We’re proud to sponsor the 2026 Atlantic Book Awards. At SMU English, we study how stories shape culture, identity, and public life—and there’s no better place to see that in action than here. Over the coming weeks, we’ll be sharing why storytelling matters now more than ever. Stay with us.

Inside English @ SMU: Join @smuenglish.bsky.social for an interactive celebration of creativity and community! Print your own custom bookmarks, enjoy readings by creative writing contest winners and meet with faculty, students and a career counsellor. March 27, 11 am–2 pm in MM 201: loom.ly/Tff8YNE

🌹 A timely Valentine's weekend update on Dr. Goran Stanivukovic of @smuenglish.bsky.social. “The Romance and Wonder in the Age of Shakespeare” is his current research project as a #CRRS Fellow with U of T's Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies. More info: crrs.ca/about_us/people/fellows

Due by Feb. 20: Submit your #shortstory entries for the 2026 Margó Takacs Marshall Prize for Excellence in Short Story Writing! 🏆 Presented by @smuenglish.bsky.social, the annual contest is open to all currently enrolled students across SMU. Learn more: loom.ly/nNjWVMg. #SMUEnglish #CreativeWriting

Due by Feb. 20: Submit your #poetry and #spokenword entries for the 2026 Joyce Marshall Hsia Memorial Poetry Prize! 🏆 Presented by @smuenglish.bsky.social, the annual contest is open to all currently enrolled students across SMU. Learn more: loom.ly/nNjWVMg. #SMUEnglish #CreativeWriting

Carbon Arc Cinema's #NovaScotia Retro Film Festo is coming up soon! Dr. Jennifer VanderBurgh of @smuenglish.bsky.social will host a Q&A with short films by pioneering film director #MargaretPerry, at the Nova Scotian Vintage Shorts event Feb. 1 at 1 pm. www.carbonarc.ca/events/nova-... #SMUEnglish

📣 #ArtsForEveryone returns this winter with 4 free courses, including one online offering: Introduction to Composition (ENGL 1100) starts Jan. 7 with Dr. Seán Kennedy. 📚 It runs Mondays + Wednesdays, 10–11:15 am. Register here: smucc.brightspace.com/course/21/co... @smuenglish.bsky.social #A4E

Unforgetting and the Politics of Representation: Voices from Contemporary Bosnia and Herzegovina | The Forgotten Children of War Association hosted a #Sarajevo book launch in November for Dr. Tatjana Takševa, Chair of @smuenglish.bsky.social. Read more: loom.ly/HIdWkHo. #SMUEnglish #artswithimpact

How AI is shaped by fiction: Check out @halifaxexaminer.ca for @timbousquet.bsky.social's video interview with Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social. #SMUEnglish #artswithimpact

The #SMUReadingSeries presents "An evening with Kate Cayley" on November 27. Winner of the Trillium Award, O. Henry Prize and Mitchell Prize for Poetry, Cayley will read from her new novel Property, published by @coachhousebooks.bsky.social. 7 pm in SB 255: loom.ly/bnvuCYY @smuenglish.bsky.social

Apply by Nov. 30: The Edna and Velma Thomas Kane Writers Award supports SMU students of African Nova Scotian and Black/African descent in the next steps toward their #writing aspirations. Graduating with a BA or BES in 2026? Learn more: loom.ly/lo5R-k0 #KaneWritersAward #SMUAlumni #artswithimpact

"Resist the AI hype and question the uncritical adoption of this technology," Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social warns in her latest commentary piece for @halifaxexaminer.ca. #SMUEnglish #OpEd #ArtificialIntelligence #AI

Call for applications! The Amadeus Choir seeks poets and composers from across #Canada to take part in its next Choral Creation Lab. Dr. Luke Hathaway of @smuenglish.bsky.social is a poet mentor this year! Learn more and apply soon: amadeuschoir.com/CCL/ #amadeuschoir #choralmusic #poets #composers

Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social spoke recently with #CBC #Mainstreethfx. "The modern road less travelled might be reading a book without help from AI: We learn from Dr. Heffernan about the consequences of using #AI to do your reading for you." www.cbc.ca/listen/live-...

Queer Lives & Letters: a new @smuenglish.bsky.social course aims to empower students at a scary time. Launched by Dr. Luke Hathaway in the Winter 2025 term, the course was featured in a recent @signalhfx.bsky.social story by Laura Flight. Read more: signalhfx.ca/queer-litera... #PrideMonth2025

The religious roots of AI and the rise of neo-feudalism: A new article by Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social. www.tandfonline.com/eprint/G5VBJ... #SMUEnglish #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #humanities #artswithimpact

Some cautionary new commentary from Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social, in an open letter to Evan Solomon, Canada's new Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation. #AI #artificialintelligence #artswithimpact

In case you missed it: Dr. @tjheffernan.bsky.social of @smuenglish.bsky.social was featured in the first episode of the Humanities at Large podcast from @jhievents.bsky.social. Her topic was "Absence of Intelligence: The Science and Fiction of AI". Well worth a listen! uoft.me/jhi-podcast #AI

Congratulations to Dr. Annick MacAskill on 2 #poetry award nominations for 'Votive' (@gaspereaupress.bsky.social, 2024): #1 - J.M. Abraham Atlantic Poetry Award; the June 5 @atlanticbookawards.bsky.social gala is at #HalifaxCentral Library and online. #2 - see below. 🏆🏆 Happy #NationalPoetryMonth!

'Votive' by Dr. Annick MacAskill is also nominated for the Maxine Tynes Nova Scotia Poetry Award! The #NovaScotia Book Awards ceremony is June 2 in #Dartmouth, hosted by Prof. Raymond Sewell of @smuenglish.bsky.social. @thisisannick.bsky.social @writersfedofns.bsky.social #SMUFrench #artswithimpact

WRITE TO READ 2025: Come and celebrate new voices from SMU! Hear poetry, fiction, and performance works by students in our senior creative writing workshops. 🗓️Thursday, April 10, 7 pm 📍Atrium 101 (SMU campus) All welcome | Admission free | Scent-free event

Thanks to @thecoast.ca for this wonderful feature on @katebeaton.bsky.social! The #CapeBreton comic artist spoke with education reporter Lauren Phillips on the links between art, industry and community, ahead of her Cyril Byrne Memorial Lecture March 21 in Halifax. www.thecoast.ca/news-opinion...

Kate Beaton had a great conversation on CBC Information Morning with Preston Mulligan. The radio broadcast aired March 21 in advance of her lecture. Sponsored by @unsettlingirish.bsky.social, the event drew a full house! www.cbc.ca/listen/live-... @katebeaton.bsky.social @smuenglish.bsky.social

"We Were Always Working and Making Art: Rethinking the Economics and Value of Creativity". Join us March 21 for an inspiring evening with @katebeaton.bsky.social, as she delivers the 2025 Cyril J. Byrne Memorial Lecture. Info: loom.ly/sZWX7BY @smuenglish.bsky.social @unsettlingirish.bsky.social

Join us for the second annual Arts Student Societies Gala! It's at The Gorsebrook Lounge on Thursday, March 27, 7-11 pm with dancing, a raffle, hot/cold snacks and a cash bar. Pre-order tickets for $20: loom.ly/1hAruCk; $25 at the door. #students #artswithimpact

The SMU Reading Series and Arts with Impact present a public reading by our Saint Mary’s University 2025 Writer in Residence Souvankham Thammavongsa Winner of the Giller Prize 🕖Thursday, 6 March 2025 | 7 pm | 📍Atrium 101 (SMU Campus)