Jason Anderson

  Toronto, ON

  Raised in Calgary and based in Toronto, Jason Anderson is a freelance arts journalist, a novelist and one of the country’s most prominent film critics. Besides writing extensively about the arts for a wide array of Canadian and international publications, he teaches at the University of Toronto and is the programming director for the Kingston Canadian Film Festival.

• Bert Archer

  Toronto, ON

  Bert Archer was born in Montreal, and raised and educated in Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria, Dublin and Toronto. He started work as a journalist in 1993, and has worked for many newspapers and magazines as an editor, manager, writer and columnist.

• Julia Belluz

  Toronto, ON

  Julia Belluz is a Toronto-based journalist, researcher, and editor with experience at newspapers, newswires, and magazines in Toronto and London, England. Her writing on current affairs, culture, social issues, food and the arts has appeared in Maclean’s, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, Canadian Business, Azure, Yonge Street, OpenFile, and Design Lines in Canada, as well as The Times and The Economist's Intelligent Life in England. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Ryerson University’s journalism school, she has also been known to pen in-depth obituaries after training on the historic obits desk at The Times of London newspaper.

• Sarah Boesveld

  Toronto, ON

  Born and raised in rural Eastern Ontario, Sarah sees the world from a distinctly Canadian perspective. A driven newshound, she graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Journalism degree and has worked as a reporter in the Life and News sections at The Globe and Mail, covering everything from the G20 to TIFF. She loves a good ‘get’ and any tale that really grabs a reader while speaking to what matters in their daily lives. You can usually find her digging for story ideas or owning the mike at karaoke.

• Andrew Braithwaite

  Boston, MA

  Andrew Braithwaite specializes in such topics as deliver happiness – writing about cool stuff you can eat, or drink, or visit, or live inside. He also covers sport, which every season breaks the heart of nearly all its followers. A graduate of Harvard University in History and Science, Andrew is a former Associate Editor at Azure, the Toronto-based magazine of architecture and design. He is a member of the AIPS (International Sports Press Association), and is a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers. Originally from British Columbia, Andrew has lived and worked in Toronto, Boston, Paris, Chicago, Dublin, Johannesburg, and Washington, D.C.

• Tyee Bridge

  Vancouver, BC

  Tyee Bridge writes about ecological issues, religion and myth. Born in the Canadian Gulf Islands, he grew up in nearby Washington state and moved back to BC in 2001.  A recent essay on mythic stories, “The Things Ink May Do,” has been chosen for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Canadian Essays. He is currently at work on a non-fiction book about the end of the world.

• Andrew Clark

  Toronto, ON

  Andrew Clark is an award-winning writer and humourist. He writes a weekly humour column “Road Sage” for the Globe and Mail. His work has appeared in publications ranging from the Walrus and the The New York Times to Cosmopolitan and Toro Magazine. He is the director of the Humber College Comedy Program. He also writes frequently on tennis.

• Lynn Coady

  Edmonton, AB

  Lynn Coady is a Canadian novelist, editor and journalist living in Edmonton, Alberta.  She has published four award winning works of fiction and has acted as editor on novels and anthologies published by Doubleday Canada, House of Anansi Press, and Brindle and Glass Publishing.  She is also a writing teacher and mentor and regularly contributes non-fiction to magazines and newspapers across Canada.  She writes a weekly advice column for the Globe and Mail, and is the co-founder and senior editor of a the magazine Eighteen Bridges.  Her new novel, The Antagonist, will be published by House of Anansi in Fall 2011.

• Trevor Cole

  Hamilton, ON and Toronto, ON

  Editor Gary Salewicz has called Trevor “a consummate professional” endowed with “prodigious talent,” a writer who is fearless in his pursuit of the story and serious about his craft. Trevor worked as a magazine editor at The Globe and Mail for a dozen years before turning full-time to writing. In addition to his journalism he has won awards for his satire. And as a novelist he has garnered national acclaim, praised for fiction that is both funny and profound, and for prose “as clear as a mountain stream.”

