Local Anthology, YEGWrites Vol. 1, Coming This December

Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming release of YEGWrites Vol. 1: A COVID Year, set to hit Edmonton doorsteps in time for the holidays. Alexander Shay has worked diligently over the past year to establish YEGWrites Press and the soon-to-be-released anthology alongside a team of writers from Edmonton and the surrounding area.

The project that began initially as a Discord channel to connect MacEwan writers during the early months of the pandemic has since grown to a network of close to 100 writers. 14 of these members worked together to produce the upcoming anthology, which unites all things local, including the illustrator, printer, editors and of course, writers.

Alex’s vision for the anthology was to provide budding writers with the opportunity to publish their works in a collection that was not restricted to a set theme or topic.

“I wanted it to be as open as possible because I know from my experience trying to be forced into a box can make it a lot harder to write unless you have something that already matches the theme,” says Alex.

This volume contains nine pieces written since March 2020, and although Alex left freedom for creativity, he identified a connection between the pieces as he assembled the final copy.

“Even though none of the works talk about COVID directly, they all address fear, change and just the feeling of not knowing. There is a progression through the pieces of going from that fear of change to embracing change, and then kind of moving forward with what you have and making the best of it,” says Alex.

With the upcoming release of the anthology, Alex decided it was important to have the freedom to publish future works under an official publishing company. He has recently registered YEGWrites Press as a publishing company with hopes of publishing future anthologies, literary magazines, short story collections, and other pieces under the new company.

YEGWrites Vol. 1 will be published in December with copies arriving around the holidays. In the meantime, you can support YEGWrites through their Indigogo shop, where you’ll find copies of the anthology and merchandise for sale.

Make sure to follow YEGWrites on social media to stay up-to-date with all things anthology and writer-related!