Photo of Adora Nwofor by Shannon Johnston. Photo of Taylor McNallie by Taylor McNallie. In a time of increased surveillance and suppression of activists, Room Magazine wanted to chat with some of those on the ground who have long been fighting for racial justice and trans rights–and been punished for it. Stop the Stack YYC […] The post “Activism isn’t about perfection—it must grow toward humanity for all”: Chimedum Ohaegbu and Francesca Pacchiano interview Stop the Stack YYC org...| ROOM Magazine
Photo credit: Blair Marie Photography Amy Lin’s work doesn’t just evoke an array of emotions—it demands it. In Here After, her debut memoir, she tackles the overwhelm that comes with deep love and unexpected loss. Lin recounts the events following the sudden death of her thirty-two-year-old husband, Kurtis. In the wake of his devastating loss, […] The post Interview with Room’s 2025 Creative Non-Fiction Contest Judge, Amy Lin appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe House of Anansi Press 320 pages $25 Can women in societies dominated by oppressive religious conviction, homophobia, and misogyny ever find peace and equality? This is the question at the heart of Everything is Fine Here, the debut novel by Ugandan-Canadian author Iryn Tushabe. Set in present-day Uganda, […] The post Review of Everything is Fine Here by Iryn Tushabe appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
Blood Root by Jessica Hiemstra ECW Books 112 pages $22 Jessica Hiemstra’s latest poetry collection, Blood Root, explores themes of belonging, home, and the complexities of loss related to war and colonialism. Rarely shying away from the rawness of death and the realities of life in Badela, Sierra Leone, during the civil war from 1991 […] The post Review of Blood Root by Jessica Hiemstra appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
She’s a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock ECW Books 312 pages $25 In Meredith Hambrock’s She’s a Lamb!, protagonist Jessamyn St. Germain doesn’t just dream of stardom—she demands it, claws at it, deludes herself into believing it’s owed to her. Hambrock shines a spotlight on this fractured and hungry protagonist, revealing a woman so consumed by […] The post Review of She’s a Lamb! by Meredith Hambrock appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
Shadow Price by Farah Ghafoor House of Anansi Press 128 pages $23 Ecopoetry is a field that often explores the boundaries of human, animal, and machine. Shadow Price, the debut collection from Farah Ghafoor, presents a groundbreaking take on ecopoetry, exploring these boundaries while underscoring the most urgent matters of our time. Ghafoor’s innovation is […] The post Review of Shadow Price by Farah Ghafoor appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
Elseship by Tree Abraham Book*hug Press 282 pages $25 In this dazzling work of creative non-fiction that brings together perceptive prose and mesmerizing visuals, Ottawa-born writer and book designer Tree Abraham theorizes friendship, love, identity, and language by meditating on the particularity of a relationship that evades easy categorization. As it forms a mosaic of […] The post Review of Elseship by Tree Abraham appeared first on ROOM Magazine.| ROOM Magazine
Orange Shirt Day and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Statement Orange Shirt Day is a legacy of the St. Joseph Mission Residential School Commemoration Project and Reunion events in 2013. Created by former survivors and their families, the events aimed to commemorate the experience of residential schools, to honour the healing of survivors and […]| ROOM Magazine
In this issue: Manahil Bandukwala, Dessa Bayrock, Megan Beadle, Gwen Benaway, Brandi Bird, Rachel Burlock, Justina Chong, Art Brat Comics, Marilyn Dumont, Jessica Johns, Edzi’u, Ashleigh Giffen, Samra Habib, Catherine Hernandez, katia hernández velasco, erica hiroko, Shaelyn Johnston, Yume Kitasei, Mica Lemiski, Jessie Loyer, Annick MacAskill, Terese Marie Mailhot, Callista Markotich, Sonali Menezes, Pamela Mordecai, Lindsay Nixon, Kai Minosh Pyle, Natasha Ramoutar, Carmina Ravanera, Roshn...| ROOM Magazine
Due to a confluence of factors, Room Magazine is posting this 2025 Pride Month feature later than planned. What does it mean to inhabit a body that others may not understand? We’re revisiting an excerpt of Addie Tsai’s Unwieldy Creatures first published in Room 44.1 Growing Room. Excerpt from Unwieldy Creatures by Addie Tsai All I ever knew was […]| ROOM Magazine
Due to a confluence of factors, Room Magazine is posting this Indigenous History Month feature later than planned. However, Room holds that Indigenous histories, presents, and futures are to be honored year-round, and post this feature now to assert that. What is a country? What do we understand of the story we tell ourselves, the […]| ROOM Magazine
Indigenous History Month Statement and Reading List Due to a confluence of factors, Room Magazine is posting this statement in acknowledgment of Indigenous History Month later than planned. However, Room holds that Indigenous histories, presents, and futures are to be honored year-round, and so offer this statement now to assert that. *** Room Magazine is […]| ROOM Magazine
To the contributors, readers, and community of Room Magazine: We at Room Magazine extend our deepest and most sincere apologies for the significant delays in the production and delivery of several of our recent issues. We know how much trust our community places in us, and we are truly sorry for not being able to […]| ROOM Magazine
Asian Heritage Month Statement and Reading List In 2025, we celebrate 23 years since, following a motion proposed by Senator Vivienne Po in December 2001 and officially declared by the government in 2002, May became a valued time to recognize Asian Heritage Month in Canada. However, Asian Heritage Month had been celebrated unofficially since at […]| ROOM Magazine
On Saturday, April 26, 2025, an individual drove their car through a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, killing at least 11 people, injuring dozens, and impacting thousands. Those attending the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party included friends and families, elders and children. All had gathered to celebrate the richness of Filipino and Filipino-Canadian culture, […]| ROOM Magazine
In times of crisis, we laugh to offer tenderness, to ward off despair— to be brave. Let the humour of 48.1 WITS END mirror the world’s state as we resist.| ROOM Magazine
What is the relationship between translation and resistance? In this interview, former member of Room’s collective, Tamara Jong, speaks to author Yilin Wang about translating poetry, celebrating meaning, and more. Yilin Wang 王艺霖 is a writer, poet, editor and Chinese-English translator. Their debut book, The Lantern and The Night Moths, which CBC called a “poetry […]| ROOM Magazine
Photo credit: Rogene Reid Zalika Reid-Benta’s debut novel, River Mumma, has been lauded as one of 2023’s best fiction books on a variety of platforms, including CBC Books, Indigo Books, Kobo Books and The Walrus.It was also the October 2023 pick for the CityLine book club. River Mumma is a contemporary fantasy novel that follows […]| ROOM Magazine
We are thrilled to announce the winners of our 2023 Short Forms Contest. A huge congratulations to the following three authors whose brief and beautiful works were handpicked by esteemed judge, Tsering Yangzom Lama. We won’t keep you waiting any longer: here they are! — FIRST PLACE: Zigsa Tells Her Story,by Rimi B Chatterjee Rimi B. […]| ROOM Magazine
It’s finally here, and we hope you’re just as excited as we are. We are thrilled to announce the winners of our 2023 Poetry Contest. A huge congratulations to the following three poets whose works were handpicked by esteemed judge, John Elizabeth Stintzi. We won’t keep you waiting any longer: here they are! — FIRST […]| ROOM Magazine
We are so excited to bring you the results of this year’s Fiction Contest, judged by Sarah Bernstein. The wait is finally over: here are this year’s winners! —- FIRST PLACE: Sad Robot, by Camie Kim Camie Kim’s work has appeared in Books in Canada, Fireweed, Matrix, Scribner’s Best of the Fiction Workshops, and elsewhere. She was the inaugural winner of […]| ROOM Magazine
