We are pleased and excited to announce that Evelyn Lau is Langara's 2024 Writer in Residence.

The Langara Writer in Residence program provides an opportunity for the college community to engage with an established writer. The program allows the Writer in Residence to pursue their own creative projects while being available to Langara students for classroom visits, manuscript consultations, and events—including a public reading for the community. The position runs for three months at the start of the spring term (January-March) and is made possible through the support of TD Insurance. The Writer in Residence is hosted by the English department. 

Learn more about our 2023 Writer in Residence: Rawi Hage

About Evelyn Lau, Langara’s 2024 Writer in Residence

Evelyn Lau

Evelyn Lau is a lifelong Vancouverite who has authored 14 books – two bestselling memoirs, a novel, two short story collections and nine volumes of poetry. Her memoir Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid (1989), published when she was 18, was made into a CBC movie starring Sandra Oh in her first major role. Evelyn's prose books have been translated into a dozen languages worldwide; her poetry has received the Milton Acorn People's Poet Award, the Pat Lowther Award for best book of poetry by a Canadian woman, and a National Magazine Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Governor-General's Award and a BC Book Prize. From 2011–2014, Evelyn served as Vancouver's Poet Laureate. Her most recent collection, Cactus Gardens (2022) was named one of CBC's Top 20 poetry books, and was shortlisted for the Vancouver Book Award.

Evelyn has worked with emerging writers/students for decades at SFU Continuing Studies, as well as through previous writer-in-residencies at UBC, University of Calgary, Kwantlen University and Vancouver Community College. She has served on many local and national literary prize juries, and published in over a hundred journals and anthologies over the course of her writing life.

Manuscript Consultations

Evelyn will be available for creative writing mentorship with members of the Langara community (students, faculty, and employees) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from mid-January to mid-March. Students can submit poetry, fiction, or nonfiction to Evelyn and receive free feedback during a one-hour in-person meeting. A Zoom option is available for students who absolutely can’t come in person, but the preference is for in-person meetings.

To secure an appointment, students must go to Evelyn's office (A302) and add their details to the sign-up sheet posted on her office door. After a student signs up, they should send their work to writerinresidence@langara.ca, using the following format: Word or PDF format only, 12-point font, double spaced, up to 10 pages. Work must be submitted at least one week in advance, so Evelyn has a chance to read it and provide thoughtful comments.

Evelyn will be available on the following days: Tuesdays and Wednesdays

Appointments are available on a first come, first served basis. 

Events

For questions about the Writer in Residence program, email writerinresidence@langara.ca