• Christy Ann Conlin

  Halifax, NS

  Christy Ann Conlin is a bestselling novelist, essayist, speech writer, ghost writer, editor, motivational speaker and educator.  Her writing has appeared in newspapers, magazines, anthologies and journals in Canada and the United States. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and an Education Degree from Acadia University.  She works with a broad range of clients in a creative capacity, providing writing services, writing workshops, coaching and mentoring.

• Pamela Cuthbert

  Toronto, Ontario

  Journalist Pamela Cuthbert is recognized for her regular columns on food issues and food trends. Her work has appeared in publications such as Macleans, The Economist, Saveur and Common Dreams. She also writes about culture, the arts and travel and has profiled a wide range of notables from leading scientists to celebrity chefs, pioneering farmers to influential advocates. Additionally, her skills are tapped for editing, speechwriting and developing marketing materials.

• Wendy Dennis

  Toronto, ON

  Wendy Dennis is an award-winning journalist and author with a uniquely personal voice who writes provocatively about social, psychological and cultural issues. Her writing is known for its wit, depth, insight and honesty. She has written about psychoanalysis for The Walrus and blogged about divorce for The Huffington Post, where her work has gone viral. Her widely discussed Toronto Life story, “The Divorce From Hell”, prompted a national debate. Dennis also writes copy (Butterfield & Robinson), and speeches for special occasions (from CEO remarks to wedding toasts). Her speechwriting services can be found at crowdpleasercommunications.com.  Her journalism can be found at wendydennis.com and huffingtonpost.com.

• Amy Jo Ehman

  Saskatoon, SK

  After a career in broadcasting at the CBC, Amy Jo turned to freelance writing in 2000. Corporate work pays the bills, but freelance journalism fuels her curious and creative urges. She is a food columnist at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, which bubbled over into the book, Prairie Feast: A Writer’s Journey Home for Dinner. Loves reporting on courtroom dramas for their humanity (The Queen vs. Robert Latimer; Percy Schmeiser vs. Monsanto) and new agricultural achievements for their novelty (lemons for the prairies!). Recent assignments: How is technology changing the practice of law? and Why is Saskatchewan booming while its neighbour isn’t?

• Christopher Frey

  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Toronto, Canada

  Christopher Frey is a print and radio journalist who writes about culture, politics, environment and technology in a globalizing world. A two-time National Magazine Award winner, in recent years he has reported from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Ghana, Cuba, Guyana, Guatemala and Brazil.

• Alison Garwood-Jones

  Toronto, ON

  Alison Garwood-Jones is an award-winning writer, blogger and a former editor with Elle Canada and Viva magazines. She was recently cited as a favourite blogger by BrazenCareerist.com, a Washington D.C.-based work-related website for "next- generation professionals" that has been profiled by 60 Minutes. Before landing in print media, Alison was a museum intern, fellow and curator in Chicago, Washington D.C., Paris and her hometown of Hamilton, Ont. This was followed by a three-year stint in film where she worked as a historical consultant and writer for a series of artist biopics that aired on HBO and PBS. Alison's blog, "Society Pages," explores her take on human nature.

• Don Gillmor

  Toronto, ON

  Don Gillmor is the author of a two-volume history of Canada, Canada: A People’s History, and two other books of non-fiction, The Desire of Every Living Thing and I Swear by Apollo. He has also written eight books for children, including The Fabulous Song, which won the Mr. Christie Award and was nominated for a Governor General’s Award, and Yuck, A Love Story. His children’s books have been published in eight countries. He has worked as a journalist and was a senior editor at Walrus magazine, and contributing editor at both Saturday Night and Toronto Life. His journalism has appeared in those publications as well as The Globe and Mail, Rolling Stone, and GQ magazines. He has won nine National Magazine Awards. His novel, Kanata, was published by Penguin last year.

  He lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.

