Dr. Derek Beaulieu is the author/editor of over twenty-five collections of poetry, prose, and criticism. His most recent volume of poetry, Surface Tension, was published by Coach House Books and his latest book of criticism, Do It Wrong, is forthcoming from Assembly Press. Beaulieu has received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for his dedication to Albertan literature and CCWWP Robert Kroetsch Award for excellence in innovative pedagogy and teaching practice. He is the only graduate from the University of Calgary’s Department of English to receive the Faculty of Arts ‘Celebrated Alumni Award’ and the only graduate in creative writing to receive Roehampton University’s Chancellor’s Alumni Award. Beaulieu has served as Poet Laureate of both Calgary and Banff and is the Director of Literary Arts at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. 

He can be found online at www.derekbeaulieu.ca.

Madeline McCaffrey is the Program Manager for Literary Arts and Mountain Writers Intensive at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she develops and oversees residency programs and events designed to support writers at all stages of their careers. She works closely with faculty and the Centre’s resources to create opportunities for literary exploration, community building, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Prior to joining Banff Centre, Madeline worked with leading Canadian arts organizations including the Association of Canadian Publishers, the Toronto International Festival of Authors at Harbourfront Centre, Campbell House Museum, and Massey Hall & Roy Thomson Hall. She has contributed to some of the largest literary events in Canada, including Toronto Lit Up, Word on the Street, Forest of Reading: Festival of Trees, TIFA, Common Readings, and Book Summit, and has managed programs such as Top Grade: CanLit for the Classroom and 49th Shelf. Her professional background spans published works, curatorial projects, advocacy initiatives, fundraising, and literary arts programming supporting both emerging and established voices. 

When she’s not helping writers settle into the mountains, you might spot Madeline on a multi day hike with a questionably heavy backpack - because she forgot to charge her Kindle, again.

Shawn Micallef is the author of Frontier City: Toronto on the Verge of Greatness (2017), The Trouble With Brunch: Work Class and the Pursuit of Leisure (2014) and Full Frontal TO: Exploring Toronto’s Vernacular Architecture (2012). The updated and expanded edition of his first book, Stroll: Psychogeographic Walking Tours of Toronto, was published in 2024. He’s a Toronto Star columnist, civics instructor at University of Toronto, and a Senior Fellow at Massey College where he was also a 2011-2012 Southam Journalism Fellow. Shawn is a co-founder of Spacing, a magazine about Canadian cities and urban issues. In 2002, while a resident at the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab, he co-founded [murmur], a location-based mobile phone documentary project established in over 20 cities globally.

Photo by Rita Taylor

Photo by Rita Taylor

Genevieve Farrell is an arts administrator, curator, and artist with a background in visual arts and cultural studies. She has worked with organizations across Canada, including the Alberta Foundation for the Arts’ Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX), The Esplanade Art & Heritage Centre, The School of Art Gallery at the University of Manitoba, FLUX Gallery, and the ALDO Group in Montreal. Her experience spans exhibition development, publications, archival projects, educational programming, and community events—all aimed at deepening public engagement with the arts. 

She is currently the Program Manager of Cultural Leadership at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she supports the design and delivery of programs that foster dialogue, collaboration, and innovation in the cultural sector. Guided by values of cross-cultural exchange, intergenerational learning, and making space for diverse voices, Genevieve is committed to building more inclusive and imaginative cultural ecosystems. 

Outside of work, Genevieve spends her time working in drawing, printmaking and clay. She also enjoys reading and cooking, and spending time with family and friends.

Geneviève Cimon brings over 20 years of experience in executive leadership, collaboration, and mentorship to her role as Director of Cultural Leadership at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Her career has spanned Canada’s leading performing arts institutions, public and private funding bodies, and community-driven cultural initiatives—from her long-standing tenure as Senior Director of Learning and Community Engagement at the National Arts Centre to her recent leadership of a dynamic consultancy supporting arts and culture organizations across the sector. 

Geneviève’s expertise includes multi-disciplinary programming, arts education, artist training, and national and international partnerships. She has led collaborative initiatives with Indigenous leaders in rural and remote communities and worked extensively with the disability community to advance accessibility and inclusive design. Her leadership in executive coaching, strategic planning, and grant-making is grounded in a belief that the arts can be a powerful force for social change. 

She holds an MBA in Executive Leadership from McGill/HEC, where her research explored innovation through cross-sectoral collaboration. A passionate advocate for equitable access to health care and arts engagement, Geneviève has served as Chair of Ottawa’s Centretown Community Health Centre and Board member of Propeller Dance and currently sits on the Advisory Board of the Global Leaders Institute’s Arts Innovation MBA, mentoring emerging cultural leaders around the world. She is also an External Research Fellow at Carleton University’s Research Centre for Music, Sound, and Society. 

Outside of her professional life, Geneviève finds joy in playing tennis (enthusiastically, if not expertly), cross-country skiing, mystery novels, and cooking.  She shares a love of the outdoors with her partner, two sons, and their dog, Buckwheat

Alison Callahan began her publishing career as a reader for the fiction editors at The New Yorker and The Atlantic. After attending the Radcliffe Publishing Course, she worked at International Creative Management, HarperCollins, and Knopf Doubleday. In 2014, she joined Simon & Schuster, where she is currently Vice President and Executive Editor. In 2015, she helped launch the literary imprint Scout Press with Ruth Ware’s debut, In a Dark, Dark Wood. Along the way, the authors Alison has edited include Amy Schumer, Stanley Tucci, Erin Morgenstern, Ann Patchett, Liane Moriarty, America Ferrera, Iain Reid, Armistead Maupin, Daniel Alarcon, and Peter Straub, among many others. Alison’s interests include literary fiction with ambitious, cutting edge, and inventive plotlines and characters. She also enjoys stylistic and visionary stories that are just left of center, domestic dramas, fish out of water stories, and books that take readers outside of their comfort zones and perhaps cause them to view the world in a different way. Alison likes to keep her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds.

January Rogers is a Mohawk/Tuscarora writer and media producer. She lives on her home territory of Six Nations of the Grand River where she operates Ojistoh Publishing and Productions. January combines her literary talents with her passion for media making to produce audio and video poetry. Her video poem Ego of a Nation won Best Music Video at the American Indian International Film Festival 2020 and her audio work The Battle Within won Best Experimental Audio with imagineNative International Film and Media Festival 2021. She is a literary mentor with Audible, the Indigenous Writers Circle Program since 2022. January wrote a 10-episode comedy series NDNs on the Airwaves (found on the Ojistoh youtube channel) and her play Blood Sport, a comedy about the pretendian crisis in Indian Country has received numerous stage readings and was published by Turtle’s Back Publishing in 2023.