Lee Kvern (she/her) has been writing for almost thirty years, and she hasn’t met a writer that she doesn’t like. Lee can always find the good in people—or, at the very least, the interesting—and her award-winning short stories ("White", 2007 CBC Prize for Fiction; "Visibility", 2006 CBC Alberta Anthology; "Fourteen", 2007 CBC Alberta Anthology; "Detachment", 2010 Malahat Open Season Award finalist; "The Nothing Yard", 1999 Heritage Short Story Contest) and celebrated novels (The Matter of Sylvie, Afterall) tend to feature characters you might call 'unlikeable'—but that's the fun of writing them, and seeing where their stories end up. Lee joins Gio and Renée to talk about how far she's come in her career and how far she still wants to go, story building craft, and how to have it all as a parent, an employee and an author—hint: you have to pick your priorities. Detours include the odd jobs authors tend to have, the joy of making yourself a nuisance to elected officials, and the pleasure of teaching yourself how to make art for art's sake. Find Lee on social media @leekvern. 

Want to support the show? Check out our bonus content on Patreon.

Gio Petrucci: giografik.com

Renée Meloche: reneewrought.com

Daven Seebarran (he/him) may be a natural introvert, but you'd never know it from his work advocating for non-profit funding, social equity and resource accessibility. On top of his regular work, Daven used the 2020 quarantine to translate his lifelong love of drag into an online space where fans could connect with drag performers and aspiring queens could learn from virtual drag instructors. That has since become the booming online Drag Academy—dedicated to digital programming that includes performances, a podcast, virtual drag classes and bursaries. Daven talks about writing bursaries, the early drag scene in Edmonton, leveraging creativity in order to solve complex issues of social inequity, and the importance of intersectionality, diversity and authenticity in artistic programming. Check out the dragacademy.ca for available programs, and find Daven at davenseebarran.com.

Support L2M by checking out our bonus content on Patreon.

Gio Petrucci: giografik.com

Renée Meloche: reneewrought.com

In the spring of 2020, 16-year-old playwright, poet, screenwriter and filmmaker Eli Smart (he/they) and 14-year-old artist and filmmaker Caelan Bell (he/him) found themselves "coping" as best they could with the upheaval and uncertainty of quarantine, online learning, social isolation and political divisiveness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the help of collaborators and their mentor, author and playwright Kim Firmston (she/he/they), Eli Caelan set out to make sense of this strange new world through the medium of film with their docu-short Adaptation in the Impoverished City. Caelan, Eli and Kim join Renée and Gio to discuss how the project came together, what these accomplished young creatives are going to pursue next, and how connecting with other creatives during such a fraught time inspired them to keep going. Stay up to date on the Adaptation in the Impoverished City by following them @adaptationyyc. 

Support L2M by checking out our Patreon. 

Gio Petrucci: giografik.com

Renée Meloche: reneewrought.com

In this light-hearted, chatty episode, Renée and Gio catch up on each other's creative efforts, recent dietary choices, and their mental health as uncertainty about the world's safety and health persists. Renée asks the timely question: "What is wrong with coasting?" and Gio explores what working to his potential has meant for his mental health for the past few decades, and why creative work can be so challenging when it all depends on self-motivating. 🚧 Detours include RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (Season 6 spoilers!), Gio's love of disco mixes, empathy burnout, internal family system therapy and how, if you try hard enough, you can actually reprogram your personality. 

Like the show? Drop some love on our socials @listen2mepod or check out our Patreon for bonus content!

Gio Petrucci: giografik.com

Renée Meloche: reneewrought.com

Myspace Forever! In this two-parter, Gio and Renée explore the creation and advent of popular social media platforms and their evolution into content farms, where creatives feel the pressure to market themselves and their work in an authentic, accessible way while still getting those ad revenue dollars. 📱 In Part 1, Renée takes Gio down a historical rabbit hole of social media sites and the most popular ones through the years up to now, including Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest and TikTok and Renée's forever fave, Tumblr. We're talking about ads, verification, flaming in the comment sections, and DMs. In Part 2, Gio and Renée discuss their experience using the sites (the successes and failures) for promotion of their work, and what they've seen other creatives accomplish.  🚧 Detours in this part include Gio's coffee detox, Renée's ADHD rambles and Gio's vision of a WALL-E style future. 🤖 Go to patreon.com/listen2mepod to listen to Part 2 of this episode! 💖Connect with Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