• Malwina Gudowska

  Calgary, Alberta

  Malwina Gudowska is an award-winning journalist who contributes to a variety of online and print publications. After a stint as an associate editor for Avenue, Calgary’s city magazine, she was the inaugural Alberta editor for FASHION before launching the Calgary edition of VitaminDaily.com. She has also moulded impressionable minds as an instructor at the University of Calgary and often appears on television and radio providing commentary on lifestyle trends. In addition to freelance writing, she is also currently a city editor for Canadian online lifestyle guide Sweetspot.ca.

• Gerald Hannon

  Toronto, ON

  Gerald has been working as a freelancer for more than twenty years, after coming of age as a journalist with the groundbreaking gay liberation magazine, The Body Politic. He maintains an interest in and commitment to liberation issues, sexual and otherwise, but is also knowledgeable on old-dead-white-guy cultural product, like opera, and up to speed on contemporary artistic production in music and art.

• David Hayes

  Toronto, ON

  David Hayes is an award-winning freelance journalist, author, editor and teacher. A generalist, his special areas of interest are culture, media, social issues and advertising/marketing/branding. A long-time instructor, later faculty member, at Ryerson University’s School of Journalism, today he teaches Advanced Feature Writing in Ryerson’s G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Studies. He also has lectured and given workshops on various aspects of writing and journalism to a variety of organizations.

• Robert Hercz

  Toronto, ON

  Robert earned a degree in engineering at the University of Toronto in 1979 and spent a decade in the computer industry, based in London (England), Toronto, and finally Los Angeles. During this time, he worked with a fascinating range of clients including the Vatican, the Los Alamos National Laboratories (home of the atomic bomb), and the National Library of France. Finding himself more interested in his clients’ backstories than their computer systems (and unfulfilled by corporate life), he became a full-time writer in 1990. Robert is also an avid photographer and regularly sells photos that illustrate his writing.

• Paul Johnston

  Toronto, ON

  In his relatively short freelance career, Toronto-based journalist Paul Johnston has written on topics including resource warfare in the Congo, the impact of counterfeiting on the Canadian economy and the resurgence of puppetry as an art form in mainstream media for publications ranging from the Toronto Star and Sharp to Vice.

  His interviews and profile pieces have examined individuals ranging from Canadian athletes and celebrities to adult talent agency owners and Kids Help Phone counsellors.

  A graduate of Acadia University and Centennial College's Fast Track Journalism program, he most recently worked as news editor at Post City Magazines in Toronto.

• Ilona Kauremszky

  Toronto, ON

  Follow your dream job. That’s what travel journalist Ilona Kauremszky has been pursuing full-time for 10-plus years.  Ilona travels the world and reports on destinations and the next big travel trend for major publications across North America. She works with leading guidebook companies, writes a weekly travel column and co-produces mycompass.ca and its digital tv channel, mycompasstv. A consummate traveler who enjoys meeting new cultures and people, Ilona has ample story ideas to suit any publication. She’s worked with blue-chip companies, custom publishers, and tourism boards and is actively working with digital media.

• Nick Krewen

  Toronto, ON

  Over 32 years, Nick Krewen has written about entertainment for newspapers and magazines in Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand; interviewed Bob Dylan, Prince and Phil Collins; reviewed music (CDs and concerts), books, movies and DVDs; had his articles referenced in books about Shania Twain, Bob Dylan and country music; written sparkling copy for major corporations like General Motors, Universal Music and CARAS; edited Juno Award and CCMA souvenir programs; and written about romance, the environment, humour and consumerism.

  Praised for clean copy, accuracy, and an ability to clarify complex issues, this recently published author is also house trained.

• Benjamin Leszcz

  London, UK

  Benjamin Leszcz is a freelance writer and editor living in London, UK. Leszcz worked as an associate editor at Saturday Night, once Canada’s oldest consumer magazine, and Toro, a men’s magazine where he edited the style section, before joining enRoute, Air Canada’s in-flight magazine, as senior editor. Most recently, Leszcz co-launched the award-winning online men’s magazine DailyXY.com.

