WHO I AM
About
I write cross-genre stories that aren't quite what they seem (lies, broken trust, and deceit turn up in a lot of my work). Whether I'm writing fantasy, horror, literary fiction, poetry, science fiction, or a stage play, I never want you to judge my characters quickly. No matter how uncomfortable they may make you, I'd much prefer you remain open until we reach a catastrophic capsize point that either surprises you, shocks you, unsettles you, or pisses you off and makes you revisit every assumption you've made.
I'm also lucky to have taught creative writing at several universities in British Columbia and am grateful to have seen my stories nominated for both the Aurora Award and the Journey Prize, as well as translated, studied, and published internationally.
And finally, fair warning: some of my stories should come with triggering content warnings.
WHAT I WRITE
Stories
Daguerreotype
one-act play
A new widow brings her daughter to an inner-city portrait studio in the summer of 1855.
This play debuted at UBC's Brave New Play Rites Festival and was published in
paperplates magazine alongside the stills used in the original production.
Recursion
short fiction
A ghost on a colony ship bound for Alpha Centauri dies again year after year until she finally confronts the truth behind her death.
Published with Apex Online, Revista Axxón (translated by Pablo Martínez Burkett),
Spinning Whorl, and Tesseracts Eleven: Amazing Canadian Speculative Fiction.
Restraint
podcast
A werewolf in a halfway house desperately tries to keep her shit together.
Read by Amy Paonessa for Tales to Terrify, this story also appeared in Speculative North. Some people find "Restraint" incredibly uncomfortable, so if you listen (and I really hope you do), please prepare for some very strong adult content (of the icky-not-sexy variety).
GO TO PODCASTMY BOOK
Rage
When I was putting this collection of literary short stories together with Thistledown Press, I was surprised to discover how often rage had found its way into my work. While I was looking for a unifying theme, I couldn't stop seeing rage everywhere: in broken relationships, betrayal, abuse, grief, and the desire to take back control when life has taken it away.
These eleven stories follow a loosely-interwoven group of people struggling to gain their independence, their dignity, and in some cases, take revenge.
Although Rage is now out of print, I still have a limited number of signed copies left. If you'd like one, get in touch (see below) and we'll see what we can work out.
HOW TO GET IN TOUCH
Contact
If you're not a bot, aren't trying to sell me anything, and have no intention of either
scamming or spamming me, I'd love to hear from you.
The best way is through email:
info (at) johnmavin (dot) com
or, if you'd prefer, you should be able to reach me through Facebook or Goodreads, too.