Writing a book is a labour of love that often involves working through complex relationships right on the page. Join four Canadian novelists writing at the intersections of romance, comedy and mental health as they discuss creating lovably flawed characters, share the process of writing second chance storylines and offer their tried-and-true writing tips to emerging authors. Author meet-and-greet with book signings to follow after the event, courtesy of bookseller Perfect Match Bookshop.
Featuring Natalie Sue, bestselling author of I Hope This Finds You Well & 2025 Leacock Medal winner; Noreen Nanja, debut author of breakout hit The Summers Between Us; Leanne Toshiko Simpson, 2025 Kobo Prize in Romance winner for Never Been Better; and Jacqueline Firkins, author of 5 novels - including Marlowe Banks, Redesigned - and UBC professor & costume designer. A selection of Jacqueline’s romance cover dresses will be on display at VPL during this event.
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Natalie Sue is the bestselling and award-winning author of I Hope This Finds You Well. She is a Canadian author of Iranian and British descent. She spent her formative years moving around western Canada with a brief stint in Scotland, where she discovered her passion for storytelling as a means of connection and reading as a means of comfort. When she’s not writing, she enjoys bingeing great and terrible TV, attempting pottery, and procuring houseplants. She lives in Calgary with her husband, daughter, and dog.
Noreen Nanja is the author of contemporary romance debut The Summers Between Us. As a second-generation Canadian, Noreen’s writing explores themes of identity, race and belonging, wrapped in stories of romantic and familial love. Born and initially raised in small-town British Columbia, she then spent her formative years in Edmonton before moving to Montreal to pursue her Bachelors in Psychology and English Literature at McGill University and then the University of Calgary to complete her medical degree. She currently lives with her partner and her small dog in Toronto, where she enjoys working in healthcare, drinking vast amounts of strawberry matcha and exploring local bookshops.
Leanne Toshiko Simpson is an award-winning writer, educator and mental health advocate from Toronto. She writes joyful, messy, laugh-out-loud stories about living with mental illness and the moments of hope that help us get out of bed day after day. Leanne's mental health rom-com Never Been Better won the 2025 Rakuten Kobo Prize for Romance. She teaches creative writing at the University of Toronto and spends her free time designing mental health greeting cards for Pebbles and Company.
Jacqueline Firkins is a writer (Marlowe Banks, Redesigned), costume designer, and lover of beautiful things. She's on the full-time faculty in the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of British Columbia where she teaches character design, world building, and period costume construction courses. When not obsessing about where to put the buttons or the commas, she can be found running by the ocean, eating excessive amounts of gluten, listening to earnest love songs, and pretending her dog understands every word she says.
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***Jacqueline's dresses (#booksasfashion) will be on display during the event and afterwards (until October 20th) through the windows of the Yosef Wosk Poet's Corner on level 9 where the rooftop garden is.
In partnership with Perfect Match Bookshop (Vancouver's first romance bookstore).
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Accessibility: VPL is committed to making our programs accessible for all. If you have an access need that we have not addressed here, please email us at
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Elevator access to the Alice MacKay is available in the concourse near the bank machine.
The Alice MacKay Room has wheelchair accessible spaces available.
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Please register. Registration is not required to attend, but it helps us anticipate attendance and send a reminder the day before the event, or any updates about this program.
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