• Brooke Lockyer

  Toronto, Ontario

  Brooke Lockyer’s short stories, copywriting, reviews, and features on contemporary culture and the arts have been published in numerous publications in Canada, England, and the United States. A graduate from Columbia University (BA) and the University of Toronto (MA), she has also mentored children, teens, and women in literacy and creative writing programs such as Let’s Get Ready, Neighbourhood Diaries, and Sister Writes. An intrepid traveler with a penchant for adventure, Brooke has penned rejection letters for Esquire magazine in New York City, taught high school English in rural Japan, and participated in fiction workshops in Kenya, Bristol, and Montreal.

• Jason McBride

  Toronto, ON

  Jason McBride is a former editor at Toronto Life and Coach House Books, where he was co-editor of the popular uTOpia series, among other books. He is currently a full-time freelance writer and editor.

• Paul McLaughlin

  Toronto, ON

  Paul is a highly experienced writer, communications specialist, interviewing and performance trainer and university teacher. He writes for both the journalism and corporate markets, and has produced virtually every kind of publication (as well as a few videos), including magazine and newspaper features, books, scripts, trade articles (ghosted at times), brochures, ad campaigns and plays.

  The author of Asking Questions: The Art of the Media Interview, he’s trained interviewers at the CBC and in private practice, and has lectured extensively on interviewing.

  He teaches in the Professional Writing program at York University, and previously at the schools of journalism at Ryerson and Carleton universities.

• Jesse McLean

  Toronto, ON

  Jesse McLean is an award-winning humorist and culture commentator whose disciplines include technical writing, screenwriting, film and television criticism, humour articles and sketch comedy.  These varied talents conspire to deliver incisive, thoughtful and creative copy.  He has written process documentation for BMO, dialogue punch-up for Joe Flaherty and Brigitte Nielsen, ruminations on Wilhelm Reich’s “orgone accumulator” for PopMatters, how Rainer Maria Rilke might have negotiated Facebook for Yankee Pot Roast, and the inherent difficulties interviewing zombies for Eyes on Toronto with Stephen Eyes. Impromptu dance numbers lack technical grace but brim with “pizzazz”.

• Jane Mundy

  Vancouver, BC

  Before launching her writing and photography career Jane Mundy was a successful entrepreneur, including the largest film catering company in Canada, which provided much fodder for food writing.

  Snappy, witty, and direct describes her writing style, along with versatility and tenacity to get the job done. Due to a wealth of life experience to draw from, Jane’s interests are varied and she has a level of confidence and understanding that makes for insightful interviews. Her passion is food and travel, and she has also interviewed hundreds of people-- from personal injury plaintiffs to advocacy and litigation lawyers--on many legal subjects.

• Katrina Onstad

  Toronto, ON

  Published around the world, award-winning writer Katrina Onstad began her career by parlaying a coffee-fetching internship at Canadian Business magazine into several cover stories. In the past decade, she’s turned her critical eye to arts, culture  and social issues with work in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Globe and Mail and many other publications.

• Patricia Pearson

  Toronto, ON

  A versatile writer across media and styles, Pearson is particularly well-known for her comic flair. She has been called “highly amusing” by the New York Times, and been compared to Dorothy Parker and Mark Twain. Clients have tapped her for speeches, screenplays and articles that require a comedic touch. As a serious journalist, Pearson specializes in health and social issues, and with a graduatelevel background in history, clients have hired her for corporate and personal biographies.

• Diane Peters

  Toronto, ON

  Diane is a full-time freelance writer and part-time journalism instructor. To all her work she brings creative story ideas, strong research skills, top-notch writing and curiosity for new topics. Her extensive experience writing health and science stories, and for the children’s book market, have given her additional skills in making dense material a great read.

