June 28, 4.30pm-7pm, 1111 Union Street
Featuring: Jonathan Poh, Fiona Tinwei Lam, and Phebe M. Ferrer
Drafting with Community: a special LiterAsian edition of the Diasporic Writers Salon
What does it mean to enter a literary community through care and connection? In partnership with the Diasporic Writers Salon, this event embraces the spirit of drafting and crafting together in the spirit of “Re-Generation,” a celebration of new and emerging Asian Canadian works, and the safe spaces that make their emergence possible.
Each featured writer will share a piece or excerpt from their drafts and then receive a brief response from one or two of the other writers. In the spirit of the LiterASIAN Festival, this special edition of the Diasporic Writers Salon reflects how literary communities and the works they produce are renewed and reviewed: not in isolation, but through friendship and acts of shared generosity.
Alongside the readings, explore a book fair curated by Intriguing Connections, featuring multilingual, translated, and independent titles that invite further discovery and reflection on Asian Canadian and Asian diasporic writers. Afterwards, gather for a shared banquet that celebrates the rich diversity of Asian diasporic cuisines while playing Writerly BINGO with prizes!
Doors open at 4pm, come early to grab a snack! Event is by donation, $5 suggested amount.
Jonathan Poh is a Singaporean-Canadian writer of mixed Chinese and Malay heritage. In 2020, he won the CBC Nonfiction Prize for his essay, “Value Village,” which inspired him to pursue creative writing — and specifically, memoir — for the first time. His current work-in-progress examines his immigrant experience and paranoid, evangelical Christian upbringing through the framework of fear, Asian folklore, and horror movies.
Jonathan lives and works in Burnaby, BC, on the unceded lands of the Tsleil-Waututh, Kwikwetlem, Squamish, and Musqueam nations.
Fiona Tinwei Lam has authored three poetry collections and a children’s book. Her new collection of creative nonfiction essays, Playing by Heart, will be coming out with Caitlin Press in 2027. She edited The Bright Well:Contemporary Canadian Poems about Facing Cancer, and co-edited two nonfiction anthologies. Shortlisted for the City of Vancouver Book Prize and other awards, her work appears in over 45 anthologies, including Best Canadian Poetry (2010 and 2020) and Best Canadian Essays 2024. She has collaborated on award-winning poetry videos that have screened at festivals internationally and teaches at SFU Continuing Studies. She was Vancouver’s poet laureate for three years, ending her term in 2024. fionalam.net
Phebe M. Ferrer is a Filipina poet living on the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations, also known as Vancouver. Her poetry has been published in Qwerty Magazine, Marias at Sampaguitas, and Chinatown Stories, among others. As an avid lover of poetry, she has edited creative anthologies featuring work by QTBIPOC artists with decomp journal and Chinatown Stories, and organized workshop series including Pamana: Exploring Family Histories and from our roots to yours. Together with Steffi Tad-y, Phebe co-leads the Poesiya Collective, where they host poetry workshops and book clubs on themes of migration, family histories, and care.
1111 Union St, Vancouver, BC V6A 2C7
We would like to acknowledge that our festival takes place on the unceded traditional territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səl̓ílwətaɬ and xʷməθkwəy̓əm First Nations.
LiterASIAN 2026 