April 2026 newsletter
issue 4, volume 23
One week left!
Calling all emerging writers—this contest is for anyone who hasn’t published their poetry in book form (literary journals and anthologies are ok). The entry fee is discounted!
This year’s judge:
Kevin Irie
Entry fee (includes a one-year print subscription):
CAD $25 for each entry from Canada
CAD $35 for each entry from elsewhere
CAD $15 for each additional entry, no limit
Jade Wildey interviews Stephanie Harrington, 2026 Open Season CNF Award winner
JW: How did your choice to write this piece in the second person, addressed directly to your brother, affect your approach to writing it?
SH: I decided to address Ian directly in the piece because I got tired of writing about him as “my brother” or even as the subject Ian. It felt impersonal. When someone dies, you don’t say their name as much. You don’t hear others say their name. You can’t have a conversation with them. Death is brutal in that way. So while that person lives on in your head and heart they are physically not there anymore. And all you want is to talk to them again. I don’t think that longing ever goes away. Addressing Ian directly in the essay gave me a chance to reflect on what we went through as siblings in the months leading up to his death while still giving me a chance to tell him about what came after, the birth of my son and his nephew.
Sarah Kilian interviews Andrea Bishop, 2026 Open Season Fiction Award winner
SK: Chess features prominently in “Show and Tell.” What is it about chess that made you want to include it in the story in this way? In your bio it says you are “always attempting to improve” your chess game; what is your personal relationship to the game? Are there any similarities between your approach to writing and to playing chess?
AB: I love all board games, but I don’t get to play them as much as I want, and with chess, at least I only need to find one other person willing to play with me. In a pinch, I can play online. But I’m usually pretty strategic in life, for better or worse. And with writing, I’m probably too strategic—my best writing happens when I get out of my head. But with chess I’m only able, so far at least, to think a few moves ahead. There’s plenty of opportunity, in other words, for me to improve. I believe you can learn a lot about life from games—taking turns, for example, or being a good sport—so when I wanted to give my main character Tanya something she could control when the rest of her life was completely out of her control, I gave her chess. Having her parents around would have been better, but you take what you can get. Chess, at least, gave her ideas, strategy, confidence. But I think Tanya would whip me at chess.
2026 Novella Prize winner
Congratulations to Edmond Pang, who wins $2,000 and publication in our summer issue #235 for his novella, “The Suitcase at Yokohama Station.” Keep an eye out for an interview with him in one of our summer newsletters.
new issue: spring #234
Cover art by Qian Cheng
Constance Rooke Creative Nonfiction Prize winner Hayden Park
Open Season Awards winners Andrea Bishop (fiction), Stephanie Harrington (cnf), and Cassandra Myers (poetry)
Poetry by Lorna Crozier, Joe Gorman, Kath Healing, Leigh Kotsilidis, Steve Noyes, José Emilio Pacheco, Ayaz Pirani, Jessica Popeski, Xitlalitl Rodríguez Mendoza (translated by Daniela Rodríguez Chevalier and Dora Prieto), John Steffler, Christine Walde, and Jordan Williamson
Fiction by Diana Dima, Sophie Jai, and Claire Wilmot
Creative nonfiction by Carmen G. Farrell and Russell Thornton
Reviews of new books by Natalie Appleton, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette (translated by Rhonda Mullins), Marilyn Dumont, L. E. Fox, Sibylle Grimbert, Joy Harjo, Amie Souza Reilly, Gillian Sze, John Terpstra, and Zoe Whittall
Name acknowledgement & the Malahat Nation
When The Malahat Review was founded in 1967 at the University of Victoria, the name “Malahat” was taken and used without consultation, permission, or acknowledgment. In response to our desire to make right this wrong, the Malahat Nation has graciously offered the words that follow.
Malahat Nation is part of the W̱SÁNEĆ People, one of five Nations with deep roots along the lands and waters of southern Vancouver Island. Our people speak SENĆOŦEN, hul’q’umi’num’, and Samish—traditional languages that carry our teachings, stories, and responsibilities.* We are a Coast Salish Nation, living and working together as we walk forward in a good way.
[…] The name “Malahat” (MÁLEXEŁ, me’luxulh, ma’7lexelh) means “caterpillars.” This name speaks to our relationship with the land, with its beings, and with the cycles of life. Over time, settlers expanded the use of the word to cover the whole west side of the inlet and the mountain, but its meaning remains tied to our people.
Moving Beyond Acknowledgements for Deeper Reconciliation Action
Malahat Nation continues to walk forward in the teachings of our ancestors—building community and governance in a way that honours our Elders, uplifts our youth, and protects the land and waters for generations to come.
Malahat Nation, through the ȾEX̱NÁLEṈ Initiative, invites you to join us in our walk of stewardship and reconciliation. The ȾEX̱NÁLEṈ Initiative provides one avenue through which monetary contributions may be made to Malahat Nation to acknowledge and reciprocate the on‐going stewardship responsibilities that Malahat carries so that we can all continue to enjoy the gifts of these lands. For more information on the ȾEX̱NÁLEṈ Initiative, reach out to: lands@malahatnation.com.
Donate to the ȾEX̱NÁLEṈ Initiative:
https://malahatnation.com/news/malahat-nation-exnalen-initiative
Malahat Nation is not affiliated with nor endorses any content included in The Malahat Review. The Nation has been engaged with the magazine on the name of the magazine itself and is open to the magazine continuing to use the name.