• Paolo Pietropaolo

  Vancouver, BC

  Paolo is an award-winning writer, broadcaster, composer and documentary producer. His work has been recognized with a Peabody Award and the Prix Italia, two of the highest accolades in journalism, along with many other awards. His radio documentaries have been broadcast around the world, and Paolo’s voice has been heard regularly on CBC Radio since 2001. Paolo is a Jack Webster Fellow, a Banff Centre Science Communications Program alumnus, and a member of the British Council’s Transatlantic Network 2020. Prior to his radio and writing career, Paolo toured extensively as taiko drummer and percussionist with a taiko ensemble in Toronto.

• Pamela Post

  Vancouver, BC

  Pamela Post is an award-winning writer, radio, TV and print news reporter, specializing in the fields of health, social affairs, women's issues, arts and culture. Pamela is known across the country as a regular national documentary contributor to CBC Radio and as a feature writer for the Globe & Mail newspaper and its Report on Business Magazine. She also works in documentary film and independent video production. Pamela's creative writing includes short fiction and an opera libretto. She is a respected multi-platform journalist, known for her ability to find great human stories and to tell them with creativity, humour and heart.

• Adrien Sala

  Victoria, BC

  Adrien Sala is a freelance writer/broadcaster with a background in radio, print, and new media.

  Currently, Adrien works as producer, story developer and co-director of a television documentary series (15 episodes) that explores the meaning of home to the people who live in BC’s north. He is also the owner of Adrien Sala Writing & Media, a dynamic communications office that includes Shoebox Studio, a sound studio designed specifically for radio voice work and podcasting.

  Adrien has long had a fascination with people and places, and he continues to be interested in new methods of telling stories.

• Rachel Sanders

  Vancouver, BC

  Rachel Sanders is a Vancouver writer, broadcaster and photographer. She has a keen sense of story and a passion for seeking out hidden gems and unappreciated works of genius. Born and raised in Edmonton, she moved in 1999 to Vancouver, where she freelances for a variety of media, corporate, and PR clients. In 2006, she co-wrote and worked as stills photographer on the short film, “Swimming Lessons,” which was nominated for Best Short at the Hollywood Film Fest. Her current focus is writing and producing documentaries for CBC Radio.

• Alec Scott

  Toronto, ON, San Francisco

  Alec Scott is a writer specializing in the arts, travel and the law. He worked as Toronto Life magazine's arts columnist for several years, writing about painters, dancers, composers, film directors, impresarios, novelists, actors, playwrights and one puppeteer. For work, he has travelled to many places including Australia, Germany, the Shetland Islands and California. Before going into journalism, he worked as a lawyer, practicing defamation and air law, and continued to write about developments in the law, interesting lawyers and prominent cases. He has also worked as an editor for Saturday Night and Toronto Life and a producer at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

• Denis Seguin

  Toronto, ON

  An award-winning journalist and filmmaker, Denis Seguin has been writing about what interests him in such publications as The Walrus and The Globe and Mail in Canada, Slate in the US and The Times and The Guardian in the UK. He wrote and co-produced the feature documentary How to Start Your Own Country, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. As well, he co-wrote the feature documentary 100 Films And A Funeral, the story of the first Hollywood film studio not run from Hollywood. His short film, It’s My Right, won the $10,000 first prize in Canadian Film Centre’s 2010 Reel Challenge.

• Alexandra Shimo

  Toronto, ON

  Alexandra Shimo studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Oxford University, and then did a Master’s on scholarship at The Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, New York.

• Christopher Shulgan

  Toronto, ON

  Christopher Shulgan is the author of two books and a contributor of essays and research-intensive feature articles to numerous magazines and newspapers in Canada and the United States. He writes a parenting column for Eye Weekly and blogs frequently at www.shulgan.com. Shulgan also is an accomplished ghostwriter who can mold his writing to fit the narrative voice of any number of anonymous clients on Bay Street and in corporate Canada.

