Valentine in Montreal: in conversation with Heather and Arizona O'Neill

Two on Two: Heather and Arizona O'Neill in conversation with Elisabeth and Nora de Mariaffi

Join us for an evening with author Heather O'Neill and her daughter, illustrator and filmmaker Arizona O'Neill. Montreal's finest right here in St. John's, touring their new co-pro, Valentine in Montreal -- and talking all things art, writing, and mother-daughter collab with the local crowd, author and Riddle Fence Executive Director Elisabeth de Mariaffi, and her daughter, artist and arts-worker Nora de Mariaffi.

Featuring music by special guest Natasha Blackwood.

Books will be available for sale; cash bar.

Seats are limited! Reserve yours today.

This event is presented in partnership with WritersNL and Horseshoe Festival, and subsidized by the Canada Council for the Arts Public Outreach Program.

HEATHER O'NEILL is a novelist, short-story writer, and essayist. Her most recent novel isThe Capital of Dreams. Her previous works include When We Lost Our Heads, which was a #1 national bestseller and a finalist for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal; The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and CBC's Canada Reads; and Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, and Daydreams of Angels, which were shortlisted for the Governor General's Literary Award for Fiction, the Orange Prize for Fiction, and the Scotiabank Giller Prize two years in a row. O'Neill has also won CBC's Canada Reads and the Danuta Gleed Award. Born and raised in Montreal, she lives there today.

ARIZONA O'NEILL is a Montreal author and illustrator. She is the illustrator of Nelly Arcan's L'enfant dans le miroir and Heather O'Neill's Valentine in Montreal. Her comics have appeared in Hazlitt, Exclaim!, Canadian Geographic, and the Montreal Gazette. She has created animated videos for many outlets, including CBC. Her debut graphic novel Opioids and Organs is coming out May 2026 with Drawn & Quarterly.

with music by special guest

NATASHA BLACKWOOD is a singer, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from Stephenville, Newfoundland. Known for her innovative folk–jazz sound, masterful musicianship, and compelling lyrics, she has been compared to greats such as Joni Mitchell and Madeleine Peyroux, earning critical acclaim both at home and abroad. Her sophomore album, Love Songs for Good Machines, received national and international radio play, along with multiple 2025 ECMA and MusicNL award nominations. Natasha is a proud member of local bands Eastern Owl and Jazz East Big Band, and is also a sought-after session musician, having recorded and performed with The Burning Hell, Amelia Curran, and Quote the Raven.

Meet your moderators!

Nora de Mariaffi is an artist and arts worker based in St. John’s, NL. She holds a degree in Community Arts Education from Concordia University and a certificate in Graphic Design from OCAD. Currently, she works as Marketing & Graphic Design Director at Lawnya Vawnya, a music festival in St. John’s. She is also co-admin at I Don’t Do Comics, a Canadian comic publication open to everyone. She also owns and operates a handmade clothing brand based in St. John's. In 2025, she completed residencies at both Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and Union House Arts. De Mariaffi was born in Ontario, studied in Quebec, and has now returned to the province she calls home, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Elisabeth de Mariaffi is the critically acclaimed author of four books of fiction, including the Scotiabank Giller Prize-nominated short story collection How to Get Along with Women (2012), and the novels The Devil You Know (2015) and Hysteria (2018), both of which were named Globe and Mail Best Books of the year, and shortlisted for the Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Prize, and most recently, The Retreat (2021) which won the NL Book Award for Fiction. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph, and has taught fiction and screenwriting at UBC, Memorial University, and the Humber School for Writers. Elisabeth is currently on faculty at the University of Kings College. She makes her home in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

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