In between writing, volunteering, and other adventures this year, I helped organize a reading series. Words in the Burbs North Shore has its first run on Tuesday, September 16, 2025. All are welcome to this free evening of readings at Delany’s Coffee House, Edgemont Village, North Vancouver.
How the heck did this happen? Appropriately enough, it’s one of those coffee tales. You meet someone for a cup, you get to chatting, and suddenly you have this great idea.
In this case, North Vancouver writer Carmen Farrell and I were the coffee companions. We got to comparing notes about the original Words in the Burbs, a reading series founded by writers Christina Myers and Lynn Easton, which Carmen and I have both appeared in. Suddenly it was obvious. We needed an event like that on the North Shore!
Now, months later, here we are. Another North Van writer, Linda Mangnall, pitched in to help organize. Delany’s Coffee House, true community champions, offered their Edgemont Village coffee shop as a venue. And the District of North Vancouver approved a small community-building grant to cover expenses.
Now we’re a week away from an evening of readings by seven talented authors: Holly Flauto, Trish Gauntlett, Eve Lazarus, Aaron Rabinowitz, Kailash Srinivasan, Robin Yeatman, and Clea Young.
I can’t wait to hear their stories and poems. And mingle with writers, neighbours, and friends over a cup of something nice. Who knows what new idea might hatch from the evening?