• Russell Smith

  Toronto, ON

  Russell Smith is a specialist in contemporary art, literature and urban culture. His articles have been published in most Canadian and several U.S. journals. He currently writes two weekly columns for The Globe and Mail, one on culture, the other on style. He was the host and writer of the popular CBC Radio 1 program on language, “And Sometimes Y”, for two seasons. He is a co-founder of the online men’s magazine DailyXY.com. He is also novelist: his fiction has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the Rogers Fiction Prize and the City Of Toronto Book Award. He won a National Magazine Award for fiction in 1997. His most recent novel is Girl Crazy.

• Jay Somerset

  Toronto, ON

  Writer, editor, proofreader and copywriter—Jay Somerset has been dealing in words for nearly 10 years. Articles have ranged from an etiquette guide to Toronto to a five-part newspaper series on a Toronto advertising company to an essay on the aesthetics of AM radio. As well, Jay also has ample editing experience. Besides journalism, he also works as an advertising copywriter. He holds two university degrees, is a board member for two arts organizations and enjoys solo camping and collecting weird records.

• Grant B. Stoddard

  Vancouver, BC and Whistler, BC

  Subcultures, pop culture, sex/relationships, nascent trends and eccentric characters are all grist for British-born Grant Stoddard’s mill. With an eye for the surprising and ridiculous, Stoddard often reports from a participatory perspective; imbuing his stories with an engaging, visceral, dynamic feel and a humanistic focus. Working in newspapers, magazines, blogs, books, film, music, television and theatre has given Stoddard a vast spectrum of experience in working with different clients with wildly varying aesthetic requirements.

• Olivia Stren

  Toronto, ON

  Olivia Stren worked as an associate editor at Toronto Life magazine for three years before embarking on a freelance-writing career in 2003. While she writes for a slew of Canadian and American publications, she also teaches a course in travel-writing at University of Toronto’s School of Continuing Studies.

• Masa Takei

  Vancouver, BC

  Masa Takei is a freelance writer based in Vancouver, BC. Publications he’s written for include Canadian Geographic, explore Magazine, and The Globe and Mail. His writing interests range from outdoor (mis)adventure, travel and subcultures to, apparently, structuring narrative arcs for mutant mercenaries and half-vampires.

• Micah Toub

  Toronto, ON and New York, NY

  Micah Toub is a writer living in Toronto. His first book, Growing Up Jung: Coming of Age as the Son of Two Shrinks, was published this year. After graduating from McGill University, Toub worked in public relations in New York before moving into editorial at an art magazine. In 2002, he moved to Toronto, where he was an editor at Toro Magazine and then at The Globe and Mail’s weekend Globe Toronto section. Recently, Toub has been writing "The Other Half," a biweekly relationship column from a male perspective for The Globe and Mail, as well as blogging for Psychology Today.

• Chris Turner

  Calgary, Alberta

  Chris Turner is an award-winning journalist and one of Canada's leading writers and speakers on climate change, sustainability and the global cleantech industry. He is the author of the bestseller The Geography of Hope (2007), a Globe & Mail Best Book of the Year and a finalist for the Governor General's Award for Nonfiction and the National Business Book Award. He is also the author of the international bestseller Planet Simpson (2004). He is at work on a new book about the global sustainability movement, which will be published in 2011.

• Ellen Vanstone

  Toronto, ON

  Ellen Vanstone is an award-winning journalist and screenwriter. She is a co-creator and co-executive producer of the Global/ABC series Rookie Blue, 2010 summer’s top scripted drama in both Canada and the U.S. She was a Gemini-nominated co-writer on the Ken Finkleman series At The Hotel. As well as writing, Ellen is one of the top “go-to” contract editors in Canadian journalism. She has been Weekend editor at the National Post, acting editor of the Toronto Sunday Star, Science & Ideas editor in The Globe and Mail’s Saturday Focus section, and senior editor at The Walrus.

• Eric Veillette

  Toronto, ON

• Anna-Kaisa Walker

  Toronto, ON

  Anna-Kaisa is a Toronto-based writer, researcher and editor. Born in Montreal, she has a Master’s degree in journalism from New York University, and in her five years as a freelancer, she has contributed a wide variety of work to Canadian, U.S. and international publications.

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