In an exciting world premiere, the eight finalists for the inaugural Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF) Spoken Word Prize will offer short performances showcasing their talents. The prize is open to all forms of spoken word performance, from storytelling to sound poetry, hip hop, and dub.

Presented by the Quebec Writers’ Federation and Concordia's SpokenWeb project, the event will be hosted by poet and SpokenWeb director, Jason Camlot.

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube. 

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca  

Caitlin Murphy

Murphy is a writer, director, and dramaturg.  She has performed in one-woman shows, stand-up and sketch comedy, and a web-series she created called Mothers Try.  Caitlin has also written and directed plays and short films and recently launched a digital collection of her pandemic-related art, Candy for Covid.

Debbie Braide

Braise is an energy and development specialist, spoken word poet, World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and British Chevening alumna. An Abuja Literary Society Poetry Slam Champion, she has performed for such organizations as the United States Embassy and VSO International. She is committed to sustainable development and gender equity.

Erín Moure

Moure is a poet and poetry translator. Her most recent work includes Chus Pato’s The Face of the Quartzes (Veliz, 2021) and her own chapbooks Retooling for a Figurative Life (Vallum, 2021) and Arborescence (Columba, 2022). Her translation of Chantal Neveu’s This Radiant Life (Book*hug, 2020) won the 2021 Governor General’s Award for translation. 

Johanne Pelletier 

Pelletier is a storyteller with work featured in Canada and the US. She is the winner of the GRIT 99-Second Story Grand Slam, the producer of Good Gyn-Bad Gyn: Women’s Health Stories, and an amateur boxing judge. She teaches storytelling to scientists and start-ups.

Liana Cusmano (Luca/BiCurious George)

Cusmano is a writer, poet, spoken word artist, and filmmaker. They were the 2018 and 2019 Montreal Slam Champion and runner up in the 2019 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam Championship. Their first novel, Catch and Release (2022), was published by Guernica Editions.

Lucia De Luca 

Luca is an English teacher and spoken word poet. She was a finalist at the 2021 Canadian Individual Poetry Slam and recently participated in Brickyard Spoken Word’s mentorship program. As an organizer, she brought McGill University its first slam and, in the summer of 2022, oversaw the Grove Campus Poetry Show.

Raïssa Simone 

Simone is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in Tiohtià:ke (Montreal). She has competed at numerous national poetry slams and been invited to perform at multiple spoken word shows, including the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word, Toronto International Poetry Slam, Hillside Festival, and When Sisters Speak. 

Roen “Blu’Rva” Higgins 

Higgins is an award-winning spoken word poet, educator, speaker, and creative evangelist. As the founder of The Elevated Creative, her mission is to elevate others through creative literacy and help them find their flow and tap into their genius zone.