Representation in film and media for anyone other than white dudes has been an on-going problem, from the inception of Hollywood to present day. But representation and diversity in the film industry is also a huge problem. Andrea Beça (they/them) is a filmmaker, editor and writer from Edmonton (currently based in British Columbia) who created Solidarity Film Camp, for diverse individuals interested in learning the ins and outs of the film industry in a safe and accessible space. Andrea created a documentary about Solidarity Film Camp (watch it here) and in this episode, they join Gio and Renée to talk about how crucial representation and diversity are, Andrea's experience in film school, theatre productions vs films, and the importance of community collaboration. Find Andrea at abecaproductions.com and on social media @contessabessa. Like the show? Subscribe, rate us on iTunes, and check out our Patreon if you want to support the show.💖 Connect with Renée at reneewrought.com and Gio at giografik.com.

Have you ever wondered how hiking to Mt. Everest basecamp relates to writing and producing a poetry-based, one-woman show? Ellen Kartz (she/her) is here to tell you. Ellen joins Gio and Renée to talk about her diverse career in Alberta's writing scene, the launch of her small press, Armistice, for emerging, local 2SLGBTQIA+ poets, and her involvement with the Edmonton Poetry Festival and the Writers' Guild of Alberta. Go to armisticepress.blogspot.com to find out more about Armistice Press and follow Ellen on social media @e_kartz. Like the show? Check out patreon.com/listen2mepod to find out how you can support it! 💖Connect with Gio at giografik.com and Renée at reneewrought.com.

Lannie Johnston (they/them) is a printmaker and visual artist whose fascination with corporeal shapes is a thread through their art. Renée and Gio chat with Lannie about how they fell in love with the study of printmaking, what draws them to the aesthetic of body horror, and their experience with mental health and chronic illness and how those factors have shaped their relationship to their art. ⚠️TW: discussions of depression and chronic pain. Detours include Renée's recent unemployment and attempts to destigmatize social benefits, Studio Ghibli's film canon, and monsterf*cking. See more of Lannie's art on Instagram @sumzerbutt and go to patreon.com/listen2mepod for more information on how to keep Listen 2 Me podcast online! Connect with Gio: giografik.com and Renee: reneewrought.com.

Lisa Murphy-Lamb (she/her) came to writing through education, and her passion for creating inclusive, artist-friendly spaces has made her a fixture of the southern Alberta writing community. Lisa joins Gio and Renée to talk about her many projects: from publishing her young adult novel, Jesus on the Dashboard, her work as an editor at small press Stonehouse Publishing, the founding of New Forum Magazine and Loft 112 and its current community art installations. We cover so much! Detours include Dolly Parton, teenage bus drivers, and the impact of mentorship on creatives' success. A rising tide lifts all boats, baby! See more of Lisa's initiatives on social media: @newforumab @loft112 @stonehousepbl • Enjoying L2M? Leave us some love in a review, and check out patreon.com/listen2mepod to see how you can support the show! Find us online: Gio at giografik.com and Renee: reneewrought.com

Haui, aka Howard J. Davis (he/they) is a multidisciplinary artist who defies categorization. His latest project, Mixed↑ (MixedUp Film) is available to stream on Amazon Prime, AppleTV, OutTV, FROOT and TVNZ OnDemand. Mixed↑ is part documentary, part visual performance, part spoken word poem, and part personal essay about the challenges and triumphs that come with straddling different identities. Haui joins Gio and Renée for a special two-part interview: in this part, we discuss their career in many disciplines, their creative path so far and their experiences creating a personal project like Mixed↑. In a second, bonus episode available exclusively on Listen 2 Me Patreon, we dive deeper into the behind-the-scenes of Mixed↑ film. Find Haui at haui.ca and on the socials @hauidavis; and if you like what you hear, help support the show by going to patreon.com/listen2mepod. For as little as $1 a month you can help us keep the creativity flowing right into your earholes!